The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 01/25/2019

Episode Date: January 25, 2019

Doug Gottlieb fills in for Colin and thinks Tom Brady should retire if he wins the Super Bowl because it’s always better to leave a year early than a year late.  He says Sean Payton should leave New Orleans for the Dallas Cowboys if he can.  Plus, former NFL WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh talks about how important culture can be in the NFL and what Baker Mayfield will have to overcome in Cleveland.  Presented by Perky Jerky. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

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

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

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

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 iHeartRadio app by search Watching herd.

This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. What up? Welcome in. This is the herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be making it as part of your day. Thanks so much. Alongside Joy Taylor, who's going sand's glasses today. I always tuning to see the glasses. Some days we've got to go sand's glasses.

Someday sand's glasses. Beautiful sunny day in Southern California. I'm off to the Super Bowl. Joy and Colin get to hang out here in sunny Los Angeles. Welcome in. We got an outstanding show for you. Former Patriot assistant and head coach in Nashville League, the Man Genius. Eric Manjini will join us upcoming this hour. So will Chris Broussard. So will TJ Huchmanzada.

So will Katina Mowgli. And Ray Boomo Mancini will join us live here on set. What a show. Okay, so next week, Super Bowl Week, and we still continue to react to championship weekend. Everyone else seems to be on to Atlanta, but the Saints are throwing lawsuits and asking for second and third apologies from the NFL for one missed call. But I'm looking ahead at the possibility of the last time we see number 12. Now, full disclosure, I changed my vote on Monday.

I've sat in this seat before. I have my own show, 3 to 6 Eastern Time, 12 to 3 Pacific Falls call and show. Whether it's that show or this show, whether it's this network or other networks, I previously believed, and I still on some level, believe that Aaron Rogers checks every box in terms of athleticism, armed talent, ability to make plays in the clutch, ability to extend the pocket, play through injury, lead inferior teams to superior results. But what I saw Sunday in Kansas City against a really good defensive line and against an incredible offense where you've got to keep scoring because they're going to start scoring. what I saw the weekend before when they demolished the charges. What I saw in the Super Bowl last year, where they didn't punt, what I saw in the Super Bowl before that,

where they came from 28 to 3 down for the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history. All right. I'm changing my vote. I announced on my show and on Sun Collins show. That's the best quarterback I've ever seen. Because part of what makes being a great quarterback is not, if you check every box, as if you can succeed in spite of the boxes you don't check.

And I don't necessarily want him to retire. Like, you don't want to see greatness go away. And I understand, fully understand, that there is nothing in his life, nothing in his life, which will ever fulfill him. Like, look, I love my kids. I love my wife.

I love my family. And Tom Brady, much like all these other quarterbacks, is going to be a success in business and in life outside of football. but nothing will feel the same as being under behind center in front of 80,000 people, in front of 100 million people watching you, and walking into that locker room afterwards,

leading 46 men and coaches into battle, have them all eyes on you, believing in you, and you telling them they can do it, everybody else tell them they can't, and you're doing it, and then looking at you like you're a God. You're nothing like that. Like, I understand why especially quarterbacks, don't want to retire. Like, I get it.

It is way more, winning is a more powerful drug than anything else that's ever been created, including the illicit kinds. Because you want more, you want more, you want more.

But there does come a point in time for perspective. Right? Like, I think that the greatness of Tom Brady was they won, even though he didn't play particularly well,

right? Like, let's not get it twisted. He threw two picks, which were both on him, and then threw a third one. I don't know if you put it on Gronk or on him, 50, 50, split, whatever. Three interceptions and a championship game on the road, that's not good football. He knows it. And the game plan really in the first half was not to emphasize the greatness of Tom Brady was to run the football. And I know he overcame three third and tens.

