The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 01/03/2019

Episode Date: January 3, 2019

Colin says Paul George having 37 points against the Lakers on Wednesday night will sadly be one of the highlights of his season because he chose money and OKC over LeBron. He thinks there is only one team that is a lock to win on NFL Wildcard weekend. Plus, Greg Cosell of NFL Films talks about how tough it will be for the Ravens to beat the Chargers twice in a few weeks with such a limited offense. Presented by Perky Jerky. 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,

breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to 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.

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

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on. A Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud 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 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 IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening to the best of Heard Podcast.

Be sure to catch us live every weekday. From 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeart radio app by searching Heard. is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a big Thursday. This is The Herd, wherever you may be, and however, you may be listening. We are live in Los Angeles, chilly these days.

IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me today. You know, my colors even match the OKC uniform. So do yours. Yeah, we coordinated a little bit. It's sweater weather, Colin. I'm surprised you don't have a sweater on this morning. My family's all sick.

I can't get out of the house fast enough. I know he sound whiny, but it was legitimately cold this morning. It was 59 degrees. It's outrageous. I mean, I wore my puppy coat. God, listen to us. We're just obnoxious. It is great to have you.

It's still a holiday for a lot of people. I saw the roads when I drove in this morning a little busier. So if you did not see this game last night, Paul George was such a big deal last night in Los Angeles. Remember, he was going to be a Laker. decided, nah, he scored 37. They were booing him. It was awesome. And this was a high point for Paul George in the season. He came to L.A. It's where he's from. He dropped 37. He was the best player on the floor. And congratulations. He was so important, they were booing him because he didn't

come to the Lakers. And congratulations for that gigantic win in the first week of January. Slow clap for that. Paul George, two years ago, said to his GM in Indianapolis, Kevin Pritchard, pretty smart guy, he said, I want out. I want to go to Los Angeles where I'm from. And so Kevin Pritchard did the best thing he could for Indianapolis, engineered a trade with Oklahoma City, sent him there, and Paul George still said, I want to be a Laker. And so everybody waited for him to be a Laker, and all of a sudden he was going to be a Laker.

In about a week before, LeBron signs of the Lakers. and within a day, Paul George suddenly didn't want to be a Laker. The story's all dried up, and he chose Oklahoma City. Last night, it's going to be one of his five big nights of the year. First week of January at L.A., booty's so important, won the game over the LeBron-Less Lakers.

I never feel sympathy for people who have options in life and choose the wrong one. I feel sympathy for people who, because of their circumstances, don't have options. Paul George chose Oklahoma City. Paul George chose Russell Westbrook and LeBron James, where you win titles. You get on television. You'd be in the Western Conference Finals with LeBron. You'd be on television in late May and June.

You'd get major endorsements dropping 37. would not be a big deal in the first week of January. Because LeBron doesn't care about January. Look it up. It's always his worst month. He goes into sort of a pre-all-Star game, pre-trading deadline malaise. He gets rest. He doesn't play well. His teams don't play particularly well.

Look it up. Guys like Hardin, Paul George, Westbrook, Kauai. Man, they are awesome in January. They stack the numbers, they climb in the standings. Kauai's going to have another big one in night. He's going back to play the Spurs. He left the Spurs. And Paul George last night, he was big in L.A.

And your face, L.A. And the man. First week of January. There are players in the NBA I feel sympathy for. Anthony Davis is one. Anthony Davis is going to be a Laker. It's going to take a few months. Maybe it's going to take a year, but he'll be a Laker.

He gets drafted by a city that probably shouldn't have a team and then the way the NBA sort of rigs it and sets it up, you have to sign your first big extension with your team to make the real money. And then you start losing 50 games a year and you get tired of it because your organization can't get you any good players. And then eventually you're the bad guy because you leave because you have a mediocre owner, a mediocre GM, an often fired coach and no good players around you. That I feel bad for.

Paul George, he chose last night. That's what he chose. He chose last night. Because Paul George knows Westbrook is now an aging point guard who can't shoot. And when I say can't shoot, he can't shoot free throws. Westbrook's free throw percentage, last three years has gone from 80, 75 to 64. So this team has no shot in the playoffs to do anything. And I'll tell you, there's a lot of people that think Paul George won by staying in Oklahoma City.

Rob Parker was on our show yesterday. He thinks Paul George is showing LeBron a thing or two. So when he decided that, okay, he wasn't coming, LeBron comes to L.A., he's from Palmdale, not that far from here, right? He decides, okay, he could come back. If they had him right now, they would be viable right now this year to have a shot in the Western Conference. Right now, he's the king killer.

