The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 12/19/2018

Episode Date: December 19, 2018

Colin says Anthony Davis joining the Lakers is more than a rumor and it needs to happen sooner than later. He makes his NFL playoff predictions including a series of chaotic events in the AFC. Plus, longtime NFL reporter Ed Werder tells Colin that the Cowboys shouldn't rush to pay Dak Prescott until they see him with a more creative coaching staff  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel 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 I-Heart 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.

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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 until 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,

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This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. This is the herd. On a Wednesday, wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Live in beautiful Los Angeles, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. We are packed today. Former Packer James Jones stops by. Chris Brouss are. Also, I don't think.

Is that complicated? In fact, I think the NFC is very easy. I'm going to lay out exactly how I think the playoffs go today. Joy Taylor is joining me. We get ready for the holidays. Very excited. Very excited. Did you get all your shopping done?

One more little tiny thing. Big stuff's over. One more. One more little thing. But I want to talk about when rumors become reality. There's a lot of rumors in sports. I come on the show all the time. I break maybe two stories a year.

Urban Myers leaving Ohio State. You know, I'll do that once or twice a year. I hear a lot of rumors. I hear stuff all day. But my rule is always do I hear a second and a third person that I trust to confirm the rumor? If I don't, I won't go with it. We started LeBronzo last year because it went from a bunch of rumors to credible sources telling me, I remember one day when a buddy called me and said,

Magic Johnson is telling Jerry West LeBron's coming. And that was about nine months before it happened, six months before it happened. Story yesterday, LeBron said, oh boy, Lakers getting Anthony Davis would be amazing. This has been talked about and rumored about for the last four or five months.

We created the Lebrow. Anthony Davis is the brow. The Lebrow meter. Folks, it is now getting into LeBronzo meter, territory. Multiple sources are saying, listen, yesterday, even LeBron talked about it. That would be amazing. Like, duh, that would be incredible. Like, folks, it's happening. All right, there's affairs that catch everybody off guard. And then there's affairs that happen. Oh, she had an affair

with a tennis instructor. Yeah. Remember Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, did a movie together? And he was hanging out with Jennifer Aniston. And the movie was they were this hot color. with great chemistry and stuff. Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Yeah, yeah. And they had an affair, and you can see that coming from about 1,000 miles. That was one of those affairs you could see coming for 1,000 miles. Like those were sad situations for Jennifer Aniston, but you saw it coming.

The Anthony Davis thing, it's happening. We're getting into the whisper campaign, louder whisper campaign. Multiple sources are now saying, yeah. Now, he signed with clutch sports. We know that months ago. We know that. And that's LeBron's group, Rich Paul. I mean, that's part of it.

of it, but this is a, listen, when Shaq was in Orlando, everybody said Shaq was too big for Orlando, but Orlando felt big. At the time, Orlando was a new franchise. They had a bunch of stars. They were a very good team. Orlando played much bigger than their market. I understood Shaq leaving Orlando for Los Angeles, but Orlando felt much bigger than the size of the city in Orlando. New Orleans is a big NFL city, is a big college football city? It's a tiny irrelevant NBA city. It's not a good team. I mean, am I the only person tired of Anthony Davis being in witness protection? Am I the only person tired of Anthony Davis being on NBA TV instead of TNT and ABC? Okay. The only question now in this situation is who are the Lakers going to give up

for Anthony Davis? Because we have moved past the Whisper campaign. This is like a talking point among execs and people in the NBA. The only question now, are they going to give them Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Josh Hart? Because the Lakers really like Josh Hart. They know they're going to happen because Anthony Davis is under contract this year and next year. So the only way to get him is trade for him.

And if New Orleans doesn't make a trade, they're not going to get anything in return. But I've got to tell you, I hear stuff all day, and I don't buy 90% of it. But people now aren't even afraid to talk about it. This would be huge for the NBA. LeBron, Anthony Davis, and whoever else fills the roster, you're going to watch it, and I'm just hearing more and more.

Derek Fisher talked about it yesterday, former Laker on our show, and he made it very clear it would be a perfect fit. Three years, five years from now, you know, then you have to start to look at Anthony Davis or someone that can impact the middle of the court. So you have LeBron at a wing, you have great perimeter shooting, and then you have somebody in the middle that's protecting the rim, making it really difficult for people to score in the paint,

but also can run the floor, roll to the rim, and then also stretch the floor with some shooting. So, you know, guys like Anthony Davis start to come to mind as far as the future. There are NBA deals that shock us. LeBron to Miami, like we thought he could leave. We didn't think he would. Oh, my God, he's playing with Dwayne Wade, and it made sense. But this is one of these that has a very LeBron to Los Angeles field to it.

