The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Bengals, sports returning, Michael Jordan, Alex Smith

Episode Date: May 7, 2020

Colin talks about why the Bengals will most likely struggle this season, why sports will return sooner than some want, the Michael Jordan documentary, and why he doesn't want to watch Alex Smith play anymore. Guests include Maurice Jones-Drew, Brandon Marshall, Steve Smith Sr., Michael Lewis, and Ken Rosenthal. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

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

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played. with and just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to listen to learn the hard way on the iha radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast what's up guys

this is clivert taylor the fourth and on my podcast the clivert 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 a ref my mom wants you to wave at her what Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Rhett, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening to The Heard Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching herd.

You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go. NFL schedules released tonight live in Los Angeles. This is the herd. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1, schedules come out tonight.

Mark Slareth and I are going to be on something. I don't even know what show it's on, where it's going to be on, but we're doing some schedule show. Seriously, I have no idea. I just know I'm doing it with Mark Schlereth. Somebody give me a heads up, what is going to be on. Joy Taylor's joining me. How are you, Joy?

I'm great. I'm very excited for the schedule, actually. I am. It's fun every year because you get to play win-loss. That's right. You get to play win-loss. So fun. So I watched episode 7 of the Michael Jordan,

the last dance documentary. I got all the episodes ahead last night. And I watched episode 7. I'll watch 7 and 8. seven yesterday, eight tonight, maybe not tonight because of the schedules, maybe tomorrow. It's fantastic. But one of the things that really struck me is that Michael Jordan intimidated people. And Michael Jordan, he, through his imagery, through his relentlessness, you didn't mess around with Michael.

When he walked into a room very early in his career, Michael had a feeling, don't mess with me. And you can sense that, right? you can sense weak people, you can sense strong people, you can sense confident people, you can sense people lacking confidence, it's body language, it's their words. And so according to Wojj, top NBA reporter guy, NBA commissioner guy, NBA commission Adam Silver is not testing asymptomatic players in the NBA. He won't do it because he's worried how the imagery looks that they're hoarding tests. What? That's, you've got a $300 billion enterprise. It's probably worth a trillion dollar. I mean, what is the NBA worth? Similarly, a report this morning, Dana White and the UFC have 1,200 corona tests. They're fighting this weekend. And they don't care what you think. Because people on Twitter pray on the week. And Dana White doesn't give a rip what you think. So he's not worried about it.

And the sports with backbone and good leadership, NASCAR, UFC, W.W.E, NFL. Those are the sports that are like, listen, these are billion-dollar businesses. Get us tests. First of all, anybody in California that wants to be tested can. We're the biggest state in the country. Biggest economy. Very complex. This is not Rhode Island.

This is a hard state. It's not Oregon. It's not West Virginia. 40 million people here. And our mayor, L.A., you want to be tested, you can. We don't have a mask issue. We don't have a ventilator issue. You want to be tested?

Governor said, we've got the tests. Okay, so let's stop with that nobody can get a test. Everybody I know in my life, small town, big city has been tested that feels they need to be tested. 99% of them don't need to be tested. They haven't had it. But would you be outraged? I found out very early that policemen and firemen in my community had been tested. All right, they should be.

I found out very early that a grocery store worker I knew, she was tested. Nobody was outraged. Would you be outraged if airline employees were tested? They're flying us all around. Or politicians who are running the country? No. Nobody be outraged. And nobody's going to be outraged if the NBA has a thousand tests to start the season because everybody misses sports.

And the people that are outraged hate the NBA. irrelevant if you're Adam Silver, and the second group, anonymous, you know, shammers on Twitter, equally irrelevant. But this constant imagery of Adam Silver walking on eggshells around players and owners, it comes off as weak. Yesterday, Roger Goodell, strong leadership. Remember, Roger Goodell got blowback on free agency. No, he didn't care. It was a home run.

He got blowback, even from NFL reporters on the draft. He didn't care. It's called strong leadership. It was a home run. You got to have a backbone during this stuff because there's shamers and heat-seeking panic missiles all over the Internet. Block them, mute them. Don't listen. We're not going to have zero cases.

It's not going to happen. There's going to be deaths. It stinks. You can't sit around and worry constantly about perception. And the people that don't, Roger Goodell yesterday said no commenting on the season, no speculation. It's five months out. That's ridiculous. that's called leadership.

Dana White's called leadership. Companies with strong leaders are going to flourish in this thing. And it makes me this morning, and I've made no predictions on this. All I know is masks work and social distancing works. Of course masks work. If you and I are wearing a mask, you don't think that's going to cut down on the spread of a virus. Of course it works. And social distancing obviously works.

That's all I know. The only prediction I've made for sports, SEC, football is going to happen. It may not happen in September. It may be October, November, but it's going to happen. Outside of that, no prediction. But that this morning, by Adam Silver, that kind of concern about imagery, that's the kind of stuff that makes me think the NBA season's over. I'm not predicting it, because the people that are going to survive here in sports, you've got to have a backbone. You can't be worried about all the shamers on social media. You can't. I mean, if you say, you know, I think we should kickstart the economy slowly with social distancing.

I mean, it's an avalanche. Tyranny of the mob. They attack you. You better be strong. And Adam Silver, it's my only knock on him. I think he's smart. I think he's a good guy. Sometimes he comes across as weak, as paralyzed by Twitter, consumed by what his players think of him. You're the commissioner. Owners are your boss. Players are not your bosses. Owners are your bosses. So I saw this story. The Cincinnati Bengals don't have a very great history. And they said yesterday, we were not moving off that first pick for Joe Burrow. You know what?

The more I thought about it, the more I was like, all right, I'm really interested in what their schedule looks like. Because I think Cincinnati and Joe Burrow, they're the kind of team that could be helped if their schedule is soft early. If Burrow, who's going to be forced to start, can start with Washington or the New York Giants, get a couple of those games at home. It's like, all right, all right, Miami early. All right. So the NFL schedule released tonight, Cincinnati's a team I'm already going to look at. But you know what's funny about this whole thing? And I get why Cincinnati picked him. He's an Ohio kid. They don't have any equity built up with their fans. You know, he's a good prospect. You can certainly argue, I don't think he's the best prospect. I think it's Tua. But you can certainly argue Burrow over Tua.

I'm okay with that. I mean, if you think that, that's fine. I think they're fairly close. I just think two is a more natural sort of athlete and was good from day one high school, college. I like him more. But injuries, blah, blah, blah. So, but what's funny about this is the blowback I get when I say, I think Joe Burrow, I think he's going to struggle. Sports gives us, like nothing else, a roadmap of what's going to happen. And we keep not listening.

The reason I was so right on the Cleveland Browns, Freddie Kitchens would be fired, Baker wouldn't be as good as the number one pick should. John Dorsey wouldn't last. It was because of Cleveland's history. Let's see. An undersized, cocky, bad judgment, police video, two-time walk-on will not be good enough to overcome the NFL's most poorly owned franchise. That was difficult?

Oh, yeah, they hired Freddie Kitchens as a coach. He'd never been a coordinator. Nobody in the league had ever offered him a coordinator job. That sealed it. And I got nothing but crap. And, of course, I was right in all of it. Not because I'm smart. Not because I'm a magician.

Not because I'm Copperfield. Or David Blaine. It's because of history. Sports keeps telling us what's going to happen. Believe it. Russell Wilson will make the playoffs this year. Bank on it. Matt Patricia and the Lions will not.

Bank on it. If you go look at the last eight quarterbacks who've come from college to the pro that have succeeded, and by succeeded, I mean a winning record. Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Deshawn Watson, Patrick Mahomes, Carson Wentz, Jared Goff, Dak, and Mitch Trubesky. Don't love Trubisky, but whatever. They all have a couple of things in common. They either have a really good coach.

Matt Nagy is a really good coach. Trubisky is a real average talent. They either have a good coach, a good roster, a good organization. Hopefully more than one, sometimes two, maybe sometimes three. I don't think Deshawn Watson has a great organization, but Bill O'Brien is a good coach. he's a terrible GM, and I think the roster is pretty good. Joe Burrow is entering a bad roster, a bad owner, a brutal division, and he's going to be forced to start day one. He's going to struggle.

This is not, I'm not a magician. Like, sports keeps telling us what's going to happen. Russell Westbrook is never going to lead a team to an NBA championship. His style in the postseason, it's not built for it. That's not what basketball is in the postseason. a low percentage shooting ball-centric guard who wears everybody out and lives and plays in a tunnel. He's fun over the course of a regular season. In a volume regular season, he's wildly entertaining, worth paying to see.

But when you shorten the season down to specific games and specific moments, he's a low-percentage-centric, ball-centric, low-percentage shooting guard who is hard to play with. That doesn't equal championships. So the Joe Burrell stuff, Cincinnati's schedule, I am very, very interested tonight. And I do think they may get a little bit of a break, which would help Joe Burrow, but he's going to struggle. And we just all need to get, we need to get used to that. Like that's going to happen, and it's not hard to see. Sports keeps telling us and giving us roadmaps.

Here it comes. Coming up next, two things. There's an NFL player and his story is remarkable, but he needs to retire because I can't watch his games. I'm not going to be able to stomach his games. I can't watch him. And he's a great guy. And he's been on the show. And he's a nice guy.

I can't watch him. Somebody has to step in. Talk about that coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet. lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly

what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

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

Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Cliver Taylor the Fourth.

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

What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, Fam? Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed.

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

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

After you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This Mother's Day, 1-800 Flowers, limited delivery, step on it, beautiful Mother's Day gifts, bouquets, 1-800flowers.com, and on the code, H-E-R-D.

So Alex Smith got injured not long ago, and it was traumatic. He had 17 surgeries. They were worried that his leg was going to be amputated. In fact, they were concerned he was going to die. The government let him go to a military hospital because it was more similar to a war injury. His wife, 36th birthday today, his wife put out a video of him working out. And I watched the video. I cannot, I will not be able to watch Alex Smith play this season.

I can't. I can't see him get hurt. Alex Smith has had a really nice career. He's made $173 million. He was a number one pick. He is a 94 and 66 record. Five playoff appearances, won a division, no losing seasons in a decade. This video, his wife sent out, is amazing.

But if you watch Project 11, the documentary, it is, I've seen, I can't watch the whole thing. I know I come across here as, you know, too touchy-feely. But I can't, he's had a great career. He's made a ton of money. I don't think Washington right now needs him. Dan Snyder, I've been told Dan Snyder has offered him an executive job. He's been offered in the organization, an upper-level VP executive job. That's how much Dan Snyder respects him.

He can get a broadcasting job tomorrow at, and I won't speak for my bosses, but if Alex Smith was on the market, you'd be crazy not to hire him. Super nice guy, gets along with others, really smart. I mean, he's played in the NFC, he's played the AFC. the video of him coming back, and I've had him on the show before, he has a legendary good reputation in the NFL. He's a great guy. I can't watch him play.

I would be on pins and needles watching him play. I couldn't do it. So as the team doctors in Washington make a decision, almost had his leg amputated, and many people were concerned he would die. And I watched that video this morning. I'm like, oh, God, retire. please. And it just sit it down. A lot of money. Beautiful family. Studying wife. A lot of money. Number one pick. Five playoffs. One a division title. Fifty-eight percent winner. Don't play. Sometimes people have to step in and help you because it's hard to manage us. Men are hard to manage, right? We manage our money. Man manage their money better than they manage themselves. That's why Wall Street and prisons are full of men, as my dad once said. Sometimes people have to step in because men are, we get tunnel vision, we get very competitive, we can't, we can't see the broader horizon.

I don't want to see Alex Smith play. I really don't. I just, I sat there and watched the video. I'm like, if he plays, I just, I got to watch, I'll watch the Bengals games. I can't watch him. I told you I watched the documentary the other day. It's really, it's fascinating, but it is terrifying. Terrifying.

