The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 12/12/2018

Episode Date: December 12, 2018

Colin thinks Kevin Durant took another shot at LeBron because he thought his success with the Warriors would get him more attention and it hasn't. He wants to start crediting the Steelers as producers of the show because they constantly create stories and distractions to talk about. Plus, FS1's Nick Wright explains to Colin why Dak Prescott falls below the "Matt Ryan Line" and therefore you cannot give him a big contract. Presented by Perky Jerky. 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,

breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

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

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

What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was harmed. you just understood.

That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to her. He's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball.

So listen to Point Game on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 SportsRodio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by search searching herd.

This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here it is on Wednesday. This is the herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening live in Los Angeles, Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. We are absolutely packed today on Wednesday. Great show plan. Joy Taylor is joining me. Joy, how are you?

I'm great. Good morning. Good morning. We'll get to Carson Went's story with Joy and a little bit in the Huron. Heard line news. Carson Wentz out for the year. He was hurt anyway. Philadelphia has not had their act together all season. We'll get to that. I don't think it's going to affect anything. Carson Wentz like Andrew Luck is amazing. Kind of has a lost season. He'll be back and be great. But this to me is the story of the day. I don't believe in coincidences. Things

happen for a reason. Kevin Durant for the second time in a couple of weeks has taken a shot at LeBron James. Remember a couple of weeks ago when he said playing with LeBron is toxic? It's never been toxic playing with LeBron. Is getting to the finals toxic? Because LeBron's been to eight straight finals. Is that toxic? And then yesterday, Kevin Durant talks about the greatest players of all time. He mentions Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Kyrie Irving.

Kyrie Irving, you put in with Kobe and Michael. No mention of LeBron. he puts in Kyrie who dumped LeBron. Now, come on now. Bro, you can't name the five great restaurants in America and then just throw apple bees in there and think I'm not to not notice it. You've got an agenda.

You've got a bias. You can't start talking about the great quarterbacks of all time and say, Brady and Montana and Elway and Marino and Aikman and Jimmy Garapolo. What? Do you owe him a favor? Kevin Durant, you did this for a reason. Because you know the MJ thing

kind of gets in LeBron's head. And Kyrie ticked LeBron off. And a lot of people, Kobe fans don't like LeBron. You did this for a reason. This was not a coincidence. You just can't throw Kyrie Irving into your all-time great players and want me to believe it was just organic and you didn't think about it.

I mean, that reference is laughable. The Celtics almost won the East last year after Kyrie Irving got hurt. What happens when LeBron leaves teams? By the way, Kyrie Irving, before LeBron got to Cleveland, was winning 30 games a year, was constantly hurt, and had a reputation as an uncoachable diva. You can't throw Kyrie Irving into your ad-lib greatest players of all time, and we all know why you're doing this. we know Kevin Durant why you're doing this

because you thought as the number two player in the world when you went to Golden State and started winning titles that would elevate you over LeBron and it hasn't LeBron still is the lead story on my show and Skip show and any debate show in America that talks NBA

LeBron's still the king and you're just really talented that's your identity you're not even the most important guy in your own team. We know that through statistics, wins and losses and analytics. When Steph's gone, warriors are average. When you're gone, they're still great. They won 73 games set a record without you. They won a championship without you. You could leave tomorrow. They'd put in Boogie Cousins. I'd have Steph, Clay, Draymond, Boogie Cousins. They'd still win

the NBA championship. And this bothers Kevin Durant. He's a very sensitive guy and he thought going to Golden State would elevate him above LeBron and it hasn't. And he's bothered that he still always has to watch these shows and watch the NBA. And everybody talks about LeBron more than KD. Listen, I've said this for years. Magic and Bird saved the NBA. MJ made it global. And LeBron made it mobile.

When you left teams years ago, you were considered disloyal, weak. Now, if you don't go to a better team, you're a money-grateful. grab her. Winning doesn't matter. You're a diva. You're weak. You're afraid. Kevin Durant doesn't leave Oklahoma City unless LeBron left first for Miami and took all the arrows and took all the heat. LeBron's always going to be a bigger deal than Kevin Durant. Kevin's chasing ghosts. Magic Bird saved it. Michael met it global. And LeBron made the league mobile. and what really bothers Kevin Durant is that his number one adversary, LeBron, has a much greater legacy

and his teammate, Steph Curry, has a much greater impact as well. LeBron made the league mobile and Steph changed the way we play it. And Kevin Durant, he's just really talented. There's nothing wrong with that. He is super talented. But we know a couple of things about Durant. One of them being, he's sensitive. He got rabbit ears.

