The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 01/31/2019

Episode Date: January 31, 2019

Colin says this was the year to beat the Patriots and the entire AFC blew the best chance they're going to get.  He thinks the Rams have done an incredible job creating a glamorous culture in LA in not even 3 seasons.  Plus, Panthers TE Greg Olsen and Seahawks QB Russell Wilson each tell Colin about their own Super Bowl experiences and explain how tough it is to do what Tom Brady is doing.  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,

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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. Ah, here we go on a Thursday. Super Bowl getting close. This is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we alive in Los Angeles. I-Heart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and right here in FS1, games getting close.

Got my pick tomorrow. We'll unveil the pick today. I got Greg Olson. I got Darius Leonard on the show today. Joy Taylor is joining me in the Thursday. We're getting very, very, very, very, very, very close. Very close. Oh, so close.

Very close. Good morning. Good morning to you. Greg Olson later this hour. Russell Wilson, top of the next hour. Even industry leaders have off years. Now, let's say Apple. You're battling Apple in the tech sector.

And Apple comes out with an, iPhone and it's got a bunch of glitches. Apple is vulnerable. This is time for Apple's rivals to take advantage. Let's say you're an automaker and you're battling a Ford or a Chevy or a GM, one of these great companies. And they have a major recall. They have a brake pad issue. They are vulnerable.

You're the number two sales guy in your workforce. And the number one sales guy is going through a divorce. You got a DUI? he's vulnerable, he's wobbling. This is your year. Even industry leaders are vulnerable. Have off years. Have controversies.

In every business, even football. I know you hate the Patriots. I don't, but I know most of you do. I just want you to realize this was the year to knock them off. Okay, they finally had a controversy. Okay? They haven't had a controversy like this in 18 years. They finally had one.

Belichick, Brady, first big argument. He slept on the couch. Their number one draft pick at the number one need on the team left tackle got hurt. The guy protecting Tom Brady, the rookie from Georgia, got hurt, never played. Major issue. They had to scramble, make a trade with the 49ers. the veterans, many of them, important veterans, Danny M. Mandola, Dionne Lewis, Malcolm Butler,

they all left at once in free agency. Whoa, these were good players. And they all left. Julian Edelman was suspended for four games. He was out for all of September and coming off an ACL. We just didn't know how good he was going to be. You had the Josh Gordon distraction. That was just a mess that really, the pitch.

Hitchburg game, you were like, what's wrong with New England? I mean, it literally disrupted a game for them. And then a week ago, you had to play a road playoff game. Talk about an obstacle. I mean, this was the year to beat them. Tom Brady talked about this the other day. This has been roadblock after roadblock. It's never linear.

I mean, I guess you have a few years in there, and I can think of a few in our team history that just kind of went like obviously the 07 team. And in 2010, I thought we had a great team. We lost the Jets in the playoffs. And there are some other years that are just, you got a fight and claw. 2001 was like that. This year has been like that.

But here's the problem for the rest of the NFL. None of those problems, the controversy, the number one draft pick that didn't play, the veterans that all left in free agency, Edelman being suspended for September, the Josh Gordon mess, having to play a road game in the playoffs against the MVP quarterback. They probably don't face any of those next year.

My guess is they're not going to have their second big distraction, their second big Brady Belichick beef. They've got 12 draft picks, really 14 if he count the two picks last year that won starting jobs and got heard. There's no big free agent losses looming other than maybe Trey Flowers and I think they pay for him. Gronk is leaving, said as much yesterday, that'll free up cap space, and the jets of the dolphins have new head coaches, translation, new systems.

That takes a little bit. So it probably takes those teams to October, early November, new coach, new system, new offense, new defense, to kind of be upright and formidable. Folks, this was the year. And they're in the Super Bowl, and they're favored by a. field goal and even the sharps in Vegas, all nine of the biggest bets are on New England. If Apple comes out with a glitch in their iPhone or a major automaker has a brake pad issue and has to do a recall or the number one salesperson is going through a divorce,

industry leaders are all at some point vulnerable. You better take advantage. And this year, the Rams are the last chance. to take advantage of a vulnerable dynasty, the longest in NFL history. All right, let me shift to this. Anthony Davis, Lakers, LeBron. It's going to happen, right? We're just not sure when.