I'm rooting for him. It's hard not to root for him. I mean, he has a very resilient spirit. I would be very nervous watching him play as well. It would be an amazing comeback story. You really should watch it. There's a point. I'm like very, I get queasy with that stuff.

I mean, he's been through a lot. By the way, I did watch episode seven of the last dance last night. It has everything in it, Joy. It's got the murder of Michael's father. It's got Michael's retirement announcement. What a circus that was. It's got his baseball career. And it's got Michael breaking down.

Michael gets really emotional. It is, I mean, you can see his eyes. Like, he gets really emotional. So it is, it's easily the best episode I've seen episode seven Sunday night on another network. Here's Joy with the News. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the Heard Line News. They are getting better.

Oh, yeah, yeah, no, I think they're getting better. Yeah, and I'm going to watch you. I think I'm going to watch the NFL schedule stuff. tonight, then Friday night or Saturday, I'm going to watch the episode 8. I can't wait for it. So the Cowboys brought in Andy Dalton's work with Doc Prescott next season, and Stephen Jones told 1310 the ticket in Dallas that he feels a lot better now that they have a solid backup plan.

I have a guy like Andy Dalton come in here, not unlike Tilly had with Nick Foles when Carson Wentz went down to be able to take control and, you know, win games or win huge games for you. If that's what you need, it's really important. Certainly, you lay your head on your fella better at night knowing that you have someone like Andy's on. Sleeping better, are we? Well, Dak Presto doesn't have an injury history, so that's not really the concern. Obviously, having a strong backup in Philly is very important considering Carson-Wenst's injury history.

So what is it that we're referring to? Yeah. I'm a huge Dak fan, as you know, and I think Dak deserves all the money he can get, and he certainly deserves to be paid. but if I'm Dak Prescott, I'm signing a deal. That was clearly a message bringing in Andy Dallon, I feel. I mean, you like to have a nice backup, but Andy Dallon is probably a starter in this league still. I mean, I'm not going to hold everything that happened in Cincinnati against him.

They did make the playoffs quite a few times, despite the dysfunction that organization has been over the past 20 years. I don't know the entire situation with Dack in Dallas. but it does kind of feel like it's almost getting to the point of your, I don't want to say overvaluing yourself because you should, or you should get whatever money the market dictates. But there's not a huge gap. I think we agree between Andy Dolan and Dak Prescott.

Yeah, I think Dax, I think Dax better. But I don't think it's. Absolutely. He's better and he has more upside and he's younger and all those things. But the last thing you want to happen is, God forbid, there is some sort of injury situation. Andy Doughton comes in and plays his butt off. And then that's a whole other scenario.

He's like the Mr. Rogers of the NFL. Who would have thought Andy Dalton could ever get in the crosshairs of controversy? He is the least controversial human in American professional sports. He really is. Now all of a sudden there's this polarizing thing. I think you said this. He basically called Dak yesterday. He texted him a couple days ago.

He said, hey, I'm here to help if you need anything. He's a nicest guy in the world. He is. What was his like rally cry before the game? Yeah, it was. Let's have some fun play together. I ran into him one time at a J.W. Marriott in Los Angeles. And, you know, I've been critical a lot of people.

And I bump in. No, I don't care. It's the only time I felt guilty. He is such a nice human being. I ran into Andy Dalton and I said, I can never criticize him. It was like two, three years ago. I'm like, I just felt, I felt so guilty. We're not being personal.

I know, but I called him the beige water pistol. That's kind of personal. You did. And I felt really, the only time in my. career, I'm like, Desmond. I want to apologize and give him a big hug. That's the only time. No, I mean, most of the time, if I rip T.O., I bring him on the show, T.O. and I go back and forth, or LaBar Ball or Ritchie Incognito, I have no problem confronting some. If Russell Westbrook came on my show or Baker, you can yell at me all you want. I don't care. We had Baker on. Yes, I don't,

that doesn't bother me. But I felt guilt because Andy Dalton is America's nicest human, and I was mean. Teddy Bruske won three Super Bowls with Tom Brady in New England and he has some advice for the buccaneers and it's to not get caught up in a superstar joining their team. In an interview with ESPN, he said they need to get over Brady watching because they get to the sideline and all of a sudden it's like, okay, Tom will bail us out. If those players see him as that four-letter word,

they better get over it. He's on a level plane as you because he's going to make mistakes and he's also going to make you better and it can't be done without you. so don't look to him to do it. Our teams never did. The four-letter word he's referring to is goat. Oh, yeah, goat.

That's the four-letter word. Well, I mean, listen, I think it's going to be very difficult for any of these young players to not look at Tom Brady in that way. That's the conversation that we've been having about Tom Brady for many years. And he is still Tom Brady and still has the presence and aura about him. But I do get what Teddy Brewski is saying. Once the season starts, once you get into the action, games, you can't just lean on him being the goat to bail the team out or to get in tough

situations. Obviously look at him to be a leader, but you have to do your job as well. I could see how young players could get caught up in that and get a little distracted. Finally, Dwayne Haskins wrote an article for Washington's team website reflecting on his rookie year and how he's been preparing this offseason. And he noticed that the team seems to be going into the 2020 season with a different mindset. He said a lot of times last year, I thought we were dragging. This year, I feel a new sense of urgency. That's what is fun about football. It's the want to to play your very best in every situation. That's something I think is important as far as trying to be able to compete with the best of the best teams in the NFL. If you don't think you have a fighting

chance, there's no way you're going to win. Ron Rivera says he thinks that he believes the team can make a quicker turnaround than he and many others have expected. Well, I think their defense certainly will, but we are all going to be all eyes on Dwayne Haskins this year to see if he really has what it takes to be the quarterback of the Washington Redskins. I don't know that I've seen anything from Dwayne Haskins yet that convinces me of that. He's big and strong with a big strong arm. So if he gets protection, I think he can be fine. I just don't know if they can protect him now that Trent Williams has gone.

But if you told me he's going to stand back throw 24 times a game in Ron's system, pretty conservative offense, and throw strikes, then I think he can work. That's where I think he can work. And he can be accurate and make good decisions, then sure. I don't really get caught up in the body type of quarterbacks anymore because I think for the most part, if you have the skill and the football intelligence, you don't really need that particular body type

and arm strength and all of those things. I'd rather you be accurate and make good decisions in crunch time moments. But that's what I'm hoping to see from doing Hasbens this year. Good stuff. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd-line news. So here's the show I'm on tonight.

Carissa Thompson, Mark Schlerth, and me. NFL schedule release show. It's going to be on all the Fox Sports social media stuff. Fox Sports.com I'll be on it. The Fox Sports app. So that's going to be 9 Eastern, 6th Pacific. I'll be from my house, from my secluded grotto. I'll be in my house broadcasting this.

And yeah, there you go. Schedule release. There's a handful of schedules I'm very interested in. I want to see Cincinnati's. The way it looks like they're going to stack it up, I've been reading this, is that your non-conference games, non-division games, are going to be first. So, you know, if you play the AFC East, you know, you're going to have the Jets and you're going to have the Patriots in the Bills and Miami in some sort of order.

So I think it's fun. I do think schedule matters. In fact, one of the things I do, when the season ends, I release. what I believe are my standings based on free agent signings and draft signings. So I can release those. And then I release schedules because after the season ends, you have coaching changes. Like Washington's got a new staff. You have free agent signings and then you have the draft.

And so, yeah, then I think it's time to predict the NFL divisions. Then I give myself the opportunity post-schedule and post-camp. Because if you lose your star left tackle, it's not the same team. So I will show you at the top of the hour. I will give you my post-free agency, post-coaching changes, post-draft predictions for the NFC and AFC. I'll give you that top of next hour. And then I'm going to wait for the schedule to come out.

And I'm not going to take a team like Indianapolis 10 to 5. But I do think momentum is huge in football. And if you have Joe Judge and Daniel Jones and it's brutal in September, it can absolutely make a difference. You fall into an 0 and 4, 1 and 3 hole for a new staff and a young quarterback. It's rough. It's hard to overcome. It's easy for New England to experiment in September.

They've got all the equity and all the confidence and all the things they can go back into and dip into. Maurice Jones Drew, NFL network broadcaster, played for a decade in the NFL 8 for the Jags and 1 for the Raiders, and a three-time pro bowler is joining us this morning. By the way, it looks like, not that the Jags are a fascinating national topic, but it does appear they're sort of tanking. When you were there, they were viable and they won games. I can't say tanking, Maurice, because it's hard to tank in football, but it does look like, how about this?

They're looking to next year's draft. Is that fair? I would say they're rebuilding. I think in business, we call it pivoting. And it happens at a lot of different networks. It happens in a lot of different businesses. You decide to go one direction. In that direction, they were getting a lot of talented players,

a lot of personalities in that locker room. Those players and then that staff got them to the ASC championship game. They swung for the fences the next couple years. didn't make it and now they're going to pivot into a different direction. It does suck, though, being a Jags fan when you're that close, right? And you come back and, you know, and now you're part of a rebuild again. And my career, early on we were winning games and I was part of a couple of rebuilds because we weren't winning consistently.

And it's just disheartening at some points, but you just hope that they hit on some guys and that they can keep, you know, building and keeping their guys there. which is the most important. It's hard to win games when you draft in the top 10, what, eight or nine years or 10 years in a row, and only two of those guys are on your roster. So Cam Newton most believe is more talented than Teddy Bridgewater or Nick Foles. But Nick Foles has a job.

Marcus Marriota has a job. Case Keenham keeps finding work. Teddy Bridgewater, who I like more than most people, gets a starting job and Cam doesn't have a gig. Now, I have a theory on it. For years and years I was. told by sources inside the building. Sometimes he was distracted.

Sometimes he was a little dramatic. He was not the easiest guy to coach. That's why Ron Rivera went to Washington and traded up to get his backup, Kyle Allen. But does it surprise you that Cam Newton, a former MVP, there's no job for him? None. It doesn't appear to be any market. Yeah, I'm very surprised. And for me, it comes down to, um,

like do you want to win or not? And to be quite frank with you, Colin, coaches don't win games. Coaches, you can get out coached and lose games, but to be honest, it's those players on the field that win games. And how can you tell for a franchise or your fans that you're doing your best

when one of the best players are out there and you don't have a quarterbacker? You're playing with a guy that, you know, may not be the best. And you have a better option out there. And so I believe Cam Newton will end up finding a job the last two years. I know everyone's going to talk about the last two years. But one, he's playing.

He played through a shoulder injury for his team. And yet we don't talk about that. And then last year he played with a Liz Frank injury, which I had as a player, which is arguably one of the toughest injuries to play with. And I watched him battle with his teammates the first couple of weeks until he couldn't battle anymore. And so to say that he's not a team player like some of said or he's about self, that doesn't show me that. But those two instances right there don't show me that.

He played hurt for his team to try to help his team. So what does it tell you when Ron Rivera has no interest? And by the way, Sean McDermott, good young coach at Buffalo, no interest. He'd be a perfect back. But what does it tell you? Well, I think those teams have, you know, obviously Ron Rivera is going into the Redskins where you have DeWayne Haskins and possibly it may be he needs to see what Duane can do first.

There's other, but there's other teams out. I mean, the Patriots are obviously the obvious team and the Chicago Bears, like you mentioned, teams that don't have a quarterback. I would even say the Pittsburgh Steelers, to be quite frank with you, should look into having Cam Newton because the fact that you don't know what Big Ben is,

is he going to come back being Big Ben? And the fact that, you know, he's been banged up as well. And so there's a lot of teams out there that I think should be taking a look at Cam, Some with quarterbacks that aren't the greatest quality of starter. But, you know, they're getting paid as such. And it makes sense. But for me, it comes down to if you want to win games,

you're going to get talented players. And as a coach, you know, I firmly believe a coach is not just a play caller. A coach is a manager of personalities and expectation. A coach is a mentor. A coach is a teacher. A coach is a therapist. You have to have all those things as being. You just can't coach and call play.

