The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 01/15/2019

Episode Date: January 15, 2019

Colin thinks the "arctic blast" in Kansas City favors the Patriots because Tom Brady is used to inclement weather.  He compares the Packers staff hires to the show Entourage.  Plus, Super Bowl Champion James Harrison comes in studio to discuss the AFC Championship game and why it’s time for Antonio Brown to leave Pittsburgh.  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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Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was harmed. you just understood.

That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to her. He's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball.

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This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Tuesday. This is The Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening, live in Los Angeles. We're on IHeart Radio. We're on Fox Sports Radio and right here on FS1. My favorite time of the year, Joy Taylor is joining me in a Tuesday. How are you, Joy? I'm doing great.

Good morning. Well, we've got the four best teams in the NFL, the four best offense is in the NFL, the four best coaches in the NFL left. And New England is the one dynasty, but a lot of people feel like it's at the end of its, you know, the last legs of the dynasty. Now, I would argue they have 12 draft picks. They'll move off Gronk. They'll have cap space.

It's not, you know, Brady looked as good as he's ever looked. But they're going to Kansas City this week. And, you know, Kansas City's got the better offense. Kansas City's got the vertical weapons. Kansas City's got the speed. Kansas City's one of the loudest places. Man, New England needs a break in this game. Oh, they just got one.

Predicted weather forecast. Under 8 degrees. Possibly 9, 10, 11 below zero. That's going to hurt the better offense. that will aid the better defense. That will hurt the more vertical passing game. That will aid the more consistent better running game. First of all, Tom Brady is 15 and 2 in the playoffs

in what is perceived as inclement weather. He's been here before. 13 and 2, excuse me. And by the way, complete 63% of his throws, 30 touchdown passes, 260 yards a game, and what's considered inclement weather in the NFL. He's the best cold weather quarterback of all time. Dan Marino was great, so was John Elway.

Brady's better. And by the way, the Patriot dynasty did begin in a blizzard against Oakland. But they're saying it's going to be an Arctic blast. Well, if I told you there were two teams meeting and one relied on perimeter passing and speed, does that sound like it's better in an Arctic blast? If I said this one team's really fast, but something's going to slow them down, would that sound like it's going to help the chiefs of the Patriots? If I said the weather appears to be the kind of weather, you'll have to run the ball significantly.

And here's another one. Outside of the Superdome, and don't kill yourself, noise is an element just like snow. There's a lot of different elements. There's wind, there's rain, there's snow, there's noise. The Superdome is a big advantage this week for the Saints, because it's loud and you can't audible. Arrowheads considered one of the loudest stadiums in America. College or pro.

It'll be nine below. Everybody's going to be wearing a ski mask. People aren't going to be standing and cheering. They're going to be huddled. Wearing wool. Trying to stay warm. Wearing something over their mouths. Home field advantage via the crowd.

Done. Gronk, a liability these days. Actually, the best blocking tight-in in football would be great, nine below. Travis Kelsey is the best vertical passing threat. Not aided by this weather. Listen, sometimes you need breaks. If I told you, it's going to be the coldest game,

potentially in Arrowhead Stadium history, and the coldest game easily this year and in the last two years. And I said, there is one team that's got way more experience, runs the ball more effectively, never fumbles, has a short, precise passing game, wins not a factor, and doesn't really have a vertical passing game to begin with. You would take that team this weekend.

Just close your eyes. If I say to you, lousy weather in January, what team do you think of excelling in that? By the way, it should be noted, Dan Marino didn't play well in the cold. Peyton Manning didn't play well in the cold. Just like crowd noise, weather is a huge detriment to teams that sling it, speed teams, vertical teams that rely more on passing than they do running.

If weather matters and if you look at the Saints history in the playoffs, Sean Payton and Drew Brees are one in five in the playoffs together on the road. If you think environment matters, and I really do, It's why I believe the Saints are favored over the Rams this weekend. Neutral field, they're not favored. In L.A., they're an underdog. The crowd is an element. So is absolutely brutal weather.

