The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 01/17/2019

Episode Date: January 17, 2019

Colin is starting to question the relationship between LeBron James and the Lakers after his agent makes some intense remarks regarding his injury.  He thinks throughout the season the Patriots have been great in big games while the Chiefs have had their struggles.  Plus, Greg Cosell of NFL Films explains how the Rams offense is actually very basic and how Bill Belichick will try to stop Patrick Mahomes.  Presented by Perky Jerky. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert 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, Rhett, 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, Marquis come until he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to the best of Heard podcast.

Be sure to catch us live every weekday. From 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeart Radio app by searching herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowherg on Fox Sports Radio. Here we go on a Thursday.

This is the herd. Live in wet and again rainy Los Angeles. We are on IHeartRadio, Fox Sports Radio on FS1. One hour from now, Greg Co-Sell. Best 10 minutes you'll hear on the matchups this

weekend, Saints Rams, Chiefs, New England. Joining me now, Taylor after a very, very fun week. How are you, Joy? I'm doing great. Good morning. Good morning. I went to a NBA game last night. I watched the other L.A. team. The Clippers get whacked by the Utah Jazz. And there's a story this morning, and I think it's very interesting, and I want to start there. The Lakers kind of released something yesterday, a little press release saying,

yeah, LeBron will be back in here just a couple of days, you know, just like a random press release. He's being evaluated by the team medical staff and physicians. not travel with a team on the upcoming two-game roadie, has been clear to return to practice, commencing that week in progress towards a return thereafter. Yeah, it's just kind of a random press release, no big thing. Oh, but the reaction by Rich Paul in LeBron's camp, a little more than sensitive, quote, we don't give a blank what nobody thinks. We're going to do what's best for him.

When he feels he is best, he'll play. We're not on nobody's timeline. Look, LeBron's in a 16th year. We don't know nothing to nobody. When he's ready, he'll be back. It's as simple as that. Excuse me. That's a...

So the Lakers just released a very common press release, and Rich Ball delivered a double middle finger. Whoa! Folks, to six-week injury. I was told yesterday it's more serious than people are letting on. And LeBron is a guy that uses his own people and a team staff. Six-week injury. Already missed 11 games.

We've never had this for LeBron. He's the all-time NBA leader in minutes played, playoff minutes played. He's actually paid like three other full seasons in just like playoff games. He's like a baseball pitcher that goes to Game 7 in the World Series seven, eight years in a row. He's not getting more dynamic. This is a real injury. Previously, the most games he'd missed in succession were eight, and that was when he went down to D. Wade,

and they worked out in Miami after he left and went to Cleveland, and it was almost precautionary. It wasn't a real injury. We're at 11 games. It's probably going to get to 15. And, oh, by the way, every other star in this league has been hurt. Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Kowai Leonard, James Hardin, Westbrook, Paul George, Joe L.M.B., everybody in this league gets hurt, except LeBron.

And now LeBron's hurt. They're saying it's a three to six week injury. Folks, he didn't get touched by anybody. He slipped on the floor, hurt a pop. And here's the thing with LeBron. LeBron's great. Argue he's the goat. But he's no longer the best two-way player in the league.

Coisle-Lander is. He's no longer the best closer at the rim. Yonis is. He's no longer the best score. James Hardin is. Durant, Steph Curry are. He was number one in all of those five, six years ago.

Let me just throw this out there. LeBron comes back in a week. Plays for a month and a half. It's late March. Andy, here's another pop. Does Anthony Davis want to join him? There's a new trend with LeBron.

Oh, he's human too. And I think what this show is that the LeBron Laker situation, there is not perfect harmony. Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson were emotionally and physically all in on the Lakers. Let's just say LeBron's at the bar, having a cocktail, hasn't gone into the restaurant yet.

I was told when he first arrived, he was reluctant to sign basketballs with the rest of the players. He uses his own training staff. he still doesn't quite know if he's got a number two on this roster, nor does he know of Yeland Anthony Davis. When LeBron joins your team, and I understand this, he's always felt he and his camp,

hey, we're doing you a favor. Deliver for us. It's why Dan Gilbert said at the end, I want my team back. It's why Pat Riley at the end said, it's LeBron and everybody else. This thing is not in front of, harmony. And here's the problem. There's real tension with LeBron and the Lakers. Is Luke the guy?

