The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 01/02/2019

Episode Date: January 2, 2019

Colin says the Antonio Brown saga in Pittsburgh marks the end for high priced divas in the NFL. He thinks the best NFL coach available is old and grumpy Mike McCarthy so don't be fooled by young and good looking Kliff Kingsbury. He compares Russell Wilson to Dak Prescott because one is a truck and the other is a trailer. Plus, The MMQB's Albert Breer predicts what the Steelers will do with Antonio Brown and where Josh McDaniels will land as a head coach. Presented by Perky Jerky. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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by searching Hurd. This is the best of the third. The Hurt with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go. This is The Hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening live in Los Angeles, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me today on a Wednesday.

We'll have breaking news on coaches. This is a very fluid time of the year in the NFL. It's a great time of the year in the NFL for me. You're Miami Dolphins. Looking for a coach. Denver's looking for a coach. Jets, Cleveland looking for a coach. Young quarterbacks need the next mentor.

It's great to have you in. Good morning. Morning, everybody. So I'm not a fan. I've said this before. I'm not a fan of high-maintenance people. I don't think you can solve them. I don't think you can fix them.

I think that stuff's developed either in the womb or by 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 years old. And so I don't deal with high-maintenance people. If I was an NFL coach, I would create a system where players outside of the quarterback, obviously were more replaceable. Not totally replaceable, but more replaceable. So the Pittsburgh Steelers, Big Ben yesterday, kind of threw Antonio Brown under the bus. He's got his own drama.

He said, I've reached out to him numerous times about the argument. I've called him. I've called him. I know other guys that have, we haven't heard back, basically saying, calling out his wide receiver, he's high maintenance. Folks, Pete Carroll and Mike Tomlin are known throughout football as guys who can handle egos, guys who can handle divas.

And Mike Tomlin couldn't handle Levian, can't handle Antonio, struggles with Big Ben, and Pete got his guys out of town. It doesn't work. This morning, OBJ, in New York, on the trading block. Show me the Super Bowls for Ocho. The Dallas Cowboys got out of the Des Bryant business. They won the division. Show me where it works.

This is not the NBA, where every draft there is one, maybe two, generally one kid you got to get. You got to sell the farm to get a guy. Half the NFL is undrafted. The SEC alone, you could just draft out of that conference

and build an NFL franchise. You are not beholden to any one player. Now, you need to get a quarterback. There's no question about that. But college football now has given us a couple of year. Five rookies this year all played, all made an impact. But if the Pittsburgh Steelers who have a history under Mike Tomlin of kind of coddling, enabling stars, if they can't do it, if Mike Tomlin can't handle it, good luck to the rest of you.

Because Mike Tomlin and Pete Carroll have been the two kind of star enablers, you know, the ping pong table in the locker room. players can talk politics. They embrace it. And these two guys, Pete Carroll's like, I'm done with it. Got to the playoffs. I'm getting my guys out of town. Got to the playoffs.

Mike Tomlin, I wish I could get my guys out of town. Can't make the playoffs. I mean, Big Ben saying, we're trying to get a hold of a 30-year-old wide receiver who's throwing footballs at us and throwing a tantrum. And again, this is not the NBA. The Steelers, in fact, even have Antonio Brown's replacement on the roster. He just got voted MVP of the team by the players, Juju Smith-Schuster.

There are certain things in sports that evolve. There are things in sports that are very valuable, but over time become less valuable. Let's take the NBA centers. You used to have to have a big center or you couldn't win a title. Three-ball revolution, don't need centers. If you have them, can be useless late in games. Used to be in baseball.

I remember as a kid growing up, base dealers. Oh, you got to have a guy, get on base steal a base. Base Steelers, nobody wants to take that risk and take a guy off the bases. And in the NFL, diva wide receivers. It's over. Show me the playoff wins for Randy Moss. Ocho, Dez, OBJ, Antonio Brown, they're all underachieving teams. Seattle's got good.