He and Aaron Rogers hear everything. The difference is Aaron denies he hears everything. Kevin Durant's pretty up front about hearing everything. But when Lamran moved to the Lakers, he once again is the most talked about player in the league. And it drives Durant nuts. he'll never be better than LeBron. He'll never be as relevant as LeBron. He'll never be talked about like LeBron.

LeBron leaves teams they disintegrate. Kevin Durant left Oklahoma City. They're the second best team in the West right now. Golden State. One before him. If he left, they put boogie in. They'd win after him. It's bothering him.

First, LeBron was toxic. Now you're mentioning great players and you're putting Kyrie in there. Come on, Kevin. It bothers you. Just admit it. Let me shift to football. I should send a check to the Pittsburgh Steelers every year.

A big check. Because they fill like five, six segments a week. ESPN once had to do a year-long investigation into New England to get dirt. Pittsburgh gives you dirt about twice a week. They did it again yesterday. when New England lost to Miami over the weekend, and it was kind of like controversial, it was embarrassing. Gronk took the heat, my fault. Brady took the heat, my fault.

Belichick took the heat, my fault. Story died. For the third time in about four weeks, the Pittsburgh Steelers, it is now Wednesday, are talking about a previous game, lost to Oakland, as the Patriot game is now coming up in a few days. Mike Tomlin yesterday I swear to God I should pay the Steelers for all the segments they give me I don't even have to work for them I just wake up and they give me another story

Mike Tomlin paying attention in the rearview mirror to the game they just lost was asked about Big Ben being healthy and not playing and he got into medical equipment because of the lack of information we thought that the best thing to do the most prudent thing to do

would be only to make Ben available an emergency like situation was exactly what we did in Cincinnati several years ago. The x-ray was not clearly readable. Can you clarify when you said after the game that you could have brought Ben back a few series earlier, but you said today that you're only going to use an emergency situations? Is that saying he was cleared a few series earlier and you decided only to use him in emergency situations? Again, guys, you know, we didn't have a lot of information, so dialogue was a part of the discussion.

But obviously, this thing has had legs and it has grown, and we want to minimize the senseless distractions. So I'm being very transparent with you in terms of what transpired, how, and why. It's Wednesday. The game was three days ago. Tim Ben's columnist in Pittsburgh said, I walked into Mike Tomlin's news conference seeking clarity. For the most part, I walked out confused.

You're still for about the fourth time this evening. talking about a game that's over and not focusing in on the biggest game of the year. Football's hard. Distractions make it harder. The Steelers once again lead the NFL in distractions. I should give Big Ben and Mike Tomlin producer credits for this show. Does Pittsburgh realize that if they lose this weekend in New England and they will, they'll be seven, six and one and probably not in first place and facing the Saints in New Orleans next? It's Wednesday. Bill Belichick was once asked about a medical situation.

Here's how he handled it. I'm a football coach. I'm not a doctor. The medical staff is the medical staff. I coach the team. Medical people handle the injuries. They don't call plays. I don't do surgery.

We have a great deal there. Works out good. New England buries the loss. Berries the evidence. puts a wet blanket on the fire. It's Wednesday. And the Steelers are still talking about medical equipment, Big Ben, an ugly loss.

I mean, they got rid of Lavian Bell, and they thought all the noise would go away. I was told from a source I trust that they got rid of Lavian Bell, and the reason was he was too noisy. It's too distracting. Lavian left, it's gotten worse. I mean, this is why New England is going to be. Pittsburgh Sunday.

This is why. Baltimore Ravens are chasing him. Don't hear a peep. Baltimore's got a quarterback situation. Flacco starts. Now it's Lamar. Flackos benched. Lamar's not a peep.

You could argue Baltimore's got a major controversy on their hands. Not a peep. John Harbaugh came out. Yeah, Flacco's on the bench now. Lamar starts. Nothing leaks. Handle it quick, done, game up. New England losing.

a mess. My fault, my fault, my fault. Story over. Petsburgh? I mean, God, it's like ER. I mean, it's like one of those medical shows. Football coaches don't talk medical equipment. All right. A lot of stuff today. Nick Wright, Albert Breer, Rob Parker, Stephen Jackson. Carson Wentz out for the year. I think it's like Andrew Locke. I think Carson Wentz will be back. I think it'll be amazing. I think the Philadelphia Eagles next year will be favor to win their division. I think it's just, listen, Tom Brady had a lost season. Michael Jordan broke a leg had a lost season.