Do we have another guy? Do you keep Lonzo and Brandon Ingram? When Boogie Cousins comes back, if he stays in Golden State, what's the point? But the scariest part in all of this, the scariest part is this entire empire of LeBron is built on his body. He's never been the most fluid score. He's not the best ball handler in the league. He's not the best shooter in the league. He's not the best rebounder in the league. He's the best body of all time.

It is the temple to the empire. And it's now hurt, untouched, slipping, Hear a pop, six-week injury. Rich Paul's reaction speaks volumes. Little fear. Little fear. The temple, the body is like everybody else's. That was a massive overreaction, a middle double finger to a simple, common pedestrian press release.

there's real tension. This proves it. Let me shift to this. A couple of big football games, not sure if you've heard about him. Rams are at the Saints, Patriots at Kansas City. Patrick Mahomes a very good player. I don't know. I mean, MVP, I guess, a terrific player.

He said yesterday, and this is not surprising because this happens all the time, that the first time he faced New England, they kind of confused him. I mean, they do what they always do, and they come out with unscouted, unscouted looks, stuff that they haven't shown in weeks, maybe in years, and they try to throw it on you and surprise you. And when you play teams of this caliber, you play teams with this much history of knowing how to win and capitalizing on people's mistakes. I mean, you can't come back and win games like that.

And it was shown that game. And so for us, we have to learn from that, know that we can't make those mistakes. We have to come out with our best effort from the beginning of the game all the way through the end. And it's going to be a dog fight for the entire game if you want to try to come out with the win. I will pick this game tomorrow on the show. We are eight and no straight up in our eight playoff games. I just want to remind everybody and enjoy what I'm going to do is just simply, I'm just going to remind people of something that has happened this year.

Okay. This is not an opinion. I'm just going to remind you of what's happened. Patrick Mahomes' biggest games this year. Against the Patriots lost, two turnovers. against the Rams lost five turnovers, at Chargers, at Seahawks, lost loss. And they did beat the Colts at home, by the way,

a rebuilding team, and he didn't play brilliantly. I want to remind people in Tom Brady's five biggest games this year, I'm not going to count the Bears win. Chiefs, Packers Sunday Night Football, Viking Sunday Night Football, Steelers, Chargers, they're four and one. Tom Brady had fewer turnovers in all five games than Patrick Mahomes had in one against the Rams. I'm just reminding you of facts.

I am sorry if they collide with your feelings, but Kansas City is 2 and 4 this year against playoff teams. And New England is 4 and 0 against playoff teams. I think it's an incredibly fair narrative. Sorry if it gets you all derailed in Kansas City. It's a very fair narrative to say Kansas City is mostly played well in big games, but really hasn't learned how to close. It's also a very fair narrative to say,

New England against playoff teams, still the best closers in the league. New England has not lost against a playoff team this year. New England stubbed their toe against bad teams who consider the Patriots a Super Bowl. The Jags, Tennessee, Detroit, Miami Dolphins. But when they play the good teams, they went four and oh.

And Brady was overwhelmingly brilliant. The one exceptional year, and I didn't count the Bears win in Chicago, was the Pittsburgh game. And that was a game in which Josh Gordon, we later found out 48 hours later, had derailed, gone off course, and they cut him. And so they didn't really have anybody to throw to down the field late. You remember that. It was odd. We talked about it the next day. Why didn't they look or throw to Josh Gordon?

36 hours later, he's off the team. These are just facts. Biggest games this weekend. Kansas cities played generally well, hasn't learned to close. New England still best closers in the league. Was that fair? Was that incendiary?

Was that controversial? Was that a hot take or anything? I mean, you're just pointing to numbers. Yeah, data. I mean, I'm not trying to, tomorrow's the big picks. Are you going to surprise everyone? with your pick? Well, America's media icon

delivers only data and facts and so I will deliver what I have been working on these all week, Joy. And I have, I feel so strongly about one, I can't contain myself. I can't contain myself. That's how I feel.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS1 and the IHeard radio app. Kyrie Irving came out yesterday. I used to play with LeBron, bailed on him. And LeBron James didn't like it because LeBron James thought he was helping Kyrie Irving grow. Kyrie Irving was a one-and-done guy at college, played eight college games at Duke, couldn't get off campus fast enough.