All the dots. Bad team. It's not a huge NBA city. He's in witness protection. He signs with LeBron guys. And I'm hearing stuff now every third day. Twice a week, people are talking. I think it's a matter of time now.

To me, I'd rather get LeBron the best player I can as soon as I can. I don't want to have LeBron play another 90 games, put more games on those legs. I'd rather get it done, make a move. But New Orleans, you know, they've talked themselves into, we're going to keep him. I don't buy it. The LeBrow meter is officially in play in the herd. Just like the LeBronso meter was nine months before it happened. The Lebrow meter is officially in play.

All right, let me shift gears to this. I'm not a big awards guy. I don't care. I'm really not. The MVP in the NFL this year is kind of fun because there's like a lot of bunch of, you know, a bunch of interesting choices. It's a good year for quarterbacks. And there was a lot of snubs yesterday in the Pro Bowl.

I don't watch the Pro Bowl. Two things in America that America likes, I don't care about. The Home Run Derby and the Pro Bowl. I don't watch either. They're exhibitions, I don't care. They don't mean anything. I couldn't tell you the last time I watched a Pro Bowl. I'm dead serious.

Home run derby is fun. I don't watch it. They've added some things, you know, give it some urgency, the clock and stuff. You might as well add softball uniforms and Bud Light. It's a batting cage for big guys. Used to be like stars. Griffey was in it, Bonds. And again, yesterday there were some snobbing.

ups for the Pro Bowl. I mean, Tom Brady made it. Come on, give me a break. Tom Brady over Andrew Luck. Come on. But I will say this. This is an all-time snub. Coaches are 30% of the vote. Players are 30% of the vote and fans are 30% of the vote. So fans did not have that much influence. This should not have happened. Aaron Rogers made the Pro Bowl and Russell Wilson did not. 66% of the vote was not fans. I've never held fans to the same standard. I'm I'm going to the Chargers game of the Ravens this weekend. I'm sitting in the stands with the fans.

People will be drunk next to me. People be crazy next to me. People be loud. They'll be great. Yeah, I mean, like, when I go sit in a stadium, I'm ready for inappropriate, loud, drunk guy. Fans are fun. Fans add juice.

Fans have energy. But fans didn't have 66% of this vote. This is a really embarrassing vote. Think about this. A, Aaron and Russell Wilson played. Russell won head ahead. They both played well, but Russell beat him. that should matter.

B, this was a rebuilding year for Seattle. I'm from Seattle. I had them at like 7 and 9, 6 and 10. The Packers were picked to win their division. So don't expectations mean something in a Pro Bowl? Russell was rebuilding O-line, rebuild running game, rebuild... They've exceeded expectations. Green Bay is underachieved.

How about this one? Russell's beating him. statistics. That's usually Aaron's thing, right? We know Aaron's maybe not the greatest personality to be a leader, but passer rating, Russell. Touchdown passes, Russell. Wins, Russell. Completion percentage, Russell. So he's winning in stats. How about the other thing? And this is not a small thing.

Aaron's 0.7 on the road. Owen 7. Josh Johnson has more road wins. There's only two teams in the NFL that don't have a road win. The Niners with their 27th quarterback and Aaron Roder. They win a road game. Russell Wilson's 4 for 4. Well, Colin, what about weapons? Well, what about him?

Russell Wilson's two best receivers combined don't equal the number of catches as Aaron Rogers number one receiver. But more than anything, if you could sit down as a player and a coach, because I'm going to eliminate the fans that are only 30% of the vote, fan is short for fanatic, we should never hold fans to the same level. It's not their responsibility to be accurate. Fans bring energy and juice to sports. Fans are what changes the difference between an empty stadium and a crazy stadium.

We need fans. They have their own jobs and their own standards. We shouldn't bring their standards into sports. That's what the media. That's what players. That's what coaches do. If nothing else, think about this. What division is Aaron Rogers in?

The NFC North. So he plays the Bears twice, the Lions twice, and the Vikings twice. Russell Wilson has more wins against the NFC North, three than Aaron Rogers has this year. One. Even in his own division, Russell played those teams once. He's three and one.

Aaron's won three and one. I mean, this is as bad. This is why awards are a joke. This is why I don't watch the Pro Bowl. This is why popularity contests and internet polls don't mean anything. This is as bad a slight as I've ever seen in the Pro Bowl. And listen, Leighton Van derrish didn't make it for the Cowboys, but there's a bunch of good linebackers like Bobby Wagner, Luke Keekly.

