The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 11/26/2019

Episode Date: November 26, 2019

Colin responds to all the people questioning if Lamar Jackson is sustainable by reminding them that nothing in the NFL is sustainable outside of New England. He thinks Jason Garrett is not detail oriented and looks worse than he really is against a guy who obsesses over every detail like Bill Belichick. Former Steelers and Patriots LB James Harrison talks with Colin about how good the Ravens look and why playing for Belichick is so different. Plus, Colin reveals his top ten teams in the NFL in the Herd Hierarchy including one NFC contender he is not all in on. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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,

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

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

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 IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening to the best of herd 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 Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartreport. Radio app by searching Herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a busy Tuesday. This is The Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening.

We're live in Los Angeles on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1, one hour from now, our herd hierarchy. I think it's the truest, the most accurate. It feels like now. what we've got in the NFC. We know our six teams. It's where they're going to play. And we know our two best teams in the AFC are New England and Baltimore this morning. So everything feels sort of set in stone with a few wild card spots up, of course, in the AFC. And Joy Taylor is joining me in a Tuesday. Joy, how are you? I'm great. That was some performance last night.

It was some performance. And let's start here. Let me just ask you, if you are 40, 50 years, old and you maxed your 401k and you paid off your house and you pay your cars down and you live below your means and so you were set your retirement set you're going to be content but somebody came to you and said siphon just 5% off and uh this is a stock that'll that that that could make you rich and some people aren't comfortable with it some people are like nah no no no no no i got my 401k i'm not taking anything out of my 401k and then there are other people like john harbaugh that said well, I'm going to be a Hall of Fame coach. I won a Super Bowl.

I'm going to siphon off about 5, 10% of that 401k. I'm not going to play it safe. I'm going to go all in on Lamar Jackson. And a lot of people are like, ah, Lamar Jackson. That's crazy. He runs a lot. He can get hurt. It won't last.

But John Harbaugh said, what lasts? Outside of Brady and Belichick in New England's dynasty, what the hell lasts in this league? So John Harbaugh, who had a great reputation, who had maxed his 401k, who was well respected, was going to get. Hall of Fame boat said, you know what, I'm going to go all in on Lamar Jackson. I'm going to siphon off some of that 401k. I'm going to take a mortgage on my house a little bit, and I'm going to roll the dice on this kid,

and maybe he'll get hurt. But this whole thing about Lamar won't last. What does in this league outside of New England? Nothing lasts. By the way, not every investment. I mean, you guys dated, right? You don't have to marry everybody you date. When you buy a home in real estate, when you get out of college, don't they call it a

starter home. You know you can't raise your kids in it. It's not big enough, but you buy in real estate what they call a starter home. It's not what you're going to retire in. Not everything has to be forever. I don't know if Lamar Jackson's going to last. I don't know. People tell me it's a lot like Colin Kaepernick. So let's just think about that for a second. Colin Kaepernick got to a Super Bowl and two NFC championships. I think 99% of the coaches not named like Bill Belichick would take that today? That's a failure. Are you looking at this league where 20 teams, you know, this morning wake up and they don't think they have much of a chance to win the Super Bowl?

Like, I don't know if this lasts. But what I know is it's great now. That gets you another contract as a coach great now. And the other thing is I don't think it's a fatter. I don't think it's a trick. I think he's a much better. and I think Baltimore to me feels, you can say the Kaepernick stuff, but he was a better high school quarterback than Kaepernick,

a better college quarterback, and he's a better NFL quarterback. Kaepernick never had a curveball. Everything he threw 100 miles an hour. Lamar's got touch. Lamar's a team guy. Lamar's coachable. Lamar is getting better. Lamar's about the team, not about Lamar.

So, you know, if nobody ever took a chance in life, you'd have no Vegas. If you weren't willing to gamble on stuff, you wouldn't have a Vegas. And if you weren't willing to gamble on stuff, We'd have no Silicon Valley, which now runs the American economy. John Harbaugh said, you know what? The 30 teams that drafted ahead of me are, they don't want to do this.

I'm just going to go all in. I got my 401K. I've been putting away forever. I've built a great reputation. And again, I don't know if this lasts, but I know it's great now. And what lasts? Cam Newton gets defended at every corner. Anytime I criticize him, you defend him.