Well, Kyrie Irving is now admitting, yeah, I was kind of learning stuff from LeBron and maybe I should have been learning more stuff and not trying to get out of town so fast. Here's Kyrie Irving. It was a big deal for me because I had to call Bron. and tell him like, you know, I apologize for being that young player that wanted to everything at his, you know, at his fingertips. And I wanted everything to be at, you know, my threshold. I wanted to be the guy that led us to championship. I wanted to be the leader. I wanted to be all that.

And, you know, the responsibility of being the best player in the world and leading a team is something that's not meant for many people. And Brown was one of those guys that came to Cleveland and tried to really show us what it's like to win a championship. And it was hard for him. And sometimes getting the most out of the group. It's not the easiest thing in the world. First of all, I like that Kyrie Irving admits it. That's a real sign of maturity. Kyrie Irving, of course,

Kyrie Irving is simply a talent and not a leader. The NBA has got a leadership problem. I went to a game last night. It was a bunch of talented players who was really a leader. Steph Curry is a leader. Steph Curry grew up with an NBA father and then didn't try to get out of college as soon as he could. If you look at the Golden State Warriors, it's not a coincidence that Steph Curry went to

three years of college and Clay Thompson three and Draymond Green four and Andre Iguodala too. Steve Kerr also big part of the college experience. But the basketball culture in America, my friends, is broken. The basketball culture in America now is spot a talent in high school and let's get him paid in the pros. College basketball bad. No, it's not. College for all of us, Men and women is the time we grow up. I had to buy my own groceries, get a job and pay for things. I almost flunked out. I wasn't a grown-up.

You kind of learn to be a man, and I'll just speak for 19-year-old me. I learned to be a man in college. I had to figure out a checkbook and a budget and do my shopping and do my own clothes. Nobody made my bed. Nobody washed my stuff. College matters. Dwayne Wade taught LeBron had to be a leader in Miami.

Until that point, LeBron was just talented. But LeBron joined the Miami Heat. Shane Badiere, four years of college. Ray Allen, three years of college. D. Wade, three years of college. Eudanus Haslam, four years of college. Men, leaders. LeBron, to that point, was just talented.

It is then when LeBron became a leader. Talked about politics. Took vocal, tribal opinions that were unpopular to many. That's what being a man is. The NFL has never struggled with this because the NFL culture, the football culture in America, is about developing boys into men. You're 19 years old. You get recruited. The university says you will not play.

We will redshirt you. Grow up. Get stronger. You will then play three to four years, come out at 23 years old, statistically football players in America. Get married sooner. Older men leading a family, leading an office. offensive line. They walk into this league like Russell Wilson, four years of college and J.J. Watt, and their community leaders overnight. But the basketball culture is simply about find the talent

and get it paid. Yesterday, Scotty Pippen submitted to all of us that Zion Williamson should no longer play at Duke. Let's just get him paid. So therefore, Zion Williamson will be a long list of marvelously talented NBA players who have no real leadership skills. Kairie Irving had two two opportunities in his life to learn from two great leaders, Mike Shoshchevsky, and yet he couldn't leave him fast enough, and LeBron James, after Miami, a real leader, and he couldn't leave him fast enough either. I went to an NBA game last night, and when I look at this league, I don't see leaders. I see talent.

Kevin Durant's too flaky, James Hardens into James, same with Westbrook. Kauai doesn't talk. Steph Curry is a leader. And a big component to that is college. He's playing within a system. LeBron was just talented forever. Then he joined a group of players who had been to college, been on their own. Don't be so fast to roll your eyes at the college experience.

Yeah, I know. Yeah, I know. You'll want to get paid. I get it. And maybe over time, the NCAA will figure something out. I'd like to hope they would. But Kyrie Irving had two chances in his life to learn how to be a leader. He couldn't exit either fast enough.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. Weekdays at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Annie Reid was saying this yesterday, coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, he was standing on Tom Brady. He goes, I look at the film, and like the age thing hasn't hit him. And so, you know, there are things. things that happen and we know everybody ages. Baseball had a steroid problem, so 37-year-old guys got way better. I don't suspect Tom Brady's doing that stuff. But people are looking at film and

saying it's hard to see the decline. It is interesting to point out that with no deep threat and a tight end in Gronk, who will be a Hall of Famer that was a shell of himself and with Julian Edelman missing September. Now, I just want you to to think about this. No deep thread, no longer a dominating force at tight end, their best running backs are rookie, the offensive line was getting, remember their draft pick got hurt, they had to go get a right tackle, put him at left, and Edelman missed September. Tom Brady, 29 touchdowns, 11 picks, 66% completion percentage, 4,300 yards. That had been Cam Newton's best year by a mile. Working with the least he's ever had.