I get it. Layton's great. He's going to make a bunch of them. He's a rookie. He didn't really hit until about week six, week sevens when he really hit. I understand that. I think Ty Why Hilton could make it, but there's so many great receivers in the AFC. Let's not go crazy here.

Most of the snubs came down to, there's a bunch of good players at the position. But Russell Wilson beat Aaron Rogers, beat him statistically, overachieved, has fewer weapons, had more wins in Aaron's own division. That's as bad a snub as you get and why the Pro Bowl is sort of silly. It really is sort of silly. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app. Search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.

All right. So yesterday, Ryan Clark, an ex-NFL player, came out and said Sabin to Green Bay needs to happen. He said, if you're Green Bay, sell the farm, sell the farm, you send everybody to Tuscaloosa. You try to get Nick Sabin to leave Bama, become the coach. When you look at quarterback coach relationships, Peyton and Drew Breeze, Belichick, Tom Brady, mutual respect and accountability. So let me just start with this. I think it's a terrible fit. I don't think it's an age thing.

Nick Saban, 67, he's got great energy. He looks, talks, walks, young. He does not feel like 67. Mike McCarthy's 55 feels closer to 67. Saban's 67 feels closer to 55. By the way, Joe Biden is 76. Bernie Sanders, 77. Politics is a hell about harder than coaching football.

Those guys are going to run for president. Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are probably, going to be the Democratic nominees to knock off Trump, and they're in their mid-70s, and politics ages you faster than football. So it is not an age thing. But I'm a big believer, and I've told young broadcasters this, I tell everybody this. Fit matters. If you're a cattle rancher, don't marry a vegan. If you're a night owl, don't marry an early riser. Fit is everything in life. Don't chase money. Chase fit. Chase management, okay? Sabin's personality, he's is more of an authoritarian.

That's why he's perfect for college. It's a Bobby Knight, Urban Meyer, Roy Williams, Urban Meyer, likes, seeks control. He gets unraveled. He gets feisty. Anytime he loses control of the Alabama media or the national narrative, he goes crazy, right? So he's an authoritarian personality. He's very old school. I'm not criticizing that.

It's very Trumpian. He likes control. He is a Tony Larusa. He is a. Bobby Knight. He is an urban mire. That is his personality. And that doesn't fit in Green Bay. Number one, Aaron Rogers is a free thinker, a free doer,

an ad liber. You're never going to control him. Also, because Aaron Rogers makes $33 million, it's going to limit the recruits you can get. You're not going to be able to pay big money. Also, it's Green Bay. It's always been a lousy free agent market. So there's three things that really work against Green Bay here. He's an authoritarian figure, and Aaron Rogers is an obstacle. Aaron's an outspoken, free-thinking, ad-living quarterback.

He drives Saban nuts. Who, by the way, has more money than Nick, more fame than Nick, a Super Bowl title Nick doesn't have. How do I know that Rogers respects Nick Sabin at that level? College, maybe NFL, no. The other two things are Nick loves to recruit. Green Bay is the worst place in the league out, even worse than Buffalo to recruit. Free agents don't want to live there.

At least Buffalo, you're in New York State. And because the quarterback's making $33 million, it would totally limit personnel moves. Let me also include some other places that are lousy fits. Dallas with Jerry Jones, that's not a good fit. Stop talking about that. Replacing Bill Belichick in New England, his best coaching friend, you don't want to replace Howard Stern.

You don't want to replace Oprah. You don't want to replace a legend. That's a bad fit. New York Jets, I hear a lot. It's not going to work. Crazy owner, Feisty New York media, six papers, nine radio stations. Those were lousy fits.

The one that is so obvious to me, it just on a million reasons, and I buy into it, is the Cleveland Browns and Maker Mayfield. First of all, the owner of the Cleveland Browns made his money in the South. Two of their best players, Nick Chubb, Miles Garrett,

SEC guys. He knows their strengths and weaknesses. They have a ton of cap space. They have extra draft picks. Nick loves recruiting. Nick loves personnel. It's his strength, not X as an O. He would come in with extra draft picks, massive cap space, the best players.

He's either seen him, Baker Mayfield, or played against him in the SEC. He knows the personnel. He also has those Midwestern. He coached at Toledo, Michigan State. He's from West Virginia. He's got very much Midwestern ethos, Midwestern values. He also coached on the Belichick staff in Cleveland. This is an obvious one.

And listen, say what you want about Baker Mayfield. Baker Mayfield's an accurate thrower with the football. Baker Mayfield's going to be a 10-year starter in this league. He wouldn't be my first choice among the young quarterbacks, but you come in with a young good quarterback that can throw the football on a rookie salary. Their stars are mostly Southern. The owner had made his money in the South. You got cap space, extra draft picks.

