The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 11/08/2018

Episode Date: November 8, 2018

Colin is impressed with how good LeBron and the Lakers are playing after just 11 games considering how bad some of the other teams LeBron contemplated joining are doing. He thinks the Eagles are ready to absolutely crush the Cowboys on Sunday night. Plus, Greg Cosell of NFL Films explains to Colin how Dez Bryant will fit in with the Saints and why Cam Newton has been so good this year. 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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you just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark, keep coming until he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs.

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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 Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. This is the herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. We are live in Los Angeles. Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio on FS1, Joy Taylor, joining me on a Thursday. Great game tonight. Cam Newton, Panthers.

Now go on the road for the next month. Pittsburgh tonight starts it off. That is a great, that's probably the best Thursday night game on paper that we've ever had. It's great to have everybody in today. How are you, Joy? I'm doing great. Good morning. It was not just a win for LeBron last night.

It was symbolic, and I'll tell you why. Lakers beat the T-Wolves. For about five years, and myself included, we've been waiting for the T-Wolves to explode, right? Man, they got Andrew Wiggins, and they got Carl Anthony Towns, and Jimmy Butler and Tibbs. and we're like waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting and it's getting worse before it gets better and now Jimmy Butler wants out and you think you think it's easy

to put players together but it's not and LeBron James now in game 11 for the Lakers made the right choice the young players hitting threes last night Tyson Chandler introduced key down the stretch Lakers have yet to whiff on a draft pick with Magic and Rob Polinka. They've actually just got gem after gem after gem. Rondo's played well.

Javelle McGee has been fantastic. Tyson Chandler came yesterday. LeBron made the right choice. He chose the right brand. He chose the right GM. He chose the right star magic. He made the right decision. Isn't it ironic that when you think about LeBron's lowest point,

two words pop up, the decision? But it's ironic, he always makes the right decision. Think about the teams this offseason that were interested in LeBron. The Houston Rockets wanted LeBron. But LeBron knew it wasn't right. Hardin can be at times hard to play with. He plays no defense. Trevor Areza was leaving town.

Chris Paul, last five years has gotten hurt. And so LeBron, yes, I'm very interested in the Rockets. passed their own fort home. Rockets are a mess. The Philadelphia Sixers. LeBron did not want to offend Ben Simmons and Joel Embed. So he feigned interest in the Sixers. But LeBron knew that Markell Fultz was a bust.

He is. He knew that Simmons and Embed do not get along. They don't. Have you watched the Sixers under 500 in the Eastern Conference? They're not right. by the way Cleveland tried to keep LeBron and he publicly said all the right stuff but they're now the worst team in the NBA at 1 and 10

and it's not even close Cleveland was an old pessimistic hopeless future the Lakers are deep a combination of veterans and young guys and LeBron they are now playing well third win in four

the schedule gets incredibly easy over the next two and a half weeks. Orlando a couple of times, Sacramento, home with Portland, Cleveland, Atlanta, Miami. Oh, they're through their rough stretch of the schedule. They're through San Antonio. They're through all those road games. Portland twice on the road.

Now they come to L.A. Lakers are top three in scoring, top three in field goal, percentage. The Staples Center is sold out. The atmosphere is fantastic and the calves are a mess. Even when LeBron early in his career was in Cleveland for seven years and you banged on him for the decision, he made the right decision. He left Cleveland was the worst team in the league. And he won some titles in Miami. And when he left Miami, you're like, whoa, what are you doing? He knew that D. Wade was falling apart physically. He knew Chris Bosch was falling apart physically. And what's Miami been since?

And he left Cleveland and they're once again the worst team in operation in the league. And the Lakers are one piece away. He chose Magic. He chose Polinka. He chose this young roster. And I'm watching them last night. They're not a great team.

They need one more great piece. But they'll get it. Anthony Davis, perhaps. They'll get it. But we always bang on LeBron because of the decision. He's the old corporate CEO with a lot of money, and he chose the right startup. The Sixers have a nice nickname, but Fultz is a bust. Simmons doesn't shoot and doesn't get along with Embedon.

You can see it on the floor. You can see it on the floor. Chris Paul and the Rockets now, don't defend. He saw it before it happened. Cleveland was awful and would erode when he left. He saw it. He saw Wade and Bosch physically falling apart. LeBron always makes the right decision, always sees what's happening before it happens.

He's just doing it a different way now. He used to be ball-centric. He's not as ball-centric now. He's had to watch players develop. He never liked young guys. He chose a team with four or five young guys. So it's going to take a little while. It's going to take a few steps.

But they brought in Tyson Chandler. High IQ veteran made huge plays last. night another clever move by magic polinka and lebron and they all had us saying it here was lebron after the win when you add a veteran like that who's experienced a lot they are able to pick up on things very fast and um you know and you know for us to be able to get Tyson and to have that one-two punch with javel and tyson those guys create extra opportunities for us and you know what i mean the way de rose was shooting the ball towards the end we needed every last one of those offensive rebounds and it allowed us to win the game.

