The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 10/24/2018

Episode Date: October 24, 2018

Colin thinks the Dodgers looked uncomfortable in Fenway Park during game 1 of the World Series because it’s an environment you don't find anywhere else. He points out that, yet again, a team in the NFC North is willing to be aggressive and trade for talent while the Packers are content to be mediocre. Plus, The MMQB's Albert Breer explains why Amari Cooper didn't work in Oakland but might in Dallas. 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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or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher 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 right here, FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me. Good morning.

Good morning. World Series. We got NBA stuff. going on NFL is going to be a huge week we have we have a pack show today today is just a great show this this is such a good time of the year and I wanted to start with this um you ever have a first day on the job heck your first week at a job raise your hand if you're driving in your car don't raise your hand keep them on the wheel otherwise raise your hand if you had a first day on the job in the last 10 years you know what that you're always in that first day on the job fog you got to meet a bunch of people

and you can't remember half their names. Where's the bathroom? You got the IT guys trying to set you up. You got to go to human resources and fill out of that first day on the job, that first week on the job, you don't know what floor this boss is on. You forget which hallway to take to your cubicle. You're in that first week on the job, first day on the job, fog. And the Dodgers were in a fog last night.

warm weather Los Angeles, cold, wet, damp, windy Fenway Park. Fenway Park's the corkiest park in baseball. This is not an excuse. I still think Boston's going to win the series, and I think Boston has more good players. But the Dodgers got a break last night. Chris Sale, the ace for the Red Sox, was not on his best stuff. Couldn't finish the fifth.

It didn't matter. The Dodgers didn't look comfortable defensively. I mean, good God, Fenway Park has a garage door in center. You're telling all these guys in L.A., National League guys who never play there. Yeah, there's this ballpark. There's a monster in left and a garage door in center, huh? They didn't look comfortable. They didn't manage comfortable.

In fact, the only two guys that actually hit, one of them was Manny Machado. The other is David Fries. Not coincidentally, guys who had played and hit at Fenway Park before. There was a moment in the seventh inning, Jock Peterson came in, and this always happens. Whenever you substitute a guy in, the ball finds him immediately, right? So Jock Peterson comes in. Joe Buck with a call. Listen.

Pops it up, left side, long run. Peterson just into the game. Can't make the play. It's a double. The ball usually finds the new guy. And on a cold night, Jack Peterson could not get there. I mean, he didn't know where the bathrooms were.

He didn't know where the cafe was. He was just dealing with the IT guy. You ever gone to summer camp? Joy, did you go to summer camp? I went to summer camp as a kid. I did. The first two days are chaos. All these kids, all these kids,

all these counselors. How do I get to the lake? What events do I got to be part of? It's chaos. And you're just in a first day of summer camp fog. First day at work fog. Dodgers looked so uncomfortable last night. And by the way, Fenway Park, I've been to it, is so quirky and so unique from every other park in Major League baseball.

Forget the garage door and center. The fans are right on top of you. In Los Angeles, fans are more casual and they show up in the second inning. At Fenway, they show up at batting practice and they're right on top of you. It looked dark. It look cold. It look wet. was windy. This was the classic example, and you've seen this before. A warm weather team in the

NFL goes to a cold weather site, or sometimes the cold weather bears go down to warm weather Miami and just melt. Dodgers looked out of sorts all night. I didn't love a managerial move, pitching move. We'll get to that in a little bit. But this is not a shock. That is the quirkiest. home field advantage doesn't generally mean a ton in baseball. If you got your ace going, you quiet the crowd. But Fenway Parks, one of those rare spots. Fans on you, weather or October, totally loud and intense. With all these quirks, nooks and crannies, Dodgers need to show up early for batting practice,

take more infield because they even got a break last night. And they just didn't look right at all. At all. And by the way, the National League series they just came out of was a chess match, analytically driven. Boston's a totally different team. Boston's like, here's our nine guys. They're really good.

Better than yours beat us. This is not going to be a fight against Mayweather where it's jab, jab, move, now this is Tyson and his prime. They're coming after you. The hyper-aggressive Red Sox put their nine guys out there and they just come after you. Not that they don't like analytics, but it's not the brewers. It's not multiple trips to the man. They're going to put out their same guys.

