The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 01/18/2019

Episode Date: January 18, 2019

Colin thinks Tom Brady's impact on the NFL is the biggest reason he's the GOAT, even more so than his on-field accomplishments. He thinks all NFL teams look to copy other successful teams, which is why the Rams getting to the Super Bowl would change a lot of things in the NFL.  Plus, FS1's Instigator Rob Parker explains why the Patriots dynasty is about to end and that is a win for all of America.  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.

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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 Cowherg on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Friday. This is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we are live in Los Angeles, which isn't currently raining for the first time in a week on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio at FS-1. And Joy Taylor is joining me on a Friday. Joy, I don't know if you've heard.

There's been eight playoff games. We've picked all of them right so far. I heard to the grapevine. That was the case. Good morning. Good morning. We'll pick the next two in one hour from now. We will break down the games.

It's very exciting time. Joy and I, very exciting. She grew up in a football family. I played it poorly. And here we are. We are on the precipice on the day before, the day before the AFC championship and the NFC championship.

So Robert Kraft is one of the great owners all time in the NFL. NFL, and he was talking about Tom Brady, and Robert Kraft came out, and I'll just play, you know, the tape for you from the great Robert Kraft. Here you go. Definitely the greatest, the greatest player of all time, not just quarterback, in my opinion, because he's such a leader in the locker room. And for someone double the age of some of the players to be able to lead like that and connect like that. And at the same time,

so pleasant to be around. It's, you know, I'm really the luckest guy in the world. I've generally, I'm not really an arguer. I'm not into the greatest arguments much. I think he is the greatest

player of all time. The word I like is impactful. And because you could argue about the greatest in any industry, the greatest stockbroker, the greatest lawyer, the greatest doctor, the greatest teacher. That's hard to quantify. It's just you and I can go back.

Impactful isn't just about you. It's about your entire industry and about others. That's hard to argue. And, you know, I'll give you an example. Let's say you're a little boy or a little girl and you're eight years old and your parents get divorced. And your life's in chaos. Dad's gone. You're eight.

Say you're a little boy. And then your mom a year later remarries and he's your little league coach. And he's into camping and fishing. He teaches you how to do that. And he makes decent money. So over the course of time, he takes you on really interesting, fascinating vacations. Whether he's the greatest dad of all time, who knows. But the impact he had on your life from chaos and divorce.

to stability, support, and learning, and growing, you can't argue that. I've said this about NBA stars. Michael Jordan was a great player, but he also was the only player, the first player, to make the NBA global. Michael Jordan was great and had major impact.

Magic and Bird were obviously great players, but they, if not saved, revived a mostly dead NBA. They were impactful. LeBron James changed free agency. You're now thought of as weak if you don't go to a better team. That's impactful. Steph Curry revolutionized the game and mostly eliminated back to the basket centers. Those are all great players.

They're impactful. Kobe Bryant's great. He's not that impactful. Lakers were good before him, during him, and will be great after him. The NBA was fine before. him during and after him. Kobe's great. Kobe's amazing. He's like the closest thing to Jordan, but not quite Jordan we've ever seen. Magic, Bird, LeBron, Steph, MJ, they were impactful. That's where Brady separates from the Dan Marinos and the John Elways and the Peyton Manning's

and the Brett Farves. Forget the fact that he holds so many playoff records. And in most instances, he has double and triple the numbers of playoff games played, started, wins, passes thrown, passes completed, passing yards, passing touchdowns. In many instances, he almost doubles Peyton Manning. That's not the impact. The impact is quarterbacks now eat differently and sleep differently and consume alcohol differently during the season because of Tom Brady. Tom Brady has changed in terms of impactful the way we view age.

If Aaron Rogers retired today at 35, his career would be a disappointment. Because Brady has now made 40 the new standard. Before Tom Brady, if a quarterback, even a good one retired at 35 and 36, that was a long and healthy career. If Aaron Rogers retired tomorrow, he got to 35, he's changed how we view the longevity. of the position. By the way, now, he takes pay cuts, has for a decade. You're seen as greedy, not into winning.

Drew Brees took big money, watched Brady, scaled back. Tom has set the standard via agents with veteran quarterbacks. You take pay cuts, or you really, really aren't into the team thing. Tom Brady has also altered the meaning of success. It used to be if you got to a super bowl. There was an argument for a Hall of Famer. Two was surpassing any reasonable standard. Tom's now been to eight.