Let's shift to the NFL. Yesterday at the beginning of our show, a story broke, the New Orleans Saints had acquired high-maintenance Des Bryant. Ooh, wow. You know, in football, NFL, we always talk about culture. The Patriots have the right culture. You want to build the right culture. Cleveland's got a bad culture,

and the lions have a bad culture. But they like the Rams are building the new fun culture. Culture's a big thing. You know what the new culture in the NFL for good teams is? The go-for-it culture. Des Bryant's high-maintenance. Saints are this close to winning it all. Go for it.

Josh Gordon's got an ugly resume. Patriots this close. Rams look really good. Let's bring in headcase Dante Fowler. Eagles, we got to get this right. Michael Bennett outspoken. Can be high maintenance. Drew Brees talked about Des

yesterday. It is officially in New Orleans and L.A. and New England the go-for-it culture. He likes Des. I've heard a lot of great things about him. I think he'll add a good element to already a pretty good cast of skill players. Des has been a really good player in this league for a long time. And there is certainly a skill set that he has

that is going to be beneficial. And so I look forward to getting to work with them. forward to building a rapport with him. I think he'll be a great addition. Okay, we talk about, look at the pattern in the NFL. Really good teams making a change, kind of a risky change. There are nine teams now. I think Carolina moved into our Super Bowl bubble, nine teams that can win it.

Well, what do you know? What do they all have in common? Houston Texans in the bubble brought in a new wide receiver to Mario Thomas, New England, Demarius Thomas, New England in the bubble, brought in Josh Gordon. Okay, Pittsburgh in the bubble, Lavian Bell, Saints in the bubble, Des Bryant, Carolina in the bubble,

like their team last year, brought in Norv Turner. Kansas City, by the way, tried to trade for Earl Thomas, broke his leg, or they would have added a safety. Philadelphia, Michael Bennett in the offseason, and now wide receiver, Golden Tate. Rams Dante Fowler in the offseason troubled Marcus Peters and Dominican Zoo. Like you're seeing it now, you start looking.

By the way, the chargers thought they were close. Pouncy, center. Like you see the teams in the bubble. We always talk about culture and football. The new culture is the go for it culture. Is that if you're inches away, these windows like the Seattle Seahawks, they close in like two months. You think you're there and you're not there.

And all the, there's only nine teams left to me that can win the Super Bowl. These teams look different. Now, I don't feel as good about, let's say, Houston as I do the Chiefs, the Rams, the Saints, or New England. I don't feel quite as good about Carolina as I do the Patriots or the Eagles. But that move yesterday, I said, you're just looking to get inches better. Don't even need feet inches better. T.J. Hushmanzada loves Des to the Saints.

If Des is anything like I think he is, I think he's going to light it up. He's playing with Drew Brees. You give a little bit of separation to balls on the money. You get to the playoffs, they're going to stop. They're not going to let Michael Thomas do what the rounds did on Sunday. They're not going to allow that. And when Kamar comes into the game, they normally run him on toss plays outside or give him options, you know, to go in and out in the past.

game. They're going to stop that. Teams are going to shut that down and force you to go to Benjamin Watson or forced you to go to the other receiver to Ricky Smith. That's going to be Des Bryant now. He can get open and win. Golden Tate to Philly, Des Bryant, Josh Gordon, isn't it interesting that some of the

high-maintenance guys, major risk guys, play huge roles down the stretch in the national football league. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio F.S1 and the I Hard Radio app.

I've had a very good year Blazing 5, 4 and 1 last week. It's the hottest I've ever been. I've already got my picks in for this week. It's the hottest we've been. I don't predict blowouts much. I always tell people who bet football. Just get rid of the words great and terrible.

There's very few great teams in the NFL. Patriots are really good. They're not all-time great, and there's very few terrible teams. You know, Buffalo's clearly not good, and the Jets now won't be very good without Sam. Arnold. But the point being is it's smushed together. You'll see Carolina at Pittsburgh tonight. There's just a bunch of good NFL players. It's going to be a

close football game. I'd probably take Caroline in the points. But I'm going to predict a blowout this weekend. And Vegas doesn't think it's going to be a blowout, but I think it's going to be a blowout. The Philadelphia Eagles host the Dallas Cowboys this weekend. And Zechiel Elliott said yesterday, he was quoted saying, it is a must win. No, this is a can't win for Dallas. Philadelphia is off a buy. Well-coached teams off a buy win. Philadelphia is at home.

It's one of the better home field advantages. The Cowboys have been a lousy road team. Carson Wentz is healthy. This team's off a win and feels good about itself. And they've added Golden Tate and they're getting healthy. Listen, three quarterbacks in this league are young and, mega talented. And they have all followed the same trajectory this year.

Andrew Luck came into the year. We weren't sure about his health, not 100%. Five, six weeks later, have you watched Andrew Luck lately? Guys, second in the league in touchdown passes. That's unbelievable considering what he's playing with. Deshawn Watson came into the league off an injury, little beat up, not good in September. Have you watched Deshaun Watson in the last month? Uh-oh, he's real good.

and Carson Wentz. Luck, Deshawn and Wentz. Wentz coming off an injury. Like luck. Like Deshawn Watson. Wens didn't look great in September. Have you watched him in the last four games? Pass a rating in each over 115.