And I know they had a great drive in overtime where Kansas City never got the ball back. I'm not disputing how awesome he is. just told you I changed my vote, which by the way, you're allowed to do. Like Rob Parker, you're allowed to take it out. I was wrong. Right. You're around to go like, I was wrong. It's okay. Happens all the time. You're allowed to go, I was wrong. My bad. I didn't think Steph Curry would be an all-star, let alone a legend. I was wrong. Happens. It's the percentage of times it happens when people stop listening and maybe the inability to admit when you're wrong about things. Tom Brady's proven many people wrong. But, but, but, but, you know, it's, but, you know,

I was watching that game and I was realizing how close they came to losing it. I'm watching the post-game reaction. I don't know if you've guys seen this footage, but there's footage now Tom Brady walking in the locker room, shaking hands and hugging all his teammates. And there's a lot of cursing, which will bleep out. But he's hugging guys and he's going unbelievable. Unbelievable.

Unbelievable. Can you believe it? Unbelievable. Take a listen. baby. Unbelievable. Love you, man. Playgrounds off.

Unbelievable. He just keeps going around. Unbelievable. You were great. Unbelievable. Do you know why it was unbelievable? Because it was. Do you know why people said they didn't have good skill position players?

Because they don't. I mean, Rob Grankowski runs like Tom Brady. And Tom Brady, a couple throws there were more like Rob Grunkowski throwing the football. And then you think of it. They started off as. underdogs against the Rams. And if you have the, if you're old enough, you remember the Rams were the greatest show on turf.

They had lit up the NFL for two years and they had Hall of Famers all over. They had the best left tackle in the league. They had a quarterback who was a perfect fit in Kurt Warner for their system. They had Marshall Falk arguably the best running back in the history of the NFL. If you really look at Marshall Falk, he's a groundbreaker in terms of ability to run it and then catch it out of the backfield. how Tori Holt should be in the Hall of Fame. So said Isaac Bruce.

I kind of go through it. They had everything. And if you go back to that Super Bowl, you remember that that was back when they introduced each individual player. And now for the L.A. Ram, back to the St. Louis Rams. Kurt Warner. Now it's every guy. And then it was the New England Patriots who were the first team to go,

no, no, no, no. Just say Patriots. We're going out. Like, no, we want to introduce, recognize each. No, no, no. just say patriots will run out and they all come out and it was the it was an unbelievable underdog story like tom brady wasn't supposed to be the quarterback drew bledso was they hid his lack of experience they hid some of his weaknesses and he still had the ability and they probably weren't

supposed to be there why because the raiders were the better football team if not for the tuck rule but they won anyway because that's part of the the lore the legacy the aura that's part of the story of Tom Brady is that he can take his 46 and beat your 46 and then switch at half time and take your 46 and beat their 46. Same thing with Belichick. But they've been this close several times to the whole thing falling apart. And Grunk feels like he's done. And though he can be replaced, that doesn't mean he's replace.

And Brady feels like there's some miles an hour off that fastball. The league eventually is going to catch you. And I just think that this is one of those if you win. You can't do it if you lose. But the thing that Hollywood tries to simulate is what sports actually has, which is the happy ending. It does exist. John Elway.

Hell, Peyton Manning couldn't throw a football. wasn't particularly good in Super Bowl, but they won anyway because the defense was awesome, the special teams was good, and they found away, and you're right off into the sunset. Michael Jordan, forget the Wizards thing. Michael Jordan holding the follow-through in Utah. Like, these things do actually exist. And for Tom Brady, who will go down as arguably the greatest athlete, right? Greatest athlete does not mean greatest having the pure amount of athleticism, but greatest athlete in terms of most accomplished, most successful,

most prolific when it matters the most, or how it matters the most, which is when the buzzer sounds, does your team have more points than the other? Because if you think scoreboard doesn't matter, why the hell do we have it up there, right? They don't award gold medals to people who come in second or third or fourth. You got a chance to go full circle.