And by the way, this is a great place to enter. You don't want to enter New England where they got statues of Brady and Belichick outside. You don't want to enter Dallas where you got Jimmy Johnson, Parcells, Aikman outside. It's Cleveland. You get them to 500. They're building a statue for you. And also, this is something else to think about. Look in that division right now. Cincinnati, Andy Dalton.

Big Ben is not in this league in three years. He's not. Lamar Jackson. I think it'll work short term. I'm not sure that running around thing is going to work for seven, eight years. Like Cleveland, to me, is obvious. And I think Cleveland, their owner's a dealmaker.

Give Nick Saban 2% of ownership. I think Saban to Cleveland makes a ton of sense. You know, don't get too caught up on age. Biden, Bernie Sanders are late 70s. They'll run for president and one of them is going to get the nomination. And politics eat you alive. You can coach in football for a long time. Nick Sabin is not going to go to the NFL.

Are you sure? Yes. He was a failed. at Miami. Well, and the reason he was a failure is for every reason that you just described. He is an authoritative figure, and that does not work in the NFL. Ain't no grown man trying to hear you're yelling and screaming. They make millions of dollars. They've got a mortgage, a wife and children. They're professional athletes. They're not dealing with that. You said he likes to recruit. He said it himself. In the NFL, you may get one first round draft pick. If it hasn't been traded away,

he can recruit 10 first round draft pick talents in one year at Alabama. You can rebuild the entire situation. He did. He said that. He said that. He also rolled a tape, said this. Well, then I guess I have to say it. I'm not going to be the Alabama coach. What, what, what, what, what? I shouldn't even have to comment on this. I think I've said this over and over and over again. Why are you bringing up old stuff? He says a lot of stuff. These coaches say a lot of stuff. If he's smart, he will stay in college. He is a, he's a god in Alabama. How many times can you? He will go down as the greatest college football coach of all times. He's already there. dynasty. Exactly. So why are you going to go back to the NFL and of all places, Cleveland?

If you scale Everest, it's time to move to a new mountain. I mean, seriously. Or you climbed Mount Everest and that's a great accomplishment. How many people are climbing Mount Everest seven times? How many times can he beat Clemson and Auburn? I just don't think his coaching style or personality works in the NFL, especially today. I don't know if I think it's very exciting. Hey, what's up, everybody? This is John Middlecock of the three and out podcast. Brought to you by the Colin Coward Podcast Network. If you like Colin Show, you'll like mine.

We Talk All Football. Cam Newton's arm's falling off. Carson Wentz's back's falling off. Jared Goff's confidence has fallen off. Brady's youth has fallen off. They got major issues. And we're talking about them all on the three-and-out podcast with me, John Middilkoff. In like July and August, I make my NFL predictions.

Right. And then over the course of his season, we kind of keep track. We've been very good on the AFC this year. But you are allowed to amend your prediction. Yeah, a couple of times in the preseason based on injuries. I've been money all year on the AFC. I mean, literally, it's the most accurate I've been doing this for 20 years. Most accurate I've ever been in a conference.

NFC is a mess. But I think in the playoffs, the NFC is going to be much more predictable. And the AFC is going to be chaos. So I'm going to lay this out. I want you to hold me to it. All you bloggers, all you media. critics, all the people that hate me. Over the next five minutes, I want you to hold me to it because this is what I think is going to happen.

And by the way, Joy, 14 of the 16 games this weekend have playoff implications. So I'm going to make some predictions why I see the teams as I see the team. So let's start with the NFC here at Fox. We're NFC. So let's make my predictions. Here we go. First weekend of the NFL playoffs. Seattle, a five seed will face Dallas a four seat.

There's all sorts of talk about Dallas today in the papers. Jason Gaird, oh my God, they're going to win their division. Seattle's going to go to Dallas, and Dallas is going to win that hard-fought, low-scoring football game by four to seven points. I think Dallas is a more complete team. I think Dallas, if you look at the splits, DAC is a much better home quarterback than he is a road quarterback. If you look at passer rating, so I think Dallas will host Seattle.

Dak will play well. They'll be able to have a little support. from Amari and Zeke and Dallas will win that game. It'll be a good competitive game, but they'll win by four to seven points. Okay, I have Philadelphia. Every year in the NFL, there's a team that makes it, and we're like, how the hell they get in? Philadelphia is going to go two and oh the next couple of weeks, and I think Minnesota's going to blow it, and I think Minnesota has a chance to lose this weekend at Detroit.