This is not a must win for Dallas. This is a can't win for Dallas. Blood is in the water. I'll make the prediction right now. The three and five Dallas Cowboys who have head coaching, drama who have quarterback drama. They go to Philadelphia loss, to Atlanta loss, Washington at home loss, Saints at home loss, Philadelphia at home loss.

I think Dallas is going to go on a five-game losing street, at least four of five. And I think Philadelphia is going to win for their next five. I don't predict blowouts. There is blood in the water here. This line opened it, opened at four, four and a half. and the wise guys in Vegas bet that puppy up immediately. The Eagles get the Cowboys at Home win. Saints on the road, coin flip.

Giants at Home win, Redskins at Home win, Dallas on the Road win. And don't underestimate that win by Philadelphia in London against Jacksonville. That was a do-or-die game for Jacksonville. Jacksonville's second home is London. They play there every year. For Philadelphia, that was a road game and they were fantastic. And Fletcher Cox, a great NFL player, offered a warning for the rest of the NFL. What's the message to the rest of the NFL after that defensive stand here today?

They've been warned. Yeah, they've been warned. Here they come. I think Dallas is going to get smoke this weekend. And I do not predict that, Joey. You've been here. I don't predict blowouts. I think, I think.

Well, you really, you really shouldn't predict blowouts. There's always some fight left in a team that's really desperate and has talent on it and knows that they're seeing. season is on the line. But I think I'm going to agree with this one. There's three teams with three young quarterbacks, all those quarterbacks coming off injury. Have you watched the Colts, the Texans, and the Philadelphia Eagles? All those quarterbacks now are rolling.

Here come the Colts. Here come the Texans. And this weekend's the start of it. Here come the Eagles. You've been warned. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. So Cam Newton plays tonight.

And people think Colin you're very critical of Cam. But I want to ask you something. If you think of the quarterbacks, I want you to think of the quarterbacks that I tend to favor a lot and the quarterbacks that I've been critical of. So here are the four quarterbacks. I think we would all agree that I've been very favorable with over the last a love fest. Brady, Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson, and Breeze. Those are my guys. Those are my guys.

Brady, Breeze, Andrew Luck, and Russell Wilson. Those are my guys. Here's the guys I've been pretty critical of. Aaron Rogers, Cam Newton, Baker, Mayfield, and James Winston. And what is it? Is it a short thing? Is it, well, Colin, what do you? No.

I like low maintenance. Boring in front of a mic, even keel, we not me, take blame, give credit guys. Russell Wilson, Andrew Luck, Brady Breeze. What I don't like is overly dramatic, constantly Aaron Rogers exasperated, passive aggressive shots in the offseason. They say I'm a wee guy, but a lot of times they're kind of me guys. And that brings me to Cam Newton tonight. I think Carolina can win the game.

For years and years, I've been very, very tough on Cam Newton. And then he won the MVP. And everybody said, you're wrong. And I said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You just watch the following season. He'll go back to be in Cam. This year, though, is the most impressive Cam I've seen. I'm calling it his MVP season.

It's the most valuable Cam I've ever seen. even when he won the MVP, he was loud and quotable. He was flashy and not precise. Look at me. Anybody noticed this year? He is now precise and accurate. Fewest interceptions of his career. He's not really quotable.

He's more adult. He makes better decisions. People are always trying to figure out why you like this guy and why you hate that guy. Wilson, Brady, Breeze, luck. boring adults don't get the roller coaster ride emotionally Rogers exasperated Cam roller coaster Baker Mayfield grabbing junk

James Winston just grabbing all the wrong stuff folks it's always been about that and nothing more I like my presidents to be presidential not a huge fan of the guy in office, and I like my quarterbacks to be quarterbackial. This is the best cam I've ever seen. I'm ready to jump on board if this is the new cam

because I'm getting all the size and all the leadership and all the toughness and all the mobility and all the arm straight. And I'm getting none of the roller coaster ride. I think it's a great game tonight. If you were a better, I'd take Carolina and the points. MVC is better, in my opinion, than three years ago, the MVP. 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. All right, let's go to Greg CoSell, NFL meat sandwich, 30 plus years NFL films. Greg, you know, we were talking about Tom Brady, and, you know, I just don't buy into the, you know, the system quarterback thing. Although I do think if you put Drew Breeze, where Tom. is, you know, I think he'd have a lot of success. When I got into a discussion the other day about Tom, and I asked Hugh Jackson about this off the air, I said, you faced Tom Brady many times. What does he do athletically that's special?