So just remember that. The other thing that's important to remember is I think a lot of people feel New England is old. Gromk is. And Tom Brady is. One will not be a patriot next year. It's a very good tight end class in the NFL draft. Gronk won't be a patriot. But you're forgetting that New England's core is mostly really young.

Stefan Gilmore is 28. Trey Flowers is 25. Sony Michelle is 23, James White's 26, Trent Brown the left tackles 25, Stephen Gaskowski's their kicker, he'll play forever, Shaq Mason's their best offensive lineman 25, and Joanne Bentley, a rookie's 22, won the starting job last year as a rookie at linebacker and got hurt. And that's something interesting here.

Two rookies popped for them in camp. Isaiah win, a first rounder, and Joanne Bentley, a fifth rounder. They also had Duke Dawson and Braxton Berius. They all got hurt. So they have four young players, two, Joanne Bentley and Isaiah win. They think are going to be stars. They didn't play this year. One starting roles didn't play.

They also have 12 draft picks. So they'll actually become one of the middle to younger teams in the league next year as Gronk's term expires. So don't forget this. Number one, Brady had very good numbers considering Edelman didn't play in September. Grong's pretty much a shot fighter and no deep threat. They still had very solid offensive numbers. They are 12 draft picks and actually you could count it as 16 because four draft picks last year,

they were planning to play major minutes. Two in fact looked like stars in. camp had won starting roles. So there is this idea. Don't forget, the NFL is a year-to-year proposition. The three teams, I'll guarantee you, that it'll be good next year. Going to be good. Kansas City, New England, and the Colts.

Everybody else, year-to-year proposition, generally I lean to the Steelers. But we thought Baltimore was that, and they eroded for about three years straight until this year with Lamar Jackson. Nobody takes the Texan seriously. implode in the playoffs. We like the Chargers, but they just melt it down. And they play in a tough division. We don't know what we're getting with Gruden. Sam Dardo and Adam Gates could be interesting, but it's a dysfunctional organization. So, you know, what Andy Reid says is, I'm looking at tape. I don't see the decline. And what I think a lot of people misunderstand, New England has a chance

to be very young next year outside of Brady. And he's not showing huge decline. It is a very good draft for the two things New England needs. Tight end and a wide receiver. And it's a deep draft, not a ton of stars, but a deep draft with both. They've got six picks in the first three rounds, 12 overall. And I think a lot of people are forgetting. Four draft picks last year got hurt, didn't play. Two had earned starting roles got hurt.

So this is really, they're going to sustain this thing. Belichick's still the best coach in the league. It is still arguably the best home field advantage in the AFC and Brady's Brady. 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. straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer 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, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast.

Learn the Hardway. Open your free I Heart Radio 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, 42. Hey, ref, Mom, I'm going to want you.

you to weigh better. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what.

He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid.

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

Like, you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. For 30 years at NFL films, one of my favorite segments of the week, we have three football games left until, you know, next year. And we bring in Greg Kossel on a start on the Rams. and the Saints, that will be the first game. It'll be on Fox. So I want to start with this, Greg.

The Saints offense, September, October, November was one offense, pretty high-flying. Then they faced the Cowboys. And since then, yards per play has gone down, haven't been quite as dynamic. What is the film saying happened to the Saints? If you're being honest, Colin, in studying the tape, you will say that Drew Breeze has not played particularly well over the last, I don't know when that started, but it was certainly the last four or five weeks of the regular season. I would say that he was uncharacteristically inaccurate, and by that I mean his ball placement wasn't quite as precise. I thought there were times based on the route concepts

and where I know that he should be going with the ball, that he didn't turn it loose a number of times. He did that. So I would say overall, if you're being honest in your evaluation, you would say that Drew Brees did not play at the same level. Which I would argue is there's a number on Tom Brady that he's not quite been as good in December as he has been in October and early. That would point to fatigue and age. Is that unrealistic? You know, that's hard to know for sure because now we're trying to just sort of

speculate as to why that may be the case. You know, in the case of Brees, I don't know the answer to that. Breeze has always been a quarterback that I think his lower body has been really important to his game, not in terms of running around like, let's say, a Russell Wilson, but just how strong he is in his lower body to move within the pocket and then to be able to drive the ball. Not necessarily with a power arm. He's not a power thrower, but just the ability to move, reset, stay on balance with a very firm base. Some might even look at the first play of the game against the Eagles last week when he had to stay in the pocket and sort of reset and try to drive a deep ball to Ted Ginn and it came up short.

