The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd for Aug 17, 2020

Episode Date: August 17, 2020

-The Blazers don't have enough left in the tank to beat Lakers-Baker Mayfield opens up about everything that went wrong in 2019-Zion's next coach might have an impossible job-Where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong-Colin fills out his entire NBA Playoff bracketGuest: Albert Breer, The MMQB 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. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast.

For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians,

and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio 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 Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Heard. is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Monday in a world of real sports.

Live in Los Angeles, this is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, Fox Sports Radio and right here on FS1, one hour from now where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong in the last couple of weeks, Last week specifically, Joy Taylor is joining me. So the NBA playoffs are today in earnest. We're ready to go.

We've got sports. NFL camps are underway. We'll be reporting on that. Baseball two. Yankees on fire. Red Sox are rebooting. Joy, how are you? I'm great.

I'm very excited for this week. Yeah, this is a good week. This is a good week. Let's start with this. You know, in sports, fans often think a win. It's all good. A loss. It's all bad.

There are bad wins. There are times you lose a star player to an inch. injury in a win or the win sort of unveils the truth about your team and how limited you are. I actually thought Portland winning Saturday was like a wake-up call. Maybe I'm way too high on Portland. Let's be honest. The Lakers mailed it in in this bubble and they're just sitting there. Veterans rested, ready to go. Portland and Damien Lillard have played nine straight playoff level games. Damien's averaging 41 minutes a game. LeBron average 30, minutes a game and now the two stars teams will meet starting tomorrow. Damien's played a 112 more

minutes than LeBron. That's almost three full games and all those fourth quarters have been incredibly playoff intense for Portland. The bubble has been really fun and it really gave us three things. Number one, what did the bubble give us? It gave us a bunch of young stars and shows you the NBA's in good shape. Michael Porter Jr. in Denver, John Morant, uh, in Memphis, Luca Donchich in Dallas. The league's got unbelievable, Yokic in Denver. How many players, 25, 24, and younger are in this game? And they're all better.

They're like quarterbacks in the NFL. They're all better, sooner. They're ready to score and they're ready to play. So the first thing the bubble gave us is a glimpse of the future, and it was really fun. The second thing, it gave us is championship-level teams. There's about four. gave you a hard game or two, but both number one seeds went three and five,

and Phoenix went, you know, eight and no. Milwaukee can't really find itself, not even defensively where they're always good. I mean, the Lakers played hard against the Clippers and then just sort of dialed it back. The Clippers missed several guys. I still have no concerns for them, but what is their chemistry?

Let's be honest. The second thing we saw in this bubble, after all these energized young players was championship teams. There's no home court advantage. They just want to be healthy. They just want to be ready to go and be healthy. And the third thing we saw in the bubble, one really good team showed up to Orlando.

I'm not counting the Phoenixes. One really good team played hard for nine straight games, Portland. They really gave you everything. And they had to. And every game felt like a playoff game. And Dame looks like the MVP of the bubble. And Nurkich is a real player. But the other thing I saw Saturday afternoon, they're exhausted.

They are shot. I mean, now, they get a couple of days off for the Lakers, but Nurkich looked shot the last three games. Dame, the Energizer, played really well. But at some level, this is a lousy defensive team on their good days. I mean, Mello's their best wing defender. I'm not joking at 36. He's their best wing defender. I just don't know.

Well, you've got to revisit it. I know Portland won, but I sat and watched that game, and I thought they can't close out Memphis. I mean, they can't close out Memphis. They can't stop Memphis. So I thought it was one of those good for Portland, but I looked all the minutes Dame put in. I looked at Nurkich. I looked at their roster. I looked at how fatigue they looked.

And I thought to myself, the Lakers are just sitting around, waiting for Tuesday, hydrating, getting rested, Xbox, been there before. I'll have to revisit my prediction on this one. All right. So, you know, one of the things that I find, you know, tedious. I think if you're confident in yourself, being right is not to be all end all. But if you have low self-esteem, you know, you want to be right. Got to be right.

