The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 09/26/2018

Episode Date: September 26, 2018

Colin talks about LeBron not having to do anything to "earn" the respect of Lakers fans because they are lucky to have him. He talks about Dak Prescott having a much lower ceiling than he expected. Plus, former NFL WR Eric Decker comes in studio to talk about playing with demanding QBs like Peyton Manning and what it was like playing with Tim Tebow as his QB. Presented by Perky Jerky. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

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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.

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This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, this is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening live in Los Angeles. Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio and FS1, loaded show

today, Joe Buck, Joel Clatt, Eric Decker, James Jones, who is Aaron Rogers guy. Joy Taylor is joining me here on a Wednesday. Tomorrow's the big NFL game Rams Vikings. Joy, how are you? It's good morning. It is great to be here.

You know, sometimes people are made to feel special. Golfers have always felt special. Golfers make money. It's expensive to be in a country club. You go to a golf club. There's Mercedes-Benz and BMWs and Range Rovers. A golfer walks into a club. He feels pretty special.

He's got money. He's got his own locker. It bothers some golfers that Tiger Woods doesn't need golf. Golf needs Tiger Woods. Tiger Woods is hovering above golf. There's golf and golf is fine. And then there's Tiger Woods who doesn't need the sport. But when he comes back and is good, the galleries explode.

They quadruple in size. The ratings go up 300%. Golfers have always felt pretty special about themselves, have they not? They're nice BMW, drive up to the country club. But the sport's kind of dying. It doesn't get ratings anymore. Even the Masters is down. Tiger is special.

Golf has always been. hold their special. And it's the same with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Los Angeles Lakers beat Lowe. Wilt and Jerry West, our player's a logo. Our best player, Jerry West, he's a logo. Orlando had Shaq. We get him.

We got Kobe. We got a player named Magic. Lakers have always felt special. And then LeBron James arrived in town. And yesterday, a Laker reporter asked LeBron about if he, how he expected to earn the loyalty. Prove his loyalty to the Laker fans. Watch this exchange.

LeBron, the L.A. fan base, how do you expect to earn their respect and earn their loyalty? Who, me? The fan base, yes. Me? Yes, you. Huh? When do you say the fans that say they want to see you and earn their respect? I'll sign a four-year deal.

What you want me to do? That's fine. I mean, we talked to them outside of here yesterday. Listen, listen, I signed a four-year deal. I'm here, so I mean, I know what I bring to the table on the floor. L.A. wants a hug. Lakers want to feel special. How are you going to earn our loyalty?

How do we know you love us? Are you going to be... I signed a four-year deal. That's all our relationship is. You know how track stars, tennis players, golfers get appearance fees. Basically, the Lakers are paying LeBron a four-year appearance fee. That's it.

That answer summed it up. You've always, is it cooler to win in L.A. than Memphis? Yeah, because it's cooler to live in L.A. than Memphis. L.A.'s got palm trees and a beach, and it's 71 degrees in the winter. Yeah, it's cooler. There's stars everywhere. Go to lunch, you see, you know, Meg Ryan, you go to lunch, you see Tom Hanks. You see Denzel.

It's cooler here. But it ain't because of the Lakers, folks. And LeBron, in that one answer, laid it out for you. The Lakers have always felt special. No, the Lakers needed LeBron more than LeBron needed the Lakers. Get used to it. He's not going to give you a big hug. Teams are no longer special in the NBA.

Superstars are. What are the Warriors? Take away Steph Curry and Kevin Durant. They're the Grizzlies. They don't matter. The NBA owners have always. has been comfortable with this, most of them, except Dan Gilbert. Nobody cares about the logo. Nobody cares about the arena.

Nobody cares about anything except the stars. And that's the greatness of LeBron. He changed that in the NBA. It's not about the owner, the arena, the city. Yesterday, a reporter, innocently enough, is asking LeBron, it's actually kind of funny. How do you expect to earn the loyalty and respect for the L.A. fan base? LeBron loyal? Really? How does he expect to earn the respect of he doesn't care if you respect him?