Tom shrinks Peyton Manning's career. Makes Farr of look really, really good, but not that level. He's doubled Montana. Forget the stats and the rings. His body, his diet, how he's reshaped his contract. how he doesn't drink during the season. Greatest quarterback, you can argue it all day. Obviously, I think so.

Impactful, nobody's even close. Let me shift to the Rams Saints game. Speaking of impactful, I think we've all watched the recent NFL hirings. Joy and I have reported those. Those are a direct correlation to Sean McVeigh. The jokes now, even well, Wade Phillips joke this week as the Rams defensive coordinator.

He had a friend who had a cup of coffee with McVane, got a job interview. If the Rams win this weekend on several levels, the league will change. Now, people always say the NFL is a copycat business. Everything is a copycat business. I mean, Amazon.com delivered stuff to your door. I can now have every grocery store in my neighborhood and every restaurant deliver food to my door. That's because of Amazon.com. Every business is a copycat business.

Facebook was copying MySpace. Now everybody, social networking, all of them are some derivative of Facebook. But the Rams, this is interesting, are the healthiest team of the four left. No injuries. No injuries. If the Rams win this game this weekend, and it's a field goal game either way, I'll have my pick in 45 minutes, remember the three things the Rams have done to alter the league. They went into free agency, big.

And with guys who were viewed as divas, big. They have lighter practices than every other team. Fewer pad days. Give veterans time off. They also, do you remember this in preseason? Refused as an organization to play any other top players a play. a play. We already know that owners want to get the next Sean McVeigh,

and we've seen that with the eight coaching openings, it appears seven are going to try to duplicate Sean McVe. But I read a story last night. Todd Gurley practice all week, totally healthy, skip three games. The Rams win this weekend. Watch next year's preseason. stars will not take a snap. They won't.

The top stars in the league, the Rams have set a precedent. Increasingly, watch NFL practices get lighter and lighter. Because the Rams, if they win this weekend, have a full complement of players. Their injury report, I kid you not, there's nobody listed. That's unheard of in the NFL. And, and most impressive for the L.A. Rams, skip preseason, lighter practices, they went huge into free agency. And with Indomacan Su and Akeb to leave and Marcus Peters, guys that aren't always easy to get

along with. So I think if you're talking about tipping points, a Rams win this weekend changes the way a lot of owners and a lot of GMs think. Free agency will be bigger. Practices will get lighter. The preseason will become completely irrelevant. Star running backs will take half a month to a month off. They just said Todd Gurley, you're not playing.

Three weeks. Don't take a carry. And it's paid off. This week, completely healthy. So I think impact this weekend. Keep your eye on the Rams. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio,

1 and the I Hard Radio app. So yesterday, Robert Kraft comes out and said, you know, Brady's just, he's the greatest quarterback of all time. And, you know, it's obvious, right? But there is hesitation. You drive into work this morning. I'm listening to radio. And there's, whoa, slow down. What about Jim Brown? What about

Jerry Rice? And so if you deconstruct the criticisms or the questions about Brady, not the greatest arm, not the greatest athlete, plays in the system, the weak AFC East. Let's deconstruct them. And all of them are fairly obvious. He doesn't have the greatest arm.

Cam Newton, Jay Cutler, Aaron Rogers, Joe Flacko, and Stafford have the best arms in the NFL. All including Rogers have frankly underachieved. Aaron has two. Arm is a 1988 argument. It's just not that valuable. Tom Brady's arm is simply

good enough. It's a good enough arm. Average, the slightly above average. Dumb argument. Well, he's not a great athlete. Well, he was a draft. by a Major League Baseball team in a high school. Peyton Manning wasn't, Joe Montana wasn't, Dan Marino wasn't, Dan Fouts wasn't, Terry Bradshaw wasn't, Troy Aikman wasn't.