Go to Twitter. It's just an advertisement for low self-esteem. I got to be right. So Cleveland has low sport self-esteem. They're kind of embarrassing. The Indians can't win a series. The Cavs without LeBron are a mess. And the Browns are the laughing stock of the NFL.

And so the city's got sort of, you know, low sport self-esteem. So last year, they just kept fighting me and fighting me and fighting me. And I said, your GM talks too much. He got fired. I said, your coach is a bad hire. He's never been a high school head coach. He got fired. And I said, Baker's a mess.

He looks fat. He's not focused. He's just, he's a reach. number one. So I was right for all three. And Baker, though, now admitting he was a mess. Here's what he said about last year. Here's this first one now he now admits. Having success all through high school and in college and having that standard so high and then coming into, you know, just the past couple years have been a roller coaster of emotions and not nearly as much success as I'm used to. So I would say I lost myself, you know,

not having that success, not find a lot. out what was working. I think I tried different ways of trying to have that success and I didn't find it. So I lost myself in that and I wasn't able to be who I am for these guys on the team. There's no reason for me to jump up and down on the right wrong trampoline today. I got it right. And now Baker is admitting it. I would ask a simple question. In the history of the NFL, history of the NFL, find me the legendary quarterback with a college police video who called out his medical staff, who called out a teammate who said, maybe I'm not a great fit here because I want to get more touches, who, by the way, has an adversarial relationship, even with his

local media, the answer, of course, is zero. But Baker even admitted this, because I kept saying last year, he looks pudgy. He doesn't look like he's in good shape. Baker even admitted that. I think there was a lot of plays looking back on last year. You know, physically, I wasn't able to work got as much being beat up. So I was, I was heavier than I was ever playing before at a playing weight. I just, I needed to to be able to have the scrambling ability, to move in the pocket. I mean, it's, that is my job to be in prime physical shape to show up and do my job on Sundays. All right. So I won that one. But that's not what this is about today. I won. GM, head coach, quarterback. Just, you know, but let's learn something from this.

Instead of me just being obnoxious and jumping up and down, you know, I've always felt like Baker Mayfield is the hyper kid who is a candy bar away from blowing up a room. And, but let's learn something from this. Three times, three and a half. Johnny Mansell, Baker Mayfield, James Winston. I said, if you have bad judgment in college, it's going to follow you to the NFL because the NFL is just harder. Johnny Mansell is now out of the league of bust.

James is now a backup and Baker Mayfield a mess. Cam Newton now is tough on, but I did say Cam was a number one pick. He's kind of generationally gifted, size, arm. He didn't have any market, basically. Let's be honest, he had no market. Teddy Bridgewater had a bigger market. Nick Foles at a bigger market. But let's just stay on Johnny Mansell, Baker Mayfield, and James Winston.

They exhibited really bad judgment in kind of. college and shock. It just followed them to the NFL. So instead of me saying, I'm right, you're wrong, from this point forward on the show, if I say I'm concerned about this quarterback, I don't care about receivers, I don't care about linebackers, I don't care about corners and running backs. You're not the face of the franchise. I don't care.

I really don't. I don't care if a tie-in was a goofball in college. But from this point forward, if you're a college quarterback and there's a police. video and you're obnoxious and you talk too much, we can all at least admit it looks like it does follow you to the NFL. All the NFL is, is a hotter flame on your issues. It's a bigger microscope on your issues. It's more intensity if you struggle with intensity. So let's just now, let's go together. Cleveland, you and I, arm and arm. From this point forward, if you got judgment issues in college, we got multiple examples in the last five years.

They always follow you to the NFL. I mean, I love Sam Darnold. He's great. But he was a risk-taking quarterback at USC. Took too many big risks, too many picks. It's the exact same thing he is in the NFL. I love him. His DNA is perfect.

Even when it's not a personality thing, Dak Prescott kind of a limited thrower in college, but a good kid. he's kind of the NFL. He's a good kid, but he's kind of a limited thrower. Everything in college is exacerbated in professional football. And so, you know, the minute I saw the police video, I said, one, really bad judgment, two, you can't outrun a donut eating cop. That's a problem. At two issues I had with it. So let's just agree college issues at quarterback with judgment, pro issues with quarterback and judgment. We can just agree on that.