Well, according to reports, the Pelicans general manager, Del Demps, is not picking up the phone. He is so mad, he is not picking up the phone. In fact, according to Mark Stein, New York Times, if no trade materializes between now and the February 7th deadline, they may just shelve Anthony Davis and not play him for the rest of the year. Oh, boy. There are several stages of divorce. There's the yelling and screaming stage. There's the bitterness stage.

There's the simmering stage. And then there's the acceptance stage. They are clearly in the bitterness stage. The general manager will not pick up the phone. they're thinking if a trade doesn't get done, they're not even going to play Anthony Davis. They're not even to the simmering stage yet. They're in the bitter stage.

Maybe no yelling and screaming, but they're in the bitterness stage. Pelican fans never forget this. NBA already bailed you out once, Chris Paul deal. Okay. Remember that. And you have to remember this for people in New Orleans. in every league college or pro, there are destinations with historic advantages.

LSU football will forever be more attractive place than Missouri football or Kentucky football or Vanderville football. Forever. 100 years from now, LSU will be a cooler place to play college football than Missouri, than Mississippi State. Not saying those programs aren't good, but it'll always be cooler. By the way, in the NFL, Green Bay and Buffalo will never be top free agent markets.

One's been to four Super Bowls, lost all of them, but got to four, and Green Bay won it with Farr. They won it with Bart Starr, and they went it with Aaron Rogers. They've had to overcome that. New Orleans is never going to be a free agent destination. Either was Cleveland until a kid named LeBron was born in Akron. Either was Orlando, and they got to two finals. There are certain absolute truths.

In college sports, Kentucky basketball is always going to matter more than Oregon State basketball forever. Alabama football is always going to mean more than Kentucky football forever. And there are certain markets in the NBA. Sacramento is never going to be a glamour market. New Orleans, Orlando are never going to be a glamour market. But look on the bright side. Anthony Davis gave you a heads up. He's like, yeah, I'm not going to stay here.

By the way, the next guy you draft if he's as good as Anthony Davis, you'll get about six years with him. And then he'll also decide, yeah, I'm not going to stay here. You got six years with him. Now he's giving you heads up. So go get three or four players, two or three draft picks, reboot. Just because a star leaves, what did you lose in this whole deal? You had him for six years. You were one and eight against the warriors in the playoffs.

You weren't doing anything with him. By the way, the Washington Wizard Star got hurt, John Wall. They're better without him. You've seen the record last two years when he gets hurt? The Boston Celtics got to the Eastern Conference Finals game seven. This year they got their stars back. Gordon Haywards clogged everything up. They were better last year.

By the way, the Indiana Pacers, Paul George says, I'm out of here. He gave me a heads up. The Pacers front office, Kevin Pritcher did a great job. They're better without Paul George. You just have to come to the realization. There are certain truths in sports. The Oakland days have won a lot of games. It's not where free agents go.

The San Antonio Spurs. It's not where free agents go. go. Doesn't mean he can't win. Green Bay Packers in Buffalo. They've been to between the two of them, what, 10 Super Bowls? Free agents don't want to go there. There's different ways to win in sports. Anthony Davis is never going to be built for 14 years in New Orleans. If you get a guy like Anthony Davis, you're going to get him for his first contract. The way the NBA contracts work, you'll get him for a second, but he's not signing a third there. And you got in Cleveland, you got LeBron

for a contract, and then a second contract, and then he went to Miami. You didn't get a third straight contract out. And when he came back, he did one-year deals. You can get stars in those markets. You're not getting a third contract out of them. You get their rookie deal. Then they re-signed to make the first big money

of their life, and then they're generally gone. Okay, so you have your six years if you're Cleveland with LeBron. You couldn't do anything. You had your six years with Anthony Davis. Drew Holliday is your next best player. Couldn't do anything. But this is not even. The Yankees are a glamour market. The Red Sox are a glamour market. Okay. LSU football is a glamour program. Texas football is a glamour program. But right now, in the divorce stage, the pelicans are in the bitterness stage.

And I would strongly recommend you get to the simmering stage and you get to the acceptance stage. because you better pick up the phone, get three players, maybe four, get several draft picks, reboot. It's been proven time and time again. The way you're going to get stars is draft them. You'll get them for six years, but you're not getting them for a third contract. Lakers will keep theirs. Yankees can keep theirs. Red Sox can keep theirs. LSU football will keep the best high school players in their state. just the way the game works. No reason to pout about 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 IHeart Radio app. It's very important that for a radio show, for a football team, if I say New England Patriots, their brand is system over player really, really smart. You know, that's important. That's their brand. Golden State Warriors. analytics, very comfortable with stars, they shoot the three.