The Dodgers went analytics with their lineup yesterday, outfought the room, and looked absolutely like they were in the wrong place, at least last night. All right, I want to shift to this, and I'm going to get back to some of that in a second. And I got a couple of stories on Amari Cooper. Troy Aikman doesn't like to move necessarily for the Cowboys. But let me go to the NBA quick. So there was a fight in the NBA. Saturday night, Rockets Lakers.

And Chris Paul was in the middle of it. he plays for the Rockets and Rondo was in the middle of it and Rondo plays with LeBron James and you can like I said you blame whoever you want looks like Rondo Spitz and Rondo got more game suspension than Chris Paul did and Rondo fired back yesterday he really fired back by the way fired back at LeBron's best friend he said everybody wants to believe Chris Paul's good guy they don't know he's a horrible teammate they don't know how he treats people I was going to let it rest, but I have kids, and I teach my kids to speak up for themselves, and don't let the world tell your story.

Well, I would never bring up an athlete's kids, but since Rondo brought up his kids, let me ask him this. Do you also tell your kids, if you've been difficult, every place you work, you get a reputation, and you're not going to get the benefit of the doubt here. Tell your kids that. That's also part of the story here, since you brought him up. The bottom line is Chris Paul is demanding. I've worked with a lot of demanding people.

You can work with demanding people. I'm demanding. I've worked briefly with difficult people. And they're gasoline on any fire. They're instigators, law provocateurs. They're trying to start trouble. All you need to know about Chris Paul is the Pelicans and the Clippers got worse when he left and the rockets got better when he arrived.

And he's always gotten along with his coaches. Doc Rivers and Chris Paul, the reputation was. players resented how well they got along. That Doc Rivers and Chris Paul were too close. Rondo can't get along with anybody. Rondo couldn't get along with Doc Rivers. He couldn't get him out of Boston fast enough. He couldn't get along with Rick Carlisle in Dallas.

Rick Carlisle, I covered in Portland. Maybe the nicest guy I've ever met in pro sports. Rick Carlisle is the nicest guy in the NBA. Everybody loves Rick Carlisle. Rick Carlisle could not get Rondo out of town fast enough. So there's a big difference between, demanding, Chris Paul's demanding. He was demanding.

Blake Griffin, hit your free throws. Learn to hit a three, Blake Griffin. DeAndre Jordan, be in the right place at the right time. That's demanding. By the way, Blake had a nice night last night, but he's disappeared without Chris Paul. So is DeAndre Jordan. Okay, demanding, I've worked with demanding people.

I'm all for it. Difficult people are impossible. And so if you're going to bring up your kids about rules, and I would never bring up your kids, but it should also be noted that you should tell your kids that life's a resume based on choices. Rondo's not going to get the benefit of it out in this fight. He's not going to get the he's not as good as Chris Paul. Chris Paul has multiple examples where his left teams they've gotten worse, entered a team they got better. I mean, New Orleans was garbage. Chris Paul ends up in New Orleans, they have their best years. Leaves that go into the tank. Clippers were embarrassing for

years. Goes to Los Angeles. Clippers aren't embarrassing. Beat the cross-down Lakers. Rockets were kind of like plateaued. Oh, he goes over to James Hardin. It won't work. Oh, it does. He even got along with James Hardin, who's a guard who shoots a lot. You can say what you want about Chris Paul. But he's worked with Doc Rivers. He worked in New Orleans. He's working with Dan Tony. Tell me who Ron does work with. I mean, tell me. Nobody. That's not demanding. That's difficult. And by the way, LeBron and Chris Paul are best friends. And you just, through LeBron's best friend, under the bus. Not good.

That relationship, I guarantee you, is going to be strained from this point forward. I mean, LeBron won't say it, but this is why six teams, five years. Chris Paul's not been on six teams in five years. Chris Paul was in New Orleans, doing a great job.

And then they tried to trade him to the Lakers and the NBA, no, no, no, he's too good. That's not unfair. So he ends up with the Clippers. He stayed with the Clippers for years and years and years and years. And then finally, he got tired of the Clippers dysfunction and went to Houston and he'll end his career in Houston. Three stops in the NBA is no biggie. Six teams, five years, that's a you problem.

