The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 03/14/2019

Episode Date: March 14, 2019

Colin says losing Odell Beckham Jr. won't hurt the Giants but keeping Eli Manning as their QB will.  He admits he's been too critical of Jon Gruden's return to the Raiders and actually thinks he has a chance to succeed.  Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report tells Colin about his report that the Lakers have considered trading LeBron James.  Plus, former Eagles President Joe Banner tells Colin that the Giants are a complete mess right.  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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Colin Cowherg on Fox Sports Radio ah here we go this is the herd wherever you may be and however you may be listening we're live in Los Angeles on Iheart radio Fox Sports Radio

Sirius XM Channel 83 no television today but we will send all sorts of clips out on Twitter on Facebook on YouTube today. It is a radio-only day in our beautiful studio near Beverly Hills. It's great tabby in today. I love days like this. Bringing all sorts of fun guests on. My staff knows how much fun it is for me when it's sort of a radio-only day. We can screw off more. You're a lot more fun on radio-only days. I am a lot more

fun. I'm a lot more giving. Like substitute teacher, Colin. I know. I really am. I'm screw-off, Colin. It's great to have you in. So I've always been a football guy. My first day I ever went on syndicated radio 15 years ago to another network. I remember replacing Tony Kornizer and I said, okay, I'm a football guy. However that lands for you, I'm a football guy. Not to say I don't love an NBA basketball or don't have a big fight. Baseball playoffs are fun.

March Madness is great. But I'm a football guy. And I'm watching this free agent thing. and I think it's wildly entertaining. Actually, the team I thought did the best was the Green Bay Packers. They got three defensive starters and a starter on the offensive line. They went and got four starters, three for sure, and they didn't pay a fortune for any of the defensive guys.

So I thought Green Bay had a really good free agent signing period. Raiders obviously made a big splash. Cleveland made a big splash. But the thing about this business is, if you do marginal homework, You can find out there's a lot of nonsense out there. This idea, the New York Giants are going to literally be, they're going to detonate because Odell Beckham lost is laughable. They were awful with Odell Beckham.

But I just want to remind everybody of this. I'm going to give you a bunch of teams that lost their star wide receiver. Now, in some cases, this receiver is not as good as Odell Beckham, but this receiver at least plays every Sunday. O'Dell Beckham's missed 16 games in two years. It's a real problem. He broke his ankle. He's a speed guy.

So New England lost Brandon Cooks. He was their speed guy and their deep threat. What happened to the following year? They won the Super Bowl. The Saints lost Brandon Cooks. What happened following year? One play from the NFC championship. The Rams lost Sammy Watkins.

They got better and went to the Super Bowl. The Miami Dolphins lost their number one receiver Jarvis Landry. Six and 10 to seven and nine, better without. him. The Bears lost Al-Shan Jeffrey. They improved by two wins the following year. Philadelphia lost to Sean Jackson, comparable, you know, athletic and style to OBJ, 10 and 6 and 10 and 6. Calvin Johnson, who's going to be a first ballot Hall of Fame wide receiver, retired from the Detroit Lions. They went from 7 and 9. He left. They went 9 and 7 to the playoffs. The Patriots bailed on Randy Moss. They went 14 and 2 without him.

Cincinnati bailed on Ocho Cinco, 4 and 12 to 9 and 7. Now, I think they had A.J. Green as a rookie coming in. But the point is, Des Bryant left the Cowboys. They got better. Non-playoff team to playoff team. This idea that you lose a star receiver, dominant wide receivers often create an unhealthy imbalance, where the quarterback becomes paralyzed,

especially in first halves, getting him to ball, getting him into the game, calming down his ego. We saw that with Des Bryant and Dak Prescott. Dak Prescott got better the minute Des Bryant left. Everybody was freaking out. Even in New York, the Giants were four and 12 in their last 16 games with Odell Beckham Jr. When he didn't play, Eli Manning spread the ball around more.

So I don't ever buy. I think it's complete nonsense that if you lose your star receiver, you know, it's like anything. let's say I have a sports car. I've always compared wide receivers to sports cars. They're flashy, they're popular, but they're not as good when the weather turns. You can't have a convertible sports car out when it's snowing. And wide receivers, star wide receivers have never dominated the playoffs, even last year. It gets cold.