I'm not saying you don't need wide receivers. They've never been more valuable. But the guys in Seattle aren't controversial. DeAndre Hopkins in Houston isn't controversial. Like certain things in sports, you simply, they, sports evolves. NBA centers aren't as valuable. They're not. I mean, Joel Embed, they get hurt, they can't shoot threes, they don't control tempo,

oftentimes bad free throw shooters. Base Steelers in, you know, major league baseball. You used to have to have one. If you didn't have speed, you were done. Now it's like, why risk the out to home run game? And in football, the diva wide receiver, what is the point? Why? Show me where you need them. Because the Dallas Cowboys got out of the coddling Des Bryant business, a lot less noise, and more playoffs.

And worst of all for Pittsburgh is that they knew Antonio Brown was a headache. Ryan Grant, now at ESPN, used to be his team, Ryan Clark, used to play with him. And he warned the team, watch out when you pay him. Quick story, Antonio's going into his third year. You hear that Mike Wallace has turned down his deal. And I knew already that they were going to offer Antonio. And he's walking past, and I turned to the strength coach. And I say, when you give him money, you're going to create a monster.

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

to understanding that you're trying to achieve one goal, that doesn't matter to him. Deva-wide receivers, absolutely, inarguably, no longer necessary to win divisions, win playoff games, and win Super Bowls. More proof.

Let's shift to this. Social media, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat stuff, you know, social media. Everybody wants the cool thing now. I'm having a great vacation. Look at my phone. I'm lit.

I'm cool. I'm kind of an old school guy. I think you treat people right. Treat people how you like to be treated. That's been true for 50 years. It'll be true for the next 50. It'll be true before I was here and after I'm here. Mike McCarthy, who by the way,

18 playoff games, won more than he lost, has a better winning percentage than Bill Parcells, I believe. is available to hire as a coach. Jet should hire him. Cleveland should hire him. Arizona should hire him. He probably won't get those jobs because he's not lit.

He's not cool. He doesn't have cheekbones. He eats too many hamburgers for those. He kind of looks like a cop or a bus driver. Yeah. You convince me that all the cool guys should get the jobs in Cleveland and New York and Arizona. I know those young guys, those handsome guys, those clever guys, those high cheekbone guys, those guys are hot. I'm not denying Cliff Kingsbury's hot.

He won 35% of his games in the Big 12. Not so hot. By the way, who's the number one seed in the AFC right now? Oh, wait, it's Andy Reid, 60 years old. I can't see his cheekbones either. He's not lit either. You guys ran him out of this league, right? No good, bum, old guy.

Can't win the big one. The number two seed in the AFC is 66-year-old Bill Belichick. Oh, by the way, the best coaching job in the league, probably done by John Harbaugh, mid-50s. Sean Payton, mid-late 50s, number one in the NFC. I know Sean McVease, handsome and got abs. John D. Filippo, he was going to change the game, got fired. Jets, Cleese. Cleveland. Mike McCarthy's the best available coach. I saw when he left Green Bay. They were two and two.

They beat the Jets in overtime and Atlanta at home. Yippee. Better get size for a golden Hall of Fame jacket. I know that Mike McCarthy is a little heavy, kind of grumpy, old school, no visible cheekbones. He's the best coach available right now. Oh, but he runs a simplistic offense. Really? You watch football? you think this stuff is MIT? These are 24-year-old men. I watch the Pittsburgh Steelers. That doesn't feel like Harvard to me.

Antonio, get open. Teams have playbooks. High school college pro football. Players memorize them. I'm not looking for Cambridge here. Oxford. I'm looking for stability. All right?

Sean McVeigh, you do get in L.A. is not close to Sean Payton right now. You do get that Josh McDaniels bombed in Denver. Matt Lefleur. There's another hot guy, the Titans offensive coordinator. You've got to have Matt LaFleur. Matt LaFleur is...

It took him 12 games to figure out. Just hand the ball to Derek Henry. What about Adam Gase? Adam Gase in Miami, he is hot, he is young, he is clever, he is lit. He's a quarterback whisper. That's what I heard. He was the Jay Cutler quarterback whisper. You know, a lot of things...

You ever notice for Jay Culler, people whisper things all the time about Jay Culler. He's a jerk. That's what they whisper. Don't overlook experience. Don't overlook Mike McCarthy. Super Bowls. Brett Farve, Aaron Rogers,

egos, big brands, pressure. Yeah, I know. He looks like a Milwaukee retired cop. I know he's not cool. But the guys won 62% of his games. He's been to the playoffs nine times. He has a winning record. You ran Andy Reed at a Philly.