That's on you. Six teams, five years is on you. So whoever started the fight, Rondo can't come out and throw arrows and sling arrows at Chris Paul. Chris Paul's got a lot more friends in this league than Rondo does. He's a better player than Rondo is. And that goes without saying. 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. I've said this before. Baseball managers in 2018 with analytics don't do much. That's why the Yankees Red Sox managers combined don't make as much as the Boise State football coach. And I'm not joking. The Boise State football coach coaching 12 games a year in that conference

makes more than Alex Cora and Aaron Boone combined. That's all you need to know about baseball managers. They're not going to pay them any money. They don't do that much. But what they do that we all see is go to the bullpen. They walk out to the mound. They go to the bullpen and we see it. It's right there.

That's a big decision by the manager. Ooh, he made the call to pull out. So last night, it's not that I'm anti-analytics, but some stuff works on a volume level, on a scale level. But it doesn't necessarily work in October. And Dave Roberts in the seventh inning takes out Pedro Baez, who has been on fire, was terrible early, been on fire for a month. He just blew the ball past two guys. Okay? And Dave Roberts

is in his binder. Well, I want to get the lefty, lefty matchup. You know, Dave Roberts goes tactical over practical. And he brings in Alex Wood. Well, well, I like the matchup and the numbers say,

dude, Pedro Baez, blowing the ball bass people, a man who's pitching the best of his career. He's been on fire for a month, and he's got a hitter. It's not a great, not one of the Red Sox's best hitters coming up, and you pull him. Because, you know, the binder, say, I got, hold on, I got to look down at the binder, and Joe Buck with a call. And Nunez, a good bad ball hitter off the left-handers. That is hammered and pinched three-run, home run, Nunez. And the Red Sox open up game

one. You know, and John Smolts, this is driving him crazy. A-Rod, this is driving him crazy. A-Rod talked about this again last night. Alex Rodriguez. I'm flabbergasted by that move. And look, we always talk about a point guard. In order to be

good, you have to see the floor. A manager has to do the same thing. What metric are they previewed that you take out bias who's dominating, faces two hitters, strikes them both out? It doesn't make any sense. Do you? Scripted baseball. There's not work in October. It could work during the season. Scripted baseball does not work in October.

Yeah, there's a big difference between 162 games and the pressure of an October game in Fenway Park. Don't overthink the room in situations. You got a man who's blowing it by people, who's never had more confidence, he's had a great month, you keep him in and let him just, listen, man, you see this in sports all the time where a great player in baseball A-Rod gets into funk and loses his confidence. We've seen LeBron James multiple times. You saw Joy in Miami. Lose confidence in his jumper. When you get pro athletes and they feel great about themselves and they got the chest puffed out and they're doing it. Just let them go. Man, it's hard enough to be a visiting team from a warm weather situation to play in that stadium this time of the year and you've got a guy

that feels great about himself and you're going to a binder. And by the way, last year in Game 7 of the World Series. Charlie Morton's a picture for the Astros, a starter, and they put him in the bullpen. He goes the last four innings of the game. Where are the analytics on that? There are no analytics that say, use Charlie Morton, a starter. No, they brought in a man, Justin Verlander, a world-class Hall of Fame starter. Come out of the bullpen. You go with analytics in these big spots. I trust Charlie Morton. I trust Justin Verlander. this idea that you can use all these analytics pocket protector stuff it works for a lot of games but when you get to the western conference finals and it's you know it's Kevin Durant and you got you know LeBron against him throw that crap out these are the two alphas in the league let them roll who's hot and I think Dave Roberts last night I think he did himself a huge disservice I think the Dodgers front office and that's the kind of stuff in baseball now we don't see managers do much the pitching change, we see them do it. And when it doesn't go well, it just sticks out.

It's just a flashing red light. Not a good look. And Smolts and Arrod both called this puppy. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. I want to get back to what was a big story yesterday on the show, Amari Cooper of the Raiders, being traded to the Cowboys. and I'm hearing all these stories about, oh, he's not worth the first round or he's going to be too expensive. So the latest story, Mike Floreo says his contract, he's going to be a girl at almost 14 million next year. Oh, 14 million. That would be 7% of the cap.