He doesn't give a rip. This isn't 1970? I know, I know Jerry West was the logo. I know, I know the Skyhook. Shaq, Kobe, magic. I get it. I get it. I get it. But be honest here, Laker fans. Be honest with yourself. Philadelphia has better players. Ambide, Ben Simmons, Dario Sarich, and LeBron? That's five straight trips to the finals. The Rockets have better players. Chris Paul, James Hardin, and LeBron would beat the Warriors. He did you a solid. LeBron did L.A. a solid. He should have gone to the L.A. Times, bought an ad and said, you're welcome. Like that soccer guy did for the L.A. Galaxy.

You're welcome. You're welcome for having me. I mean, LeBron's always been into the long play and the big brand stuff. And that's what he's doing here. But if you're sitting around waiting for LeBron to get, give you a big hug and show you the respect and go, I'm not worthy. You had James worthy. That's the worthy you get.

It's cooler to win in L.A. Because L.A. is cooler than Oklahoma City. But five years, the last five years, do you know how's the lowest winning percentage in the NBA? The Lakers. You win less than 31% of your games. And if LeBron isn't here this morning, you're going to be a 41-win team, 500. The Lakers, this sounds harsh, but you just won the naming rights for LeBron. He's the building.

You're the banner. That's it. That's what this relationship is. That's all this relationship is right now. And listen to this question again. And by the way, I'm not picking on the reporter. No idea who it is. I'm hearing this over and over from Laker fans in L.A. media.

There's 500 people at the Laker Media Day. There was eight at the Clipper Media Day. It's not the city. Listen to the question again. LeBron, the LA fan base, how do you expect to earn their respect and earn their loyalty? Who, me? The fan base, yeah. Me?

Yes, you. Huh? So you say the fans that say they want to see you and earn their respect? I'll sign a four-year deal. I'm much more. What do you want me to do? That's fine. I mean, we talked to them outside of here yesterday.

Listen, listen, I signed a four-year deal. I'm here, so. I mean, I know what I bring to the table on the floor. But that is cold, that is harsh, and that is 100. He is, as the kids say, he's keeping it real. That's as real as it gets right there, folks. I signed a four-year deal. That's my loyalty.

It's kind of a disrespectful notion that LeBron owes the Lakers fans something. Like the days of the old, golfers always felt special, Joy. Golfers always felt like I got my Mercedes, I got my membership, I get my tea time on Saturday, and golf isn't special. Like Nike's cut out their golf mostly. Dick's sporting goods, no thanks. Country clubs closing. Nothing gets ratings.

They try to second golf channel it died. No, no. Tiger is special. Young millennials now don't spend seven hours on a Saturday playing bridge and putting. They're home of their wife. They're being a good husband. Golf isn't special anymore. U.S. Open Masters British Open are fun.

I like all of them. I watch all of them. But Tiger is elevated above the sport. the sport needs Tiger more than Tiger needs the sport. And LeBron, whether it's politics, the reason all these players move right now is LeBron. It used to be if you moved, you're a bad guy. Now if you don't move to a better team, you're an idiot. That's all LeBron.

You follow his politics. You followed his business models. You follow his training regimen. Everything LeBron does, everybody falls. He doesn't need the NBA right now. I got news for you. The last four years, he's carried the NBA finals because the Pro Bowl in the NFL gets better ratings in every NBA regular season game

and the first and second round of the NBA playoffs if LeBron's not playing. So, and boy, the Lakers, that was a whewee. That was a comeuppance. That was a harsh reality where LeBron looked at the reporter like,

loyalty. You feel like I got to earn my respect? You need to earn my respect. You've been a doormat. You've been a welcome mat for five years. I don't know. anything. I got to be honest with you. I love that. I got nothing against the Lakers. They're fun. And it is cooler to be a Laker than it is in Memphis Grizzly, but that's just because

we're in L.A., and they're in Memphis. And it's cooler here. We have palm trees and movie stars. 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. So this is the most horrifying thing that a Dallas Cowboy fan will see. this year. It was on CBS Sports. It was a graphic, and I'm going to unveil it right now. Dak Press got over his last 13 games is the exact same quarterback as Brock Osweiler. Yeah, I know. It's going to be hard to keep food down. That's not great. Okay. Like, now everybody this morning, first of all, Dak had a great first year. Remember his first year, 13 and 3?

quarterback passer rating was 105, 68% completion percentage, 23 TDs, 4 picks. Had a great first year. So did Deshawn Watson. A lot of guys had great first years. Mark Sanchez, we kind of butt into that. Everybody now's on Jason Garrett. We've got to get rid of Jason Garrett.

