The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 01/07/2019

Episode Date: January 7, 2019

Colin isn't upset by the Bears loss because teams that are one sided shouldn't advance very far in the playoffs.  He thinks the Cowboys win over Seattle was a classic Dak Prescott game where he is inaccurate but makes a big play when it counts.  He describes where he was right and wrong over the weekend and Super Bowl Champion Trent Dilfer explains why Lamar Jackson and QBs that play like him will never win a Super Bowl.  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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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. This is the Best of the Heard. with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Now. Ah, here we go.

This on Monday is The Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening live in Los Angeles, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1, one hour from now. Where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. Joy Taylor joining me on what will be our best show of the year. Now, it's only like the 7th of January. So I don't have to compare it to it. a lot of shows, Joy, but I think we're going to have our best...

Oh, okay, that we've done so far. Yeah. Okay. I'm hoping we're not going to peak this early. I have so many things to talk about today. I'm going to wear everybody out. I'm going to wear you out. I've got so many things moving around my head right now.

We'll work through it. So let's just, let me just start with this. I never bought into the Chicago Bears. I picked Philadelphia to win this weekend. All year long, I was getting hate mail and hate tweets and all stuff on my social media. You don't get it. And I thought, blah, blah, blah, blah. Of course, Chicago fans love their team.

I never bought into it. I thought it was a college offense. I thought it was a lot of smoke and mirrors. I called Matt Nagy, the head coach of the Bears, David Copperfield. Look over here. Look over here. And there's the quarter. And, you know, I just didn't buy into it.

So I don't have a problem with them being out of the playoffs. Because my question is, they shouldn't be a Super Bowl team. We don't want our Super Bowl champ to be this to be the model where your 10 best players are all on defense. according to pro football focus, and I think that's a very good sight. Chris Collinsworth owned some of that. The 10 highest graded players for the Bears are all on defense. Totally unbalanced. You want that to be the model that wins in football?

Do you think the NBA would be in a better spot today if the Golden State Warriors dynasty didn't have Durant, Steph, Clay Thompson, boogie cousins? No, no, no. It had four Dennis Rodman's who roughed you up, couldn't shoot, rebounded really well, and we're great defensive players. There's a reason why leagues modify rules to help offense, because it's hard to score. Even Michael Jordan shot only 50%.

It's hard to hit a baseball. It's hard to score in football. New England is the current dynasty. They do everything well. They're totally bounced. Their coaching is excellent. Their quarterback is excellent. They always have a good running game.

They always have an efficient passing game. They have a situational pass rush, but their defense once again is top 10 in the league. league. Their special teams are excellent. They're really good at home, but not terrible on the road. They do everything well. So football is being rewarded by a team that values everything and can do everything pretty well. The bears do some things like defense great and have a college quarterback. You don't want that. That shouldn't be the model of what works. If I was a commissioner in baseball, I'd make it easier to hit a baseball. If I was a commissioner in basketball or football, I'd make it

easier to score. Do you know what the average NFL score was this year? And remember, this This is the big offensive year, right? This was the year that all offense, no defense. The average NFL score was 26 to 23. We should be helping the offense. And by the way, most of the teams that are left, Indianapolis, New England, Saints, Eagles, Chargers, they play offense and defense.

Dallas heavily leans on defense, but at least they do have some offensive stars like Zeke, Zach Martin Amari Cooper. Kansas City leans heavily on offense. but they have D. Ford, they have Chris Jones, Eric Barry. They got good defensive players too. But Chicago is completely absolutely unbalanced, and I never bought into them. I like football when coaching is rewarded, offense is rewarded, defense is rewarded, special teams are rewarded.

It's nothing against this. But you do realize that. Lamar Jackson and Mitch Trubisky, who were really very similar, both lost this weekend. Because the game is not built to have all your best dynamic players on one side of the football. So I have no problem with Chicago losing. By the way, the top five scoring defenses now are all eliminated and out of football because they didn't do enough on the offensive side. So I just never bought into Chicago. Listen, I trust my eyes on this.

