The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 07/30/2019

Episode Date: July 30, 2019

Colin thinks Zeke's hold out has played right into Jerry Jones hands and he explains why.  He predicts the Saints will crumble after last year's devastating ending to the season and miss the playoffs.  Plus, former NFL QB Michael Vick explains what Lamar Jackson needs to do to be successful and why Quarterbacks have to carry themselves differently than the rest of the team   Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

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

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

What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, 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 searching herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go on a Tuesday. This is The Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1 live in L.A., Joy Taylor, is joining me. Somebody was putting a microphone on a couple of minutes ago and said, are you losing weight? And what I felt like saying is, no, I'm just starving for football.

Oh. Yeah. Yeah. It's great to have you. We've got nothing but football today. I absolutely love it. Joy Taylor is joining me. Man, we're moving into August now.

I can feel it now. We've got a football game this weekend. I know. It's so exciting. It is exciting. I love how it snuck up on us this year. It did. It did.

NBA free agency just let us right into it. There's no break in the action. So we got a story. Jerry Jones said something yesterday. Let's start here. Owner of the Dallas Cowboys, who through the years has been very good to his players. Let's not kid ourselves.

This is not like an owner of a team that's cheap. This is not Charlie Finley of the old A's. You know, there's Donald Sterling. This is an owner that loves his players and takes care of his players. But you do run a business, and football is a business. And Jerry Jones, and he's right on this, was talking about the Zeeke holdout yesterday, and I hope Zeke is listening. Here he is.

You don't have to have a rushing champion to win a Super Bowl, but Emmett was the first one to do it. And that's one of the dilemmas at running back is that the league knows that you can win Super Bowls and not have the Emmett Smith back there or not have Zeke back there. Consequently, when we are looking and putting Zeke's contract in place, we've got to realize that the ultimate goal is, to win the Super Bowl. Tone has changed. Zeke, by the way, is in Cabo. Jerry just said that, and the Cowboys just signed a running back.

Oh, my, the story has changed, has it not? Jerry Jones is not going to pay him what he wants two years out. And this is the mistake, is that now, don't worry about losing the locker room. Jerry realizes this. He can now overpay DAC. If you're not paying your running back, what Zeke wants, overpay on DAC and you don't lose the locker room because Dak who's never made any money

is a year out and he's like I just want to I just want to be at camp so you always worry about in these situations losing the locker room if a star isn't paid now you that would happen much more in basketball's culture than football's culture but now what jerry is telling you is we're moving off him if he doesn't come in and play we just got to have to move off him Zeeks and Cabo, Jerry just delivered that strike, and they just signed a running back. And there is something about football. Jalen Smith has never made any real money in the NFL, linebacker. Dak hasn't made any real money.

If Jerry steps up and pays those guys in the near future, then the Zique thing has no sting. There is a brotherhood in football that does not exist in basketball. Basketball, it's about getting yours. I mean, LeBron and D. Wade are best buddies. LeBron bailed on him, didn't give him a phone call. KD. Bails on Steph. Steph was in China. Could you have made the decision two days earlier?

He bailed on him when he was in China. Forced Steph to fly all the way to Brooklyn to say, I love you. The basketball brotherhood doesn't really exist. People say it does. Oh, I love Mello. Nobody wants to play with him. I love Chris Paul. Nobody wants to play with him.

But in the NFL, there is a brotherhood. And the reason there's a brotherhood is the fear of getting hurt. Tom Brady, you see these quarterbacks by their offensive linemen, lawnmowers, rolex, cars, vacations, golf carts. Why? Because if you don't have their back, you're on yours. There is a brotherhood in football. Training camp is a grind.

Training camp is grinders. Training camp in the heat in Louisiana. It's brutal. And so if you skip camp, players will say one thing, but they'll think another. Get your arse over here. And I think Jerry knows this. I think Jerry understands the brotherhood of football. I think Jerry analytically knows where the game is going.

You don't need to start running back. And I think Jerry knows in the end, if he doesn't sign Zeke, he can overpay on DAC and that will play very well within the walls of Cowboy Land. That'll play well. Pay for Jalen Smith. Pay for Dak who haven't made any real money. Zeke's already made $20 million. He'd make $33 if he stayed there through the remainder of his country.

contract, which he says he won't do. So let's not cry poverty here. Zeke's a first rounder. Zeke's made big money. Dax made nothing. Jalen Smith's a second rounder. He's made nothing. And they've both been really good players, part of a winning culture. So Jerry Jones is, didn't just accidentally throw that out there. Jerry Jones picks and chooses, just like commissioners. He picks and chooses the times to allow interviews. Did you notice that interview? Under a shaded tree, nice lighting. Jerry was delivering a message from the cowboys to Zeke. Don't need you.