Yeah. The Rams are interesting. They kind of had to reboot. They were very dynamic early, hit a rough stretch, and then they kind of rebooted against the Niners in Arizona, got a buy, and continued that sort of power running game they'd used against the Cardinals and Niners against the Cowboys. So they've kind of rebooted. I thought the buy week was kind of very important. important for this veteran offensive line to get rest, and they looked very sharp. But let's go to the Rams specifically.

It does feel like they've gone back or perhaps created with C.J. Anderson and Gurley a little bit of a different offense than I saw early. It feels very run-centric. Well, I think it's always been that way. It's just they've been more successful because that's the way they start their offense. During the regular season, keep in mind they were the third best rushing team in the league, and they run the ball a lot. They were just very successful,

and they're coming off the Cowboys game in which they did some really good things, some really nuanced things. They did a lot of tempo. They played against the Cowboys' defense that's very quick, very fast, likes to move. So what they did is they went tempo,

and they got got off to the line of scrimmage. Now, he didn't always snap the ball right away. Sometimes he waited until there were three, four seconds on the clock. But when you do that, the defense can't move. The defense has to be static, and they got the front looks, that they wanted. They got the defense static and they were able to attack those front looks. Their run game is all about attacking the front, the defensive front that they're facing,

because their run game is not overly diverse. It's essentially outside zone and inside zone. So it's not a really diverse run game. You know, it's interesting. Gough, I think we talked about this, had kind of a rough November. And, you know, teams have different personalities. Belichick's never been quite as, you know, New England in September, New England and January, they're two different teams sometimes. What do you make of the matchup with golf? What do you like that he does well?

When is he at his best? It's not a negative term because I think this is what coaches should do. I think golf is very much a programmed player. I think that when their offense works functionally and effectively in all its dimensions and he drops back and is relatively secure in the pocket that he throws a beautiful ball. He's an easy thrower. He's a comfortable thrower. He has a good arm.

For the most part, he's an accurate thrower. He lost some of his accuracy down the stretch. But when he's a comfortable player within the context of a multi-dimensional offense, he's very pretty to watch. The ball comes out really well. And that offensive line is healthy. Is it as good as

any offensive line left in the playoffs? Well, the one thing that has been talked about all year. I remember it was talked about with the Eagles a year ago is all five starters played all 16 games. And I think that when you get to this point in the season, that's really important. It's not likely you'll have errors in cohesion and those kinds of things where there's assignment mistakes based on a lack of understanding of what you're trying to get done. So I think that's really important going forward.

By the way, Sean McVeigh and Sean Payton are considered very smart play designers, very clever offensive coaches. So people can kind of lump them in together. Do you see similarities or are they dissimilar sometimes? Because I think that Sean Payton is very much built on multiple, personnel packages, multiple formation looks. Sean McVeigh doesn't do much of that at all. They line up in what we call 11 personnel with three wide receivers on probably 95% of their snaps, and they're not that multiple with their formation looks.

In fact, in the week 9 game, they lined up in 11 personnel on every single snap, and the Saints defense lined up in nickel on every single snap. So now, here's a perfect example where teams have done things like this and it hasn't worked, and then people say, oh, you can't play like that. You're not creative. Yeah. A player that played against Bill Walsh in the Niners 20 years ago told me, he said the Niners ran 12 plays.

They had 30 different looks. He goes, they only ran 12 plays. And then I had a player that played with Sam Wyshe. It said, we had 1,600 plays. We just didn't do any of them well. I've always thought the number of plays is overblown. You have to disguise looks, but do what you do well in life and in football. Yeah.

And the Rams are what they're trying to do with all that jet motion and the things that they do. Even just with your base outside zone run look is they're just trying to cause misreads based on how people have to react to what they're doing. You know, they're not fancy. They're not multiple in the way people think multiple. But they're just trying to cause defenders' eyes not to be in the right place. And then that causes them to be a beat laid in their reactions. Let's shift to the AFC. Good stuff.