Who cares? Khalil Mack is a defensive player making 22.5 million who never touches the ball unless it's a strip sack. and he's 11.5% of the Bears' cap. 11.5 for a defensive player in a sport where defensive players are continually handcuffed. By the way, Brandon Cooks of the Rams, he is their third most used wide receiver. Make 16 million a year. He's 8% of their cap. Who cares? Who cares how much of your cap you're spending on a position of need?

This goes back to something else. And I've said this for years. There's always this feeling in football that during the draft, you just draft the best player available, never need. I don't believe that. And here's why. If my wife said, could you go to the store, honey, and get milk and bread, and I came back with a rake.

And I said, it was the best value. And she said, well, we got a rake. Well, it's the best value. It was off 40%. I got a rake. She grabbed the rake and hit me over the head with it because she needed eggs and she needed milk and bread. this whole thing about just draft the best player available.

Well, if the best player available is a quarterback and you have Drew Brees in his prime, you don't draft a quarterback. You sell the pick. This year, New England always says this. We just get the best player available. Really? This year, go look at who the Patriots drafted in the first round. It was not the best players available.

They needed a running back because they lost Dionne Lewis. They drafted a running back. And it was a left tackle guard tackle because they lost Nate Solder. They went to Phil. Positions of need, running back and offensive linemen. Those were not the two best players. You can argue both, most people said both were a reach, a little bit of a reach. If you have key pieces like that, maybe you get the best player available.

But if you need something, then you get that. How did that work out for the Giants this year? Okay. It's all anyone can talk about with the Giants. If you think Jerry Jones is losing sleep on this, here's Jerry Jones. I'm going to read you a quote from Jerry Jones. Owner of the Cowboys. Here's a quote he had years ago. He said, when I look back on my life, I overpaid for my biggest successes every time. And when I tried to get a bargain,

I ended up either getting it and not happy with it or missing it. Now think about this. In the 60s, this is a gambler, Jerry Jones. He borrowed a million dollars in the 60s. A million dollars was a lot in the 60s from Jimmy Hoffa's Teamster Union. to buy some Shakey's pizza chains. Some Shakey's pizza was a big chain. It was the Pizza Hut of its time, right? He borrowed a million dollars from Jimmy Hoffa's teamsters. You think this is going to make him uncomfortable.

By the way, when he bought the Dallas Cowboys, fact they were losing a million dollars a month. Look it up. They are now the most valuable franchise in the world. When he built Jerry's world, Do you know what the budget was for that? $650 million. Do you know what it cost them?

1.1 billion. It almost, it was double the cost. But Jerry kept saying, nobody like this. Nobody like that. Bigger scoreboard. Better seats. Nicer sweets. And now that's the most valuable stadium in America.

Okay. You think he's losing sleep because of Mari Cooper could be 7% percent of the cap. Let me just tell you how this works. It's an offensive league, right? We all admit it's an offensive league. If your quarterback is 11 to 12% in your cap, that's average. If your top running back is 7%,

if Amari Cooper, your best receiver is 7%, and your left tackles 5% to 6%. You know what that equals? 30%. That's not a third of your cap. In 2018 in the NFL, you don't think feeling for Minnesota is not worth 6% of your cap, 7% of your cap, and you have Stefan Diggs. I don't think it's that big of a deal.

Jerry is a risk taker, an oil maverick, and his biggest successes have been spending a little more than going bargain. Jerry tells you, when I look back, every success is overpaying in. the moment. When I tried to get a bargain, when I jumped over a 20 to get to a 5, I either get it and don't like it or I missed out on it. This is an aggressive guy. It's an aggressive brand. The great successes for the Cowboys have been with aggressive Jimmy Johnson. Remember Jimmy Johnson made that Herschel Walker trade? That was an aggressive move. Change the franchise. Bill Parcells, aggressive. Change the NFL. That was an aggressive move. At the time, people were like, what in God's name is Jimmy Joe? God's the greatest move all time.