Cam Newton's had one great year. Can't stay healthy. How long did that last? Aaron Rogers, to me, does not look physically like the same guy he was six years ago after two collarbone surgeries. Nothing lasts. You just in this league, you take what you can get. You've got to evolve. You've got to roll the dice sometimes.

Take New England out of it. Best coach ever, best quarterback ever, one of the best owners ever. Take the best offensive line coach ever. The rest of the league, be great now. It's okay to siphon off a little of the 401K to get ready. now. You know, I just love. Everybody is so freaked out about, will this running stuff last? All these running quarterbacks work. Most don't last, but Russell Wilson's lasting. He never gets hit. And Kyler Murray, he's a baseball guy like Russell. Nobody's getting hits on him.

Steve Young ran around for years. He ended up in the Hall of Fame. Campernick got to a Super Bowl. Lamar's on the best team now. Will it last? Most stuff in life doesn't last. I've said this before. The greatest product I've ever purchased, ever. There's one thing that I bought for nothing and it's lasted forever. Goulet, do you know what that is? It's a grill. I'm always shocked. You go to Home Depot or Lowe's.

You pay $300 for a grill. I use it 190 times a year and it lasts 30 years. That's the only product I've ever purchased in my life. I'm like, I pay nothing for it and it lasts forever. Nothing lasts forever. Win now. Roll the diet. Because what I'm watching in Baltimore is a lot better of what I see in Los Angeles.

And let's shift to that. From day one, day one, joy as my witness, I said, let's slow down on Sean McVeigh as a genius. Let's slow down on the Rams are the future of the NFL. I said, remember the first thing I said, Kyle Shanahan is the best young coach in the NFC West. And Pete Carroll's the best coach in the NFC West. So McVeigh's third. The second thing I said is, I live in Los Angeles. I'm watching what's happening.

Rams are overpaying for everybody. LeBron comes to town, got a new stadium with PSLs. They're burning through money. Remember we used to joke with the Rams two years ago? We're like, are they using a different bank than everybody? Are they at one of these offshore banks where they get some sort of interest rate or they can hide money? Folks, this morning, the bank came to collect the note on the Rams, and they're six and five. And they have no first round picks for three years.

And McVeigh's the second best young coach in his division. And they got to pay Jalen Ramsey a fortune. And Brandon Cooks may retire soon with a concussion issue. And they have major offensive line issues. And Jared Goff next year will be the biggest cap hit in the entire league. And oh, by the way, you paid Todd Gurley a year early, and he's done. He's a B-back, and he's got two more years that you're going to have to load the Brinks truck over to his house. Last night, the Rams had 22 yards rushing.

They ran the ball nine times. This was a power-running team a year ago. So on top of that, a story broke last week that the stadium overrun is making the $2 billion stadium. a $6 billion stadium, which is as much as Jerry World, the cold stadium, and the Eagle Stadium combined. So that's just going to add more pressure on the organization to win now. McVeigh, win now, coat less need build now. This thing is, I'm not saying the Rams are a bad football operation. What I'm saying is they're the opposite of New England.

Just talked about this with Lamar. Great is fleeting in this league. Nothing lasts. But here's a way to make success last longer. Pay rarely and never pay early. Now, New England's going to pay Stefan Gilmore. They paid gronk. They paid for great kickers.

They paid for offensive linemen or a pass rusher. But pay rarely, be frugal and never pay early. And I thought the Rams, and I said this a year ago, LeBron came to down, new stadium, cost overruns, selling people, ESLs. They're paying everybody. They have the most expensive corner with Jalen Ramsey soon and defensive tackle and running back and now quarterback. What's the hurry? Today they feel old, stale, tired. They look slow last night. Now, do I think McVeigh is smart? Yes. Do I think they have good people in the building? Absolutely. But this to me, we got way too hot on this. I did not believe it was

sustainable. I didn't think they'd fall and be this bad like last night. And to Sean McVeigh's credit, he's a stand-up guy and said, we're not going to waste too much time whining about this. We're all in this thing together, but I feel as responsible as anybody. And just put your head down and go grind and find a way to just get ready for next week. Because just dwelling on this doesn't do any good. And you can't run away from the problems that we did have tonight. But allowing it to set ourselves back is what this team will not do. I can promise you guys at. Appreciate that. He's a super smart guy. My theory on life is trust smart people. They'll figure it out. But this always felt like a little too hot of an organization. A little too

many stars, money for everybody, using a different bank. And last night, the bank came to collect. And they're a little shy in L.A. Ram land. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer 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?