And I think sports for fans is better when it's artistic. It's better when hockey games are four to three, not one to nothing. Baseball games are better seven to six with a lot of base runners. NBA games are better when Kevin Durant can score and not have somebody draped on him. And football is better. When I get a 27, 26 game, my team can play from behind. Baltimore can't. Chicago is not very good at it.

My team can play with a lead. That's New England. That's Philadelphia. That's the Rams. That's the Chargers. Kansas City and Dallas are heavily weighted to one side of the field. But the Chiefs do have some defensive stars, and the Cowboys do have some offensive stars. Chicago is 10 best players on one side of the football.

I didn't lose any sleep watching them lose. I don't root four teams or against teams. But I do root for many elements of football because I love the sport being very valued. That's nothing against Trent Dilfrey's on the show next hour and the Ravens. But I don't want that to be the model of football. That was one of the most boring teams I've ever watched. Now, I also don't need my teams to be the fastest show on turf or Kansas City this year. But I never for a second bought into Chicago is the way to do it in the NFL. And they lost because frankly, like Baltimore, they were completely unbalanced.

And that's how seasons end when you're completely unbalanced. All right. Let me shift to this. We had a good weekend. We went four for four in our picks. We took Indy, we took the Cowboys, we took the Chargers, and I picked the Eagles to upset the bears. Now, the game I liked the most was Dallas, and it was closer than I thought. but the first thing I do when games are over, I go online or I get a box score and it tells me this.

If you just look at the box score, Dallas had over twice as many first downs as Seattle, 20 more plays, 100 more yards, over double the rushing yards, almost two yards more per run and completely dominated time of possession. You know what the box score tells you? because if you watch the game, the game told you Russell Wilson is better than DAC. But the box score tells you Dallas is way better than Seattle. This was a personnel mismatch, and I'm surprised it was this close. Seattle did not have a first down,

a first down until their fourth possession. I said going into the game, Seattle's a great story. They're not a great football team. Dallas, we think, of them as dysfunctional. Jerry Jones can't win playoff games. They're a highly functioning organization.

This is an excellent roster, but because of the limitations at quarterback, they have to win a certain way. And the game went the way it needs to go. Zeke had a big day. They were at home. Defense did their part. And then Dak does what he does often. Made one big play late. I did like Dak's run late.

Of course, he wouldn't have had to have been a hero if he'd not thrown that awful pass on the previous drive. But if you look at the top 10 players on the Seahawks and the Cowboys roster, Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner make it for Seattle? The other eight best players, Zeke, Leighton Vanderec, Amari Cooper, Zach Martin, Tyron Smith, Jalen Smith, DeMarcus Lawrence, Byron Jones, they're all cowboys. Seattle has two great players. They are not a great team.

Dallas is loaded with a limited quarterback. And I think increasingly, uh, this. was actually a very classic Dak Prescott game. He was mostly uninspiring. His stats were ma'er. He's consistently infuriating and inaccurate.

But Zeke, Big Day, defense delivered, and he makes a play late. We've said from day one about Dak, it ain't pretty, but he has a certain personal resonance and calm in crisis. He tends to be better with a game on the

line than he is in the first three quarters with just first downs on the line. But I do think this weekend is interesting because I think Dak, Trubisky, and Lamar are different versions of the same quarterback. The difference is Lamar and Trubisky have a ways to go until they get paid. DAC is about to get paid. And hopefully, once again, Dak Prescott has the self-awareness to understand there is a recipe for DAC to win. And those things all have to work. And they all did this weekend.

Home, running, defense, make a big play late. Because it's decision time on deck real soon. And he'll win a lot of games. And Dallas is not dysfunctional. They're going to win a lot of games. They may win their division again next year. But going forward, does Dak want wins or let us? because if he wants wins, this was classic DAC. It all had to work at home to not just beat Seattle, but understanding that Seattle, personnel-wise, right now today, isn't even close to Dallas. They're not.

Look up. Ten best players between these two teams. Wagner, Russell Wilson are in it. It is all cowboys after that. 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. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month,

I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing

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

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

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 WMBA 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 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 IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts for wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. 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 Levin 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. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. In football, you got to be careful of falling for the hot thing. A lot of people fell for Tebow. A lot of people fall, you know, hey, Mitch Trubisky, this college RPO. No, no, no, no. That's not what wins in this league. Go look at the last 30 winning Super Bowl quarterbacks.