I'm not right, you're not wrong. Let's just get past that. That now is a legitimate criticism. You can't get your act together when you're big man on campus. You sure is hell not going to get it together in the pros where the defense is better, the coaching is harder, the players are better, the scrutiny is worse, the microscope, the lens is bigger, and the heat is hotter.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill,

waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple, podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games.

And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch.

Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast. Learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now.

The definition of a good job, you have resources and expectations are in line. The definition of a bad job, your resources aren't as good as people think, but the people who hire you, they think it's a great job. You see that sometimes in college football, every fan base thinks they have a great job. There's about seven great college football jobs. Then there's a bunch of good ones. Notre Dame's a good job. But it's cold, it's private, it's isolated, it's academic, it's got a religious umbrella over it.

No, no. Alabama's a great job. Oklahoma is a great job. Ohio State's a great job. Those are great jobs. Notre Dame's a tough job, but it's a good job, and Brian Kelly's the best coach they've had since Lou Holes. So Zion does not have a coach now. They fired their coach over the weekend, Alvin Gentry.

So now they're looking for a new coach. and David Griffin, nice guy, like him a lot, a smart guy, been on this show, says this is the best job in the NBA. It's the best job in the NBA. Here he is. No, we will not be quick with this at all. This is not a rush. We have a job that we believe is going to be the most attractive in the NBA, quite frankly. It is not, and here's why it's actually an incredibly dangerous job. There are great jobs, there's good jobs.

Then there are dangerous jobs or bad jobs. not a bad job, but it's dangerous. Because the expectations are here and the resources are way below. Let's look at the roster. Zion. It's got, you know, weight issues, health issues. Some people think he needs a dietitian, not a head coach. I'm not one of them, but there are those that do.

Number two is Lonzo Ball. Can't shoot. Could have been the worst player in the bubble. Number three, Brandon Ingram. Thinks he's a one. He's a three. Number four, Drew Holiday. Now, I love him, but he's been in the NBA 11 years.

So you're going to get a slightly reduced every year Drew Holiday. Good player, though, like him a lot. Number two is they're not a free agent destination. Number three is they're in the West. There's a lot of good young talent in the West. Dallas, Denver, OKC, a lot of good talent in the West. And here's number four. Man, they are a hype show.

And I'm probably to blame because I love watching them play. They're a hype show. I'll tell you a great job in the NBA right now. If you're asking me if I could take any job right now, and it looks like 10 years of really good, it's Denver. So Yokic never gets hurt. Is the best passing big man since Arvita Sabonis,

makes everybody better, and appears to be a great teammate. Jamal Murray built for the NBA, the number two player, Kentucky kid can really shoot threes. Michael Porter Jr., another long athlete who can shoot threes. They've got a head coach already who's excellent. They've already made the playoffs, and there's no hype. Nobody talks about Denver. I mean, in Denver, there are a second or third topic.

Denver is a great job. The resources are excellent in the current NBA culture and momentum. And the expectations are we're a good playoff team. Let's see what happens. I think the resources in New Orleans are average. Zion's got to get the weight and health thing under control. And when he does, he'll clearly be the best player. Does Brandon Ingram realize he'll be a two at best?

J.J. Reddick's, they're only really three-point shooter. He's 36. And even in the Tom Brady era, that's a little old in the NBA. So I just think, I think this is a dangerous job. And I've seen this in my life in college sports. There's about six great college football jobs. You think Michigan's a great job. Ohio State's a great job. Michigan's a really good job. But a lot of fans in Michigan think they're Ohio State. And they're not. Michigan's harder academically. Michigan doesn't have the history. Michigan's got elite medical schools and law schools. And, you know, it's socially hard to adapt. It's a real academic power.

So be careful about there's very few great jobs in the world. There's a lot of good jobs. This qualifies as a dangerous job. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. All right. right, Colin wrong, plenty of both. Here we go. Where Colin was right. Russell Wilson's my guy, but I've been saying something for several years here.