His athletic ability, again, is historically fine, not an impediment. Well, he's in a great system. You do get that the greatest offensive system ever created was by Bill Walsh in the 70s. It's called the West Coast offense. And that's what Joe Montana had, who was the goat before Tom Brady got to his eighth Super Bowl. Folks, we're all in systems. Lawyers go to a court. Doctors go to a hospital. We're all in a system. I'm in a broadcasting company with a long history, football centric. We give lots of strong opinions before our show, after our show, and during our show. I'm also in a system. Nobody's doing

it on an island. Those three arguments are very easy to deconstruct. Here's a the argument I've never heard and made. And I see this all the time. That, you know, the Eastern Conference in the NBA, it's just not very good. Well, one of the reasons it lacks stability was LeBron James, who never gets credit for that, because LeBron, by the way, has left the Eastern Conference to the West, and now most people are seeing what we did for years. At the top, the Eastern Conference is every bit or better than

the West. There's four legitimate, five legitimate teams. There's more dysfunction in the West than the East. LeBron created that dysfunction. Nick Saban, you know, the SEC has had a lot of dysfunction. LSU has been dysfunctional. No, LSU, if you take out games against Nick Saban, is probably the second or third best program in the country. Nick Saban makes LSU look dysfunctional. The argument against Brady, arm you can poke holes in, athletic ability obviously, and systems just a dumb argument. But so is that his division is weak. So let's first compare two players who are often compared to Brady, Aaron Rogers and Big Ben.

Tom Brady's won his division 16 times and 18 years. Aaron and Ben less than half. Do you consider the NFC North with the historically dysfunctional lions and bears as a great division? Do you consider the NFC North with the historically incompetent Browns and Bengals as great divisions? Here's what's interesting when you consider the AFC East, Jets, Bills, Dolphins. Do you realize that if you take out the games, the Jets and the Bills and the dolphins, have played against Brady? They're 500 teams. They're not dysfunctional.

They're average. If Tom Brady wasn't in that conference and they could play an inferior quarterback, they would all be over 500. That Brady's never given credit for creating the dysfunction. Since Tom Brady arrived 18 years ago, the Dolphins and Jets are 500 teams if you take out the Tom Brady games.

And even Buffalo, who's considered basically Cleveland with worse weather, is not close to that. They win 45% of their games, which means over 18 years, they go from 8 and 8 to 7 and 9, 8 and 8 to 7 and 9, 8 and 8 to 7 and 9, if you took out Tom Brady. That's not terrible. You know what that's called in the NFL? Average!

He's in an average division. So we never, when you talk about greatest, we do this with all the greats. The greats create dysfunction because of the desperation to beat them. The constant firing of coaches in Buffalo and Miami in the Jets. In the Eastern Conference, the constant firing of coaches in Detroit, Indianapolis. Frank Vogel really that bad? When you start looking at the SEC,

Les Miles was winning 11 games a year. Really deserve to be fired? Ed Orgeron's a better choice, is that we never give the legends credit for creating the dysfunction. We often just say they're facing dysfunction. The Jets, the Bills, and the Dolphins are not awful. Their average, Tom's made them look utterly dysfunctional.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Yeah, this morning when I got up, I thought they had moved the AFC champion. because the weather forecast was 32 degrees. On Monday, the weather people in Kansas City were saying it was going to be an Arctic blast. So we've had a 50-degree swing in four days in Kansas City. That's what happens. Well, first of all, I used to work in local TV,

and these stations spend millions of dollars on radar and technology and a mega-Dopler 7,000 to get it right. And what they should have is just a dartboard. I mean, you might as well play pin the tail on the weatherman because they're just making crap up and they don't know anything. And Bill Belichick, by the way, is I love Bill Belichick. And Bill Belichick, three years ago, I dug this up yesterday. This is why I love Bill. Of the many reasons he's the greatest coach ever, this surpasses and eclipses all of them. Here's Belichick a few years ago.

Based on a forecast we've gotten so far this year, you know, none of them been very close to what the game conditions were. It was 100% chance of rain last week. The only water I saw was on the Gatorade table. I mean, my experience of going with the forecast two days before the game, I mean, I bet a lot that they're wrong. We played down in Miami two years ago, and there was a 0% chance of rain, zero and it rained. So, I mean, I'm just telling you.

I'm not saying I could do it better than them. I'm just saying they're wrong a lot. if I did my job the way they do theirs, I mean, I'd be here about a week. Okay. First of all, Bill, it's the tropics. There's no such thing as zero percent chance of rain. That's what the local weather... It literally rains every day in Miami, every single day.

You can drive out of it. One of those weather goofballs in Miami said zero chance of rain, and it was, you know, rainforest. First of all, I don't believe that for one second. That is fake news that someone said a zero percent chance of rain in Miami. That is a lie. point of being a meteorologist is to follow the weather. If the weather changes, then they let you know. That's why you have to check the weather update.