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Open your free Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the hard way 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 cutting through the noise,

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with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsClace on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. What's up guys? This is Clifford Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Clivert Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff.

Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her.

What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the I-Hard Radio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm CJ Toledano and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed.

And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this. series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like

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So Jerry Jones had criticized, had dropped Balichick's name before the game with New England, and then criticized Garrett after the game with New England, and then criticize Garrett again this morning. I don't think he wants to. I think he likes Jason Garrett a lot, but he's laying the groundwork for the firing. Jerry knows it's going to be uncomfortable. Jason's part of the cowboy family. but Jerry's lay in the groundwork before the big breakup. You start mentioning the ex-boyfriend, you mention the ex-boyfriend again,

you start picking little fights. Jerry doesn't want to fire him. He's going to have to. Too much talent here. So Jerry was on Dallas radio this morning and pushed back on those who say he shouldn't be overly critical of Garrett. They've got to concentrate on the season. The way that I felt then, you know, when you're general manager of which I am,

Those coaches are out there at my ultimate decision. People seem to think that it's particularly harsh to have criticism. And so there's no question that disappointed is not the word. Here's the thing. And we said this was going to be an issue. Anytime you put good, and I think Jason Garrett is good, when you put good against great, good can look really. really mediocre.

You know, Roger Federer in his prime could play the 38th best tennis player in the world. That guy is probably the best tennis player in his country. But against Roger Federer at the U.S. Open, he would shrink. He would look like a hack because that's what Roger Federer does. Kobe Bryant made a lot of borderline all-stars look anemic because he was Kobe Bryant. Sunday, the world's best football coach played a good football coach capable of winning divisions. and Jason Garrett didn't look good. New England prepared in every way.

Here's a team that plays outdoors in wet weather, has for years, and Gronk was on Fox saying it doesn't matter. If they know it's going to be a rainy game, Bill all week prepares for it. I don't care if it's raining, snowing, if there's a hurricane. You're going out there and you're practicing. Now, while there's snow drift out,

he'll take the water bottle and he'll pour it on the football too. And he'll make Tom throw the football in like 20 degrees while it's all wet too. That's how dedicated he gets to the weather. Meanwhile, Ed Werder, a very reliable NFL reporter, says the Cowboys didn't use sprinklers, water bottles didn't really prepare to play in the rain. Maybe against other coaches, that's fine. Against Belichick, not so much. And what you're seeing, we all know this, and we would all acknowledge this.

Football more than anything is the coach's sport. In baseball, you need pitching. In the NBA, you need stars. There's been a lot of good coaches that have won NBA championships because they had LeBron or they had a great player. But football's a coaching sport. And most great coaches have two things in common. One of them is they have almost an obsessive, odd fascination with details.

Garrett's not really a detail guy. The second thing is they're mostly experts at something. Pete Carroll is one of the great defensive coaches. ever. Sean Payton play calling. Most great coaches are obsessed on details and they're great at something. They've got a side of the football, Belichick, Pete Carroll defense. Andy Reed, Sean Payton, play designing offense. They make quarterbacks better.

He's not a detail guy, Jason Garrett, and he doesn't really, do you ever talk about him as a play caller, a play designer? Not a big motivator. What's his expertise? But it goes back to something. when very good, good to very good, face is great. You can be the best tennis player in a country. You face Federer in his prime, you're going to look really overwhelmed.

And I think Sunday, when you juxtapose Belichick's obsessive nature on defense and details against Jason Garrett, it just came up short. 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 love. He's still the all-time sack leader for the Pittsburgh Steelers, which is remarkable considering it's the mean Joe Green, you know, Dwight White, the great steel curtain franchise. 15 years in the NFL, James Harrison, a Super Bowl champion. We bring him on to our show on a Tuesday, and his division is now dominated by the vaunted Baltimore Ravens.

Let's start with this. I started my show today saying, well, everybody says, is Lamar sustainable? And my takeaway is, God, outside of New England, what sustainable? in this league. Last year, we thought the Rams were going to run the NFC. Do you think he's sustainable? I think it's sustainable as long as he prepares his body for what he's going to be doing. He's going to be more of a runner. So he's going to have to train a little different than a normal quarterback would. He can't go and train like Tom Brady and use all bands. He has to put on some girth, some muscle and, you know, be able to take, you know, contact if that, well, because that's

what he's going to be doing. He did, by the way, in the offseason, James. It looks. It looked like he put on about his traps got bigger. He looked like he got bigger in the offseason. Yeah. So if that's what he's going to do, then I think it will be sustainable. You know, that's the big thing. Every time you get a black quarterback that's running the ball more than normally, you know, for a quarterback, then you get the sustainable thing.

