The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 11/18/2019

Episode Date: November 18, 2019

Colin says the Cowboys remind him of the Golden State Warriors when they had Mark Jackson as their head coach and it's not a good sign for Jason Garrett. He is not all that concerned about the Patriots despite another poor offensive performance against the Eagles. He thinks Tua Tagovailoa breaking his hip might have really helped his NFL career and explains why. Plus, 4x Pro Bowl QB Michael Vick talks about Lamar Jackson's impressive performance against the Texans and what he likes about Dak Prescott. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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this is clivert taylor the fourth and on my podcast the clivert show i'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff like being an internet famous referee we're in the middle of a game this linebacker this linebacker walks up to me he goes a ref my mom wants you to wave at her what Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Rhett, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening to the best of, Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday. From 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1, find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartreport.

Radio app by searching Herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go on a Monday, live in Los Angeles. This is The Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1, one hour from now where Colin's right and where Colin is wrong. There is plenty of both. Joy Taylor is joining me.

Joy, how are you? I'm great. Good morning. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, America. Thanks for tuning in. I love Mondays during the football season. So many things to talk about. And let's start with the Dallas Cowboys. They are the sports car in the showroom. They are great for your fantasy football team. They are, they're pretty to watch. They got the star running back and the young star quarterback's getting better. And the offensive line is unbelievable. And the star on the helmet. And yet, they're, there six and four and struggled with Jeff Driscoll, and they have lost to the three current playoff teams. They have faced Vikings, Saints, and Green Bay. What are we to do? They are pretty, though, eight for 14 on third down, one time of possession, 434 yards, passing 26 first downs. Folks, they have a hole.

It's called coaching. Everybody over the last two years has gotten better, except the coaching. You know what they are? They're the Golden State Warriors with Mark Jackson. They need a turbo boost, and they got it with Steve Kerr. It wasn't that Mark Jackson failed. The defense was very good. They were shiny and pretty and fun, and they had shooters, and they had talent,

and they won a playoff series, and it was not an easy move to make because Mark Jackson won, and Mark Jackson got to the playoffs and won, and the players liked him, and Steve Kerr had never been an NBA head coach. but in the end, you had to make the move. It's just like a CEO of a company who has a product, and it's a really, really, really good product, and it's selling. But you're like, my sales manager, we should be better than this. The product's better than the results.

And it's six and four struggling to beat Jeff Driscoll. With a quarterback in Dak Prescott that is getting better every week, let's stop arguing. He's getting $35 million. Get over it. Zeke, Star, offensive line. And generally in the NFL, your Super Bowl ceiling, there's three things that just knock you out. Our quarterback stinks.

Not an issue. Our offensive line just can't hold up. Not their issue. Our defense is God awful. No. They have the number one ranked offense, number two ranked offensive line, and the number seventh ranked defense. Folks, we got a hole. It's a coaching.

Everything's getting better around Dallas, except the coaching. And by the way, my wife used to work in HR. She said firing people's easy because everybody that gets fired knows they're getting fired. In all the years, she did it. She said, you'd never go to somebody and you go, I have to let you go. And they'd go, what? They'd always be like, yeah, I know, I'm not really focused right now. I've got personal issues.

This is a tough one, though. Mark Jackson was a tough one. He was winning. Players liked him. Steve Kurt never coach. This is a tough one. He's winning. Players like him.

They play hard. Players get better. I mean, their player development's excellent, but they need a turbo boost. And the turbo boost is probably Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma. I mean, even Zeke after the game last night, even Zeke acknowledges, he's seeing, obviously, he plays on team. But we've been telling you for three weeks, anybody noticed Dak now? He's like Tom Brady or Russell Wilson. He's pointing guys out.

He's calling the blitz. He's audible and get the line. It took three to four years to get here like Russell Wilson, but Zeke said it last night. Like, it's his team now, Dax. Jack's playing the best football ever seen him play. You know, it's definitely took his game to a next level, just the things he's been able to do coming up to align, changing plays, getting us in the right plays versus certain looks.

And, I mean, but, you know, everyone came out and played really well today. You know, when everyone's contributing like that, we're hard to stop. So this is the Mark Jackson Warrior story. It really is. It's not an easy one. HR walks up. We got to let you go. Most people know it.

Mark Jackson's like, what? I'm winning. Players like me. We got to hire. And I think there's some of that with Jason Garrett. But you're watching how much better DAC is getting. And yet there's six and four and are struggling to a backup with the Detroit Lions. We got an issue.