He was old and outdated too. And you got a hip college guy. That didn't work out. And oh, by the way, Doug Peterson, where'd he come from? He was Andy Reid's guy. Look at who's the number one seed in the AFC. I'm just reading all these stories about all these hip, hot, new, cool, lit, cheekbone guys. And I'm like, I saw Josh McDaniels in Denver.

That was a disaster. That was young arrogance. I'm watching LaFleur in Tennessee. I mean, I like Matt Nagy, but you're going to tell me, Brian. Kelly, Notre Dame's one everywhere, can't coach in the NFL? You're going to hire guys with a 35% winning percentage in the Big 12? I don't get it. Mike McCarthy is out there.

Mike McCarthy is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was popular 100 years ago. It'll be popular in 100 years. You go knock out your kale salad. That guy can coach. All that guy can do is handle egos, Farvin Rogers, handle a big brand, win his Super Bowl. By the way, in a market that doesn't pay at stars, can't get free agents and players don't want to plan.

Oh, but Aaron Rogers, what about him? We've finished third in his own division this year. What about Aaron Rogers? Man, we are falling for new and Snapchat and Instagram and Twitter. Nah, just look me in the eye. Say hi. Shake my hand. I'll go old school communication.

We could talk at dinner. You can be on your phone with your wife, on your phone with your boy. boyfriend on Instagram with your girlfriend at dinner. I'd rather keep the devices at home. Talk, flirt, eat, look each other in the eye. I'm a Mike McCarthy guy. Sorry.

62% winning in the tougher division in the last couple years of the NFC. You can go ahead and run him out of the sport. Go hire the college guys. I'll take him. Be very careful about bearing 50, 60 year old guys because they're outdated. experience matters. You told me the wildcat was going to last forever too.

You know what? Last, get in the pocket, sit back, look around the field, throw darts, complete them. That works. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. Weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Dynasties come out of nowhere in sports. And we thought the Miami Heat, LeBron, D. Way, Chris Bosch going to last forever. That lasted one third of the San Antonio Spurs.

Let's start with dynasties. The Golden State Warriors dynasty. Now think about this. They lost to the clippers in the first round. Following year, best team ever, number one seed title, never looked back. Came out of nowhere. Tom Brady Belichick. Belichick had been fired in Cleveland.

He was 5 and 11. Tom Brady comes in for an injured Drew Bledsoe, 18-year dynasty. Both came out of nowhere. Coach K at Duke. He was barely 500 as a head coached army. Joe Torrey was an announcer on television for the California Angels. He had a losing major league record. He got the Yankee job.

They won four out of five World Series. Probably the best baseball teams ever. They come out of nowhere. Marvel, the number one movie, what would you call it? Franchise in the world is Iron Man, Marvel Studios. Led by Robert Downey Jr. He plays Iron Man. Robert Downey Jr. was doing occasional guest spots on Allie McBeal and was in and out of rehab.

He now makes $80 million a movie. Amazon sold books. They now rule the world in retail. Netflix sent you DVDs in the mail. They're the number one disruptor in American television history. Pete Carroll was considered a joke higher at USC. Dabo Sweeney was a wide receiver coach at Clemson. The Red Sox didn't win a game.

title for 85 years. They now have four and 14 and are favored next year. Dynasties come from nowhere. You're like, how did what? I don't under, the Indianapolis Colt at the start of next year will be on a 10-year dynasty. The Indianapolis Colts have the best young general manager in football, a star quarterback now in a very reasonable contract, nine draft picks. Van Dereyche is not the best young linebacker in football. Darius Leonard of the Colts or rookie led all players in tackles by a wide margin. Their offensive line is the best young offensive line in football.