It gets windy. You bracket them. I mean, basically, the Patriots took Tyreek Hill out of the game for Kansas City. and it's like a sports car. If somebody took your sports car from you, well, you'd just drive your SUV more. Maybe you'd lose a couple of great days, but it's not what you build your franchise around.

You don't build your transportation around a fiat. In most of the country, you need an SUV, a four-wheel drive, some car that can handle bad weather. You know, that's all the wide receiver is. It's a flashy sports car, which, by the way, is often great September October, but by November and December,

they erode in impact. So, yeah, I just, I don't buy. The giant's issue is not losing O'Dell Beckham, Jr. The giant's issue is they took a running back last year with a number two spot and passed on a quarterback. That's their issue. If Sam Darnold was a New York giant, O'Dell Beckham would still be a New York giant

because he wouldn't be unhappy. And they'd be winning more games because they wouldn't have a quarterback who's a complete shot fighter who's unathletic. Donald's young, but he's athletic. He's a gamer. He played very well at the last month of the season. So just you do a little bit of homework and this idea that Odell Beckham is going to change everything for anybody, he can't stay healthy. And frankly, you're going to feel like you have to get him the ball in Cleveland and they've

got great running backs, a great tight end, a great number two. There's a lot of mouse to feed in Cleveland. This will not go perfectly for them. Let me shift to this with the New York Giants. I find this is one of the great mysteries in sports. And, you know, sports is about superstition, but there's not very many mysteries in sports. We solve stuff in sports. Sports has finality.

You win, you lose, you're in, you're out, you're traded, you get an extension, and a lot of mysteries in sports. I think the greatest mystery in sports is why are the New York Giants so paralyzed by Eli Manning. Cut him. He'd save 17 million. The last six years, he's 38 and 57, and he has nothing left in the tank. Now, I want you to think about that for a second. The Colts moved off Peyton Manning faster than the Giants could move off Eli. Payton was coming off a 10 and 6th season, got hurt, and they moved on to Andrew Luck. And Peyton Manning still had gas in the tank. The great Peyton Manning, Colts moved off him quick. The Packers moved off Brett Farr, who just got him to the NFC championship.

Still had a ton left in the tank. Let him go. The Niners moved off Joe Montana, four Super Bowls. He had a 14 and 2 year, got hurt the following season. Exit stage right. They moved off. Eli's a bad quarterback with nothing in the tank. Why are they terrified?

The Colts moved off Peyton Manning after nine straight winning seasons. The Cowboys moved off Tony Romo to play Dak Prescott, a fourth round quarterback once he got hurt. Philadelphia was 11 and 5. Donovan McNadd led him to the playoffs. He had led the Eagles to the playoffs in eight of ten seasons. They trade him to the division rival Redskins. Yet the New York Giants can't move off Eli Manning. Remember when the Rams moved off Kurt Warner?

He was like 14 and 2, got hurt. they moved off him. He eventually ends up with Arizona, leaving him to a Super Bowl. I mean, Eli's got nothing in the tank. Farve had something in the tank. Peyton had something in the tank. Warner had something to tank. Montana had some of the tank.

So not only would you move off him and save money, he wouldn't come back to burn you. Like the Packers knew there was a chance. Farv would come back to burn them. The Colts knew. He was a free agent. Peyton, Denver could come back to burn them. them, 49ers, Montana, went to Kansas City. He would succeed.

Marty Schottenheimer. I understand when teams are a little reluctant, letting go of a star in division. I don't want to face him twice a year. I get the Steelers saying, we're not trading you to the Ravens. We're not trading you to the Bengals or the Browns or the Patriots. That's too close proximity. I get that. And I also get when he's still a star player, it can be painful.

You know, you know, I mean, the Steelers know, Antonio Brown on Sunday, he's going to be lighting teams up. And people are going to say, oh, Pittsburgh. But Eli's got nothing in the tank. You'd save 17 million. The Colts were less patient with Peyton. Well, that's because of Andrew Locke. Yes, in some instances, there has been somebody out there. But there was for the Giants, too, Sam Darnold.

and they were petrified to move off Eli. What does New England build their entire framework around? Always move off people early and never late. It is the great mystery in sports. What in the God's name do they? Oh, Eli Manning, retire his jersey, put him in the ring of honor, Seacrest out. It is amazing.

teams have moved off quarterbacks with all sorts of suitors and talent left. And they can't move off Eli. And they can't move off Eli is why they're a mess. They're not a mess because they lost Odell Beckham Jr. They were four and 12 in the last 16 with him. They're a mess because they are somehow terrified and paralyzed to move off the less talented Manning brother.

the great mystery in sports. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. You know, it's funny. Usually when coaches get a job, Goulet, you've been with me for years. I usually give a coach a year to get the act together.