Started against the Rams, a team that probably didn't belong, wasn't the best team in the AFC, could end against the Rams. Again, I don't want to chase anybody off into the sunset, but, and I'm not defending Rob Parker. Dude, you're wrong. Take the L. He did it again. But there's a reason that Tom Brady walked around and said, unbelievable, unbelievable. Unbelievable. At least 30 times he said it to his own teammates. You know why? Because it really is unbelievable that he's here, that they've accomplished this again. I know Belichick will be back. I know they'll figure out a way. I know the jets aren't close. I know the bills aren't close.

I know the dolphins aren't close. But Ravens, Steelers, Chiefs, Chargers, Colts. They're all younger. They're all hungry. They all want. but you have and you were this close to not having it to begin with. There does come a point in time which you can have the storybook ending, which Hollywood tries to create, tries to, but only sports actually has. It's the only place where this actually exists, where there really is a Cinderella story that comes through and wins at the end. Or a longtime great who, Derek Jeter, right,

gets a walk off in his last at bat at Yankee Stadium. Like that only happens in sports. And Brady is nine days away from potentially having the greatest ending in the recent future of football and maybe the greatest ending ever in the history of football. Yes, L-A-1, two championships and won his last, but to win six, and to win your last one, and to win your last one against the team you beat the first time, and to do it in remarkable fashion. Every sentence needs a period.

And your choice is continue to run the risk of a Brett Fav-like season in Minnesota, right? Like we do remember that Brett Favreve came back to Minnesota through the interception in the Superdome. Remember the Vikings announcer? How could he do that? He's Brett Fav. That's what he does. Risk reward guy.

but then Chile was his head coach he sent three guys down to a private plane they bring him back he's got that dusty old Nike hat you know he gets off the tractor gets out the plane all right we'll do it again how'd that work out

disaster he lost his starting streak the dome in Minnesota literally collapsed not figuratively literally collapsed that's how bad his final year was and the Patriots and the NFL have a mantra,

which is better a year or too early than a year too late. And if you're 12, after, by your own estimation, an unbelievable win on the road in Kansas City. If you back that up against the L.A. Rams in Atlanta on Sunday, why not just call it a day? Six rings is more than anybody can. can never fathom. Nine Super Bowls is more years than most players will ever contemplate playing in the National Football League. I think Brady should walk away if he wins it.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports slice comes in. I'm to, though. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games,

from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action, with stories told by the people who them listen to sports slice on the iheart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast and for more follow timbo slice of life 12 and the tick tock talk podcast network on tick tock welcome to my new podcast learn the hard way with me your host and your favorite therapist care games and in recognition of mental health awareness month i'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests i'm talking tripp fontaine ryan clark sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

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

because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keir Gaines as we have real conversations

about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hardway and listen now. 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, 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, Brett. My mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at?

Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? This Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron Head and

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 bases on offense. And when IT's friends stopped by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing.

That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers while he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, IZAD, 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. There are various reports. about interest between the Dallas Cowboys and Sean Payton. Peyton, of course, came to the Saints from the Cowboys where he was a member and a play caller for Bill Parcells. And the interesting part about these reports is neither side has denied it. Not that denials or even non-denial denials will take us off the scent because we've seen enough denials, you know, Nick Saban,

how many times love to say this? I'm not going to be the head coach in Alabama, right? How many times you have to tonight were like, you does come to a point, you were like, look, I don't believe anything anybody says. But the fact that no one has said anything, that Jerry Jones, who loves to do his interviews, hasn't said,

Jason Garrett is my coach and there's no Sean Peyton coming this way. Like nothing. We have heard nothing. So let's just offer up the possibility, right? Would you do it for Sean Payton? Knowing that Jerry's going to be a meddler. Right? That's knowing Jerry's going to be a meddler.

as opposed to what he has in New Orleans where his GM in New Orleans is also the GM of the Pelicans. So not really making decisions. It's more him and Jeff Ireland, who's doing a great. Jeff Ireland was kind of a disaster in Miami as a general manager. But as a player personnel guy, they've done a very nice job. Everybody can play. They've done a nice job in New Orleans of putting together a young, active defense and getting him skill position players, obviously like an Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas.