So Philadelphia is going to backdoor their way into this thing, and we know they've got a great roster. We know they got players, and they're going to go to Chicago, and they're going to get pushed around in Chicago. This is going to be a tough place to play. First time the Bears have won a division since 2010. They're going to have a great game plan. They're going to play their butts off,

and Chicago's going to beat Philadelphia by about a touchdown or more. So Dallas and Chicago and the NFC come out, home winners with Ws. Now, the second weekend, the four-seat Dallas goes to New Orleans, the one-seat. And New Orleans is going to say, oh, I remember you. You beat me on national TV in a standalone game. We're not going to let that happen again. DAC on the road, not as effective as at home, and the Saints win this game comfortably like 2820. Then the Bears, who beat Philadelphia, face the Rams.

You know, I've been selling and shedding my ram stock for a month, but the Rams are going to be healthy off a buy. They're at home and Sean McVeigh with two weeks is going to put in a really nice game plan, and they're going to squeak by the Bears. Sean McVeigh is great. Off a buy, off a loss to start this season. You give Sean McVeigh's brain an extra week to prepare a game plan at home. Goff plays better at home. I think the Rams win a low-scoring 23-21 game.

Then we get to the NFC championship. The two-seed Rams at the number one-seat New Orleans. And I like the Saints to win that game. I think, again, if we had guessed this game two months ago, we would have thought it would be a shootout. I think it'll be a low-scoring game and the Saints have the significantly better defense. So let's stop right there.

Let's stop right there. Camera on me, let's stop right there. So Saints win the NFC. Chalk. Now, hold me to it. Let's go to the AFC or we got all sorts of stuff happening in the next two weeks. I think the Colts are going to get in. They're going to win the next two games.

They're going to beat the Titans they always do to end the year as a sixth seed at the Texans. Now that means I think the Texans are going to lose at Philly this weekend. They're an underdog. I think they will. By the way, do you know, they've never beaten a Philadelphia team, the Texans, didn't win in Houston? Houston's never, oh and 10 all time. Doesn't mean anything, but that's weird. So I think Philly beats them.

So the Colts will face the Texans in Houston where they just beat them and they're going to beat them again. It'll be very close. Yeah, Andrew Luck eats this secondary for lunch. he's thrown for like 800 yards or something against him. And I think the weakness of the Texans is actually their secondary outside of Joseph. So I think he beats him in a close game. The Kansas City Chiefs are going to lose at Seattle this weekend and become a five-seat. I know you think I'm crazy, but I think the Chargers are going to win out

and the Chiefs are going to lose this weekend, become a five-seat and go to Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh a four-seat. And Kansas City is going to win that game. Kansas City in a crazy fun game is going to go and they're going to beat Pittsburgh in the most entertaining playoff game of the entire year. Kansas City will win in Pittsburgh. I think right now, I actually think there's things they do that I trust offensively. And I don't know what I get Pittsburgh week to week. It's close.

I'll take Andy Reid over Tomlin in a really close fun game. Now, that's the first weekend of the AMC. Let me go to the second week of the AFC. The six-seed Colts now go to the number one Rested Chargers and they're going to get rolled. Like, listen, we know the Colts are still kind of in a rebuilding mode. That is a personnel mismatch. The most talented playoff team is not the Saints.

It's the Chargers. They got two of everything. Like Noah's Ark's team. They got two of everything, man. And they're going to roll the Colts who squeaked by the Texans and have to go in the road again and they're going to get rolled. And then the Chiefs of Five Seat go to the Patriots. and I think New England ends up a two seed because they're going to win on the rest of the year,

two and O. And I think Kansas City this time beats them. I think Kansas City is going to be the team that you can beat them once, standalone game, big spot for Patrick Mahomes. But I think Patrick's going to be able to beat Pittsburgh, second time he plays them, and they're going to be – sometimes you lose a regular season game like Saints to Dallas. It's an advantage. It's very hard to beat a great team and a great coach, two times, three times in a year.

Kansas City beat a regular season. meets New England and New England looks old and New England looks tired and we all sort of get it. And then in the AFC championship game, we have the Chiefs at the Chargers, which is going to look odd. And I don't know who's going to win. You're going to bail right now? Yeah. I don't know. I have to see the injuries.

I have to see Kansas City will have gone on the road. Pittsburgh, New England. My gut tells me the Chargers are going to win this game, but I want to see how much health and gas the Chiefs have after a Steeler Patriot. Because remember, the Chargers get a rest, then they get the Colts at home who are beat up. My gut feeling tells me the Chargers, a team I've been on for two months, I'm going to watch them live this weekend against Baltimore. My gut tells me the Chargers win this game.