He's carrying this franchise. And offensively, it's just outdated. It's kind of like a 1994 power offense. And Russell Wilson, in the friendly Russell Wilson style, finally called his coaches out suddenly. Getting ahead is a key thing. I do definitely believe in finishing strong. I think we've won a lot of games in the fourth quarter

and, you know, I've been to do some fun things in the fourth quarter and in the games. But, you know, let's treat every quarter as the fourth, you know, and I think that's kind of my mentality always. This is what people in analytics have been saying. Pete Carroll, lighten it up, run less, pass more, game is changing. Finally, Russell Wilson comes out and says, there's a lot more tension in Seattle than people think. where Colin was wrong. I said the NBA should have gone right into the playoffs.

There's no reason for a regular season, but I did think the regular season bubble experiment was really good. Phoenix 1-8-0. I think several stars emerged. Michael Porter Jr. in Denver. John Morant was spectacular. We got a lot of different fun storylines. The intensity has been excellent.

The energy has been excellent. and it was two and a half weeks of really good basketball. And frankly, we probably needed this. Wet our appetite, get these guys in shape. But it was way better than I thought it would be. I thought it was going to be sloppy and uninspired. And it was just fantastic for the last 16 days. Where Colin was right.

Been on this for years. You can criticize Tom Brady for his age. Can we get past the arm strength thing? It's fine. Watch the games. Chris Godwin, Tampa receiver over the weekend, said, dude, he's zipping it. He's letting it rip, man, he can really throw it. Bruce Ariens told Peter King over the weekend, people questioning Brady's arm, quote, they're not smart.

Tom Brady can throw it. Now, now, he was never athletic, and he's lumbering around like an old batting cage now. But if you watch Brady play, remember, Foxborough's got wins. Foxborough is cold. Foxborough is not an easy place to throw a football. Thanksgiving on. Last year, it was not about Tom not throwing it deep. It was that nobody was open deep.

Brady's arm, and I've talked to Drew Bledsoe about this in Aikman. The last thing you lose is a quarterback is your arm. You lose your legs years before you lose your arm. You lose your desire and your ability to want to go to practice. But Brady's arm is still top 10, 12 in the league. where Colin was wrong. If I was Justin Fields, I would consider going pro and not playing in the Big Ten. Instead, he's the opposite.

He launched a petitioned to play football in the Big Ten. It's got like $150,000 or more signatures already. $200,000 now this morning. So he is all in on playing Big Ten football, which is surprising because, A, he could get hurt. B, a lot of teammates could back out that are going to the NFL and C. It's going to be January, February, crappy football weather with no. no cream puff Youngstown State on the schedule. So I don't think it behooves him as an athlete.

He's not going to go up in the draft this year. I think he can go down or get hurt, but he is all in on playing. Where Colin was right? We've said recently the tight end position is massively undervalued in this league. If you told me I get George Kittle or a star receiver, I'd take Kittle. He can block. He's crucial in the red zone. They're a matchup nightmare.

And George Kittle just signed a massive $75 million. later that day, Travis Kelsey of the Chiefs signed a contract extension. The smart coaches in this league, Andy Reed and Kyle Shanahan, not surprisingly, draft them and pay them. This is what Bill Belichick did about 10 years ago with Aaron Hernandez and Gromk. He took back the center of the field before anybody else did. The smart offensive coaches get this. The tight end is the hardest guy to defend.

He's too big for defensive backs and he's too fast for linebackers. You can send a couple corners on a great wide receiver. You can't cover Kittle. You can't cover Travis Kelsey. Nobody that can guard him on the field. Maybe there's one or two, you know, maybe Jamal Adams or a Derwin James at safety, but it is rare. Where Colin was wrong. I've been wrong in the Miami Heat all year.