And, you know, one of the things he said is, first of all, he's bigger than you think. When you walk up to Tom Brady, he's all a six, four and a half, six, five. And he said the second thing is, he throws a really good football. When you watch him on tape, if you didn't know it was Tom Brady, what jumps? out to you? I'm not talking about leadership, but what jumps out to you physically? What you Jackson said as the second thing, he throws a really good ball. And it sort of became gospel early in his career that he doesn't have a big arm. And a big arm is a relative thing. You know, his arm is not Matthew Stafford's arm, let's say. But he throws a really good ball.

And you know that, too, just by common sense, by where he plays. And the fact that in November and December and January, his ball cuts through the wind. Yes, it does. You know, so he throws a really good ball with a bigger arm and a better arm than people probably think. Yeah. But I would also say that what makes him really good, apart from the mental, which is very critical, but let's leave that aside for the moment, is I think his ability to work within the pocket and navigate the pocket is outstanding. You know, we're not talking about being able to run a fast 40 or run. Or outside the pocket and throw on the run. I'm talking about the ability to work really effectively with, believe it or not,

relatively light feet in an area, let's say, the size of or a little smaller than a boxing ring. Yeah, no, that's well. He slides very well. He's got an intuitive sense of pressure, which the great ones generally do have. You know, I was watching the Packers this last week, and just an eye test. They don't do a lot of motion. They don't look as clever as the Rams.

They don't look as sharp as the bears. You know, we've talked about Aaron Rogers, ad-libbing sometimes too much, holding the ball too much. When I watch the Packers, is some of this on McCarthy that they just, the eye test is, Aaron has to provide the special and the creative. I don't see a lot of creative out of their offense. That's what my eyes tell me. Well, let me ask you this. You know, obviously they won a Super Bowl.

And I can't remember everything they did six or seven years ago, I'm sure you can either. But my guess is that Mike McCarthy, because he has a definite philosophy of how to play offensive football, hasn't changed dramatically. So if that's the case, then, you know, what is ultimately changed? You know, I'm not sure exactly had to answer that. I think the Packers, over the last number of years, have not been very committed to running the football. I think they were more so back a number of years ago when you think about those two or three years consecutively that Ryan Grant had where I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I bet he had

230, 240 carries and he was used essentially as a feature back. I don't think they've been running that style of offense in recent years. Speaking of the Bears, John Fox was there with Trubisky, and now it's Matt Nagy. Are they doing things? Because right now,

I think the Bears are better than the Packers, and I know them in the minority. Are they doing things offensively, which you believe are absolutely elevating Trubisky? They're averaging 13 more points a game. What is he doing to a quarterback I see with a very low ceiling? Well, I think what, and the good I present define reads based on their route concepts versus anticipated coverages. That's essentially what the really good coordinators and head coaches do on the offensive side of the ball. Because it's all about understanding the rules of the defense and breaking down the

rules of the defense, particularly zone coverage. And I think if you do that for a young quarterback, you present define reads and therefore define throws. And by NFL standards, you make it relatively easier. Yeah. Troy Eggman came out this week and used the word overhaul and dysfunction. Dysfunction, I think I see a lot of that with the Yankees and Manchester United and any major brand, New York sports teams, wealth creates power struggles. And so there's probably some dysfunction with the biggest NFL brand, second biggest

brand in the world of Real Madrid. or Manchester United. But as far as overhaul, I would disagree with Aikman. When I watch the Cowboys on television, I see a lot of things I like. I like their linebackers. I like their edge rushers. I like their left tackle. I mean, when you look at the Cowboys personnel-wise, is it an overhaul situation? Well, now here's what I'm very anxious to see. They just traded for Amari Cooper. This is an offense that predominantly runs what I call individual isolation routes. meaning they're asking their receivers, particularly against man coverage, to win and get open.

Amari Cooper has always been a very good route runner. Now we'll see if he can elevate that style of offense. We can debate whether that's the best way to play offense. That's a philosophy by a coach. But now we'll see if he can elevate the offense because he can win versus man coverage. He had a number of routes in that game on Monday night where he won versus man coverage. And now we'll get a better feel for Dak Prescott and where he is. But I will say this.

It's very easy to say negative things about Prescott. And I don't think he's a top 10 quarterback by any means. But if you decide he's not your quarterback, Colin, and you know this, then you need a quarterback. You've got to line up with somebody. So it's very easy to take a mid-range quarterback in the NFL and say, oh, let's get rid of them. But you still have to line up with someone. Yeah. The Chiefs are putting up historic numbers.

You know, Andy Reid's had teams that are very good early, and they kind of, they, they, they kind of hit a wall later. Do you think they keep this up? Do you see teams on film figuring them out a little? Where does it go from here? Because of the schematics and talent. And I just want to give you one quick example of what I'm talking about. They just played this past week against the Browns.

And Greg Williams plays a ton of cover two when he feels that he can't really match up. So he played a ton of cover two in the first half. And then he came out in the third quarter and immediately jumped to cover three for maybe four yards to DeMarcus Robinson. And the very next play when Andy Reed saw that it was cover three, he called a play that specifically attacked cover three. And it went to Watkins for 23 yards. See, and that's the impact of coaching because he immediately saw the change in the defense and he reacted with a play call that was a clear cover three beater. And that to me says so much about the coaching staff. Well, I mean, let's face it, most of the hot quarterbacks in this league, whether it's Brady with McDaniel, Sean Payton, and Breeze.