You would think the radar's a little more accurate than, holy crap, 50 degrees. Why do we have a graphic of this guy doing the Bird Box Challenge over the... He's a big goofy weather nerd. All right, let me shift to this. So New England does a... In the NBA, even a great coach with power, titles, and leverage and hard. hardware, Steve Kerr, is constantly telling you how great Steph is and how great Durant is, and how great Clay is, and how valuable Drayman is.

In the NBA, a Players League, even a coach with power who doesn't need to kiss butt is always telling you how great the players are. The NFL is the opposite. You're constantly suppressing individuality. In the 18 years of the Patriots dynasty, they've had one real crisis this offseason when Grunk and Malcolm Butler and Amandola and Dionne Lewis started being individuals talking about how great they were and Tom Brady pushed back and we had a full-fledged crisis.

Tom Brady, though, is back to being a good patriot, saying things like this after winning a game by 30 points. You know, I know, everyone thinks we suck and, you know, can't win any game, so we'll see. It'll be fun. The key to the NFL is suppressing individuality. The biggest disappointment in the league this year was the Pittsburgh Steelers. Individuality. Aaron Rogers.

Coachability issues. Individuality. Cam Newton. Super talent. Hard to coach. Individuality. The NFL tries to suppress it. And the easiest way to suppress it is to say the world's against us.

Us. That's the easiest way. I used to cover Jerry Tarkhania. And Tarko was talking. about this and they had a bunch of great players. He goes, but the way to make the players less about themselves and more about the team is to say the world is against us. And he goes, then stars and bench players join as one. It's all psychology. James Harrison was a steeler. Late in his career played for the Patriots and he said, oh, it's a real thing in Foxborough.

I was like you I'm like you know like this is phony everybody against New England all that this and but it's real like I have no problem with this you know they really believe that they feel that I felt that I was only there for six weeks and I'm like yeah it's New England versus everybody

everybody hate us nobody loves us but New England and when you buy into that like he said you get those 10 guys that really to buy into that you go out there and you give everything you got like you really believe that it's New England it's us

versus everybody. And it's an old Jerry Tarkanian trick. They were favored by 20 and 30. And Tark always felt that if you sold to the players, nobody believes in us, then the star players and the marginal players became a collective. It became one. That was the easiest way to take great teams and make them a unit.

Hey, everybody's against us. Star Bridges Gap with marginal players. You know, Nick Saban. Nick Saban's favored by 20 points in virtually every game. And he is constantly trying to suppress the individuality. Here's Saban. I'm trying to get our players to listen to me instead of listen to you guys. You know, all that stuff you write about how good we are and all that stuff they hear on ESPN,

it's like poison. You know what I mean? It's like taking poison, like rat poison. All right? So I'm asking them. Are you going to listen to me or are you going to listen to these guys about how good you are? That Brady quote after that game you all think we suck is this is what they do. It is the collective.

The world's against us. 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.

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Listen to SportsLice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it.

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Search Learn the hard way 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 line. You know these kids.

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, rep. My mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at?

Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? This Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. O'Dano 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 Reed.

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. He run up the court licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, after 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. Rob Parker, the FS1 instigator on a Friday. Rob, it is great to have you in teaching sports commentary at USC, former sports columnist, Detroit News, Daily News in New York. Rob, I know that the Patriots have been a thorn in your side and your arch nemesis, and here we go this weekend. That's right, the big game.

And you know what, Colin, this is not about Andy Reid. It's not about Patrick Mahomes. It's not about Kansas City hosting its first AFC championship game ever. This is about Independence Day for NFL America. The reign of terror will finally be over. This is what we're all talking about. Kansas City has to do this for every football fan in America

outside of New England. We need this to end. The end of Tom Brady. The end of Bill Belichick, the end of cheating scandals. This sorted history, part of history in the NFL will come to an end. It's all set up and we can't wait to finally move on where we can have other football teams that play by the rules and can give some variety when it comes to going to the Super Bowl

and seeing some new teams there. This is it. been calling for it for years, but finally, this is the year where I'm going to be right. Do you think Kansas City wins in a blowout? Not a blowout. I want it to be 48 to 20, but I think it'll be 28 to 20. I think that Kansas City will finally make it happen. They're the better team. If it wasn't for the Patriots history and you would just strip down the names off and look at the rosters and look at what's been done this year, no one would give the Patriots a chance to win this

game. But because of their history, and how lucky they've been in games. They're going to get a benefit of the doubt from other people. And I get that, but I still believe the Chiefs are the better team. Well, they said that about the Chargers last week. Yeah, and the Chargers didn't show up. Let's just be honest. They didn't show up, but here's the difference.