They have $100 million in cap space and arguably the best general manager in the sport. Andrew Luck went 11 and 5, 11 and 5, 11 and 5 with no support. Since week 6 to 7, he finally got healthy and they've won 9 of 10. By the way, of the quarterbacks that attempted the most passes this year, Big Ben, Luck, Ryan, Cousins, Rogers case, one made the playoffs. Folks, this roster is young, cheap, talented, in a division with, let's be honest, dysfunctional Tennessee, who may need another quarterback, historically chaotic Jacksonville, who does need another quarterback, and talented Houston, who always seems to underachieve. Your division does matter.

They have dominated Tennessee. They really dominate mostly Houston and who trusts Jacksonville. I don't know if they're going to beat Houston this weekend. I'm not sure if they are. It's asking a lot to go to a place like Houston twice in about five, six weeks and win both times. Houston's got a good coach, a great defense,

better older veteran players, and Deshaun Watson's good. And they'll be on the road again. But you didn't see the Warriors coming. You didn't see Robert Downey coming. You didn't see Davosweeney coming. You didn't see Joe Tori coming. You didn't see Coach K winning 500 of his percent Army coming. You didn't see six-round Tom Brady and Belichick fired in Cleveland coming.

Here it comes. You better beat them this weekend. You better beat them this weekend. Because I'm telling you, New England's rain. Brady's not getting younger. And Pittsburgh's dysfunctional. And the Chargers like them, Houston like us. Don't always really trust them.

Watch out. Here it comes. 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. Okay, so Dallas, Seattle this weekend. You know how I feel about Russell Wilson. I think Russell Wilson is the most underrated quarterback of my lifetime.

I think he is a right-handed Steve Young, who I also think is one of the most underrated ever, but Steve Young played the position differently so we didn't give him credit. and Russell Wilson plays it differently so we don't give him credit. Colin, you're from Seattle. So what? You don't hear me talking about the Mariners. I don't play favorites. I don't give a rip where I'm from.

I'm from Los Angeles. I bailed on the Rams two months ago. Okay. I criticized Kobe before. I'm from L.A. Who cares? Russell Wilson faces Dak Prescott this weekend. And it's going to be the classic example of what Bucky Brooks, a guest on the show,

a former player, a former scout, when he talks about quarterbacks. Here's Bucky. Quarterbacks come in two forms. They're either trucks or their trailers, meaning trucks, they can carry the team. It doesn't matter what they have around them. They can still find a way to get you to the winter circle.

Trailers are guys who have to depend on the rest of the pieces around them to really support them. The overwhelming majority of the league are trailers. It's just, do you have the people around you that can put the pieces in place that allow you to play at a high level? This is the perfect example of a truck versus a trailer. Russell Wilson's a truck. He pulls average players.

This year, Russell Wilson has taken a third round receiver, Tyler Lockett, who was a slot receiver and a punt returner in college. And they basically set an NFL record. 70 targets, 57 catches, 10 picks, no interceptions, perfect passer rating happened once before in the history of the league. He also has a seventh round running back and an undrafted receiver Doug Baldwin. Those are his big stars. He's a truck.

He is pulling a seventh round running back, a rebuilt offensive line, a slot receiver punt returner and undrafted Doug Baldwin. You see the numbers. Now let's go to Dak, who was struggling mightily. And the Dallas Cowboys gave him a first round Alabama, Oakland, Pro Bowl, wide receiver Amari Cooper. Here's DAC pre and post Amari Cooper. Oh, wait a minute.

Amari Cooper elevated Dak Prescott significantly. Folks, this is the definition of truck and trailer. It's called context. Context means let's add elements to the story to give it fiber, to give it truth. Now, Dak Prescott this weekend has a better front seven. The Cowboys are not rebuilding. They have a better roster. They're at home.

He's got a first round running back and a first round receiver and a first round left tackle and the best guard in football. And Russell Wilson will go on the road with an undrafted receiver, a third round receiver, a seventh round running back, and a rebuilt offensive line and one defensive star in the front seven. And my guess is Dallas will win the game. But this is the perfect. example of truck and trailer.

Russell Wilson is taking seventh rounder, slot receiver, punt returner, undrafted, no pro-wolders up front, one defensive star, and he's going to carry them into Seattle. Again, just if you gave DAC, Seattle's personnel, and you gave Russell that defense and Zeke and Amari, Seattle would win the Super Bowl.