First of all, I didn't get why Jimmy Butler was going down there, and I couldn't understand why Miami wanted Jimmy Butler. They've been excellent. People think they're going to beat their favor to beat Indiana. Jimmy Butler has worked down there. And frankly, Jimmy Butler leaving Philadelphia didn't make any sense to me. I'm like, dude, it's a championship level team. But now that we've seen Philadelphia, shocker, be a massive disappointment in the bubble,

Jimmy Butler was around those guys and figured it out. They're not winners. They're just talented. So the whole Miami thing has worked. By the way, Duncan Robinson, who was kind of a role player at, like Michigan, has become a really big three-pointer for them. They got it figured out again. Pat Riley has got it figured out and Spolstra's got it figured out.

And I just thought they were too young, too erratic three-point shooting. Now they're a great three-point shooting team and Jimmy Butler. It just works. He's a big city dude. He's a star. Miami knows how to treat stars right. Pat's always done that. And it works.

Where Colin was right? I'm tired of saying this. But the NCAA, how the hell do you not have a CEO for football? I don't understand it's a $2 billion business. Mark Emmer came out last week. and said, yeah, I don't have any control over these conferences. How is that possible? It's the breadwinner of your sport.

I don't understand the two things you have to get right in college sports. March Madness, get the bracket right, that pays for everything, and college football. March Madness is well run. It's very well run. It pays for everything. The men's, the women's, it's very well run. College football is just a series of conferences feeding themselves and not carrying off and working against the other rival conferences.

And Mark Emmert said, last week, it really, the tipping point, I can't control any of this. You run the NCAA. I mean, can you imagine somebody running an airline saying, you know, I just can't control when these planes take off and land. I just, you know, there's schedules. They just do what they want to do. No, if you're the president of Delta, you should have, you know, meetings regularly to figure out when they fly, when they don't. What airports are crucial? What isn't?

Where's the infrastructure lagging? where is it flourishing. O, NCAA. Where Colin was wrong. Carmelo Anthony to Portland works. He had a clutch basket against Houston. He had 21 against Memphis. He had a very good fourth quarter.

He had a bad third and a very good fourth. I mean, he's figured it out, albeit at 36, but he doesn't need to be the number one guy. He admitted this week. Dames, the best guy I've ever played with. He understands his role. And by the way, it's a real role. They don't have any wing scoring.

Now, you know, I'm not going to speak to his dad. defense, but he's not alone being an average defender in Portland, but he matters. If you watch that game against Memphis, Memphis outplayed Portland for, especially in the third, big chunks of the game. But late, Mello was great, C.J. McCullough was great. Dame was great. It was veterans experience beating a bunch of really super talented young kids for Memphis, and Mello deserves it.

He's totally accepted his role. I never thought he would, but he has some self-awareness. And to be honest with you, I'm happy for him. He deserves it. where Colin was right? I've always said college football is, it's got a problem. It's too regional. That you've got to be spread out like the NFL now where Kansas City is good and so are the

Seahawks and so are the eagles and we can't wait to watch the dolphins this year and Tampa. And there's a geographical symmetry to the NFL that works. And college football, here's a map for the TV audience of who's playing green and who's not red. See a problem? This has been the ongoing problem. reason is the PAC 12 is academic and largely indifferent to football and the SEC's own slogan is it matters more here and it does. I'm not saying everybody has to be as focused and as aspirational as the SEC, but this is another reason you need to CEO in college football. Balancing schedules,

limiting scholarships, more good teams become very good. The superpowers could scale back. a little bit, that's your problem. Where Colin was right? I said Baker Mayfield didn't look right last year. He didn't look right physically. He didn't look right mentally. And Baker admitted it this weekend. Having success all through high school and in college and having that standard so high

and then coming into, you know, just the past couple years have been a rollercoaster of emotions and not nearly as much success as I'm used to. So I would say I lost myself, you know, not having that success, not. not finding out what was working. I think I tried different ways of, you know, trying to have that success and I didn't find it. So I lost myself in that, and I wasn't able to be who I am for these guys on the team. All right, tip of the cap to Baker-Mayfield acknowledging it. We spotted it. We saw it. We said it. We were right. But give the kid credit, he admitted it. He admitted it. He admitted it. He got hurt, didn't work out as much, couldn't work out as much, and put on some weight, which is something else

we pointed to. He just didn't look right physically either. Good stuff. 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. One of the reasons I like bringing Albert Breer on sourcing folks. He's got contacts all throughout the league and he is going to join us now. Lead content guy Monday morning quarterback. Let's go to Albert Breer, who's got a nice summer tan. I can tell he's been on Nantucket, one of the great places in America.