Tom Brady, Michigan, Foxborough, 20 straight years of lousy weather this time of the year. And by even bad weather standards, this is going to be historic. I believe New England needed a break to win this weekend. They got one from your local meteorologist. They're calling for an Arctic blast. Sounds like something you buy it, Dairy Queen. It's an Arctic blast, edge New England. It changes the way I see this game.

More on that later. So, you know, outside of a handful of teams in college, and pro, everybody's always looking to fire their coach. Because psychologically as a fan, it's easy to fire a coach. Fans want to believe they're just a coach away from winning it all. You can't fire players, right? Do you ever notice that? Fans will be overly loyal to average players, but really tough on excellent coaches.

Because psychologically, you can talk yourself into if we just get rid of, of Mike Tomlin, we'll win all our games. You know, if it's not for Bill O'Brien, we'd be way better than the Colts historically. Can't fire J.J.J.J.J.J.J.D.D.D.V.M. Multiple players. Multiple players. So, J.J.J.J.J.J.J.R.J.R.S. who's the most criticized, successful coach in the NFL. And here's what Jerry Jones said. If Jason had been out on the market two weeks ago, he would have had five offers for head coaching. I know that.

So you've got to look at what your alternative is. I believe there's 32 teams in the NFL, and I think 25% of them have an elite coach. Eight. There are eight coaches to me that feel better. Belichick, Andy Reid, Sean Payton, Sean McVeigh. I think what Matt Nagy did in Chicago this year with limited offensive personnel and Trubisky was remarkable. Pete Carroll, Doug Peterson, and John Harbaugh. John Harbaugh lost a quarterback, took a rookie quarterback who's not really good at throwing the football, and they won their division.

That is great coaching, and he'd previously gotten to a Super Bowl. I think there are eight coaches that fan bases mostly know they're pretty good. after that you do realize that jason garrett falls in the class of the other guys who we all like way more than we love mike tomlin gets heat in pittsburg but you like him bill o'brien in houston dan quinn's been to a super bowl in atlanta ron revere in carolina jason garrett mike zimmer in minnesota they're clearly competent all of them they've won divisions players generally play hard for them. And they win a lot of games.

In fact, I can argue with all of them something really impressive. Do you know Bill O'Brien has won three division titles? One year with Tom Savage and Brock Osweiler. That's impressive. Mike Tomlin has been to two Super Bowls and won one.

Jason Garrett? He's been in Dallas forever. He's had one losing season. What about Dan Quinn, Ron Rivera? They got to a Super Bowl. My point is, a quarter of this league or eight coaches most fan bases get on every Sunday, you've got the better coach. Jason Garrett simply falls into a group of a bunch of guys who on a resume,

I can certainly promote, market, and defend, but we mostly like them more than we love him. And he falls into that, Bill O'Brien, Mike Tomlin, Ron Rivera, Dan Quinn, Jason Garrett, clearly competent, nobody better currently on the market, have won multiple division titles, rarely is the team not playing hard or man overboard. We can run Jason Garrett out of town, and I do not consider him in the Elite 8 club. look around the league at who is getting hired. Before you blast on Mike Tomlin and Ron Rivera and Dan Quinn and Jason Garrett and Bill O'Brien and your Mike Zimmer's.

Look at who the Packers hired. Look at who Arizona hired. Look at around the league. Look at who Cleveland hired. Take a deep breath. Matt Mosley covers the Cowboys, talked about Garrett yesterday and how many feel in Dallas. I think something has to change. I think Jerry knows that.

This Jason Garrett thing, he was ready to fire him. I mean, at three and five, he was getting ready and saying, not during the season, but he was ready and he was lining up. And who knows, Lincoln Riley, Matt Rule, the great Baylor coach, who knows who he was talking to. But he always has a note card of about three or four coaches ready. Jerry keeps that. He never used it, it doesn't seem like.