Generally, a great play caller is needed more and more so than ever to make the thing click. You know, I'm watching the Chargers this weekend. They're the second team in L.A. And people think because I live in L.A., I'm always hyping up the Chargers. But I've been telling people this all year, I think, now, where the Rams are good, they're very good. but I'm not so sure the Chargers don't have a better roster. They're receiving Corps with Philip Rivers. That back, I got to tell you, I watched them going to Seattle.

That game was not as close as the score, Greg. No. They thumped Seattle. And Pete Carroll's defense had been humming, and they tore them apart. What do you see on film from the Chargers? Well, the Chargers are a team offensively that definitely has every dimension you want in terms of the ability to throw it and then the ability to run it because they can attack vertically. they can attack horizontally and they can run the ball.

And they're a team that does attack vertically. Because they run a ton of seam routes. They run a ton of deep crossers. They have big receivers. They're a difficult team to match up to. It supplements all that. You know, Gordon is an interesting back to me because I'm not sure, even though he did it last year, to some degree,

I'm not sure you want to give him the ball 300 times. I agree. But I think that he can be very effective as a guy who, you know, carries, let's say, 220, 230. He's a very good receiver. and they have Echlor, who's a very important piece of what they do. And Philip Rivers, to me, I don't know your feeling about Rivers, and I don't know whether he'll get into the Hall of Fame,

but I think he's a Hall of Fame-type player. Oh, so do I. He and Carson Palmer are a Hall of Fame-type players, whether they get in or not, that depends on the mood of the voter that day. How surprised are you? The Steelers host, Carolina, tonight. I want to talk about those two teams. How surprised are you?

Now, I knew with DeCastro, I knew the line was good, and I knew their backup, James Connor, would be fine, but his numbers are better than Lavian. Are you surprised by that? Oh, not particularly coming off last year, because one thing about Bell last year, and Bell's a great back. That's not the point, but Bell last year was not a big playback in any way, shape, or form. If I'm not mistaken, he had three rushes of over 20 yards. He was very much of sort of a grinder. And because stylistically, he doesn't look like a grinder.

People don't think of him that way because he's fluid and the way he runs. runs, but Connor, and at the halfway point of this season, Connor leads to the NFL with eight rushes of more than 20 yards. I believe Bell had three all last year. So again, we can debate the traits. That's a different conversation. But for the Steelers, they're getting the production out of the position, and that's what they care about. Yeah. And by the way, the non-star is actually the home run hitter, and the star is the grinder. Right. Yeah. And it usually, you know, we usually think you know the ace on a pitching staff, but right here the number four starter actually throws harder than the ace of the staff.

Now, Cam Newton tonight, you know, you and I both had questions before the season. Is he going to be coachable? He's got a pile of money. He's got all the endorsements. He's on every commercial. I got to tell you, this is the best Cam I have seen. McCaffrey has been terrific. He was nice as a rookie.

Is it Cam? Is it McCaffrey? What's making this offense click? I think its coach has really expanded his thought process, understanding the strengths and limitations at times of his quarterback, and understanding the pressure and stress that the quarterback as a runner puts on a defense and has really incorporated so many dimensions in the run game and backfield actions that make it so hard for defenses. For this team, when you see reverses or things of that nature column, those are not gimmicks for them. That's part of what they do.

And they'll continue to do that. It puts tremendous stress. So what happens is when you force defensive players to be hesitant in their reactions, then it defines throws much more cleanly for the quarterback. So Cam has a lot of throws in games where the receivers are open. And that takes nothing away from Cam. But it's really well-schemed and difficult to defend, very difficult to prepare for. Yeah, I was saying the other day,

they're like that college football team that, you know, like Navy, that comes in and runs a different offense. everybody on your schedule. Carolina's offense just looks different than everybody else. It's very clever. And if you played two or three teams and vertical teams and you're running to them, it's hard. In a playoff game, if you had a buy and you had two weeks, it's different.

I think it's very hard to prepare for this team, especially on a short week. Like Georgia Tech. Yes. Running for 465 against Louisville without a passing yard. It's a little bit of that, although we know Cam can throw. By the way, Des Bryant, when I think of Des Bryant, when I think of Des Bryant, I don't think of separation. I think of a big receiver who wins a one-on-one battle.

Right. Now, that's what I think of him. When I think of Moss, and I think of, you know, a guy that's pulling away from people and is open. I think of Des is winning a battle. Well, Breeze is very accurate. So I think Breeze and Bryant work. Your thoughts? Well, I would respond a little differently.

I do think they work, and I think they work because I think the Saints are outstanding at scheming matchups. Rear Des needs to be schemed. I think one reason he wouldn't work in doubt. Dallas is what I said earlier when we spoke about the Cowboys is they rely very much on their receivers winning individual routes. And I don't think Des is at that point in his career right now. I think he needs to be helped by the scheme and the design. And they do that exceptionally well.