when I used to live out east, that is as beautiful as America get. So I am not going to say I was right on Baker Mayfield. There's no reason to pound my chest. But he did admit yesterday or this weekend, I lost myself. What did you make of the contents? What about the new Baker? Well, I think it's sort of getting back to what he's been in the past. And, you know, I know he'd gotten compared to Johnny Mansell and really was irked by that.

The difference between the two guys, Colin, if you want to go back and look at who they were in college, Baker at Oklahoma and Johnny at Texas A&M. Baker was always way more of a team guy and way more of a gym rat, and that's really what he got back to this offseason. He's been drilling down the details. One of the things that they've really worked on, his footwork out of the shotgun. So that's something I think you're going to be able to see in his accuracy,

which was considered generational when he was coming out. I also know the staff has been really impressed by his ability to push the ball downfield. He's made a couple of wow throws in the early stages of camp. And then beyond just that, like, you know, talk about finding yourself and everything else. He's been way more vocal in the meeting room. And he's been more of a presence in that way, which I think is something that naturally has to happen with a quarterback. And the Browns, of course, are happy to see that in year three. So Belichick's been very complimentary at Cam Newton.

He said he's working really hard. He goes, I don't know much about him. But every time he talks about quarterbacks, he talks about Brian Hoyer, and he talks about Stedham, and he talks about Cam, you're there. How many snaps is Cam going to get? I mean, good God, we got no preseason. He's sharing snaps with two guys. Should we just lower our expectations for Cam Newton and be realistic about this thing? Well, remember, this is a staff that at one point got Jacoby Burset,

who was a rookie at the time coming out of NC State, ready to play in a different offense that they'd run the previous Sunday on three days' notice. And they went and beat the Houston Texans on that Thursday night. So this is a staff that can adjust quickly. I do think it's going to be noticeable. how different the offense looks, though. They aren't going to try to put a square peg into a round hole here. He's not going to be running the Tom Brady offense.

And I think to some degree for Bill and Josh, this really excites them. The challenge of having to do something new and build a new offense around the guy. I'll also say this, Colin, for this specific year, Cam is perfect. If you want to go back to 2011, one of the things that Bill harped on with his players coming out of lockout, some teams aren't going to be very well conditioned. you want to be able to run them over. How do you do that this year? You do it with a 270 pound quarterback.

And so I think specific to this year, the ability to simplify things a little bit, the ability to make things easier on everybody else in the huddle, and then Cam's ability maybe to take advantage to some teams that aren't as well conditioned. It suits this year very, very well. And so I think the acquisition of Cam is specific to this year with the bonus that you might have a long-term answer

at the quarterback position if he plays really well. So Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Spilled the beans last week. Montana said he talked to Brady during the Super Bowl, and Tom probably didn't love it, but Montana said, listen, he would give advice and nobody would listen to him. Is that opening up what we really knew to be the problem?

In the end, this staff and this quarterback Brady, they just kind of, they were tired of each other. I think Tom really wanted to, yeah, sort of, and it's not being part of management, and I don't think he ever desired to be part of player acquisition, but I do know one of the things that he really has enjoyed over the years is sort of the back and forth and the ability to build an offense. In the last couple of years, I mean, let's call it what it was.

They had some personnel issues. Obviously, Gronk was injured his last two years. Then he wasn't there last year. They had some swings and misses at the receiver position, so they had to play a different way. And I do think that that puts some stress on the relationship. Now Tom Brady gets to go down to Tampa where they had to recruit him, where they had to make some concessions and they want to build the offense around him. And oh, by the way, he's also got Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Cameron Brayt, O.J. Howard, and then Rob Gruncowski coming down.

