The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 08/12/2019

Episode Date: August 12, 2019

Colin says Antonio Brown and Ezekiel Elliott have warned you who they were since college and some teams refuse to listen.  He criticizes Aaron Rodgers for saying his issues with head coach Matt LaFleur are "fake news"  He explains where he was right and wrong over the weekend and talks with former Rams and Titans Head Coach Jeff Fisher about why Hard Knocks is not the distraction people make it out to be. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played. with and just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to listen to learn the hard way on the iha radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast imagine an olympics where

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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 Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRartRour. radio app by searching herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go on a Monday. This is the herd.

Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we are live in Los Angeles on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. It is great to have you here. Once again, Joy was on the other side of the country. I hung out with my dogs all weekend. How are you, Joy? great. I was in Miami for NABJ. It was a great time. Happy to represent thoughts there.

Yeah, you actually did, they took young broadcasting hopefuls and they did debate shows. Yes, we did one minute debates, myself, Rob Parker, and Chris Broussard. And then they got to take them home for their real, which was really nice. That's really, really thoughtful. I love that. So, I've never had a great deal of sympathy for any business that sees crazy and says, I want to partner with crazy. Because as we've said before, people show you what they are.

Believe them. People do not change in life, especially as they get richer. Unless there's a health scare, they're going to die if they don't quit smoking. Rich people don't change. They have convinced themselves. Their way is right. And you'll see rich people. They make the same mistakes over and over because money is jet fuel for the ego.

And so once you pay an athlete who's had issues, they don't go away. they often explode. So Antonio Brown with the Raiders, one of his teammates said, quote, what's happening here is the craziest thing I've ever seen. It's absolutely insane, said a teammate

who's been playing in the NFL for years. I don't even know why it's so important to him, said the teammate, the helmet issue. It doesn't make any sense. By the way, the helmet issue is the NFL trying to improve safety, has outlawed certain helmets. Tom Brady,

helmet, he's got to get a new one. Antonio Brown's helmet, he's got to get a new one. Aaron Rogers helmet, he's got to get a new one. None of the guys are happy. A.B. has made it a big issue. Grievance against the NFL. But here's the thing. Let's go look.

A chronological order, O'Neo Brown college. Red flags. Go look up his draft breakdown. A problem. May drop off teams' boards. Really talented. can be difficult.

Then he goes to the pros. Teammate Ryan Clark says if you pay Antonio Brown, you will regret it. He will not do good with lots of money and power. Let's move to week 17

of last year. And for the Steelers, he bails on the organization. Now he goes to Oakland and it's crazy town. Because of a rule safety change implemented by the league, he can't handle it instead of treating it like an adult matter, he's become a petulant child.

College, early NFL career, later NFL career, new team, four for four, crazy town. You know what this makes me think of? Zeke. So let's go to Ezekiel Elliott. Let's go to his chronological drama. College calls out an Ohio state coaching staff in a big game when they don't give them the ball enough. Then leaving college.

his dad warns NFL teams. He's just a kid. He's not ready for this. He is not ready to be an NFL star. Then he gets to the Cowboys where he has several judicial issues. Now he's holding out in another country. So again, you don't see some Zeke potential in Antonio Brown. I do.

Colin, that is, Antonio Brown is way worse. Yes, today. But if you go back six months ago, Zieg had far more off the field nonsense than Antonio Brown did. But Antonio Brown was showing you a pattern since college, a lot of ego, a lot of me, not a lot of us, red flagged, scouting reports, teammates calling him out, bails on the team.

So, you know, listen, Pittsburgh Smart Organization moves off dramatic player. Oakland, less smart of an organization, embraces him. New England, smart organization takes Johnny Mansell off the board. Cleveland, less smart organization, drafts him in the first round. You know, I've come to the conclusion in the NFL that basically it's like the rest of society. The really smart 10 to 20% at the top work the bottom and middle 80%. that's kind of what society's like that's a lot what the NFL is like so when i watch the ab stuff i don't know how you don't see some parallels and have some concerns with zeke in paying

him big money i mean to me i'm just seeing warning warning flashing lights warning you can say it's not fair antonio brown's worse but six months ago zeke had the marty graham incident had the Vegas incident, had the judicial, the female allegation incident. Zeke six months ago had way more stuff on his resume, the bad resume, than A.B. Did. Be very careful. Be very careful. People tell you who they are.