And it's going to be tough. And some of the players will be upset. But I've seen everybody for two years get better on this team. The coaching's not getting anybody. All right, let's shift gears. Of all the Tom Brady's, the best Tom Brady is the holding the trophy Tom Brady. The second best Brady is grumpy Tom Brady. And Tom Brady was grumpy last night after the Patriots now 9 and 1, went on the road.

And the offense, let's be honest, is hard to watch. Up and down. That's what it looks like to me. So, yeah, we'd probably do everything better. Are you concerned about the offense? So you feel like it's something that's going to work so we have? I don't think it matters. What I think is what we do.

Grumpy Tom Brady. They're 9 and 1. And here's the thing. This morning if I said, Patriots or the field in the AFC? The only part of the field you trust is Baltimore. That is it. Look at the rest of the field.

Indianapolis, Kansas City can't stop the run. Buffalo and Houston, the teams that aren't in but could be Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Oakland. I got an A-plus coach. I got an A-quarterback. I got an A-plus defense. I got A-plus experience. And they're going to be playing in Foxboro if Baltimore and New England playoff start

today. Foxboro, 11 degrees, really windy. Who's got the experience edge? And who's really good the second time they face you? Yes, it's not pretty. But Isaiah Wynn comes back to left tackle. That's their weak spot on the team. team, he's coming back. The receivers are mostly outside of Edelman Young. They're getting better.

Tom Brady talked about it this morning, and you could have taken this bite the last six years out of New England. This has been the story for six years in New England. Here's Tom this morning. The strength of our team is our defense and our special teams. So on offense, we got to take advantage when we get opportunities and understand that where our strengths lie and try to play to them. not get any short fields and not turn the ball over and try to take advantage when we get into the red area to score touchdowns. And that's just, that's kind of where our offense is. That's kind of where our team is.

That's what it's been for years. It's week 11. They're looking for a little more efficiency on offense. They're getting better at left tackle. They just went on the road and they won by a touchdown against the talented team. This is New England week 11. ask yourself this morning, look around the AFC. The only team, AFC field or New England, the only team that makes you pause on that.

I mean, you really think Oakland, Buffalo, Houston, Kansas City, Indianapolis is going to Foxborough in January and winning. Really? One chance to keep them out of the Super Bowl is Baltimore. And it'll be Belichick's second crack at him. I mean, I look at this team yesterday, and I'm a lot of. like, yeah, they're sluggish. They figured out a way to win. I mean, outside of the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL right now, and they are hot,

they're healthy, and they're humming. Outside of that one team and Belichick gets a second crack, who else is going to Foxborough in this league and winning in January? I don't see it. I mean, if that's a bad experience, nine and one, Dallas next, who you got? I don't know. What's the line this morning on the Dallas? Dallas game. Who you got? Dallas or New England? In Foxboro. I think I'd take New England.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fantine, Ryan Clark, Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough.

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This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

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And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Time out. Quarterback on office. 42. Hey, Red. My mama want you to weigh better. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Conky, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 Podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of, Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports.

And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Sometimes you have to look to what I call, look through the other end of the telescope on stories. I try never to be too rigid on a story

because sometimes you just get so rigid and you see the world one way. you turn the telescope around and you're like, oh my God, there's a whole new world. And so I want you to remember this. Of the top 10 quarterbacks in the MVP race, one, one was a top 10 pick. And Patrick Mahomes wasn't initially a top 10 pick. Kansas City moved up to get him. I also want you to remember this.

Of the 25 richest quarterbacks in league history, none made their money with their first contract. Don't pull your money out of a 401k. That's short-term thinking. Tua got hurt for Alabama. That's the best thing that ever happened to him as long as the surgery goes well, and we suspect it will, because Tua's going to drop a little in the first round. The best thing that happened to Dan Marino, he dropped to Don Shula, and Aaron Rogers dropped to stable Green Bay, and Dack dropped to the best offensive line in football, and Russell Wilson dropped to Pete Carroll. Folks, Tua's a smaller quarterback. Joy and I have said this. We worry about the injury thing. So do you want him to go to Cincinnati in that offensive line and that owner and that roster? Do you want