And so I think it's sort of a combination of things where the Patriots were forced into a box the last couple of years. Brady didn't really like the talent that was around him in the last couple of years. And now he's going to a place that has had to make some concessions for him. So, you know, I was saying the quarterback head coach relationship has been strained all the way back to Bradshaw and Chuck Knoll. Jimmy Johnson and Marino had their issues. It's a reality of it. Very rarely do you get the Sean Peyton Drew Brees. It's wonderful.

I look at Derek Carr and I look at Gruden and they're moving and the organizations in transition. And here comes Mario Dota. And yesterday Gruden calls him amazing. How do you think it all plays out in Vegas? I think for the last couple of years, the relationship has been dating, not marriage. And really the contract has allowed them to be that way. And I actually think, you know, when Mike Mayock was asked about this a year ago, when they were kicking the tires on Kyler Murray and Dwayne Haskins and Drew Locke,

I think he was being forthright about it. He said, like, we really liked Derek Carr, but we're always open to a better option coming along. And that's sort of the way they've handled the first two years of the Gruden car relationship. And now I think you're at a little bit of a pressure point where you've brought in an option. And that's what they've wanted to do all along. bring in another option that he'll push Carr a little bit. Maybe he winds up replacing him.

Maybe not. I also think the talent around the quarterback is going to help them get to a more clear answer on who they have in Derek Carr. And maybe whether or not Marcus Marriota is the answer. Colin, I'm telling you, they love, love, love, love, what they've seen from their two rookie receivers, Henry Ruggs and Brian Edwards through the first couple weeks of camp. And to add him to an offense that already has Tyrell Williams and Hunter Rempro and

Darren Wall and Josh Jacobs, they really feel like now, they put together a group that's going to allow them to get some real answers in the quarterback position. So Russell Wilson, I had a player and an agent reach out to me last week when I commented that Russell Wilson, Pete Carroll, you know, Russell will say the right things, but there's some tension there. Analytics are proving. We've seen this a lot this offseason. Analytic people saying Seattle's got to update that offense. It's just too middling. And this weekend or this past couple days, Russell Wilson came out and

kind of subtly said it'd be nice if we didn't trail at halftime all the time. I don't know if strained is the right word, but I will say that Russell has been vocal since signing that new contract about some concerns. Is that fair? You mentioned Brady and Belichick. I don't think it's totally unlike that. I mean, I think Seattle's team building method isn't that far off from what New England's is. And New England's for years was, we don't need to invest a ton around the quarterback because we know. he's going to be able to make it work. So let's invest in other areas of the team. And so Seattle's always sort of built with that approach. And, you know, the way they look at it, if we can build a

good running game around Russell Wilson, that's going to help us get the most out of him. And then we'll take the rest of the money and invests in defense. Well, where does that leave you a little short change at the receiver position? And so they've had to make it work with a little less there. I really think that that's part of the whole deal here is that, you know, you've got a quarterback who's in a really good program, a winning program, and that part of it, you know, that satisfies the competitor in them there. But when it comes to personal performance, and that's part of the whole deal, too, as it was with Brady, I think he probably does look around him and say, well, I could have a little bit more at this position and this position and this position.

Albert Greer, Breer, Monday morning quarterback. Any more trips to Martha's Vineyard or Nantuckett before the season starts? I wish. I wish. No, we're locked in. I'm going to be on the road starting next week. I did my three weeks there, so that's going to probably have to be it this year. All right. Good seeing, Yalbert. Thanks so much. Good to see you, Colin. 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 app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast.

I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you're just so you're not.

But just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now.

All right. here we go. Best for last. I'm officially filling out my playoff bracket. First round. Lakers over the Blazers. I watch Portland this weekend. They're just shot. Mello's their best wing defender. LeBron's 52 and 10 in the first round. And you know what the Blazers don't do? Now, this may not be catastrophic. The Blazers do not defend the three. They don't defend anything. They don't defend the three.