He will be the reason the Lakers do not. win a championship during the LeBron years. I look at it just the opposite, is that Paul George, by not joining LeBron and choosing Westbrook over LeBron, guaranteed he will never be in a finals. And he could have been with LeBron, but instead, LeBron now will go to his second or third option named Anthony Davis, who is obviously a better player than Paul George, and he will overtime end up in finals and win one, maybe two, probably one. I just see this differently than everybody else.

When Paul George chose not to join LeBron, it killed Paul George's chances of not making the finals. It just forced Magic and LeBron to go to Option 2. And what do you know? Option 2, Anthony Davis, is a significantly better player and will probably join the Lakers. I'm told sometime in the next year or earlier. All right, let's shift to this.

There's four playoff games this weekend. Top of next hour, Greg CoSell, you can't miss this, he's terrific. Greg CoSell, NFL films almost 40 years will break down what to look for this weekend in these four huge playoff games. Now, the first thing I do every week is I look at the lines from Vegas and then I get ready for Blazing Five. And I pick the four or five games I like. But I don't do Blazing Five for the playoffs. and the reason is because the reason Blazing Five works is because I have 15, 16 games to choose from,

and I can choose just five. But when you only have four games, I looked at the lines this weekend, and there's four games, and there's only one team I really like. There's only one game I would bet if I was going to bet football this weekend. And I know I'm from Seattle,

but you know that's never cared. I don't care about that stuff. My job is to be honest, not to support my birthplace. I like the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas Cowboys are a slight favorite, one and a half. That's what Vegas says over the Seattle Seahawks. And I think Dallas is going to win the game.

That would be the game I would bet. That's the game I feel strongly about. Now, first of all, it's obvious. Dallas has become a couple of different teams. There is the Dallas Cowboys offense without Amari. And then there is the Dallas Cowboys offense with Amari. And it's not real hard to figure out. It's way better.

I'll put them on the screen for our FS1 viewers. this is a completely different offense post-Amari Cooper. Now, fans look at teams. This is what fans do. They tend to look at teams just one record. We're 12 and 4. Coaches and GMs do not look at teams that way. They look at teams in quadrants and quarters.

For instance, Kansas City's 12 and 4. They're 3 and 3 in their last 6, and 2 of those 3 wins are over the Raiders and the home win in overtime. New England since week four is better than Kansas City. But if you look, and this is why I like Dallas, if you look at Dallas like a general manager or a coach would look at Dallas, they should be favored here.

Let's look at the first quarter of the season for Dallas. They were two and two. There was no Amari Cooper. You can see their offense. It just wasn't, yeah, I mean, they were just not. They were two and two, and they were struggling with everybody. They struggled with the Giants. They couldn't score against the Seahawks.

They shouldn't have beat the Lions. They weren't very good. And then the second four games, the next quadrant, they were one and three. They had a Mari for just one game. And you can see the offense there. It's still not very good, right? That's not very good. And let's go to the third quadrant.

Oh, they're four and oh. Holy moly is scoring 31 there, 27 there. Oh, they beat the Saints. And then look at the last four. They had a dog against Tennessee. Once again, though, or against Indianapolis, excuse me, which was very predictable, by the way. On the road, off hugely emotional games. Indianapolis at home was absolutely desperate, had to win every week.

But you can see the points, 29 and 36 and 27. And this is how you look at teams. This is how general managers look at teams. They do not look at teams and go, we're 12 and 4. They ask, what are we now? What the Cowboys are now is the most athletic NFL team defensively in the front seven. What the Cowboys are now is rested. Zeke didn't play.

Zach Martin, a great offensive lineman didn't play. What the Cowboys are right now is at home. What the Cowboys are right now is a bona fide real offense with a star receiver and a star back and a rested above average offensive line playing at home where they're very good, especially if Zeke can get over 100 yards. Dallas has better players this weekend. Seattle is still in somewhat of a rebuilding mode. So there's four games this weekend, and they're all coin flips,

and I don't feel strong about any of them. I mean, I think the Colts will win. I think the Chargers second time around will win. But Dallas over Seattle, that one I like. Not doing a blazing five this week. That one I like. Dallas over Seattle, buy about a touchdown. Be sure to catch live editions of the Hurstead.

weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart 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 Slice Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, learn. the hard way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross,

because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that'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, our heart radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey.

I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levan this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On hurdle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WNBA standout, Kate Martin, and rising hockey star, Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that.

Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't Don't belong. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladecki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything.

Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. When people come up to you or I in life and they tell you that you're talented or great, easy to be humble. No big deal. Whatever. If people come up and tell us we're not great, we get defensive. That's very human.

When people come up and tell you of your talent, you get humble. When people tell you of your deficiencies, you get defensive. So there's this thing out there right now. Michael Jordan, LeBron, who's the greatest. Now, LeBron James has his own like TV show. And on his television show recently, LeBron made this acknowledgement. Let's roll the tape. That one right there made me the greatest player of all time.

For so many reasons. No, everybody was just how they were the greatest team of all time. Like, there was the greatest team to ever assemble. And for us to come back, you know, the way we came back in that fashion, I was like, you did something special. Okay, now, after that, all the Michael Jordan fanboys came out. Whoa, Michael Jordan would never say that. By the way, that's exactly what Michael Jordan says privately.

for years, that he was better than Barkley, better than Magic, better than Bird, better than West, better than Will, better than Corain. But publicly, people dug up a 2009 interview with Michael Wilbon and talented Michael Wilbon and Michael Jordan, where Jordan said, well, if you ask me, I'd never say I'm the greatest player. That's because I never played against all those other people

that represented the league prior to Michael Jordan. Well, what do you know? In 2009, when Michael said that, he could be humble. There was no great debate. He had been elevated by all the media, all the fans. He was the greatest. He spoke from a different place.

Oh, shucks, I'm not the best. Of course, he was telling everybody he was the best. He was so petty. He wouldn't let Isaiah Thomas on an Olympic team. You saw his Hall of Fame speech. But in 2009, it's a different place. Because when any of us are told, granted, acknowledges the greatest.

and then it said to our face, oh gosh, shucks, I'm not the greatest, though Michael was telling everybody privately it wasn't close. LeBron James in 2018 comes from an entirely different place. Despite his success, despite blowing past his contemporaries, despite even the second best player Kevin Durant, not having nearly the impact around the league of LeBron, despite being close to a billionaire, despite statistically and analytically being the best player ever,

and it's not arguable, he's told he's not the greatest. college just shows that LeBron is insecure No, it shows that LeBron and Michael made these comments from a completely different place and that we're all human. You don't think Michael's insecure about LeBron? Really? That's funny because I looked up this morning the three players that Michael has most complimented.

Westbrook. He says Westbrook's the closest thing to me. The quote is he's amazing. Really? You think Westbrook's Westbrook's put other than LeBron? He's also quoted as saying recently, Kauai Leonard is the best two-way player in the NBA. He's also multiple times complimenting Kobe Bryant,

who, by the way, grew up idolizing and acknowledging he idolized Michael Jordan. So Kobe Westbrook and Kauai, Michael is effusive with his praise. He has complimented LeBron once when Donald Trump took a shot. at him. And it wasn't really a compliment. He just took team LeBron's side. You don't think Michael Jordan keeps score. You didn't hear the Hall of Fame speech. Wouldn't let Isaiah on the Olympic team. You don't think Michael Jordan keeps score. Compliments Westbrook, Kauai, Kobe, never compliments LeBron. By the way, remember years ago, that deflategate thing with Brady? And we always thought, we always heard from Manning. I love Tom and Tom. I love Manning. I mean, they obviously played each other,

but all you heard is they were so close and they liked each other and they totally understood each other. And then during the Flategate, we got records of Tom Brady's texts. And Tom Brady was saying on one of his texts, thanks, Papa. I got another seven or eight years. He has two. That's the final chapter. Game on.

Oh, you mean, Tom was very competitive, privately about his legacy. Oh, I get it now. Of course they are. Michael Jordan in 2009 was coming from a place of being anointed and acknowledged as the greatest. He went predictably humble. Oh, gosh, I didn't play against Will. Privately, he told everybody, ain't close, bro. Publicly, he's just a humble servant to the game.

So he gets no credit for being humble? Should I give him credit for being inauthentic? Where LeBron is actually very emotional and authentic, I think I was the best player. Now, for the record, I don't have any interest arguing who's better. They're totally different players. Michael was the best in his era. LeBron's easily the best in his era. They have a ton in common.