My kind of theory on coaches, I mean, Nick Saban lost Louisiana Monroe his first year, Pete Carroll's first year at USC 6 and 6. Even guys who hit it out of the park, college or pro, Tom Coughlin's first year, where the Giants was a mess. Outside of Urban Meyer in college and Bill Parcells and the NFL, historically, it just takes coaches at least a year to a year and a half to get it together.

You've got to build a roster. You got to implement your culture. You know, I use the example all the time. Starbucks opened in 1971 in Seattle next to Pike Place Market. 14 years it took for them to become national. And another of about seven after that for them to become part of our culture. Amazon started by selling books. Netflix was selling videos, you know, DVRs, VHS, that kind of stuff, VHS tapes.

So it just takes a long time. I contend Bill Belichick, even though he was very good early. You know, he made, I just read his book by Ian O'Connor. He made a ton of mistakes in Cleveland. And I love Belichick, but man, he made a bunch of PR moves and personnel choices that were lousy. And so, but this year, John Gruden, myself included, we all sort of clobbered him from day one. And my takeaway on John was you can't be out of an industry as fluid that evolves as quickly as the NFL for a decade. I compare it to Silicon Valley.

You can't be out of tech for 10 years. You could leave the post office for 10 years, come back, and you'd be fine. You can't leave tech for 10 years. You can't leave the NFL for 10 years. come back and just crush it. Forget the fact that he has to build his own roster and implement his own culture. But, you know, I'm watching what the Raiders are doing.

And I'm not talking just about Antonio Brown. But I think we have to officially now, now we can start judging him. Because here's what, if you're brutally honest about it, here's what John Gruden has done so far. So he came in and he had a draft. Well, his seven guys he drafted all played in at least 10 games.

So there were no busts of everybody he drafted. It may not have been the best draft. We'll see how Colton Miller pans out. But Colton Miller's going to start it right tackle this year. So it wasn't a disaster. He traded two stars and you may not like it, but he accumulated more draft picks while he did that. He didn't get taken to the cleaners.

He got all sorts of draft picks. The team played well down the stretch. And in this free agency period, between Tyrell Williams, they got from the Chargers and Antonio Brown, they're much better perimeter. Trent Brown left tackles overpaid, but he's a good player. La Marcus Joyner of safety cleans up their safety position. They're now set there.

So they got three first round picks for the top 35. His first draft, all seven players played a minimum of 10 games. it's not man overboard. Now, I still think he feels like more TV star than coach sometimes. Mike Mayock is a draft guy. Gruden acknowledges that's not his strength. His strength is coaching quarterback's football and offense. But, you know, my entire career, I've always preached sort of patience on coaches.

Even the guys that have hit it out of the park, Tom Coughlin with the Giants, Pete Carroll at USC, Nick Sabin, that first year is, It is choppy. Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin. Choppy. Let's take a deep breath with Gruden. They've got a ton of draft picks. Nice free agency period. Antonio Brown talked yesterday. Sounds like Gruden was pretty buttoned up. Well, Mr. Gruden played everything in my decision. We're coming here. Obviously, he's an officer guru. You get excited just talking with him. He got so much knowledge at a game. So he knows. what it takes. And when you have a coach like that, you know, it's like your dad, you know, you want to be around him because, you know, he's not going to build you up for what you're doing. You know, he's going to encourage you on how you always could get better. And when you

got a guy like that who's always going to help you improve and grow, that's the type of guy you want to be around. And that's the gap of guy you want to play for. They're an interesting team. Now, their division's really hard. Kansas City's really good and the charges are really good. But I think it's been too much man overboard for Gruden. He's had some real missteps. But you know what? Good free agency period.

Accumulated a bunch of draft picks. Found his own GM. They played well down the stretch. They beat the Steelers. I will say this. Now, they got smoked late in the year by Kansas City. That's no great crime. You know, Cleveland, the Browns, Baker Mayfield, everybody loves them.