Andrew Luck had a lost season and a half. Carson Wentz has a lost season. It happens. Great players break a leg, get hurt, have a surgery. It's fine. Carson Wentz is great, and they'll be great next year. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app.

Search Herd to listen live or on demand. whenever you'd like. The biggest game of the NFL this weekend feels like to me, the Cowboys and the Indianapolis Colts. If Dallas wins, they can potentially secure the number three seat over Chicago. What Dallas doesn't want to do in the playoffs is go to New Orleans. Every place else, Dallas is fine. With that defense and that running game and Amari Cooper, Dallas can win everywhere.

They're not going to go to New Orleans, especially after they beat the Saints and beat them again. That's what Dallas doesn't want. So this game this weekend between Dallas and the Colts is huge, and the Colts are red hot. And by the way, the Colts are favored. So that tells you, the Indy's a real team at home playing great defense and they have Andrew Luck.

So the big story with the Cowboys is fairly obvious. We've talked about this. Dak's going to be a cowboy. His intangibles are unbelievable A plus. His talent's closer to C plus. Sort of the opposite of Cam Newton, you know. Cam's got A plus talent, but his intangibles are C plus. He's moody, hot and cold.

Anyway, with Dak, Dack's in. Okay? Like him or not, Dax in. Jerry likes him. What are you going to pay him? what do you got to pay him? You don't want to pay them $28 million. Okay, let me show you a chart.

The most guaranteed money for quarterbacks in the NFL. Here's the top 16. One leads the division, now barely, Big Ben. Of the top 15 quarterbacks in the NFL, most guaranteed money, none. Lead their division. Paying the quarterback a ton, it's not where Dallas wants to go. And cowboy fans had to be throwing up in their mouth a little. yesterday when Peter King came on the show and talked about Dax contract.

Now the question is, do you pay Dac Prescott $29 million a year? And, you know, at some point, at some point, Colin, if you're committing to a guy, you got to pay him the market rate for what quarterbacks make. And that seems totally absurd. I get it. But you may have to pay the going rate. 29 million a year. again top 15 paid guaranteed money quarterbacks in the NFL none lead their division you got to go to 16 and big ben and he's hanging on by a threat over baltimore you can't blame jack for expecting that and he's technically earned it okay so here's the key this is a great negotiating ploy

i have seen companies do this i've been in 12 contract negotiations in my life so trent dilfer and michael irvin have both been on my show this week So Trent Dilfer's theory on what to do with DAC is let's wait. Here it is. Well, we got another year to figure it out. I would personally internally want to see him do something special on a playoff run. I still think you need to be having conversations with his agent right now saying if you think you're going to break the bank, you're not going to. We'll start looking into the draft. We'll start looking at different options because we're not going to do it. Say the Vikings did. Because right now, when you overpay for a quarterback, you're affecting four to six other guys that should be getting rewarded for their efforts,

and they're really not. That's very dangerous. Is Dallas playing well right now? Mm-hmm. Is Dallas going to have a home playoff game? Mm-hmm. Is Dallas going to win their division for the second time in three years?

Mm-hmm. Is most of this cowboy team defense getting better, not older? Mm-hmm. Waiting on DAC is not a good bet. Young people who have never made great money. It's very hard for them to pass on it. Rich, old guys who have been in a million negotiations, who have 100 million in the bank.

Nah, I'll wait, I'll wait, bro. But Jerry Jones, remember, Dak still is on his rookie contract for another year. year making 700 G's. That's it. Jerry Jones comes to him and says, I'll make you deal. You want a house that looks like mine, not your condo? I'll give you $23 million today. Or you can wait for a year and maybe get 28. Almost always, young people will take the money now. That's what Michael Irvin suggested two days ago on my show. it's just about, hey, you're the next guy up.

You get to be the highest pay. It doesn't matter in any other, like it does in every other position. So now you got to go to Dak before he becomes up and give him somewhere, give him a great number that's good for both sides. I have watched companies for years. Go to employees and tantalize them with this. We'll pay you early. Now, we won't give you the big number, but how would you like a mansion today and a boat today and a Lambo today and new suits today and generational wealth today? Very hard to pass up.