Michael was significantly better than everybody except probably magic. He was better than magic, but not by a ton. And LeBron is significantly better than everybody. He's better than Durant, but maybe not by a ton. There's things magic did better than Michael. There's things Durant does better than LeBron. There is that one contemporary. that does some things better. Magic was a better teammate, a better passer,

controlled the tempo. Durant's a better shooter. He's a better closer. But let's not kid ourselves. Michael's getting credit for being inauthentic, and LeBron is getting ripped for being more authentic. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed the game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

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

give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 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. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase

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

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

Open your free, Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering our meaning, businessman businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world.

He doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in America. in history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan,

you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WNBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that.

Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't belong. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs, Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeke. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile. That means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world.

Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. So there's a bunch of job. openings and there's a bunch of coaches. Okay, let me just say this. Mike McCarthy interviewed with the Jets. Or he's going to interview, Jets, hire him.

That's your coach. In the last five years, the Giants and the Jets, football in New York has had five different head coaches in five years. It is a mess. Mike McCarthy's not a mess. He defines stability. By the way, I'm hearing this. This is the narrative now.

You know, he's outdated. Really? Well, let's look at the things that Mike McCarthy does well. Is stability outdated in life? I don't think so. Is being organized outdated? Is being prepared outdated? Is a great work ethic outdated?

Is discipline outdated? Because that's Mike McCarthy. I know he's not flashy enough for you. He's not lit and cool with perfect cheekbones. But platforms change in business. but traits, the same traits matter. When I get into radio, all I did was AM radio. Now I get AM radio ratings, FM radio ratings,

Sirius XM ratings, Facebook, YouTube, television, podcast, digital. But my job's still the same. Outwork my competition. Get here two and a half to three hours before the show starts. Just because platforms change in my business, my assignment does not. Preparation, work ethic, discipline, Mike McCarthy, his four to five best traits still matter in this league.

Organizationally, A. Preparation A. Work ethic, A. Stability, A. Discipline A. Sorry if he doesn't run the perfect, sophisticated, dynamic offense for you. And is everybody forgetting something about Mike McCarthy? Brett Favreve has acknowledged that Mike McCarthy helped resurrect his career. Why does Mike McCarthy get no credit for creating Aaron Roger? Okay, of the eight of their nine first years together, if you take their nine first years together, eight playoff appearances, five division titles, three NFC championship, two MEPs in a Super Bowl, McCarthy gets no credit for that?

Are you forgetting what Aaron Rogers was at a college, a junior college quarterback? Cal was the only place that offered him. He was too small. He had a weird, rigid release, and frankly, they said socially he was odd. He couldn't get along with Brett Farve. well, Aaron Rogers also is a California kid like Rogers. Sam Darnold went to the PAC 12. Sam Darnold has a weird release.

Sam Darnold is kind of an ad libber. Sam Darnold is athletic. Sam Darnold is Aaron Rogers. In fact, Sam Darnold is more, I would say Sam Darnold has more hype around him than Aaron Donald did come in. Aaron Rogers did coming out of college. Why does McCarthy get no credit for helping to shape Aaron Rogers? No credit?

He sat in the bench for three years. You don't think McCarthy had any credit? He didn't get any credit? You forget Aaron Rogers dropped in the draft. Aaron Rogers was a little small. Aaron Rogers was mechanical and rigid. He was athletic, but he was Sam Darnold. And Aaron, Donald's one inch taller, same weight.

Donald's got a different mechanical startup. Donald was overlooked in the recruiting process. He wasn't even the number one quarterback in his class at USC. So, you know, this idea that Mike McCarthy is some outdated dinosaur, he gets no, far of acknowledges, he helped resurrect his career. I don't give him any credit for Aaron Rogers' career, none? Three years he sat in the bench. McCarthy gets no credit for it.

I don't know. I'm tired of hearing about all these great young coaches. I think reliability, work ethic, preparation, stability, organizational skills. I still think that stuff in life matters. I'm sorry. Every GQ model that coaches now is the best coach in the world. Andy Reid got run out of Philly.

Who's the number one seen in the AFC, Andy Reid? He's an old guy too that was outdated. I don't know. If I'm the Jets and I want stability, work ethic, preparation, organization, a guy who has a history of developing a California Pac-12 quarterback, I think you could do a lot worse than Mike McCarthy. I'm off my soapbox. All right, let's bring in Greg CoSell, my guy on Thursdays, 30-plus years at NFL films.

I just going crazy here. You know, it's funny about this, Greg. You watch film, and I'm not saying schematically Mike McCarthy's a genius, but I'll tell you what, I watch all the disruptions in Pittsburgh, and I watch all the egos. and for the last seven or eight years, I always thought Green Bay looked pretty well coached. In the last year, I was told Green Bay was poorly coached.