That's not what this is about. And so the ones who get that, they're always successful. And you see that throughout certain careers and certain trajectories of franchises. Those coaches understand that. The ones that just want to call plays and do those other things, that's not a part of it. That's not, that's not, you just, it's not like playing Madden where I can just call plays and pick button X. You have to be, you have to manage expectations and personalities. And Cam Newton is a big personality, yes, but he's also a winner.

he's a guy that took a Carolina roster offensively that wasn't the best to a 15-1 record with a really good defense to the Super Bowl. I think Camp can get back to that and play at that level personally. You know, it's the NBA, stars run the league, and in baseball, they have eight and 10-year contracts. The NFL, stars can get cut. It's the reality of the business model. Now, the good news for the NFL is that gives owners and the commissioners more leverage. And I look at the NFL right now, and, you know, Roger Goodell is saying no comments on the season.

It's five months out. Don't speculate. You don't have any idea. I don't have any idea. Stop the speculation. And I look at the NFL and I think to myself, if players are given the option, you're going to play through this virus and get paid or you're not going to get paid. My gut feeling is football is uniquely built where the organization has more leverage over the professional athlete than baseball, international soccer, NBA.

I think there'll be an NFL season. In a locker room full of players, if the virus was in a second wave, you know you're a young pro athlete, it's not as vigorous as it was a month ago, but there's some cases out there. How do you think the average NFL player would address it and think about it and how cautious would they be or would they want to play? Well, I think it depends on, you know, the age for sure and the security. whichever players has, right? So if I'm a player that's been battling to stay on rosters and, you know,

I'm, you know, at the bottom of the roster, I want to play. If I'm a young player, I want to play. I want to get out there. If I'm a superstar or a veteran that has security, I want to make sure things are safe before I go out there, right? And so I believe there will be a season. And, again, I think that the league is going to handle it the way they always have. They're always going to hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

And so they're making sure right now that they put the schedule out tonight at 8 p.m. on NFL network that it's going to be the full season. And then they'll make adjustments as they go forth. And, I mean, that's the only way you can handle this pandemic right now because you just don't know. Early when this thing started, it wasn't that big of a deal. And then it became a big deal. And, you know, people have been, you know, stuck in their houses and not allowed to really go out and do a lot of things here. for the last couple months. And so all you can do as a player is be prepared for whatever may happen

and voice your concern. And make sure when you voice those at the PA batch you and voices those as well, and then they come to agreement with the NFL and they make it work. Yeah. It's such a unique time. Are you in California right now? I'm actually in Florida right now. How is it in Florida right now?

Because they're opening stuff up. What is the sense you get? Well, I'm down South Florida, so it's not, it's similar to California where they've locked a lot of it down still. And it's because, again, you know, you're, you know, Miami's Fort Lauderdale, those are big tourist attraction cities. And so they want to make sure. And you have to be, you know, sometimes you have to make sure. And I was in Los Angeles right before this thing kind of blew up. And so, you know, those places that have a lot of people that are close, like New York and these major San Francisco, these major cities, they have to do, you know, bigger precautions than I think, you know, small town places in Middle America or anywhere, right?

So Florida is kind of, it's kind of different because the top of Florida, northern Florida's about Orlando is open. You can do whatever you want. South Florida, you're locked down. Yeah. Restaurants aren't open and things. things like that. And you know, you just have to try to find. I always tell people, because I have, I have two family members who have passed away from the coronavirus or effects of it. And you just have to, you know, take care of yourself. Understand that this is serious. You know, I've heard

all the different things about it. At the end of the day, people are dying. And, you know, we have to make sure that we take care of ourselves as best we can. Sorry to hear that Maurice Jones Drew. Love having you on NFL Network tonight has their schedule release. I've always enjoyed the schedule release. I'm kind of a wonky NFL fan. I love all this stuff. So Maurice, thanks for coming on the show.

No problem, Colin. Also, I just want to tell all your listeners, I've been doing IG lives. They can follow me on Instagram at m.jones Drew 32, and I've been doing ID lives with a bunch of players, teams, and then answering a lot of questions. as well just because again we're all at home and everyone's trying to create content just to give fans more of an insight if they'd love to follow me and be able to you know

when I do I'll start up on Monday again when you know if they want to answer questions or have questions answered I have no problem doing that thanks man no problem maybe you can come on with me one time I was on as I was on a 45 minute Zoom conference call yesterday with North Dakota University athletic director talking to their student athletes, so I'm always available. All right, Colin. I appreciate it. Thank you. You bet. Yeah. So Michael Jordan, episode seven,

something jumped out to me last night when I saw it. I'll have that coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports. Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode we're cutting through the noise,

breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions

everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife-Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier Games.

And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the world, of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear

on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to. wave at her. What? Time out.

Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm CJ Toledano,

and our podcast, Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows.

Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richie,

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

Geico, they're sharing more. Geico's sharing more. Geico give back, 15% credit car and motorcycle policy. policies, both current new customers last year full policy term. Go to geico.com slash giveback for info and eligibility. So, by the way, Jay Cutler and that Christine Cavalieri, is that her name, Joy? Kristen. Cavalry.

She called him lazy and unmotivated and dumped him. My wife doesn't care about sports. And yesterday, she said, I, she goes, I was reading about that Jay Cutler guy. He doesn't seem like a very nice person. And I said, well, he didn't have the world's greatest reputation as a player. I've met him one time in my life, and I've had him on the show a couple times. He's just, like, you talk about this.

He's just a different personality. He's just, when you watch that show and you're like, he's a lot of work. He's a, and she, I, by the way, I think she's going to find a love somewhere. I'm just guessing on that. But she's like, driven, beautiful, smart. She's not going to struggle.

She's going to find her Prince Charming. I'll make my, that's my big prediction for Chris, what is it? Kristen Cavalry. Anybody that's that beautiful, that hardworking, smart, driven, she just dumped him because he was lazy. That's what she said. I have no idea what goes on in their household. But yes, she is beautiful. She's a businesswoman.

She's a go-getter. She's got her stuff together. Yeah. Hopefully they both find love. How's that? Yeah, that's great. I'm more interested in hers. There's someone for everyone.

Yeah. She is a go-getter. She is. She's brilliant. I'd like to bring her on the show. I mean, I watch that show and she is just go, go, go, go, energy. Like, that's, you go, girl. I like it. She probably, I don't know if she's doing press right now, but.

I'd bring her on the show. I'd bring Jay on the show. Let's talk about it. There's stuff going on with Earl Thomas. I'm willing to talk about all of it. Oh, Lord. My wife always says, don't go where you shouldn't go and don't do what you shouldn't do. Earl Thomas?

Those are great rules for life in general. Yes, they are. Don't go where you shouldn't go, Earl. It's an avoidable situation. So I watched a report today that Michael Jordan would not allow Horace Grant to eat after he had bad Bulls games. That story came out today. He would not let him eat. So listen, I watched episode seven, and Michael Jordan picked on the nice guys.

He picked on Horace Grant. Horace Grant's a nice guy. He picked on Scotty Burrell. Scotty Burrell's a nice guy. He picked on him. And you can say that's mean. But as I've said before, when you see what Michael went through, it really comes down to this. Michael gets very emotional in episode seven.

He talks about his father's passing. He talks about baseball. He talks about retirement. And he talks a little bit about being mean. And at one point, Jason Hare, the documentarian, asks him, you know, people don't always think of you as a nice guy. And I think it bothers Michael. He gets very emotional about it. But I, Saban and Belichick come across sometimes as brutal.

It's not life at sports. Tiger Woods could be brutal. Kobe could be brutal. MJ could be brutal. They're not dictators. They're just athletes and coaches. And sports has standings, winning and losing. And Michael Jordan was better.

He knew he was better than Larry Bird, and he knew he was better than Magic Johnson, because he was playing against him. And he was going out against the Dominique Wilkins. He was going out against the best players, and he was dominating. They could not stop him. So if you know that you're better than people and you know the way to be the greatest all time is to do something they haven't win three straight championships, and you've won two and you go into that third year and guys get sloppy and lazy, because let's be honest, most people get content.

Most people get comfortable. You give people a little money. I've seen it in my business and they're content and they're lazy and they don't work as hard. And they think I got this job for life. And, of course, in our business, you don't have any job for life. The platforms change. The bosses change. Cultures change.

Schedules change. You know, stock prices change. And so Michael got into a situation where he was beating all these players individually. They couldn't touch him. And he's thinking, they've all won a couple of championships. Nobody's won three straight. I'm going to be that guy. And to be that guy in those third seasons, he was brutal.

He was brutal. And I look at it and I'm like, I'm okay with it. sports has standings. Winners and losers. There's no safety net. It's not like a welfare system. Not like in the rest of our lives where we have social programs to help people who come on hard times. NFL cuts you.

Standings. Out. And so I think when I look at a Sabin or a Tiger Woods in his prime or a Belichick or an MJ, not that I want to support mean guys, but this isn't life. It's sports. and in sports, as long as we're keeping score, I'm okay with brutal. I think you'll love the episode. I think you'll absolutely love it.

It is amazing that people still buy into conspiracy theories with Michael and his dad. It's just nonsense. Complete utter nonsense that Michael's gambling and his father's murder had anything in common. It's laughable. It's pathetic. It's our two next. Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.

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

give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sportslice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicleif 12 and the TikTok podcast, network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid?

Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way.

Open your free, Our Heart Radio app. Search learn the hard way and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game.

This linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Come on out. Quarterback on office, Blue, 42. A rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. 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, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before.

And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us

on the night-to-night bases on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He run up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball, like, After you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick.

Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is The Hurd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me. Joy, I was talking about episode seven of The Last Dance. People are kind of freaking out. Colin, you're giving it away. Spoiler alert. Michael Jordan retires and goes plays baseball.

I can't help you on that. It's not. Well, you can't reveal any of the. No, I'm not. The surprises. No, no, I'm just saying it's a big episode. A lot of emotion. All this stuff already happens.

But here's what's amazing about it. Is that I'm not a conspiracy theorist guy. I just never have been. And I think conspiracy theorists are people that are not as successful as they think they should be. Societies let them down. And so they come up with information they believe is special information only they know. I've got this, people are telling me this because it's attention seekers. And conspiracy theories around Michael Jordan that his father passed away in the summer. And then in October, he quit. And there's been this, you know, ridiculous theory that

Michael Jordan's gambling is the reason that his father was murdered in the summer. And then three months later, Michael Jordan basically, not even that, he just retired. You know, like early October. He said, I'm out. Well, first of all, Michael Jordan had begun training for baseball nine months before that. He had also told his trainer, Tim Grover, acknowledges Michael was already into the baseball training stuff. He had told Tim Grover, who's an accredited, respected trainer.

Secondly, there's a journalist in episode seven, and I'll let you watch it, who says Jordan had told him like a year and a half earlier. I'm going to quit pretty soon. I want to play baseball. It's my dad's love, and I want to play baseball. And so Jordan had told a writer, it's just, I got to win three straight because Magic and Bird didn't. So you have all these legitimate sources.

and then David Stern laughed at it. He's like, forcing him to, what? Michael Jordan was the face of the league. What? So one of the reasons I stopped taking calls on this show, people no longer, people have a position, and if I give you facts and information, they have no interest.

So I'd rather bring on accredited journalists or athletes or somebody you can have a grown-up conversation with. The idea that any of these conspiracy theories have lasted. It's been denied by everybody. It doesn't make any sense. You got Michael Jordan training for baseball way in advance of that. Way before the murder of his father. Nobody can't. It's like there's just a percentage of people. They don't want to learn. They're incurious. They want to feel important. They have a goofy theory that people just roll their eyes at. I mean, Michael just, I mean, everybody just sort of, I mean, the late David Stern's just like, no, that's not what happened. I mean, the NBA,

frankly, was not as good when Michael left the first time, and it was not as good when Michael left the second time. He was that spectacular. So watch episode seven. It's very emotional. I'm not giving away anything, but it's worth your time. It's really terrific and really sad. And there's just a lot of stuff, and they just jammed a lot. Remember Jason Hare, I interviewed a couple weeks ago on my podcast, and I asked him,

what's your favorite episode? And he said, episode seven. So it is packed full. It is absolutely packed full. And I think you'll like it. Brandon Marshall is going to be joining us pretty quickly here. Longtime NFL receiver. NFL schedules come out tonight.