Jason Garrett's no good. He's limited. Okay, take a deep breath on this. I want you to just think about this before you bang on your local NFL coach. There are seven or eight coaches in this league who are thought. of to be really special offensive coaches. Sean Payton. Sean McVey, Kyle Shanahan, Andy Reid,

Matt Nagy, Doug Peterson, a Frank Reich who comes over from Philadelphia to Indianapolis with the Colts. Okay, have you noticed something with all these like offensive geniuses? Okay, these are some, okay, so right now, the talk of the league is Patrick Mahomes.

He has an offensive genius. Andy Reid. He appears to be the best. Let's see, why would that be? Maybe because he is the best. Now, Matt Nagy is supposed to be super clever, but Chicago's offense isn't great. That's because Trubisky's not great. Well, Drew Breeze. What about Drew Breeze and Sean Payton? All right, let's dig deeper. In the last two years, Drew Breeze has average less than one pass a game over 25 yards in the air. Why? Because his arm is no longer elite. He's smart. He's good pre-snap.

He's efficient. But even Sean Payton is taking the best of Drew, intelligence and accuracy, and he knows he has limitations. By the way, have you noticed Andrew Luck is dink and dunk? Is that because Frank Reich wants to be dink and dunk? He wasn't with Carson Wentz. No, Carson Wentz can throw the deep ball. Andrew Luck can no longer throw the deep ball. So Frank Reich is limited to using the gifts his quarterback gives you.

Sean McVeigh, what about Sean McVeigh? This is why I say Jared Gough is better than you think. He can throw as good a deep ball as the league has right now, 6-4-225, good pre-snap, mobile enough to move around, deadly accurate, was it Cal is in the NFL. You're all clobbering Jason Garrett. When you look at all these offensive gurus, have you noticed they're as successful as the quality of their quarterback? Is Doug Peterson that much smarter than Matt Nagy?

Andy Reid had both of them. No, the difference is Doug Peterson has Carson Wentz. Matt Nagy has Mitch Trubisky. Okay, who sounds like my accountant. He came out of college. I didn't like Mitch Trubisky. He didn't start his junior year. I didn't like Mitch Trubisky out of college.

I was like, you ceiling. That Prescott's limited. 32 teams passed on him. 32 teams passed on him. I like that. I'm pro-Dak. But he's got a low ceiling. It's a little lower than I thought. Jason Witten leaves, Des Bryant leaves,

and his limitations are being magnified. But we're all on the coach, even the greatest offensive coaches in this league. What do you bet that Kyle Shanahan's offense doesn't look the same the next 13 weeks with C.J. Bethard, as it did in the last nine times he's had Jimmy Garoppolo. Again, the greatest chef. can't use four-day-old bagels. What's the quality the chef has?

What is the... Andy Reid's blowing the league up. Because Patrick Mahomes is the most talented of all these guys. Even the gurus have limitations if you have a limited quarterback. I'm not calling Jason Garrett a great guru, but he was 13 and 3 a couple of years ago. Jason Garrett knows what he's doing. I mean, he knows what he's doing. Jerry Jones would run him out of town. Jerry Jones has run a lot of guys out of town. Ax limited. His ceiling's lower? Then guys like me who liked him thought. It's lower than I thought. Hi, everybody. It's the herd. Here's why I'm a big fan of SimplySafe home security. Simply Safe is ready for anything that gets thrown at it.

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Simplysafe.com slash H-E-R-D. Tuesdays, I do the herd hierarchy, been doing it for years, the 10 best teams in the NFL. Now, for the first time ever, since I've been at FS-1 at Fox Sports, I did not have New England in my top 10. And, you know, after the show, everybody was like, why didn't you have New England in your top 10? And I said, because I trust my eyes. And right now, you double grunk, you put eight in the box, they don't have anybody on the perimeter that scares people. You have to force defensive coordinators to lay awake at night thinking, well, if I pressure them, they'll burn me over the top. They don't have anybody that can do that.

Now, Julie and Edelman comes back. That'll help their efficiency. But I still, this is the way I've always looked at football. I trust my eyes. And when I watch college football, I see five teams that can win the national championship. Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Clemson, and Ohio State. That's who can win the national title. other teams could go undefeated, they don't pass the eyeball test.