But man, Drew Brees didn't look so good. Remember, Drew Brees runs the benefit of playing with arguably the best player caller the last 25 years in football. That's Sean Payton's in that. Before there was McVeigh, there was Sean Payton. They're the same guy. And he plays in a dome. And it should be pointed out that this year the Saints played against a complete

disaster of a division, right? I mean, Atlanta's so bad that everybody got fired and everybody was hurt. Carolina, Cam Newton had shoulder surgery yesterday. Couldn't throw a football after a hot start. Suddenly couldn't throw a football. And their defense was so bad, everybody got fired. And everybody got fired in Tampa. That division was trash, and it will not be trash for long

because you still have Matt Ryan. You still have Cam Newton. And if there's anybody who can fix, anybody who can fix Tampa and fix James, it's Bruce Arias. That's what he does. He fixes the quarterback. So I think the division's going to be, we'll see, but feels like it's going to be remarkably better.

And Drew Brees was bad at the end. He just ran out of steam. Same offense, same play caller. Hell, they even got Ted Ginn back. Well, they didn't have Ted Ginn. They got Ted Ginn back. Like the past completion to Ted Ginn that should have set up the game-winning touchdown

if the, that should have been intercepted. It floated and he got fooled. That should have been picked off. Heck, even the defense. pass interference that wasn't called that New Orleans is going to forever complain about, right? Like New Orleans continued to complain about the defensive pass interference is going to be like your wife complained about that thing you did five years ago at the family cookout. I can't believe you said that thing and she's going to keep bringing it up.

That's New Orleans. Like, dude, the defensive pass interference is going to be Seahawk guy talking about not handing the ball to Marshawn Lynch in the Super Bowl. you're not wrong but we're all so tired of hearing about it already but how about this part it wasn't a good pass one it wasn't open two you got to throw it to the outside shoulder if you play the ball that's and Drew Brees threw a ground ball on first down they'd be better off taking three knees kicking a field goal

than what Michael Tommy checks out of a run play throws to Michael Thomas and unless Michael Thomas's shoelaces can catch a football that was a bad pass So you got a quarterback who, like all these guys. They get older. Even in a dome where you can hide some lack of arm strength. You can't hide the Drew Brees thing for much longer. It's the Saints. The Division's going to be better.

Or you could go coach the Cowboys who's, they don't have to give DAC a new contract. They got an elite running back and elite offensive line. They got a pretty good defense. And what's the only thing missing from the Cowboys? What's the only thing? Well, you could say, like, I'm not a huge DAC. guy, I think he's good, he thinks he's, but play caller?

Like, all we need is a guy who knows how to draw him up in the dirt. And if you ask people who played against New Orleans, we're like, you know, Drew's not that good anymore but he's really bright. And they have one wide receiver, and they have one hybrid running back.

And that's kind of it, and they dominate the league. Why? Because of that guy. Sean Payton's that good. Imagine if you put him with good younger players and a younger quarter. quarterback. I mean, obviously you have to deal with the meddling owner, but couldn't this be the moment to which you go into Jerry and go, Jerry, you've tried it your way since Jimmy Johnson left and didn't work. Do it my way. You guys did a good job, getting good talent. All right, you built it up.

Let me take it from here. Let me take it to that next step. I don't know if I'm Sean Payton. I don't think it's a crazy idea. I think it's one you absolutely have to have to think about. It feels like you topped out New Orleans. Remember, when he took over New Orleans, that was after Katrina. But people forget the Saints were the Browns for 20 years. Like Aaron Brooks won one playoff game. But outside of that, like, they were awful. It was a bad franchise.