Jerry was aggressive, bought a team, and by the way, cobbled together every nickel he had to buy the Cowboys. I mean, Jerry was not rolling in dough. He took a huge risk. Multiple loans to buy the cow. Everything he's done, Jerry's world. $600 million? No, a billion one. So they're not losing a second asleep on this.

All right. This is amazing. So the New York Giants have just traded defensive tackle Damon Harrison to the Detroit Lions. He's a very good player. Snacks Harrison. The Giants are essentially, you know, they're giving up on the season. They gave up Eli Manning to the Saints for a couple of picks. Snacks Harrison goes to Detroit, giving up on the season. And they should at this point. They can't win, get draft picks and get some players, right? And by the way, pro football focus says the Lions have added the

NFL's leader in defensive stops on the defensive interior in each of the past three seasons, not Aaron Donald, this guy. So he's good. And we have a lot of trades happening now in the NFL. We've still got a week to go and a lot of trades. So yesterday, Peter King was on the show and we asked him, why suddenly now do we have all these trades going on in the NFL? Teams are more aggressive. The young general managers and young coaches don't necessarily buy that you have to do it the way you used to do it. So the younger GMs and the younger people making the decisions are not necessarily married to their ancestors in the league.

Plus, it always helps if you can make a trade up through week eight in the NFL. instead of through week six. So I like the move. It's aggressive. He's a good player. The lions are like, hey, but I just want to point this out. Now think about this for a second. So Chicago got Khalil Mack, aggressive.

And Minnesota went and paid Kirk Couss. They won 13 games with Case Keenham. They went super aggressive and got Kirk Cousins. And Detroit here is being really aggressive. Who's not in the division? Green Bay. I want to give you Green Bay's schedule for the next five games. At the Rams, at the Patriots.

Dolphins at home, not an easy one. At Seattle, at Minnesota. One in four, the Bears got aggressive. The Lions just got aggressive. Minnesota was aggressive. We know that aggressive in sports is being rewarded. The Warriors had a title. Aggressively recruited KD.

Rockets were good. Aggressively recruited Chris Paul. Red Sox, aggressively. J.D. Martinez. Dodgers aggressively. Manny Machado. Just to rent, basically. Aggressive is winning in sports. Houston. Justin Verlander. Aggressive. Okay. Green Bay Packers, once again, they could certainly use Snacks Harrison. Nah. Could have used Kille-Mack. Nah. Listen to this. This is incredible. So we all admit now that Aaron Rogers is, right, great. Like probably the most talented quarterback. I think Brady's the best, easily, but he's most talented. they are a nine and a half point underdog now to the L.A. Rams with Aaron Rogers.

Now, I want you to think about that. What is Vegas telling you about Green Bay? They don't have any players. Has Tom Brady ever been a five-point underdog? I couldn't tell you the last time Tom Brady was a four-and-a-half, a four-point underdog, a field underdog. Has Drew Brees in the year the Saints were seven to nine, seven to nine, seven to nine, and nine with the bad defense. Was Drew Breeze ever a touchdown underdog?

I mean, when Vegas is telling you, it's not like weather's going to be a factor. Sometimes, you know, a warm weather team going into a blizzard, Vegas is like no shot. This is a cold weather team with a California quarterback going out west. It's going to be 80 degrees. And they're giving him Aaron Rogers nine and a half points. If Baker Mayfield's going to Pittsburgh, he gets eight.

I mean, so Baker Mayfield. a puppy, a baby, a kid against the all-time Steelers who are first or second in the league in sacks. Vegas is like, give Baker eight points. They're giving Aaron nine and a half? That is, I couldn't tell you the last time. A Hall of Fame quarterback got nine and a half. In 2018, maybe in 1980.

But, I mean, think about this. Sam Darnold's a rookie. Nobody would dispute what I'm about to say. Offensive line running backs, tight-in wide receivers. Jets are weak. Jets are bottom third in the league in all of those. They have a rookie quarterback. By the way, they're so beat up at wide receiver. They're bringing guys off the street right now. They just made a trade with Tennessee. They don't have any receivers. They're going to face the bears in cold Chicago. And Sam Darnold's only a seven-point underdog. Vegas is like, give him a touchdown.