Greg Kossel joining us. So Patriots are 10 and O this year. when they rush for 100 yards. They use their running backs as receivers very effectively. Sony Michelle is now healthy. He's a very small but nimble, clever runner. He can go outside or inside the tackles. So when you look at their running game,

where they're 10 and 0 when they get 100 yards, and you look at Kansas City's run defense, what does the film say? Depending on the personnel that are on the field. They run certain concepts when they have 21 personnel, meaning the fullback Devlin is on the field, and they run other concepts when they're in 11 personnel with three wide receivers with Sony Michelle.

So, you know, it depends what the look is, and the Chiefs, I think, will line up with their personnel accordingly. My guess is they'll play their base defense against 21 personnel, and they'll be a nickel versus the 11 personnel, and you'll see different formations. One of the things the Patriots have always done, Colin, almost better than anybody over these last five, six, seven years, is when they have base personnel on the field,

they are so diverse with their formation looks that they create a lot of problems for defenses. You know, I don't recall them playing any better than they did against the Chargers. I was shocked by their effectiveness. What blew you away on the film about New England's offense against what we consider to be excellent Charger personnel? Well, I think that game was an odd game because of what the Chargers chose to do. The Chargers essentially chose to play with six defensive backs as their base defense. So when the Patriots lined up with a fallback on the field and big people, they had Devlin and Grunk on the field,

the Chargers still had six defensive backs on the field, and they really got hurt with the run game through the first half. And again, that's what they chose to do. They spent all week taking that approach. They obviously thought it would be the best approach, but it hurt them. Yeah. Let's go to Kansas City's offense. Tyreek Hill is the fastest player probably in football. He gave the Patriots fits, and I consider the Patriots secondary, you know, Devin McCordy, Stefan Gilmore.

generally it's very well coached. Belichick has a history with DVs. I think they have a pretty good secondary in my opinion. Maybe not as gifted as like a Chargers, but I think Gilmore's terrific player. I think Devin McCordy's, you know, in his 30s, but he's a very good player. Tyreek Hill ate him alive. You know, Plaxico Burris was on my show 40 minutes ago and he said, nobody takes away the inside routes like Belichick. They use the sideline as a defender. The Patriots had no success against Tyreek Hill. And they generally, generally take away your big receiving threat. Why is he such a nightmare for them?

Well, keep this in mind. In the first game they played, and that was week six, Belichick made a decision. The decision he made in that game was that he was going to take away Kelsey and not Hill. Now, he may change that decision in this game. Yeah. You know, because one thing about the Chiefs is besides being very well-schemed, they have very good personnel.

And Hill presents a different issue. They are, there's certain defined tendencies. formations. And if I know that, Bill Belichick will know that, and I'll be very anxious to see what they do. One tendency in particular, when they go empty and the chiefs are very good out of empty, is they put Tyreek Hill in the inside slot to the trips wrong. And they tend to run him vertically from there. And you can't let him get over the top of you. Yeah. So you're saying the chiefs are a tad more predictable out of their sets. With cool stuff that no one's seen before, everybody is predictable is probably not the right word everybody has tendencies and teams know what the

opponent's tendencies are you don't win these games i'm going to throw a guy's name out i don't even know if we have tape for him that i think's going to be big this weekend uh chris jones defensive lineman for the chiefs um he has emerged and maybe i just wasn't paying attention but it seems in the last two months he has emerged as a a real force a really difficult guy to block My takeaway on this game is if New England struggles with him and has to double him, it could affect the run game. Just talk a little about Kansas City's defensive front. I think Chris, I'm not saying Aaron Donald or Fletcher Cox, but boy, when I watch Kansas City play, Greg, he is hard to stay in front of. Well, this is what you're saying of the Patriots being able to.

And when you saw them last week, it seemed as if Brady got the ball out so quick. Yes. They were rarely in long-yarded situations. there may be no more patient quarterback that I can remember than Tom Brady in willing to throw the ball five yards. And very often those five-yard gains become eight-yard gains. And while that may not appear on a highlight, that's a big play, particularly if it's first down. You know, then it's second and two. Jones working inside, but Justin Houston, who didn't play week six.