Used to use it a lot. The point is, though, Jerry, younger Jerry, was much more willing to ride guys out of town. Jerry, overtime, realize, unless you've got a great replacement, having a solid good B-plus head coach beats the alternative. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. So Antonio Brown, the Pittsburgh Steelers, a very dramatic year this year, a remarkable place. player. He's obviously going to end up somewhere because he's just too good of a player. He's one of the top. Could be the best receiver in football. A little bit of a me guy over a wee guy, but, you know, wide receivers historically been a lot of that stuff. Guy can absolutely play. But I do find it

interesting. There's always a grass is owner always greener quality. I'll just speak for guys here to men. There's always a better job. There's always a better person. There's always a, and the reality is many times in life. I mean, we've all seen this guy. Some guy has an affair and you're like, why did he have an affair with her, his wife's actually beautiful and really smart. I don't get it. You see that stuff all the time amongst guys. I can't speak for women. I can speak for men. Almost every time I see a guy having an affair, I'm always like, yeah, but what's wrong with a wife? Great mom, good looking, smart, there for you. I don't get it. It's a grass greener thing. Guys are very susceptible, I guess, to it. Not going to speak for women, just dudes. Antonio Brown actually has the perfect team.

Does Antonio Brown realize it? Story today wants to be a 49er. That's not a good fit. what Antonio Brown could really use is a loose tolerant head coach. Oh, wait, he's got that in Pittsburgh. What Antonio Brown could really use is a wide receiver, a veteran big guy who can stand in their pocket as he runs deep and throws a great deep ball. Oh, wait, he's got that. What Antonio Brown could use is a team that can also run the football forcing safeties in the box so he's not always double-teamed. Oh, wait, he's got that in Pittsburgh. What he really needs to be part of a team that already has a culture

that doesn't necessarily have to build around him so they can win even when he's a distraction. Oh, wait, Pittsburgh's got that. San Francisco's an awful fit. Kyle Shanahan is a rigid, no-nonsense, do-as-I-say coach. Bad fit. Jimmy Garapolo is a better version of Tribeschi, a runaround guy who's very good, intermediate, and under to this point.

That's not Antonio Brown's game. The ownership in San Francisco can be flaky, can be sometimes crazed and reactionary to bad behavior. The Niners, let's be honest, when's the last time they had an amazing ground game? Like Antonio, this is the perfect fit for you. A tolerant coach who deals well with stars. A quarterback who, because of his sheer size, can stand in the pocket as you run deep routes and then deliver them accurately. A running game to force safeties away from you and into the box.

A complimentary receiver limiting double teams, juju Smith-Schuster. An ownership that is loyal and has dealt with stars favorably for 40 years. this is a grass is greener thing. This is where you should be. If you told me there's this speedy wide receiver, got a little diva, unbelievable talent, runs great deep routes, you'd be like, and by the way, needs a coach who can handle a big personality. That defines the Steelers. Those aren't qualities of Pittsburgh.

That defines what the Steelers are. In fact, they are that to a fault. that they're not quite buttoned up. They're a little loose. They're a little too driven by me over we. I mean, if you don't think fit matters in this league, you think Bell Belichick would deal well with Jay Cutler, Cam Newton, Baker Mayfield nonsense?

No. Brady and Belichick are a great fit. Passionate, driven, all-in, aspirational, can sit and watch film all day. Brady and Belichick are a perfect tandem. DeMarco Murray, behind the Cowboys' Online, led the NFL in rushing. He then went to Finesse Chip Kelly in Philadelphia, ran for 700 yards. This whole league's about fit. The whole league is about fit.

And Antonio Brown, and he can play anywhere. I mean, he's an unbelievable talent. I would make the argument, there's no better fit than Pittsburgh. I mean, this team, the coach, the culture, the running game, the receiver, the complimentary receiver, the deep ball thrower, right up his alley. 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 athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered.

Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

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

Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about. How healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam?

It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast, Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game.

We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson,

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

or wherever you get your podcasts. 15 years in the league, two Super Bowl rings, multiple-time pro bowler, an NFL defensive player of the year, and the Steelers all-time sack leader, James Harrison, is joining us on the set today. It's a perfect guest for two reasons. Number one, the headline today in Kansas City is Arctic Blast. So, again, Pittsburgh's cold. It's not Kansas City generally cold.