Now, I am going to release. So I have, I release schedules after, you know, I always say joy, I think grading drafts is stupid. Because who knows after the second draft, make of guys can play. So what I do is I wait for coaching changes after the season. then free agency and then the draft. And then I say, here's what I think the standings will be. And then we watch the schedules and we watch injuries and we give you, you know, more standings we predict.

And so I will today give you my all the new coaches, all the free agents and all the draft picks, here's my prediction on the standings. And then in a couple weeks, we'll look at here's the schedules and that'll, you know, I won't change it drastically, but I do think schedules. can matter especially new coach, new system, new quarterback, Cincinnati could be very interesting. The New York Giants could be very interesting. Well, he played 13 years in the NFL and half the time, six times he was a pro bowler, has great broadcasting talent and chops as well. It's always one of my favorite guys. He has a podcast out there. I am an athlete, an athlete's

raw and censored take on professional sports podcasts. And he had Roger Goodell as a guest. You know, it's interesting, Brandon, I've always loved having you on the show. a lot of Roger Goodell gets a lot of crap. But all I know is this, Brandon, since he's taken over the league, the league's more popular, it makes more money. He's had to deal with Colin Kaepernick situations, domestic violence situations. He's had to deal with a coronavirus. And every time I think to myself, boy, he's a good leader.

Do you think, when you interviewed him, did it change your perception of, of him pre-interview and post-interview. Yeah, well, you know what? I'm with you. I'm with you on that point that he is a good leader. But rightfully so, he should be getting his ass kick when it comes to, you know, the public perception because he hasn't done a good job of showing who he is. Like, this is the Roger Cadell that I know.

The one who jumped on my podcast and he hasn't shaved, he's in his, you know, his man case. This is what he should show. What he did for the draft, I think, was genius and I think, you know, took him to a whole other level. Embracing the booze, just being, just dressing it down. And I hit him up after the draft and I said, you need to continue this. This is one of the best moves you've ever made because when you see Roger Cadell, you always see him buttoned up. You don't see him talking about culture. You don't see him doing other things. because he is one of the best leaders I've ever been around, but now when you see him in this light,

you see him, you know, where it's relatable. And I absolutely love it. Yeah, I thought the draft was a home run. I thought it was very family-oriented, very human. I got to see players with their families. I loved it. I thought it was, I'm not saying it's better or worse than the previous stuff, but I love seeing the families.

Now, I got to throw this at you because you're an honest guy. So Jay Cutler got divorced. And I feel bad for Jay Cutler. He got divorced. Christine Cavalieri's beautiful and smart and ambitious. And they'll both find new love, whatever, blah, blah, blah. But Jay Cutler always had a reputation. And I know a buddy of mine's good friends with him.

And he's really, really difficult. You played with Jay. The Jay you know, was he difficult? Well, I'm going to be honest. I'm surprised me and Jay. Our marriages last this long. We're both difficult. That's why we didn't win a Super Bowl together because we couldn't just bring it all together.

You know, but, you know, that's his personal business. I wish them well. I've been around both of them a lot. They're both amazing people. But, yes, Jay Cutler is difficult. You know, for me, you know, it's like you just, when you get older, you learn, right? So there's a lot of things that you have to, you have to learn to love. It's not just love is different.

Love, you know, is ever changing when you're doing it with someone else. And I think, you know, for everyone out there, you know, especially men, alpha males, guys in our position, you know, you have to humble yourself and just do everything you can to just make that sacrifice daily. And I think that's where I've learned to get better. And I have a lot of work to do. So hopefully we all can learn from this. Yeah, and I wish Jay the best, too. I was talking more about his career. People have said this about Aaron Rogers.

They've said Aaron's great, but Aaron can be prickly. Aaron can be difficult as a quarterback. When you played with Jay as a player, not the personal stuff, did you find him off-putting at times? Yeah, I think, I think, yeah, I think that's, I think we've talked about that a bunch. Jay, Jay, Jay is Jay. What's that mean? To get, right?

And that's what makes him loved in a locker room. And that's also with, you know, where guys pushed back in a locker room with Jay is because it's either you love him or you hate him. Yeah. Brandon Marshall's joining me. He's got a new podcast out. So it's if you look at recent NFL history and you should be an expert at this, where you go in the draft helps a lot. you go to a dysfunctional organization, a Cleveland or a Cincinnati or a Miami, it's much tougher to succeed.

So you played with some really well-run organizations. Seahawks, Broncos are well-run organizations. Then you played with the Jets. Now, you did have a great year or two in New York. You had one great year. So you're saying that Jets aren't well-run? Well, here's a prime example. I think Sam Darnold's great.

But I think he's constantly having to overcome the Jets, their O-Line, a bad GM who got fired a new GM. I think Joe Burrell is going to struggle in Cincinnati. I don't like the owner. I think the division's tough. I don't like their roster. They don't win enough. Take me to your career, Brandon.

Did you notice big differences a Seattle to a jets or a Giants or a, you know, a Denver to a Miami? Yeah. So when I realized it was when I was traded from the Denver Broncos. to the Miami Dolphins. Denver Broncos, I was young. I was dumb. I didn't understand, you know, what being a pro was. I didn't understand what I had.

I didn't appreciate what I had. When I got to Miami, oh my gosh, when I talk about terrible, terrible, we were good in the locker room. I mean, you think about this, the Miami Dolphin. I was sitting in the office with Coach. Sparano when Jeff Ireland and the owner

was in Michigan or wherever they were in Stanford interviewing Harball and we're watching ESPN and I'm seeing this look on Coach's face like oh my gosh this really happening. How do you how does that happen at that level

so when you look at the Denver Broncos we didn't win in those four years we didn't win a Super Bowl but they ended up winning. Why? Because they are well-run. Joe Ellis, the team there, Joe Elway, they did a phenomenal job. The Miami Dolphin, why haven't they turned it around yet? I think Mr. Ross is passionate about success, but I don't think he's a football guy,

and I think he has a lot of work to do. He needs to get the right guys in there, which he may have right now, and we will see. The Jets, this is a shocker. The Jets are actually a well-run organization. it was one of the best experiences I've ever had as a player. Now, Woody, the only thing Woody needs to do is he needs to stop listening to the market in the media. Yeah. If he does that and lets the football guys work, man, they can turn this thing around.

They have a great opportunity. Definitely now more than ever because you got Tom Brady who's out of the division. It's wide open. Maybe it's not wide open because the Buffalo bills are so strong. I'm not sure. Did you feel the New York Giants were well run? You put me in the spot right now. I did not.

Why? I did not. I think they're great people. I think they're a great organization. But I don't think they're disruptive enough. I think there's a few organizations out there like the Chicago Baird, the New York Giants. Even at Pittsburgh Stillers, who it's all.

all about, it's all about, it's all about history. It's about who we were. Now, the Pittsburgh Steelers, they're great because they win, but in their, in its, they're rich in tradition, you know, they're super successful in what they do. They don't have a lot of turnaround, great leadership. But when you're not winning, the Chicago Bears, the New York Giants, when you're not winning, you have to change things. You have to be, be able to shift a little bit. They want you to wear the same shocks every single time. They don't want to change certain things. They want a certain guy. And I think that puts them in a box when the game is changing every year, when the culture of the kid is changing every year, when the culture of the coach

is changing every year. So I think, yes, they have great leadership, great people, but they're so rich in tradition and they want to preserve that so much that it handicaps them from actually competing today. If that makes any sense. No, Brandon, I think it makes, I think it's brilliant. This is Brandon, your classic example. They live in a box. And when you have, I'll give you an example.

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest. And so the University of Washington had a proud history. And I always argued they were trapped by it. Oregon had no history. So Phil Knight went in and said, we're going to have 100 uniforms. We're going to be crazy. We're going to blow up the stadium. and Oregon had no history to be beholden to.

And I think you're right. I think the Bears and the Giants and the Steelers sometimes, a lot of times, Brandon, they're trapped. They're absolutely trapped by their history. And I think it's a really good point. Now, I got it. But then you can go back to where we started. And that was the Cincinnati Bengals.

It's the same thing. He's so trapped in his old. ways like I don't know what it does he even want to win like I don't know like you have to evolve you have to change he's so stuck in how he used to do business in the 90s that it's hurting the team it's hurting the city and then you have Joe borrow you have if they can't if he doesn't change now this would be the the worst mistake he's ever made you have a guy that could be your top flight quarterback for the next 10 years. Do everything you can

to make it work. We'll see. As a former great player, when the Cowboys signed Andy Dalton, and they still haven't given Dak a contract, and they've given every good young player a contract, as a former player,

what is that saying about Dak and the Cowboys? What is the messaging you read? You know what it says? Well, one, nothing. you know, like what's going to end up happening, they're going to get the deal done. Dak is going to be the quarterback for the next 10, 12 years.

That's a fact. But I think if you just start peeling back those layers a little bit more, what you're going to see is that Dak may be playing really hard ball. He may be putting some stuff out there internally. It's like, listen, if I don't get this, I'm not coming in, right? So I think they could be prepping for a really, a class. So I think that's why they signed

Dalton. Now my question, though, is like, why, if you're Andy, why are you going there? Because I still, like, you're not, so now you're just going to, and I love Andy. I love him. He's a friend. But I'm like, man, you don't want to go to a team where you could potentially be the number one guy. Now, everybody's journey is different.

Everybody's strategy is different. But I would have liked to see Andy go somewhere and compete. Yeah. Well, you know, he's from Texas, House in Dallas with this virus. I kind of felt like he signed there for a year. You know, the viruses, you know, people are making decisions. I was talking to a recruiting coordinator in college football yesterday and he said kids don't want to leave their region this year. They want to stay close to home. If you were, let me ask you this now as a broadcaster,

if you were in the league right now, and let's say we continue to have declining numbers in the virus, but there is a second wave at some point in September, October. Would you want to play in the locker room as a team leader? Would you play if you knew there were still a chance you could the virus? The under 26 Brandon Marshall, yes. The, you know, over 26 Brandon Marshall, hell no. Hell no. I mean, it's not worth it. Like, we talked about this on our podcast, and Reggie Wayne, he spoke eloquently about it. Like, no, it's not worth it. You know, it doesn't matter who you are. This thing can drop you any moment. And I just don't think it's worth it. You know, so obviously there's a lot of gray out there.

We don't know what's going to happen. But I just find it difficult if there's another way that we continue to push forward in sports. You know, because I hate to say this, but, like, you know, there's some news with Earl, right? Yeah. Like, that's his personal business. But, like, you know, the only thing I think about is what are you doing? April 12th, what are you doing? What are we doing?

Like, I don't even want to go there. I'm going to stop. I'm going to stop. I'm going to stop. But I guess what I'm trying to say is, like, there's always going to be somebody, right? Like, let's say a couple months from now, that one guy that's going to be bringing in thoughts. You know, like, and you know what a thought is, calling? What?

I mean, I don't. It's like, you just got to Google it. But it's like, it's like, it's like. You know, it's not your girl. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. There's always going to be that one guy that's going to, you know, do something that could jeopardize the entire team. And I think that's the biggest concern for me is we all come together and say, we're going to do this.

But then you have to, like, really lock people in their rooms and doors. And I don't think that's possible. That's fair. Yeah, yeah, I don't want to comment on that Earl Thomas thing. Yeah, let's not comment on that. Yeah, my wife always said. I love Earl. I love Earl.