And D. Ford is the ability to stay within the schedule of the offense, and then the ball comes out so quick. And that's the key for the Patriots. when Brady's secure, and I thought this year, one of the differences with Brady is he owned him as he's been in years past. So if you can keep him secure and get the ball out, it might negate that pass rush. Well, Joey Bosa, I was watching film last night. Joey Bosa, they had him miced. He was just frustrated. He kept going to the sidelines saying he's getting rid of the ball.

He can't get there. He can't get there. He's like, it doesn't matter how good our pass rushes. Right. I look up and the ball's down the field. All right, your big play this week is Brady to Edelman against the Chiefs. Roll it. Go. Tell us what you got. We'll jump right into it, so let's start it right now.

And this was a 17-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Edelman, and it was very reflective of this first matchup in a number of ways. And we'll start with the fact that the Patriots go with a trips formation here to the field. And this is they do a lot of. You see, the three receivers, it's a trips formation. It's a bunch formation. And the chiefs are playing man to man. They play a lot of man coverage.

You're going to see this. But now the other thing, which is really representative of the first game, and what the Chiefs do is the Chiefs rushed three. Okay, they rushed three, and they dropped two defenders as kind of underneath lurkers. And so this is what they did, many snaps in that game. It was cover one man coverage behind a three-man rush, two lurkers. Now you get to the matchup of Edelman versus Fuller, and they'll take that every time.

Fuller's a good player, but they like that matchup. They'll take Edelman in the slot versus Fuller all day long. But that's something to really watch for in this game because the Chiefs, they rush three quite a bit. That's part of what they do, and they like to play coverage, but they play man coverage with those two free defenders, which I think they'll do against New England. Yeah. Who's got the better offensive line, by the way? What's the film side?

Because the offenses are different. You know, there's more deep drops for Kansas City, and there's more quick drops for the Patriots. So, you know, that's a hard call. They just play totally differently. Yeah. You do like Kansas City's defensive front better than New England, though Trey Flowers is pretty good. Well, as an individual group, yes.

You know, the Patriots don't have that one pass rusher like a D. Ford or Justin Houston. And Chris Jones is certainly very good on the inside. So, you know, as individuals, the Chiefs are better. Yeah. I can't wait for this. I really do. I think it's very easy to look at Kansas City and say payback big weekend. But I'll tell you this.

New England was four and oh against playoff teams. year and they have a tendency to be very, very good in these big games. So I just can't wait. Well, I'm glad it's going to be downright balmy now, at least in the 20s as opposed to zero. No kidding. Greg, great talking to you. Thanks, Colin. Appreciate it. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. One of the reasons I don't like the term hot take is because sports delivers the amazing.

sports delivers the unpredictable. Things happen in sports that would be ridiculous to predict. And yet, over time, they happen. Very rarely in sports, is it predictable? And so these days, everybody's afraid to have a strong opinion because social media will brand it a hot take. Well, right now, social media is having something called the 10-year challenge. You go back to 2009, and you show,

pictures and you compare them to yourself and compare yourself to now 2019. And I thought it would be interesting to go back 10 years to look at things we could have said what happened in sports and how absolutely absurd it would have sounded 10 years ago and they all came true. So let's actually go back in time. It's time to look back at the year 2009 to see how much has changed, how different people looked and whatever was going on with Goulet in this photo. Get ready for the herd special

version of the 10-year challenge. Okay, a hot take 2009, this would have been a hot take. The Patriots Dynasty, I know Brady's hurt. It's going to last another 10 years and he's

still going to be an MVP at 40. That's exactly what happened. Tom Brady was an MVP. DP at 40. In 2009, he was coming off an injury. Peyton Manning was in his prime, just turning the corner to the back nine, and the dynasty would last double the length of the longest dynasty Steelers in NFL history 10 years ago. How about this one? Tony Romo will only appear in a Super Bowl as an announcer. What if I would have said that in 2009? He was only a third year starter for the

Cowboys. Well, I would have believed you, but... By the way, he is now younger than Brady and Breeze, who are playing this weekend, only in his third year as a starter, had just won a playoff game. I come on the air and say, he will, 10 years from now, be doing the Super Bowl as an announcer. He won't have been playing. Well, that's actually true. It gets better. The NFL's best future coach is a 22-year-old assistant in Tampa. His name is Sean McVeigh. he'll go on to coach the Florida Tuscars of the United Football League. That's something, huh? He will go on, he was the youngest assistant in the league.