Aaron gets nine and a half. Well, I mean, if they're not telling you that Green Bay doesn't have any players, I don't know what else they have to say. I mean, that is, seriously, nine and a half is what the Buffalo Bills get on the road. And we're in an offensive era where quarterbacks have never been more valuable. So you've got the best one arguably. And Vegas is like, yeah, this is like the bills on the road with the rookie quarterback. Wow. Wow, is all I can say.

What's up, everybody? This John Middlecough on the three and out podcast brought to you by Colin Coward's podcast Network. Collins show, you will like mine. I talk a ton of football tonight, today, whenever you're listening, I'm talking about Eli Manning, he's washed up via Mari Cooper trade from John Grude to Jerry Jones. You know that spicy. He got a lot of opinions on that. You can listen to me wherever you find your podcast. Again, John Middlecough, the three and out podcast. Let's go via the coward global satellite network to Albert Breer, senior NFL reporter at the Monday Morning quarterback. It's great seeing you. But let's start with this on the Amari Cooper deal.

What is John Gruden telling you, telling I, telling the football world, moving Mac, moving Amari Cooper. What's he telling us? He's telling us about his roster. And he said this to me in August. He said what he found in January when he got there was gutted. They didn't feel like they were in a position to contend for a championship right now. And so I think we need to stop looking at the Raiders in the context of 2018 because they're looking at the at themselves in the context of 2020. And so if you can do that, then you start to look at Kahliel Mack differently, you start to look at Amari Cooper differently. Logistically, they just weren't going to give Mack the guaranteed money that he wanted. And so by definition, he wasn't going to be there in 2020.

And they liked Amari Cooper. They just don't like him at what he's going to cost in a year or two. He, of course, is going to cost $14 million in that option next year. And then you put him out on the free agent market before the 2020 season. And he's bound to make $16, $18 million just based on his draft position. You can see that in what Sammy Watkins got last off season. And so I think that John Gruden arrived there feeling like the team needed to go through a full rebuild. And so when he looks at some players in his roster that have some trade value and he says, this guy probably isn't going to be here in a couple of years, you can understand why that would motivate him to see what he can get for those guys. And clearly he got a lot of value for both. Now, I think all of us,

believe we would like the Amari Cooper deal for Dallas for a third rounder. We'd love it. For a second rounder, we'd be more comfortable. But the Seahawks Dynasty didn't have a first round pick for three years right in the middle of it. The Rams didn't have a first or second this year. A lot of good teams, Kansas City, Philadelphia didn't have first round picks this year. You can win a lot of games if you feel that, like for instance, the Cowboys. I don't think they have a ton of needs, but they have a huge need-wide receiver in the NFL and 28. 18. So I'm okay with a move. But, you know, Amari Cooper, there's a real divide here on he's not the player we thought. What do your sources and scouts say about him as a player?

Okay. So his character was clean coming out of Alabama, a hard worker, a program guy, all that different stuff. He gets to Oakland his first two years. There's a guy there named Bill Musgrave. He's an offensive coordinator in 2015 and 16. This guy is tough to play for, Colin, just like Nick Saban, and Amari Cooper in that environment, Purdue. Bill Musgrave gets fired after 2016, what happens? Well, I think in that building in general, and this hit Derek Carr as well, there's a little bit of a substitute teacher effect on everyone there. And I think there were some problems with Amari Cooper's work habits. And the hope was bringing in John Gruden that that would change in 2018. And they have seen a little difference. It's just not consistent. And so the work

habit issue existed there in 2017. It came back in 2018. It's been in and out a little bit. They've been in and out with his practice performance. And of course, now you see the inconsistency in game action as a result. And so the hope here for Dallas is that the change of scenery is going to help him. They're very aware of all this. They've got a guy in their building in Doug Nussmeyer, who was his offensive coordinator at Alabama. Yeah. They've got some good recon there on who he is as a person. He's not a bad guy. Nobody would ever tell you that Amari's a bad guy, but his work habits have been an issue over the course of the last two years. And the hope now in Dallas is that as a 24-year-old receiver, being traded, will make the light turn on.