When people talk about the Patriots, their road has all... Everybody gives Tom Brady all the credit, right? Oh, well, they're unbelievable. But since 1990, look at this. since 1990, 44 of the 56 teams that have gone to the Super Bowl have had the first round by. So it's not just about Tom Brady and the Patriots. It's the system and the way it's set up.

If you only have to win two home games, you know what I mean, to get to the Super Bowl, two games, it's way easier than having to go on the road and having to win three games to get there. Well, they also have been the number one seed many times because they beat everybody in the regular season. And here's the other part. It's by far the weakest, the AFC East or Least, whatever you want to call, by far.

Since 19, I think 1990, all the other divisions have had at least three different champions during the same run that the Patriots have had. But they've won 14 out of 15 divisions. So they've taken advantage of a very weak division. You could try to, you know, talk up. up the Jets and talk up Buffalo and talk up Miami. But they've been dog food. Let's just be honest. Since 2001, if you take out the games against the Patriots, the dolphins and Jets have been 500 teams. But that they haven't been. But the Patriots are involved there. Well, and the Patriots are

great. Now, it's not just that. It's that these teams, when you say that, they haven't won anything. These teams, they've lost 14 out of 15 divisions. Come on, Colin. I'm not going to buy those phony numbers. What math are you doing? Well, I don't know. The kind of you. add and divide and subtract. So you like Kansas City to win this weekend. You put a lot of stock on winning the big game. I would argue this game is a big game for Andy Reid. I think Andy Reid's a great coach.

I think he's the best coach without a Super Bowl win. No, he has to. I agree with you, and that's always been the knock. No, no, let me ask you this. But let me give you this number with Brady. Okay. In 15 years, he hasn't won a road AFC championship game. They've lost their last three dating back to 2006.

so he hasn't won on the road and history is against Tom Brady in that fashion. Just let me throw this at you. What if they do win? I think I'm moving to Mexico. Do they have a job down there? Well, if you like soccer, you could be a sports radio host. I'll be a sports guide out there.

Me and Chris Bussar will move our radio show to Mexico. All right. Let's shift so you like Kansas City. Let's go over to the NFC where there's some things we know. New Orleans offensively for the last month yards per play, they're fourth of the four remaining teams. They've actually become more of a defensive story in the last month than an offensive story. We also know with the Rams, they were

good early, kind of a mess for two months in the middle, and now with C.J. Anderson, bizarrely, he may get more carriers than Gurley, who had a great week of practice. They become really a run first, past second offense. So that's what we have. Can the Rams overcome the loudest road environment, Superdome in the NFL. I think they can. This is the thing that's true. I never, once I make a pick, and originally I picked Kansas City

and the Saints in the Super Bowl. Once the playoffs started, that was my pick. And I never changed my picks. I don't believe in that. Like going with somebody wins or the hot team or whatever. But after I watched the Rams against Dallas, I just picked the Rams.

I thought the Rams were trending down, like you talked about in December. They were two and two, and they didn't look that great. But watching the Saints lately, I'm not that impressed. I don't feel good. I think that they would have lost had they not gotten that interception late against the Eagles. Off the Alshan Jeffrey dropped.

Right. I mean, it went through his hands. I went through his hands. He catches that ball. They were in business. They probably win that game. And ever since that Dallas game, too, with Drew Breeze, the offense isn't what it was. They were steam rolling over people.

Don't forget when they won those nine or ten games in a row. They were. No, I think it's, you know, listen. the initial reaction by any fan is to take New Orleans, and I would not be shocked if they won. Three and a half points to me, the half point makes the Rams the better bet for people who are into that. My only concern is this.

The Rams are actually under McVeigh, 13 and 3 on the road. They've actually been a great routine. That's an impressive number in the NFL. It really is. By any standards, including Steelers, Patriots, whatever. Goff is not as efficient on the United States. the road. Like Dak Prescott, you know, Drew Brees may not be as great on the road. Matt Ryan may not be as great on the road or Big Ben. They don't get overwhelmed. There are times Dak looks overwhelmed on

the road. There are times Deshawn Watson, a young quarterback. Andrew Luck last week looked overwhelmed on the road. Gough can sometimes get a little over his skis and dramatically home and away he's a different quarterback. I do worry about that. Do you like Gough? I like golf. I think early on he looked like he was going to some other level and I think he's come down from that. You know, where I thought at one point it's off the charts. He didn't look anything like the quarterback we saw with Jeff Fisher. You know, and this would be like two years now.