The ultimate goal is Super Bowls. Star running backs, Panamalot doesn't win Super Bowls. Listen, there's two stories, the one they feed you and the truth. That for Jerry Jones was his presidential address. Nice. Under a tree, the lighting's good. He took it serious. He delivers it.

I mean, you notice just it looked like a well done. That's like Warren Buffett does it. Sun Valley every year. It's like, okay, this is going to play all year to the investors on Wall Street. Let's make it look real. This is not Jerry with 30 people in a microphone. Thought about it, delivered it, a sit down, a one-on-one. Good luck, Zique. Good luck. Because Jerry, that's where he stands right now, and he wanted to make sure you see that as you work out in Cabo. I saw this story. Oh, boy. A Louisiana court orders testimony of Roger Goodell in the Rams Saints lawsuit.

Oh, boy. New Orleans cannot get over that call against the Rams. Mark Ingram, who left the Saints and is now with the Ravens, said, quote, that is something no one on our team, no one in our organization will ever get over, that call. Folks, the last several years, I've played a game before every season. Joy has seen this once. I've done it two or three years in a row, and I've hit it. The NFL every year, and this is just not me making it up.

This happens every year. A really good team gets inches from the Super Bowl. In the following year, they stink. Last two years, I've predicted right. Minnesota, 13 and 3 that didn't make the playoffs, and then Jacksonville, AFC to 5 and 11. Fans tend to think it's always linear. Like, you're kind of good, you're really good,

and you're Tom Brady, and it doesn't work that way. It's cruel. Football's cruel. Free agency. Players get hurt in football. Like their careers end at 24 years old. They don't in basketball. They generally don't in baseball.

Football, you're 24, you're great. You got the world broken leg. It's over. Thanks for flying United. The Saints are that team this year. They're coming down, folks. They're crashing hard. I hate to tell you.

They're crashing hard. There's a lot of reasons. A, they're still fuming over a loss last year. B, Drew Brees at the end of last year looked old and tired. C, their early schedule is absolutely the toughest in the NFL. Add Max Unger, valuable senator retired, Mark Ingram, valuable running back left, and Michael Thomas is holding out. I'm sorry, ask Jacksonville in Minnesota. You can see this from a mile away.

That is why Drew Breeze. Louisiana and New Orleans specifically is a party town. and somebody stole their party and they're pissed and they haven't forgotten it and they're holding the grudge. Folks, you can't see straight when you're in the fog of a grudge. You can't see straight. You got to get over the divorce. You got to get over the loss.

Football's cruel. It's not waiting for you to get over it. It moves on fast. New Orleans is coming down. And Drew Breeze has been around the block. He sensed this immediately. And Drew Breeze, unlike a lot of the guys in this team, he's old. He's got like an hour left in the league.

Remember when they lost that game. He went to the microphone and remember what Drew Bree said. This shows you he understood the city he lives in and the impact of this loss. There's nothing we can do about it. So it's unfortunate. Last year after the loss, and it really brought us together as a team and strengthened us. And then I hope that this will too.

I plan on being here next year and making another run at it. Get over it, turn the page. Let's go. I've been in this league 15 years. get over it. New Orleans can't get over it. They're holding a grudge. They want Roger Goodell to answer it. By the way, New Orleans, people hate to look at themselves in the mirror. After that no call, you kicked a field goal, took the lead, at home, went to overtime, lost the game. The call did not lose you the game. It was a symptom. It wasn't the cause. You lost the game. You couldn't get

first downs. You couldn't make a stop. At home, Rams couldn't hear. They beat you in overtime. You're Jacksonville, you're Minnesota, your quarterback's old, your schedule's brutal, you're still holding a grudge, you can't see straight, you lost Max Unger, Mark Ingram's gone, Michael Thomas holding out, won't go to a full camp. Here it comes, get ready for it. Don't say I didn't warn you. Saints, you're the Vikings and the Jags. Put it down. Go to Vegas. Bet the under.

Last night, a blown call changed the game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. 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 athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context

and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who 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 Hardway with me,

your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible, guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch.

Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is 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 Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show,

I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks 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, rec, my mama want you to wave at her.

What? Where's she at? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. If you're watching the latest season of the Rough. Housewives of Atlanta, you already know, there's a lot to break down. Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man.

They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. I like the bougie style of Housewives show. I think it looks like it's going to be interesting. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real Housewise franchise, the drama, the alliances, and the team. everybody's talking about.

As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it. I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this. At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment.

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So the NFL players vote on this NFL.com list every year, top 100 players. And, you know, there's always yesterday that Deshawn Watson below Baker-Mayfield. I know you think I'm picking on Baker, but I think we've gotten to a point where Deshaun Watson, people, you've got to wake up. You players got to wake up. If you think this morning you'd take Baker over to Sean as an NFL player, you know what, watch more film. You just don't know what you're watching.