That's their brand. You know what you're getting when you're going in? So everybody in the building knows this is what we are. New England, we draft smart players. We don't draft egos. It helps the scouts. It helps the coach. It helps the staff.

It helps the owner. It helps everybody. Golden State. If you can't shoot threes, we don't have a lot of need for you. If you can't deal with other people and handle stars, we don't have much need for you. establishing a brand is very important from the owner to the GM to the coach in sports out of sports. Deshawn Jackson yesterday, and we predicted this, we said if the Rams get to the Super Bowl and win it, win it or not get there, they are establishing a brand in this league.

And remember that, Levian Bell tweeted a week ago. He tweeted about the Rams. He said, hey, look what they're doing. It's working for them. Lavian Bell is saying as a star player on the market, that's a team, I like that team. I like what they do. Well, Deshawn Jackson, not even a free agent yet,

talked about where he'd love to end up. Worst case in there, if anything, I would like to kind of end up in L.A. Oh, yeah. Sean McVeigh, you know, we got some connection for a while I was in D.C., but, you know, we'll see how it plays out. There you go.

Think about this. The L.A. Rams have not been in this city for a full three years yet. And they've already established their brand. They are officially the glamour franchise in the NFL. Not saying the best, they're the glamour franchise. They're fun. Stars are welcome.

We'll take divas. Lots of offense. We don't make you play in the preseason. Our practices aren't burdensome. They've already got now play. It's a very NBA feel to it. stars are absolutely welcome here. And you know who deserves credit on this?

Jerry Jones are the Cowboys. This organization was in the NFL forever in St. Louis, and they didn't have any brand. They were Tampa. They were Detroit. They were Jacksonville. They were the Jets. They were Arizona. What's their brand?

What's their point of view? What are they? Okay. Jerry Jones went to the owner, Stan Cronkey. They're very close, have been for years, done business for years. and said, get this thing to LA. Los Angeles. You got a bunch of land in Los Angeles.

Build a stadium. Okay, I'll go to the owners. Get to Los Angeles. Help our league. Even though they're rivals, even though they're in the NFC. Jerry Jones told Stan Cronky. Jerry Jones also got Oakland to Las Vegas. Jerry has been on the forefront of convincing other owners.

For years and years, NFL was anti-Vegas. Jerry got into a room and convinced them. Those days are over. Wasn't much long after gambling, sports gambling, legalized in America. Jerry very much. People don't like to move teams. Let's get to Los Angeles. Stan Cronkey's

like, I'm not sure how this is going to play. Jerry said, you've got a bunch of land out there. Go build a stadium. Less than three years in the league, the Rams already have a brand established. And by the way, this is what every league is looking for. The Celtics

have a historic brand. The Lakers have a a brand. Golden State now has a brand. The problem with the Knicks is they don't have a brand. That's why it's an underperforming franchise. NFL loves brands. Green Bay's got a brand. Great quarterbacks. You know, the wholesome city in a small

town. Green Bay is a brand. The Cowboys, the Steelers, the Patriots. I mean, this is, give Jerry Jones credit. He got Stan Cronky in this league. They didn't want to do it. They didn't move teams in a while. He got them to move to L.A. and three years in,

We have another established brand, and it's the glitz glamour brand in the NFL. Not saying it's going to win about Super Bowls, but brands are important, and Jerry deserves a lot of credit. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Let's go to Greg Olson via the Coward Global Satellite Network. 12 NFL seasons, three-time Pro Bowler. My guess is he's going to end up in the Hall of Fame, and he's also, if he wants to quit, it's going to have multiple networks bidding for his rights. As a broadcaster, Greg, it's good to see you again.

I want to throw something out and you tell me it's an advantage. So the New England Patriots, Stefan Gilmore, played for four years in a row with Robert Woods of the Rams, knows every move. The Patriots faced Robert Woods for years. The Patriots, by the way, had Brandon Cook for a year. They know restraints and weaknesses. The Patriots had a key to leave for two years. Is it an advantage for the Patriots that they know key members of the Rams personnel? Yeah, I think to a degree, I think especially a team like New England, right, who,

who is so interesting in turning over every stone, gaining every advantage possible. They think of every single scenario. Yeah, they know if Robert Woods struggles with press versus off. They know what routes he struggles getting in and out of breaks. They know the intricacies. They saw him every day in practice. Their coaches knew what he struggled with, what he couldn't do. Brandon Cook's, I'm saying.