But what he did last week I like. And sometimes to win on the road when you have running backs like that is don't turn the ball over, which he didn't do. and also he ran for the biggest play of the game when they needed that first down. Good call. Right? I mean, so if he does that with the running and you know every once in a while you have to make that throw

that you need to win games, I think that's all. He doesn't have to throw for three touchdowns for them to win it with Saints if they're getting the running that they got against Dallas. Yeah, I mean, I said this in my... Maybe not 273 yards, but wonderful. The reality is both the Rams and the Patriots were virtually perfect last weekend,

and a big component of that is, it's easier to be efficient at home. The Patriots and the Rams will not be as efficient on the road. The key is don't turn it over. Don't go man overboard. And if you look at Goff and Brady, they win road games, but they don't win road games when they have turnovers. And that's the undoing.

Tom has looked bad before in Denver. Well, and this is the other thing this year. Let's be honest. Patriots lost five games on the road. You ready? All against non-playoff teams, They lost to the Lions. Jags.

The Jags. Steelers. Steelers. Detroit. Yep. I mean, it was some bad teams that they lost to. So it tells you about that the Patriots can lose. I don't expect high scoring games this weekend.

I don't. I think the Rams Saints, Chiefs, Patriots will be, you know, the mid-20s. They'll be just good games. And I also think they've seen each other before. So there is an element. The element of surprise is gone. There's no trickery here. These teams know what they do and know what they do well.

I will say this. Rams Chief Super Bowl, Rob? I like that. Oh, that's good. That's good. Well, the best game we saw this year, arguably, Rams Chiefs. And people looked at it. Remember when people were saying that might be a preview to the Super Bowl?

So we might actually get that. He teaches sports commentary at USC. When's your next big class? I'm going to be back there teaching. I'm going to be like a sports coach for their TV show, sports TV show, and then next semester, I'll teach again. All right. By the way, I watched the Lakers last night, a big road win.

That was a big win. Lanzo ball. Lanzo ball. I won't give you credit when you play well, but there's also those other nights. Yeah, Westbrook can't shoot. Westbrook can't shoot. It's unbelievable how badly. In your life and my life, we're NBA fans.

Have you ever seen an MVP player two years later can't shoot? And he can't make free throws. I know he made the three to tie the game, which was huge. He's shooting 64% in the year. But that's crazy. I've never seen in my, now I've seen baseball, you know, you're a hall of fame voter. I've seen batters going to prolong slumps. I've never seen Kobe, Michael, Bird Magic.

Westbrook can't shoot. Not for a guy who was as good as he was. It has to be mental. It's a mental thing because he's struggling shooting a basketball. He missed a layup last night late in the game, right, two of them. Yeah. Rob Parker, good stuff. Have a great weekend.

You too. couple with Chris Broussard. Great listen, Fox Sports Radio. 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. Mahomes is going to be the MVP, and Brady's a legend. And we know, you know, Breeze is a legend. And it's funny because we've marginalized Jared Goff as just a guy, jag, just a guy.

But, you know, it's funny. When it comes to quarterbacks, I look at traits, DNA, work ethic. I'm more into qualities and traits than I am your stats. If I was to say to you of all these young quarterbacks, Jared Goff will end up being the most decorated. You'd be like, well, what about Mahomes and what about Baker? And what about, to me, Jared Goff has the most Brady-like qualities. I think we're potentially looking at a Tom Brady.

is he's a California kid like Brady, six four and a half like Brady, truly a pocket passer like Brady, very limited mobility, making him a pocket passer like Brady. He has a revered, quote, genius as a head coach early in his career to latch on to, like Tom Brady, very coachable, grinder in the offseason, never makes headlines, incredibly low-key personality, and a precision thrower. And I always said when he broke into this league, I said he's somewhere between Brady and Matt Ryan. He has a better armed talent than Matt Ryan, better deep ball thrower

than Matt, and he looks like Brady. And it's funny because Mahomes is flashy and Baker's got a big personality. And Deshawn Watson and Carson Wentz are the great athletes. And Lamar Jackson is, you know, getting to the playoffs. Gough is being

kind of reduced to just a guy this weekend. He's 13 and 3 on the road the last two years. And much like Brady that we say, well, it's Belichick. it's the division. Goff of all these young quarterbacks shares the most similarities to Tom Brady.