It's mostly Hall of Fame guys who can throw it from the pocket and can't run. There's a dilemma in Philadelphia. They can't pay Carson Wentz and Nick Foles next year, and they're going to have to pay both. Wentz is better than Foles. He's a bigger player. He's a better arm. He's more of an athlete. He's absolutely a better quarterback talent.

But Foles keeps winning. Foles is 4-0 in the playoffs. Foles has a Super Bowl. Foles is 11 and 2. And this is what it comes down to. This is something that with every gift the man upstairs gives you, there's a burden. Every guy would like to be a little taller. You know, every guy would like to be a little, I'd be nice.

I'm 6'2. I'd love to be 6'4. I'd love to be 6'4. He's a little taller I could. But there's a burden with being that tall. Try traveling on a commercial airline. Try finding shoes and clothes when you're 6'7. Those NBA guys can shop in about three places in America.

It's almost biblical. If the man upstairs gives you a gift, my friends, you will use it. People that sing in the shower do, because it sounds good. The man upstairs gave him a voice, he or she. The man upstairs gave Carson Wentz and very few others on the planet all the gifts. Carson Wentz is 65-235 A-plus. His arm is a rocket A-plus. his mobility is an A-plus.

Cam Newton, Carson Wentz, and Aaron Rogers are absurdly gifted by any historic quarterback standard. And when you're given those gifts, you're a little less patient in the pocket. You'll just go out and run. You're slightly harder to coach. Sometimes you've got this, hey, I got it mentality. We've seen it with Rogers.

We've seen it with Cam. And it's why Carson Wentz keeps getting her. hurt. This is not to say Carson Wentz is difficult to coach, but Nick Foles is easier because Nick Foles is limited. He's not a great athlete. He doesn't have a rocket arm. He's not very mobile. He accepts coaching because he has to. He's more patient in the pocket because he has to be. He's better pre-snap at this point between the two because he has to be. The two best pre-snap quarterbacks in my life are Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. They had to be. They weren't great athletes. When the man upstairs gives you gifts, you will use them. That is the burden of being

Cam and the burden of being Aaron Rogers and the burden of being John Elway. And that is the burden of having Terry Bradshaw's arm. You're going to try to throw it through a keyhole from 38 yards. Alex Smith never does. Nick Foles is not more talented. Carson Wendz is your future. But when you watch the Eagles play and Nick Foles throws it, you end up saying this a lot. Wow, what a catch. When Carson Wentz throws it and you watch the Eagles, you end up saying this a lot. Wow, what a throw. This team does feel more like a cohesive team with Nick Foles. And they'll have to figure that out. But as Chris Carter said this morning on first things first, don't kid yourself. Don't fall for brief lightning in a bottle.

Whence is the decade-long talent going forward. I'm going to give you your hypothetical situation. He wins the Super Bowl. And you know what I do? I recruit some of those picks and I ship him out of town because if he does go- Nick Falls out of town. Yes. Yes, absolutely.

I get you what you want. I get you some of those picks. and I go with the quarterback that's got the lower cap number and has got a higher ceiling. So if Nick Foles has won you two Super Bowls, let me tell you something. He's tapped out. You think he's going to win a third one? I completely agree. This is football one of the reasons it's so much better than every other sport.

It's complicated. I mean, we know the Warriors are going to win. They've got more good players. But football is, it's tricky. You can have the best defense. and not win, and an average defense and win. But boy, it helps if you have a great quarterback. But Dak Prescott wasn't as good as Russell Wilson, and he won.

And who's the better quarterback? Tim Tebow looks like, oh, he's not very good. We thought he was really good. And Mark Sanchez looked good. And then he wasn't good. And long-term sustainability, Chris Carter is right. Wentz is the better player. Over time, he'll get better, better pre-snap.