Yeah. I want everybody know I love Earl Earl's a great dude. I had an opportunity to play with him in Seattle. He's a great dude. Yeah. My wife always says, Brandon, don't go where you shouldn't go. Don't do what you shouldn't do. And so I don't.

There you go. Yeah, it is pretty good. There you go. There you go. Brandon Marshall, good talking to you. Thanks for having me big dogs. Appreciate it. Brandon Marshall.

Yeah, I mean, I got nothing to say, Earl. I wish him the very best going forward. That's a crazy story. I don't think I don't think I there's parts things are happening in the world I have no idea about sometimes I read stories like that story and I'm like people are doing things I don't even I don't even know what's going on I just go home I make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich I take naps I play with my dogs people doing things with their cousins and brothers and I mean I felt guilty I got a haircut the other day I felt guilty I wore a mask I felt guilty there's guys doing stuff out there crazy You young people, man, I'm telling you. I'm naps and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

That's as edgy as I get. I read that story. I was like, wow, that's a life. That's not in your wheelhouse call. That's not really in my wheelhouse. That is, there's never been a story that came out that was more out of my wheelhouse than that story. And I'm just, let's just move on. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m.

Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1. and the I Heart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations

with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross. you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you.

conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, 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.

Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds.

Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted.

this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the bar like, you go through a training camp with that Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court and you're going to get the bomb. So listen to Point Game on the IHeartRadio

app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. With everything going on, you're probably worrying more than ever. Check out MDrive Relax. Built to relieve stress. 50% off too. They're offering MDriveRlax at 50% off. Check it out. MDriveRlax.com.

I'm going to get it out top of the hour. I got to push back because Brandon Marshall was so good. I'm going to give you my post-coaching moves, post-reagency, post-draft. NFL predictions and then the schedule comes out tonight, which I'm a, yeah, I can change my mind. I won't change it drastically, but I will, I guarantee you there'll be a couple of teams that I change my mind on a couple of games. That's just the way it works. Here's Joy with the news.

No, no, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, Cam Newton needs a new team and the Patriots have an unproven starting quarterback, but it's not looking like Cam Newton will be heading up to New England anytime soon. According to Joseph Person of the Athletic, offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels, wasn't necessarily high on Cam when he had discussions with the Panthers about their head coaching vacancy. Now, a few days ago, there was a report that Cam Newton was not willing to accept a backup role. Ian Rappaport just reported that Cam wants to be a starter, but with no starting job available. He has not ruled out taking a backup job in the right situation. Oh.

That's actually significant news to me. I think I've been saying I think that the best situation for Cam Noon and for Pittsburgh is for Cam Noon to go to the Steelers. There's not going to be some big wave for Cam Noon to all of a sudden become the starter just because he goes there. And their backup situation is a disaster. And talked about what Glazer said yesterday. Ben's never really been a workout warrior and he's coming up a significant injury. We don't know what Ben is going to be. and if he does happen to get injured again,

do you really want to be in that same situation that you were in last year? Because they're always competitive. They were in the playoff conversation last year with Duck Hodges and Mason Rudolph. I think Pittsburgh is a great situation for Cam Noon, but I also like that he is willing to take a backup role, not because I think he is a backup quarterback.

I think he's a starter and he has a lot of great football left in him. But two things can be true. You can be a starter and the market can be saturated, which is a situation. There's a lot of team. Everyone has our starting quarterback, and if you don't have your starting quarterback, necessarily like the Patriots or the Jags, you're kind of in a conversation of what's your

long-term plan anyway. So it might not be beneficial for them to bring in Cam Newton. And backup situations can work out very well for you. We saw what happened with Teddy Bridgewater and Ryan Tannahill. Especially no camps. Offensive lines are rusty. Quarterbacks get hit more. Well, it's a temporary situation. Don't look at it as the future of your career. It's a temporary situation that's going to set you up for years to come. We've seen just last year that be a successful strategy for two quarterbacks. So the Bengals have high hopes that Joe Burrow will be the guide to turn the franchise around. And even though they took calls on offers for the first overall pick, they were always committed to keeping it to draft their quarterback. Bengals director of

college scouting, Mike Potts said we weren't moving off of that pick. I could have told you that a long time ago. And Duke Tobin, their director of player personnel, said we felt great about him and the fit for us and for him being here. It wasn't our opinion a good year to have the pick if you were to have it, to have a player like Joe is valuable to us. We feel great about it. Now we have to guide the new players through the offseason. Dolphins general manager, Chris Greer, did confirm that they spoke to the Bengals about the top choice, but it just appears that they never really, the Bengals never got an offer

that moved them enough to consider moving off of the top pick, which means that really, to me, the Dolphins were not willing to give up all of those picks or players to get Joe Burrow when they had to whether they felt strongly about at five. and they didn't end up moving off of a five to get to it, which is the best case scenario for the dolphins if that's who they really wanted all along. Yeah. I mean, the conversation would have been totally different, obviously,

if Tua hadn't been injured, whether he was the number one overall thing. If Burrow wasn't from Ohio, maybe it's different. But it's like LeBron. Ohio kid, bad organization. He's available. People like him. Cincinnati was trapped is the wrong word because Burroughs talented,

but sometimes you're just best taking the local kid. If you think it's a draw on talent, like Cleveland Cavaliers. If you thought Mello and LeBron were tied, just take the local kid. You know, it's just, it's, so if the local kid flourishes somewhere else, you'll never live that down.

If the local kid fails, you can always say, well, you know, Burrow, you know, everybody said he was number one. So. Yeah, no one's going to judge Cincinnati of Burrow. Well, I'll judge Cincinnati if it's Cincinnati's fault. But if Burrow, they put the pieces around him and he's not successful, no one's going to say you shouldn't have taken Joe Burrow.

You should have taken Tua. But you're right. Even if Tua had not gotten injured, if Cincinnati still had the top pick, I don't necessarily know that they would have gone with Tua. I still think they would have gone with Burrow because of the Ohio tie and obviously the way that the season finished. So Jimmy Garoppel took a lot of heat after the 49ers lost to Super Bowl this year. And his teammate, Richard Sherman, went on K&BR in San Francisco and defended his quarterback.

It's just barbershop talk. You know, it's just something to have a topic. I think it's foolish. You know, when you hear them blaming Jimmy, you know, Jimmy doesn't play defense. you know, we had a 10-point lead. We get the guy stopped in the game. You know, I think, you know, along with other leaders on team, you know, we would defend him vigorously because that had nothing to do with him.

I always thought it was brutal that we crushed Garoppolo because he missed one deep throw. Like, it's like time out. Mahomes had bad interceptions like in the playoffs, didn't he? Like, I thought the criticism of Garoppolo was so, it was so. He wasn't great. He went three of 11 for 36 yards. It's an interception. He didn't have a great fourth quarter, but good God, it's his first starting year,

and he gives you a lead against Patrick Mahomes entering the fourth in the Super Bowl. No, I think it's incredibly unfair, and it's very panicky to think that he's not the quarterback of the future. But somebody's got to lose, and the team that loses were very critical of. That's how it goes. And you get to the big game, big consequences to losing. Again, I think it's kind of absurd, the idea that it was even a conversation about possibly moving off of him for Tom Brady. I mean, all we talked about all season long was how great the 49ers were, and they were for sure going to the Super Bowl,

and they were by far the best team in league, and they had an incredible season, and so did Jimmy Jee. I mean they were in the Super Bowl, like you said, with a 10-point lead. So somebody's got to lose. That doesn't mean that you have to restructure everything. It comes down to one play sometimes. You make it or you don't. I don't think he's not the guy.

I didn't love his decision-making, and he obviously did not have a great fourth quarter, but just give it a little more time. Let us simmer. Let's just simmer a sauce simmer a little bit more. Yep, joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Hurd-Lie News. I'll give you my AFC and my NFC predictions top of next hour. Steve Smith at the NFL Network, Ravens, Panthers, unbelievable career, rival of Michael Irvin. He'll be joining us around the corner. Always interesting. Listen, Michael Lewis, who wrote my favorite sports book, Moneyball, the Big Short,

the blindside Michael Lewis fascinating guy great American writer he'll be joining us last hour too I love guests like that he's so smart be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific last night a blown call changed a game this morning the internet lost its mind

highlights are trending opinions are flying and nobody's telling you exactly what happened that's where sports slice comes in I'm Timbo every episode we're cutting through the noise Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience

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

Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about.

All healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game.

This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before.

And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us

on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. He's nice. Get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers,

why he got the ball. Like, you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

Get your free credit score card today, even if you're not a Discover customer, clout your FICA credit score. Discover.com slash credit scorecard limitations apply. Steve Smith, 16 NFL seasons, a five-time Pro Bowl, or he'll be part of the NFL schedule release on the NFL network tonight. I'm into the schedule release. I think schedules matter.

I do, but, you know, Steve, let me ask you, do schedules matter. Did you wait for it? Did you care? What did you look for? What do they mean? Well, good afternoon here on the East Coast, and yes, the schedules do matter. The way the league is doing it, they're doing it tonight at 8 o'clock on Info Network. You know, host by Rich, Eisen, Colleen Wolf, Kurt Warner, Steve Marriucci, Steve Weiss,

Dionne Sanders, and a lot of other guests as well. And what I love about looking at the schedule is it gives you a peek into what your season can look like. Right? When we saw the season, when we see the schedule, teams break it up each game in a quarter. you know and there are games in those quarters that you know you ain't got a chance right just based on that team and then there's times where you go okay we can squeak this one out and then let's just say a team like buffalo right let's just say um you're playing buffalo on a Sunday night prontine game and you're in Buffalo and it's late in the season that defense is is a slob knocker

They cause turnovers. They hit you in the mouth. They get a lot of pressure, right? They're constantly in your face. Well, all of a sudden, you're playing them in December and it's cold, physical team. No one's 100% in the December. Yeah. All of a sudden, man, and you're away.

So now you've been sitting at home all day in the cold, sitting in Buffalo, in the cold versus at home, where you can maybe get away from football for a little bit, say you're playing a Monday night game. after meetings, I go to my school, my kids lunch just to get away and let my mind not get revved up too soon before the seven and a half hours before the football game starts. So all of that stuff plays a part. Yeah.

No, I think it does. I think this would know TAs this year. I think certain teams like a Cincinnati with a rookie quarterback, if you don't get much of a fall camp, you know, I don't think that helps you any. I think veteran players this year because of no OTAs. I think like Russell Wilson, it's going to help him. I just do. Yes.

I just do. By the way, you're in Carolina. I've always been a huge fan of Teddy Bridgewater. I was never a huge fan of Cam. He wears me out. But I think he's talented. Are you shocked they didn't keep Cam? Well, I'm not supposed to have a relationship with people,

but a lot of people talk to me. So I have a lot of information with all that being said is the lie would be, yes, I'm shocked. The truth is no, I'm not. And the reason I say that is because I talk to a lot of people, but also understand what this team is. And here's what I mean. Matt Ruhle had a seven-year deal. Remove the money part. Yeah.

Seven years says, we're in this for the long haul. We understand it. Mr. Tapper is a a hands fund manager who understands long, passive income

over time, understands that your money must work for you even when it's sleeping. So in the morning it may be it may be blood on the streets

but later or a couple of days later it may get cleaned up. So understanding the long process of a passive income is income generating over a long period of time.

So you have to be patient, real estate, passive income stocks. You can't get a stock market trying to get a fast cash. And so you got a new coach who wants to implement some of the stuff he wants. And if you don't believe me, how does the guy have seven picks and he picks all defensive players? Yeah. He's filling the void of areas he believes needs to be filled up. Defense, young, cheap.

Yep. He utilized offense through free agency. meaning I called it patchwork, not anything wrong with Teddy Bridgewater, just more of saying Teddy Bridgewater is not going to be the quarterback there for the next nine years. He's not a spring chicken.