They got smoked by Kansas City last year. So, you know, that's okay. Kansas City, depending on when you played them, was no day at the beach. The Colts were pummeled in the playoffs by Kansas City. Let's just wait on Gruden a little, just a little, because I think they're going to be fun. Now, if he moves off Derek Carr, I'm out. This idea that Derek Carr, you can't build around two years ago before he broke his leg, he was an MVP candidate. And that was with Jack Del Rio at the time was his coach, a defensive guy.

So I think you can absolutely, John Gruden and Derek Carr can be, have a fruitful relationship and win a bunch of games. And if nothing else, offensively between Terrell Williams and Antonio Brown and Trent Brown. And by the way, they got a lot of draft picks. You know Gruden's not putting all those draft picks on defense. Okay, Gruden's going to pick some offensive guys. You know that to be true. And it's a good wide receiver draft. It's a good offensive tackle draft.

It's a good lineman draft. So Gruden's not spending all those picks. I do think his first two picks are going to be defense. I absolutely think he's going to go after a pass rusher somewhere in the first round. That I know. He needs it. He wants to prove the Kaleo Mack thing. A couple times last year, they had leads and they couldn't get to the quarterback,

and people just bled the clock out on him. So they're going to get a pass rusher in that first round, one or two of their first three picks. But they got a lot of accumulation and draft leverage here. And that's not man overboard it yet. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. It's funny right now. There's some huge brands in American sports that are really a mess right now.

The New York Giants, the New York Knicks, the Lakers, the Washington Redskins, the Raiders, Chicago Bulls. And in almost every instance, without exception, it's because of ownership or management. They just don't have elite people up top. I mean, the Clippers bring in Jerry West, and they've just made a bunch of really smart moves, and they have a chance to make the playoffs,

and they don't have a star. So, you know, I mean, they got the right coach. Lawrence Frank upstairs, smart guy, analytic guy. They steal Zubotch from the Lakers, Lou Williams, Patrick Beverly. they got a bunch of mix of young and veterans and they play their butts off they play defense and they're not gifted but they're a playoff team and you can sense their direction they need to land a couple of really good athletes koai leonard would be perfect for them um but like in the NFL you need four things i've always had this rule owner GM coach quarterback if you don't have a B plus or above in in three of the four you're not an elite franchise the New York Giants right now coach quarterback GM

Not elite Dave Gettelman's not elite Pat Schumer's not elite And Eli's not elite And the Mara family was always considered elite But they've had a string of really bad coaching hires Kansas City Chiefs by the way are four and oh

Hunt family Stable GM Brett Veach A Andy Reid A Mahomes A 4 and O That's why they're going to be in the AFC championship for most of the next decade

Seattle I would have given them four high grades. Paul Allen passed away, unfortunately, and they're in a holding pattern with the ownership, but Pete Carroll, John Snyder, and Russar, Wilson are B-plus or above. That's why Seattle was able to rebuild quickly post that polarization of the locker room. The Chicago Bears, I still don't think they have great ownership or a great quarterback, but Ryan Pace is a great

GM and Matt Nagy's a really sharp coach, and they won their division. Philadelphia's four and O. You know, Howie Roseman, Wentz, Doug Peterson, Lori, the owner. Colts are three and one. I don't love their owner. Chargers. You know, Spanos family takes some shots,

but I love their GM. Quarterbacks very good. Coach, we're not sure about, but that's probably why they didn't end up in the AFC championship. You know, we're not quite sure if Anthony Lynn's the guy. I know they like him in house. But the Giants are one and three. So when you see these massive brands, that should really, they have such advantages.

I mean, let's be honest, a lot of young people that love football, scouts, they grew up Steelers fans and cowboy fans. You have advantages as a traditional rival. I mean, if you're a young scout and the Lakers call to the Memphis Grizzlies and you're a 45-year-old guy, there's a romance about the Lakers. There's a romance about the Bulls. There's a romance about Pat Riley, Pat. Ewing and the Knicks. You have advantages when you are a major brand. I mean, that's why it

doesn't take very long. I mean, USC football is a mess. But if you got the right co- if Urban Meyer tomorrow said it's my job, you know, 12 games later, they're really good. It's always easy to turn around big traditional powers in college basketball, college football, even in pro sports. Because there's just a lot of people that want to work for them. They're usually well-funded. They're in pretty cool cities. They take care of their employees, but it just goes to show you. We've got seven or eight massive brands in the country that are just a mess. And almost all those instances, I would go to ownership or the management in the front.