But football is great because there are no easy answers. And Foles and Wents, it's a dilemma. But Howie Roseman is one of the smartest guys in this league running the Eagles. They will choose Wins. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Every Monday, throughout the course of the year at this time, Colin was right, Colin was wrong, and here we go. Where Colin was right? Well, I not only went 4 and 0 on the playoff games, what was right.

really funny is I brought three guests on my show Friday. And of the 12 picks, they disagreed with 11. I'll give you a set. And these are three guests I love. I love these guys. Across the board, they

disagreed with virtually every pick I made. Here's a sample. Nope, you're done. You like Seattle. You're done. I like Seattle. Chalreth likes them. You like them. I'm leaning towards the Texans, and here's why. Nobody who's played in the Super Bowl has played in a road game since 2012.

There's going to be an upset this week. I'll roll the dice and say Philadelphia shocks the world. Really? Yeah. So you and I are diametrically opposed on every pick. Here's how it worked out. And by the way, they all made really good arguments for their team. Sometimes you get lucky.

This week I got lucky for no. Where Colin was wrong. If Nick Foles beats the Saints in New Orleans, I'm bringing a white flag to the show and just waving it. I surrender. I give up. I can't. I mean, it's just incredible. The kid is loose. He made some terrible throws. Now, I have said, I pick Philadelphia about a month left in the regular season to make the playoffs. I love their GM. I think they have a really good roster. Their secondaries beat up, but there's a lot to like about this team. Playoff experience. But Nick Foles is remarkable. I watched them in college. He wasn't the best college quarterback in his own conference.

Every source I've ever had has said he's a really, really, really, really high-end back. up, but he is now 4-0 in the playoffs, 10 and 2 as a starter in Philadelphia. And the thing I like about him, in these late game situations, he is completely composed. He is not rattled in the least. And I almost think that's sort of a DNA thing. Either you're anxious or you're not anxious. I mean, he made all the plays on that last drive. There is, Carson Wentz could not have been any better on that last drive.

You can't even deny that. Colin was right? The rest of the world was freaking out after that Monday night game between the Rams and the Chiefs. Oh, there's too much offense. It looks like Canadian football. It's the Big 12. I said, take a deep breath. Wait until late December and early January. The weather's going to change. Defenses will figure it out. Some of the offensive players will get hurt. Folks, you've been watching football for four months. I've been watching it for four decades. This is the way it always works. Offenses look great in the first eight weeks. Then guys. get hurt. The guys getting tackled. Offensive players get hurt. And then the backups aren't as good.

And defensive coaches figure out offensive schemes like Baltimore. And then the weather gets really surly and the offenses come back down to earth. Only Dallas with 24 points hit their season average this weekend. Half the teams didn't score 20 points this weekend. Six of the eight teams this weekend didn't score a touchdown in the first half. This is why you keep tweaking the rules to help offense, because over the course of the season, it gets really, really hard to score in the NFL. Where Colin was wrong. There has never been an NBA team that I have missed more than the Minnesota Timberwolves. They fired their coach, Tom Timita.

I've been telling you for three years, you just wait. Oh, you just wait. Carl Anthony Towns? Well, now he's regressed. Andrew Wiggins, invisible. I mean, I have been waiting for the Minnesota Timberwolves to pop for three years. and it ain't happening. And Jimmy Butler got tired of it,

and now I'm officially tired of it, and now they're tired of their coach. Carl Anthony Towns, who I would have sworn three years ago, was going to be the best center in the league, is not the same player. Andrew Wiggins is a nice kid, gives you 18, you don't remember any of them, and I've just, I mean, I've just completely whipped on this franchise.

They just never, they're 11th in the West. Not in the NBA. They're 11th in the West. I give up. Where Colin was right? I think the thing I'm proudest of of this show is most media people just react to what happened. And we don't. Sometimes we do, but mostly we predict.

We watch the games and we say, here's what's going to happen. And a lot of times we're wrong, but I like that our staff and our team has the guts to do it. And we picked the Indianapolis Colts to make the playoffs when they had a losing record. And we said, keep your eye on Indianapolis. Andrew Locke is not getting touched. And we picked up on this about week six. We said, this offensive line, they fixed it. He's got all day to throw.

They're not great defensively, but they're owning time of possession. They're not turning the ball over. Lux's getting rid of it early. And we said this team late September, early October, when everybody bailed on them. We said, this team's going to make the playoffs. They're going to sneak in, but they're going to go in a winning streak. And everything we thought has happened, they're now a very good time of possession. They start very quickly.