Dallas probably just wins this game. So we talk about the truck trailer all the time on this show. That is the perfect example of it. I do think Dallas wins this game. I think Seattle deserves massive applause for getting to this game. I feel there's two teams in the NFL playoffs, one in the NFC, Seattle, and won in the AFC, the Colts, who are way ahead of schedule, that they're going to have another good, you know, I mean, Russell Wilson's going to be great for

another six years. Luck's going to be good for another six, seven years. They've got a bunch of good young players, and they're going to be fine. They've got good head coaches. But Seattle and Indianapolis, if they win this weekend, it is because of Luck and Russell Wilson, because they are, those guys are trucks. They are pulling a lot of kids. I mean, not Indianapolis Colts team.

They're three best players outside of luck, two are rookies. I mean, and this Seattle team is Bobby Wagner, Russell Wilson, and people Russell's elevating. And that's not the knock on Doug Baldwin. He's one of the most, maybe that is the best hands in the NFL. Tyler Lockett's a speed guy. You know, I'm not criticizing the Seattle players, but you give them Blake Bortles and you don't know who they are.

You're not, I mean, this thing with Russell Wilson and Tyler Locke, it's unbelievable. They have an 81. percent completion percentage when Russell throws to him. Ten touchdowns, no picks, 14 yards of catch and a pass a rating that's, I don't know, perfect. 158.3. What's up, everybody? John Middlecough from the three-and-out podcast,

brought to you by Colin Coward's podcast network. If you like Colin's show, you'll like mine. I'm talking all football. Hack show. Black Monday. Mike Zimmer failed. Mike Mayock hired. the playoff bracket is set.

We fly through that. Again, you like football, you like the show, but that's all we talk about. John Middilkoff, that's me. Go subscribe to Reen Out podcast. There is a difference between being honest and a hater. If I say Cam Newton's moody, that's being honest.

It's not being a hater. If I say Baker-Mayfield's short and a little cocky, that's not being a hater. Well, short is relative. Well, for NFL quarterbacks, he's short. He's a shrimp for NFL quarterbacks. But the point is there's a difference now in this. Everybody gets a ribbon life that if I'm critical,

and I tell my son all the time, be a critical thinker in life. Like see ahead. Look ahead. Look for the trends. Don't be the guy that reacts. Be proactive. Russell Westbrook's in LA tonight to face the Lakers. People think I hate Russell Westbrook.

No, I don't. Russell Westbrook is a good guy. He gave a lot of money to UCLA for a practice facility. He's a good husband. He's a good guy. I think he's well-me. I also think he has no self-awareness. It's that Carmelo Anthony thing, he's got no self-awareness of what he is.

So Russell Westbrook has had a terrible year shooting. And yesterday, playing the Lakers tonight yesterday, I mean, his shooting numbers right now are awful. Field goals, he's 37th, three-point percentage, he's 68th, free-throw percentage for a guard, he's 65th. He's having a terrible shooting year. He's never been a great shooter. but now he didn't have the pop because he's had multiple surgeries, he's aging, and he didn't elevate like he once did. The shots are not as open, and he's never been a great shooter.

But he said yesterday, it doesn't matter, I'm so good at a bunch of other stuff. Here you go. Scoring the basketball is not the only thing I can do. The best rebound in my position, the best pass in my position, the best defender in my position. Okay. Now, first of all, he's not the winningest point guard or the best shooting point guard. That stuff matters to me.

That's why I prefer Steph Curry. But let's break down his claims. Number one, he's the best rebounding guard. Congratulations. That's like being the best pass-catching right tackle. Cool, bruh. Let's go to number two. He's the best defensive guard.

Ten years, decade, not a single all-NBA defensive team. In fact, he is largely mocked for not guarding his men on threes, being closer to the basket, therefore he can elevate his rebound stats. There's video proof we're showing on FS1. Number three, he's the best passing guard in the league. Oh, that's adorable. Yeah, that's why Kevin Durant left. You were such a great passer.

This is what drives me crazy about it. He has no self-awareness. There's not a single executive in the league that think he's the best passing point guard. There's not a single executive or analytic in the league that tells you he is the best shooting, passing defensive point guard. What he is is a hyper athletic, aging quickly, wildly dynamic, streaky, unpredictable, unpredictable, unpredictable fourth quarter point guard that can't shoot.