Be very careful about waiting on DAC because, A, Jerry's already made a call. We're keeping him. Jerry's already made that decision. And ask yourself, is that defense for the Cowboys old and getting worse? No, it's young and getting better. Are the Cowboys eroding as a franchise? No, they're growing as a franchise. Is Dak's suddenly going to get worse over time?

Now the chances are with more experience, he'll get better. Are pieces over the next 24 months, 12 months leaving? No, Amari Cooper, Zeke, Tyron Smith, Van Derresh, Jalen Smith, DeMarcus Lawrence, they're all going to be here next year. I think you've got to go to Dak early. I think you have to go to him and say, listen. I mean, Dax admitted, didn't have a perfect life. Pam 23 now, not 29 in a year.

I think that's the negotiating ploy. I really think, you wait on Dack. Look at this cowboy team. They're going to host a playoff game. There's a very good chance they're hosting a playoff game. They could be hosting Minnesota. Who do you trust? Kirk Cousins prime time against a Cowboys defense?

I'll take Dallas. Aaron Rogers sneaks in. the road again. I'll take Dallas. The only team I don't like matching up with Dallas is New Orleans there. And if they win this weekend, Chicago's got a tough game against Green Bay. They don't have to go there.

I'd just be very careful about waiting to pay DAC. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS1 and the IHeart Radio ads. And I want to go to Nick Wright on this. Kevin Durant for the second time

in two weeks has taken a shot at LeBron James called him toxic, playing with LeBron's toxic. And then yesterday, mentioned all these great players all time and put Kyrie in and not LeBron. So Nick Wright, first things first for the Coward Global Satellite Network. Let's just talk about that. I mean, what did you make of Durant's comments? I don't think they're a coincidence, Nick. I think he is deeply bothered that he moved to Golden State, won a bunch of titles, and people still don't put him above LeBron. That's my gut take. Well, there is obviously and definitely some insecurity factor as far as what more do you want me to do? I won the finals. I won the finals with a jump shot over LeBron.

I won the finals the next year with a jump shot in the exact same place. But as you just said, just objectively speaking, he's not better. People who know basketball know he's not better. But I also think, listen, saying Kobe's one of the two greatest players of all time is an absurd. or the Gobi's, as great as he was, not one of the two best players of his era. That's LeBron and Duncan, but that's neither here nor there. But about a year ago, Kevin Durant on one of his mini-podcasts with Bill Simmons, talked about the different way that he and LeBron go about their off-season preparation.

And he said something I thought was really telling. He said, LeBron works on his body. I work on my game. as if he didn't see that LeBron was working on his body in order to prolong how long he can play the game. Because the guys he mentioned are guys that I understand, like whether it's footwork or in Kyrie's case, a raw dribbling skill or touch on a jump shot,

they all might have something on LeBron. What LeBron's got on everybody is the body he's put together, which has allowed him to not only get to the rim, but to be uninjured. I don't think that's something from a basketball perspective, Durant fully respects because it is obviously the opposite of what he has. Durant has made the most anyone could ever make with a muscle mass of around what I have, which is a remarkable feat.

But it is not comparable to what we see from most other NBA stars. By the way, there's a rumor today, Kauai and Kevin Durant to the Clippers. Again, I'll believe Durant's going to leave. I don't think he has the guts to leave Golden State because he would get crushed. And if he goes to L.A. and LeBron gets Anthony Davis and he's on the second best team in L.A. It's a bad look for him. I don't buy this move. Do you buy it? All right.

So I do think I disagree with you. I think Kevin Noreen is going to leave. I think he not only has the guts to leave, I think leaving could it be the only thing to enhance his standing in the league. But the only thing if he leaves, I believe, he can't do or would be crazy to do is enter into another situation where we don't know who the best player is. So that means he's already in one of only a handful of situations he could be in where a teammate is arguably better in Steph. So he can't go to the Lakers. And that also means he can't team up with Kauai, Janus, Anthony Davis, LeBron. That's it. So if it's about winning