So they understand what these guys can and can do better than almost anyone. Playing against Robert Woods up in Buffalo, they can see what he does. I think there is something to that. Now, again, it's a different scheme. You know, Shaw McVeigh is going to have his counter to that, right? They're going to have their counter to Belichick taking away, you know, what L.A. is going to do. So I think that chess match is interesting, but I don't think there's anyone better at isolating your weaknesses and exploiting them more than Belichick and just generally the Patriots. You know, you were at a Super Bowl, and the Super Bowl, the first one, I have Russell Wilson on next hour.

He went to two his first one. Is the week of practice and the extra week and the relative? and the tickets. Was it hard? Was it a different week? It's definitely a different week. It's really a different two weeks. You do a whole week of practice on the front end

back of your facility back home. Then we traveled on Sunday, had a practice Monday, and then went through another entire prep week. It almost was too much practice, too much downtime, too much meetings. You know, you kind of overthink it. We're so routine-oriented, Colin, in the NFL, where every Wednesday's a Wednesday,

every Thursday is a Thursday, and we just clip off week after week after week. And when you're rolling, you don't want the buy. Well, we were rolling off the NFC championship. We just put up 45 plus points against the Cardinals, one of the top teams in the league that year, and got a buy that we didn't, you know, in essence, had an extra week. And, you know, it hurt us. We really peaked two weeks too early,

and offensively we just really played poorly. And I think we didn't do a great job handling the changes that that Super Bowl buildup led to. And as a result, we squandered a really promising opportunity. Are you or how surprised are you that the Rams got to leave and Marcus Peters and Adama Kinsu and Dante Fowler, guys who had either underachieved, guys who had at times had, you know, a little baggage here and there. And yet it's worked, Greg.

As you watched the Rams from afar, were you kind of surprised they were able to take a young quarterback, a young coach, superstar running back. free agent trade guy with a little baggage, and it all kind of worked. It surprised you. You know, I didn't know a lot about Sean McVeigh, you know, coming from his background with Washington and got that job. I think everyone had the same reaction. I just don't think anyone who watches closely, someone who follows the game, I don't think it took long to realize there was something unique about him. There was something, and I'm not talking about his play design and scheme. I think when you hear him talk, I interacted with him a little bit last year when I ran.

ran into him at NFL honors. And you can be around him for a couple minutes. And he just has a very unique kind of charisma that comes across. And again, let's not forget, here's a young guy that's being questioned. It'd be very easy for him getting in this job, be very insecure, surround himself with his people. And who does he hire? He hires a guy that if he gets off to a really bad start out there coming off a

couple years with Jeff Fisher, if he gets off to a similar start, that's the coach interim coach and waiting on your staff. He was confident in himself saying, listen, I don't have all the answers. I can deliver a message. I can run an offense. But I'm going to get an associate head coach, in essence, to run the defense and someone that I can lean on.

I think that move sums up what is very, in a very selfish and a very, you know, uncomfortable NFL world that we create, Sean McVeigh was so confident in himself. He was not threatened by anybody. By the way, how do players look at Brady, not just as longevity, but the fact that he's done something which is generally not cool, he's taking pay cuts.

He's done it like Tim Duncan. I mean, he's going to sign another extension. He's going to probably make about $15 million a year, which makes him the 28th highest paid quarterback. Are there a few guys in the league that look at Brady and think, okay, enough is enough. You're killing us here in the free agent market. I'm sure there are.

And I think he's learned a long time ago that, you know, striking while it's hot and maximizing your pay is not always in your best industry. interest, sustained success, both individually and as a team, that's the true ticket, right? That's the true path towards making a lot of money, being the best player of all time. There's a lot that goes into it. And today's world with the quarterbacks around the league taking up as big a percentage of the cap that they are, you know, you've got guys making $30 plus million a year on $150, $160 million

cap. There's only so much now to go around you. And I think he's understood that for a long time. He has a unique situation, obviously, with his ability to generate income in other areas. But, you know, winning has been the – that's the backbone of his career. He's not the yards, not the touchdowns. Winning is what he's known as. And I think he would take that over every other recognition, every other record that you could throw out there.

Okay, you've played 12 years. You've had some injuries. How shocked are you? And I know tight ends a much more physically imposing position, more daunting than a quarterback. But are you kind of shocked that? Brady against the Chargers, that's as good as I've ever seen him play. Like, you ever just go, is it the kale pajamas? I mean, are you kind of amazed by it?