He has a little bit of miles on his spodometer and some injuries, right? And so then you have an officer line who really is trying to get fixed. They've traded, put some guys in. So there's a long process. in which they're starting this process now. They're warning the fans, even though you may not read the writing on the wall.

I don't want to say rebuilding their rehabbing, right? Yeah. They're rehabbing. They're not removing the cabinetry completely. They're sanding it down, stripping away all the bad parts that they deem or bad. I'm not saying Cam is bad. They deem that they can. do it without and repainting it.

And that's how rehabbing construction kind of goes. It's a process. You know, I- Yeah. Steve Smith joining us. Alex Smith, 17 surgeries on his leg. I almost wish you. It's just too much. I'm going to be nervous watching him.

You actually broke your leg, I think, in 2004. You came back, had a huge year in 2005. Was there a moment that you? you thought, this is brutal. Several. And did you ever think about retirement? I never thought about retirement. I wanted to know how much longer.

So I did in September, I was not completely able to walk without either a boot, crutches, or aircast until late December. And then the pool work I was doing was in January, February. I wasn't really feeling good, good until training camp. So that's September, October, November, December, January, February, March, April, May, June, July. So you're talking about 10 months. Think about it. Ten months. Do you know how many times I question myself at 10 months?

Do you know how many times I said, I don't know how this is going to work out? How much doubt I had, how much negative talk, how many tears I have? You know, it's like anything else, just like we're talking about, you know, the Carolina family. It's a process. Did you ever worry about getting hit once you did play? Yes. So at the time I was with Reebok, and so I had my shoes constructed. The guys used to make fun of me.

I wore high tops. I wore literally like the old school converse high tops. It was Reebok, but I wore shoes that went up to the top of my surgically repair because I broke my tibia or fibia, and I tore the little. ligaments in the inside and outside of my ankle. So they had to repair the ligaments as well on top of the brake. So that's what you call a hot mess, right? I had a lot going on. Steve. Wow, that's a, you've had, you just had a great career, man. You know what? It's, and you're a tough guy. So if you had questions, I mean, I look at that Alex Smith stuff, and I think,

think to myself, dudes made a hundred- I had to turn it off. I can't watch it, Steve. I can't watch athletes. I've told Joy this. I can't watch pro athletes get hurt. I can't. I just, I just, I can't.

I can't watch the thysmen. I can't watch Alex Smith. So you couldn't watch it because you've been through it and you know how brutal it is. Man, you know who I couldn't watch? I couldn't watch Gordon. Oh God, Gordon Hayward. Oh, Gordon Hayward. When they showed that, I almost puked.

I'm like, why are we, why are we, why do we? we need to re-watch watching a man fracture and tear his stuff out of the socket? Oh, God. You know, it was bad, but, you know, some folks like it. That's why we got doctors. I can never be a doctor. I got a Belgian Malinwall right now, and it's a female, and she's in heat. And let me tell you, brother, I am squeamish, squeamish dealing with her right now.

So you don't like blood? Yeah. You don't like blood. I don't like blood either. I cut my finger in ninth grade. I still have a scar on my hand. I passed out. I can't take blood.

No, I hate to say it. I love you, bro, but I'm not soft like that. I'm pretty soft, Steve. I'm not going to lie to you. I'm just a talking head. All right. Steve Smith, NFL Network tonight. Love your stories.

Good talking to you. Appreciate it. All right, ma'am. I ran into him one night in Manhattan Beach. I was at a restaurant with my wife. Steve Smith walked in. He just got off a flight from, I think, South Korea. We sat there and chopped it up, and he's a tough guy.

He's a tough guy. Mother's Day is Sunday, but given the current situation, many mothers and grandmothers will not be able to see their loved ones to celebrate together. But Lowe's is doing something very special. Donating $1 million worth of flowers to moms and grandmas in more than 500 senior housing facilities around the country. Loz is partnering up with Uber, deliver those baskets in a contactless way to keep everybody safe.

Lowe's targeting coronavirus hot zones, New York, Chicago, Boston, Houston, Miami, Seattle. Join us in the herd and thanking Lowe's for giving back to their community again and making for a special Mother's Day. So I have Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball, The Blind Side, the Big Short. Big Short was a good movie. I've watched that a couple times. I've watched Moneyball. I mean, you know, it's funny. You don't think I'm a hockey fan, but Miracle.

and people don't think I like baseball and hockey, but my favorite two movies of all-time sports movies are Moneyball and Miracle. I don't like football movies. I don't like basketball movies. Baseball makes way better movies, and I can watch that scene with Herb Brooks, Kurt Russell, in the locker room,

giving the speech to the team. I've watched it a thousand times. I get emotional every time. I'm going to watch it during the break. Those are your two favorite sports movies? Easily, not even close. Field of Dreams was interested. because I like Kevin Costner.

You don't like remember the Titans? Not really. Tennessee Titans bore me. Remember the Titans bores me? It's something about him. I do like Kevin Costner. My wife bumped into him last summer. So she said he was very nice.

So we like Kevin Costner. Feel the Dreams was very good. I'll give you that one. Hour three next. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.

Ah, here we go. go hour three fill in time NFL schedule tonight this is the hurt wherever you may be and however you may be listening i heart radio fox sports radio and fs one i have michael lewis in 15 minutes wrote the best sports book in my life time money ball i just watched go watch the movie trailer right now on youtube it's so good it's so good it is such a good book it is such a good sports movie. I love everything about it. Everything. It's funny. It's whatever it is. Baseball makes for better books. Football makes for better television. You know, that is what it is. Hockey, miracle. There's been a lot of good hockey movies. Slapshot, Miracle, a lot of good hockey

movies. I don't think it's great on TV. Makes good movies. Baseball's not great on TV all the time. I like the World Series and the playoffs, but baseball makes for good books. Maybe it's because the long and there's a lot of inside stories. I mean, I have no idea why. But God is Moneyball good. Go YouTube. We're all looking for stuff to watch. Go watch after the NFL schedule release tonight.

This weekend, watch Moneyball with Michael Lewis. Brad Pitt's obviously that thing. It's so good. And you know what I love about it? It's, it basically they're looking for solutions. They have no budget. The Oakland A's have no budget. They have no money.

And so they're like, all right, how do we win? and we're going to turn the sport on its ear. And now the sport's totally driven by analytics. But when you're the first people to do things, it changes. You know, you get a lot of blowback. And so Billy Beat and the A's had no money and a lot of blowback. And they changed, I mean, they were some of the first adapters. Now, people say, well, they didn't win a World Series.

You can't. They had no money. They were getting to the playoffs. It's like they just didn't have any money. The A's still don't have any money. But Michael Lewis in 15 minutes. That's Joy Taylor. Steve Smith, Brandon Marshall.

Boy, they were honest today. They were. Yeah. I was going to ask Steve Smith about Earl Thomas. I thought I'd stay out of that space. He probably should. Yeah, probably should. So I am now going to predict.

Let me make sure I got this right, so I don't screw it up. I think I threw something away, guys. I can't find it. Oh, there we go. There we go. So I, season ends and a bunch of coaches get fired and hired, like Washington, right? And then you have your free agent, period, and then you have your draft. And then you also have your schedule release.

And then you have camp and some guys get hurt. And so I could sit and never, you know, make no prediction until right before the season. But I do believe once I get the coaches in, once I get the free agency in, and once I get the draft in, you can kind of predict what's going to happen. I think the variations of the standings will be small. I do think somebody tonight, so I'm going to give you my AFC and my NFC standing predictions pre-schedule release. And my gut feeling is, I'll make some moves.

Not drastic, but some. So you want to go AFC first? All right. So AFC East, Bills, Jets. tie at 9 and 7, but Bill's beat the Jets twice and win the division. Dolphins third at 7 and 9, Patriots 7 and 9. Patriots have no weapons. Quarterback never taken a meaningful snap, no weapons. They lost their two best linebackers.

They're kicker. They haven't replaced them. Rookie tight ends. Tight ends tend to take a while in the NFL. So Bill's, Jets, Dolphins, Patriots. AFC North, Ravens win 10 and 6. Brown second nine and seven. I've moved the Steelers down to seven and nine,

Bengals five and 11. I guess the story here would be I have Cleveland over Pittsburgh. I think they have better components. I think I don't trust Big Ben's offseason workout regimen, as Jake Laser pointed out yesterday. And I'll probably look at the schedule tonight. The Steelers are one of those teams I can move up to eight and eight, nine, and seven based on the schedule.

And Bengals, they're five and eleven. AFC South. I think the Colts reclaim it with Philip Rivers. I think for a year he works. Titans pull back. I think the Ryan Tanny Hill stuff all worked perfectly at won't this year. Titans, too noisy, too many missteps in the front office. Pull back at 7 and 9.

Jags a couple of wins, but they're tanking. 2 and 14. AFC West, I think is very competitive. Chiefs to win, Bronco, second, Chargers and Raiders. I love the Chargers roster. But this is a quarterback coach league. And Anthony Lynn and Tyrod Taylor in a division that's got Mahomes and Andy Reid, I think they're outgunned.

And I got to tell you something, I thought Vic Fangio did a really good job in the second half of the season last year. I thought Denver really came alive and I love Denver's offseason. Chargers rounded out 5 and 11. I'll watch their schedule and see. I think the division's too tough for them. I don't think they're good enough defensively to compete. The Raiders 5 and 11

So my AFC playoff picture Bill's win the east Ravens win the north Colts win the south Chiefs win the west and then the wild card teams are Denver, Cleveland and the Jets and the NFC

Eagles win the division two games over the Dallas Cowboys at 8 and 8 Giants 6 and 10 Redskins 5 and 11 Redskins defense is interesting but I don't have any idea what they're going to look like a quarterback new coach, new coordinator

new staff, no OTAs, virus year. NFC North, I think Minnesota had a better roster overall than Green Bay last year, and I think they had a much, much more influential draft. I think Minnesota had one of the better drafts than the Packers did. Bears 8 and 8, quarterback situation, who knows, I don't buy Matt Patricia 5 and 11. NFC South, I think the Saints getting Malcolm Jenkins and Emmanuel Sanders was really smart, veteran smart players who come in fit very easily. I think Tom Brady gets Tampa after a Rocky September to 9 and 7.

I do not think Carolina's in a rebuilding mode. I think Carolina is going to score a bunch of points with Teddy, Teddy Bridgewater, who's a very good distributor. And I think they drafted all defense. I don't think they're in a total rebuild mode. I think Carolina is going to be okay. Atlanta, I don't know how I feel. I'll watch the schedule.

They feel 500 to me. I have them at 7 and 9. NFC West, Seattle, 12 and 14. pretty ambitious, but I think Seattle and 49ers are the class of the division. I think Seattle last year was on fire. They beat San Francisco. Then they fell apart in the backfield. Or they think they would have ended up in the NFC championship.

And quite frankly, I think they could have ended up in the Super Bowl. I undervalued them last year. I'm not doing it again. Rams 8 and 8. Don't have any depth on a bunch of new coaches. Cardinals 6 and 10. They'll be a fun 6 and 10. We'll see how Isaiah Simmons works.

I love watching Kyler Murray. So in the NFC, I have the east. Eagles winning the east, the Vikings, the North, the Saints, the South, the Seahawks winning the West. And my wildcard teams, 49ers are going to be a heck of a wildcard team, Tampa Bay and Green Bay. And there you go. And I have the right to change my mind. Right to change my mind. I did see this. Speaking of baseball, baseball came out with a proposal to start the season July 1st. The headline says best case scenario, which that's the best case scenario? Like you could start at August 1st?

It's incredibly confusing because according to this, baseball wants to play teams in their home stadiums, not like Florida and Arizona. So the best case scenario is July. So let's say you go to August 1st. You're going to be playing baseball outdoors in Cleveland and Pittsburgh and Cincinnati and St. Louis. in November and December and January? Now, I've said this for years. Baseball is confusing to me.