It is the Chargers and the Saints in the Super Bowl, which would be a great, would be an incredible Super Bowl. Who has the Super Bowl this year? CBS? Oh, good Lord. Tony Romo is going to go nuts. Won't be able to control himself. So my gut is charges over the Chiefs,

but I'm going to hold off because I do want to see what Kansas City has left in the tank. If they go through two emotional wins over Pittsburgh and New England, it is really hard. So if they roll Pittsburgh in New England. Then I feel great about it. But if they go through these two, wild finishes and the Chargers roll the Colts and they're sitting there like, yeah, that to me,

I got to see Kansas City's playoff performance. How was that? It was good until you decided to not give the answer to hand. I said I'm leaning chargers. I'm leaning chargers. I actually tend to agree with you. Can I say something about, I want to say something about Andrew Luck did not make the Pro Bowl. Layton Banderish didn't for the Cowboys.

Andrew Whitworth didn't for the Rams. But the biggest snub, to think about this, I'm reading two articles today on who got snubbed. Andrew Luck's not in either article. So Andrew Luck not only got snubbed, he was even snubbed by the snub list. Folks, we all know he's talented. Here's the thing about Andrew Luck.

Everybody admits he's talented. I just appreciate them more than everybody else, and here's why. Most people in life pay for exciting and drama and fireworks and fun and the party and loud. That's what most Americans pay for. I want to be at the party. Drama, fun, loud, concerts, I'm the opposite. It's a psychological thing. Had chaos as a kid in my life, I pay for quiet.

I go off hours off into restaurants. I seek quiet on vacations. I got a bunch of noise at home. I tend to seek and pay for quiet. And this is why I love Andrew Luck. Aaron Rogers inherited a playoff roster, a world-class roster, momentum, stability. And it's been drama for 10 years.

Andrew Luck inherited an impulsive owner, coach and GM fired, awful roster, and there's never any drama. I think about this all the time. why do I like Andrew Luck so much more than everybody else? Because we all know he's talented. Is that Aaron Rogers inherited all this stuff. He and Big Ben, there's nothing but noise, nothing but loud,

nothing but comments, nothing but passive aggressive, nothing but, and they both inherited the Packers roster and momentum and stability and the Steelers roster of momentum. Those guys drive me nuts. Andrew Luck got nothing and has never complained. no noise. He puts a wet blanket on everything. And there is something in my life I tend to pay for quiet. I appreciate quiet. I seek quiet. I seek calm. Most people pay for loud, party, fun,

concerts, noise. And like, like there's a website called Captain Andrew Luck. It's obviously not Andrew Luck. It's a Twitter site. And it's the funniest thing on the internet. Today's was dearest mother, I have received your care package of brazed turkey knees and spiced pigeon toes. And the unit continues to prepare for the Giants. Word may have reached you. I was not among the Pro Bowl honorees, yet others in our unit were. That is just as special to me, Andrew. And what makes that Twitter handle so funny is there's some honesty to it.

That's kind of who he is. He's always seeking others, humility, quiet, calm predictability. And I think we should have a new award for Andrew Luck. Nobody's going to give him the MVP. How about the MBVP, the most boring, valuable player? And I keep thinking, why do I like him so much more than everybody else? Because he delivers something that I seek in my life. Quiet, fun, space, no drama.

And I just like him. And these other guys, Ben and Rogers, inherit everything. And it's nothing but drama for a decade. And those guys wear me out. People like that wear me out. So I'm giving him my MBV player, Andrew Luck. He got snubbed, not only by the Pro Bowl, he was snubbed on the snub articles.

They didn't even mention him in the snub articles. So he was snubbed by the snubbers. That's when you really know you have been snubbed. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHard Radio app. Used to work with him. Great NFL reporter. He's got a podcast with Matt Mosley and Ed Werder,

former cowboy beat writer Dallas Morning News. He's doing some stuff for Westwood One sidelines. Westwood Radio, Super Bowl, a bunch of playoff stuff. Ed, Werdder. Ed, how are you? Haven't talked in a while. Well, Colin, always appreciate an opportunity to talk football with you on your show. Missed that.

Yeah, and you and Matt Mosley are great on your Doomsday podcast. That thing does very, very well, and you guys know your stuff. By the way, I shot down the Nick Saban Packer thing. I think he's too authoritarian as a personality. It works for college. I don't think it works with a strong, independent, free-thinking Aaron Rogers. I don't buy Saban Packers, do you? No, I guess you could argue that if Nick Saban was going to fit in a college atmosphere

and try to recreate that in the NFL, the Green Bay might be one of the few places where that sort of thing could be accomplished. You know, it is the smallest town, obviously, in the entire league. And they do have state-of-the-art facilities in and around Lambeau field. They don't have any one owner, so he wouldn't be subjected to the impulsive decisions of any one person. They have a new general manager. But all of that being said, my understanding was that Mark Murphy, who's going to control this decision for the Packers. His first choice is Jim Harbaugh.