He's not a bad guy, nor is he a bad player. I'm not even contending he's a bad teammate. He has no self-awareness. And that is a really important thing in sports, knowing not only what you are, are, but what you're not. Russell Westbrook's in L.A. tonight. LeBron's hurt. Oklahoma City will come into town. They'll win that game. And, oh, by the way, the Oklahoma City Thunder, if you've watched

them at all this year and I have, have already made it fairly clear who they want taking shots late in games. Paul George is now their best player, their most dependable player, their most reliable player, their most reliable player and their most clutch player and frankly their best player. Westbrook, Lakers tonight in L.A. I should just go. Not even heckled. You're going to go and get those fancy seats? What do you think Russell have to say?

Russell would know I was there. He would, but he would have not acknowledge it. He'll have a good game. They'll win tonight. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. I'm a quality guy, not a quantity guy. I don't, I've never, nothing against buffets, nothing against having 30 slices of pizza, I'd rather have three great slices of pizza.

I'd rather have a great cocktail than nine cheap beers. I'm not into more. I'm into good. And in college football this year, if I have to hear another, We've got to have an eight-team playoff. Everybody gets her ribbon. We need more teams.

Really, I watched all these bowl games. Yeah, I watched all these bowl games. And you tell me what you saw in these bowl games over the last three weeks that told you we needed an eight-team playoff. I would argue we should have a two-team playoff, Alabama Clemson next decade. I watched that number three-seed Notre Dame who you argued for. Get blown out. I watched that number four seed Oklahoma fall behind 28-0. I watched the five-seed Georgia last night,

who you lectured me deserve a spot in the playoff, basically get pushed around for three hours. I watch Michigan get clobbered. UCF get clobbered against the SEC's fourth best team missing 14 starters, and I watched Washington fall behind 28 to 3 make it competitive, but not in the same league as Ohio State. come on man when has more

ever been better we don't need more teams fewer equals special fewer equals urgency fewer equals better there's never been a club invited

the more people they let in the cooler the club listen I would change college football and all my changes would be fewer not more changes my perfect playoff college football scenario is keep the current four playoff teams,

then only eight other bowl games outside of the playoff. That's your top 20. That's it. No conference, meanwhile, can have more than four bowl teams. And what that does is ensure regular season games matter. The SEC and the Big 12 put seven, eight teams in the bowl games. Now it's down to four max. That late season LSU Kentucky game,

that late season TCU Oklahoma State, that's like a bowl game. That's like a bowl game. four teams per conference max to bowl games, eight bowl games outside of the playoffs, and then the playoff. And that would ensure three things. Regular season urgency, bowl game urgency,

and playoff urgency. We keep looking for more. Give me more of this and more of that. You ever watch like CNN's political coverage? I got 40 people on the desk. You know who's a star? Oprah, one person. You know who's a star Howard Stern?

I don't want 30 people. Give me one max two people talking on television who are smart, have context and can add. Every show I watch, it's jam more people, more political people, more sports people, 19 people on the draft. How about three who know what they're talking about? I don't need to see UCF in Michigan and Washington and I'm watching these games. Why don't I want to see Alabama crush three teams instead of just one? I don't want to watch Alabama blow somebody.

let Oklahoma 28-0-0. What would they lead Washington? UCF, Michigan. We got to get out. Do you want sports to be sports? You know why the NFL's king? Because the regular season matters, and the playoffs matter, and the Super Bowl matters. That's why the NFL has surpassed the NBA in baseball.

Regular seasons, too many games, playoffs, too many teams. Then the finals are good. College football needs less of everything. fewer teams going to bulls, fewer bowls, not eight, but just four, maybe two teams in the playoffs. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. With that, we go to senior NFL reporter, Monday morning quarterback, former Patriot Beat Rider at the Globe, Albert Brear via the Coward Global Satellite Network. Let's start with Antonio Brown.

Yesterday, Big Ben kind of threw him under the bus, said, you know, I call, I text. He doesn't return it. So did the teammates. Obviously, Big Ben's got his own drama and things here. that are tough sometimes to put your arms around. What do the Steelers do with AB? Are they trapped with his contract, Albert? Well, this is a complicated one because they love his work ethic.