It is. I mean, listen, he has really devoted his entire lifestyle to playing quarterback for a long time and at a high level in a very late stage of his life. And, you know, to be talking about playing to his mid-40s, late 40s is almost unheard of. And it's not even so much that he's able to play. It's that he's able to lead his team to the Super Bowl and not just, just be a member, right? So we played Peyton Manning that year in the Super Bowl. He's Peyton

Manning. He's an all-time great player. That defense and that circumstance is what, at least in the Super Bowl, beat us. Brady is still the number one factor preparing to play. And at his stage of his career, that's unheard of. It's truly remarkable. A lot of it's his preparation, his mindset, his training routine. It's a little different, but it works. It works with what he's asked to do. It works within the scheme of what he's asked to do. He's not going to run around. He's not looking to be a hero and get hit. He's going to just stand there and throw the ball. And as long as his arm works and his brain works,

he's in good shape. Greg, continued success. You're one of the good guys. Thanks, bud. Thank you. Always enjoy it. Thanks, buddy. One more herd?

The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeard radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in.

I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs,

the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardaway 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. 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 here on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now.

What's up, guys? This is Clifford Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Clivert 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's, You know these kids. This linebacker whops up to me.

He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? 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? This Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toler. Ladano and our podcast point game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game.

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

And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. My buddy, my guy, he's going to be a first ballot guy, Hall of Fame guy, via the Coward Global Satellite Network. Russell Wilson, Super Bowl champ, been to a couple of these things. Great to see you, Russ. You're ready to go. I know you'd rather actually be in the game, but I want you to take my audience back to your first Super Bowl. A lot of media. You were becoming a star, a million requests. Did you find it like the Rams this week, a little disres. and out of your usual habits?

No, I think that you prepared for it. I actually prepared for it the year before. You go back to 2012, I think about my rookie year. I actually went to the Super Bowl to experience all that to understand what it would be like just in case I went the next year or whenever it would be. And so I prepared for that. I prepared for what the halftime would be like.

I'll be prepared for what the media could be like, potentially. And so that helped me going into 2013 being prepared for it. Hey, you know what? embrace it. Don't fear it. And so, you know, listen, you either love the big moments so you don't. And I think that you look forward to them. I definitely look forward to them, that's for sure. You know, it's interesting.

I've heard players say this before that as a quarterback, you can be excited, Ross, but you can't get too excited because it'll hurt your accuracy. You know, you'll be too amped up. The first series of the game, do you remember it? Do you remember trying to kind of control your energy? Can you take us back there? Yeah, I felt cold as ice.

I felt ready to go. I felt like I was meant to be there. There's a saying that I always tell myself, I'm here, I'm here, I'm here, I'm here, I'm here. And that kind of just gets my mind right. You know, funny thing is about the coin toss. One of my favorite things about the Super Bowl going back and even watching all the Super Bowls in the past, you know, 20 plus years of my life, you know, it was one of my favorite things is the coin toss. And why?

It's because you realize that you're actually at the Super Bowl because of the flashing lights. right you know people kick up the ball off and everything else and i'll never forget this funny story i'd go out for the coin toss and Peyton manning's coming across the way you know uh you know uh champ bailey and and next year i know i go out for the coin toss and it's and it's uh you know it's joe nameth out there ready to do the coin toss and we flip the we flip the coin and he flips it too early right he flips the coin toss too early and the ref catches in the mid air he said hey hey joe we got let him call heads or tails you know and he goes he goes to me he goes you know roe I always had a quick release.

So that kind of broke the ice for me pretty early. Yeah, it did. You know, you faced the Rams twice this year now, Ross, and they were really, really good games. In fact, the first game, they may have been undefeated. They were on a roll, and you guys, it came down to the last play. Take my audience, Russell, into what that defensive front is like. They have a very aggressive, talented secondary.

What do the Rams do that you found? you know, disruptive or difficult defensively. Well, I think, you know, going back to those games, you know, we were right there. At the first game, we played at home. I think they were 8 and 0, 7 and 0 at the time. Yep. We had an unbelievable game. We scored 31 points in that game.

We had the ball in the 31-yard line going in with less than two minutes to go, I believe, and we get two penalties in a row, unfortunately. Yeah. Kicks us out of field goal range. We don't get to win the game to kick a field goal or store a touchdown. You know, and then they end up winning the game. The second time we go to a tough environment in L.A. All the Malibu fires were happening.