And what happens is now that defense with a lead can just rear its head back. And they've really created a really good pass rush. And Deshawn Watson was under peril the entire game. So when you get leads and you watch the Colts now, they have nine drafts picks. They're going to draft pass rushers. And Andrew Luck is going to have leads sitting on the sideline and watch the Colts pass rushing specialists. deteriorate the opponents for the next eight years. We bought them early. Nobody else did. Proud of it.

Where Colin was wrong. Doug Peterson got hired by the Philadelphia Eagles as head coach. I said he didn't even call plays in Kansas City. I know he played. He played for Green Bay. I remember that. But how do you go from not calling plays to run in the Philadelphia Eagles? He's now one of the best play callers in the sport. He's four for four on fourth down calls in the playoffs as a Philadelphia head coach. and when Philadelphia had that ball in the last couple of minutes yesterday, Joy,

and they were calling timeouts and they're like, why are calling timeouts? This guy dials up plays. I was wrong. He has been unbelievable, and I got to give him a credit. In the middle of this year, he loses his quarterback, okay? This is a second year in a row. It's been man overboard. I lose my star quarterback, and he figures out,

I mean, this team was on crutches to start the year. They had, they were Green Bay. every reason to be awful. They had every reason to go into the tank. And Doug Peterson never stopped believing. They lost both times to Dallas. I put a white flag in them both times. And they just keep battling and battling and battling and battling and overcoming.

And Doug Peterson deserves a ton of praise. You don't do what they did this year with just players. Some of that's the guy wearing the headset. Where Colin was right? Well, we said young quarterbacks and mobile quarterback. We think you're going to have a rough weekend. We picked against Trabiski. We picked against Lamar Jackson.

We picked against Deshawn Watson. Now, Russell Wilson is also a good pocket quarterback, so I don't count him. Listen, it is a throwers league. That's not to say I don't like my quarterback to have mobility. I wish Philip Rivers was a little more mobile. I wish Tom Brady was a little more mobile. But when it comes to January football, it's the quarterbacks that don't make mistakes, that don't fumble, that don't turn it over,

that can get out of problems pre-snap. Three of the four younger quarterbacks lost this weekend. Where Colin was right? We love the Golden Tate moved by the Eagles and the Amari Cooper moved by the Cowboys. Both teams went and acquired playmaking wide receivers. Now, Amari Cooper is better than Golden Tate, but Golden Tate, they went and acquired him,

and he won the game for him on this play. He was worth a playoff W. And the NFL has changed. This is not baseball. it changes every year multiple times. Wide receivers, especially veteran guys like Golden Tate and Amari Cooper, they come in, they learn a playbook very quickly, they are amenable to coaching, they're just worth draft picks.

And, you know, college receivers may be younger and cheaper, but when you're as good as Philadelphia and you're as good as Dallas and you have those rosters and you've got to win playoff games now, I'm going to roll the dice and give up picks to get an Amari Cooper and to get a Golden Tate. And Amari Cooper at over 100 yards. And it took him about two weeks to figure out the playbook. And they put Golden Tate in. And it took him about three weeks to figure out what Philadelphia does. But we love both those moves and we loved them early. And they both were on full display this weekend. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night,

a blown call changed 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.

SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations

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

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

Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer that? 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 WMBA 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 feel on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ledecki.

The ability to show 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 Podcast.

Podcasts for wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of I Heart Women's Sports. 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 I-Hon. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A decade and a half in the NFL, a pro-bowler, a Super Bowl chant with the Ravens, my friend via the Coward Global Satellite. Trent Dilfer. All right, let's start with this bear's defense. I didn't buy into them.

I thought it was a lot of smoke and mirrors offensively. I have my questions about Mitch Tribisky, and I don't think if your 10 best players are all on one side of the football, you're balanced enough to win. I didn't buy the Bears. I mean, what do you make of you can win Super Bowls in 2019 with just a great defense? What do you buy with Chicago and not buy?