Now Harbaugh has already said he intends to remain at Michigan, whether that's just to protect his incoming recruiting class or he's sincere about that remains to be seen. But I think Harbaugh was the college coach that Mark Murphy would have taken his first shot at. By the way, had great success in the NFL. Urban Myers out of the Big Ten so I could see why Jim could chop it up for a couple years. You think Harbaugh does go back to the NFL eventually?

I do. I mean, he built a great program with the 49ers. They seemed like they were set up to compete with the Seahawks to go to the Super Bowl, you know, for five or six-year period. And then ultimately, he had this other opportunity. There was some friction, obviously, in the front office. He and Trent Balke, I think he would want to make sure he had more roster control and just overall control the organization than he had there because of how it ended. But I have no doubt that Hardball will eventually coach the NFL. By the way, who do you think gets the Green Bay gig? I mean, would they go and get kind of a snarky young hipster like Josh McDaniels?

Well, if Aaron Rogers wants to be coached by the best that there is, if he's like Tom Brady in that sense, because I know I've been told before that Tom Brady is of a mind that, look, I want to be the best there is. I want to get better every day. And if you can't help me do that on a daily basis, then I don't want you in my meeting room. So he has that kind of regard for what Josh McDaniels brings. I think he's a really flexible coach. He's very creative.

That's something that Mike McCarthy is criticized for lacking in Green Bay. I mean, this is a team that in an offense that made Cordarral Patterson, who was mostly a kick returner for the Minnesota Vikings. They made him their starting a running back for three weeks. And effectively so, he outrushed Ezekiel Elliott over that three-game period where he started at running back. So I think that would be a great fit. Now, I don't know if the Packers can do enough to convince Josh McDaniels to leave.

Obviously, the Indianapolis Colts achieved that, and then he had second thoughts, and he reneged on the deal and stated New England. I don't know to what degree that hurts him, but I don't think it'll stop NFL teams from making an effort. Let's go to the Cowboys, which you covered for years. You still live in Dallas with your wife. You know the city very well. you know, the organization.

You're not a huge Jason Garrett guy, from my understanding. Well, I mean, I think, you know, Jason Garrett's, you know, had eight years and has never gotten the Cowboys beyond the divisional round of the playoffs. I think he's been giving ample opportunities and good players and has failed to capitalize on that. And you look at this year, I mean, just look at the last two weeks. One week, they have a 400-yard passer, a 200-yard receiver, and 100-yard rusher for the first time in franchise history and beat the Eagles.

And the next week, they get shut out by the Colts for the first time in 15 years. So how can you have that disparate an outcome from one week to the next? To me, that's coaching and preparation and motivation. And I don't think the Cowboys are getting that out of Jason Garrett at the moment. And I think they've got a big decision to make this offseason on Dak Prescott. Their dual threat quarterback who's unlike any other. quarterback Jason Garrett's ever had. Garrett seems to be a guy

whose offensive philosophy emanates from the great teams he was on with the Cowboys in the 90s, and he doesn't really know any other way, and I'm not sure he can maximize Dak Prescott's skill set. You know what somebody told me that Jerry, Dak Prescott

got him out of that prickly anthem situation, and Dak was very unpopular on Twitter when he said, I'm going to stand next to my owner and put my hand on my heart, and Dak got a lot of crap on social media and Jerry decided at that moment, I'm going to ride with this guy for the next five years. That's what I was told. But it resonated with Jerry because that anthem thing was real sloppy, Ed, for about a year everywhere.

And Dallas, even in conservative Dallas, Cowboys ratings on television were dropping. I mean, it was like even in Dallas they had some issues. They were still a theory world every week to, you know, 100,000 people. But there was immense pressure on Jerry because, you know, other than Bob McNair, he probably made the most critical statements about players who were with Colin Kaepernick and were taking a knee or another way, you know, disrespecting to the opinion of many of the anthem, protesting that. And Jerry said, look, if, you know, he issued an ultimatum. If you're going to do that, then you're not going to play.

And so to have the support that he got from Dak Prescott and Zeckel Elliott and the players in general, you know, I mean, Zeke Elliott had to show that sort of a loyalty to Jerry, because of how Jerry had fought to his benefit to try to get him out of his suspension last year. But I think that Jerry is genuine when he says he believes in Jack Prescott and sees him as their franchise quarterback going forward. That being said, he doesn't have to do a deal after this season. It's just the first time that he can adjust his contract since he came into the league as a rookie. He's been incredibly successful in terms of winning games.