So, Greg, which is it? Colin, you're missing the point. All you have to do, the cool plays that show up on Twitter over and over again, and then you're a genius. It's pretty simple. I think you're missing the point. I guess. Yeah, come on.

Get with it, man. This is 2019. Yeah, Mike McCarthy went from really good to an idiot in like four games. I guess I missed all that. Yeah, you did. You know, there's just, you know, you just have to have some cool plays that work that everybody repeats over and over again on social media, and we go from there. Lord.

All right. I want to start with Dallas against Seattle, and I, you know, Bucky Brooks is a former scout, and he always says, quarterbacks or trucks or trailers. They can either pull stuff or they get pulled. I think Russell Wilson, Doug Baldwin's undrafted, running back to seventh rounder, offensive lines been in rebuild last two years. Tyler Lockett was a slot receiver,

punt returner. Now he's a star with Russell Wilson, where I think DAC is mostly pulled by better players like Amari Cooper and Zeke. Do you see any similarities, Russell Wilson and Dak? Particularly and philosophically are similar in the way they want to play. You're dealing with a team in the Seahawks that led the NFL in rushing. I think they have either the first or second most rushes in the league. we know that the Cowboys are built on the run game to be able to make critical situation plays.

And the Seahawks have been very good, by the way, also with shot plays where they line up and run personnel, run formations, and drive the ball down the field. That's one reason why Russell Wilson has so many touchdown passes on so few attempts. I think at this point in time, Russell Wilson is superior to DAC

and his ability to do those kinds of things, and therefore the Seahawks offense is better. But I think both things, teams. And this is an odd thing to say, but I think it's the way they think. I think both teams are counting on their quarterbacks to reaction improvisational plays in critical moments, and that's a hard thing to count on. Yeah, no, it is. I think I've always been a little higher on Russell Wilson than you. Is that fair? I like Russell Wilson. In fact, I think that this year, in particular, he's played for the most part very much within the structure of the offense,

and I think he's been a really efficient player, and he certainly has the ability to make play outside of structure, but I think that they've sort of, and I think they did this by design, I think they've kind of reined them in a bit within the context of that offense. I do believe, though, going into this game, Dallas has better personnel. Am I wrong?

Better offensive personnel? Well, I just think, if I look at Dallas's front seven, I think Oh, yeah, I think defensively, and I think that's a critical piece of this game because what Dallas is very good with their front seven, they do a lot of what we call gap exchange principles up front where they slant their defensive line. They try to create walls to defend the zone run

game. And that's critical on this game because Seattle is built on the zone run game, the inside zone run game. And majority of that comes out a shotgun, but it's still an inside zone run game. All right, let's go to the Bears and the Eagles. Now, Trubisky's a number one pick, and Foles is not. Many have seen him as a backup. I would argue Foles throws a better ball than Trubisky. That's why I can't quite wrap my arms around Chicago's offense this year. I think a lot of it's smoke and mirrors, David Copperfield, Matt Nagy, clever stuff. What am I supposed to make of this Bears' offense? What do you like about it?

Well, Matt Nagy's good at that. It's an interesting mix of that. And then also of basic things to help a young quarterback grow into the position. They like to work to the boundary side of the field quite often, the short side of the field with two-man routes. and that defines the reads and simplifies the game for the quarterback, but they have to Rie Cohen. And in some ways, Terri Cohen, and Darren Sprouls in this game are very similar players. They're very effective working to the boundary side of the field because most teams will match up man-to-man to the boundary, even in the context of his own principle.

So I think Sproles is a critical player in this game. Yeah. You know, Foles is a little bit of a mystery, 25 straight completions. That's kind of Philip Rivers stuff. I mean, listen, I think he's a low-end starter or a backup, but could I make the argument that this staff likes working with him because he's a good listener, he's coachable, he's not a transformative athlete. Something he does with this roster is pretty darn good. Yeah, I mean, I think in an ideal world, they want the ball out of his hands. They want to be quick game.

The more, I think particularly in this game, the more problematic that will be. So that will be interesting. I think it's going to be, Doug Peterson's going to have to scheme, I believe, quite a bit in this game and try to beat that defense. I think that defense is better than the Eagles offense. Okay, let's go to the Colts Texans. Andrew Luck had his two biggest passing games against Houston. You know, that sounds like not just schematics. That could be personnel.