He will go on to be the most duplicated, copied coach in the National Football League. From the Florida Tuscars. How about this one? This is why I've got to be careful about saying it's a hot take. Sports delivers the insane. In 2009, I said, David Sid Jr. shooting guard, Steph Curry, will revolutionize the NBA.

In 2009, he missed the tournament. He couldn't make the tournament. He has since gone on to win the first unanimous MVP's, three NBA titles, currently has set the record for the most threes in a season three separate times. 10 years ago, you'd be laughed off sports radio for saying, that little guy that just missed the tournament will revolutionize professional basketball forever.

How about this? If I said 10 years ago, centers in the NBA will become mostly irrelevant. 2009, Dwight Howard was an MVP candidate and led the Orlando Magic to the NBA finals. He has now been on five teams and never reached the finals again. Even the NBA franchise, the Lakers, known as the final landing spot for most of the great centers, had him, and in the end weren't that truly interested, nor was he interested in the Lakers. How about this one? Ten years ago.

Ten year challenge. If I'd have said, hey, LeBron's going to be a Laker. What? That would have been an incredible hot take. In 2009, the biggest rivalry in the NBA was LeBron against Kobe in the Lakers. The Lakers won the title that year. Certainly didn't appear to need LeBron. LeBron is now in his fourth team.

That in itself would have been a crazy hot take. If I'd have said he leaves Cleveland and comes back. How about this one? 2009, 10-year challenge. Be careful about saying hot take. If I'd have said 2009, hey, Tiger Woods never win another major. What? In 2009, Tiger Woods had won 14 majors and was on pace to shatter Jack Nicholas's record of 18.

Woods has won a major, I think, what is it, won since winning the U.S. open in 2008. Tiger had been the world's number one-ranked golfer since June of 2005 to 2009. He was the most dominant golfer on the planet. there was no second place. Mickelson was seen as a large Grand Canyon gap behind him. 2009, Tiger will never win another major. How about this? If I'd have said this 10 years ago.

Now think about this. The Chicago Cubs will become one of baseball's best franchises. They had a horrible facility. In 2009, they'd got 101 years without winning a World Series. They have now, over the last four years, amassed 387 wins that is the most in Major League Baseball. But how about the craziest thing if I'd have said this 10 years ago? Clemson will blow out Alabama to win the college football playoff and get served McDonald's by President Donald Trump.

Oh, man. That would have been the craziest hot take of all time, and that's exactly what happened. is at a surprise that Clemson now was the dominant force, because Clemson, at that time in 2009, hadn't won double-digit games in 2009. 19 years. So Clemson's not only the crazy story. The guy in the White House is kind of a crazy story. Yeah, that picture will be in history books.

Our grandchildren will see that picture. But it is interesting. Whenever anybody says hot take, I always say, time out. Sports, the truly bizarre happens. A junior at Davidson who can't make the tournament changes the world. Tiger falls off a cliff. Donald Trump becomes president and serves Clemson McDonald's. LeBron becomes a Laker.

I mean, the Cubs become, along with the Red Sox, you know, arguably the best analytic team in baseball. I think maybe the NBA centers and Tom Brady are the most bizarre. I mean, obviously, like, no one other than Steph Curry could have predicted what Steph Curry is done. our lifetime, Joy, dynasties in the NFL lasted about six years. I mean, the Steelers were about seven. You got about six years of this stuff. Then players fell apart.

Players couldn't play forever. No, I mean, you can do so much more now with nutrition. It's incredible. 2009, they'd already been to the Super Bowl three times. Brady just got hurt. And 10 years from now, they'll win their division every year for a decade. You'd be like, well, nobody can last that long. Brady's throwing a touchdown pass to 74 different people.

Like, it's insane that you. even think what they're doing. So I always blanch it hot take. I love sportscasters who not only report on just what happened, but are not afraid to go out and say, I think this is going to happen. Social media shames you and mocks you for doing that. But the guys that I listen to or the gals I listen to on sports talk radio and sports radio are not just reporting what did happen. They're projecting what they think will happen. That's what I think sports is what's great about sports. It delivers the wildly unpredictable. 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 Slices Life 12 in the 10. TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-heart radio app. Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. 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? Time out. Quarterback on office, Blue, 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, very. Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the I Heart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. 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 hungry. You just understood.

That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in. He's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.