And he'll go back to being the type of player that he was two years ago. Let me throw this at you. The bears were aggressive with Khalil Mack. The lions are aggressive with Snacks Harrison. The Vikings were aggressive with Kirk Cousins. And here's Green Bay with Aaron Rogers, a nine and a half point dog to the Rams, Vegas is telling you, they don't have good players. Do you think they'll make a move at the deadline? Are you surprised at their kind of passive nature

as everybody in their divisions going hyper-aggressive? Well, I wouldn't rule it out. I mean, I think one thing you got to remember, there's been a point of frustration for Aaron Rogers over the last few years. They didn't feel like they had been aggressive historically in bringing in veteran players. That was under Ted Thompson. Now they've got a new general manager in there.

Brian Goodick-Cunz, who came up in that system, but has by reputation a little bit more of an aggressive streak to him. And you see the way he moved up and down the draft board. Now, of course, they pick up the extra first round pick for 2019. That's capital. They're very aggressive in moving up and down the draft board on draft day. And they did bring in some veteran players this year. They brought in Jimmy Graham.

They brought in Muhammad Wilkerson. And so there was some aggression during the off season. I would not rule out the Packers doing something between now and next Tuesday. I'm not saying it's going to happen. I'm just saying that organizationally, they're a lot more open to that sort of thing now that Brian Gutakunst is in charge. And again, maybe it doesn't manifest over the next week or so, but I think you will see it over the next couple of years and how the Packers operate as Aaron Rogers moves into his late 30. I've been asking everybody that comes on the show about Lavin Bell, could I make the argument, they're going to get a superstar component to an already good offense with fresh legs, no miles on the tires, and it's all going to work out fine, and Connor will be a backup,

and he is exactly what takes them over a Kansas City, over in New England, that in a weird way, this is all going to work out for the Steelers. I think this has worked out for everybody. I mean, I honestly do. I mean, and look, we have to move the money part of it out, you know, because I don't think it was smart for a Levyon Bell to pass up money that's not going to be coming back. I don't think there's this huge pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for him either. But if you just want to look at it logistically now and what this looks like for the rest

of the year. Yeah, I mean, they know what James Connor is now. They probably wouldn't have this amount of volume of answers on what he is as a player if Levyon Bell had reported on time. And on the flip side, from Levy on Bell's standpoint, what's his concern been the last two months? His concern over the last two months was that he's going to put more mileage on his body and at the running back position. That's a tough thing to do when you're playing for a contract. What happens now? Well, he steps back in there and obviously they can use him in a million different ways, but they can also spell him. He can be part of a platoon. They know that James Connor can help them be a little bit more dangerous and bury their attack a little bit more. So

Bell, I think, gets to save some miles on his body going forward to, in addition to what he's already saved, because they know how to use Connor now. And, you know, again, for the Steelers, I think this is adding another weapon to an already very good offense that's learned to play without him. So offensively, they're going to be great. The bigger questions for the Steelers, of course, Colin, or where they have been over the last five years, which is on the defensive side of the ball. By the way, I'll just throw this at you. People are saying, ooh, the Eagles are interested.

Well, wait a minute. The one thing the Eagles wouldn't have in a trade that the Steelers need is secondary help. And right now the Eagles have one guy they trust in the secondary. I don't buy the Eagle thing because what Pittsburgh does well is Rush the Pashler. Okay. Philadelphia has got surplus of that, but nothing else defensively. I don't think, I don't think that the running back position is a priority right now for the Eagles. Not to say they might not pick up someone with a mid-round pick, but historically they don't value running backs at that level.

They like depth. They like volume at running back, but they don't, historically, again, they don't go all in on running backs. And internally, I'm just telling you they do not view running back as their top need. Right now, their biggest problems are at offensive tackle, which that is what it is, that those positions, they've invested in Lane Johnson and Jason. and Peters, those guys aren't performing to the level of their contract. Got some depth issues at receiver. The big place where I think they could make a move

is in that secondary. The other round Ronald Darby haven't played to the level they thought they would, and Rodney Cloud got hurt at safety. And so the Eagles are going to make a move. I know it's you know, Levy on Bell is like the shiny thing out there. The Eagles are going to make a move. I think it comes in the secondary. This is why we

bring him on. He's got great information, incredible contacts at MMQB lead content guy, senior NFL reporter, trust his words. He's always right. Albert Breyer, good talking to you, bud. All right, thanks, Colin. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Okay, according to Vegas, Luke Walton is the top betting odds for the first NBA coach to be fired over Tom Thibodeau and Fred Hoyberg and Billy Donovan and Scott Brooks and Terry Stott's and Tyron Lou. Let me defend Luke Walton here. He's not the problem. When Luke Walton had stars in Golden State, remember that?