What I've always done is I turn the sound down. I don't want any narratives from announcers. I don't want any bias. I don't want to be swayed. And I've told Joy about this. I turn the sound down on sporting events sometimes just to trust my eyes. Who is imposing their will on somebody else? And when I watch the Patriots, they're not dynamic enough.

I just don't see it right now. They play Miami this weekend. and I think Miami is going to, I think it's a coin flip. I think Miami's got more dynamic athletes. Now, is New England's coach good enough to win a Super Bowl? Yeah. Is their quarterback good enough to win a Super Bowl? Yeah.

Is their special teams good enough to win a Super Bowl? Yeah. Are they situationally good enough to win a Super Bowl? Yeah. There's a lot of yas there. But I'm telling you, in terms of athletes, I do not see it. After the loss to Detroit, listen to Tom Brady. I thought it was very telling his emotional state after this loss.

I mean, we're not scoring enough points. We're not executing well enough on a down-by-down basis, certainly at a high level that we should have our expectations set at. Two weeks we get behind and just not make enough plays early in the game. And we're behind and we're just fighting a pill all day. So it's no way to play football. It's no way to, you know, execute at a very high level. And we're just not doing anything well enough.

Okay. He's not angry. He has resigned to the fact we don't have enough good players. that's not an angry dad. That's not a dad that's angry at his smart son failing a test. That's an angry dad coming to terms with maybe what his kid is. You know what I mean? Like that's not an angry quarterback.

That is a quarterback saying, this is what we are. We don't have any deep threats. Philip Dorset was kind of a bust in indie. Josh Gordon's history leads me to believe this probably won't work out. He sounds indifferent. It's just like he's not. an angry guy. Listen, I like systems. But systems have limitations. Greg Popovich's system in San Antonio's not nearly as good now that

Tim Duncan's retired. If you look at the Patriots offense, is Julian Edelman going to solve all these? They're 25th in points, 25th in yards, 25th and sixth and passing, 29th on third down. Is Julian Edelman going to solve those? Oh, by the way, Rex Burkhead announced this morning, he's out for the year. Turn the sound down. They're just not dynamic enough. And Football, sometimes you hear the announcers, you hear the crowd, and they sway your opinion. It's like if I was a player and I'm watching game film, I'm watching a 22 film, you're seeing the truth. You're not being swayed. You're seeing who can play and who can't play.

And I look at New England and they're not a top 10 team. Coach is, quarterback is, got to have players. It's why you've got to pay players. Systems have limitations. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHard Radio app. People are calling Jared Goff a system quarterback. Okay, just say this.

There's a difference between a game manager and a system quarterback. And I'll give you the greatest example. A game manager is code for limited. You don't want to be called a game manager. A system quarterback is necessary to win a Super Bowl. Let me explain. Joe Montana played in something called the West Coast offense. That's the most copied system of offense in league history.

Well, well, what about like Brett Farr? I mean, what about... I'm glad you mentioned Brett Fav. Brett Fav... Brett Fav played for 20 years in the NFL. Seven years with Mike Holmgren. In the seven years, Brett Farr... the great talent, the ad libber, played with Mike Hongren.

He won all three MVPs, and it was the only time he got to Super Bowls. In the 13 years that Brett Farve didn't have Mike Hongren system, no MVPs, no Super Bowl trips, and in eight playoff games, had a losing record. So there you go. Yes, Tom Brady's in a system. And by the way, Troy Aikman threw for over 20 touchdowns. once because Jimmy Johnson had a great system. And Terry Bradshaw, four Super Bowl rings, you don't think Chuck Knoll had a system.

And I grew up watching a guy named Dan Fouts. His coach was Don Correel. They called it Air Correel. It was a system. Brett Farve, who we all think of the gunslinger making it up as he goes. He's like Robin Williams, the late comedian. People think Robin Williams didn't prepare his craft because he was so funny. Robin Williams knew what he was doing before he went on stage.

He made you think he didn't practice. He made you think it was ad-libbed. Brett Farrv played the way he played, you thought, Brett Farrb, there's no system. Seven years with Mike Congren. Three MVPs, two Super Bowls, won twice as many playoff games as he lost. Yeah.