him to go to Miami? Do you want him to go to some of these clown shows in the NFL? Or do you want him to drop out of the top 10 and make his real money in his second, third, and fourth contract? Because that's where all the guys make their money. And do you want him to go to Carolina at 18th? And he can hand the ball to Christian McCaffrey. Or, you know, we're going to or the Chargers at 12th, and he can hand the ball to those backs and has that defense. Or Indianapolis at 22nd. Can you imagine inheriting that offensive line and that GM and Darius Leonard in that defense? Yes, two is probably going to drop in the draft,

and zero of the 25 richest quarterbacks made their money in the first contract. You make your money in this league by the second, third, and fourth contract, and you may have all the talent in the world, but Josh Rosen was basically given six, games and the league bailed on him. And Mitch Trubisky, you're gone. This league bails on quarterbacks. Do you not think it helps Lamar Jackson? I hear people complaining about where Lamar Jackson got picked.

Are you kidding me? I can go to Buffalo. I can go to Arizona or I can go to Baltimore and John Harbaugh? And you're whining about where Lamar Jackson. That's the greatest thing that ever happened to Lamar Jackson. You think Lamar Jackson would duplicate this in Cincinnati? You're out of your gorse. You think Deshawn Watson inherited all

those weapons that defense. Now, it hasn't been perfect for Dejean, but people are getting into this too, a thing he's going to drop in the draft. If I had a son who was a little smaller at his position in the NFL quarterback and it had a series of kind of injuries and you ask me, Dad, where do you want him to end up? And I'd say, you know what I'd really like? I'd like him to go somewhere between 11 to 26 with a decent offensive line, a nice roster, a top running back, where he doesn't have to be a savior, like Justin Herbert or Joe Burrow in Cincinnati, where he can go in, learn the offense, veteran head coach. I'd rather have the offensive line in Frank Reich in Indianapolis.

I'd rather have the Chargers roster or Ron Rivera and Christian McCaffrey and make a little less money now and not be a savior. So I looked at two, and I'm like, as long as this surgery, you know, is completed and he's healthy. and I think all indications are he will be. The new reality for quarterbacks is you don't want to be a savior. You're not making your money in your first quarter. You're going to tell me Baker Mayfield wouldn't be better today if he didn't inherit that situation and Baker Mayfield went to Baltimore?

I got news for you. If Baker Mayfield was in Baltimore, he's not Lamar Jackson, but he'd be going to the playoffs. You cannot overcome dysfunction. and at the top of these drafts is nothing but dysfunction. Year after years, how many times is Miami going to draft in the top 10? How many times is Cincinnati going to draft in the top 10?

The Jets going to draft in the top 10. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. Weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. 13 years, an icon, a star, four Pro Bowls, Michael, Vic, joining us here on a Monday to talk some Lamar Jackson and Deshawn Watson. You know, I want to start with something. I was saying, if I had a son and my son, son was a little smaller in played quarterback, and he'd had two or three injuries.

And I'm a dad, and I'm sitting there and thinking, I wouldn't say it publicly. Yeah. But I'd be like, I'd got to be honest, I'd love you to fall to the Chargers or Carolina, stable coaches. You know, everybody's like, make your money now. But Mike, none of you guys at quarterback make your money in your first contract. You make it in your second, third, and fourth. Yeah. So let me talk about two.

In a weird way, smaller at the position, banged up, could you make an argument, slipping about seven spots in the draft is a silver lining? Well, I think you can make the comparison to what happened to Lamar. Lamar could easily went early in the draft and ended up on a different team. Cleveland, Freddie Kitchens. Right, different offense, not the same. You know, he falls in the draft and ends up in a place where, you know, it was suitable for him. Right.

So I think it's a good thing. You know, I hated to see this happen to tour, but he could fall in the lap of a team that really needs him that has some key pieces in place, has a defense, and maybe have a need for a quarterback. Sometimes it could be a blessing in disguise, and this may happen for this kid. He's a great kid. Yeah, by the way, Indy's got the 22nd pick, Chargers have the 12th, Carolina's 18th. Let me tell you something. You put Tua with Christian McCaffrey because he's an incredibly accurate thrower,

and those Carolina wide receivers, and Greg Olson, Greg Olson's like, I'm going to hold off on retiring in television for a year. Like you put him in Carolina, you can just watch. You're like, oh, okay. So let's move to this. Lamar Jackson. It's week 11, and they're healthy, they're hot, they're humming. He's smacking records everywhere.

There is no question. I told you this yesterday. I watched Lamar and I see you. What I also notice with him, Michael, he's getting better at throwing. It's getting better in the passing game. That's for sure. Let's talk about that. So you walk, now I always thought you were a better natural thrower.