I mean, I talked to somebody in the building yesterday who said, this guy is the hardest worker on the team, and it's by such a wide margin. I don't even know who's number two. The flip side is that you don't know which AB you're getting on a day-to-day basis. I don't think they trade him. I think they view this as part and parcel to who he's been over the course of the last few years. obviously this happening during week 17. It's not ideal.

They know exactly what set him off. And so whether or not they can manage it going forward, we'll see. But I certainly think the value he has, the Steelers, is greater than the value they can get out there for him. I think a lot of teams look at this and say, you know what, he's a great player. But at the price tag, at his age, you add everything into it, it's just not worth it for us to go down that road. Okay, Jets and Cleveland have an opening. I'm going to go old school. Mike McCarthy's a winning coach.

Everybody bailed on Andy Reed, and he's now the number one seat in the AFC. I'm not convinced that Big 12 coaches, coordinators, everybody, all these hot shots. And I got nothing against Cliff Kingsbury. I think he's very clever. He'll do very well at USC if he stays. Give me your thought process on the Jets in Cleveland with, you know, Donald Baker. They need to get it right. Yeah, they both have great opportunity because this is one of those rare situations where you've got young quarterbacks on rookie deals.

And so if you're in competition for a coach, you can sell that to that coach. And so if Mike McCarthy's out there, you know, and the New York Jets are in competition with, say, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to get Mike McCarthy, they can say to Mike McCarthy, hey, we've got Sam Donald. Not only do we have Sam Darnold at 21 years old, we have him for the next three years on a rookie contract and we have $100 million to spend so you can play a big part in making up the team around him. I think with the Browns, it's more than just Baker Mayfield.

I think it's the makeup of the entire team. And they're at a critical juncture with a lot of their young players, right? They probably have more under 26 talent than anyone in the NFL right now. Go down the list, Miles Garrett, Larry Ogun Jobi, Joe Schobert, Denzel Ward, Jabrille Peppers, Jarvis Landry. There are a lot of good young players on that team, Nick Chubb, David Joku. They want a teacher. And so that's why I would not be surprised if they, go and get one of these big-time program leaders from the college level.

You're not going to hear a lot about it until it happens, and maybe they strike out on them. But again, you know, the name I've continued to hear connected to that one is Iowa State Coach Matt Campbell. And so I think in one case, you're looking for a guy who's running NFL program and can be a grown-up in the room. That's the Jets, because you've got so much work to do on building the roster. I think in Cleveland, a lot of the infrastructure is already in place, which will give you the opportunity to bring in a guy and project a guy into the role. guy who's a good teacher and has some experience building a program. There's a story this morning that comes out. Speaking of diva wide receiver,

Odell Beckham Jr., who increasingly looks a little fragile. We know he's gifted. There's talk the Niners would be interested, which is interesting considering the pushback with Antonio Brown, that the diva wide receivers had a bad month in this league. Do you buy the Giants are looking to move Odell for the right pieces? I think the Giants have earned a position right now where they need capital to go and get a quarterback, whether it's this year or next year. And so I think they have to look at all their options to build a war chest so they can go and strike if they do like Dwayne Haskins or Daniel Jones or one of the quarterbacks this year.

Or if they need to build that war chest for the future so they have the sort of capital in 2020 to go and get a Jake Fromm or a Tuatunga below or Justin Herbert. And so I think the next couple of years are all about finding the next guy there. And O'Dell Beckham is one of the most valuable assets they have on that roster. And he's even more valuable now than he was a year ago because you have him signed for the next few years. And people don't think about this piece of it, Colin, the market for non-quarterbacks changed after O'Dell Beckham signed his deal when Khalil Mack and Aaron Donald did their deals. And so the numbers for O'Dell Beckham, it looks expensive now. and a year or two, it's not going to look so expensive anymore. And so I think they look at O'Dell Beckham as a potential chip,

a guy that you could move where you say to yourself, well, if we're going to have a young quarterback in here, and it might take a year or two for us to get back up on our feet, what is O'Dell Beckham realistically going to have left when that young quarterback is really ready to play at an all-pro level? Why don't we just look at the idea of turning Beckham into a chip and see if we can maybe, maybe build up that war chest a little bit to go and strike on a young quarterback?