Deshawn's the most underrated player officially in the league right now. I'm not saying he's Brady or Breeze or Russell or Locke, but Mahomes, he's really, really, good behind a bad O line for three years in a row or two years in a row. So the list came out. They only have 20 spots left. So they're down to 100 through 21. And the interesting one now is Jared Goff is 32. So he is going to be the eighth best quarterback in the league, according to the players.

And that is way higher than fans put him. So Goff at this point, Deshawn Watson is far lower. than he should be, according to the players, and Jared Goff is better than the fans and the media think. So Jared Goff, according to this list, is higher than Big Ben, Wence, Baker, Dachshan Watson, and Matt Ryan. And I don't necessarily think they're wrong. When he came into the league, I always do what I call a comp. I have a guy that I think you'll be at your best, a guy if you underachieve, and where are you in the middle? I use Tom Brady and Matt Ryan.

I said if golf is at his best, he'll look a lot like Tom Brady, you know, notwithstanding the eight Super Bowls. And I said if he's a little under what I think he can be, he'll be Matt Ryan, solid but no Super Bowls. I think he's better than Matt Ryan and not quite as talented as Tom Brady. So I think he's going to end up with a Super Bowl or two and be very, very effective. Tall, lean, good arm, coachable, but does need a good offensive line like Tom or Matt to be more successful. He needs protection. He's not overly athletic out of the pocket. So he's got the five things I care about.

Tall, coachable, good arm, accurate, and a low key personality. You know, he's not out there making, you know, and you know what out of himself on social media. But what would Jared Goff, the reason players get him and the reason fans don't and media often don't. Because this happens all the time in the NFL. If you are surrounded somebody by somebody that's flashier than you, Russell Wilson comes into the league. Pete Carroll's defense, Pete Carroll's brand, Pete Carroll USC. People overlook Russell Wilson, very quiet, shorter than average quarterback.

Jared Goff plays in Los Angeles with Sean McVeigh. Good looking, high energy, the next Belichick. And people don't pay attention to Jared Goff. But players do. And never forget, Goff is the same age as bad. Baker Mayfield. Gough came into the league a very young number one pick. Baker came into the league

an average or older number one pick. They're both 24 entering this season. So Gough is more mature than Baker at this point. Shouldn't be. They're the same age. Baker spent all those years in college. Gough came out early. They're both 24. But here's the thing

where I think players bought in the golf. The biggest NFL game last year, the most exciting game, was Kansas City Mahomes, against Goff and the Rams in Los Angeles. It was an unbelievable, spectacular showcase of offensive talent. And Goff won. And Goff had four T-Ds and no picks.

And Mahomes was wild at times and had three picks. And was great but played a little out of control. That was the game, I believe, that players, and it got a huge rating. That was the moment in the league that I think players looked at Goff and went, a guy can sling it. there were a couple of throws in that game. There was a throw to the back of the end zone where everybody involved was,

oh, oh, Jared Goff's great. Oh, Jared Goff can make all the throws that Patrick Mahomes can make. He just looks where he throws it. So this NFL.com, players voted on this. Goff's the eighth best quarterback in the league. His dad, by the way, was a major league baseball player. He's got good lineage. This is a kid that's athletic, right?

Dad played in the bigs. This to me is the surprise of the list. He's going to finish ahead of Ben and Wentz and Baker and DeShon and Matt Ryan. And I don't think it's wrong. I think he's that kind of talent. What's up, everybody, John Middlecock, three and out podcast. That's my podcast. You better believe I'm talking a lot about football.

I used to work in the NFL. Now I talk for a living. Became friends with Colin. Now I host a podcast for Colin Coward's Podcast Network. Every week, Tuesday and Friday, I'm talking all about the NFL, and you better believe right now, dive into training camps, going all around the league. John Middlecock, go subscribe the three-and-out podcast.

Four-time pro bowler 13 years. Michael Vic joining us on the set today. Four pro-bowls. I thought you only want a couple. Four. You're doubly as good as I perceived. Should have been five. Should have been five.

All right, let's go to Lamar Jackson. So I'm going to throw a theory at you. That, and I always said, Lamar Jackson to me is Mitch Trubisky. Gotcha. Let him run for three years. as they develop a confidence in throwing. As you develop, Russell Wilson did this a little for about two years. I'm okay for another year letting Lamar be a 60-40 pass run guy.

I'm okay for one more year. Right. Let's go back to you. Now, you were a more honed thrower of the football than Lamar or Tribesky. I find them very similar. Limited throwers, super athletic. Are you concerned at all? you're also a little shorter and thicker than Lamar.