As long as he does what he needs to do to train his body to prepare for what he's going to be doing at a position, you don't get the, is it sustainable for a running back to play running back? I mean, that's long as you train. You know what I'm saying? You'll be able to do it. But my thing is, I think to defend Lamar, the big thing of trying to defend Lamar is the read option. I don't know if they still have that rule, but when I play, once the quarterback started their read option, he's a running back. He's running back. He loses the protections of a quarterback. So we were taught to, as soon as he read action, whoever has the quarterback, be line it to him. Don't read the mesh. Don't read nothing. Hit the quarterback. because a D-Lyman don't have to wait to see if this is a fake handoff or not to tackle the running back. He gets that same thing now because he loses that protection of the quarterback. And I think if you get people together and they start getting that scheme together of actually just saying,

you know what, guy A has the quarterback, guy B has the dive, and then we go from there, you'll make him have to do what the quarterback does and pass the ball. You know, it's funny, years and years I've said that the advantage to being a great act, athlete and a quarterback is it takes quarterbacks. They say it takes about three years for the light to go on because it leads so much fast, the playbook sticker. But you can win a lot of games in that two to three years with your legs while you're figuring out, whereas Jared Goff, like you've got to figure out the playbook fast because you're

not going to win games with your legs. I do feel like Lamar's getting better as a passer. Yes, definitely. Yeah, he's definitely getting better as a passer. He's more accurate with his passes. No question. He's making greater, you know, more. you know, technical life decisions as far as reading the defense,

seeing where the ball should go and getting it there in a timely fashion. Yeah. He's got, you know, it's funny. When Kaepernick came out, he threw pretty much a fastball. It wasn't a lot of off-speed stuff. I think Lamar's really developed a nice touch. He mentioned, I think Joy had it yesterday. Lamar said the ball felt weird to me as a rookie.

Okay. The NFL ball felt big. He said, I just had to, I played with a college football. He goes, there's no question last year. Sometimes a ball would come off my hand, and I'd be like, this looks awful. His ball, I know it's just optics, but his ball looks better this year. It does. It looks like he's more in control.

Yeah, he probably practiced a lot more in the offseason, throwing the ball, you know, just repetition, getting used to it, you know, more time doing the same thing. I want to talk about Jason Garrett's obviously on the hot seat. This is a very good team. They're six and five. And when you juxtapost him against Belichick on Sunday, who's all into details, you were briefly a patriot. And you, I said, Garrett's never been a great detail or an analytics guy. and you can get away with that a lot in the NFL, but when you're facing Mr.

analytics and Mr. Detail and Belichick and you're up against each other, then it's like, oh, now I can really see Garrett's lack of attention to detail. Tell me a story about when you got to New England, because you told me before it was just different, the intensity about their attention to detail in Foxborough. There, the organization, well, I've been with the studies,

like you said, for a long time. Now, I went with the Patriots, and what I saw there as far as, attention to detail, that is the most detail organization as far as their X's and O's planning that I have ever seen. And I was with the Steelers for, you know, for 13, 14 years. They meet about meeting. You know what I'm saying? I'm dead. Serious. Like, they meet about meetings. They meet. We go meet and we go have this meeting in 15 minutes, okay? And that's what we're going to do. I don't even know what happens if you're late there. Like nobody knows what happens if you're late.

You probably get sent to another team or something. I don't know. So when I first got there, obviously, it was after Christmas or whatever. And I'm trying to learn the playbook. So it's like 9, 30, 10 o'clock at night. So they had me staying at the hotel that was right there at Fox, Foxborough. So I called my coach. I'm like, you know, I'm having some questions about this certain defense and what I'm supposed to do.

And he's like, well, just come on in. We can go over it and look at it on the film all this. I'm like, come where? He's like, come down to the facility. I'm like, you're still at work? He's like, yeah, we're all here. This is 9, 30, 10 o'clock at night. I'm dead serious.

I'm dead serious. If you don't understand what you're doing there, you have to try to not learn. You have to blank out. I don't know how you would do it because they don't allow any type of technology going on in their meetings. No cell phones.