It's not Foxborough cold. So take your time, James. Just tell us as somebody sometimes hand in the dirt, what is it like planning cold. How did it affect you? early on in my career it affected me a little bit to be honest with you i had one situation where we were in cleveland and uh dude it was like cold cold and everybody's coming in from outside and they're like dude it's cold cold like i'm like dude it's not cold because i don't normally go out and warm up before we do our pregame warm up so i'm like it's not cold like i'm like

i lived in ohio my whole life it's not cold right so we're playing you know we're playing up there in cleveland as soon as i step out out the tunnel it's like rain held sleep and it's like needles hitting your arms and it's the coldest I have ever felt my life and I'm like oh my God I cannot believe this and so psychologically oh yeah it was the whole warm up I'm like I can't get warm

so I get back inside and we had a rule like as linebackers you couldn't wear sleeves so if you did it was a fine so I get back in and I'm waiting on one person to put on sleeves because I am going to throw these sleeves on and I'm going to take this fine and keep it moving. Did anybody do it?

Nobody did it. We didn't tackle for nothing. Like 30-second timeouts, we're running from the middle of the field to the sideline to try and get warm. Like, it was that crucial. Now, but as you aged, you were better in cold weather. I was better in cold weather because I got used to it, you know what I'm saying? And it's just a mind-over-matter thing. You know, really what it really comes to.

Like, even when I went to New England. And I wasn't used to having to go outside again. and, you know, like practicing negative 10, negative 12 weather. And they do in New England? Oh, yeah. They don't go inside for nothing. The fields freeze over. You're just going to the stadium.

Like, we went inside one time, and it was because it was a blizzard, and we couldn't see, and he was mad that we had to go inside. Belichick was. Yes. So take my audience into, because I said, Brady is 13 and 2 in what is considered inclement weather. When he would meet Peyton Manning in cold weather games, I always felt it was an edge for Tom. He's a, the way he uses his hips, he's a very good cold weather thrower.

And Tom always has been. He practices it. I think it's just from practicing it, you know, even, you know, like I said, up there, and it's like negative 12. And guys are like, are he, is he really going to put us outside? Tom's like, hey, let's go. It's nothing to him. Let's just go out there, get it done, get the work in.

And like I said, he's out there with some long sleeves on, a little hoodie. And, you know, a hand warmer with some sweats on. And, you know, he's out there slinging a ball. like it's, you know, 70 degrees outside. Well, it is interesting because New England's a veteran team that's been in this before with a cold weather quarterback and Kansas City's a younger team with speed, doesn't run it as well with a younger warm weather quarterback. I said to start my show today.

I do believe my gut feeling when the two games ended this weekend, Kansas City's the bet. But when I see Arctic Blast and they say it could be 10 below, there's no question, James. My initial gut feeling was that's an end. edge New England. Yeah, I would think so. I think so, too. I would think so, because like I said, they're used to playing in it.

They're used to practicing it. It becomes, you know, second nature, so to speak. And you get situations where if it gets cold enough, your field starts freezing. Now for a guy that's a quick in-out cut guy and your speed guy, that's going to slow him down. You know, he's not going to be able to take off the line as fast. He's not going to be going to stop on the dime as fast. It's going to be a lot of things that's going to, you know, slow down speed. I want to shift to something.

I'll get to the Antonio Brown story in the same. second. The Dallas Cowboys apparently tipped off the Rams on some of their defensive alignments. I don't want to be overly critical of the cowboy coaching staff because I do believe, James, that if you have two weeks to prepare and two weeks to watch film, that gives you an advantage to see poker face, the tells. They call it in poker a tell. I didn't hear this about the Cowboys all year long. I guess my question to you would be, did you play teams' regularly where you felt they gave away signals, gave away tendencies. You could watch certain players that can give things away, certain ways they stand,

if they're heavy on their hands, if they're light on their feet, whatever it may be. We had a situation where we were playing a team, and you have people that just sit there and they're just looking for, they'll look at one player the whole game and be like, okay, if it's something that he does and it's 100%, they'll tell us. We had one team that we were playing where the fullback, anytime he lined up and he moved his hand like this, he couldn't help it. It was a run.