That's what it sounds like is he's got some personnel matchups. Does Andrew look against Houston, right? Well, they don't have tremendous personnel on offense, but I think Houston is a predominant zone. team. They don't play a ton of man. And the key is to be able to protect. And I think that's where Frank Reich has come in and he's done such a good job with the design of that offense

that the ball comes out of Lux's hands within the timing and structure of the past game. I think one player that's interesting to me in this game and he's become a little bit of a factor as the year's gone on, particularly in the final quarter, five, six games of the year and that's Neheme Heinz as a receiver.

They've started to use him. We're seeing a lot more backs now. It plays off the Sproles-Tor-Hoeh in discussion. A lot more backs lining up to the boundary. Alvin Kamar has been doing this for two years, and teams play man-to-man, so you start getting backs matched up on linebackers, and Neheme Hinds is now a factor in their offense.

By the way, how do you explain, Greg Kosal? How do you explain the Colts defense? Now, they have a terrific rookie in Darius Leonard, but it's a lot of disparate parts of guys who were released. They have a cornerback who was, I think, like, waived by some. somebody, Philadelphia, New England, Kenny Moore. Sure. How do you explain that defense being number one in the league the last two and a half months?

It's phenomenal, and I think you have to give the D.C. Iberforce a ton of credit. They play more zone than man. They do something now what they've done for about the last five or six weeks, where they line up both of their defensive tackles in the A-GAPs as one technique players. And they play, again, similar to what Dallas does, gap exchange principles, which helps compensate for the fact that they're not particularly, athletic across their defensive front. Leonard's a terrific player.

Kenny Moore is a way better player than people probably think. He plays right corner in their base and slot in their sub, and he's a really good blitzer. He's a good cover man. He's physical and competitive in the run game. He's a player. People... Let's go to

Phil. Let's go to the Chargers in Baltimore. I've got kind of a theory on this. Okay. That Baltimore is so contrarian to the rest of the league that if you get him a second time within a month, you have a much better shot than the first time because it's a shocking offense. Nobody plays it. You can't replicate it in practice. And the Chargers getting Lamar for a second time, even though it's on the road,

will be better prepared and more capable of slowing them down. That's my theory. That's why it probably leaned Chargers. You would think so. And actually, in the seven games Lamar started, they had the fewest rushing yards against the Chargers. But they've averaged 230 rushing yards per game in Jackson's seven starts. That's a really ridiculous number. They've become, to me, a little predictable on some of the things they do, as dynamic as Jackson is. When they have Edwards in the game, they tend to run the dive play.

When they have Kenneth Dixon in the game, they tend to run more gap scheme stuff, power. We'll see if they notice that about themselves, but they've become a little predictable in their profile. They're a pistol-based formation offense. The big question offensively for them is how many good throws can Lamar Jackson make in situations that demand him to throw the football. All right, let's go to your big play of the week. What do you got for me this time?

Well, this was actually a great throw Lamar made against the Chargers in the Week 16 meeting. And when you play a Gus Bradley defense, you know what times you're going to get cover three, because that's his foundation. So let's start the play right here. And you can see people might remember this. It was a 68-yard touchdown to Mark Andrews, the tight end, who was Baker Mayfield's tight-end in college. but this was a really well-designed play. And the key here, there's Mark Andrews.

He's going to run what we call a deep overrout. It's a deep route where he crosses the field. There's Jaliel Adai. He's a safety. He's cheated to the wide side of the field. He's not truly in the middle. And this is cover three, with each defender responsible for a third.

Now, the player you have to influence is Adrian Phillips, because he needs to get back and get underneath Mark Andrews. They do that with the action. in the backfield. They pull the guardhurst and it looks like a power run play. That's what's going to happen in the back field. That's the critical piece of this because in the way Gus Bradley Phillips is what we call the hook defender. He has to get underneath Mark Andrews route, but he has to wait a beat because of what happens in the backfield. So now you get Andrews ahead of him. You see where Phillips is. You get Andrews ahead of Phillips and this causes an issue for Phillips because now he's recovering. Then you get a

who, as we saw earlier, was cheated to the wide side of the field, so he's outside of Andrews. And this happens to be an excellent throw. And if Lamar Jackson can make a few of these throws, combined with their run game, then they've got a chance. It's critical that he makes some throws. They can't just live on the run game. Good stuff, Greg Gosell. Good talking to you. Thanks, Colin.

What's up, everybody? John Middlecough from the Three-N-Out podcast, brought to you by Colin Coward's podcast. Now, if you like Colin's show, you'll love. like mine, I'm talking all football. Hack show. Black Monday. Mike Zimmerfeld. Mike Mayock hired. The playoff bracket is set.