Yeah. Your cell phone sits in your locker. You know what I'm saying? They don't go into any meeting rooms, you know, anything like that. And for you to not know, or understand what's going on there, you have to literally be trying now.

Why isn't that the norm in the NFL? Time. Some people don't want to put in that time. I mean, to be honest with you, like, people ask me, like, why don't you want to coach? I'm like, it's more time than it is playing. And I put a lot of time in when I played.

And to actually coach, it's not like you need to physically be able to go lift weights. All you got to do is put it in the time, learn and understand, but you've got to put in a lot of time, And the more time you put in, the better understanding you have. And the better you'll be able to, you know, explain it to your players and get them to perform. Do you think Garrett's a bad coach?

What do you think Jason Garrett is? Right now, I thought he was just a terrible decision maker. And he can't get the information to his players in a timely fashion. And right now, I'm to the point where I don't even know if he has the power to do anything anymore with Jerry. I think his decision making in the games, which is horrible, especially for, you know, last week. Right, right. Like, I'm going for that on 4-7.

I haven't been down here this much. And I don't know when I'm going to get back down here. So, and the thing is, I gave him a pass because I'm thinking, maybe he has a good reason for. Maybe he's thinking, we've got to score three anyway to win the game, so we'll get the ball against come down and get his cut down. But that's- That was not his thought.

His thought process was, well, we get a field goal here. and then when my defense gives up a field goal, we'll still only be down by seven. That's loser's mentality. You're not playing to win. So that right there led me at that point in time to be like, hey, you need to get rid of him, move on, get somebody in there that's not afraid to do what's necessary to win games.

You're a former Pittsburgh Steeler. They played the Browns this weekend. There was, you know, obviously a very ugly incident. Something happened? Yeah, the Miles Garrett thing. It's amazing. I go to the grocery store. People come up.

That's all they want to talk about. My takeaway is you can't swing a half. helmet at people. I don't care. Whatever happened beyond that, you just can't do that and that guy's going to get the big suspension. Does that change the Brown Steelers, like this game in Pittsburgh this week? Would it be talked about? Would Tomlin talk about that incident? Would that be? I don't think that would be fuel for their fire, so to speak. That's something that was just totally outside the boundaries of the game. I think he would stick to what went on in the game, what they did wrong, that cost them to lose that game

and focus on doing that better this week and going through and making the Browns look like the Browns. You wouldn't make a point of revenge of the helmet? If I make a point of revenge of the helmet, how do I get you to get revenge from something that shouldn't happen that is just a totally out of bounds, illegal way of doing things? That makes you think that I'm okay with you trying to bop somebody else back with a helmet then, right?

If I was to talk to you in that manner, hey, they hit our guy with a helmet. we need to smash these dudes in the face. Well, you're telling me that I can get away with, you go, let me pop somebody with a helmet. Like, I don't understand how you swing a helmet or somebody, you know, to begin with, especially. I don't, I don't care what happened,

even though it's bogus, you know, because I've talked to guys that were actually there, like, they were like, it was nothing said. No racial thing. No racial slur was said, you know. So knowing the guys and knowing the guys that were there that I talked to, like, that is something that it seems like a cop-out.

You know, hey, I'm trying to lessen what I did and make it seem like, you know, I had a reason for doing it. And that wasn't talked about until at the actual hearing. Maybe he said it thinking that, you know, it would be a great defense, but it got out. He didn't, maybe he didn't think it would get out. And now you're stuck with running with this saying, what they're telling me is a lie. Yeah. Finally, when you look at the, so we watched the Ravens last night, take on the Rams.

and players want to get paid, but the Rams paid a lot of guys, and now they have an offensive line issue, and they got no first-round picks and not a lot of money. I'm sitting there watching the Rams last night. Are you bailing on Goff, McVeigh? It was so bad and so ugly, or is it just one of those Mondays or Sundays? And, James, you didn't have a lot of these

where everything that could go wrong did go wrong for the Rams. I saw a team, especially on a defensive side, that just totally gave up. They were deflated. I mean, it looked bad, especially after the second quarter, you know. Quit, a little bit of a quit. It just, it was no fire in their eyes. You can see, you know, guys aren't even, you know, talking to each other.

It's just a blank stare, so to speak. And right now, you can't sell on golf because he's sold in. You know, he's all the way in. That's your franchise quarterback, whether you want it to be or not. Four years. Till 22. Till 22, that's your franchise quarterback. So you're going to have to have to figure out a way to make that work or whatever it is.