The years without him? Bupus. Nothing. So is Jared Goff part of his system? Yes. Game manager is code for limited. system quarterback is necessary to win a Super Bowl. And for the record, for the record,

you know who's having a sneaky good season this year? Cam Newton. Cam Newton's having a sneaky good season. Five to one TD to pick ratio. His completion percentage is very uncam Newton-like. It's 67%. Well, why would that be? Why in the world would that be?

Oh, he's got a new. coach Norv Turner. What is Norv Turner known for? Having a system. Yes, Jared Goffs on a system. It's the only way he's got a chance to win a Super Bowl. Find me the great quarterback with Super Bowl trophies that didn't play in his system. In fact, it's one of my knocks on Aaron Rogers. I wish he was a little more system and a little less improvisational. I wish Aaron, I really do. I wish Aaron was a little less ad-libby and a little more system. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Over a four-year span, only Brandon Marshall and Des Bryant had more touchdowns at wide receiver than my next guest.

Eight NFL seasons, played with Peyton Manning, briefly practiced with Tom Brady, but I got to bring him on. Eric Decker joining us on the show now. And we need clarity because your wife is a country music singer. an actress, right? She is a TV personality. A TV personality. Are you guys going to put lights on Eric here? Can you?

We have lights. There we go. That's nice. Let's talk about this. So you played with Peyton in those four years, you raked it. I mean, you raked it with Peyton. And then you had some brief time with Tom Brady. Were there similarities personality-wise that you noticed?

Yeah, for sure. I mean, two of the greatest quarterbacks of our era. And ultimately what it comes down to is their detail-oriented guys. I mean, both competitors, both great leaders. But the way they prepare, the way they practice, I mean, there's no one like it. And that's what separated them and why I think they're so great. What was Peyton? I heard Peyton can be difficult, demanding.

Did he bark at you occasionally? Oh, they both did. Once you step on the field, I mean, Peyton always said we laughed about it, the walkthrough before the walkthrough. So, you know, there was always the blitz adjustments. There was hot routes you had to know. You always had to let him know when you thought someone was coming. And so he would test every guy.

You'd be out there and it's a walkthrough before the walkthrough. So you're just like kind of going through the motions and you miss something. And he lets you know that you missed it and you better stay focused. So that kept us, I think again, just great. When we got to games, we were mowing people down. You were humming. And were you part of the Tebow-Mania for a while? I sure was.

That was in my lifetime covering the NFL. It was the craziest thing I've ever seen. So just some backstory. I had a really, I had a good source within the locker room. And they were like, and they told me, they're like, listen, Tebow's not good at practice. He's like fourth. And they're like, we're all here and we're watching it. We're like, okay.

And then you went into the games and it was like divine intervention. You guys, Matt Prater's leg. Yes. It would be 10, nine. And all of a sudden. So when you were in that locker room, listen, you got eyes, Eric. He was, he's not. he's not Big Ben, he's not Breeze,

but you were winning games. Yes. What was it like to be in that locker room? I mean, we would look at each other after a game and be like, how did we win that? Because we would sputter through the first three quarters. Oh, you'd be ugly. Yeah.

And then fourth quarter, like you said, we get in position. Somehow Tee will make a fantastic play. Prater would kick two 70-yarders. We go in overtime and we end up winning. But one game, I remember in Kansas City, We ran the ball 60 plus times. Maybe we threw the ball eight times. Eight times.

Completed three passes and we won that game. Every time the coach coming back to the sidelines, me and Demeris Thomas, say, hey, stay in it. You're going to get one next series. You're going to get one. We just got done crack blocking three times in a row. It was the craziest thing. And then he won the Steeler.

That was a playoff game. And that was a great throw. Who was? It was. It was Demarius? Yeah. He took a 75. And then I always felt that John Elway's a smart dude, that John knew because there was a huge Christian following for Tebow.

It wasn't just football. Yeah. It was aspirational. It was its following. That you had to bring in somebody that immediately the Tebow fandom would stop. And Peyton was the only guy you could do it with. That once Peyton Manning comes in, it's like, okay, we love Tebow, but we have the man. and immediately everybody just became a Peyton Manning fan.