Believe them. All right. Let me shift to this. We've been on this story for many days, and it's certainly worthy of it. So according to Mike Lombardi of the athletic, that's that subscription-based, uh, A lot of good stuff on that. Dak Prescott turned down a new contract worth 30 million annually. So here's what Dak Prescott is doing.

Joe Flacco did this years ago. Dak wants to bet on himself. Tom Brady's doing this in New England. I'll sign a one-year deal. I'll bet on myself. Now, when Joe Flacco did it, he had a very good defense behind him. and the AFC did not have a lot of obstacles in the playoffs. You had Brady, a really good rookie Andrew Locke, and an old Peyton Manning, and Big Ben.

But the NFC, if Dak's going to roll the dice on himself this year, turn down the offers, roll the dice. The NFC's deeper. It's got more good young coaches, McVeigh and Kyle Shanahan notably. I just want you to think of this. if you're going to bet on yourself, Joel Flacco bet on himself, but Joe Flacco looked around the AFC and thought, what are my obstacles

in this AFC to get along in the playoffs? Brady, old Peyton, young Andrew Luck, and Big Ben. Just think about the obstacles Dak Prescott will face at quarterback in the NFC. This is how loaded the NFC is. Aaron Rogers, Russell Wilson, Jared Goff,

Jimmy G, Drew Breeze, Matt Ryan, and Cam Newton, Carson, Wentz. Two of those, two of them, will not make the playoffs. Yeah. So if you're going to roll your dice, remember this about DAC. Dak is not like Flacco, is not a stat monster. Flacco's never been big stat guy. So Flacco, to get his money, roll the dice on himself, he needed playoff wins.

Because he's not a guy that can go and say, look, look it. I have Patrick Mahomes 5,000 yards. It's not who he is. Flacco and DAC are similar. They have a maturity. They can win on the road. They've been pretty good in bigger spots. They're often bad on a game that doesn't matter and good in games that matter.

Flacco was always sort of a really good playoff road quarterback. Good in Foxboro, but could be bad at home against Cincinnati. Isn't that DAC? Dak isn't going to be able to say, look at my passing yards, look at my touchdowns, look at my passer rating. Flacco never could. The difference is Flacco when he bet on himself had very few obstacles. Look at the obstacles Dak has.

Because Dak to get his money is going to have to go, look, won my division. Wild card win. Second round. I don't see it. And by the way, what if Zeke holds out? So now you don't have Zeke and you've got to face those quarterbacks. This is also a run-first offense. So again, Dak's not going to have big numbers.

What Dak is saying is, I'm going to roll the dice, we're going to win this division, we're going to get the playoffs. And by the way, if he goes wins two playoff games, then he's going to get the number. But what if he's a wild card team? Because Philadelphia, in my opinion, is the best roster in the NFL and the best team in the NFL this morning. So my guess is he's a wild card quarterback at best going on the road to face Baron Rogers, Russell Wilson, Jared Goff, Jimmy G, Cam. Matt, that is a big roll of the dice. Regardless of how good you think DAC is, and I think we all think he's middle of the pack,

if you're going to roll the dice, you've got to be able to look at the obstacles presented in front of you going forward for the next six months, whether it's me, whether it's your job, you're the attorney, you're the dentist, you're the artist, the quarterback. There are a lot of obstacles in the NFC for DAC. not a stat guy, never going to be, he is rolling the dice on, you know, I'll win my division, I'll win some playoff games, and you'll have to pay me 38. I wouldn't do it. I would take the $30 million.

The NFC has never been deeper. It's never been better. I mean, I was sitting there talking to the staff this morning. Who do we know that's terrible in the NFC? I can give you three or four in the AFC. we know it will be weak. We know Oakland won't be great. We know Denver won't be great. We know Buffalo won't be great. We know Miami won't be great. You tell me in the NFC, I watch Kyler Murray. They could be interesting. So if I'm decked, that $30 million,

when the obstacles ahead presented look very, very difficult, I'd take the 30 large. 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports slice comes in.

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

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. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite there. Kier Games.

And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

And we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person

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fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Clivert Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue 42. A rep. My mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. So Aaron Rogers is very thin skin, reacts a lot to things I say. He says he doesn't listen, but he does, obviously. So does America, frankly. Okay. So Aaron Rogers came out, and he was talking on a podcast to a very popular former Packer. Matt Coon does a podcast. Very good.