That happens a lot with Michael Thomas. They get him matched up, let's say, from the inside slot working against linebackers. You know, and I think that's where Des is. And I think that's why he can be a factor. Think about Marcus Colston in his prime where he literally lined up almost like a, detached, tight end, you know, flexed, and he was working against linebackers and safety most of the time. Yeah, good stuff.

Greg Kossel, 30-plus years, NFL films. Good talking to you. All right, Colin. Thank you. 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. Almost two decades in the NBA, 19 NBA seasons. Anytime he wants to be a broadcaster, he can be.

He's from my hometown, Pacific Northwest. Jason. The Jet. Terry on the show today. Hello, George. How are you doing? Look at that. A title, Arizona, national title.

Not a lot of guys have done that, by the way. Not a lot of guys have done that. Not a lot of. Put that mic right up there. How are you doing? I'm doing well. It's great to have you here. Thanks for having me.

You know, Northwest guys got to stick together. No doubt. Got to stick together. So he did a game. So Joy and I disagree. We don't disagree in a lot. But we disagreed on something today. So the NBA last year didn't televise selecting the All-Star game.

Because they didn't want to embarrass players. Steph had to choose like four Warriors. And I'm like, televise the thing. It'd be great. We're going to be so much fun. We want to see the process. I want to see the process. I'm not a guy that always wants to see the process, but they're all great.

Yeah, no doubt. Okay. So I'm going to play a game. I played this with Broussard. All right. So because and Joy's theory is actually really good. Joy says, listen. if you're going to televise it,

televise the starting fives. Just don't show the reserves. Because in the starting fives, they're all zillionaires. They won't get their feelings to her, right? You're right. Ego comes in. You start getting down to like the 22nd pick.

Right. Well, I just think it's an honor to be an all-star. And you know, you find out you're going to be an all-star. That's a cool thing. It goes on your resume. You know, when you retire, people are going to introduce you as an NBA All-Sar. You know, if you've never won a champion,

It's something that matters in your career to make it to the All-Star game. And then you get the anxiety of are you going to be the last pick in the All-Star draft? Yeah, I mean, it's the same feeling if you were at like 24-hour fitness. And they're like, okay, yeah, I got you. Yeah, I got you, I got you. And then the last little dude with the goggles, the high socks and the

whole world is watching and then they get to feel about it. Yeah. Okay, let's play game. Let's do it. Whole MBA, Jet, you and me. You go first. You pick a play. Now it's just televised. I'm first. I'll let you go for you're the, you're the guest in the house. You go first, you get Easter Western Conference. Can we have some music for this?

That is a lot of pressure. Put a Cardi B song on since Joy loves her so much. I do love Cardi B. Okay, here we go. Number one. Number one. Who you got? James Hardin, because I know he's watching.

Somebody said, oh. I'm going to go LeBron. You're going LeBron. Yeah. I go Janus Ante Cumpra. So you give me KD? But I'll take Steph. Okay.

All right. Hold on. Hold on. Slow down a little bit. I'm going to go Anthony Davis. Oh, I knew you were going to do that. Okay. I'm going Westbrook.

You're going to have Westbrook and Steph in the same back court? He is never going to pick Westbrook ever. I could just stop picking players. I haven't won the thing. All right, hold on. You got Hardin-Yonna, Steph Westbrook. I got LeBron KD, Anthony Davis. Now, I'm going to make a, I actually love Clay,

but I don't want you to take Kauai who could guard my guy. So I'm going to take Kauai Leonard. I see what you did there. I was definitely going Kauai next. But I'm going to go young. I'm going to go Juel and B. Okay. You got a lot of ego on your team.

A lot. I love it. Okay, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to go again. I need a shooter. I'm going to go Kyrie Irving. Now we get one bench play. Okay, so let's look at our starting five right now.

Let's look at it. So you got Harden, your back court has only one ball. He's the MVP. You got Harden, Yonis, Steph, Westbrook, and Embed. I got LeBron, DeRant, Anthony Davis, Kauai, and Kyrie, one bench player. Now, what do you need right now? You need a passer. What do you need?

All my guys average 10 assists a game. Yeah. All three of them. Okay, who you got? Off the bench, one bench guy. Off the bench, one guy. Tough. Tough.

DeRosen. Oh, I just whiffed. I whiffed right there. I liked DeRosen. I would have went Lillard. I knew you were going to go with Lillard. You know what? Rose City represented.

So I took Lillard on both my teams. First got the bench. There you go. So your team's got a lot of stuff. Oh, we got a lot. Get a lot of guards. I love it. I think I'd beat you on that one.

Well, we'll see. I don't know. I like how we match up. I mean, you don't have anybody for Embed. Obviously, it's tough on you. I got LeBron and Durant. But then your guard play, I mean, I got three of the most dynamic guards in the game. It is a guards game.

Here's what's funny about it, Jett. So the game is built for guys like you now. Yep. Go back to your first year in the league. Oh. Now tell people that don't remember this. There's people watching our game right now. James Hardin maybe doesn't remember this.