There's the unwritten rules part, and nobody agrees on them. The American League has the D.H. The National League doesn't. I cannot believe that the NBA Eastern Conference and Western Conference would play by separate rules. If you stare at a home run long enough, they throw 100 mile an hour fastball at your chin. There's a way to play the game,

even though nobody's quite sure exactly what that way to play the game is, and I think 162 games in 2020 is ridiculous. They did get rid of the September call-ups, which I always thought was the strangest thing in the world, that you could win rookie of the year, and it wouldn't actually be your rookie year. They finally just came to terms and said that's ridiculous. I think this story, what's fascinating about baseball,

is not a sport because of strong union representation. It is not a sport that historically has been great with change. And they're going to have to make sudden and swift moves, and I don't think it plays in the baseball strength. I'm very confused by this. So they want to play in all these cities, but they're starting in eight weeks. The best case scenario is July 1st.

I don't know how, I don't know how many games you can play. I mean, you want to be done, right? July, September. you want to get playoffs by October. It gets cold in America. It starts raining. I don't understand that. I don't know how you play baseball in all the cities and start July 1st,

and you'd have to play like 60 games, 75 games. So it's confusing. I'm fascinated to watch how baseball transitions through this. Football has always been so good, good at evolving and adapting quickly. And I don't know why that. is but the sensitive the sensibility the DNA of the NFL has always been changed I said a couple years ago they changed the rule during the Super Bowl just what they do it's just what they do baseball does not it's got it's got its history and it's lore and it's strong unions so

the latest proposal confuses me they want to play in all the cities do you want to play in New York I don't know I don't know we'll wait and see I work for Fox we have baseball I hope we get it. Michael Lewis, a noted author, Moneyball, Blindside, Big Short, great book, great movie. Coming up 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 IHeard Radio app. This Mother's Day, 1-800 Flowers.com, limited delivery windows, gifts, bouquets, arrangements, order today, 1-800flowers.com, enter the code herd. Michael Lewis is somebody I get maybe once twice a year, a noted author, podcast host,

many New York Times bestselling books. Many of his books have been adapted to movie form. Blindside, Moneyball, the Big Short, all nominated for Academy Awards. I just said about 15 minutes ago, Moneyball may be my favorite sports movie ever, and it is my favorite sports book. And I know some of you think I don't love baseball,

but I grew up as a minor league baseball announcer. That was my first sort of introduction to broadcast. but it just so happens in my space on my platforms, the NFL's king. And Michael Lewis has a new podcast. Before I get to that, I want to introduce him. You know, Michael, I was saying during the break that for some reason, NFL works on TV, but baseball works in books and in movies. Not to put you on the spot, but why is that?

Because I'm drawn to baseball books, but football on TV. You'd rather read about baseball and watch football. Yes, absolutely. I don't know why that is. Yeah, you know, it's really true that when I, they're trying to write a football book, the opposite is true, too. You don't want to write a football book

because you can throw it inside of a stadium of people watching a football game and they'll have no interest. So why is that? I think there are a couple reasons. One is the pace of the game lends itself to literature, that it's slow. Yeah.

But then the second thing is the connection to history. Yes. It's just sort of like baseball, you know, baseball is selling not just the game, but the history of the game. Whereas football, you know, it's there, basketball, it's there. But that's not really what's being sold. What's being sold is the excitement of the game. Yeah.

So I think those two things, but it's totally true. Like you write a baseball book and you have a built-in audience of like 50,000 people who will read every baseball book. Well, Michael, you never turn on a sports radio host. Nobody brings up Red Grange. Nobody. Our Jim Thorpe. Never. Not in my...

But if you talk baseball, Mickey Mantle is fascinating. Yeah, that's exactly right. Yeah. And it's... So the... And I think... So maybe the other thing is... You can sort of imagine the baseball players from the 1930s competing on the field

with the baseball players today. Yes. You can't really imagine the football players from the 1950s actually being competitive on the field today. Oh, no, Bob Gibson and Sandy Kofax would get people out today. Yeah. No question. Yeah. But I'm not sure how Bob Lilly would do.

Maybe he'd be fine. Maybe he would be fine, and I just don't know. But I think you just don't see, the game just, the other games have been allowed to change and in a much more dramatic way. You know, it's interesting. When you wrote Moneyball, it probably did not help the A's, because you gave away the secret sauce. And when I read the book and watch the movie, I think, ooh, you gave away your secrets. Was Billy Bean concerned about that? You know what he said, when I said to him after I was done, because I didn't bring it up until I was done, I said, you know, I thought you were going to be upset for that reason.

And he looked at me and he said, you don't. don't think anyone in baseball is really going to read your book. He said, we've been doing this for like eight years, and it's all as plain as day, and nobody cares. So nobody reads books in baseball. None of the people who work in baseball, he said. And he was kind of right about that. It wasn't, it wasn't like existing management that read the book and went, oh, they're right, and I'm wrong. That's not how it worked. But owners got very irritated when they saw that there was a better way to spend their money. And so it did, but to the point of whether it actually kind of screwed up the A's,

it was happening, it's going to happen anyway. The Red Sox were already onto it. And if anything, it just sort of made it move a little faster. I don't think the A's were going to keep their secrets for much longer. You know, I've said that I'm not sure Sabre metrics over time are helping baseball as a television product. for instance, I miss the cat and mouse of stolen bases. I don't like defensive shifts. As a TV product, I want to see Bryce Harper, handsome kid, big head of hair, on second base,

camera shots back and forth. The game now is strikeouts and home runs. And I wonder sometimes, Michael, if the analytics have not been good for the television product of baseball. So I think you're absolutely right about that. And I think that's just an accident because I don't think it's true. to say that like analytics generally make sports less watchable? Because look at basketball. What have analytics done there? It's created this much more of a run-and-gun kind of situation.

More skill, yeah. Much more fun to watch. I think basketball is getting more fun to watch. Yes, I agree. And that's driven by analytics too. So it's not that the analytics are inherently boring, but it's true that the analytics in baseball lead to an even more ponderous game. right it's sort of like the secrets that are revealed by by data in baseball is everybody should move even less than they are Michael I've Tom Perducci and I have talked about this I don't see I don't like defensive shifts Michael because my takeaway is this you can't sit in the crease in hockey you can't stand in lane in basketball and the NFL doesn't let you to move all over the place you know there's certain offensively there's some choreography yeah but in baseball they just go sit where you'll want and stand. It's like, no, no, no, no. I don't believe my second baseman should be able to be a right fielder. Well, you see, you're very wedded to the past here, right? Because you like the idea. But in addition, it really is true that it's sort of like the way it's drifting is

trying to minimize the amount of human motion. And which exciting is motion, like the stolen, as you say, the stolen base is gone. So that, but so you, you know, I don't have a really strong view about whether you should come down on the rules committee and say, you're going to have to, we're going to force you to play stupid. Even though you know it would be smarter to do that, we're going to force you to do this. I think you'd have trouble. I don't know. Give it a whirl.

Well, it's interesting during this virus. I am fascinated by baseball, which has been a thinking man's game, but there is a certain rigidity to the unions in the process. you're asking a league. The NFL and the NBA have come out with, I mean, the NBA at one point changed its ball and didn't tell the players. These sports are revolvers. Basketball audience tends to be young, you know, techie, social media. NFL has always had an underdog mentality.

Even today, they feel like they're playing catch-up. So they're very good. It's all about business. Change, change, change, adapt the rules. Baseball is about its history, it's unions, its lore. How do you think during this virus, the rigidity of the sport being forced to make drastic changes to get this season in. Do you think they will?

Yes. And I think because for some time now, they have a sense they're falling behind the other leagues. And I think that the leadership, especially in basketball, has been, I get the sense that Adam Silver is driving things in a funny way. That the other people running the leagues are looking at him and saying he's kind of the model. and I think that what it does with this moment does is it gives the baseball leadership an excuse to do things differently. You know, there's always this fear of like outraging the fans. And now you know, now you can really do almost anything

and people will say it's okay because of the moment. And the other thing is when you flip on a baseball game when they eventually happen, compared to how most of us are living our lives, it will seem unbelievably kinetic. be like, oh, my God, how exciting. Yeah. You know, I was thinking of this. Billy Bean was friends with the Arsenal coach, wasn't he?

The English Premier League team, the Arsenal coach? I don't know, but it would make sense because he's all over soccer. And I don't, again, I could be throwing you out with no life preserver here. Does soccer have an analytical kind of growth model? Are they dealing? Because I'm seeing it in the NFL. I'm seeing it, you know, in the NFL and football in general, put your best athlete at quarterback in basketball, mid-range jumper out, baseball, home run strikeouts.

Have you ever heard, is there a new soccer analytic or saber metric driving the sport? All I know is that there are people who are doing the analysis. I just don't know. I don't know. I don't know who's taking it and using it. But look who's buying soccer teams, right? I mean, Billy Bean's part owner of two or three of them. So presumably, yes.

Yeah. Michael Lewis joining us. He has a podcast against the rules with Michael Lewis. Now, season one was about referees in American life. Yep, we talked about it. Yes, yes. Now, season two is about the rise of coaches. So in one episode, you talk about the bloodless coach.

Now, I'm told here it has something to do with Moneyball. Explain to the audience what a bloodless coach is because that's season two of your podcast. Well, so most of the season is not about the bloodless coach. but there is an episode about the rise of science and the use of data in coaching, which you see, and it's not just in sports. And the season is not just about sports. But there was a wonderful book called The MVP Machine, which came out last year,

which is kind of showing the way baseball coaching has very recently just changed pretty dramatically. And it's gone from being a bunch of guys who played the game who kind of like, kind of talked to you and made you feel good, to people actually analyzing data about, you know, the speed of your arm and, you know, the trajectory of your swing and kind of, kind of deconstructing baseball players and building them back in a way, using data. And the kind of person who's doing this is not someone necessarily even played the game. It's sort of like the geekification of coaching.

And the effects have been pretty remarkable. I mean, we talked to, I mean, I talk, you know, pitchers who walk into a lab and come out with six or seven miles an hour on their fastball. So the question I was asking is like, because it was moneyball, a question was it wasn't, it wasn't just baseball, right? It was like, this is happening in baseball. Where else might it happen? We actually take it, but we go from sports and go into like sales pitches. Like if you're a salesman now at a big company, there's some chance your call is being analyzed in all kinds of ways, and you're getting data about what was effective and what was not, and then you build that back into the next sales pitch.

So it's sort of like it is the extension of the money ball mentality into coaching, which just it took a long time to happen. I mean, that was the one part of baseball. When I finished money ball, it was really true, as the authors of the MVP machine put up. point out that the front office had applied these methods to the selection of players, but they hadn't applied to the development of players. And that's what's happening now. But can all players be coached? Well, all players, you know, it's a great question whether people will respond to it or not.

But when you show kind of dramatic results, athletes tend to grab it, right? So I think that this kind of coaching, unlike the kind of coaching where you're just kind of got to take my word for it, is much more likely to be adopted. So I think generally, yes. Yeah. Michael Lewis is joining us, author and noted podcast, Hote, multiple New York Times selling books. You know, you can dive deep or you can do, you have macro views of the world. And that's one of the reasons I think people appreciate you. And I find fascinating in this pandemic.

First of all, big states with lots of space appear to be less punitively hit. You know, dense housing, multi-generational living globally can be tougher. How do you pivot? Big macro, this is a thinking man's question to you. How do you pivot from death to the economy and do it with sensitivity? Because we've got 32 million people to file for unemployment. Those numbers are, even compared to post-9-11, unbelievably daunting. How do you do it delicately?