championships, obviously he should stay in Golden State. If it's about proving he can do it on his own, then come to New York, get one other All-Star but not Superstar and see what you can do. But going to the Clippers to play alongside another guy that a lot of people think is better than him, if you're going to do that, just stay in Golden State. I don't understand. It's the same thing why I don't buy Clay Thompson to the Lakers. If you want to, the only reason Clay would leave the Lakers is if he wants to see what it's like with him being the best guy. So why would he go to a place, another place where he's not going to be the best guy? I know the clippers have the salary cap space and want to do it. I don't know why KD would do it. You know, I talk some DAC,

and I think I've come to this conclusion that DAC's the opposite of CAM. DAC's intangibles and leadership are as good as anybody in this league, A plus. Talent C plus. Cam's talent is an A-plus, but his intangibles week-to-week, half-to-half gets moody, never had back-to-back winning seasons. I have people inside that building who have told me for years. He's a lot. You're dealing with a lot with Cam off the field and drama and personality. And my takeaway is this. Jerry said he wants DAC.

So you're going to have to pay DAC. Pay him now a year early and get a discount. But if you sit and wait on DAC and hope he struggles and the Cowboy's, is your road. I think Dallas is going to keep getting better. All their best players are young. Amari Cooper, Van der Leyen Smith. I think you're better off going in, paying them early, getting a little discount, but I think you disagree. Well, listen, Colin, if I'm trying to sell you a Honda cord with a great, reliable, wonderful car for $86,000, and you come home to the wife and you say, listen, got the new car, Honda Accord, got it on a discount, $82,000.

She's still pissed. And so, like, you can talk discount, but here's the reality. And it's never been more crystal clear than it is right now. Who are the teams that can win a Super Bowl? Every single one of them is in one of these two buckets. Super duper star all-time quarterback. or quarterback on a rookie contract with an awesome team around him. The team that's in the second bucket, the chiefs, the bears, the Rams, the Cowboys,

the Texans, in the first bucket, the Patriots, the Chargers, like, those are the buckets. And what you don't want to be in is in the bucket, the lions, the Raiders, the Vikings, the, go down the list. I think Washington was in before the injury, like where you've got average-ish quarterback, paid like a superstar, you're finished in that way. There is no path from there to a championship. Dak Prescott is somewhere between the 13th at best and the 22nd at worst quarterback. The moment you pay him, you're screwed.

You can't pay this guy. There is no example of winning when you pay a guy of that caliber like he's not. So what would I do with Dak? Jerry wanted to draft Johnny Mansell once upon a time. people talked them off the ledge. Dak's got one more year at $700,000. Make him play it out. Then, you know what?

If you want, franchise tag him. Put the non-exclusive tag on him. See if anyone wants to give up two first-round picks for Dak. Spoiler alert, they don't. And in the meantime, draft your next guy. Because, like, and Colin, I think there's, like, Pat Mahomes, all pay him. Carson Wentz, assuming he'll be healthy, all pay him. Mitch Tribisky, your guy.

Sam Darnold, unless those guys show drastic growth. If you can't win during their rookie contract, you better start preparing for the next guy because if you've got an average quarterback and you pay him like he's not, you're finished. It costs you four other players you could have. There's no way to recover from it. That's a pretty convincing argument. I'm not going to lie. That was a very convincing. I'm not saying change my mind. Can I tell you real quick? Yeah. I call it. It's the Matt Ryan line. Ask yourself. this. Is this quarterback better than Matt Ryan? No. If he is, you can pay him a lot. If he's not, you got to walk away.

Like Cam and Matt Ryan are right on the line, but we've seen when they were at their very best, you can win with them. But Kurt Cousins is beneath the line. Alex Smith, Blake Bortles, Derek Carr, Matt Stafford, beneath the line. Philip Rivers, Big Ben, Aaron Rogers, Aaron Rogers, above the line. If they're above the Matt Ryan line, pay them. If they're beneath the Matt Ryan line, you've got to have the stomach to walk away. Good stuff, buddy. Nick Wright, first things first. Love having you on. Thanks, bud. What's up, everybody? John Middellcock from the Three and Out podcast brought to you by Colin Coward's podcast network. If you like Colin's show, you will like mine. I talk all football.

Coming up on this week's show, Kurt Cousins, is he good or not? Brady, Mahomes, Amari thriving, Reggie McKenzie fired. There is a lot going on in the NFL world and we talk it all. Again, three and out podcast. Wherever you listen to your podcast with me, John Middlkoff. I tell my kids this all the time. Life is about reaction, not action. People are usually all in on action. What do I say? No, no, life's about reaction.