So we knew run and pass just from watching him. He'd line up. If he didn't wiggle his hand, it was a pass. If he wiggled his hand, literally wiggle his hand like that, it was a run. And it was 100%. When you were in New England or Pittsburgh, were the Steelers or the Patriots more aware of that stuff?

because I think some of this is just Sean McVeigh being a really smart, good coach. Like, if you catch it, it's normally like a player, like a stance or like you try and self-scout yourself. You know what I'm saying? Like if I line up with my feet parallel, you know, it's a good chance that I'm going to like, you know, do a stunt in or out.

Well, sometimes you need to line up like that and not do that stunt. You need to make it to where you can try and get it to where it's a 50-50 thing. But that's only through the course of self-scal. and in New England, they actually watch film with themselves and self-scout themselves. When you looked at the Rams game against the Cowboys, I don't think that that may have been the deciding factor. Wrap a bowl around the Cowboys season to you.

I think they play extremely well at home, and on the road, they just, they don't. You've been on teams like that. Yeah, some teams play better home. Yeah, definitely. I mean, that's why you fight all year to get home field advantage. You take the Philly and Saints game. You give the Philly 14 points at home.

It's over. The game's over. It's over. But the Saints are at home. So now they have a chance to fight and get back into it. And who would have thought that they would have been up 14 and lost 14 to 20? You know, it's funny. We were talking about this yesterday.

You were a great player home in a way. Teams do play better at home. Is it because of the noise? It's the crowd. It's the crowd. It's the push, the roar. You know, the fans, you know, they scream and they want more. And then when you go out there and say, you guys go out there and you get a, you know,

you get a great player sack. And you still, you know, you're celebrating with your teammates, but you don't have that thing or where you hear the fans, just the crowd roaring, the stadium shaking. You know, it's, it's motivation, man. Well, I don't think the Saints would be favored over the Rams in Los Angeles. So to your point, it is an absolute factor. Your thoughts, Antonio Brown's a great player. No question.

He's going to play in the NFL. He's just too darn good. You know, it's like O'Dell Beckham. You've got to find a place for him. Now, he may not fit every staff. I would make this argument, though. What Antonio Brown needs is a veteran-tolerant coach, a quarterback that throws a deep ball,

a team that has a running game to force safeties in the box, and a good complimentary receiver on the other side, limiting doubles. Doesn't he have all that in Pittsburgh? Could I not argue Pittsburgh's the perfect spot for him? I mean, wouldn't you be better, James? All those things that you said, they are true. He has all that in Pittsburgh. But I think outside of those things, it's come to a point where I don't believe things can be, you know,

burned out, so to speak. And, you know, I feel like it's time, you know, that maybe he gets a fresh start somewhere else where he can build a whole different rapport relationship with new coaches, new, new, you know, teammates and, you know, start off from there. What is his biggest frustration in Pittsburgh? What is the thing at night? Antonio Brown lays in bed and it just irks him. I don't know. I ain't in bed with him, so I couldn't tell you.

I think he just wants to, you know, get the same respect and, you know, say, you know, as, you know, he feels he or other players get that he doesn't get. He doesn't feel he has the power in Pittsburgh he's earned. To an extent, that's what I feel. Not speaking for him because I haven't talked, you know, directly like what it is, but I feel, you know, just from the vibe that I get. Is the Big Ben relationship poor? I'm not saying everybody has to get along.

You're in a locker room with 56 guys. Not everybody gets along. You know, nothing is perfect. You know, I would say maybe it's a little strength, but I don't think that's the thing that would be like the killer because they work well together. You know, at the end of the day, I don't really have to like you to be able to work well with you. I mean, we got to go out here and win games. If we win games, we both keep our job. So, I mean, I don't think someone's going to go out there and try and self-sabotage just to make a point or to make someone seem less of, you know, what they are to that.

Did he tell you he wanted out of Pittsburgh? He didn't tell me that. Did you sense he wanted out of Pittsburgh? I sense from everything that I'm reading now and seen, you know, with the, you know, withdrawal of Stiller, you know, comment, things from his, you know, his social medias and all that stuff. So, I mean, I would feel that, you know, and the interview, I guess, or the, with Jerry said, I would think that he wants to get a fresh start somewhere else. Money changes some people, not everybody.