John. John Coon, my bad. it was not that notable player, but in Small Green Bay, he was kind of iconic and worship, full back. They don't have many of those in the NFL. So Aaron is insinuating during the podcast

that all these off the field dramas with Matt Lafleur's new coach. It's just, this is very Trumpian. It's just made up stuff. Go ahead. It's fake news, John. That's the media cycle these days. Unfortunately,

the media, other than then obviously yourself. There's a lack of integrity, I think. There's a rush to put up headlines that are clickbait. And when you're in a really low news cycle, like in June and July, when there's not much football going on, that's the kind of stuff that comes out. We don't need to spend any time talking about it because it's complete ridiculousness. No, actually, you talked about it, Aaron. You brought up the fact you didn't like the audible system. We have quotes of that on tape. You brought up the fact that the joint practices were, in your word, stupid. This isn't fake.

We have tape, Aaron, of you bringing up your displeasure publicly with your new head coach, with the joint practices and the audible system. We are not saying it's man overboard. Nobody in the media says it means you can't win. In fact, I still think you guys win. You, the Packers, Lafleur, Aaron, win the NFC North. nobody is insinuating that you guys can't get along and win games. You commented publicly on these.

This just once again illustrates how Finn's skinned Aaron Rogers is, that he would have to go to a podcast and again publicly talk about something. There's no fake in this news. You created the stories. You didn't have to talk about the audible system. Brady wouldn't. You didn't have to talk about the joint practices. Brady wouldn't.

You did. So as an iconic American Green Bay Packer quarterback, we do discuss. By the way, the fake news thing. Let me give you some examples of teams that denied stuff that just happened to not be fake news. OBJ, New York Giants, will not be traded. We didn't sign him. The media kept saying with OBJ, Jay Glazer, others, he's going to get traded. I said on the air, don't believe the Giants.

I'm hearing he's going to get traded. What happened? He got traded. Giants called it fake news. One for one. How about number two? A couple years ago, Jay Glazer reports, Jim Harbaugh's out in San Francisco. Owner GM don't like Harbaugh.

Harbaugh's camp, fake news. Distraction doesn't exist. Reality? Harbaugh got fired. Two for two. How about Aaron Rogers, Mike McCarthy? I think I was one of the first to say, watch the body language. Watch the throwaways.

Something is wrong. This relationship has dovetailed. multiple reports followed. Aaron and Mike McCarthy are not on speaking terms. It's ugly. Denied by both. Result? McCarthy was out.

Three for three. How about Arizona? Josh Rosen? Staff is split. Kyler Murray's going to be the number one pick. Arizona denied it. Josh is our guy. These are just media reports.

Result? Four for four. They drafted Kyler Murray. How about the Seahawk locker room? About two years? ago there was that big ESPN article by Seth Wickersham said there was a divide in the locker room between Russell

Wilson, who many players thought was too goody-goody and Seahawk defensive players. Seahawks denied it. What happened? They got rid of the guys that in the story didn't like Russell Wilson. Five for five. There's no fake news here. The only reason I reported on the

audible story, Aaron talked about it. I wouldn't have talked about it. I wouldn't have known about it. How would I know about it? I'm not in the film rooms. Only reason I talked about the joint practices. Aaron talked about it. How would I know he didn't like the joint practices? He called him stupid. His coach said he loved him.

That feels like a story. Listen, before you go Trump here, Aaron, these stories were created by your words. And you are Aaron Rogers, an American superstar. You think we're not going to talk about it? When you blast your coach for joint practices and call

them stupid, when you go out and talk to several sources and say, I like to add lib, I'm pretty good at it. I can do stuff what other guys can't, which, by the way, you're right and I defended you there. There's nothing fake about these stories. They couldn't be more real. There's flesh here. We didn't generate them. You did. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. All right, here we go. It's a Monday where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. Where Colin was right? I said I think the Steelers are going to be fine without Antonio Brown.

The Antonio Brown situation was summed up nicely. go to Twitter and read Mike Silver. Mike Silver's been covering the NFL for a long time. He's in the Bay Area. His accounts of what's happening with Antonio Brown are disturbing. Not paying attention in meetings, checking out his bank account and Instagram photos, not really playing well with others. Listen, again, I know he's talented.

But boy, oh boy, outside a quarterback, there's just not many players in this league who I'm going to deal with distractions. maybe a left tackle, maybe a great pass rusher. This is becoming exactly what we said. People tell you who they are. A.B. showed you who he was for several years in Pittsburgh and in college, the Raiders bit on it. Just go to Twitter, read Mike Silver,

respected an NFL guy, based in the Bay Area. This thing is, don't listen to John Groot. He's supporting him because he has to. This story is a mess. Where Colin was wrong. I didn't like the Giants taking Daniel Jones at number six. I didn't think he had a great arm. He had a great college system and didn't do a ton with it.