But he's going to be there. That's one for sure or two for certain. 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. You ever drive down the road? I don't seem as much as I used to. But you drive down the road and somebody would have that bumper sticker on. I was never a bumper sticker guy to begin with, but they'd have a bumper sticker on and it would say mean people suck. And my first thought was always, oh, you're a lightweight.

You think your boss is mean. No, your boss is serious and he wants to get crap done and you're a screw off. I've never had a mean boss. I've been doing this 30 years. I've never had a mean boss. I've had serious bosses and the people who are screwoffs at work think they're mean. They're not mean. They're just grownups who are serious and want to get crap done.

Tom Brady, I was talking to Gronk, it was really funny. So off the air the other day, I was talking to Gronk. And I think he won't mind if I share this story. And so before he went on the air, he's an incredibly engaging guy. He's a lot of fun, a lot of energy. And I said, did you and Brady hit it off day one? And he's like, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. He goes, I was like, man, Brady is mean.

Because Gronk came in. He was fun. Gronk's fun guy. And then he's like, the more I learn the playbook, Tom wasn't as mean. Tom was like, you know, my guy. Tom was never mean with Gronk, but Tom's getting older. He doesn't have years to waste in his career.

He's 42 now. He doesn't have time for you to walk in the building and not get the playbook locked in. He just doesn't have time. When he was 24, maybe it's different. He's now 42 reverse those numbers. So Gronk was talking this weekend on Fox about how sometimes the intensity of New England, even after wins, can wear you down. That's the one part I don't miss about.

being there. Hands down. I'm not going to lie. I don't miss that. You're frustrated. They're 9-1. They win a game last week versus Philly. We lost winning in the Super Bowl two years ago. They should be happy. Instead, you're sitting there Sunday night like, what did I do wrong? Like, no, that's not the feeling that you should have. You should be pumped about the wind. By the way, Gronk is quarterback of the Patriots. You don't sustain the success. The reason the Patriots are able to sustain this success is they don't get too high or they don't get too low. You know, listen, we've had a really good three or four year run here. We're going to have a party Wednesday after our show, free sandwiches for the kids.

But it's like our job is to come in here every day and grind out a three-hour show. We don't celebrate a lot. That's my job. I'm paid to get a number. And I think New England like that, Brady talked about Gronk this morning, and he's like, listen, this is. is, you know, I am what I am depending on the moment you see me. Sometimes I'm serious. You know, everyone deals with things differently. And, you know, I think that was part of having a guy like Gronk in the locker room that was so great was, you know, he approached it like he does.

You know, we have different challenges we face. And I think, you know, for me personally, I don't have just one emotion after every game, you know. I mean, there's probably five or ten. You know, probably catches the moment you catch me is probably, you know, how I'll feel at a particular time. And Sometimes it takes time to digest things and deal with things. And hopefully we can process those by the time your preparation for the next week starts. Remember, the NFL has always been dominated by serious people. Vince Lombardi, Tom Coughlin, Bill Belichick are serious people. Rex Ryan's fun.

Jerry Glanville's fun. Don Shula was serious because you don't have 82 games like the NBA. You don't have 162 games like Major League Baseball. You don't have 38 games like the MLS. You got 16. You got to win them all. And so the NFL's four serious people. They have dominated the league.

John Elway, Peyton Manning, Russell Wilson. Cam Newton's distracted. Cam Newton can be fun. Cam Newton underachieves. One of the things I like about Lamar and Kyler Murray and Garapolo and Dak and they're into football. And not a lot of wiggle on. I don't know about their social life. I don't care about your social life.

If you want to win, you had fun when you were a kid in high school. fun at a fratten college. But when you get to the NFL for 12 years as a quarterback, you can have some fun in the offseason, but the season's serious. And football rewards serious, committed people who grind daily and celebrate briefly. And I think Gronk is great to have in a locker room, but I wouldn't want Gronk as my quarterback. I think he's fun as a tight end. And I think what, I mean, when you look at LeBron James spending $2 million a year on his body through trainers. Russell Wilson takes his trainer on the road in the summer on his vacations. That's what this league rewards. And that bumper sticker, mean people suck. They're not mean.