We fly through that. Again, you like football, you like the show. That's all we talk about. John Middilkoff, that's me. Go subscribe to Re-N-Out podcast. 13 years in the NBA, title with LeBron and the Cavs in 2016, Dante Jones. How are you, my friend? Happy New Year.

Happy New Year to you. Look at you. New Year? You look fantastic. You look like a boss. You have a start shirt and a corporate suit. Look at you. No wonder LeBron likes to hang out with you. Hey, come on, man. Okay, so LeBron said this the other day on his TV show. So let's react to it. First, let's play that tape with LeBron. Here we go. This is LeBron. That one right there made me the greatest player of all time. For so many reasons. No, everybody was just how they were the greatest team of all time. Like, there was the greatest team to ever assemble. and for us to come back, you know, the way we came back in that fashion, I was like, you did something special.

Okay, so a lot of people are like, whoa. Now, I defended LeBron. I said in 2009, when Michael said this, you can't compare eras, it was easy to be humble because we were all telling Michael you were the greatest. Now, there wasn't no LeBron that. And there was nobody close to him at that point. That's right. And it was a conversation with Mike Wilbonne.

rather than in a conversation between me and my friends. I'm going to say some things between me and my friends, a different than what I'm going to say to a member of the media or after a game when most people want to post the 93 post-game conference when he's talking about winning three championships and how do you feel about being the greatest of all time? That's a different setting for an athlete to have an interview. Yeah, so my takeaway was LeBron was talking

I just think it's different. It was easy to be humble in 2009, if somebody comes up and tells me I'm great, I'm humble. If somebody tells me I'm not great, I'm defensive. That's just the way humans work. LeBron lives in a world. You're not this, you're not that, you're not that, even though analytically, statistically, compiling, contemporaries.

So it doesn't, it never, it just, it didn't bother me when LeBron said it because, you know, Chris Broussard said earlier, Michael grew up in a different generation. The generation now of AAU and hip hop and it's okay to say you're the greatest. It's like in music. It's in lyrics. It's in books. This generation is much more comfortable saying, yeah, I'm good.

Mike had to think that of himself to do all the amazing things that he did throughout his career. And to be even considered as one of the greats of all time, he had to believe in his heart first that he is great. So I don't believe it when he said it to different members of the media. I think that was a part of being politically correct at that point in time. And he was. He's always been very corporate. And a part of interviewing because athletes that interview now are taught different things than back then. So it's a different way to carry yourself now.

It's a different confidence that athletes have. Yeah. With this area of athletes and with how the game has changed. So I don't, I don't fault Mike for carrying himself in the interview the way he did. But now you have to have the respect for the athletes. that speak of themselves in that light now. Because Mohammed Ali throughout his career said he was the greatest of all the time

and nobody had a problem with it. Yeah, I mean, Michael's always been very corporate. Remember Republicans buy sneakers too. Michael was going to say what landed well for his business where LeBron has gone out on a Trayvon Martin. He's gone out on shut up and dribble. LeBron's going to be front and center and take on his critics.

And that's the generation he's grown up in. I don't have a problem with it. It didn't bother me with him speaking of himself in that light because if he felt that way, he should say it honestly. Okay, so last night, Paul George shows up and just gets booed. And you know, I've always defended players who leave. Owners leave cities, GMs and coaches leave.

Why can a player have power? I pay to watch LeBron. I don't pay to watch Luke Walton. What did you make of Paul George getting booed last night? Well, the way I try to paint the picture for most people in free agency is I was a free, I was a free agent and I left. We just finished the Western Conference Finals with the Denver Nuggets. And I played with an amazing cast of friends, players,

and the organization was great. Now, the money that I was going to get to go to Indiana was so much more than they could offer me, so then I'm in a pickle, and I didn't even want to take it because I enjoyed playing with those guys so much that I would take less to play with them. Now, you have to look at it with Paul George.

He enjoys his whole roster. He enjoys Russell. He enjoys everybody that's coming back, he likes going to work. So if you like going to work and you had no qualms about it, and the money was more, because somebody entice you to leave to go to another city

where the unknowns of who's on that roster and will we get along and are we, do we think the same? Do we compete the same way? All these unknowns are available and I'm going to have less money. No matter where it's at, would you consider it? Yeah, I think there were more definitive answers in Oklahoma City. Money, I knew my roster, I knew my coach, I knew the offense.