He's got a little Bridgewater. Yeah, you know what? I agree with what you said. Year two, just let Lamar be Lamar. You know, obviously for the Baltimore Ravens, you know, it's must win situations out there. You know, I think they, you know, they've been putting in a position where, you know, they have to win and they have to win now. So let Lamar be Lamar.

Greg Roman is going to do a great job of He did last year Yeah he's going to do a great job of creating Run plays for Lamar And then taking into account the fact that You know sometimes he's going to improv Pull the ball down and run too That's why I think you know when

Harba is saying you know betta over He knows it's going to be design runs It's going to be some runs It's going to come off improvisation Where he just pulled a ball down and run now He don't have a body You know like Cam Newton Like Joyce said earlier

He don't have that type of statutes So he has to be careful other than that. You know, this project won't last long. So, you know, within, you know, him being a running quarterback this year, he has to be a or develop. He has to develop as a passer. Hands down, without a doubt. Yeah, they do have two rookie tight ends last year.

They drafted a wide receiver. I do like that offensively they're kind of creating this young unit he can grow with. I don't ever think he's going to be Drew Breeze. I don't think he's that kind of player. And I'm kind of like, let guys run for two years until the lights come on. Russell Wilson admits year three, lights come on. You're like, okay, the game's slowing down. Jared Goff, by the way.

And the last year, you're like, okay, lights are coming on for Jared Goff. Do what you got to do to get by. Do what you got to do to get by. And it's time for, you know, the opportunities to develop is going to always be there. You know, and you can develop from week one to week three, from week three to week six. And you start to add more and give them a little more and see what he can handle. training camp preseason is going to be very critical for Lamar as far as, you know, kind of, you know, putting it all together,

or what this offense is going to look like and what he's going to be able to do. By the way, it's his team now. It's his team. Okay. So this camp, it's his team. He's got a receiver. Got some tight ends. Got a running back behind him.

You know, it's time for him to, you know, take the next step. Okay. Joy and I don't love holding out two years before your contract. I don't love the optics of you going to Cabo where your brothers are in 1,000 oaks and 120 degrees. Yeah, man. It's a little, you know, it's kind of eerie. You know, I think everything should have been kept low-key.

He should be somewhere working out, training, you know, talking to, you know, his teammates, seeing what's going on, staying up on what's going into the offense, where the team is as far as progression. And, listen, trying to find a compromise. in this situation. They have three great stars on this team that can make this team a much better team with Dak and Amari. And it's just, you know, the luck of the draw that, you know,

they have a guy like Dak who was drafted in the fourth round. It was supposed to be, you know, the heir apparent to Tony Romo, but not this soon. Right. So it happened a little early than what everybody expected. So now they end in a dilemma. And I think they all have to come together, Zeke, Dak, Amari, say, listen, you're going to find a way to make sure that we all on the field together and we give this team the best chance of winning.

And understanding that it is a financial aspect to this and the salary cap that we have to, you know, buy-bye. You know, it's interesting. Zeke and you have, I think, some similarities. You became iconic early. I mean, when the guys have one name, you know, Vic, LeBron, Zeke, KD, when you can go by initials. So Zeke came into the league,

and I think he's lacked a certain maturity. You have admitted, you came into the league. You didn't study as hard. If you went and did it again, yeah, I do it different. You do it totally different. So you have much more self-awareness now than you did it 22. There are times with Zeke where I look at him and I think, I wish he was 34 now. Right. He doesn't have the self-awareness. He doesn't get that Cabo looks terrible. Yeah, he doesn't, you know, have the maturity of a guy like Dak Prescott who seems very mature. You know, and obviously he plays a quarterback position

and there's a different type of demand. And, you know, Zika is a running back and a guy who can just line up and show up and be really, really good at what he do. Sometimes we don't take into account that, you know, at every position, you know, we're being watched and scrutinized. And I think, you know,

Zika's kind of missing that, you know, and it hasn't had that over the last, you know, a couple years as far as guidance. And I think he'll mature. I think this and everything he's going through right now or make him a much about. person to make them a much better player. When did you mature? What was the epiphany?

What was the moment where you're like, I got to button this stuff up? In 2005, when I flicked off the crowd, after a game, we played the New Orleans Saints. And, you know, I had a decent game. And, you know, I didn't feel like I made a lot of mistakes. And, you know, we lost the game. And, you know, you want to point the finger, but you can't. And, you know, with some fans just taunting me. And I, you know, I flicked them off.

And I was like, you know, I had a conversation with my mom and just knew it was time for a change. It was time to change my surroundings and grew up a little bit. And that had to happen like sooner than later. This may be the wake-up call for Zique. Maybe this is. I think so. We got to get him out of cowboy. Got to get him around the guys.