I do think the Blazers peel off some wins here. I don't know Avery Bradley, Portland's back court is going to have a field day. I think it goes six, but I'll take the Lakers. I'm going to take OKC to beat Houston simply because the Thunder went two and one against him this year. Chris Paul leads the NBA in clutch points. And there's a little bit of Chris Paul wants to prove.

I think Chris Paul elevates his teammates better than Hardin does. I think Hardin elevates Hardin. And I think this is going to end up being a wildly entertaining series. If you've not seen Oklahoma City play this year, as you watch them, remember, many people thought it was a tank, and they were shockingly good at the end of the season. I'll take Denver over Utah. Denver's got a couple of starters hurt, but Utah's missing Bojohn Bogdanovitch, their second leading score, and Utah just they are hard-pressed to score points.

Mike Conley's also out for them. I just think Utah is going to struggle to score. Clippers over the Mavs. That's a bad matchup for Dallas. Dallas is an atrocious defensive team. And when they played this year, it wasn't highly, it was Clippers won all three games and a couple of them were blowout. So that's an easy one. Let's go to the east. Bucks will beat the magic. Yannis had a field day against them. And by the way, Jonathan Isaac, ACL injury, he's out. So Orlando loses size. That's a big problem. The heat will beat the Pacers. They beat him in three or four games this year. T.J. Warren was really good, but you know who defended T.J. Warren really well this year? Jimmy Butler. I'll take Boston over Philadelphia. Boston lacks the essential size, but Ben Simmons is out and Beds not 100%.

And I think the issue in this series is Boston knows what they are. They have limitations, but they know what they are. Philadelphia doesn't know what they are all these years in. And I take Toronto over the Nets. Nets, it's fascinating. They don't have Spencer Dinwiddie, Wilson Chandler, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Nets are like Phoenix. Congrats to you. Congrats to you for even being here. We go to the second round. I'll take the Lakers over the Thunder. They faced them four times.

They won three. By the way, LeBron averaged nearly a triple double. They don't have a lot of bodies to throw out LeBron here. I think Portland's going to be a harder out for the Lakers than OKC. I think OKC is going to be overmatched here. Also, when you're a young team, and if you beat Heardons, Houston. OKC could get really, really high and feel like, you know, they've done their job. I'm going to take the Clippers to beat Denver.

Again, Denver's missing. He's got some injuries and they have this year. So, you know, I think Denver's a good story in a year away. Michael Porter Jr. has been terrific. Yokic, if you don't watch him play, is the best passing big guy since Arvita Sabonis. These European centers, for the record, they can all pass. The European game is a little finesse for some, but God, all their bigs can pass the ball.

So Lakers, Clippers will end up in the Western Conference Finals. Then do we go to the Eastern Conference Finals? This gets a little easier, although Milwaukee's not playing terribly well right now. Bucks had the best net rating in the NBA, best defensive rating, and Janus was a problem for Miami. But Miami gets hot on threes. Little upset alert here. Spolster is a gamer.

Jimmy Butler is going to have his way. Miami's the kind of team that can shoot them. themselves in or out of game. So this is going to be fascinating. If Milwaukee can't get into the conference finals, the NBA could look a lot different this offseason. I'm going to take Toronto over the Celtics. I think Toronto's got some size. Boston, although they've won, and this will probably be as good as series as the Eastern Conference will have until the Eastern Conference finals. I'm going to take Toronto to upset Boston. Well coached, I think Nick Nurse is awash with Brad Stevens.

then I'll take the Clippers to handle the Lakers. They've got four guys to throw at LeBron. I think they're a much better team. And I think the Lakers at this point, all their flaws will be noticeable. They can't defend the three. They don't hit it. They don't have a ton of depth. No Avery Bradley will be very noticeable in that series.

I'll take the Bucks to beat the Raptors in a really tough series. And then I think the Clippers are going to roll over Milwaukee. I think Milwaukee is going to struggle. I think they're going to struggle against the Raptors. I think they'll struggle a little bit against Miami. And then the clippers, look at that. Isn't that look crazy? The L.A. Clippers.

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 band.

Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media.

Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast.

From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite office. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.