Oh, well, granted he had how many great years in Indianapolis and the timeline of it, like you said, him getting released, us going to the playoffs and Tebow kind of having that great run, but the transition Elway made, I will say, there was games in playoffs and end of the season that there was churches coming and kind of lying up around the tunnel where we walk through and kind of singing homilies and stuff as we walked through. It was, I'm telling you, there's some things I've never

seen in my life that year. And I could write a book on it. But, you know, Tim's a great guy. And, you know, I love that. We had success that year. But obviously, when Peyton came in, it changed the culture of that organization. You know, when you play all these years in the league,

and then at some point, you're like, you know, you've made a stack of money and you want to have a great life with your kids and your wife. What was the drive home, the moment, the epiphany, that you said, I'm going to quit. Yeah. That's a great question. I actually started to feel it after I left or was done in Tennessee around March, April time.

You know, I was just like, I played a lot of good years. I've had a lot of fun. You know, the injuries have kind of caught up to me at that point. I've had four pretty major surgeries at that point. And my wife's like, no, just one more year. You don't want the what if, you know, where you're regretting your decision. So I decided to visit a few teams, talk to a few teams, very selective. New England called.

that was a place I wanted to go to. Tom Brady, Bill Billichick, Super Bowl contending team, got up there. And, you know, I didn't go through the motions. I was competing. But, like, mentally and emotionally, I just wasn't all in. You know, I kind of lost a little bit of it. And it just didn't feel right. So, you know, granted, my performance wasn't that great during training camp. But at that moment, I was just like, I've done enough. You know, I'm ready to go home and I'm ready to kind of graduate from football and move on to the next thing. What was the call to your wife like? your dad, your wife, your mom, your family. Yeah, well, I called my wife. I just told her, like, I'm missing,

I'm missing that thing inside that, you know, that you have, it just clicks. I called my agent and, you know, I just kind of called, I called Brandon Stokely, who was in a similar situation where, you know, I went from New York, got cut late, went to Tennessee, so it was a third team in three years. And it's a, it's hard when you got young kids

and you're moving around from team and my family was staying in Nashville. And I asked Brandon, I'm like, you know, how did you feel? and he kind of had the same situation where he's bouncing around, but he just loved the game and he fought it out. He got to a point where he was like, it's over. And that's kind of where I was at.

It was over for me. You know, Josh Gordon got picked up by the Patriots. They're kind of scrapping right now, trying to kind of figure out until Julian Edelman gets back. Is their system more complicated? When you look at their book and you look at the Titans book and you look at the Jets book and you look at the Peyton Manning book, did you feel like it would be hard?

Like Ocho went there with Tom. It didn't work. Randy Moss did. and it did immediately. Is it a harder playbook to learn? Yes, indeed. Granted, you know, a veteran guy who, for me, I've been through eight, maybe nine systems in my career,

that's not the hard part for me, picking up a playbook, understanding it. I mean, a lot of stuff, they condense to try to make it easier on the quarterback and just in the huddle, making a shorter play call. But they play fast, and, you know, there's a certain system about it.

And, you know, when guys get there, if you're not used to, you know, playing fast and hearing the call and knowing where to line up because the formations are different, the concepts are different. You've got to kind of put your time in studying. It can be difficult, no question. That period of the transition can be very difficult. So I can see why some guys struggle. Yeah. Eric Decker, eight NFL seasons. There was a four-year period when only Des Bryant and Brandon Marshall had more touchdowns. You had a four-year period with 41. You finished with 53 and almost 6,000 yards.

We've got some different rules. The catch rule now has been tweaked. It is a catch. There's the helmet rule. You know, there's also the quarterback getting hit rule. The business part of me understands what the NFL is doing. But there is sort of a, you know, Trent Dilfer was on the other day, and he made an interesting point.

He said, you know, when you're a quarterback, one of the ways that you can earn respect in a locker room is being a tough guy. Yep. And getting the, you know what kicked out of you. and getting up and be like, I'm going to play with hurt ribs. He goes, because you're not tackling guys. You're not benching 500. He goes, as a quarterback, I kind of like getting soft, getting whacked a couple times.

And I could prove to my teammates, hey, I'm spilled all over the field. I'm going to get up and finish a game. And that, instead of Trent's like, I don't like, show me the data that proves we're protecting these quarterbacks. I like to get hit. And I think it, now, Andrew Luck got hit too much over a few years. What do you make of the Clay Matthews? Where do you fall? Do you get the business?