They're serious and you're a screw-off. And there's just not a lot of time for screw-offs in the sport. Every game matters. So, you know, if you look at what wins in this sport, it is, I mean, remember we joked after the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl? Everybody wrote a book. Everybody had a big party. They have never recovered from that. Well, that's kind of what I think Gronk is talking about, because that's what they said, right? Like I'd rather win one championship and enjoy my time than win five championships and essentially be miserable. But it's like you were saying yesterday. That kind of success isn't for everyone. That's why there aren't 15 greatest of all times.

There's only one. And there's a reason for that. It's why this dynasty will never be duplicated because you have to have the exact perfect formula of the two people with the most influence over the organization having the, exact same mentality, and that's what Brady and Belichick have. By the way, Kobe was known as really serious. Michael Jordan could play his cards on the team playing, but Michael Jordan, drinking or not, partying or not?

Was the most serious? He was Michael Jordan lifted every morning during the NBA season. Every morning. By the way, you're getting in, remember this. At three in the morning in Milwaukee, and Michael at nine would be uplifting. And I covered Rashid Wallace. Rashid Wallace was so talented and so fun and so funny.

But he was never serious enough. But you need every different kind of personality. But yes, but your leader, the Tim Duncan, the Brady, I want as a serious kind of obsessed guy. Peyton Manning was obsessed. And Russell Wilson is just all in. I'm into that. That's just, you know, some, my kids say sometimes I am too serious. You can be serious.

And I tell them to seriously get to their room and do their homework. And I'm serious. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Welcome to my new podcast. Learn the hard way 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, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in.

I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice 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 CliverTaylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

What? Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. 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.

What's up, fam, it's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast, Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs.

I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the line, lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court licking his fingers while he got the ball.

After you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Heard hierarchy. Time is now. Let's go. The top 10 NFL teams, according to college, number 10.

Well, to start the year, Buffalo was a coaching and defensive story, but they're now the quarterback's Josh Allen, who I thought had a chance to be a huge bust, is coming along. He has now had multiple touchdowns in six straight games. That's a real thing. Now, again, Lamar's taking, you know, sucking up all the oxygen in the young. quarterback room. Nobody's paying attention. Josh Allen's actually very athletic, gives you about 40, 50 yards rushing, throws no interceptions, 11 TDs one pick in the last six games. And this is a

defense that has gone 23 straight games, not allowing anybody, any team, any quarterback to have over 400 yards. So what started as a defensive story and a coaching story, now I got a little wiggle on the offense, Buffalo at 10. Number nine. Kansas City. We'll know more in two weeks, because this This team's going to go to Foxborough in a couple of weeks, and that'll tell us a lot. Let's not freak out. They had a buy week, so I'm not going to move them up much. They are second in the NFL and passing yards per game and third in total offense. Their offensive line is better than league average, and I love their coach.

So this is kind of a – this was a perfect time for a buy. Let's get Mahomes another 10 extra days, a little bit of rest. Here we go. Patriots in two weeks. I have Kansas City at 9. Number 8. Green Bay. Now, again, let's not go crazy because they got smoked.

Clearly, they struggle with physical teams. But they are eighth in giveaways this year, meaning they don't give it up much. And they're ninth in takeaways. They do take it away. So if you keep it and take away, you win a lot of games. But they are. Here's the issue. And I'm not saying Aaron Rogers is struggling.

But, you know, he's completing 64% of his throws this year with a great receiving core and a running game. So he's throwing on play action and Jimmy Graham. Aaron hasn't been great. His passer rating's 100. He's been good. He has not been great. And we finally got him a running game and finally got him a defense and finally got him a progressive

head coach. And I don't think Aaron's been that special. I think Aaron's been okay. I think if you asked Aaron personally, he would tell you he hasn't been special. So he was terrible on third down against San Francisco. I have Green Bay at 8. Number 7. I have the Cowboys a spot ahead of Green Bay, though Green Bay beat them because I do think

teams change. and I don't think we should completely overreact to Dallas's lost in New England. Dallas hasn't lost in Foxborough in like three years. My big concern with the Cowboys is they do not have a takeaway in three weeks. Translation is everybody's comfortable against Dallas. Sam Darnold was great against them. Kirk Cousins was great. I thought Brady played really well.

Stats didn't show you. Jeff Driscoll was comfortable. I'm fine with the offense. This offense is good enough to win a Super Bowl. the offensive line, the weapons. Their defense makes every quarterback that's reasonably talented, really, really comfortable. And, I mean, Darnold, Kirk Cousins, Jeff Driscoll, Aaron Rogers, Tom Brady, had their most comfortable Sunday against this defense. That's the problem.