Got to get him a deal in place. And I would love to see this guy on the field this year because he's definitely somebody that has made the league continue to turn over the years. Michael Vick is joining us 13 NFL. Season 6 with Atlanta, five with Philadelphia, four-time Pro Bowl. Most career rushing yards by a quarterback in NFL history, number one draft pick overall. When you, I look at Odell Beckham, and I've said before, I think he's the first NBA player in the NFL. And Doug Gottlieb came on and said, actually, Michael Vic was. And he said, Michael Vic was the first NBA player.

It was like, we didn't even care about the Falcons. We just cared about Michael Vic. Brand-wise. Brand-wise, do you see a little bit of yourself in Odell Beckham? Well, I see Odell just, you know, he's kind of like a walking brand, and he created that image for himself. And, you know, it started in New York. Right. You know, where, you know, football is like the Mecca.

You know, a lot of media attention. And I think, you know, Odell and, you know, just his whole persona just kind of gravitated to it. And it was, it was nothing wrong with it. You know, it's good to see a guy like Odell take advantage of everything that has come at him. I think in a humble way. More importantly, you know, being on the field and representing himself and being the best player that he can be as, you know, been the real reason why, you know,

he gets all attention. So he takes care of business on the field and then off the field he kind of, you know, just took advantage of everything that life has brung his way. So I don't think there's anything wrong with it. You know, I love the fact that, you know, he's been productive. And as long as the production don't stop,

O'Dell can do pretty much whatever you want. I remember there was a guy in New York years ago went to the University of Miami, Jeremy Shockey. And I always felt shocking was building a brand, but his game wasn't living up to his brand. I thought Mark Sanchez, who I like personally. Mark was into his brand and his on-field play wasn't up to his brand.

Odell's production is equal to his brand. And I also, part of me, Mike, I kind of look at it at wide receivers. Like, I get it, man. It's a perimeter position. I don't think I love my quarterback. Yeah. being this brand centric?

No, absolutely not. Our conversation will be different if this was the quarterback. That's how I feel. You know, being a receiver, and we've seen guys do it. It's almost like Dion Sanders and his brain in the way he was. It's like, you know, he was his own walking entity. And that's, but I didn't build around Dion. I was okay, Dion, being prime time.

Absolutely, yes. There's something about being quarterback. I kind of need you because the quarterback gets all the love anyway. I kind of want you to disperse it. Yeah. Give love as a quarterback. Let your offensive linemen, your receivers, you're tied in your back, get you're getting all the attention anyway.

I remember my second year, Dan Reeves, you know, before the game started, I was, you know, jumping around with the guys and super hype and, you know, just ready for the game and, you know, trying to look like everyone else and trying to just be as excited as, you know, all my teammates, and he pulled me to the side and said, oh, hold on, hold on, you're the quarterback. You got to be different. You know, you got to be even killed. You can't be a big rah-rah guy.

And I learned right then and there early that, you know, my mindset, you know, the persona that I gave off had to be different. It had to be, you know, a different tone, laid back, low-key. And I took that and I kind of ran with it. And it felt better. You know, it felt better. And then I allowed the guys around me to be more flashy and flamboy. That's right. And more emotional.

Yeah, more emotional. I kind of fade off them in that regard and kind of live vicariously through them. Mike, Vic, joining us. You know, I looked at the players vote on the top 100 players every year, NFL.com. Yeah. And it's interesting. Yesterday I said, Deshawn Watson is now the most undervalued player in the NFL. They have him under Baker.

I think Baker's good. I think DeJon can be spectacular. Yes. The other thing that comes out today, they're almost done with it. They have only 20 spots left. Jared Goff is going to be the eighth best quarterback in the league. Now, the fans don't want to hear that, and the media may not agree with it. But could I make the argument when he went toe-to-to-to-with Mahomes last year in that crazy game in L.A.?

That players around the league who vote on this were like, okay, okay, he's going toe-to-to-to-with-Mahoms? I think that game changed among players, his rep. Yeah, and it was a nationally televised game. He played one of his best games when his best was required. And I honestly think, look, I take nothing away from the New England Patriots. I think, you know, I always say this time, Brady is the greatest, Bill Belichick is the greatest. But the Rams could have won that Super Bowl last year. I think it was a pass and a friend's call that was a little controversial that didn't get called at the end on Brandon Cooks.

And, you know, I think it's always got grabbed. That was a bad call, by the way. And, you know, he catched that pass. And, you know, it's a different dynamic to that game. But up into that point, Jared Gough, had put that team. in the position to be where they were, you know, in the Super Bowl. He played so sound. He played smart.