But I thought Daniel, of all the young quarterbacks, looked terrific for the Giants. They had him throw several timing routes. Timing route is you're going to throw that ball on a string before the receiver turns, and he was terrific. He had a perfect passer rating. And again, the jets are playing backups. I get it.

But I thought he looked poised. He looked sturdy. I thought his arm strength. Again, it's August in New Jersey. Maybe in October, it's winter. it's not the same. But I got to tell you, he looked better physically than he did in college. Maybe put on 10 pounds.

Maybe the whip has grown a little bit. But he looked terrific. And if I was a New York Giants fan today, I would feel, you know, it's preseason. But I thought there were some things Daniel Jones did on those timing routes that had you make you feel really good about him as a number six pick. Where Colin was right? I said I like Dwayne Haskins. He's not ready to start in the NFL.

of all the young quarterbacks, I thought Duane looked absolutely overwhelmed. Listen, he played at Ohio State. You know, he didn't get hit at Ohio State. He played under Urban Meyer, one of the most creative offensive guys. Now, some of this is he faced Cleveland, and their defensive front, even their backups. Cleveland's receivers are great. Their defensive lines, actually, the strength of their team. So it was not an easy opening game.

But Dwayne Haskins is not ready to start in this league. He was overwhelmed. the game was too fast for him. And again, I like him. And I'll say this. With very few exceptions, I don't think rookies are ready to play. I thought Sam Donald last year got good at the end of the year. I thought he looked overwhelmed in the first eight weeks.

But Haskins is not ready. Where Colin was wrong. Last week, story came out. Tom Brady's houses for sale. And I'm like, well, I've done that before. He's sending a message to the New England Patriots. If you're not going to sign me to a multi-year contract, I'm going to put my house up for sale.

and Tom Brady went on WEEI saying that is not true this morning. I certainly hope mine shouldn't read in anything. You know, it takes a long time to sell a house. I don't know if you guys, my house is a little bit of expensive one, so it doesn't quite, you know, fly off the shelf in a couple weeks. So I think it just, I'm at a point in my life there's a lot of considerations that go into, you know, playing. And I think that, you know, I'm certainly at a place where I've been in the same place for a long time. and I love playing for the Patriots

and Mike had such a great relationship with Mr. Kraft and Coach Belichick and our team and we'll just worry about that when that happens. This isn't the time to worry about it. All right. I guess it was just coincidental. That's what Tom says. Where Colin was right.

Kevin Durant told Chris Haynes last week the New York Knicks were never in the running for him. He said if I was leaving the Warriors, it was always going to be the Nets. They got the pieces, the creative front office. I like what they were building. Listen, the Knicks have the worst owner in the NBA, and players aren't dumb.

They know this league. You don't want to play for a bad owner, and James Dolan's cheap. And I'll say this again, name the last player star in his prime that chose the Knicks. Carmelo Anthony. There you go. By and large, and Carmelo Anthony played at Syracuse.

Tell me all these players lining up. I think the NBA. media wants the Knicks to be relevant. I get that. It's like wanting the Cowboys to be relevant. It's like wanting USC football to be relevant or the Yankees to be relevant. The league's more fun. I get it. But they're not. And players don't want to play for him.

They don't want to play for James Dull. And by the way, look at this roster. This is why I never bought KD considering the Knicks. Look at the roster. He's going to play with Kevin Knox and Dennis Smith, Jr. Come on. They let go of Porzingis. Now, if they would have landed Zion in the draft, maybe you wake up the next morning and go,

all right, I got another young superstar, but I never butt into the next. Kevin said they were never in the running. Where Colin was wrong. Listen, I've been critical of Mike Tomlin through the years for the team often coming unhinged in key spots and being too emotional. I always say he's like Pete Carroll in Pittsburgh. There's too much noise, but I got to give him a shout out, is that he's never had a losing record, and they have rebounded quite nicely off the departure of Antonio

Brown. I think they're having the quietest camp. I watched their first preseason game. Here's the other thing about Mike Tomlin. I can be critical of him in big spots against New England. Memo. Nobody's beating New England and the AFC much in the last 15 years.