Even great actors have bad movies. Do you burn bridges, rip your agent, rip the studio? Denzel's had bad movies. Tom Hanks had bad movies. Everybody gets dumped. Do you become a stalker? Cuckoo, cuckoo. Or do you just move on?

A lot of people get fired. Do you burn bridges? Remember when Tony Romo lost his job to DAC? Remember how well Tony Romo reacted? It's why CBS said, with no experience, we're going to put you next to Jim Nance. Here's five million large a year.

Be the analyst for the next 15 years in the NFL. It wasn't his actions. because he didn't win the playoff games. It was his reaction that looked dignified and classy as the quarterback of the Cowboys above the fray. Dak Prescott, his actions, he doesn't throw as well as Cam. His reactions way better than Cam. We too often judge quarterbacks on just their arm and just their running and just judge them on their reactions. The National Anthem controversy in Dallas.

It started bubbling up. And what did Dak Prescott do? Dak Prescott said, I'm going to put my hand in my heart. I love America and stand next to my owner. Oh, and Twitter was outraged as it often is. And Dak said, I'm going to double down. I'm going to put my hand in my heart and I love America. And I'm going to stand up here and represent America and the Cowboys.

He didn't buckle. Yes, his action was one thing. But his reaction, everybody scared at Twitter, not Dak. The Des Bryant mess, his reaction was great. Zeke Elliott controversy, his reaction was great. This past weekend was a classic DAC game. Through an interception in the second quarter, he threw another in the third, then he fumbled, he was awful. How did he react to it?

Did he go into the tank? Nah, had his best quarter ever and his best game ever. That's the difference with DAC. We too often judge people on their actions, but life's really about reaction because we're all going to get fired, we're all going to get dumped, we're all going to get replaced, and how do you handle it? Do you become a stalker? Do you burn bridges? Do you fire your agent and yell at your studio? Dak has been one of the great reactors in the NFL. He often plays his best second half after his worst first half. Look at the Cowboys season. They lost of the tight. Monday night football were awful. Dax's reaction? Five-game winning streak.

Cam Newton and the Panthers blown out at Pittsburgh. Their reaction? They haven't won since. Leadership is reaction, not action. Troy Aikman talking about why he likes Dak Prescott. It's easy to play quarterback when you're winning, but when you go out there and you throw a couple interceptions and you throw the interception that cost you the game,

How do you go in on Monday morning and confront your teammate and handle that situation? And that's when you start to realize what you have in a quarterback. And as a quarterback, I know those are tough Monday morning. But I've said it many, many times. Dax's the last guy that I'd worry about within that organization when it comes to those types of things. He's a terrific guy and I think the world of them. And I wouldn't hesitate one minute and having him continue to be the face of the franchise. The greatest closer of all time is Mariano Rivera.

He blew a game seven of the World Series. Came back the following year, and he was better. Brad Lidge was a really, really good closer. He gave up a legendary home run in the playoffs. He went into the emotional tank for years. They had to get him out of town before he rebounded. They were both great pitchers. One's a legend because of reaction, not just his action.

Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. By the way, there's this story today. The Clippers bold plan to land Kauai Leonard and Kevin Durant. According to the story that Clipper employees have attended 75% of Toronto Raptor games, they're stalking him. They're hovering around Kauai Leonard going to games, Clippers officials. And the other story is that Kevin Durant is kind of a wanderer and he would go down there. Can I just say this about Kevin Durant?

Kevin Durant needs Golden State, more than Golden State needs Kevin Durant. They want a title without him. And if he leaves, they'll just put Boogie Cousins in. And then Clay and Steph and Draymond and Boogie Cousins will still be the favorite to win the championship and still would. Kevin Durant, there's a saying in life, don't try to get happier than happy. That's my saying. Once you're happy, don't try to get happier. You'll screw it up.

Kevin Durant is totally protected at Golden State. He doesn't have to be the leader, Steph is. He doesn't have to be the tough guy, Draymond is. He doesn't have to be the glue guy, Steph and Clay are. He can just make big shots, in big games, collect hardware, and then go home and hang out watching Twitter and Instagram for five hours a day. That's an easy life. Just hit shots. By the way, I've seen Kevin Durant before Golden State.

They called him, remember what they called him? Mr. Unreliable? That was the headline in Oklahoma City that freaked him out and ticked him off, that you couldn't depend on him. There's a reason that newspaper did it. He was Mr. Unreliable. Well, if he goes to the Clippers, he'll become Mr. Irrelevant. LeBron, Anthony Davis, Lakers, I live in this town. That will be the story.