There are those that have said Antonio got paid any change. Do you buy that? I don't buy that someone changes. I buy that maybe you become more aware of who that person may have been before that. You know, I get, you know, if I run into a billion dollars, you know, today, You know, tomorrow I'm still going to be James Harrison. Now, I may tell you exactly how I really feel about a certain situation because I no longer have to filter because I got a billion dollars.

But I'm going to still be James. I may just change about how I express, you know, my feelings or a way I feel about you. You become more of who you truly are. Right. Finally, if I said to you, it sounds like there are certain places he wants to go. If you had to guess where he is in a year, just random guess. Where he fits. Where his style personality fits.

It's not style personality. It's about play. He can fit anywhere. The man is one of the best receivers to play the game today. So San Francisco isn't, I don't think it's a bad fit. You got Jimmy over there. He comes back. You got a tight end that can open the field.

Now you've got a receiver that could do the same thing. I mean, it sounds like something that. Shamhan's pretty intense. hey, listen, it's a new start. You get set to a new way, and this is the way it is. And it's not, you know, you're not giving liensies or being able to do what it is that you feel as a head coach is still, it's not treating the same, but it's considered fair in your mind.

Then, you know, it's not an issue. If you come in and it's one is one, and that's for everybody, then that's just what you have to roll with. James Harrison, good stuff. Appreciate your candor. Thank you. 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. And this is so strange. Like we all know, Joy, you would admit, I would admit, coaching is a huge thing in the NFL. In baseball, best pitching staffs win, basketball, best stars win, hockey deepest roster wins. Football's the coaching sport.

It's very crucial, yes. I mean, Clemsons had a million coaches. They get Dabo Sweeney, he's a great coach, they have a dynasty. Alabama's had two dynasties, Bear Bryant, Nick Saban. Coaching's everything. I mean, the final four coaches are Breeze, Andy Reid, Sean Peyton, and Sean McVeigh. Most believe the four best coaches in the NFL.

So this is not a small story to me. This is amazing. So the Packers, not only do the Green Bay Packers hire as a head coach, Matt LaFleur, who's been a play caller one year in his life, who the stories, and I had it from an NFL executive, he's not great in the room. He's not an alpha. He doesn't have a lot of gravitas,

even in coordinator rooms. Yesterday, the Packers added to their offensive staff and hired the Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator. In business, that's comparable to the CEO of Blockbuster, or in basketball, that's comparable to Shaquille O'Neal's free throw consultant. When you think of Jacksonville, have you ever considered offense? So what Green Bay did to help Aaron Rogers get to the next level is fire Mike McCarthy,

who resurrected Brett Farb's career and helped develop Aaron Rogers, and they hired the Tennessee and Jacksonville offensive brain trusts. If I said to you, let's name the least creative offenses, I think I'd start with Jacksonville and Tennessee. Tennessee was 25th in yards, 27th in points, Jacksonville was 27th in points, and 31st in yards. These are not Super Bowl winning coaches. These are now Aaron Rogers' entourage. They're turtle and drama.

They're boys that just run with him and make him comfortable. Have you ever thought of Jacksonville in Tennessee as elevated, offensive, artistic forms? Have you ever thought of those? teams as offensive. I mean, this is amazing. Coaching has never mattered more in football. I mean, look around. College football.

Who are the coaches left? Look around. Who are the top teams in college football at the end? LSU's got more good players. Bama, Clemson, Ohio State, Notre Dame, they have the coaches. We don't think Notre Dame's got the best players. We think Notre Dame's got a really good football coach. Belichick, Peyton, Reed, McVeigh.

I mean, Aaron Rogers has tops five years left. At this point, commercials are better than his football production. And his commercials are great. But, you know, it's just, it's amazing. Everybody in the NFL now is trying to find the next great offensive coach. Why don't you just find the next great coach? Belichick's history is on the defense. side.

John Harbaugh was a special teams coach. It's not about offensive or defensive, although I do think the rule changes today have such a high degree of offensive lean. You would be best served to lean offensive coach. But I wouldn't like Adam Gace or Kyle Shanahan if I didn't think there were good coaches. So, and this is really remarkable to me, is that you hired two coaches. from two NFL teams, at best, their offensive history is bland?