But every Steeler player, every young Steeler player gets better. This is very much Pete Carroll. This dude can coach. Now, I struggle with him in game situations often. Like, I don't always love his game time decisions. But, man, in Pittsburgh, they draft well, and all those young players, they get better under his watch.

You know, we always think it's always about in college recruiting or an NFL the game. A lot of this is making young men better, fitting them into your system quickly. And I feel better about the Pittsburgh Steelers this morning than I did before I watched him in preseason and Tomlin deserves credit. Where Colin was right? The Phillies have lost seven of ten. They're in fourth in the National League East. I do not believe in these 10-12-year contracts for $300 million.

It means you're going to have to save money somewhere. Your middle relief, your bullpen, your DH, your starting staff. Okay, the four teams that spend a fortune and signed a 10-year contract player are a combined 76 games out of first place. And Bryce Harper, by the way, he's okay of late. But again, if you're going to pay, it creates an uneven clubhouse. The Astros won't pay this with very few exceptions. The Dodgers won't pay this.

And by the way, the Nats who said we can't pay this money are ahead of the Phillies. So the Phillies have become what we predicted, a lobsided team with a superstar who'll finish with 38 jacks and 109 RBIs and bat 260. But in the end, the chemistry is not as good. He has not had the impact that people told me Joey Votto or Joe Maurer or Robbins. Robinson Canoe would have with their massive contract. Where Colin was right? Dabo Sweeney, coach of Clemson, thank you very much. Finally somebody comes to our defense.

Alabama's schedule, the gauntlet of the SEC is overrated. They get four cupcakes, a couple of buys. Dabo Sweeney said, everybody tells me Alabama was tired because they went through the grind of the SEC. Well, they won by an average of 33 points. Are you serious? They're tired? Who's challenging Alabama and the SEC? The answer is nobody. Georgia comes close.

LSU is no longer a factor. This is why Nick Saban gets hammered by me, and this is why Nick Saban, who does control the schedule to a large degree, the out-of-conference schedule, signed a home-in-home with Wisconsin. The SEC is now acknowledging the commissioner that they need to schedule more Power 5 out-of-conference.

conference games. There's declining attendant to a couple of the schools. The fans deserve more. College football deserves more. Stop with this hooey that the SEC gauntlet is brutal. You only play eight conference games and you almost always have a

cupcake or a buy before your biggest one. Enough is enough. Dab-O-Sweeney nailed it. Where Colin was wrong. All you Nathan-Peterman jokes, I am no longer telling a Nathan-Peterman joke on the air. He was terrific. John Gruden was right. He had the longest quarterback run of the

weekend, the third longest run of the NFL weekend. He looked confident. He moved the chains. He was nine for 12 with a touchdown, a long run, no interceptions. Nathan Peterman jokes are officially over on this show. Where Colin was right? We told you, we think Jerry Jones is going to be tough on Zeke in the negotiations. We don't think he's going to fold. And once again this weekend, he went public with how great Tony Pollard

the new running back is sending a message to Zeke. I certainly thought he had a good account of himself. He looks confident out there. We know he's inordinately understanding what it is he does

and can do. We've seen him do it. We know he's capable of if he really needs to carry the whole level. Jerry Jones now or Stephen have gone public for almost all of the last two weeks. Any opportunity they go public. They are squeezing Zeke. I believe they're going to be tough on Zeke. I do think they'll come to the table and agree to a deal with Amari and Dak.

I may be wrong on this, but once again, we said this is what Dallas is doing. Jerry and Steve, it's a tag. team partnership. Now Stephen will come out in the next two days and talk about Zeke. They're making it public. They're trying to curry favor in the locker room. We've got good young players. We don't need Zeke. We're not beholding the Neek. This is what we thought they should do and what they have done. Where Colin was right. Carmelo Anthony cannot get an invitation to the Feeba World Cup. All the other stars have turned it down. Marcus Smart is on the team. You know, Brooke Lopez is on the team. And this is because I never bought into the Carmelo Anthony as loved by players.

They may love him. They don't love playing with him. The reality is he was bad for chemistry. He didn't have any self-awareness. He didn't, frankly, play well with others. I don't think I've ever been more right on an NBA star than Carmelo Anthony. You keep telling me how everybody loves playing with him. He can't get an invitation to this. He can't even get a chance. charity invitation, a lifetime achievement award invitation to the FIBA World Cup. I'm actually surprised. It's almost sad. It's nothing against Carmelo Anthony.