Yes, he had his hiccups, ups and downs. But throughout it all, he stood in the face of adversity. You know, he stood there in the fire, you know, and did everything he needed to do as a quarterback. Here he is right here running the football and running one there. And he's not even the most athletic guy. So I think he's done enough to show the league that he's one of the, you know, rising stars, young gunners of the National Football League.

exciting to see because we get to see him more and more as time progressed. By the way, Patrick Mahomes is my favorite to win the MVP. I'm not really an award guy, but I do think he's the next great superstar quarterback in our league. I think he's coachable. I think he's got Andy Reid. I was about to say he got Andy Reid. Okay, so I want you to take and I love these stories. So Andy really rejuvenated your career. Yeah. Andy took a chance on you. You had some stuff in the PR department that wasn't great. Your football was broken. a little and Andy said, I'm going to solve you. So take the first couple of years with Andy

and what is Patrick Mahomes hearing now from Andy? Because by the way, Mahomes like you, hyper athletic, can make mistakes but can also do stuff off script that I can't coach. Yeah, he's a, you know, once in a generation type of talent because of his arm strength. And now he does a lot of things where his intangibles are through the roof. But when this kid throws the football and when you can attack

Every area of the field that Mahomes can attack, it keeps a guy like Andy up all night, like thinking about how can I attack the defense, what explosive play can I put in to manipulate the defense and to catch him off guard and open up a bunch of other things. And I know that because Andy used to text me at, you know, 11, 30, 12 o'clock at night, you know, take a look at this play. And it was all about taking advantage of what I could do arm strength-wise and stretching the defense. Now, you know, the one caveat is going to be, you know, McHombs, he'll see different defenses this year.

It might not be as vanilla. I think teams are going to try to take away the things that he really do well. But when you got Andy, a guru, who loves the offensive side of the ball, and that's what he do. He's a play designer. I mean, it's just going to continue to keep coming. And what we've seen from Patrick last year, that'll get magnified. You know, even with Mike Kafka, the offensive coordinator in the role,

room. He's very, you know, intellectual with the quarterback was this. He was a northwestern quarterback. He's a northwestern guy and he was one of the guys that said not QB. Roman helped design plays. Help, you know, Doug Peterson design plays and put it all together when we was all together. So just, the

ceiling is very high for Patrick. Does Andy ever bark? And when he does bark, is it a loving bark? It's a loving bark. He gives, I mean, the best, you know, advice, man, without you know, really coming down hard on you.

Doesn't make you feel bad about yourself. Yeah, he don't make you feel bad about it. He'd make you want to go out and do it for him. And you know, he's telling you the right thing. And he has a way of being really sarcastic that can get under your skin and bring the best out of you. And every coach doesn't have that intangible,

Andy got it. Yeah. Mike Fick joining us. By the way, I don't like the Saints this year at all. Oh, man, you know what? They're still pouting. They're still pouting about their loss of the Rams. still be pouting too, honestly. I mean, listen, you can't take calls back. Things happen in the National Football League. That won't be the first call or the last that. Max Unger's gone,

Ingram's gone, Michael Thomas holding out. I heard some of Ingram's comments, Michael Thomas holding out. They still got Drew. Yeah. Still got Sean Payton. But some things are just hard to get over and we'll see if that happens for the same season. What was the hardest loss in your career to get over? probably the NFC championship game in 2004 Green Bay. Oh, no, Philadelphia. Yeah, because it was so easy to get there. Things happened very early in my career,

and we were super confident that we would get back, and we never made it back. Yeah. By the way, I don't have time for Kyler Murray, which bums me out because I wanted to ask you about it. Kyle is going to be amazing in this league. We're going to follow them. We're going to track them.

We got them on the track it. Better be careful. Yes, be careful. I love it. of a statue. Remind me of Russell Wilson a little bit. Super confident in his abilities, but, you know, just take it easy, bro. Just learn the game.

Have fun playing. You got Larry Fitzgerald. You got Cliff Kingsbury, you know, the coach is going to help him get through. So, year one should be good. Can't wait for it. All right. 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 athletes themselves.

Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them listen to Sports Slice on the iHeart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast and for more follow timbo slice life 12 and the tick tock podcast network on tick tock welcome to my new podcast learn the hard way with me your host and your favorite therapist

care games and in recognition of mental health awareness month i'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests i'm talking tript fantine ryan clock sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses Steve Burns Dustin Ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that that's two different levels of trust I want you to

just really be a good person join me Keer games is we have real conversation about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? quarterback on office blue with 42.

Hey, Red, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down.

Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from my... fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. I like the boozy style of Housewives show. I think it looks like it's going to be interesting. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap

the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real Housewives franchise, the drama, the alliances, and the team everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it. I understand the game. As somebody

who creates shows, I'll even say this. At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHard Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. One of the things I love about pro football over college football is the unpredictability of it. Now, the AFC is the conference of Tom Brady. The NFC is the conference of parity, and it's just the way it is.