It was very emotional game. We go back and forth. We score 31 again, maybe even more. And they end up scoring a couple more points than us again. So, you know, I think the thing about their defensive line, it starts with Aaron Donnell. You've got to double team this guy all game all day. But the problem is you got to get the Domic and Sioux sitting next to him.

And the biggest thing they did was they got Fowler, which was the biggest acquisition they had really throughout the season who makes plays. And now Tili's back. So they're going to be ready to play some football. They're a very, very good football team. Now, let's talk now about facing Belich. You had success.

You moved the ball. In fact, I remember in the second half, you have a lead on them. And most teams in the second half, you know, the offense dries up against New England. It did not with you and the Seahawks. So let's go back to that. What did Bill throw at you, Belichick, that was a little wrinkle, Russ? Yeah, well, you know, what they did to us, you know, first of all, they just rush, you know, they would only rush two guys at a time.

So I'll be sitting there just kind of hanging out. they drop everybody else out. And we were able to make a lot of big plays down the field and make some key crucial plays throughout that game in the Super Bowl. And obviously the last one didn't work the way we wanted to. But we had the lead. They ended up coming back, unfortunately, with, I don't know, six minutes to go. And we end up getting the ball two minutes.

And I look forward to those moments. We go all the way down the field and unfortunately doesn't work out for us. But the other two times we play them too. In my rookie year, we played them at home. And then the year after that, I believe, after the Super Bowl, we played them at New England. And it was a back and forth game. We ended up scoring a bunch of points.

They end up scoring some points too as well. And it comes down to the fourth down and one. Tom has the ball in the one-yard line and they don't get it. So, you know, listen, this is going to be a tremendous game. I think that the thing about Bill Belichick is he's going to have a note card of a defensive calls. He's not going to try to do too much. He's going to do it right. And you've got to execute better than they do.

And finally, Russ, when you look at you face Jared Goff, And I remember, I think you said this once to me that you came into the league and it was about year three when everything kind of clicked. The game slows down. It's hard for young guys. Now, Goff now is in year three. And you were successful before that, but it is hard to go from the Big Ten, the Pack 12 to NFL schemes and defenses. So Jared Goff now, you've seen a lot of him the last couple of years. What do you like about him?

Well, he's poised. He's calm. He's got a great coach. They've got a great player. around them. I think the thing about this game is he's just got to do what he does best, you know, and facilitate the ball, make his big throws. You know, I really like his demeanor a lot. So he's going to be a great player for a long time. Okay, Russ has been on Team Bose for forever. By the way, I got one of those radios since 2014. You're also teaming with a free app called Talley.

What is it? Well, you know, first of all, with Bose, it's super exciting. I got these new frames, by the way. They're pretty sick. Okay, there's these glasses, you know, I'm I'm walking around the streets of Atlanta, you know, hot Atlanta with these glasses on, listen to my music, you know, Sierra's performing nice, I'm getting my mind right. And then, and then with, you know, obviously you mentioned the Talley app. Talley's pretty cool. It's a fun predictions game where it's free to play and people get to play it. It's basically 12 questions.

I think HQ, but for live events, live moments like the Super Bowl, live moments like NBA finals, NBA games, the Bachelor even, you know, the Oscars, the Grammys. Those moments are always great. So we've, you know, there's this new app called, you know, it's called Talley. Go download it. Playtalley.com. It's a lot of fun. And, you know, from this game, you can win up to $250,000 if you get it all the answers right. So everybody should go play. It's super exciting. It's a lot of fun. So go play Talley. It's really cool. And I'm going to do it while I'm wearing these glasses while I do it, Colin, if you don't mind. No, I don't mind. My sister never liked sports until Russell Wilson became the Seahawk quarterback.

And you're my sister's favorite player. and the only reason my sister never liked sports, and I was a sports junkie. So you've made the family closer. I'm a huge fan. I love having you on Ross. Good luck to you. Well, it's always a pleasure, man.

Go Hawks. I'll see you soon. 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. It's funny about the word committed. And, you know, Brady's taking commitment to a new level. He won't drink a beer during the season, you know? Like that's true.

I, you know, and we talk about on this show, the audience doesn't see it, but we come in and for two and a half hours every day. We sit and just bang on a table trying to get topics. You know, we've all had the more or less successful person in our family where they think 45 hours a week is really committed and you're like, I work 65 hours a week. That's why I'm more successful. Commitments are really interesting word. What is truly committed? One of the things where like Brady and Tim Duncan are more committed than I think of LeBron James. LeBron James is physically committed.