I think those people that say that have their head in the sand. It was obviously possible when we did in Baltimore. We played fantastic defense, maybe the greatest defense of all time. We're smart on offense. Managed the game from the quarterback position. I'd be the first to tell you that was what my job was. As Tampa did it a couple years later,

later with a very good defense. I don't know if I'd call it great, but very good. Seattle did it against the Denver Broncos, but outside of that, I don't think you're ever going to see it again. And I think the mistake everybody made on the Bears was calling it a great defense. They're very good, and they have a chance to be really, really good in the future years. But they by no means great. If they were great, Philly doesn't go down the field and score a touchdown when the Bears have

a five-point lead. It's that simple. People can talk about the kick. People can talk about the kick return. and all that stuff, all they want. The bottom line is if the Bears played great defense, Philly wouldn't have gone down with the backup quarterback and scored a touchdown.

So I'm with you, Colin. I don't think there'll be a team that is completely defensive-centric that wins a Super Bowl. Again, the rules aren't set up for it. I think the teams are forward-thinking and the ones that we're going to see in the Super Bowl every year or put more of an emphasis on offense, on aggressive quarterback play,

on creativity. And I think that's bearing. I think the regular season will bear itself out in the postseason even more as we go forward with offenses having the upper hand. All right. You know, we've gotten to a point with DAC is I think there's a formula and all the boxes checked. At home, running game, good defense, and DAC tends to play a little better on the final drive than the first drive. But I'm told you liked DAC this weekend. I thought he was the second best quarterback in the playoffs this weekend.

Andrew Luck was phenomenal. who else was better i mean russell played well considering his circumstances didn't have a lot to work with they knew they weren't about throw the ball against the cowboys front seven with the past rush who else played well at the quarterback position nick fuls didn't play very well until the last drive so don't use nick foles on me through two picks one was a red zone interception philip rivers wasn't very good lamar jackson was awful until the end um dischaun watson wasn't very good. So who played better than Dak besides Andrew Locke?

And I don't disagree with you. We've kind of been like-minded on the Dak Press guy. I think you've been more sticking to a narrative of he's the most overrated player on their team. I think Dak's a winning quarterback in the NFL. I think like his team, and I've said this before on this show, he is a low-ceiling

high-floor guy. But with this football team, with the talent that they have, with maybe the best runner in football is their tailback, they've been stubborn with their play calling in a good way. The addition of Amari Cooper, I think Dak Prescott's the right quarterback for this team. I think he played very well. He's played very well the last few weeks.

But also in the same sentence can not disagree with you and say it's all been set up for him. This will be a different challenge this next week. But up to this point, Dak Prescott's been very good for the Cowboys. I rely on you often texting on this show, calling off the air. about evaluation of quarterbacks. And I said this earlier, is that many of the interception leaders in NFL history had the strongest arms, Brett Farve,

because it's the burden of great gifts, is that if God gives you a singing voice, you're going to be singing in the car, you're going to be singing in the shower. Wentz is remarkable. Foles is not. And the way I describe it is, Foles is working,

there's a symmetry between Foles and this staff right now, now that's better than Wence in the symmetry with this step. Because when my eyes tell me, Wentz is way better than Foles, but Foles wins more. What is it? So it's a big one to dive into, and I think both sides can be right. And I think what you are saying and the argument you've created is absolutely correct, that when you get a guy that plays within the system,

that plays within the X's and O's that recognizes his limitations, that adds a level of comfort to the clay caller, coaching staff, they know exactly what they're getting every week. And that has worked for the Eagles with Nick Foles, the end of last year, obviously through the Super Bowl, and so far this year with Carson Wentz hurt. The problem looking at this long term, though, is that if you talk to great football people, they will say, yeah, but we want a guy that can play beyond the X's and O's. And trust that the longer he plays the position, he will learn to also play the majority of the downs within the X's and O's.

So what you see with Nick Foles and it got him in trouble last time on the Red Zone interception, anytime he tries to play outside the X's and O's, it gets him in trouble. Carson Wend's plays outside of him too often, but also make spectacular plays. So what you're looking for is that sweet spot,

that balance of a guy that plays within the structure, plays a Bill Walshian, a Mike Holmgren type style of football where 85% of the time do it exactly my way. But then the 50% of the time I'm wrong, save my ass. And that's what Carson Wentz can do. And those are the conversations that Bill Walsh and Mike Holmgren had with Joe Montana and Steve Young and other great quarterbacks. It's do it exactly my way until I'm wrong, then save me. And that's why they're always going to be on the Carson Wentz bandwagon, not the Nick Foles because he can't do that.