And I'll give you some numbers to back it up. First of all, no NFC team, not a single NFC team, even well-run teams, have made the playoffs three straight years. Not a single team. Okay, compare that to the AFC with Brady. The NFC North, three different winners, last three years, Bears, Vikings, Packers. NFC East, since 2004, no back-to-back champions. In 15 years.

It's crazy, right? NFC South, four years, three different winners. The NFC is up for grabs. And even though you know that as a consumer, you are a fan and you know that. You fight it every year. Colin, how can you say Minnesota is not going to be great again? Because I think Kirk Cousins is overpaid. And I think they got some breaks in the year they went 13 and 3.

So here's the last three years what the NFC has looked like. In 2016, the playoff teams were the Cowboys, the Falcons, the Seahawks, the Packers, the Giants, and the Lions. And then in 2017, it went to the Eagles, the Vikings, the Rams, the Saints, the Panthers, and Atlanta again. But then last year, Atlanta was out. And it was the Saints, the Rams, the Bears, the Cowboys, the Seahawks, and the Eagles. No Packers, no Falcons. So let's go to last year the playoff teams. We know that in the NFC in the last decade,

only one team has won it more than once, Seattle. And that window closed quickly. And a lot of it is because the NFC is so good. The NFC right now may not win the Super Bowl over New England, but it's a much better conference. It's got very few bad teams in the NFC. The bottom is really good. It's like the NBA Western Conference.

The bottom of it is still pretty darn good. The bottom of the NBA Eastern Conference is Drek. So here are the teams last year, and I'll tell you right now, four of the six, I don't think will make it. I don't think the Saints or the Bears or the Cowboys or the Seahawks will be playoff teams. I think the Rams and the Eagles will. And let me explain all of them. Let's start with the Saints.

Drew Breeze and the last year looked tired. He's getting older. They lost their very good center, Max Unger, Mark Ingram, their power runner, Michael Thomas holding out, Their early schedule is brutal. I think Carolina has a bounce back year. I think Atlanta, remember I had Atlanta in the Super Bowl last year,

and they fell apart physically. Their secondary fell apart. I think Atlanta has a bounce back year. I don't think the Saints make the playoffs. I don't think the Bears make the playoffs, although I think they're really good. But I think Minnesota, Kirk Cousins, year two will rebound.

I think Aaron Rogers is back and he'll have his best young defense. He's probably had in seven years. I think that division's really close. I don't think the Bears will be out of the playoffs until about week 16. I think it will be a slow, tough, competitive, fun to watch, a lot of hope, lot of optimism,

and then you wake up in December, and the Bears just missed the playoffs. I don't think the Cowboys are going to make the playoffs. First of all, I think Philadelphia is the best team probably in the NFC. So they're playing for a wild card. The problem with playing for a wild card in the NFC, San Francisco was bad, now they're good. Minnesota was off.

I think they'll be better. Carolina was down. I was down, I think they'll be better. I think it's going to be a numbers game with Dallas. I think Dallas is going to be a 9 and 7 football team and you're just going to wake up and it's going to be a bunch of tiebreakers and they're not going to get in. I don't think the Seahawks make it. Why?

Because I think the Rams are the real deal. They've drafted well. They're good getting a little old on the offensive line, but they've drafted it and they have replacements. I think San Francisco is going to be the team that doubles their wins or more. Frankly, with Kyler Murray, I wouldn't want to play them early in the year. I have no idea what I'm getting for Arizona. Arizona is going to shock some people in the first month to six weeks

because nobody knows what they do. You got to go watch college film to figure out what the offense is. They're going to catch people flat-footed. So in the NFC again this year, Saints, Bears, Cowboys, Seahawks. Now, in all four of those, I think they're competitive teams. But I think once again, and this is what the numbers say, and I'm not trying to be contrarian, this is the NFC. AFC is the conference of Brady

NFC is the conference of parity and I think it's going to look totally different this year All right, let me shift to this So Jerry Jones isn't on Twitter And somebody asked Jerry a few years ago Why aren't you not on Twitter?

He had the best answer He goes, I like the fact of deniability He goes, if I have every one of my comments on Twitter, I can't deny it. He goes, I like to be able to deny stuff. I didn't say that. I didn't do that.

He goes to Twitter, I don't want myself out there that much. Well, Jerry Jones yesterday, today, sit-down interview. He picked a station. He picked a person. He said, I'm going to do a one-on-one interview. Nice shade. Jerry's got the cowboy hat on. He's got the branding already.

This was very classic Jerry. Make sure you can see the cowboy logo. It's a one-on-one interview. There's nice shade. The camera's all tied. It's just Jerry. he had a message to deliver to one Ezekiel Elliott. You don't have to have a rushing champion to win a Super Bowl, but Emmett was the first one to do it.