Do you want to be protected? I mean, by the way now, you can't hit wide receivers over the middle, which helps a guy like Eric Decker. Where do you fall on that? I mean, I'm with you. I understand the business side of it. Your quarterback is your franchise guy. That's what the entertainment is.

He's going to get the ball out. Aaron Rogers slinging it around. Like, that's what makes the game's enjoyable. But the same fact, like you're teaching these defenders how to properly tackle and practice. So he's got to hit a wide receiver or running back different than he hits a quarterback. I mean, that was a perfect. That was a perfect rap tackle.

And to say, all right, then you got to last second, move your weight to the side or not fall on them. I just, I don't agree with it. I mean, that's what football is. It's the physical game. You got Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, who will get the ball out and get down if they don't want to get hit. They have that option.

So I really think that, you know, the physicality of the game is what makes football so great. And you need to adjust some of these rules. And I get diving at knees, taking out limbs because that is our investment. You know, when you got an ACL injury, you can't play the game or you got a foot injury, you can't play the game. But, you know, to get hit hard on the ribs, that's the game.

That's the game of football. Did you, do you miss it? You know, I love washing it, but I don't miss waking up completely, utterly sore the next day. I don't. You know, I really enjoyed my time. I had a great college career. I had a great NFL career. Like I said, had so many memories.

But I was at a point where I was, I was really, ready. I was comfortable to be done. But I still love talking the game. I still love watching the game. I bought NFL ticket because I want to, you know, the red zone so I could see every, every game. So you watch the red zone too? I do. I love it. Yeah. I sit there with a notepad every Sunday. Yeah, it's fun. I like it. By the way, Marcus Marieto, I don't want to put you in an uncomfortable spot, but I interviewed him years ago. Yep. And I said this on the air, so I'll say it to you, is that he's almost non-verbal and it's a very verbal. And it's a very verbal position. The one thing, the Breeze, Rogers,

Farr, Brady, Peyton, you know, Russell Wilson, they'll talk. They're talkers. And a lot of times they're confrontational. Is Marcus Marietta too soft-spoken for the position? You know, tremendous athlete, tremendous guy. I loved being his teammate. He is passive, though. I mean, ultimately, like you said, it's a position where you got to be verbal.

You got to be a leader. Yeah. I mean, you got to demand things because when things get tough, who do you look to? You look to your quarterback. And if he's giving confidence and kind of making expectations what they should be, everyone's going to follow suit. And, you know, unfortunately, it could be just a personality trait where some guys may have it, may not.

But, I mean, that's a position where you cannot be passive. And he is a little bit. He is. He is. And by the way, when you look at it, quarterbacks in the NFL. We've had big ones. We've had guys that run. We've had Eli Manning, doesn't run, can't move.

Shape, sizes, a lot of varieties, almost all of them. It's rare that you see a successful quarterback who is quiet, nonverbal, kind of passive, laid back. Sometimes you've got to kick some ass. I mean, Peyton Manning is rough.

Troy Aikman, if you ever watched those NFL films, Troy Aikman's rough on his teammates. Yeah, oh, no question. I will say that, flashback of memory, We were playing Jacksonville and Marcus made a run and he got up and kind of flexed. And everyone was like, whoa. I mean, that was the moment where I was like, it's there somewhere. Got to dig it up.

Got to find it. Eric, good meeting you and good seeing you. Thanks, call him. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search Hurd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. The NFL announced the winners of the AFC and NFC offensive players of the week. Big Ben and Drew Brees won.

But these players also have a special distinction is that despite being two of the greatest quarterbacks, not only of all time, but certainly in the last decade, they've never won a regular season MVP. And it's quite amazing. We were looking around, it's amazing how many great, how hard it is to be an MVP,

the odds are out in Vegas about who's going to win the MVP. We thought in our best for last today. We'd give you the 10 greatest players, and I think you'll be surprised by a couple who never won an MVP. Here's best for last. After almost three hours, Colin apparently hasn't gotten to the

point yet. Quit holding out on us, Cowherd. It's the best for last. Number 10, such a great hitter, the National League batting title is now named after him. Tony Gwyn, in a 10-year period from 87 to 97,

won eight National League batting titles. Go look up who was hitting in the National League then. In a strike shortened season, he was batting 394. He got the closest to Ted Williams. He is the greatest hitter in the history of baseball. He's the best hitter I've ever seen. Rod Carew was good. Wade Boggs was special.