And even though they've gone through three consecutive bad years where they had the worst defenses in football and they can blame it on Bounty Gate, whatever they want, the point is, feels like you're telling. topped out over there. Why not consider a new home? Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Did you see or hear what Jeannie Bus had to say about the Lakers? I did.

Reader's Digest version would be, hey, if you don't want to, you know, I heard that she's heard whispers about people not want to play with LeBron James. She told this in the low post podcast. I think here's the quote. I heard that about Kobe too. That makes me laugh. Because if somebody doesn't want to play with the best player in the NBA right now, I don't want them on the team. Now, there is a little bit of the guy at the club who says,

hey, you want to dance? And she says, no. No, no, I said you look fat in those pants, right? That feels a little bit like what Jeannie Bus is doing right now. Like, oh, you don't want to come here? Fine. We don't want you. and as much as I know she loves Kobe and Laker fans love Kobe,

I don't think that actually helps your argument. I just don't. Kobe obviously very, very different from LeBron, and Kobe more polarizing than LeBron. He just is. Like Kobe literally did not care, does not care if you liked him or respected him. Whereas LeBron wants everybody to like him. That's just the difference in the makeup of their personality.

And so I feel like Jeannie's missing it. And I honestly feel like she's off message. You know what her message should be? Hey, we're healthy. Pretty good. And to the East Coaster who woke up, like, well, you lost the Timberwolves with no LeBron. Yeah, LeBron didn't play.

Lanzo didn't play. Tyson Chandler didn't play. You're down three starters. You're not beating a playoff team or a team with decent talent most times when you don't have three starters in the NBA, especially. when one of those players was LeBron James. And, you know, a couple of the losses they suffered, they didn't have Kyle Coosman.

You don't have Coos in LeBron. Who's going to score? That's 47 points a game. So I feel like she's off message. Her message should be one of the best defensive teams of the league. We just got to get healthy. We've got to continue to have our young players evolve. And whatever Rob and Magic decide to add or not add to the roster,

I'm all four, whatever Luke decides to do. I'm all four. That's the support instead of doing the, you know, if you don't want to play with, that felt like an unneeded shot at Kevin Durant and an unneeded shot at Kauai Leonard. Even if, even if you're running the Lakers

and you felt like Kauai turning down overtures and telling people close to him, I don't want that. Or Kevin Durant saying, you know, he doesn't want the sycophants in the media to cover him. He just doesn't want the LeBron thing. Like even if that's what they said, that doesn't mean you have to match fire with fire. And especially comparing LeBron and Kobe.

Like, no, no, no, no. You're Jeannie Bus. You're on the L.A. Lakers. Hey, we got 17 banners. We're going to add 18. Look at where we were last year. Look where we are this year. Everybody knows we have cap space.

We're looking for a few really, really good men who want to raise. raise the world championship trophy. That's it. That's it. And I may be the only one. I think if they add a shooter, maybe even somebody like J.R. Smith, you add a shooter?

That should be the second best team in the West. Look, people can go crazy because Boogie Cousins made some shots last night, and he may end up getting back to being the Boogie Cousins he was. But Boogie does change the Warriors dynamic. He gives them another scoring option, but they didn't really need much more scoring. He changes them defensively. They've never played big ball or with the center down the stretch.

Will they with boogie? We don't know. Their bench is not what it used to be. The Warriors, as the Rockets showed last year, could be had. Now, I don't think this year's rockets aren't as good. And it feels like they're never going to be healthy. And Oklahoma City, though they shot it well last night, that team can't shoot. I don't think Denver is ready for prime time.

Like, look around. the Lakers are tremendous defensively. They'll get LeBron James back. When they had LeBron James, here's what people forget. They were ahead of schedule before all the injuries set in. Ahead of schedule. And so while she, in part of her statement in the low post podcast was,

you know, we need to preach patience. She needs to be patient in her statements. I'm a buyer. I think it's a flawed roster. I think they need more shooting. I think, you know, some of these basketball mercenaries that are well-traveled are well-traveled for a reason. You know, I think they've played Lance Stevenson too much because the air guitar, instead of playing Spima High Luke, who has a higher ceiling, will be more of a solid shooter that can stretch, open up the defense. I think they overvalued Javelle McGee.