Do you have to understand there's backlash? How do you lead discussions as a commissioner or CEO going from death to rebooting or restarting the economy? Well, our country has made one huge mistake. And sort of the unwillingness of federal leadership to centralize the problem has meant that testing. The way you pivot in a smart way is you find out where the virus is and you isolated in a much more nuanced way than we're doing it now. A lot of people go back to work because they can. And the problem is we have 30,000 new cases of this thing every day and people don't know who has it or who's about to get it. And so when you open up the economy, as we're doing now or slowly, which you're essentially doing it with the same lack of information that you had when you locked it down.

And it's really a shame that we wasted these couple of months not dramatically testing the population. That's how you do. The easy answer was the best solution was you find out where the virus is and how it moves. And then you don't have to ask so many hard questions. a lot of people, you know, out of their houses. What you do now, I don't have an answer. I mean, I tell you what's going to happen is that people are bored with being in home and they need their jobs.

And so everybody's going to kind of start going back to work and there's going to be carnage. So there's no delicate way to do it. I mean, I think we're going to yo-yo now between like fear of the disease and economic need. Yeah, the guilt of not working. And what that creates, by the way, massive unemployment increases poverty, generational poverty. Now, it's funny. I saw a story today where people confirmed that masks help. And I thought, we're just figuring that out. I know. Well, this is the thing, right? We have not used, we have not used the tool of science as well as we could have used the tool of science. Now, that's changing, I think, actually. I think what's happening is that the society's starting to compensate for the absence of leadership

and just kind of taking matters into its own hands. I've been working on a wonderful story that I'm playing out in pieces in Bloomberg News about the Chan Zuckerberg Bio Hub, which is in San Francisco, where they just turned, a researcher named Joe DeRisi just turned the lab into a coronavirus testing lab inside of three weeks. and he's all of a sudden got, you know, he can process 3,000 tests a day, and he can shine this flashlight anywhere he wants. Like, where is this thing? Where is the virus and how do we isolate it?

And that kind of thing we're going to see a lot more of, I think. So I think we're going to bounce, but it's just such a shame that it wasn't. We're like a poorly coached team right now. That's what it feels like. We're like a losing team, and we're losing not because we don't have talent, it's because we're poorly coached. Yeah. All right.

Michael Lewis is his name, author, podcast host. The podcast is Against the Rules with Michael Lewis. We don't get you enough. You're a very busy person. I would love, when does your article come out that we could read? Well, the first piece of it. It's just, it's a series in Bloomberg News, appeared like 10 days ago.

And the next one will be tomorrow, and then there'll be another one a week from now. They're a learning machine, and I'm learning with them. All right. Thank you so much, Michael. All right, Colin. Thank you. Good stuff. Let me read this real quick here.

Before I go, Joy. Mother's Day 1-800 flowers limited delivery 1-800 flowers.com enter the code herd H-G-R-D, bouquets, and Mother's Day gifts. Here's Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

So Nick Saban coached first round picks, Henry Ruggs, and jury Judy at Alabama. Yes, he did. And he said on NFL network that both receivers are great. It just depends on what skill you're looking for. I think receivers are a little bit like a basketball. You know, you got a point guard, you got a two guard, you got a swing forward, you got a power forward. They're all different, but they're all very critical to being successful as a team.

So if your personal preference was to have a speed receiver, then Henry Ruggs is probably as good as it gets. If you wanted somebody who a little more finesse type player, great slot receiver, good option route runner, then you probably would favor Jerry Judy. in their own style of play. Both guys are exceptional. So it really was just a matter of personal choice. Both ended up where they should have. Henry Ruggs ran a 427-40 on task at the Combine,

and he ended up with the Raiders, the 12th overall pick. Derek Carr said he thought that Ruggs was his number one ride receiver in the draft. Honestly, the concept of running a 4.2740. Oh, come on. It's a cheetah. It just doesn't make sense. sense. Did you see, I mean, when you see a 40 run that fast,

it's, it's, I'm always, it's remarkable. Like, you have to, you have to have such unbelievable technique. Beyond the dynamic, the ability to explode. But the, it's just, you know, it's like Olympic sprinting. That's an Olympic sprinter time. So much of Usain Bold

is this perfect form and this perfect start. Every movement makes you slower or faster how you hold your arms, how you hold your hands. Yes, he's an incredibly, incredibly fast player. And Jerry Judy obviously went 15th to the Broncos. Speaking of the Broncos, the Broncos brought in Pat Shermer as a new offensive coordinator this year, but Drew Locke doesn't think that the virtual offseason is slowing down his learning process.

He already credits having one year in the league with helping him pick up the new offense quickly. He said there's similar carryover from the last one to where you can pocket that. You don't necessarily have to study as much because you've already got that. mindset down. But even the newer stuff I'm getting taught, it's easier for me to learn because I've found the way that fits me best as far as learning a new offense goes. Picking this one up has happened, I'd say 10 times as quick as I did the first time. And that would make sense because you already have experience in the league. I think it's going to be harder for rookie quarterbacks coming in who haven't studied NFL tape, who don't know how to pick up an NFL offense yet.

those rookies dealing with the virtual off-season program as opposed to actually being in the building and being on the field with their respective teams is going to be a little bit more difficult. I'm with you. I'm very interested in what the Broncos are doing this year. I think they're going to improve tremendously. And I'm excited to watch Drew Locke as the guy. Big arm, little reckless.

You know, there's obviously, he's NFL talent. Is the NFL mature? Is the NFL disciplined? The talent thing's there for him. I'm just not sure. he lets a lot of it just go. He's just a letter rip guy. Well, he's very young.

So, you know, he's going to have to implement this new system. And like you said, just kind of tighten it all up a little bit. Yes, that's a good way to put it. He needs to tighten it up. He's very loose. Yeah. So the Warriors had an incredible run, winning three titles and five straight trips to the NBA finals. But after Kevin Durant left, many believe the team's dominance in the NBA was done.

Clay Thompson has already been out for a while as he rehab. to Torn ACL and in a short documentary by Kaiser Permanente on his recovery, he spoke about how he feels when people say the warrior dynasty has run its course. It just kills me inside. I see these other teams. So many talking heads and some of my peers saying the dynasty is over. They had a great run. I have so much more to give this game.

But patience definitely builds character. Very dramatic. Yes. But look, I don't think. that the Warriors are going to be irrelevant, but the NBA is going to look a lot different over the next couple years. It's not the same

situation. Losing Kevin Durant is very significant. I don't, I'm not doubting that the Warriors aren't going to retool, but, you know, he's, he's one-one-a best player in the league when he's healthy. So I know Kevin Durant's kind of been out of sight, out of mind. It's not out of the realm of possibility that

the Warriors may not make it back to the finals. Again, with Steph, Clay, and Draymond. I'm not saying they're going to be done. They're going to be irrelevant and they're not going to be competitive, of course. But there's a reason why Kevin Durant went there.

There's a reason that they wanted him there. Yeah. The Warriors got a break. This is like they're just rebooting. Everybody got hurt. And it's the season that goes away. It'd be like if the NFL didn't have a season, New England would be like, oh, what do you know?

You were able to retool. It didn't have to be bad for a year. Right. Didn't have to get criticized. Yeah, to get crushed. Yeah, I mean, the Warriors in a weird way got a little bit of a scheduling break where, you know, whereas LeBron,

this is not good at all for LeBron James. Well, they're just the two franchises in completely different situations. Yeah, enjoy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. Great baseball writer, Ken Rosenthal,

joins us next. The very latest on baseball's coming back, I think it's going to be fascinating to watch them. They have Korean baseball now. that they can use some examples. That's a huge advantage. Major League Baseball, to me,

gets to watch Korean baseball and go, okay, here's what to do, here's what to not, here's where the masks are, here's where the seating is. Ken Rosenthal 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 IHeard Radio app. Ken Rosenthal, Fox Sports Baseball writer and senior writer of the athletic, which is just terrific, has been kind enough to join us today.

We've got some questions about baseball. I read a story this morning and it kind of confused me. It insinuated July 1st was not kind of the drop dead date. It was the best case scenario. And then I'm confused if baseball is not willing to play at individual sites, they want to all go to their own stadium and you're playing into November. I'm a little lost. So, Ken, thanks for joining us.

Are the top players this morning do you believe on board to have a season? Yes, no question about that, Colin. Everyone wants to play. And while there are certainly reservations with some of the plans that have been proposed, especially the quarantine plan, undoubtedly these guys want to do what they do normally. Like we all want to do our job, and that's play baseball in their case. What's the primary pushback? Health is the biggest question.

How is Major League Baseball going to ensure the safety of the players? And that will involve, of course, testing. It will involve probably daily temperature checks on site. personnel, all kinds of things. And if I was a player, that would be the first thing I'd be wondering about. And the other thing is going to be salaries. And it's a little bit confusing, but basically baseball, Major League Baseball, and the Players Union reached an agreement on March 27th,

to kind of set the parameters for a shortened or canceled season. And at that time, they agreed in a shortened season, the player salaries would be prorated. So if you play half a season, you get half your salary. But now, with the likelihood, almost certainty, that games will be played at least at the start without fans, the owners are likely to ask for a further reduction. And the player's point of view is, hey, we already agreed to a reduction. We're not doing another one.

Oh, I totally get that. Best proposal you've heard, most realistic. I like the Arizona, Florida, Texas plan, which is basically put 10 teams in each state, play regionally. you limit the travel, then you rotate, and you see as things go on if you can expand it to home parks. Now, the preference of the owners seems to be to play in home parks. Better to televise from home parks, even without fans, more convenient for the players. No question about that if you're at home rather than in another state. And it also would give a sign of normalcy to those different locales where the games are being played.

But from a practical standpoint, we know Texas, Florida, and Arizona are open, and we know that, or opening, I should say. And we know that players, for the most part, are familiar with those places. They train there in spring training. So that seems to be practical, but it all depends, Colin. I hate to say this is a cliche by now, but where the virus takes them, because if the virus, and there's an outbreak in Florida, for instance, well, suddenly Florida doesn't look so good. You're planning on playing in Cincinnati. There's an outbreak in Cincinnati. You can't play in Cincinnati.

So it's a really difficult needle to thread. And there are days I sit here wondering how the heck is this going to even happen. But there is a lot of determination from both the players, the owners, and a lot of government officials to make it happen. Korean baseball on TV watching that as a template. Has it helped? It helped in the sense that you see what they're doing regarding social distancing, no fans, daily temperature checks. testing. That is all part of what would be the major league idea. But at the same time, that's a smaller country. They came back much quicker. And they had more rigorous measures in place because

they can do that in that country. They can do better surveillance, which we don't allow here for infringement on our freedom. So it is a template, and it's not, it's more a template of the baseball. Yes, that is. But as far as the country itself, that's a little bit of a different set of standards. This morning, are you hopeful? I am hopeful, and from the very beginning, almost, Colin, I believe they are going to play. I just have always questioned how they're going to play, when they're going to play, just how this is all going to transpire.

And I imagine, as we go on, once the season starts, and I wrote this the other day, fans, players, media, owners, everyone are going to have to get accustomed to the idea this is not going to be a normal situation. Right. They're going to be cancellations, postponement, scheduling changes, inequities in the schedule. And we're all going to have to sit here and say, okay, it's baseball, though. We want to see baseball. We want to see games. And we have to accept and tolerate all the inconveniences and different things that might result because they're going to.

happen 20 to 30 seconds left. Is it worth it for the owners to have a 75 game schedule? It depends on the financial situation with the players, obviously, and the owners would contend that they would need a further salary cut. But if you have a 75 game schedule with an expanded postseason con, and you know, and I know that that is where the money is, you both surf a box. So that would be worthwhile. Yes, 75 could do it. I don't know much below that if it becomes worthwhile, but 75 for sure. Ken Rosenthal, the athletic, Read him, I do. It's great. Subscription-based sports journalism.

Ken, thank you. Thank you, Kyle. Fox Sports. Yeah, 75, you know, it may force baseball into shortening the season, which I think we've all agreed. It needs to be shortened. Check it out, MDrive relax.com. 50% off, MDrive Relax.com. You're probably freaking out.

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