Go back to 1999, your first year in the league. Tell people what the league was like. Hand-checking, one. So if you're a guard and you're built like me 180 pounds, you could not physically get the ball across half court and below the free throw line. So actually, I should have been out casting threes back then because physically I was not able. I mean, they could really restrict you your movement and really hold you down physically.

So you couldn't move. Isolation game. Let's talk about that. You have to keep everybody on one side of the floor and you can just get isolated, isolated on one side, and if you did, they would call it illegal defense. So that, that to me, it was very tough. I mean, you had guys like Allen Iverson. You had guys like Kobe who could just back you down and just take his time.

And if you came to double, you had to really double. If not, real technical. So that was definitely a nuance that was very difficult. Then on every single team, you had to have at least two seven footers. Why? Because of guys like Shaq, Alonzo Morning, these big mammoths of men. men that no one could guard. You needed all the fouls you possibly can have.

Yeah, you need 12, 18 at some teams. Now the game is spacing, cardio, what? Shooting. Shoot it. You can't hand check. In fact, I've argued this. I think I would bring back, you know, like one of the things I love about sports is

rule changes. And I think like in baseball, I'd get rid of the defensive shift. I think it hurts Bryce Harper. I want Bryce Harper on the base as much as I can. Good looking guy. See his face. I want to see the stars on the bases, not lining to right field in the second baseman's there. I would bring back the hand check.

Here's why. It's counterintuitive. People think the hand check is physical. What the hand check would do is keep guards, little guys out of the lane, fewer injuries. Westbrook's hurt. John Wall's hurt. Why? Because when you're an elite shooter, you're an elite athlete guards who are not great shooters,

Wall and Westbrook have to drive to the trees to score. Knockdown hurt. Yes. I think the hand check would keep guards healthier or longer. Like quarterbacks in the NFL? Like to be honest, Jason, you can't stand in front of these guys anymore. No, you can't even stay in front of the big guys. I mean, I named my guy on my team was in beat.

He's crossing guys up like he's Steph Curry out there at times. So, no, definitely bring the hand check back. I think it will, you know, the scores will come down a little bit. And by the way, just a little bit. And it would also, I think, give the bigs a little more relevant. Yes. Let's make centers matter a little. Just a little bit because even in today's defense schematically,

there's a lot of switching going on. So you're going to put my big man on your Steph Curry and not allow him to touch him at all, like let alone move his feet, but he can't touch him. And so there's no advantage to be gained whatsoever with that strategy. And I think for your point is bringing back hand-checking, that's a good one. Now, the other part that I was going to tell you about in our game back then, the physicality. You know, you go to the hole and you thought you were going to duck on somebody,

the next thing you know, you're laying on the ground. Now, in this game, you're out of here. You might get suspended two or three games for that. And so I just think you bring that rule back a little bit. A little more physicality. And that may deter some of those drives to the baskets as well. But now it's just free for all. everybody's driving in. If they don't drive in for a dunk, it's spread outside. And who knows,

the coach may even shoot a three. You can't, you can't stop anybody. By the way, we talked about LeBron. Everybody always talks about the decision. I would argue he's always made the right decision. Wade and Bosch were getting old. He left, and they were too old. And then he left Cleveland. Now they're horrible. When he left Cleveland the first time, they were bad. LeBron's decisions have been pretty good. Now he goes to the Lakers. There's a bunch of young guys. Of all their young players, Kuzma Ingram, Lanzo Hart. Is there one young guy you think will emerge as the guy? No.

And this is why I say so. It's because as long as LeBron is there, he's the guy. He's not going to allow any one of those guys to emerge. Now, that is part of his greatness. He makes everyone on his team better. But when you talk about emerging to become a star, you got a guy like Lanzo Ball. We know the expectations of him.

Kyle Kuzma, yeah, he's played well last year, but look at him this year with LeBron, not the same player. Then Brandon Ingram, they have gone above and beyond to feature Ingram late in ball games to feature them early, and it just hasn't worked out. And so I just think the LeBron factor is there. One, he's ball dominant, which we know. Yeah, he's ball dominant. Yeah, and so it doesn't allow those other guys to play. The other thing I look at from a Lakers perspective is, are you in when now, or are we going to do what we got to do to develop our talent? because if we're developing our talent,

Lonzo Ball cannot go a game where he doesn't finish. Through his failures is where he's going to gain a lot of experience and his confidence. And so I just think if their mission is to develop their young players, they have to let them play. I love Rondo. If we're trying to win now, he's my starting point guard, and I allow him to finish games.

But if this is about developing the young players, those young players have to be on the floor when those games matter. I said before the season, Joy, heard me say this. thought Ingram would emerge as the second best player. I've been really disappointed. He's a little bit of a tease. You know, there's aspects of his game for two and three sets. I'll be like, he looks like Durant. I keep thinking I'm going to get Durant and I don't get it. What are what are players in the NBA saying with Ingram, why isn't he popping? Does he have no dog? No, I mean, well, you've seen the dog. He both threw a punch. Right. Jumped off the top rope through a punch.