He's mentally committed. But LeBron James doesn't have to take the salary he takes. Duncan and Brady, their commitment isn't just a body, isn't just a practice, isn't just to lifestyle. It's to the commitment I'm going to take less. Now, I know Tom's married to his supermodel. He has all that ancillary income. Well, so does LeBron. It's called a billion-dollar lifetime Nike contract.

LeBron makes more money with Nike. Aaron Rogers makes over $10 million a year with commercials. Like, commitment's a funny word. What Brady and Tim Duncan have done is, I'm not just committed at practice to, schemes to being amenable to coaching. I'm so committed in a salary cap league, I'm going to take less money. That's a different level that LeBron doesn't do.

Kobe would not do. Aaron's not willing to do. For a long time, Drew Brees would not do it. And I just don't think we ever think about that. And I know what you say, well, Brady's got a supermodel wife. Aaron Rogers makes over $10 million a year, I've been told, on commercials. He doesn't have to take $33 million. He could take 27 and they could have two more players.

And I'm not, you know, I'm not, I'm just saying, what is commitment mean? You think prepping for a radio show 40 minutes is commitment. I see two and a half hours. Rush Limbaugh may do four and a half hours. I think one of the great, because I just saw a story here where Robert Kraft is open to extending Tom Brady. And Brady right now is the 27th highest paid quarterback in the NFL. And you could say, well, he's got money, but it's all about respect and ego. I mean, Tom obviously doesn't need money.

He'll never spend it. Well, either is LeBron. I mean, Tim Duncan, when you're able to be still at the top of your game, and I keep staying Brady and Duncan, because I don't think they're the best they've ever been. I do think there is some erosion. But, you know, Duncan won a title over Miami late in his career. But it's a commitment. If you want to go really deep on commitment, some of it is in a salary cap league,

I'll take less. and by the way, before you say, well, that's, by the way, NBA players take less all the time. Kevin Durant took less to go to Golden State. Anthony Davis is going to take less to go to the Lakers. Chris Bosch and Wade took less. Took less. So don't tell me players won't take less. NBA players take less all the time.

LeBron could easily more than any player get paid significantly less and not demanded if he could, you know, the union obviously wants him to take the most. But I would say this with all players. We don't consider Brady's willingness to constantly restructure his deal as a thing. And we never talked about it with Tim Duncan. But there's no question the Patriots dynasty has been extended due to it. And the Spurs dynasty was extended to Duncan's selflessness. Didn't have to just, didn't take the money. So I don't just buy it.

It's always, you know, Tom Brady's wife's a billionaire. Well, these NBA guys make so much money on shoes and merchandise that NFL guys don't. Tom Brady didn't make any money on his cleats. These NBA guys make – Derek Rose made $100 million on shoes, and he barely wore him because he was never healthy. NBA guys make a fortune on gear. They're like golfers. So what's your commitment? How deep does it go?

By the way, Nick Wright earlier this morning on what Brady should look for in his next deal. I would try to exert a little bit of leverage and say, hey, I have taken below market deals every year. I will continue to do that for you. But I've said I want to play till I'm 45. I want this contract to take me till I'm 45. That's a three-year deal, and I'd like it to be guaranteed. So if you want me to play for $15 to $18 million a year the way I have been over the last four years, when other guys are getting 28, Rogers and Stafford getting 30 plus,

I will play for half of my market value. But I want three years, $45 million, call it that, tacked on to the end of it, and go ahead and make that a fully guaranteed contract. I think, now that's a very interesting proposition. I'll ask you, Joy, if Brady told you, I'll take $15 million a year. That is in the Tarad Taylor class.

I'll take it. But you've got to give me three years. You own the Patriots. Would you do it? Yes, of course. you do it. Well, I would too. I'm just, yeah. I mean, because let's say you get two more years at this kind of level. Who cares if he, at that point? Well, if he said he's going to play till 45. Yeah. If he's asking for a deal that takes him to 45 and it's guaranteed, then before his last year,

if you see any erosion, you draft a quarterback. Right. Or you make provisions. He's told you he's going to play until he's 50 or I don't know, actually you can't really say that. We're going to assume he's not going to play that. I'm going to assume he's not going to play that. wrong at this level. So he's giving you the opportunity to make those plans if he sticks to that. By the way, I've been told this year by somebody I trust, New England has 12 picks. They will draft a quarterback. Now, it'll probably be, it will not, I don't think it'll be their first two picks. But remember, New England's got six picks in the first three rounds. That is a lot of picks. So I think New England's going to draft a quarterback with one of their first six picks.