I know my role and I know the guy that's playing right next to me and that we are the cornerstones. I know these as facts. I don't necessarily see him staying in Oklahoma City as anti-Lebron. Right. Although I do think there are certain players, Kauai, Paul George being one of them, they feel there's a sense they'd be overshadowed a little. Mike, I think LeBron does overshadow players.

Well, in order to leave, you have to have some problems. You have to have something wrong in order to leave any organization, any job, money team. You have to have, if you don't have any problems, then it's very, very hard. That's why people look at Kevin Durant in one. in one respect. And they look at Clay in a different one because Clay's saying, you know what, I'm happy here. We'll figure this out. Kyrie said, we'll figure this out money-wise. I'm happy here. I'm staying. It's just a matter of time. Steph Curry said the same thing. I will say this, though. I lived in Tampa and covered the Orlando magic when Shaq was there.

And I said it at the time, Shaq was too big for Orlando. He was like the biggest star. He went to play with Kobe and he was bigger than Kobe because he was so personable. Am I wrong saying that Anthony Davis is simply too big for New Orleans in that franchise? You're not. And it's just that that franchise is going to have to take some steps to be able to accommodate a star of his caliber. He's talking about a legacy. He's talking about championships. And they're just not ready for that right now.

And to be able to get somebody to play next to him or two or three guys to play next to him, they can't get that type of player right now. So the only way to get it is the model at Golden State uses to draft wisely. and to be able to be attractive with winning. And you can't solve that answer this fast for a guy who's coming up in a year in free agency that wants to win championships. Anthony Davis, though, every game he plays there is just wearing on those tires. If you were Anthony Davis, would you engineer a sooner trade or let it play out where,

I mean, you're going to get ripped by the local fans and local media, right? Like, the player always loses in this stuff. Would you engineer it quicker more quickly or would you just let it play? play out for a year and a half. I would be honest like Jimmy Butler did. And I don't have a problem with Jimmy Butler did because he sat with his president and we talked about what I went out of my career,

how I think I'm valued, and what I want to do. And I just didn't go to the media at first. I talked to him and I told him we had a conversation. Now what he did at practice, that's a total different situation. It's out of competition. But he had communication between him and his organization

and they found the right situation for him. If he goes and communicates that to them, I don't have a problem with it. But I don't think he should just go straight to the media and dog them out because they've been loyal to him and he's been as loyal as he can to them. And now it's just like at this point in time of my career, this is what I want.

I want to be considered one of the greats. So I have to win now. I have to win it for a long period of time. And that's something right now I don't think you guys can do for me. Dante Jones, 13 NBA seasons, won a title with LeBron and friends with LeBron. We can say that socially. You guys get along well without unveiling your life

When's the last time you talked to LeBron? Where's he at today? Where's he at socially? Where's he at emotionally? I know physically he's got a little injury, but that's no biggie. But when you talk to him, you text him, where's he at emotionally? You know him real well. He's upbeat right now.

Is he? And the last time I saw him was at the home opener. So like in front of him, he has a schedule. I have a schedule. But he's upbeat. We talk via text. And he's happy in life right now. The weather, the city, the organization, the energy from the organization.

Does he like the young kids on the team? He loves the young kids on the team. So he's in a happy place right now with the way he's living his life, the way he's finishing his career. He's enjoying it. When you say finished career, I'm not going to get, you know, Tom Brady's still playing. I would have guessed years ago. But did it worry you at all that he got an old man injury where he didn't touch anybody

and he heard a pop? That feels like a 12th, that feels like an old man NBA injury. No, that's just an injury. That's an injury for anybody that can pull a groin. Like a groin is something that we all have to be wary of and we can't control. So that didn't worry me. where he mean, I know he can take the necessary steps to come back from that and take the time to come back from that.

But I think his training staff, his personal staff, they'll have him ready to play. And I don't think that's something else in a lot of him. His personal staff is not big, but it's very maniacal about how they take care of him and get his body ready to play. Like his guy that takes care of his body is great at what he does. He's the best at what he does.

And he'll have him ready to play. Yeah, that sounds pretty good. Everything good with you? Everything's great. What's your big New Year's resolution? I'm going to try to work out more. Yeah, because you're soft as a marshmallow. I just don't, I love playing basketball and that's my only form of working out.

So I'm going to try to find something else to help me stay healthy. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. And every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real.

story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to 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. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest,

SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on, a Mormon polygamous, and an Armenian businessman. Multimillion-dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis,

private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the Aar Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all?

You're listening to and learn the hard way with your favorite therapist and host Kier Games. This space is about black men's experience, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to,

listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human.