Number six. New Orleans. They faded. They always start hot, right? Second straight year, nine and two, they started this year, 10 and one last year. Are they fading? A lot of people are like, they're starting to feel. I would say this to support New Orleans.

Don't go crazy because Atlanta and Carolina in your division give you a pushback. In your division, everybody knows Sean Payton's tricks and tendencies. So when you play a team over and over and Ron Rivera has seen every trick twice a year from Sean Payton for seven years. So sometimes in division means the great Seattle team struggled with Arizona for years because Arizona knew all Seattle's personnel and tricks. Here's what I like about the Saints. You can't run on them. they force you to throw and they've got a real pass rush

and I get a Hall of Fame coach and quarterback. So don't get too concerned with these tough games in division. This is still a top team. Number five. Minnesota, I think this is a top roster. I think it's the best roster in the NFL. I do.

It's a running team first with a conservative head coach. We all know that Kirk Cousins is four and eight over the last two years against teams that are 500 or better. sometimes he's inexplicably bad. They fall behind Denver, 20-0-0 at home. He got crushed last year at home by Buffalo and rookie quarterback Josh Allen.

I do feel like the NFC championship game is their ceiling, and I think they'll lose a game before the end of the year, so they'll be playing on the road in the playoffs. But in terms of total roster, I think the front office has done a remarkable job. The receivers, two good tight ends, two good receivers, a star running back, big time safety, linebackers, pass rushers. I think they've solved some of their offensive line issues.

Previous couple of years, Minnesota, I have at five. Number four. New England. Now, Muhammad Sunu wasn't available Sunday. He's coming back. They got their left tackle back. And if you really watch the football game, they were absolutely better in their protection.

So they've upgraded it left tackle. Nikiel Harry, I thought, this is going to be a real story. Brady needs another weapon when Josh Gordon left. Nikiel Harry had a touchdown. Philip Dorset comes back. Muhammad Sanoo Edelman. Then if Nikiel Harry is a six-target four-catch guy, that's another weapon they need, especially in the red zone.

But 10-plus wins for 17 straight years. They are the model of consistency in the league. They're at four. I still wish they had a better deep threat. Number three. San Francisco. I love the coach. I love the D-line.

And I really, really like the quarterback. Listen, they've, they've have 40. for sacks this year. And if you cannot protect games over fast, there's a Baltimore feeling to San Francisco. Like if you don't have the linebackers that are good in space, Baltimore

is going to knock you out first round. If you don't have an offensive line that can protect on the edge, San Francisco is just going to knock you out fast. There's a Mike Tyson quality to the Ravens and the 49ers. By the way, to Joy's point, Jimmy G. since week nine, is completing

68% of his throws. That's right when I say Aaron Rogers is not having a great year. Jimmy G. with a bunch of young receivers, he doesn't have a DeMonte Adams. He's completing 68% of his throws. So he's better than people think.

Number two. I think the Seahawks, here's an interesting thing that speaks to how smart they are and how well coached and how good Russell Wilson is. They are 16 and 4 in their last 20 trips to the Eastern Time Zone. Now Seattle, I grew up there. It might as well be Alaska. So they go to the East Coast, often play early, and they're 16 and 4. That would be a great

home record. It shows you their preparation. It shows you their composure. Eight of their nine wins are one possession wins. They also added Jadavian Clownie and Josh Gordon. Those are not just guys. We saw Clowney take over the Niner game. We know Josh Gordon, especially the way Russell and works with everybody. Could be a difference maker in a big playoff game. Six and O in the road. I mean, we always thought Seattle was a home story. They've now become the league's best road story.

That's scary. Number one. Let's not waste any time. Baltimore's just knocking people out. It's not competitive. There's seven straight wins. And Lamar's, for the record, what's scary about Baltimore, if you had looked at their schedule six weeks ago,

you're going to have to go to Seattle. and then you can play New England. Then you gotta go out to L.A. Monday night football. It's not like they got a scheduling break. They're knocking out good teams. And Lamar's last three, again, completion percentage. 73%. That's the league now.

So I got to deal with his running any complete seven. 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. 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 SportsSlic. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite, unhumored 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 Hardway 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 Cliver Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you. 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 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get

podcast. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.