He may be a great guy. I hated his game, his body, his body language, his reluctance to play defense, to be coached, and he can't even get a charity invitation. This is the most right. I should have a new classification. Colin was right, call him was wrong. Call him was most right. The Carmelo thing is official.

Where Colin was very right. Yes, there you go. I deserve more than just a simple right. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves.

Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action, with stories told by the people who live there. 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,

Kier 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

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I want you to just really be a good person Join me, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes.

fleets for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clifford 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, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Jeff Fisher joining us 22 years in the NFL, 13th most wins in NFL history. You're the only coach in sports history who went through two relocations. Those are brutal.

By the way, it does appear to be a little bit of a cyclical trend. I don't think it's cyclical. I think it's a trend. The Rams decided last year we're not playing our top starters. We're just not doing it. And I don't disagree with it. Julio Jones is like, I'm out. I'm not playing this.

Jeff, I understand players now. Short window, money's huge. Do you think going forward the preseason is going to get cut here? Players are telling you, if coaches are telling you, we don't want to play our best players. Well, yeah, eventually it's going to. to happen. Eventually it's going to go to probably two games. I mean, you could see one or maybe some joint practices. But yeah, if you look, we look back this weekend and I just kind of looked at it from a FARC on there. There's significant injuries in just the first preseason game, 16 games.

Right. So, yeah, coaches are nervous about it. And, you know, you saw turning 10 or 12, 15 years ago. No, I'm not so sure. I'm going to play Eddie George in the first two preseason games. and now what Sean did last year with both Todd and Jared and then some more guys on the team. I mean, it makes sense to just rest them. Right now, today's Monday, okay? This after the preseason weekend, this weekend, today's the day that all these guys are getting their work. And they'll get their work today, tomorrow and Wednesday. And then they'll start to back off and then they'll get the rest of the roster ready for these games.

Did you like joint practices? Aaron Rogers says, I like the physicality, but I don't like some of the things we do. You know, live special teams can scare. My takeaway has always been if a college staff with 18 and 19-year-olds don't need four preseason games, then a 27-year-old NFL guy who has double the practice time as a grown-up. As an adult, doesn't need four practice games. I mean, you tell me if I said joint practices whenever Jeff Fisher wants them, one preseason game, would it be enough? I would do two joint practices, probably two to three day sessions against maybe two different clubs.

Yeah, that would be enough. Now, college is not going to do the preseason because they got 100 kids and you can have a defense playing a game over here and an offense playing a game over there at the same time. So there's plenty of guys on the roster to do that. But yeah, I would say a couple of joint practices and a game or two would take care of it. Let's talk hard knocks. You were on hard knocks. Some like it, some don't. You know, Oakland's a little bit of a circus.

I strongly believe, Jeff, that they're trying to sell tickets. Mark Davis is by, put it in context. He's the poorest NFL owner. They can't sell out Oakland. Vegas has a hockey team, and those tickets are hot. He's moving into Vegas. They need to sell 40,000 season tickets. I get the marketing angle.

Did you like it as a coach? I loved it. Now, let me give you the background. for three years they came to us when I was in St. Louis and said, we want you to do it. It was no. We want you to do it next year. No. We didn't want to do it. And then finally, the league passed a resolution to where you can't say no. Right. And so we accepted it. And it was presented to us.

It was the first time that NFL films and everybody else would be able to, and hard knocks, would capture a move. None of the relocations in the past have been captured. So they captured our move. but I enjoyed every minute of it. The producers, the crew, the film guys, like sound people, everybody associated were very, very professional, fun to work with. And it wasn't a distraction. And what everybody had told us and doing our research was, as soon as you get through day one or two, they just disappear. And that's what, in essence, they don't feel like they're any longer there.

Now, I do have this. And here's the, let me give you this visual. In the head coach's office, they're in the hard knocks. There's a camera up here and a camera over there, and they're both pointed at you. So you're sitting there by yourself. You walk in the morning and like, good morning, guys, how you doing? And the cameras are going like this. So how's the night and the cameras are going like this?

Hey, guys, guess what? I need about five minutes to make some personal calls here. So we give me some time. The camera nods. It turns around backwards, faces the wall, and you've got your time. So those types of things still take place. during the, you know, the filming and the production of Heart Knocks. So you probably see more of those in the intimate staff meeting room.