I think the Lakers don't have, I'm not going to take a shot of Jeannie Bus, but, you know, Magic's never done this before. Rob Polinkas never done this before. So I think it's very hard to not do something, and then you suddenly do something. and you're great at it. It's like TV guys who do radio, they're fine at it. But if you've done television for 20 years and somebody says, hosts a national syndicated radio show,

well, you're not a radio guy. You're a TV guy doing radio. You can be fine. You can be passable. You can stay on the air. But to be great at anything, you've got to do it for a long time. It's just, you know, it's just the reality of everything. That's why medical school takes a long time.

You know, they want eight, ten years of schooling and internships to even allow you a bad job in a hospital. In a weak hospital. Forget the great ones. Forget the great places in America. You know, John Hopkins, Cleveland Clinic. So, you know, I lied at the end of the tunnel. I don't see it.

Yes, it was funny yesterday hearing all these stories about the Cleveland Browns and how they're going to turn it around. I think they're going to be a really interesting team, but it was so funny because does everybody remember the Cleveland Browns? were 7, 8 and 1 last year. We're blown out four times and we're 1 and 5 against playoff teams. I mean, it's not like they were just knocking on the door. They beat one playoff team.

That was Baltimore when they had Joe Flacco, who was so bad he got replaced. By the way, they were 2-0 against Jeff Driscoll. Those were two of their wins. They got blown out by the Chargers, blown out by the Texans, blown out by the Steelers, blown out by the Chiefs. And it's just amazing. You bring in a couple of free agents. Super Bowl!

I like their players, but they were 7, 8, 1, 1, 5 against playoff teams. I want to go to Rick Buecker, Bleacher Report, senior writer, Buker & Friends podcast, listen to them all the time. And a story this morning, Jeannie Bus considered moving LeBron. I suggested that a week ago and said I don't think it's the craziest thing in the world. So, Rick, I'm sure you'll get blowback from some people on this. But let's talk about the story itself. I don't think it's crazy at all.

because I don't see light at the end of the tunnel, and I think he's your best asset by far. What did you make when you heard it? Yeah, I agree that it is, certainly it's something they have to contemplate, and people around the league are saying it's something they have to contemplate. The difficulty is, what are you going to get back? And that's probably the most shocking thing that I learned is that other teams looking at acquiring the LeBron are not looking at it,

like LeBron is the answer to all our problems. they would want to couch what they are offering. They don't want to offer up their best player because they're thinking at this point, well, if we want to do more than what the Lakers did this year, we need our best play. Like we need to have a quality player next to LeBron. We can't just give the farm for LeBron because LeBron plus whatever we have left over is not enough to get us anywhere.

And then we're basically sacrificing our entire franchise for a guy at 34 who now has had a, what people look at is, that was missing 18 games with that injury, presumably not being the same even since he's come back. It is raised an alarm. And here's the other part. And Colin, you're in L.A., so you know this. It's a matter of if you move LeBron, you can't,

this is not Milwaukee or Charlotte or even Houston where you can say, well, we're going to trade and we're just going to get building blocks. If Kauai Leonard shows up with the clippers and you're the Lakers with building blocks, that is not going to sit well with Lakers fans. You have big price tickets to sell. You need a star that's going to sell them. And, you know, as I'm looking at it right now, I don't see the star that the Lakers could trade LeBron for that is going to carry the water.

So that's the problem that they faced right now is can they get a star equal anywhere close to LeBron if they decided to move him because that has to be part of the package. Yeah, I mean, my gut feeling is they get Boogie Cousins and maybe a Jimmy Butler. I just had Bill Oramon and I said, you know, in football you have seven rounds of draft

and half the league is undrafted. There's a massive volume. You can really turn around a football team very quickly. You get the right quarterback. You have a good GM. You can just do it fast. But in basketball, you got two rounds, and after about the 12th player, you run out of guys. There's about eight guys domestically a year that signed two and three and four contracts. They're prodigies. And you only have two rounds, and the second doesn't give us a ton historically. So the Lakers don't have shooters. I find it very difficult to believe in one offseason,

and they're going to have a bunch of shooters. That's what the league is. I don't see light at the end of the tunnel. I don't with the Lakers. I think this thing has failed, and I don't see this beaming light that I'm close coming down the tracks. Do you? No, it's the exact opposite. I mean, what transpired this season, and especially, again, I hate to reiterate it, but the injury to LeBron really makes you question, okay, is this the first sign of the downturn? Yeah.