He's a backup. He's always been a backup. He'll kind of always be a backup. And they're trying to kind of patch the center position on the fly. Contavius Colwell Pope is a good player and a bad player. team and a bad player and a good team. Like, but we know why he's here because he's a Rich Paul client, right? Hold that roster spot for one more year so they can go get a big boy. Like, it's not a great roster, but it wasn't like the rest of the NBA said, hey, does LeBron Jean shooters?

Why don't you take a couple of our shooters? Like, that's not actually the way it works. But they were ahead of schedule before LeBron got hurt, ahead of schedule, even with Rondo's injuries. even with the fact they had to go out and get Tyson Chandler. And so I don't love the messaging here from Jeannie Bus. 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.

It's welcome in T.J. Hoosh Manzada, who joined us for a Pro Bowl wide receiver. And you see him throughout our shows here on Fox Sports Radio and Fox Sports One. Hush, when you watch the Patriots the game plan, the way they played in the first half, the way they kind of had to change and evolve in the second half, what was your reaction what happened in Kansas City? Kansas City couldn't get off the field on third down, and the Patriots pretty much ran the ball whenever they wanted to. That was, they somewhat implement the same game plan against the charges.

We're going to run the ball. We're going to keep your offense off the field, and if you can stop us, we'll change. If not, this is what we're going to do. It's kind of interesting. It felt like they did to Kansas City what people used to do to them. them at the height of Tom Brady's powers, right? When Tom Brady was great, when he had that 50 touchdown season, like the whole thing, where you got to keep Tom Brady out the field, that's what you did have Pat Mahomes,

kept them over there on ice. They've evolved offensively. They've turned into a running team. It's benefited them now. It turned into a guessing game. They came out the first few third downs. They ran the ball. And I'm sure the Chiefs, it kind of clouded the defensive coordinator and also the players,

like they were guessing. Are they going to run it now? It's third and six. They run the ball with James White first down. 90% of guys in NFL at least play callers, that's going to be a pass play. And so they just kept the Chiefs off balance. The Chiefs could not get off the field on third down.

Bob Sutton lost his job. There are people that are critical of him, but they did play man to man. That's supposedly the way to get to Tom Brady, right? You got to play man to man, and then you got to pressure him up front. Was there something Bob Sutton should have done differently that he didn't do?

So, yes, they did play man to man. But the difference was, me just watching a game, the majority of time when Julian Edelman went in motion, he ran that deep over route. So he's running away from the defender in man coverage. And when he was... Hold on. I try to explain to somebody. They're in their car and they're like, okay, he's in motion. What's a deep overrout?

So he would come in motion and he would run across the field. Okay. Running away from coverage, which is the guy playing him man-and-man, so he's going to chase you. But if he's a man-a-man, why wouldn't he have inside leverage and force you to go back outside? Because he went in motion. And when you get in motion, when you go in motion, normally the defensive back backs off of you and gives you a two-way go. They normally don't press you when you go in motion.

And that's why the Patriots bring him in motion to get him a free release. And all he did was run away. And so that last drive, even in overtime, the chiefs were in a two-man coverage, one-third down. They busted the coverage, just let Edelman go right through the middle. It was a first down. The other time, the guy just didn't get inside. to take the inside away.

And then when they tried to play robber, robber is when they bring that safety down to rob the middle to take that route away. That's when he hit Grant on that slant route. And so they just had the Chiefs guessing. They were guessing. And the Rams have better players in the secondary, in my opinion,

than the Chiefs. So this should be pretty interesting. Doesn't it feel like though the Rams? Supposedly the weakness, I've always been told, the weakness to Wade Phillips style of defense and to the Rams personnel is linebacker and the ability to have those linebackers cover?