Steve Kerr, back surgery left. He went 39 and 4. That's a higher win percentage than Steve Kerr had that year. Number one. Number two is he won 35 games of the Lakers last year in the West. With major injuries and babies. The veteran on the team last year was KCP, who, by the way, was on house arrest for a month.

Westbrook, Mello, Stephen Adams, Paul George, won 48 games. Lakers 1 35 in the West. How? I have no idea. I mean, it was like babies. Okay, Luke Walton's not the issue. And here's something I always look at. Do you make players better? Brad Stevens, to me, is the best coach in the NBA. Jay Crowder, Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, play great with Brad Stevens. They leave Brad Stevens. They're not the same player. That tells you that Brad Stevens a good coach. By the way, Quinn Snyder's a great coach. Joe Ingalls was a bounce around guy from Australia. He averages 20 a game with Quinn Snyder.

He's a 25 and 5 guy. Joe Ingalls was just a bounce around cash a paycheck, 10-day contract guy. He gets into Quinn Snyder system. He's a real threat. He's a 20-point-of-game guy. You better be guarding Joe Ingalls. Okay, everybody that's played with Luke Walton gets better. Jordan Clarkson had people fooled for three years.

people were like, Jordan Clarkson should be starting. He went to Cleveland, left Luke Walton. Now he's got one of the worst contracts in the league. Can't play. So I always look, do players get better with you? Are they their best with you? Brad Stevens, you can't even argue. I mean, Jay Crowder, Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, like everybody.

Everybody's better. And the Joe Ingalls in Utah, he's like a borderline all-star. There are nights that he's the most dangerous guy on the floor for either team. Okay? Players play good with everybody they give him. Kuzma, Josh Hart, Lonzo Ball.

They all play well. All these babies. They're all better than we thought. And then, and Brandon Ingram, everybody's getting better. Jordan Clarkson. By the way, people out here loved in L.A.

loved Nance. He goes to Cleveland. He's a guy. And here, you know, Luke is young. He played in the league. He's cerebral. LeBron likes thinkers.

Remember, when LeBron went to Miami, He didn't know about Eric Spolstra. Spolstra was like Luke Walton. But D. Wade was like Duke and coach. So D. Wade had Spolstra's back and then LeBron bought into him. Magic Johnson needs to have Luke's back. Luke's not the problem. Now, I thought he was over hype when he got the job.

Y'all made him out to be Phil Jackson. Luke's not the issue. He's young. He's not rigid. He is smart. He's a thinker. He gets personnel and people get better. He's not perfect.

but I mean folks the fact they won 35 games last year and their veteran was KCP I mean drop the mic walk off the stage I think it's pretty obvious that magic has Luke's back based off of the comments from LeVar and everything that happened last year yes so it's pretty obvious that Luke is backed by the organization but that was pre-lebron james and we know how LeBron has say of personnel I don't I think it's just ridiculous that Luke's job is even is even in question But the Lakers are not the type of organization to just fire a coach in the middle of the season. We couldn't figure it out before the season started. They got issues.

It's called lack of three-pointers. They need shooters. They don't need a new coach. Exactly. Exactly. What are the wise guys where? I get asked that from time to time. The answer is the new gear from theherdnow.com merchandise store.

We are now officially open for business. We have all the apparel, diehard herd herd fans need to represent the show. Go to theherdnow.com. If you don't, that's a you problem. and that's a you problem is one of our shirts. Check it out. Theherdnow.com. Theherdnow.com store is open for business today.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. and we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves.

Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite.

Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 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... They know these kids. This linebacker whops up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42.

Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, 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 funny. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow.

Then after that game seven, Marquis come in to him, 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.