Colin, only Tom Brady's won more games than the, the 30 that Dak Prescott has helped the Cowboys win over the past three years. Now, is Jerry going to pay him as an elite franchise quarterback? Is he going to pay him $25 million a year? I have my doubts about that. But if I were him, I'd be reluctant to give up on Dak Prescott without seeing him with another coaching staff. Now, the problem is I just don't think Jerry is going to fire Jason Garrett. I think he'll be looking for reasons after the season not to fire him, although it still could happened depending on, you know, what happens going forward and how the Cowboys perform in the playoffs. You know the Cowboys so well, it's funny. A lot of people think they're dysfunctional,

but I don't think you can be dysfunctional as a business and draft as well as the Cowboys do. I love their roster. I really do. They've got one of the best young rosters in football, obviously, and obviously they made a controversial move in the middle of the season when they were three and five to give up a first-round draft pick and make a trade for Amari Cooper with the Raiders. and they did it with the belief that at the time, despite how poorly they were playing and despite their record, they could go win the division, and they're on the brink of accomplishing exactly that.

So I think Amari Cooper is another good personnel decision. I mean, I think Jerry has proven right about the difficult decision he made with Jalen Smith. He's been proven right about the decision that the Cowboys front office made about drafting late in Vanderech instead of a wide receiver. Now, they had to go get a receiver. So you could argue they use both their first round picks to. fill both those holes. But the Cowboys Personnel Department's on a good role right now.

Yeah, they really are. MVP. I'm being mocked by America because I think Andrew Locke is doing more with less. I still think they're sort of in a, not a San Francisco 49ers rebuild, not an Arizona rebuild, but Chris Ballard

is still rebuilding to some degree. They need more receivers. They need an edge rusher. They could use two corners. I think they could use another tackle. I think they love their interior offensive linemen, not their tackles. So I got luck way up there, but I'm goofy. I love luck.

Who would you give it to? Well, I'm obviously impressed with Andrew Luck, too. And I took a lot of abuse for stating on Twitter that I think he's a top three quarterback in the NFL again right now. So do I. I mean, if you look at, he's second in the NFL in touchdown passes with 34, even though he's missed it in the entire previous season with a shoulder injury that caused him to miss 16 games. He's playing in Frank Reich system for this. This is his first year in Frank Reich's.

system. So he's obviously picked that up incredibly well. That being said, I've kind of thought all along I would vote for Drew Breeze, but given what's happened to him the last three weeks, averaging 177 yards passing, two touchdowns and three interceptions in the loss of Dallas and two moons against Tampa and Carolina, which they just haven't been quite the same. I'm going with Patrick Mahom. I mean, his performance as a first year starter is historic and not only, does he have a lot of touchdown passes, but 13 of them have come under pressure. That's the most in the league this year. He's maintained that high offensive output, even with the loss of Kareem Hunt,

the absence of Sammy Watkins. The Chiefs are 11 and 3, and their three losses have been by a total of 7 points. They're the most penalized team in the league. They've got one of the worst defenses in the league, and it's only because of Patrick Mahomes that this team could well go to the Super Bowl. That's pretty good. By the way, now you're doing some sideline stuff. and you're doing a podcast, you're in the audio world, which I've been in my whole life.

It's way more fun than writing. Writing's hard. Radio's sidelines is fun, isn't it? Doing podcasts? It is. I mean, I love the job I did at ESPN. I got to go to a big game every week, and then I would go in the last couple years and work in the studio on Sports Center and the NFL shows that we had, and I really enjoyed that part of it.

It was all new to me. And this opportunity, though, Colin, to go out, and while I'm still under contract to ESPN, with their permission. I've been able to do some games with Westwood 1. I was on the field at the Super Bowl. For the first time I've covered probably 35 Super Bowl. This was the first one. Last year it was the first one I ever, you know, was live on the field.

And it was a different perspective and it is very enjoyable. Yeah, no, it's great. You do good. The podcast, my guys on the staff say, you know, they're all into it. Matt Mosley's a pro. You, it's called the Doomsday podcast. Listen to mine first and then that second. I've got my...

I might reverse the order, but I appreciate it. Well, I'm glad you're doing great. I see you on Twitter and your lovely fam, and I wish you the very best. And you're a good dude, and you've got all sorts of great info, Ed. It's great talking to you. Well, you too. Thanks for the opportunity. Have happy holidays, and I'll see you in Atlanta.

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. In every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story

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