And if it is, where do you go from? here? How do you build this quickly enough to take advantage of whatever he has left? Now, when it comes to the free agents out there, the one that intrigues me the most is Kyrie reuniting with him. And the reason it intrigues me is because the one thing that Kyrie wanted from LeBron in Cleveland was to be recognized as a peer, to be recognized as, I'm an equal and you need me. And this is an instance where they strike out on every other front. Kyrie gets to come into L.A. And it is clear that LeBron has no chance unless he has Kyrie by his side. Maybe just maybe that addresses it. But as of what I'm hearing right now, I've heard more about Kyrie in New York if he leaves

Boston than rejoining LeBron. I've heard that he's open to it, that it's not, you know, whatever discord or enmity there was between them, that that's, that has dissipated, but would he actually go so far as to join this particular ship? I'm not hearing that it's at the top of his list. Segwaying to Kevin Durant because you're in the Bay Area, I had somebody tell me yesterday that the Warriors believe. Now, this doesn't mean it's going to happen, but in the building of the Warriors, they think Kevin's gone.

They think he's gone. It doesn't mean he's going to be, but they just don't have a ton of confidence at all. confirm that, believe that, what do you make of that? I believe that. I haven't been told by people. I haven't been told that by people in the building, but from everything that I'm hearing around the league, that is the prevailing notion,

and there's been nothing that's happened within the Warriors. I understand why the Warriors feel that way, even if he hasn't said anything directly to them, because particularly last year, The one thing that I noticed in the locker room was that Kevin and Draymond Green in particular were as they were but. Like after a game, they were always one be headed out to I'll text you. They were going out to dinner. They were hanging a lot.

I don't see KD particularly close to anybody. He has his locker in the corner and his interaction with everybody else in the locker room. There's been an invisible force field that. has gone up. And I understand that he and Draymond have mended fences to a certain extent, but the atmosphere around KD feels like a guy who's holding himself a little bit apart because he doesn't want to be emotionally invested in something that he's taking, that he's going to depart from very soon. I think it would be the craziest move ever. I swear to God, Rick, this is a

I can't even get my arms around it the idea Steph Curry is the greatest teammate as a star in the league Kerr shields you from everything you're going into a new arena they're going to win this year you could go four for four

I think it would be a tragic mistake listen ownership runs sports Dolan that front office how do you leave the best pro player organization in American sports. The Bulls didn't treat Michael Jordan well. I remember Jordan fought with Reinsdorf from day one.

Like I've always gotten that. The Steelers banging their players. The Patriots, you know, they trade you early before or later. Like, I can get great organizations where players move. I get it. Dan Gilbert LeBron. I get it. But I do not get leaving the Warriors.

This is why when it comes to KD. because KD will never be fully embraced by the Warriors. He will never, by the Warriors fan base, by the culture, whatever you want to call it. He's always going to be the guy who joined the band. And for him, there is, for the same reason that he left O.K.C. And he went to Golden State. And, you know, everybody said that was crazy.

You can't do that. KD. is demonstrated he's going to do what he wants to do. And I believe in terms of fully exploring what he's capable of doing as a player, that there's, and as a businessman, that there is a, okay, so what's the next frontier? And returning the Knicks to some level of glory is the next frontier. I mean, I think you're looking at it, you're looking at the money in the bank, which is the Golden State Warriors and Championships. I like money. I like money in my bank. I understand that. But you know what? Katie has so much money in the bank now, or he's had the money in the bank. And I always go back to Aaron Rogers, the comment he made after winning the

Super Bowl. And he said, is that all there is? Like, I got the thing that everybody says, I have to half and is this is it like this is it what else is there and it doesn't mean that erin or katie don't want to win more championships but it's it's it's a little bit like okay now have i experienced that what else is there for me to experience and again i can i can turn it on its head and i look at if you go into new york and you just get new if you get the nicks to the finals you don't even have to win or just get them to the finals which by the way if katy compared himself to LeBron. He says, I go to the East. I'm working with Scott Perry and Steve Mills, not Tim Dolan, but Scott Perry and Steve Mills, and they can put a couple pieces around me.

I can do what LeBron did. I can at least get to the finals. And if I get to the finals in New York, I'm going to be a God in a way in New York that I never will be in the Bay Area. Yeah, I at some point winning matters to me. Jesus. Well, look, and it's not to say that it doesn't matter to KD, but it's your part in that winning. Colin, you're at the forefront of what Fox and FS1 has put together. They're riding with you.