And I think that's why both sides can be right here. They really can. but I guarantee you unless they win the Super Bowl. That's when the discussion maybe really has to change. But unless the Eagles win the Super Bowl, this is Carson Wentz's team for the next 10 year. And the Baltimore Ravens, and I agreed with them, made a decision in that game.

We're not switching quarterbacks. What did they say, Trent Dilfer, by not switching quarterbacks during that game? What were they telling me? Yeah, that was an organizational statement. And I bet you the conversations had happened in prior weeks with Joe Flacco as well. Like, hey, Joe, no matter what happens, no matter how far we go, no matter what circumstances come up in the game besides an injury,

Lamar Jackson is our quarterback. We're making an organizational decision to go into the future with this guy, and we need to ride this as long as we can. And it may hurt us at some point. And you know what it did? It hurt them in the first half against the Chargers. but they were willing to take that chance so that the organization,

and mainly the 53 guys in the locker room, understand that this is Lamar's team. This is going to be Lamar's team for a long time. And today is part of the journey of trying to get him to be a great player. I think the mistake that the Ravens have made in this whole process, one is not honoring the greatest quarterback in the history of Baltimore Ravens is Joe Flacko a little bit more publicly. I don't like that they haven't celebrated his career there a little bit,

more and being an ex-raven, being an ex-quarterback for the Ravens. All of us Ravens understand what Joe Flacko has done for that organization. He's been fantastic. I think they should have honored them a little bit more. And the other thing is, I think they're making a mistake. I don't think you can win a Super Bowl with Lamar Jackson type player. I think you can be really good. I think you win 10 games a year. I think you can be in the conversation. But I'll be shocked if Lamar Jackson ever wins a Super Bowl. By the way, the Rams got rested. The Patriots had a week off. Kansas City did. Before I let you go, you have played in playoffs, not rested and rested. The buy week is an interesting thing. Players love it, but if I was a hot team, I'm not, now the Rams, I think,

needed a buy. You know, Patriots maybe didn't. Is there any advantage to you getting the extra week or sometimes is it a detriment? I think it's both. Again, I know that's a bad radio TV answer. I think both can, I think both can be the answer. Some teams need it. I agree with you. The Rams really needed it. Some teams don't all the time. I think, though, if you're just going to make a blanket statement, at the end of the year, your body hurts. You are fatigued physically.

You are fatigued mentally. And sometimes you need to press the reset button no matter how hot you are. And that's where the buy is really, really helpful. If the coach handles it the right way where you don't lose your edge, because you can't lose your competitive edge, but you can get rest. It's amazing. Remember, everybody, this is hard. It's a hard sport.

your body hurts, your body writes checks during the course of the season. Just a few days, a few days of treatment, a few days of rest, does an amazing thing to your body, your soul, your mind. And I think that's why the bi teams typically have an advantage. Good stuff, Trent Dill for a decade and a half in this league, relying on regularly. Super Bowl champ, good talking to you, bud. See you, buddy. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.

on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHard Radio app. I'm never going to jump out of a plane. I want to look right at the camera now. I'm never going to jump out of a plane. But if I decide to jump out of a plane, I'm not getting in the plane, going up to 10,000 feet and then chickening out. Like when I make a decision to jump out of a plane someday and I won't, but if I did, I wouldn't be one of those people that talks about it, prepares for it, goes

up, and then chickens out. some things in life, if you make a decision, you got to go all in. Okay, you can't pull Lamar Jackson in that game. Stop it. Why not pull Mitch Trubisky? When you make a decision to run this offense, you are all in on this. The Ravens have acknowledged we're going to draft quarterbacks going forward that play like Lamar. We're going to draft offensive linemen. They're a little smaller and a little leaner and they're a little faster.