I would make an argument you would have been better served going and getting a veteran defensive coach, like a Vic Vagio, Fangio, you would have been better served bringing that into Green Bay, elevating the defense, keeping teams under 23, and just letting Aaron run the offense. Sort of what the Colts did for years with Tony Dungey. Like Tony will take a defense, polish it, and make it the best it can be. And then Peyton Manning ran the offense. And they just found a guy that worked well with Peyton. That I get.

Vic Fangio, defensive coach, hire Matt LaFleur as a coordinator, and he can, you know, he can be the valet parking area and Roger's car. But, I mean, I don't even get this. I just, I don't even get it. Maxville and Tennessee's guys. Wow. And, you know, again, can you see Matt LaFleur holding a Super Bowl trophy and Bill Belichick looking at him like, wow, I got out-schemed? I just don't see that happening.

Call me Zaney. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. I think there's three teams this weekend. The Patriots, Rams, and Chiefs, I think could win games on a neutral field, home. away. I got to tell you, I don't feel it with New Orleans. I don't think they could beat the Rams in L.A. And I don't think they could beat them on a neutral field. I think if they do beat them, it's because they're at home. Here's an interesting thing. Seasons, don't look at a season holistically. Bill Belichick historically, September, they experiment. Early October, they experiment.

By Thanksgiving on, they're great. And they're always best in December and January. He's the best coach ever, and it's incredibly, incredibly predictable. Andy Reed has generally been great September, October, early November. He's had trouble finishing later for a variety of reasons. Maybe he's a play scheme designer. He spends his off-season creating new offenses, takes people by surprise early in seasons. By the end, you've seen his new stuff. I'm just making that up, but that could be.

But I want to show you something very interesting. I think you break seasons in the quadrants. I think September and early October or one season. Then the weather cools, injuries, October to Thanksgiving. The next season's Thanksgiving to mid-December, and the final season is really, really cold weather and the playoffs. Let's look at the last four games for all these teams, and there's three stats Vegas cares about.

Vegas doesn't care about all them. The three that Vegas believes are, what are you averaging points per game? What's your output? What's the point differential? How much are you winning by? And what are your yards per play? Those are considered in Vegas numbers that matter.

Vegas loves yards per play. Vegas loves point different. Historically, if you end up with a number one, number two, number three, number four point differential, you're playing in the Super Bowl. So of all the four teams, New Orleans is last in the last month. Last in points, last in point differential, last in yards per play.

But I know Saints fans are going, well, Colin, Teddy Bridgewater, Teddy Bridgewater played in one of those games. All right, then let's eliminate that game. Oh, wait. They're still easily last in points per game, almost by 10, point differential by 30 to 40 points, and yards per play by at least a half a yard, almost more. New Orleans simply doesn't pass the eye test in the last month. Let's be honest, that game's in Philadelphia. They don't win it.

Does everybody understand what Philadelphia overcame to have the ball late? They lost all three of their top defensive linemen for various parts. They lost their best interior offensive linemen early. They lost their top corner, were on a four-string running back, and a backup quarterback. They were on the road for the fifth time in six weeks and dropped a key potential interception and a key catch from the usually reliable Alshan Jeffrey. Philadelphia had the ball at the 30 driving for the win.

They don't pass the eye test. Terry Bradshaw from Louisiana, Saints fan growing up, said, just watch them. They don't look the same as they did two months ago. The thing that bothered me was the last four games of the season. and they had not looked good. And I said on the air, you can't put a key in the car and turn it on. And when you're run, run, and away we go, Jack, you can't do that.

And on the commercial break, I throw a highway, you put a key and you turn it on. But with the Saints Lately, you had to pull the choke out. There's some truth to it. And the other thing is, I think the Saints got a couple of breaks this year. first of all, their division was awful. Cam got hurt. Carolina was bad. Atlanta walked into the season on crutches and Tampa's Tampa. So that gave them big advantages.

Their division was bad. They also played most of their key big games at home. They hosted Philly. They hosted the Steelers. They hosted the Rams. The other thing is their schedule worked out, so they got an injured Cam Newton and Carolina both times late in the year.