You were a great deep ball thrower day one in the NFL. But did you feel like that when you got to the NFL, take me through the steps of what part of your game got better? Yeah, early in my career, it was about pushing the ball down the field. And that's why my deep ball was better than my intermediate throws. And years four, five, and six, the offenses started to change a little bit, the West Coast system. And I'm like, okay, it's going to be more shallow cross.

It's going to be more in cuts. I got to be more precise. and having a strong arm sometimes can, you know, be a gift and a curse, you know, because now you chance and throwing balls in between defenders and you just putting everything into your arm strength and knowing that, look, I can fit a ball in. You think in Brent Fav's style and then it hurts you in a sense. So, you know, the intermediate game became important later in my career and trying to finesse throws and not trying to throw everything hard because hard balls get tipped.

And then it get tipped and it get intercepted. And I've been, you know, victim of that so many times. So it was all about precision passing as I got older. And I like what Lamar's doing now because he don't have the strongest arm, but it's accurate. And he don't have to put velocity on everything that he throws. No, he's got a, by the way, you know, people have said he's Kaepernick. Kaepernick, to this day, never had touch.

Lamar's got touch. He got touch, yes. He can put the ball over the line. backer in front of the safety. Do you worry when you watch him? Because he took a shot yesterday. Yeah. He took a shot on the scramble.

And I'm like, see that is what's going to be the determining factor in year four, year five, year six. And when I was in my second year, look, I had two shoulder injuries. I had both of my hands, like, hands, thumbs were swollen, both hand, throwing hand. Was those from hits? Just from hits, just from contact. but I kept playing through it. And being young, you can sustain those injuries. You can keep going.

You heal faster. You heal faster. And as you get older, you know, Lamar will start to, you know, be more conservative and take care of itself throughout the course of the game. I think he's done a great job of that so far. Yeah. But if this offense doesn't change, he's going to be required to do the same things that he's been doing now over the next couple of years.

Never forget early in your career. You went to Cold Green Bay and beat the Packers. Yeah. Lamar is going to go to Cold, New England potentially, and that could be his signature win early in his career. Lamar now is kind of the talk of the NFL. When you were bursting into the NFL, and there was about a two-year period, Michael Vic was at the tip of everybody's tongue.

Did it overwhelm you? Do you think Lamar is, does he understand how big of a deal he is right now in the league? Yeah, I think he will understand it. He'll look back at the history from guys that came before him. And like you said, and I referenced, what you was talking about with tour. Your contract, money really don't come into your second and third contract, but you got to get to that second contract.

So all my motivation was in getting through year one, year two, year three, year four, and making sure that those were the best years of my career and that money wasn't the object, objective. It was more about being consistent and playing good football and being the best quarterback that I can be. So that overwrote everything. Yeah. And then, you know, I just let everything else fall in.

a place. Yeah, there's, I find Lamar incredibly likable, not divisive, fun, likable, getting better. I think we forget sometimes. Guys walk into this NFL, Tom Brady's first three years in the league. He was not the Tom Brady against Atlanta in the Super Bowl. Like, DAC is clearly better

the day than a year ago. You can watch DAC at the, yeah, let's talk about the Cowboys. I watch Dak at the line of scrimmage now, and this is something I pay attention to. Total control. He, you know what? So when he's pointing, what is he doing? This is probably pointing out defenders, pointing out who's going to blitz.

You know, he could be mic and, you know, changing the protection. That's probably what it is most of the time. He does this now. He didn't do this two years ago. He does this a lot. He's recognizing what's about to happen. He's just informing everybody of, you know, what players needs to be called or what has to happen.

Do you, you know, guys like me have been critical. He doesn't throw a pretty ball. As a thrower, what do you see when you watch, Dak? Um, precision. You know, I don't see him forcing a lot of balls. I think he's very accurate. I think he puts the ball in places where only his receivers can get it. You don't see a lot of balls getting tipped or batted away. And he's done it, you know, since he stepped behind the center for the Dallas Cowboys. And that's one of the things I admired about him. I think his first pass I ever seen him throw was like a seam to a slot receiver up the sideline. And like his first pass. in the preseason game against the Rams years ago. And I was like, this guy got touched. And he's continued to show that over and over and over again. And when you're an offensive coordinator,

and you see a guy who can take control of a game with his arm, I mean, it's exciting. You know, it gets an officer coordinator, you know, excited about what he can present to this guy, week in and week out. Yeah. And by the way, they do have some really Michael Gallup, Randallup, Randalli Cooper. The weapons are good.