when you make a commitment, and I don't think this is sustainable to win a Super Bowl, I agree with Trent Delford. I don't think Mitch Trubisky and Lamar Jackson, if they're going to win a Super Bowl, it'll be the next two years because you're not paying him anything. Once you've got to pay them and you can't have a great defense around him, they're not winning Super Bowls. But you don't, this is so different. There is a reason if you go to watch, if you pay $100 to go to a comedy show,

they've got a comic and an opening comic and then you have the big comic. They don't have a poetry reading before a comic because you go to laugh. Okay? Certain things you go all in on. If you have Jerry Seinfeld, you have a comic that opens for Jerry Seinfeld. You don't go, we're going to have a punk rock band, then Jerry Seinfeld, then a poetry, you go all in on comedy that night at your arena. If you're going to go with Lamar Jackson, and I don't know if, to me, this isn't

what I think win Super Bowl is over 10 years, especially once you have to start paying a quarterback like this 25 million. and you have an average defense, and you've got to win shootouts, and you got to play from behind. But you don't pull Lamar Jackson and Mitch Trubesky because they have a bad half. By the way, John Elway's had bad halves. Tom Brady's had bad. If you want to pull quarterbacks, Tom Brady was awful against Atlanta in the Super Bowl for two and a half quarters. That's a great point.

You can't pull quarterback. You've got to go all in on Lamar Jackson. You've got to go all in on Trubisky. I wouldn't. I said, Lamar's a second, third round pick. You let him sit for a year. You see if you can develop him throwing. And then he runs six, seven times.

But this idea that you got to pull him because he had a bad half, good hell. I mean, admittedly, it's a very bad time to have a bad half. Yeah. But those are the decisions that you made. Hey, Peyton Manning against the Seahawks in the Super Bowl. You watch that game? I mean, Tom Brady is the best example of that. Tom Brady's career was over after the first half of that Falcon's Super Bowl.

It was over. He was terrible. He's washed. It's the end of his career. The Patriots Dynasty is over. I mean, everyone called it. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. There are four games this weekend, and the numbers are big. Vegas thinks we're going to have decisive wins.

Indy at Kansas City, Chiefs favored by six. Dallas at Rams, Rams favored by seven. Philadelphia at the Saints. Saints favored by eight. That's a big playoff number. Yikes. And then there's that one game that seems interesting to me. Chargers at New England, New England favored by four and a half. that's the one that's very interesting to me. Okay. I think it's a trap bet. Vegas is begging you to bet the Chargers. Vegas does this once in a while.

You see a number and you're like, that, what? That opened it five. You watch the Chargers push the Ravens around for three and a half hours, and the Ravens are the real deal. They're begging you to bet the Chargers. I'll just say this. Tom Brady against the remaining AFC Corps, quarterbacks is 14 and no.

Philip Rivers is 0 and 7 against him. Lux's 0 and 6 and Patrick Mahomes 0 and 1. Secondly, playoff football, what wins in playoff football? Best defense? Well, no, the Bears just lost. Best quarterback always wins the game? No, Russell Wilson lost the DAC. Best roster?

Not necessarily. I mean, the Texans have a better roster today. I would argue that in Indianapolis, you want to know what wins in football in the NFL in playoffs? situational football. Philadelphia, situationally, was great at the end of that football game. Dallas, situationally, Dax Run, was great at the end of that football game. Who's the best situational football team in the NFL?

So that game, when I see all these lines, New England, I guess the lines. In that game, I'm like, man, that's a pick-um. I don't know. It started at five. That feels like a trap game. Just remember this. Don't get caught up on the stuff that doesn't matter in this league. It's going to be snowing and 28 degrees in Foxborough.

Remember that. This game's not going to be pretty. It could very well be just running game, running game. You think Brady and River is going to be a firework show. My guess is it is low-scoring situational football. That's my gut feeling. I do like New England in that spot. 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 SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast, And for more, follow Timbo Slica 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 Smygel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Life is full of hurdles. So how do you keep going? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we're talking with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness from professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions, about the challenges that shape them and the mindset that keeps them moving forward. At our level, at this scale, being able to fail in front of the entire world, like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of I Heart Women's Sports. 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.

This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.