And that's one of the dilemmas at running back is that the league knows that you can win Super Bowls and not have the Emmett Smith back there or not have Zeke back there. consequently when we are looking and putting Zeke's contract in place we've got to realize that the ultimate goal is to win the Super Bowl okay joy and i have been in tv too long that interview was not your typical training camp interview jerry had a cowboy hat and a cowboy shirt the lighting was perfect for an older gentleman uh the tree behind him Oh, it's so serene and calm. It was serene and calm. Jerry picked that spot and the logo to deliver a one-on-one message.

This is not Jerry ad-living. Jerry sat down, picked the words, pick the spot, pick the trees, pick the logo, and the hat to deliver a message to Zieg. You don't want to get us to the Super Bowl. So the game is on now. And by the way, the Cowboys added a running back yesterday. Zeke now officially is in Cabo. I've said before, I think you can get a ton of picks for him.

Now, if it was a one-year situation, I would probably pay Zeke. I'd front-load the contract. But I do think you have to be careful here. And this is where Steve Kerr and Anthony Davis, when the NBA came out and said, Anthony Davis is a troubling situation. What the NBA, it's the message behind the message, what they were saying, Adam Silver called Steve Kerr probably and told him, can you come out and say that?

It's easier for a coach who everybody likes to say it than a community. missioner. This Anthony Davis thing is a little scary for owners. And by the way, owners are the capital of a league. They are the most important people in a league because you can't have a league. XFL's coming in the spring. Can't have it without capital. You don't have players if you don't have guys, rich guys who have capital. There's a very interesting thing here. If Jerry, who has always been sort of at the forefront of the NFL business, Bob Kraft and Jerry have been at the forefront of the business mechanism in the NFL, you start paying an NFL running back two years early, you really open up a difficult situation for the league and other owners.

Okay, so there's a business mechanism working here. Bob Kraft and Jerry Jones make the big decisions in this league. You know who calls NFL networks and tells them what they have to pay every year? It's not Goodell. It's Bob Kraft. He runs that part of the operation. Jerry Jones, as a business, that's why Jerry was very concerned about the anthem stuff. That's why he'll reward Dak.

The anthem was bad for business in the NFL. Dak took the Jerry Jones side of it. Didn't play well on Twitter. Played very well Jerry forever. Dak will be his guy on that. This two-year situation here, the NFL has never been jealous of the NBA. Now, they have at times used some of the great advantages of the NBA. They've cherry-picked their best parts of the NBA.

They look at the NBA free agency and they're like, we kind of like that. So the NFL moved its free agency to March because they were like, NBA gets like five, six weeks of free agency talk. So the NFL will cherry pick things they like about the NBA. It's smart business. As they always say, if you rip off everybody, it's research. If you rip off one person, you're a thief. The NFL uses all these leagues and takes all the stuff they like from them, not just one league. But the NFL does not want to be the NBA.

Okay, the NFL, I went and looked at the Harris poll this morning, most popular. sports. Among men, 42% say their favorite sport is football, 9% basketball. What about young people? 40% of kids under 18 prefer football over the NBA. That's young people. Well, what about liberals? Two to one, NFL. And the NFL had a year last year. They moved up, NBA this year, slightly down. But over the last eight years, football, and I think a lot of it's gambling. The more we gamble, the more we watch football, I don't think anybody's to blame. I just think that's our gambling-centric society. the NFL likes a lot of things about the NBA, the way they handle free agency. Some of the individualism celebrations that are fun on social media.

It doesn't want to be the NBA. So it's very interesting here. If Jerry complies and gives a guy two years out a deal, what is the message you're sending? Yeah, if you're unhappy, we'll just, I think there's things happening behind the scenes on this. And that's why Jerry, hat, shirt, shade, interview one-on-one state-of-the-union address that he didn't want you to think

was a state-of-the-union address. By the way, Dak Prescott and Jalen Smith have been talking about the Zieg's situation. Here's what they have to say. Knowing his love for the game, knowing his love for his teammates, I'm sure, but business is business.

That's for him and his team to handle. I mean, I know I'm here. That's the beautiful thing. You know, we're a team. We're going to be together. And I love the hell out of Zee. I think Jerry likes the way Jalen and Dak are handling business. I think they'll be rewarded.

Not that Jerry resents Zique, but I think there's a big macro picture here. You start letting guys two years out break contracts. They got to mean something, folks. Contracts got to mean something. They're not everything. They can be broken. They got to mean something. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This

week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me. with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, Hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Time out. Quarterback on office, Blue 42. Hey, ref, my mom, I want you to wave. better. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clipper 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 crying. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to you. He's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.