That's not to say the Rams didn't deserve the accolades. They do multiple things well. They have a Hall of Fame coach and a Hall of Fame quarterback, a star receiver, and a very good running back, and it's hard to run the football on them. But when I look at them overall, last month, the numbers, the ones Vegas cares about, their last, even if you eliminate the Teddy Bridgewater game, they are easily dead last. I don't think the Saints are playing well. And when I, think about the games this weekend. Like if you tell me in one sentence describe New England's,

why New England would win this weekend? The first thing I would think of is Belichick Brady. If you said, okay, why would Kansas City win? I'd be like, well, Andy Reid Mahomes, MVP quarterback. If you said, why would the Rams win this weekend? I'd be like McVeigh, Todd Gurley, O'Line. If you say, why would the Saints win this weekend? You know what I think?

They're in the Superdome. So I think they're incredibly vulnerable. I picked the Saints to get to the Super Bowl and win it. But, man, Breeze is going to have to pull this one out because I just don't like what they've looked like for the last month. All right, let me shift to this. I said last hour when Joy and I got into this discussion, in the summer every year, I'm fairly accurate. About 60, 65 percent. I picked division winners.

I picked teams. This past year, I said the two teams I thought would go downhill, were the Minnesota. sort of Vikings and the Jags, and they did. You know, there were certain teams, you know, I miss some. I said the Baltimore Ravens were a dark horse Super Bowl team. That was pretty good. I also said the New York Giants would be good. That was a terrible pick.

But I think more than usual, 60% I pick games, 60% I'm about right in my preseason predictions. I would take Philadelphia next year to be the best team in the NFC. And I think it's highlighted by something. I tend to judge people how they deal with crisis. If your kid hits a home run at a little league game, every dad is cool. But what if your kid strikes out three times?

And the last two, the umpiring was terrible. How's dad act then? Judge people on how they act in crisis, because that's who they are. They say alcohol is truth serum, so is crisis. People at their point of stress become who they truly are. They can't fake it anymore. The Philadelphia Eagles,

this Nick Foles-Carsson-Went situation, has been a mess. It's a mess. It would unravel most NFL teams. They came into the season on crutches. They're on their four-string running back. Their secondary is a nightmare. This quarterback situation, the media is saying it's a dilemma, and I think it's the opposite. What this Nick Foles, Carson-Went's, quarterback,

quote dilemma has proven to me is this is the best run football operation in the NFC. People in Philadelphia think I don't like the Eagles and I question whether Doug Peterson, who didn't even call plays in Kansas City was the right guy. I was wrong. He is. I've said that multiple times. But Cleveland needed a quarterback. They traded away from Carson Wentz.

Philadelphia needed one. They traded into him. And he will be the quarterback going forward and he should be. Six-five, big athlete, great arm. But when I think about the Philadelphia Eagles, what they're doing, injuries, quarterback situation, on the road, didn't get a single break this year physically. And they were going in the Superdome, winning drive,

to beat the Saints in the Superdome. Listen, the New York Giants can't even handle a one quarterback situation. God, they can't figure out the Eli thing. Philadelphia has got two capable quarterbacks and has handled it brilliantly. Wence appears to like Foles. Foles appears to like Wence. They both appear to like the general manager

and the head coach. This is not a dilemma for Philadelphia. It is actually an illuminator. For them to deal with this quarterback situation and they're not be a bump in the road tells you this is an incredibly well-run

organization. This is an incredibly well-run organization. The Giants can't figure out the one quarterback thing. They got two guys who could start. The star is watching the backup win a Super Bowl. And every time I watch Philadelphia, I'm like, complete and utter harmony. You see it as a weakness. I see it as a strength. And I don't think it gets in the way of what will be next year going forward the best team in the NFC, Philadelphia Eagles. The whole thing's been magical. It's unbelievable. This would unravel 80% of the teams in the league.

Patriots had Brady Garoppolo. Even that thing in the end got tense. That thing for three months got a little ugly. These guys are like, this is good. Wence likes Foles. Foles like Wence. They both like Peterson. That's why I like him next year in the NFC.

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,

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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 podcast. What's up, guys, this is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue of 42.

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It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was crying. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis'i keep coming to you.

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