So you're not getting 100% of what's going on. Could you, Jeff, say, I don't want that to make it? Yes. You can. You, I don't want to say I had final edit, but I'm going to watch the entire show before the anybody else he's at Tuesday night. And I'll watch that Sunday night or Monday. And, you know, I'm just not, I think we need to protect this information or out of the defense of this player. This is just not.

Did you ever worry that players were acting to the camera? Not on the practice field, not in the meeting rooms, but goofing around and doing other things. Yeah, I mean, we had that one episode where they took a couple of our guys up on the blimp, you remember? And Jared was in the blimp. And they asked Jared, what direction is? does the sunrise, the east or west, and he didn't know. You know, so off the field and out of the meeting rooms or when you're doing football, players are not making a movie.

Let me ask you about Freddie Kitchens gets a job. You're a veteran coach. I do believe the Rams trust Sean McVeigh, less need his roll the dice on endomic and Sue, Marcus Peters. Andy Reid had players with some baggage character issues. What I worry about with Cleveland, Sheldon Richardson, OBJ hasn't had what issues, but he's dramatic. He's a global star. Cromarty, they've already suspended him.

Because I think you can win in this league, having a couple of guys that can go sideways, but if you put him in a good culture, it works. But Freddie Kitchens is a rookie head coach. And John Dorsey, the GM, is one of those guys where I'm going to get your talent. You figure out how to coach it. That worries me with a rookie coach. Go back to your career. Was there a year or a moment for you, Jeff, in your career where you thought, wow, this is close to being too much drama?

Well, I did have a moment, but I'll go back to that in a minute. But as far as Freddie's concerned, as long as he does basically two things, be himself and tell the truth, he's going to be fine. It's when you say something other than what you truly believe. because the players will buy into it, and they'll find out, they'll figure it out. So be truthful and be yourself, and be passionate, love the game, and you have to learn to treat everybody differently under the same set of rules. They're all different, but you have to be able to pull everybody together in the same environment

and understand why we do this and we don't do that. And explain it to them in such a way they can. You just can't say, I'm going to fire this guy if he does this, or I'll fire you if you do that, or go ahead and fire somebody. So that's the, and there's no substitute for experience. You have to learn. And it takes a long time. I say this, I said this many times.

When I first got the job, and Freddie, mind you, 8% of his stuff right now in his day is X's and O's. Yeah. And 20% is dealing with these guys. Right. Okay. He's going to find that in a few years, eight or 10, whatever it is, that that's going to flip. And then 20% of his time is X's and O's. and 80% of his time is dealing with the players.

Because ultimately, his responsibility, beyond the X's and O's and game planning, is to make sure that they're mentally, emotionally, physically, even spiritually prepared for the day. So at the end of your career, you were dealing with more of that than schematics. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Especially concerned the move. You move three times and move from one seat and next move out here and where we're going to play.

Oh, yeah. And then all the travel. Oh, yeah. It's all about it's all. about sleep, it's all about diet, it's all about recovery. I'm trying to take care of them, so there's no distractions in their life. When mom calls on Friday, and she wants a different color escalate, and she wants it now before a big game on Sunday, and your player can't deal with it, no, you've got to talk to

mom for him, because I'd rather, I need him focused on the game plan rather than where do I get the, how do I ensure, you know, all that stuff. So let's go back, and I have said this about a full-discipline. disclosure. I said this when you weren't on the air. I said, Jeff Fisher, I feel bad for defensive coaches. Rex Ryan, similarly. The sport marginalized you. Suddenly, you couldn't coach the same way. I mean, let's be honest about this league. You can't put

your hands on anybody. You can't hit anybody. You were a very intimidating coach. Rex Ryan's a very intimidating coach. Getting guys' faces, hit him a little late. That was the sport for a long time. Suddenly, you can't do any of it. There's safety concerns. That's the new cultural zeitist in football in America. Less practice. Less hitting. did you feel like with a Jared Goff situation? You had Greg Williams, you, defense, and the world was changing.

And you had Jared Goff. And suddenly, you could make the argument, the Rams needed an offensive guy because this is the franchise, not Aaron Donald. Did you feel like in the end in Los Angeles that it was the league's changing? I got a young quarterback. I'm more of a defensive guy. Did you worry about that? Did you feel that? No, well, obviously, that's the way the league is.

gone and that's all well and good. I actually, we got in a situation where we turned things around with Ron Schottenheimer, who's now coordinating for the Seahawks. And so, but Shottie had some personal reasons for wanting to leave. We tried to keep the offense intact and it just didn't work. So, you know, as a head coach, you're going to get into the league by and large because you're a play caller. You're an offensive coordinator. You're a defensive coordinator. You're a play caller. But over time, the duties on Sunday becomes so overwhelming. You're going to delegate.