Will they be able to cover it like that? That to me says James White's going to have 15, 16 catches in this game. The thing, the Rams linebackers, there aren't very big. They're athletic. And so you have to have an idea that they are going to attack you. This whole week of pressure, you have to have that idea that you are going to be attacked. James White is going to run an option around. He's going to break out or break in.

Now, you can have combo coverages to where you, you should, shade outside and force him inside because you have help if they play that robber. That robber is there to help on that inside option route with the running back. I'm sure Wade Phillips will mix it up. They will play press coverage. That's, in my opinion, is the best way to play the Patriots because with that deep, they got four first round picks on the D line. You got Heronnell, you got Indomicon Sue, you got Dante Fowler, you got Michael Brockers.

You got four guys that can, if you can make Brady pat the ball, meaning take one or two hitches, you have a chance, but they're going to have to mix it up. T.J. Hanzada, joining us. I'm Doug Gottlieb. This is the herd. Okay, let's get to the Saints game. I haven't heard your take on the penalty. First part, like, I feel like none of people being critical of, and I know they audibald out of it, but throwing the ball on first down, don't you run it, get that clock moving? I was just telling Jason yesterday, everybody's critical of Sean Payton. Oh, why'd you throw it on first down? Sean Payton has come out and said that was a run play.

They gave us the zero look, drew out to a pass. Mistake number one. Was it PI? Yeah, I was pass interference. Did they miss the call? Yes, it won't be the first. That's not going to be the last call they missed. It happens.

You're complaining about it. I get it because if I was the Saints, I'd be pissed. But it is what it is. How many more plays happened after that? The Saints had the ball in overtime with a chance to go win it. they missed a face mask. The Saints first penalty. You know when they got their first penalty of the game?

It was five minutes and 26 seconds left in the third quarter. So you can't, there's bad calls both ways. Yeah, I would be upset if I was on the Saints, but you had the ball. There are plenty of plays after that. You just didn't get it done. What do you think is wrong with Todd Gurley? I mean, is it a matchup thing?

Is he not right? Todd Gurley went from the most dynamic back in the league to, yeah, he's the other guy in that backfield. Dude, it's, that's the million dollar question. It's so baffling that. It's more than a million dollars, but yes. It's baffling that you have been the guy the entire year. And in the two biggest games of the season, the playoff games,

Anderson is basically stolen the show. He's been that guy running the ball. Right out the gate, Jared Gaw's first interception, right through Gurley's hands. The third down, people aren't going to come from, the third down that he dropped, Girlie dropped. You can, the Saints Pass and interfered the Rams on that play. That would have been an automatic first sound.

They didn't call it. The receiver outside was being held. They didn't call that as well. I don't know what's wrong with girls. This is Super Bowl. Todd got to play. And he had, if he can be himself and run routes and run the ball,

it's going to be tough to deal with the Rams. But can he do that? You think the Rams win? I do believe the Rams win. The key to beating the Patriots is pressure up the middle. They're going to double. Aaron Donald.

if Domin Kandu can play the way he played last week, you affect Tom Brady up the middle. You make him move laterally and don't allow him to step up in the pocket. That's the best way to beat the Patriots. T.J. Hushmanjada joining us here in the herd. It's weird what's coming out of Pittsburgh, right? First, you go back a couple weeks ago, I was like, man, he's gone. Owners talking about he's gone.

Now they're, well, hey, Pouncey came out and said it's a brotherhood, and there seems to be a little bit of dialing back of, you know, maybe we can have a conversation and work some things out. Is it just, it's too punitive in terms of hurting you, hurting your roster and hurting your salary cap? Or is this cooler heads really prevailing in Pittsburgh to bring him back? The smart thing would be cooler heads prevailing, but they have to move on.