Russell Wilson's got the undrafted Doug Baldwin, seventh round running back Chris Carlson. He's turned Tyler Lockett into a star. He was a punt returner and a slot guy out of college. Dax got all sorts of great pieces. First rounder running back, Amari Cooper, Tyron Smith, Zach Martin. If Dak lost at home to Seattle, does that in any way change the future of Dack in Dallas, in your opinion? I don't think so. I mean, I think the Jones family is sold on him as a leader. is sold on him as a guy who can be the face of the franchise.

And in Dallas, in particular, that sort of thing matters because you're playing on a different stage than the other 31 teams. And I think Dak's ability to handle everything that goes along with being the Cowboys quarterback matters. I think the way that this could affect Dak is what sort of contract is he going to do? And if you want to go back and you want to look at, say, Cincinnati situation with Andy Dalton in 2014, they were coming off of three playoff years. Did he look like a superstar?

but they showed they were able to win with them. And they got a reasonable contract done with them where the numbers may have been big, but there were escape hatches there. And so if DAC goes and lays an egg on Saturday, I still think the Cowboys look to do a long-term deal with them. And I think the numbers will still be big quarterback numbers, but it may give them a leeway to put some escape hatches in that deal, which would allow them to get out down the road.

But again, I think his ability to handle being the Cowboys quarterback is an important factor here. You and I are on the Colts are a year away from a dynasty. I, nine draft picks, 100 million cap space. They could use a number two receiver, a pass rusher in another corner, and they'll probably, you know, solidify their own line. They may go get a tackle. But when you talk to people around the league about the Colts, I said this earlier.

We did not see the Warriors dynasty coming. We didn't think Joe Tori, who had a losing record. We didn't see that coming. Mike Shoshchevsky was a 500. coached Army, we didn't see that dynasty coming. When you talk to people around the league, I think Indianapolis starting next year, they become the Patriots. And I'm serious, I think they have a 10-year dynastic run.

What do people around the league say to you? The right general manager, I mean, I think that Chris Ballard is considered among his peers as a top five general manager, a very good head coach who's shown to be capable of putting together a really good staff. Both his coordinators, Matt Iberfluse and Nick Siriani, are getting looks as. as head coaching candidates after just one year. And again, all the resources that you have on top of having a bona fide franchise quarterback and Andrew Luck.

It's having all these young guys on rookie deals, your Malik Hookers, your Quentin Nelson's, your Darius, it's also having $100 million to spend this offseason. And remember, you talked about pass rushers, guys like D.4, Debian Clowny, DeMarcus, Lawrence, Frank Clark are going to be out there on the market. And then you've got three picks in the first two rounds, including the Jets pick, which is probably going to be almost like a first rounder, 34, 35 overall. They're set up incredibly well. And again, I don't think they're getting into a Super Bowl this year,

but if I had to put odds on who's going to get to Super Bowl 54 in Miami early, I think the Indianapolis Colts would be at top of the AFC list. Okay, I'm going to ask you two quick questions and just quick 10 second, 15 seconds answers. Okay, Green Bay Packers next coach will be. Josh McDaniels. Oh, why? And I've said this to you for a month, Colin. Look, I'm going to explain this to you really quick, really quick, okay?

Coaching Aaron Rogers is difficult. There's an anxiety that goes along with it. There's a pressure that goes along with coaching a guy who has that much experience and ability. There's pressure on you to do that. Josh McDaniels is one of the few coaches on the planet who knows what that's like because he's been coaching Tom Brady. That is an important piece of this. I'm not saying for sure he's going to be the head coach.

He needs to win the interview. I'm saying he's in a very good position. from going into doing this weekend. Okay, I allow that long answer because that was good. All right, one more. Lavian Bell next year is a starting running back for Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That's what I heard. All right, that's good.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That was a short answer. Hey, you're great. Albert Breer, Monday morning quarterback. Great stuff, Albert. Thank you. All right, thanks, Colin. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

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