So I delegated the offense. And but I got also, I take responsibility for, you know, our ineptness over that period of time. But I also, with respect to Jared, was we drafted Jared. We had an opportunity to choose between Jared and Carson. And that was a really good problem to have. And so we chose Jared. And we brought Jared on at a very, very slow pace. I wasn't thinking of Jeff Fisher. I was thinking about what was best for Jared Goff. So we didn't start him for six or eight weeks. And we just brought him along slow, thinking about what's in the best interest of his future. And then obviously, Sean come in and takes it and runs with it and does a great job with that. Are you surprised by his quick development?

Amanda. No, not at all because unlike most situations where, now Freddie, we could probably make a case. Freddy's probably in a sampler situation because you've got good people around. We had to put together a pretty good roster. So we had a good roster

when Sean came in and took over. I mean, you had, we needed some receivers. We needed a couple positions, but you know, the defense was good and, you know, as a matter of fact, some good players left, so, and they still had the success. And, and And, you know, I think the world of him and even Super Bowl Sunday, you know, I'm pulling for these guys because three quarters of the guys that were playing were guys that we brought there that I had, you know, some say in.

But, you know, Wade has done a great job with the culture of that team as has Coach Fossil. And you take the three of those, and you got the top three coaches in those areas, an offensive coordinator in his mind. And then you got Wade. And then you got fossil, and that's how this league is. So the stronger your assistance, the more success you're going to have unless you're an nominally and not a trend. Or you're a guy that's got a quarterback that might be throwing, you know, maybe 42 years old and just winning championship after championship. We always say, Joy and I say this often. All right, take the Patriots out of the league.

And like, let's look at everybody else and it's a week-to-week league. I've said this for years. Herm Edwards, John Gruden, and Jeff Fisher. And I told Rex Ryan this. I said, Rex, you should consider college. You're a big personality. You could recruit like hell. And I told Herm this.

I said, Herm, you'd work in college. Arizona State's recruiting's gone through the roof since he arrived. I felt Gruden had some impact. Years ago, there was rumors he sniffed Tennessee. Jeff, Pete Carroll, went into the NFL. He had been fired in the NFL. He goes to college. And a lot of people are like, whoa.

No, defa-need, nobody knows. And Pete totally clicked. Never recruited. I look at you and I think to myself, have you ever thought about college? I mean, you got a lot of energy. You have a ton of contacts. You played at USC. So you know the West Coast recruiting at least.

You have a place, we won't talk about it, up in the West. You would work to me, Denver West, Jeff Fisher would work as a college coach. You've got ties and connections. You've had to have thought about it. Well, I've thought about coaching, and I miss the game. I miss the sideline. But more importantly, I miss the players. And that's what when I get a phone call once a week from a former player, we catch up.

It's great. Eddie George's and just the guys across the board over the years. That's what I miss. And I've been really fortunate to do some things that I haven't been able to do over the last couple of years with my time off. I have, funny you brought it up. I've been spending quite a bit of time in compliance. and in recruiting and the college game. I'm fascinated by the SEC.

Obviously, I love the West Coast, as you say. My youngest son Trent played at Auburn. So, you know, I'm familiar with the SEC. I want to get back, and if college opens a door for me, I'll definitely consider it because I love this game. And I know I can have an impact on that young student athlete. and help to put him, not in the NFL per se, but set him up for life and the successes that life brings

and the challenges that life brings. Good to seeing you, 22 years, tied for the 13th most wins. Also, a great outdoorsman, a fisherman, Alaska. I see your Montana pictures. If we ever do an outdoor show, you know, I grew up with the American sportsman, Kurt Gowdy. Oh, yeah. You and I am the same generation. And I was talking to an executive at this company about a month ago.

I said, if we ever do one of those shows, you know, Jeff Fisher, that guy fishes all the time. And you do. You have quite a dynamic outdoor life. You are fishing constantly, traveling constantly. I'm really lucky. For 30 years, I was unable to do it. And it's my passion for the last two I have. But to be honest with you, I've caught enough fish for the time being.

I need to take a break from fishing and get back to coaching. That's funny. It's great seeing you, Jeff. You too. Last night, a blown call changed the 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12. and 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 I-Heart Radio app, podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host Keer Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional

who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.