It's like a marriage that you just wanted to make it work, but it's just really no point. They should just separate them and move on. The toothpaste is out of the tube. You cannot put it back. in now. The damage has been done. We were a brotherhood during a season as well and all this

wasn't going on when Ben criticized A.B. And the Denver loss and he criticized, what happened to the brotherhood then? They know A.B. is very valuable to that team. They could be trying to drive up the trade value. I don't know.

But A.B. needs to be gone. For the culture, the salary cap ramifications should not matter. For the culture of your team, for the pitch-bird Steelers, if we are a team and the team comes first, it should not matter the salary cat pit. You have to move on because you will set a bad precedent for the rest of the guys on the team. There was an article yesterday. Seth Wickersham wrote it. It was about the Cleveland Browns. And it basically chronicled Jimmy Hassam's time as owner there. And obviously there was some

dysfunction there in infighting between Joe Banner and Michael Lombardi. And then it even went to the firing, you know, most recently of Hugh Jackson. And now they walked in and said, Hugh, you've lost the team, even though they've been to overtime four out of eight games. He told him to get the F out of his office, right? And they ultimately fired him anyway. Look, you were part of a franchise that went before Marvin got there, incredibly dysfunctional.

And then Marvin kind of straightened things out. How much does ownership affect the actual football team? You know, it's funny. When you're a part of the dysfunction, you don't realize that it's dysfunctional until you go to a, another team. I was drafted to the Bengals. That was all I knew. You hear other guys, oh, it's like

this with us. You don't really understand. Okay, tell the story really quickly. For people who have, you show up, your rookie training camp, what was it like? It was. I didn't think it was bad. We didn't have security at our training camp, so people could come in and out whenever you wanted.

And they did. Plenty of people. People that shouldn't have been there. Like what kind of people? I can't even say that on TV. Why? You said it on radio. You told me before. Strippers. Yes. At training camp. At training camp. Every day. Every day. Midnight to like 4 a.m.

Every single day. And the guys that were on that team know exactly what I'm talking about. Every day. And it was like, I'm calling my buddies like, dude, y'all got strippers on your training camp. They're like, nah. I'm like, oh, wow. Every day. And then when Marvin got there, we got security. And so that stopped.

But it was in the it was the vets. They would have all this going on. And I'm like, God, is it like this on every team? I thought that was normal. And then you start calling around, like, nah, this is not normal. There's some hope that Baker Mayfield can, you know, that there's real legit hope there. His numbers against the bad teams was excellent. The numbers against the good teams are not, but he's only a rookie. And he does seem to have kind of a leadership quality. Can he overcome, can a quarterback overcome that dysfunction?

Yes, because if you're winning, how much dysfunction is there? When you win, winning covers up a lot of things. And they have, the Browns have a really good roster. They have a really good roster of young players. And so if they can win, it doesn't bode well that you're great against the bad teams and not so great against the good teams. Well, but they were just bad against everybody before they went one game in two years combined.

You would think as he gets more experience, his play will improve mentally and physically. I think Baker Mayfield is a hell of a quarterback. He needs to calm down a little bit. He's a little too high and too low. He needs to be more even killed. But that's not his personality. will he be able to manage his emotions? That remains to be seen.

Katina Mowgli is joining me next. We're going to talk some Lakers. Are you a buyer into Lakers? You got 15 seconds. I'm a Laker fan. Of course I'm a buyer. But are you a buyer into this Laker team? Yeah, I am a buyer.

I don't like how they lose the teams they should not lose to. Like I'm watching the game last night against the Timberwolves. It was a good game. And then the fourth quarter, it's over. Last night, a blown call changed the game. This morning, the energy. 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 SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok Podcast Network. on TikTok.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk

to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smygle and friends on the I-heart radio app, Apple Podcasts, 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, 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, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's he at?

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 hiring. You just understood. That's how personal. gap. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming till, 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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