There's a lot of other people on that train, but they are riding with you. You're in the driver's seat. KD wants to be Colin. That's what he wants to be. He wants to be Colin Cowher somewhere. He'll never be Colin Cowher. with the Golden State Warriors.

Those words will never be uttered again in America. I really stretched that analogy. Once I was in, I couldn't stop. Bukes, it's great talking to you. Good story, good stories on the Lakers and LeBron. Thanks, buddy. You got it. 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. president for the Eagles for almost 20 years, Brown's CEO, recently a Falcons front office consultant and a friend of the show, Joe Banner. Joe, you know, free agency period, there's a little momentum in the league now. The Eagles did it a couple years ago. The Rams did it last year.

Teams appear to be a little less reluctant. For years and years, it was kind of thought of as silly money. Why do you think now we've got a little momentum, people are stepping up, even good teams? Well, I think the reason is the growth billion dollars when you're trying to build a team in a tight cap. When you're building a team in a tight cap, trying to keep all of your good players is impossible. When you're functioning in an environment where there's an excess amount of cash and cap room, then keeping your own players is doable. I think the strategy, all the smart teams started doing,

but the ability to build a team with a mixture of free agents and draft picks versus what used to be dictated by these increases in the cap. A former team for you. The Eagles, Howie Roseman, has been aggressive. You know, the Colts had 100 million haven't done much. They've re-signed some of their own guys. Finished second, I think, on Preston Smith. Niners went out and got D-Ford. Is there a move in particular to you liked so far? Great.

Yeah. A chance to come back and make a difference. And, you know, it's under the radar a little bit, but Malif Jackson, if he can play like he did in 16 and 17. Yes. You put him next to Fletcher Cox. Are you kidding me? Who has two guards that can block those guys?

So, you know, those were two deals that they didn't give up a ton. And they got some incredible value. I mean, Luke Jackson's average $10 million. You don't need to, you know, belittle $10 million a year. But, you know, when you look at the other deals that are out there, and what we saw him capable of for two of the last three years and probably really five of the last six years, you put him on a team next to Fletcher Cox.

That could be an incredible combination. Listen, I'm just a big believer we've discussed that. Dominate both lines of the scrimmage. And you're going to be one of the best teams of the league. There are a few teams that have built like that. I mean, Cleveland has done that now. The Eagles have done that now. You know, teams like the perennial good teams like the Patriots have.

There's a Patriots doing a different way. They don't want to leave the league in Stacks. They want to leave the league in forcing them up and there's no place to step up. And they get players that are incredibly a group of teams that are focused. You know, like to me, the Jets, they signed a lot of players that I actually you really like. But they didn't really improve either line that much. Yeah. So they'll be better. They'll be better. I think the coaching will be better and at least the offensive side. I think Donald will get better. They're a money into really creating

dominant lines. They'd be a much better team than I think they're going to be. So I always look at the teams that are focusing on trying to dominate those lines of scrimmage and have a good quarterback. And too much of the money in my mind is being spent differently than that. Listen, that's how the coach lived forward last year. They rebuilt an offensive line in one year. that went from one of the worst lines and the lead to one of the best lines. In fact, I think you could argue the best line.

And I just think they looked for some opportunities in a defensive line here that didn't emerge and I don't look at any anybody out there. What I worry about with Cleveland is Freddie Kitchens had never been interviewed. I mean, really, he was only a coordinator for eight games. And you, OBJ, you know, you can ask Ben McAdoo and Pat Schumer and Dave Gettlement.

He can be a little difficult to coach. You've got big personalities now. Sheldon Richardson, never quite played up to his contract. John Dorsey himself has a strong point of view. Freddie Kitchens is a kid compared to that. Do you worry that he could be a little engulfed by all of it? If you were going to put together that kind of a cast of characters, you'd want an incredibly strong head coach.

Yes. And I actually think under the circumstances it was reasonable to give Kitchens the shot, but I readily strong coach. And you really only gave him a partial list. I mean, Joku, Landry, Hunt. I mean, there is a lot of plays in the team that will need some strong guidance. But, listen, I go back to my basics. I think Mayfield's going to be very good.