Now, they're going to go to find an edge rusher. They want another corner. Their tight end is a huge need for them. And by the way, that means nothing that they're going to take a quarterback. No, they show you. I always said if I ran an NFL franchise, I would draft a quarterback every year. Now, some years it would be like John Elway got the kid from Northwestern in the seventh round. But it doesn't even matter. If I have Jared Goff and I'm the Rams and I have my full compliment of picks, draft picks are like 40, 50 percent once you get past the second round and making a league, I take a quarterback either every year or two out of three years. You just don't know when you're going to find a jet. And by the way, if they do become garage.

Apollo and a gym, you've got either a great backup or you got trade value. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. By the way, I was talking to a scout in the NFL last night, and he said it's a real thing. He said, don't kid yourself. He goes, a really big advantage for the Patriots. And he goes, I don't think it's just a small advantage. Belichick is really good. Once guys get into the league, Bill's made some mistakes in the draft.

Okay. But he said once guys get into the league, Bill's a great town evaluator, once guys get into the league on what fits, how to stop players. And the Rams two biggest offensive threats on the perimeter, Brandon Cooks, played for the Patriots last year. Bill knows all of his strengths, all of his weaknesses, what routes he runs well, what routes he doesn't. And so the Patriots have intimate knowledge of Brandon Cook's, what he can do, what he can't. All those corners for New England, they've all covered him at practice for a year. That is a big advantage for New England. And Robert Woods. Robert Woods played for four years in Buffalo. Belichick has faced Robert Woods many, many times.

And to add to that, Stefan Gilmore, the best corner for the Patriots, played with Robert Woods for four years. You don't think Stefan Gilmore knows every single move of Robert Woods. The other thing is, so those two big offensive weapons, weapons. This is what worries me for the Rams. I don't know if Todd Gurley's healthy. So if Todd Gurley, and I'm not sure he's been healthy since late October, if Todd Gurley's not 100 percent and he wasn't last week, he lost confidence, he couldn't catch, he couldn't block, there is a big advantage for New England here on the perimeter. Belichick knows NFL players.

Now again, he's not always been the best drafter. He's made plenty of mistakes. Once guys get in the league. Bill knows weaknesses, strengths. He's really an NFL guy. He leans on Sabin, Urban Meyer, some of his guys for college stuff and people in his staff for college stuff. Bill's not sitting on Saturday night watching hours and hours of college football. Some coaches do. But he knows Brandon Cooks and he knows Robert Woods. Keeb Taleb was with him for two years in the Patriot system. So he knows his vulnerabilities and his strengths. Those are three really important players in this game. Robert Woods, Brandon Cooks, and Akeep Taleb. All Rams, all very, very important players, and they know them really, really well.

And I haven't heard anybody talk about that. You know, it's not maybe a sexy, glamorous topic. But, you know, it's something. Well, we've been talking about it a lot with the Todd Gurley-CJ Anderson situation. it's a huge advantage for Bill Belichick to not know what's going on there because he always takes away your biggest weapon. Right. So if your biggest weapon and Todd Gurley eliminates himself, I mean, you assume that they're going to do whatever they can to take Robert Woods out of the game

if that's their number one receiver and the most reliable target. It's interesting, Joy, because I don't know if I have Stefan Gilmore, I can put him on Robert Woods. I'm not sure I have to double. I think that's a good matchup. I advantage nobody. think that's a really good matchup. You know, we asked it this week is the number one weapon for the Rams was Cooper Cup. It was Gurley and Cooper Cup. Well, Cooper Cup's gone and Jared Goff's numbers have

come down. I think if Cooper Cup was in this game and Todd Gurley, I knew 100% healthy, I think I take the Rams. I mean, I would have no problem with it. My reluctance to take the Rams is all statistical. Cooper Cup left, ACL, Goff's never quite been the same. That's factual. To the point where Sean McVeigh went and got another running back because he knew they had to become more run-centric. And for the record, should also be noted that you and I don't know how healthy girl he is. Everybody on the internet last week was trying to figure out, you know, how healthy is he. I don't know. I just know he wasn't completely healthy. Right.

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 Slical Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite.

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