That helps. I want to talk a little bit about New England. So, you know, Tom Brady was grumpy after the game, and I noticed last night we love to blame quarterbacks. But New England's a mess at left tackle. And Tom is just, hike, get rid of it. Hike, get rid of it. Was there ever a moment in your career?

Because I'm watching Brady last night, you could see he's visibly frustrated. He's got young receivers and a mess at left tackle. Was there ever a moment in your career where there was an offensive lineman, you didn't trust. In your head, ball snapped. Because I look up Brady last night, and I'm like, oh, he doesn't trust the left tackle at all.

In 2012, Philadelphia, I just got beat up. It was musical chairs with the offensive line. Jason Peters was out, so he was my left tackle. And good. And I can't even remember who the replacement was. There was no disrespect to that guy, but, you know, that was my concern. And I just remember playing against the Detroit Lions and the Darmulah's suit.

and, you know, he had a bunch of guys, Nick Farrelly and all those guys, and they just, you know, kind of ran through our offensive line. It was a rough day for me, but I was super grumpy after the game as well. So when you were in the middle of that game, you knew coming out of the huddle. Yeah. But can't block them. Can't block them. I'm going to get beat up.

I came into that game knowing that I was going to get hit, knowing that I was going to be the guy who had to stand tall back there and get punished, but I was willing to do it for, you know, the sake of my team. it wasn't the best feeling afterwards, but I felt good about stepping up. Now, we didn't win the game. We lost an overtime. But you knew when you had your oatmeal in the morning.

Yeah, I knew when I was eating breakfast. When I woke up, it was like, here we go again. Let's do it. Because I watched Brady last night. He doesn't have a deep threat. Do you think Grong's going to come back? We watched him yesterday here at Fox. He now looks like an art curator.

He doesn't look like a blocking tie-in. He's kind of skinny. He looked really good in his suit yesterday. He didn't he? Yeah, he was real. fitted. I think he's looking forward to the next phase of his career. I don't see him coming back, but

New England always goes through this phase every year, I think. What is that? Where the offensive line gets banged up, they lose a guy, and they force Tom to just change his game, force the offense to look different, and the ball comes out quick, and I think this helps them

in the long run, because it trends all the way to the Super Bowl, which they get to every year, pretty much, and they have their woes, but they always find a way to overcome it. And I'll never doubt the things that the New England Patriots can do, you know, with all the guys that they have within that building.

Yeah, they've got six more regular season games. Then you've got a buy. They've got young receivers, Jacoby Myers, Nikiel Harry, and they're mostly healthy right now. So my gut is they're 9-1, AFC, New England or the field in the AFC. Yeah. I'd probably take New England. England. Mike, Vic, great talking to you, bud.

Thank you. Want 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. It takes you a while. Welcome back in the NFL to kind of figure out teams.

And, you know, the more I watched San Francisco, I was thinking last night, the more I watched San Francisco, the less I like San Francisco. And then it sort of hit me is that San Francisco is two teams. When they're facing a pocket quarterback, they're one team. When they're facing a mobile quarterback, they're another team.

And so they start the year and they play an Andy Dalton and a Mason Rudolph and they play a Jared Gough and they play. And then a Kyle Allen and you're like, wow, that divages unbelievable. And then the last three weeks they've faced Kyler Murray twice and Russell Wilson twice. And you're like, oh, oh, I see. This is what San Francisco is. First of all, offensively, they miss George Kittle. He's kind of the Gronk to New England. George Kittle is to San Francisco.

They can still score without him, but Gronk kind of defined on big moments, the Patriots last several years. George Kittle really defines who San Francisco is. They're a lot fuzzier offensively when he's not playing. But if you look at the schedule for San Francisco, so the next two weeks, they face Aaron Rogers and Lamar Jackson, and the Niners defense is not going to look as great. And then they face Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, and Jared Gough. and their defense is going to look great. And then they've got to go to Seattle and they've got to face Russell Wilson

and their defense won't be as great. It's it San Francisco is one of those teams. The way their defense is set up, if you're a pocket quarterback and you don't have an elito line, good luck. But I think Dallas could play them. I think Baltimore. I think Green Bay. I think Arizona's giving them trouble twice.