Size, arm, style, personality, work ethic. And what has made Brady to a large degree is hooking onto a genius early. Who's the young coaching genius? Sean McVeigh. I think Goff's going to have, and I understand why Lamar and Mahalms and Baker and Wents and Deshaun.

understand whether they're getting the headlines. Much greater highlight players. To me, when I look at Goff, I see a younger Brady. That's what I see. And maybe this, Brady got to a Super Bowl early, maybe this changes sort of the narrative on Jared Goff. And by the way, Greg CoSell was on yesterday, and he likes Goff too. I think Goff 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 a 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. That's basically talking about Tom Brady. When Tom Brady is comfortable within the structure of New England's offense, Tom Brady is beautiful to watch. When Tom Brady's not comfortable. And Tom Brady's getting pressure. He can be very erratic. And Tom Brady's not as much fun to watch. He is Brady and Gough. They have very smart head coaches. When they're comfortable in the pocket, they are beautiful throwers of the football. CoSell just described Brady. And don't forget Brady in his first couple of years in this league, don't forget this, had a great defense. Gough has a great

running game. They relied on great coaching and a great element beyond themselves. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Russell Westbrook is a complete headcase. He can't shoot. Russell Westbrook last night was seven for 30. Lonzo Ball was begging him to shoot, was guarding him. At the end of the game, Luke Walton was yelling foul Westbrook. He was an MVP two years ago. He can't shoot. Take away three pointers last night. He was two of 18. And he was, oh,

overtime. He was afraid to shoot in overtime. Passed up a three and passed up a mid-range jumper. He is a shot fighter mentally. Can he reboot it? I have no idea. But he has gone headcase. When I watched the game last night, layups, his range, his shooting range now is dunking, and that's the end of his range. He hit three straight free throws at the end of regulation. So this is a guy that clearly is hard to play with. This is a guy now that can't shoot. Post-surgery, he's not quite as hyper-athletic.

and after the game, I mean, again, if you entered this league and you had no history on Russell Westbrook, and this is what he was, and you didn't know anything about Russell Westbrook, you would say, who's the ball hog who can't shoot? He is not an all-star player anymore. That is not even arguable. He's not an all-star in the West. He is not. He would not start at point guard for Golden State.

He would not start for Portland. Where would you put him on Chris Paul's healthy on Houston? He's not a starter on many of the elite teams. You're not going to start him over Kyrie Irving. Man, if you can't start on a half dozen teams, you're not an All-Star. And last night, now he won't even answer questions. So he's petulant with the media. They asked him about his free throws late.

What were you thinking in that situation, considering your free throw percentage of the season? I think 64.6. Next question. It's too tough a question. You have struggled with the line, but in clutch time it seemed like you're pretty confident. Was your confidence level high? Next question. I mean, he has, I've never seen anything like it.

I have never seen an MVP, and I would have never given him the MVP. I think he's a stat hoarder. But I've never seen an MVP literally fall off a cliff. And he's just, you know, he's not in the prime of his career, but he's not very far from it. He was an MVP two years ago. He's not an all-star anymore. And now, Paul George wasn't great last night, but it is very clear on this basketball team, George is the best player and Stephen Adams is a more reliable player to show you the

worthlessness of the triple double. He almost had one last night and he was seven for 30. And people say, oh, you hit those free throws late. I'm watching the game sitting there and nobody in that arena thought he was going to go three for three with free throws. Nobody in the arena, including Westbrook, you could tell. He's taking these deep breaths. So Lonzo Ball outplayed him last night in overtime.

and he is, this is all mental. You can't, you can tell when it's mental. So he used to shoot 80% free throws, then 75, now he's at 64. That's not physical. That's just a mental, you know, we've had golfers that get the yips. We've had baseball, second baseman that can't throw to first. This is all mental for him. But it is, it is absolutely remarkable to watch.

Yeah, two for 18, seven for 30. 23 miss field goals. Yeah, and that's the other thing. Can't shoot, still took 30 shots. 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 headlines. 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 SportsSlyce 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 acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? 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, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Look. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Brett. 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. 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. didn't talk ever again. I was honed. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to, 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 Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.