But no, I think, again, the similarity, the body type of a Durant, right? is what we all are amazed by. And now that you see him now, it's like he just doesn't have that same handle as KD. Not as good ball handler. Not as good ball handler. I just think physically he needs to get stronger. I mean, they said he worked on it in the offseason,

but you really don't see it, right? I mean, he can rebound a little better. I think from outside, though, range, I would like to see him be a much more consistent three-point threat. He likes to operate in the same areas as LeBron. You know that logo, ISO, a little below the free-thru line. He has good range in there. He's great touch, great feel for the game below the free-thru-line.

But he needs to expand his range. You know, you've been in the NBA a long time, and you look at all these teams. The Kauai Leonard situation's interesting. So Kauai is a little, an enigmatic strong. He's a different personality. And he's in San Antonio. It doesn't work with Pop. And Pops work with everybody.

And it doesn't work. And then he goes to Toronto. And I was in Canada this summer. Vancouver's a great city. And I'm sitting there thinking, man, I'd love to live here. But Toronto gets his reputation as, you know, it's Canadian taxes and it's really cold in the winter. But if Kauai ends up as the number one seed and they beat the Celtics and get to the finals, can you see Kauai staying up north?

I definitely can because winning is a cure all. And it just does something for you. The other part of that is culture. Great culture in San Antonio, a little restrictive. It is a little restrictive. A little restrictive. A little restrictive. especially for a guy like Kauai.

Okay, it worked for him earlier in his years because it gave him discipline. But then he started to grow. But then he started to grow. He wanted to be his own dude. He wants to be his own guy. And Toronto allows him to do so, right? But then it's not overbearing

because you still have Kyle Lowry, you still have Ibaka, you still have a good young team where all the responsibility is not thrust upon him. And so he's allowed to be himself. And I think that's the thing that you see with him up there. He's gotten comfortable with the guys around him.

You heard him. You heard the laugh. Never heard that laugh before. I'm not sure I want to hear it again. But no, he's just being himself, man. And he looks comfortable. And I do hope they make it to the finals. Oh, there it is there.

Okay, let me ask you about Jimmy Butler. Yes. This is a weird situation. I like Jimmy. I've had him on the couch. Little ego, I don't think he's the easiest guy in the world always to play with. Right. But he's in Minnesota.

Carl Anthony Towns, who's kind of regressed a little. Andrew Wiggins is good, but no alpha. I just don't feel the alpha, but he's talented. Right. And Jimmy's there. And I'm thinking to myself, that's great for him. He can be the man. And those guys are 1A and 2, and it's not working.

No. And now Houston comes in and says, we'll give you 4-1s. And Minnesota's like, no. So now I think T-Wolves are being kind of petty. Now, was that, we'll give you 4-1s. Was that like two weeks ago, or was that before last night when they seen Zion Williamson play? Because if any one of those four picks turns out to be that kid, Jimmy will holl at you,

see you in Houston. You think Zion Williams is that good? I'm just saying. What are you saying? all the social media hype before the other night. Okay. And then when I seen this kid, go left, no look, bounce pass on

one bounce straight to his guy. He lays it up. I said, no, that kid's special. He can rebound, he can run, he's fast, he's strong, he's athletic. And if you leave him open, he might just start knocking down that jump shot. Jet, you know what's interesting about this? Everybody keeps telling me he's the second best player on Duke

and here's my thing. No, you said this yesterday. You said it too. No, RJ Barrett. RJ Barrett, everybody. Studd. No, I'm not saying. Okay, I'm not saying he's not a stud. Right.

But when I watch Zion, God doesn't make a lot of those. No, it factor. Six. He's 285. If I'm a general manager, there is no way I'm passing on that kid. Right.

There's no way. Now, the other kid is a really special player, but he's not a 285-pound 17-year-old. No doubt. I can't pass on. him. College basketball is so excited that there is a one and done rule because when this kid leaves, he will break every record and hopefully not every backboard that is left in college basketball.

I mean, if you watched him play last night, there's nothing or no team on Division I level that is going to be able to stop this key. He's like Larry Johnson, but I think a little better ball handler maybe. Definitely a better ball handler from end to end. Yeah. Definitely just as tough. Yeah, that's a great comparison. Great comparison.

I covered Larry at you and L.B. Great comparison. But again, Larry did have a nice handle too. He had a nice handle. So I'd have to go back and watch some more film, but definitely a great comparison. You wouldn't give, would you take this kid number one? I'm definitely taking him number one. I'm the same one.

For sure. I know everybody keeps telling me. You'd have to do that after one game, but if he keeps this up consistently for the rest of the season and on into the ACC where we know it gets a little bit tougher, he's number one pick. Man, it's great seeing you. You too. You know, there's always available. it's always available for good broadcasters. Fox treats its people right.

A lot of places don't treat their people right. John, how do they treat you over here? Fantastic. Yeah. I used to work other places. It was very nice here. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

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