I think Seattle. Carson Wentz in Philadelphia. There's a way to beat San Francisco. And the more I watch them, the more. I watch them, the more vulnerable they become. If your quarterback can move, you got a real shot. You're going to put up 24, 25 points. I mean, Kyler Murray's giving him headaches the last two times he's faced him.

He's got nothing to work with. He's got a rookie head coach. He's got a bad old line. I mean, they're really a rebuilding team. And I'm watching yesterday, and I'm like, listen, San Francisco's defense, you know, it's the Mike Tyson quality. I always felt this about Mike Tyson. If you had a reach, if you were big, and you could be an average fighter,

Mitch Blood, Green, Trevor Burbank. If you didn't have a reach advantage, Mike Tyson was a pit bull on a beach ball. But if you were long, Buster Douglas, Larry Holmes, you could keep Mike away, you could jab him and frustrate him. That's San Francisco. When you got that moving quarterback, you force them to be honest. They can't pin their ears back.

If you have a pocket quarterback, they are Mike Tyson in their prime. They're just going to engulf you and humiliate Kyle Allen and Baker Mayfield and Jared Goff. And it's like, oh, you've got to cover your eyes. It's horrible. But over the next couple of weeks, watch the next two weeks. Aaron Rogers and Lamar Jackson are going to move around against this offensive line. Russell Wilson will in the last week.

Then it's Breeze, Matt Ryan, and Jared Goff. Good luck. Thanks for flying United. Those guys will get buried. All right, here's the other thing. So after Thursday night, a lot of people were saying, oh, man, a Cleveland Browns. Holy smokes at Cleveland Brown. Playoff, playoff.

By the way, the NFC equipment. of the Cleveland Browns this morning is the Chicago Bears. Four and six in a number 10 seed. Do you think Chicago is a playoff team? Why do you think Cleveland's a playoff team? Cleveland's season ended yesterday because the teams they needed to lose all one. They're not winning their division over Baltimore. Can we all admit that in Cleveland?

I mean, I know you're delusional, but we can all admit Baltimore is going to win the division. So Cleveland now is racing for the wildcard spot against Indianapolis, Buffalo, and Oakland, and they all won. And Indianapolis is not only six and four, but they've got a significantly better coach, a significantly better offensive line, and Jacoby Brissette is back. Indianapolis has a two-game lead over Cleveland,

and the better coach, the better old line. Oakland is now six and four. They've got the better coach and the better offensive line, and they play the Jets next. And then there's Buffaloes now got a three-game lead. They're seven and three over you, and Buffalo, you're not catching them. They're not going on a five-game losing.

streak, a three-game losing streak. And so right now, we know New England's winning their division, Baltimore's winning their division, and then, you know, for the record, the Jags and the Chargers have the same record as Cleveland, and I hear nobody nationally talking about the Chargers or the Jags, and I think both have better roster than Cleveland. Certainly the Chargers do. So I think yesterday was the end of the sea. If Thursday night was not the end

of the season for the Browns, yesterday was the end of the season. So we know this about Cleveland. They're not going to have Miles Garrett. So your best defensive player, you're not going to have, your two games back, the equivalent of you in the NFC is Chicago, and nobody, nobody considers Chicago even worth a discussion after last night. The difference is Chicago just lost, you just won on Thursday, but the season's over. You've got to face Baltimore, you're not winning it. Good luck in Arizona with Kyle or Murray without Miles Garrett. You still have one of the bottom five coaches in the league. You're still the most penalized team in terms of yards in the NFL.

And all the teams you're chasing won yesterday. Raiders now have the Jets, they're six and four. They're going to win that game. And Buffalo's now got a three-game lead. They won. And Indianapolis has Jacoby Brissette yesterday. And they tossed Jacksonville all over the field. So they're not going anywhere and season over officially.

I know the media's got you. And for the record, Houston is also six and four. We know Houston is better than Cleveland. They lost. I still think they'll win their division. I think Baltimore's just in a spot now where they're humiliating Seattle, they're humiliating New England, they're humiliating Houston. You don't want any part in week 11 of the Baltimore Ravens.