This is the best hitter in the history of the sport. Tony Gwyn never won an MVP. Number nine. Dionne Sanders was actually so good. good at Corner. And an elite special teams guy. He won the 1994 defensive player of the year as a cornerback. He's a two-time Super Bowl champ.

He played for high-profile teams, Cowboys, Niners. He is considered the greatest return man of all time and the greatest cornerback of all time. There's really nobody close at Corner. I mean, really, who's second? Dorel Revis? That's a big gap. Dionne Sanders, number nine, never won an MVP.

Number eight. You do realize the guy that kept Michael Jordan from getting to finals, Isaiah Thomas. When they were winning titles in 89 and 90, they were keeping Chicago out of the finals. Michael Jordan never beat the Detroit Pistons and Isaiah Thomas in their prime. In fact, in two years that he won titles, the MVP was not Michael. He won a title and Magic was the MVP. Isaiah Thomas, number eight. Number seven.

Ben Rothelsberger. Now, I want you to think about this for a second. He led the Steelers to two Super Bowls, 2005-2008. Think about this. In 2014, this is five years ago. In 2014, he completed 67% of his throws. He threw for 5,000 yards. He had 32 TDs and he had nine picks.

And Aaron Rogers won the MVP. Big Ben, number seven, never been named an MVP. Number six. Think about this. The PGA has a number one. a player of the year. Phil Mickelson's never won it. Now, I want you to think about this. Tigers won it 11 times. His biggest rival has never ever won it. Only PGA players vote on. This guy has multiple masters over 70 tournament wins. In the 18 to 20 years of his prime,

not one time he was ever named by PGA Tour players as player of the year. Number six. Number five. Ray Lewis, greatest defensive player of his generation. He was a two-time defensive player of the year. He was a 13-time pro bowler. There was a long stretch in the NFL, four or five years, when you could argue that Ray Lewis and Lidane and Tomlinson

were the two most complete football players in the National Football League. And Ray Lewis never won an MVP. Number four. Derek Jeter. Look at John Goulet, shaking his head. Derek Jeter has the sixth most hits in Major League Baseball history. And here's what's funny. In 1999, this was in his peak.

He batted 3.49. He led baseball and hits. And he finished 6th in the voting. And he was a Yankee, and he was a great defensive player. Think of those numbers. He bats 350. He leads baseball and hits. The Yankees are amazing.

And he finishes 6th. in the MVP voting. I think that is jealousy. By the way, in 2006, he bet at 343, and Justin Mourneau, the twins beat him out. Number three. Jerry Rice, I kind of get this one, though, because Joe Montana,

and Bill Walsh got a lot of the credit. He's the greatest receiver of all time, holds many of the records, integral part of a dynasty, perhaps the greatest dynasty of all time. Now, he never won the NFL MVP. The pro football writers vote once gave him the MVP, but Jerry Rice is our third greatest player to never win an MVP.

Number two. Hard to believe Drew Brees. He's going to end up with 40 NFL passing records. Super Bowls won his division. He broke Brett Farve's career completion record on Sunday. Last year he set the highest completion percentage of all time, which is almost, it's like high school, 72% completion percentage. And it's interesting because he's so beloved by the media, he's so beloved by players and coaches in the press, but he's the only player to throw for 5,000 yards or more in multiple years. He's done it five times, and he's the second greatest player to never win.

We think he's number two on the shocking list of somebody that's never won an MVP. But number one. Number one. The NBA logo, Jerry West, a 14-time All-Star, only player to win the final. The finals MVP, despite being on a losing team, no, that can't be right. It doesn't make any sense, does it? Yeah.

How could you do that? Yeah. How could you be the MVP of the finals if you're on a losing team? He's the only one. It's happened in one Super Bowl also. Oh, he was on the losing team in the finals. Yes. He's the only one.

He averaged more than 30 points in four different seasons. Can you believe, and here's the thing, too. It was a big man's league. He was the guard for a decade on the biggest franchise. And he was the logo. And he never won an MVP. Isn't that odd? Goulet's smiling.

You're still bitter about Jeter. So Matt Jeter's not number one. So our number one, Jerry West, Drew Brees, Jerry Rice, and Derek Jeter. Never MVP's. 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 SportsSlice on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, 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 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 walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Cliverts 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, Marquis keep coming to. 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.