And Golden State will still be good. And Boston will be getting better. So, you know, this idea that Kevin Durant's in the perfect place. He doesn't have to be the leader, doesn't have to be the tough guy, doesn't have to be the glue guy, doesn't have to be the quasi-coach like LeBron's have to be. he can just go out and hit big shots and collect hardware and hang out and Instagram all day and do podcasts. That's as good as it gets for him.

That's a good life for him. Don't overthink the room, KD. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Rob Parker, sports columnist, Detroit News, daily news in New York,

teaches sports commentary at USC. He's the herd show instigator. All right, so Kevin Durant comes out. second time in two weeks. First, he called LeBron toxic. And now he mentioned yesterday on a podcast. He talked about all the great players of all time, Kobe Michael, and he mentions Kyrie, but not LeBron James. You know that Kevin Durant's mad, that he went to Golden State. He thought winning titles would elevate him above LeBron, and it hasn't happened. No, it hasn't happened, but I love this. First of all, they're peers. He shouldn't be, you know, falling over crazy for LeBron or be a fanboy,

of LeBron James, because he's ultimately trying to be better than LeBron during the LeBron era, and he has a chance at it. Colin, if they win the next two championships, right, he'll have four, won four in a row, beating LeBron a couple times and then beating the Lakers or, you know what I mean, in the LeBron era, this all will make Kevin Durant the better guy and people ultimately will look at his career and say, this guy beat LeBron in his own game. So you like him. You don't think it shows insecurity.

No, I mean, we already know. Kevin Durant is the Massot. I told you this before. Most sensitive of all time. He is. Yeah. This guy should be living a life and traveling Europe and having fun. He's worried about what people think.

You can't, when you're this good knowing the nature of social media and all this stuff, you can't be worried about it. You just won back-to-back finals MVP's, right, and won two championships. What could somebody say to you? I don't think he'll ever leave because I think he has the perfect situation. Then again, I never thought LeBron would leave Miami because of Wash, Bosh, Wade, Badierey, Ray Allen, Mickey Eris, and the owner. But you never thought the Miami thing was a success for LeBron and Wade.

Not at all. I mean, this whole thing that they had where it was Dwayne Wade and LeBron, oh, it was their last game and all this thing. It was like revisionist history. That situation in Miami where he, not two, not three, not four. Remember that? About all the championships? Was a failure in Miami.

Yes, Joy Taylor. It was a failure. LeBron and Bosch and Wade. They only really almost only won one championship if it wasn't for Ray Allen. Oh, I missed the column for the almost won the championships. Yeah, what columns are out of? That was it almost. You know the one I'm talking about where Ray Allen saved his bacon, where he made that big three-pointer.

Didn't they have a game seven after that? Everybody in Miami was out of the stadium. Don't you remember they were outside banging on the window trying to get back in? It was like 30 people and they had a game seven after that. Yeah, they had another game, Rob. No, no. You're marginalizing it. No, I'm not marginalizing it.

There was no way when you put that team together, did you think they would win two out of four championships? If you want to be known as something special, it would be at least three in a row. They didn't do that. They did not get the three in a row. I don't think failure is a fair word. Did they achieve the Shack Kobe level?

no, Michael Jordan Warriors, no. But I think getting to the finals four straight times in winning two, I don't think that could be deemed as failure. When you put together those three players who were all in the same draft, stars, demolished the competition in the Eastern Conference, open the door for yourself to win, and you didn't accomplish that? You did nothing special. Winning two games, two championships is nothing special, Colin. You told me that they won and won all four or won three out of four, maybe I would buy into it what they had set up and don't forget LeBron talked about it. Winning all these

championships in the row and even said, I'm not kidding, I'm serious about it. They really thought that they were going to run the table and they lost to Dallas which was a terrible loss in the finals. LeBron's worst series ever. No doubt about it. And then to only win two out of four. Well they also got

they did get rolled by San Antonio in the fourth year in the finals. That was not a competitive finals. Not at all. They got rolled. Okay, I want to go back to this. Dak Prescott. You know, Tony Romo, and I love Tony Romo. He's a great broadcaster, by the way, is kind of legendary. We all know he's not Akeman.