Just like you didn't want any part of San Francisco in the first six weeks, you don't want any part of them? You want any part right now of Baltimore that's starting to remind me of the Cam Newton Panthers that made the Super Bowl. It's not just their unique. It's not their veteran coach. There's a certain psychology and emotional avalanche here building in Baltimore where

they feel like they are about ready to knock you out about seven punches into the fight. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS1 and the IHard Radio app. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month,

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

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

Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different. levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free I Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're coming. through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Time out. quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, Rhett, Mom, I want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta,

you already know there's a lot to break down. Georgia accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. shoes. I like the bougie style of Housewives show. I think it looks like it's going to be interesting. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real Housewives franchise, the drama, the alliances, and the team everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching

it. I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this. At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. We do it every Monday at this time. We call it Colin Wright, Colin Wrong. I'm a lot of both. I'm opinionated.

Sometimes I whiff. When I do, I need to be called out. And on a Monday, once again, here we go. Where Colin was right? Well, I said all year with, and this is why I didn't jump too much on the Cleveland bandwax. And I said, Freddie Kitchens is a rookie head coach, and you got a lot of big personalities and a lot of young players on Cleveland. And now Miles Garrett is out for the year.

This team has an issue. No discipline. And it was the number one thing I worried about. Frankly, I'm not alone. It was the number one thing most of us worried about. But it's ironic that Miles Garrett, their most athletic defensive linemen, is the one guy they need against Lamar Jackson in a must-win game and they won't have him. and I don't think they're going to beat Arizona in Arizona without Miles Garrett chasing Kyler Murray. They are what we thought they were,

undisciplined, and a head coach that can't handle all their young talent. Where Colin was wrong. The Lakers, I thought, would be an interesting team by about April. They are way better, much sooner than I thought. LeBron's playing 35 minutes, looks energized, playing with incredible passion. They're 11 and 2. Best record in the NBA. They are the number one defensive team, and their offense has been seamless.

Some of this is just LeBron's taken over at point, 25 points, 11.5 assists a game. He makes everything work, but I'm struck by how easy it is. Kuzma fits in, Danny Green, Dwight Howard fits in. All the pieces fit, lots of length. They can run or go situational half court, and it's much, much. smoother, much earlier than I thought. Where Colin was right? I said this during training camp.

This is not Zeke's team. It's Dax team. This is Dax team. Zeke is a really good running back, but I've seen them lose all sorts of games when Zeeke runs for 140 yards. Yesterday, Zeeke didn't do anything, and they won on the road.

Dac threw for over 400 yards, 440 yards. This is what I've been saying from day one. Zeek's a really good running back. But you can take Zeek, out of this team and give me Nick Chubb, give me Melvin Gordon, and it would be the same football team. You take out Dak and replace him with Philip Rivers, it's not the same team. Or replace him with Baker Mayfield, it's not the same team. This is Dak's team.

He's getting better. He's an adult. I think we're watching a young man blossom in front of our eyes. His accuracy is improved. His pre-snap reads, clearly if you watch the Cowboys play, have improved. And yesterday is another example. It's not Zeke's team. That's what I said during the holdout.

I'd pay him, but don't go crazy on this stuff. Because they need Tyron Smith and Amari Cooper as much as Zeke and yesterday proved it. Where Colin was wrong. I don't know. Am I wrong on Kirk Cousins? I guess I am. He overcame a 20-0 deficit. I guess I mean, yes, he's completing 71% of his throws.

His passer ratings 1-15, 21 TDs, three picks. I guess I got to give it up. you know, it feels like he's managing a lot of this stuff and there's a lot of people wide open. I still don't kind of get it. I still think there are limitations in big games. But he's the only quarterback in the last five years that's come from behind a 20-0 deficit. He stayed poised. And he completes an absurdly high number.

And, you know, I've never really, I never really bought into it. I think he's the ultimate game manager. Case Keenham also won 13 games here. But at some point, you start, you know, At some point, you start putting these numbers up and data can be skewed, but a lot of this stuff is top of the league. If his name wasn't Kirk Cousins, wouldn't we be asking about MVP stuff? I mean, seriously, we would be, if it was anybody else,

if Dak put up these numbers, we'd be like, yeah, Dak can put him in the MVP conversation. I guess I'm wrong on Kirk Cousins. Where Colin was right. But I'm right on two at Alabama. My knocking him, and this was two years ago, I said he's a little smaller than I'd like. He gets super protection at Alabama. which he won't get in the NFL, and I worry about him always getting hurt.