I think their lines right now are good as anybody in the league. You add Vernon to the line they had. You add Richardson if they can get him to show up on a regular basis, take away and meetings and play reasonably hard. And they've got some depth there. I don't see many offensive lines that are able to block that group. So that's going to make the whole rest of the defense better. So the Eagles do that and ride it through a Super Bowl.

do think that they have some real challenges in managing the group. I think that was what Dorsey did in Kansas City. It didn't sit so well. Coach the game. And I think that's to be determined. I think they'll be good. The challenge in the NFL is getting from good to be what keeps that from happening there. Freddie Kitchens, yeah. You know, Joe, the Niners moved off Montana and the Colts moved off Peyton, and Green Bay moved off Farrv. Philadelphia, Donovan McNabb, eight out of ten years had been to the playoffs. They moved off him. Kurt Warner had a lot of football left. Rams moved off him. For some reason, the Giants appear to be terrified to move off Eli Manning.

Why? I don't understand it. The other thing is, Joe, is he's not going to come back and burn you. I think he's kind of done. I am shocked by their paralyization moving off Eli, or you? Yes, the gentleman put out, and I'm completely baffled. I mean, this week alone he said, we have a plan. No kidding. Everybody has a plan.

He said he admires the way the chiefs have done things. What is he doing that resembles anything the chiefs have ever done? But by the way, they moved off Alex Smith that was getting him to the playoffs. They moved out. Yeah. By the way, I worked with Andy Reed for 14 years. I know exactly what he thinks.

It's nothing like Dave Gettelman is doing in New York. And then he announces, by the way, that he's going to move to a offense that he's comfortable. So you have a team now with an old quarterback and nobody lined up to replace him, Jam who apparently won all players who create no discomfort and luck of them at all. Not just not really bad players, but I mean, Vernon, I mean, you know, so he isn't perfect. Are you kidding me? You're running out of the team a strong defensive pass rush who's only 28 years old. So I just have no idea what they're doing.

And then if you break down the individual evaluations decisions they've made in last year, what were they going for it last year or not? You trade a draft pick to get Ogletree. You can't cover anybody who's making 10 million. dollars a year, but you're building a team for the future, you can win and rebuild at the same time. Of course you can, but there's nothing you're doing that indicates you're going to be able to. And then the Eli thing, I mean, you know, listen, it's great to be loyal to a player that's giving you so much, but at some point you've got to start to make the decisions

that are in the best interest of the 50 and 60 players who are standing there right now, risking their health and well-being every day they're on the field. It's amazing. You know, Joe, Arizona has already paid the money to Josh Rosen. He's $2 million a year for three years. I think he as a thrower stacks up with almost everybody in this class. Patriots have 12 picks. Giants have 10 to 12 picks. I am shocked that Arizona's not getting calls for Josh Rosen. I mean, this is not a great quarterback class by anybody's draft analysis, and you don't have to pay him anything. He's a $2 million a year player. Boy, I got to think if I was in New England, a

second or a third round pick. I'm surprised there's not. I mean, if you were in the league and you had, I mean, I think he's as good a player as a Teddy Bridgewater potentially, a Ryan Tannihill, Andy Dalton. I mean, Jared Goff didn't look good as rookie year. He bounced back when he got the right offensive coach. What do you make of the Rosen situation? He just mentioned maybe Bridgewater. I was a big for the injury. And he does throw the, we don't know is there were all these stories and rumors last year, but what went on with him in college and how community was and everything else like that, there may be more believing of that stuff

than we realize happening around the league. And, you know, the Patriots are purists about quarterbacks. You've got to be a genius. You've got to be an incredible lead. You've got to have every... So I think if they actually market this guy, they will get a decent draft pickback in return from... I'm not sure it's a one,

because the teams that are most likely to want him have really high ones and they may not want to give that up. But I actually think if they market him, this will correct itself and they'll get solid competition. compensation. But right now, as far as we can tell, they're just kind of sitting there and not doing anything. And who knows? Maybe keeping them. Maybe the Kyle and Murray stuff isn't real. Or maybe they're planning on picking Kyle and they're just waiting until a later date to market Rosen, which doesn't make it sense to me because teams like the Redskins that may have been involved won't be involved anymore, at least for the moment. So it's a little mystifying. But I think if they market him and they truly are going to pick Murray that they'll still get a good deal for Rosen. You know, Joe, love having you on the show when you're in Los Angeles, or we set up a camera at where you're at. I love your insight, and I really appreciate you stopping by today.

Well, I always appreciate being a pleasure talking to you. Thanks. 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

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