He's just got to let Jim Nance breathe a little bit. A little bit more. Right. Am I right? Yeah. That's it. He'll learn that. Aikman's the greatest cowboy quarterback ever. Stauback is inches behind him. And Tony Romo's way up there.

But my takeaway is Dak will be number three because he is going to inherit the best running back Tony Romo didn't. The best defense, Tony Romo didn't. He's inheriting better stuff than Romo, and I think eventually Dak will surpass Romo in cowboy lore, do you? I'm not buying it. I just cannot believe where we are. A month ago, Troy Aikman said the Cowboys need to be blown up, and this was a complete mess. Nobody was talking about giving Dak Prescott $28, $30 million to be a quarterback. And I'm not all the way in. I have not bought all the way in because I think this thing could turn the other way. I'll tell you right now, if he was available right now on the open market, very few, if any, would want Dak Prescott

or to sign him. I don't believe he's that guy that you would be like, oh, wait a minute, we can replace our quarterback and get Dak Prescott. There's still a lot of flaws there. You mean, were you convinced when they beat the Saints and the Cowboys scored no points in the second half of a 13 to 10 win? Is that when you were convinced that Dak Prescott is that guy? Come on, Colin. This is prisoner of the moment. I'm not taking anything away. They've won the five games.

He's played better. No doubt about it. But this thing could turn over and go the other way. Very, very quickly. Here's what's interesting. So I talked to a Sharp, a Vegas Sharp this morning. Somebody I deeply trust in Vegas, who doesn't work here, doesn't work at my old place. Right.

He said Vegas is begging you to bet the Cowboys this weekend. Go look at the line. minus two and a half. Colts are favored. They are begging you to bet. They're begging the country to bet Dallas. What does that tell you? Right.

Colts are within the game. No doubt about it. So to your point, if they lose to the Colts this weekend, are we all like, oh my God, what was I thinking about Dak Prescott? And that's all I'm saying. It's going to take a lot more for me to be convinced. I mean, the Cowboys, if I'm the Cowboys, I wait one more year, and I don't care. I want him to prove to me that he is really.

That he is really that guy. Yes, you probably could get him a little cheaper now. But be careful because when you rush into it, there's no turning back. And if this guy goes back to the guy who was a year ago or even earlier this season, where people were talking about 200 yards, a game manager. Do you remember all the stuff? That was this year. That wasn't four years ago.

So I know things have turned around. Is it fair to say this, though? His intangibles are great. During the anthem, he said, I'm going to put my hand in my heart and stand. and when he got pushed back on Twitter, he doubled down and said, I don't care. The Des Bryant Mess rises. Zeke Mess legally rises. Couldn't I argue, though, a big part of this sport is Intangibles.

He is an A-plus at Intangibles. That's fine. But I've also seen the bad Dak who can't throw the ball consistently down the field, who Troy Aikman a month ago said, this is no good. I mean, seriously, I'm not picking on Troy. I'm just saying everybody saw that. We all saw it, didn't we? Yeah.

When they were struggling and how bad it was. And I'm saying, has he played better? Yes. But am I convinced that this is the guy, I bet you if Jerry Jones could do it all over again and could have made the change for Tony Romo? I bet you he would. And he wouldn't admit it now because things are rolling and they got a chance to win the division and make the players and all that.

But if he could do it all over again, he would take Tony Romo nine out of ten times over Dak Prescott. By the way, Brady and Belichick, according to a story this morning, are getting along again. You know I'm not buying that at all. Why? Because Belichick will never live it down that the owner picked the 40-year-old quarterback over the coach. It's never happened.

You want me to name all the quarterbacks who got sent packing in their career? Montana. Montana won four Super Bowl got sent packing. Joe Namis played for the Rams. I could go on and on and on. Peyton Manning, they put out in Indianapolis, right? Yeah.

This is what happens. But in this case, Belichick got picked over by the quarterback. And I think that he'll always feel burned by the owner that he picked Tom Brady. Yeah, so first time ever, good point. So first time ever, they chose the quarterback over the coach when the quarterback was 40. I never thought about that. It's never happened. And that's why I'm saying Belichick won't get over it.

Good seeing you. As always. Instigator. Joy, you still like me? I'm questioning your judgment. Okay. 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 SportsSlic. 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 acapella 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys?

This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Time out. Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam?

It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was hungry. You just understood. That's how personal it got.

Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to you. He's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.

Guaranteed human.