It's once again, he's hurt. I saw this with Sam Bradford in college at Oklahoma. I liked him a lot, but I'm like, man, he gets dinged up easily. And I think two is becoming what I thought, which is kind of a mid-first round, you know, very good prospect, but he needs to go to an offensive line that can protect him and a team with a running game. And, you know, the injury stuff has always been my biggest concern. And once again, this weekend, he gets.

hurt in a big game. That's kind of what he is. Let's not deny it. Let's get him healthy. And maybe opportunistically, he falls to a Carolina or a Chargers, which is a better fit anyway, because they won't rely on him as much. Where Colin was wrong. Houston Rockets have won seven straight. I know, I know. I didn't think they'd make the playoffs. James Hardin and Russell Westbrook, I thought, was enigmatic and problematic. Hardens the next Wilk Chamberl and he's scoring like 40 a game. And Westbrook, to this point, anyway, is fine with it. Westbrook's, you know, He's scoring 20 and Harden scoring 40. I still think defensively they got issues,

and I think it's really early in the season. But they look good. They're working together. Westbrook's okay with his role. Still shooting too many threes for my taste. But so far, so good. Harden Westbrook working, and the Rockets have won seven straight.

Where Colin was right? Initially out of college, I worried about Kyler Murray. But by week two, I pivoted and said, no, this is real. I'm telling him this kid's good. This kid, unlike Lamar Jackson, who moves around, This kid doesn't have anything to work with. This reminds me a lot of Russell Wilson.

And we didn't buy Russell Wilson until year three. This kid's completing 65% of his throws with a bad offensive line with a pass rating over 90. 14 touchdowns, five picks. And again, he's doing it with nothing here. He didn't have the coach that we think John Harbaugh is. He doesn't have the offensive line. It works. He's given San Francisco fits.

Now, again, he comes out, took a 16-0 lead, and then they just don't have any players. I mean, he's having to kind of, they're doing a really good job in Arizona of coaching this team up. They're like Miami. They give you everything they've got. They just don't got much. But Kyler Murray's a real deal. I pivoted early. And I think you're looking at it.

There's a lot of Russell Wilson here. No question. A lot of Russell Wilson. Where Colin was wrong. Deshawn Watson got rolled over by Lamar Jackson. I thought Deshawn just held the ball too long. I didn't think he made very good decisions. no points in the first half has never happened to Deshawn Watson.

Lamar looked more comfortable. And this was also Deshawn had a fumble. I just don't think he played particularly well. He got sacked six times. That didn't help. But in the matchup, which I thought was going to be Deshawn showing everybody in the world, he's still a notch above. He got overwhelmed by Lamar.

Lamar was more accurate. Lamar looked more poised. Lamar looked more athletic. And I was wrong on that. where Colin was right. Celts have won 10 of 11, best record in the East, and they are significantly better

without Kyrie Irving. Last year it was Brad Stevens can't coach stars. Well, maybe he can't. But maybe Kyrie Irving's a pain in the butt because Brooklyn now is 5 and 7, and the Celtics are significantly better without him. Brooklyn's not as good,

even in the East, with him. And it looks like to me, what happened is what we thought would happen. Is it Kyrie's just the flat earth guy? He's a lot of diva. He's hard to coach. He's an unbelievable ISO talent. Nobody would dispute that. But our takeaway is Canba gets along with everybody.

Camba's 75 to 80% of Kyrie. He'll be a much better fit. And suddenly Brad Stevens, what do you know, knows how to coach again. Where Colin was right. Off a by New England was a pop gun offense. This is what they are. They don't have a deep threat. They need gronk.

I've said this since training camp. camp. This gronk retirement, there's a reason Bob Kraft keeps talking about bringing him back. I think you can win a bunch of games with New England. But I'm watching them yesterday, and this is basically my complaint, is that Belichick is so frugal that at some point he's driving Tom Brady crazy. They just don't have a tight end. He's got young receivers. They have a bad left tackle. And they were five for 16 on third down, eight punts, four point six yards of pass. My concern about New England has come to reality. Now, I do think they get Isaiah win back at left tackle. That part gets better. Brady gets less grumpy. But this is

kind of what New England is this year. If it was not for a very uneven AFC, I would not think they're a Super Bowl team. But I think in the end, in the NFC, I don't think this would work. I think in the AFC, Baltimore is the only team that concerns me. But they needed a trick play yesterday to win. They needed Julian Edelman and a trick play to win yesterday. 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. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor.

It signals to the world that you're not to be played. with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, A, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? quarterback on office blue 42.

Hey, Rhett, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed Human.