The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd for Feb 13, 2020

Episode Date: February 13, 2020

Colin explains why he prefers the way LeBron James is aging to the way Michael Jordan did. He thinks Tua Tagovailoa is clearly the best QB in the draft and explains why. He only sees one team that's a realistic landing spot for Tom Brady if he leaves the Patriots and it's not the team everyone thinks. Plus, former NFL DB and Super Bowl Champion Will Blackmon talks about the contract Dak Prescott deserves and why retirement should be a serious option for Tom Brady. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

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

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

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

What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clifford Show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

The story I told myself can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown, If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Thanks for listening to The Best of Heard Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on iHeartRadio app by searching herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go on a Thursday. We are packed live in Los Angeles. This is the herd, wherever you may be, however you may be listening.

IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS 1. I had a one-day retirement yesterday, ate an omelet, took a nap, played tennis. I had the greatest one-day retirement of all time, a midweek day off. And now I'm back for the next two days, Joy Taylor. How are you? I will be honest. I spent most of yesterday sleeping. A significant amount, yes.

Just chilling out at home and sleeping. Yeah, like how teenagers can sleep, like an obscene amount. And my daughter takes four and a half hour now. Yeah, I can't do that anymore. I used to be able to do that. And yesterday I achieved it. So you have a lot of energy today. Yes, I'm very well rested.

So this is to me, I cover football. we cover football until about, you know, the Super Bowl, then a week we talk about football. And this is the time I start watching a lot of NBA games. And last night I watched Denver and the Lakers. And I'll get more into the game later. But I want to talk about LeBron James. He was unbelievable last night. And there's always been this debate with Michael Jordan and LeBron.

And I've always said they're just two different people. And as people age, I've noticed something. They become more of who they truly are. Because when you get older and you have money and you don't really. really need as many things as you get older, you become more of who you are. You don't have to placate people and be a yes man and Brown knows the boss. And you become as you age more of who you truly are. And LeBron, I like the way he ages more than Michael Jordan.

Now, it should be noted as the Lakers beat Denver in overtime last night in Denver, which is saying something, that both players at 35 years old, MJ and LeBron were great. MJ was the league MVP, 29 points a game. LeBron's averaging 25 points a game, shooting 49%. MJ was the best player in the game. And let's be honest, LeBron's still the best player, most dominant player in the NBA, and we'll control the league. Hell, even controls the TV ratings.

But here's the stark difference. And again, as you age, you become more of who you are. At 35, Michael Jordan had the fewest assists of his Chicago career. LeBron this year has the most. And that's who they are. Michael Jordan's answer, and he's the best basketball player, I think I've ever seen. He, Magic, LeBron. Michael Jordan's answer to everything was, I got this.

LeBron's answer to everything is, we got this. As Michael became a truer personification of who he was at 35, the fewest assassinations. assists LeBron the most. Even their Olympic experiences. Michael went to the Olympics and was battling magic to prove I'm better than you. LeBron goes to the Olympics, knows he's the best player, and tries to create a community and friendships with other players. If you go, listen, Michael Jordan, at this point at 35, LeBron's got 320 more regular season

games. Four full seasons. 60 more playoff games. he should be worn down. He should be beat up. LeBron is fresher. He's happier. I've never seen him.

Last night, he was totally laser-focused. There is no bitterness. Michael Jordan after his 35th birthday quit for a second time. And it really gives you sort of a view on how to age. Listen, Michael's a great basketball player. But even as he's retired, he just disappeared into his own sort of cocoon. That's not going to be how LeBron. retires. He's going to be a global and domestic basketball ambassador. You'll hear about him all the time,

not just through press releases like MJ. But as I looked at Michael Jordan at 35 years old, he was great. But it was in his last year in Chicago, I got this. I'm getting another title. Fellas, get on my shoulders. I got this. And that is seen as bravado and machismo and basketball people love that. But Michael was burnt out. He retired for a second time. And he waited a few years and went to Washington and was never the same player. I watched LeBron last night, 320 more games than MJ, 60 more playoff games.

He is so fresh and so good and so focused and so easy to play with. Last night he's got the most assist now in his career. He's averaging 11.5 a game. And by the way, they only have one other real true score. It's not like he's got seven guys he can depend on. Kyle Kuzma's their number three, and he's averaging 15, 16 a night.

So I like the way LeBron is aged. I like his base DNA. LeBron's going to age incredibly well and is aging. He is an incredibly fresh 17th year in the NBA. I see very little wear and tear. I see no bitterness. I see a focused, loving, into it. We got this DNA guy.

And I know you can call Michael the best ever. I get it. But I talk about this with my wife all the time. I don't want to be a crusty old bitter guy when I retire doing, you know, Winnebago commercials on local radio. I want to age well. I want to be happy. I want to be part of a community.

I want to make other people better. I look at LeBron last night in Denver, a tough place to play. I'm blown away by it. This guy has figured out how to do it. Surround yourself, lean on people, ask for some help, pass the ball more. It's not like LeBron couldn't go out and score 33 a night. You watching that game last night? Nobody can stop him.

Denver's got no answer for him. Utah's got no answer for him. Utah's got no answer for him. The only team in the NBA that has an answer for him, Milwaukee with the honest at the rim and the clippers on the wing with Paul George and Kauai, nobody else has an answer for LeBron. Utah doesn't have a guy to guard him. Houston doesn't.

Portland's got Carmelo in the wing. He can't stop him. LeBron can score. There's a great stat about LeBron James. My favorite LeBron stat of all time is that LeBron in high school, I think his junior year, John, you can look it up. My numbers aren't exact. But LeBron as a junior in high school averaged like, you know, 27, 28 a game.

You know, like freshman he averaged this, then sophomore, then junior. So you could think LeBron as a junior in high school's averaging like 27 points a game. What did he average? 39 or 40 a senior year. No, he didn't. He didn't. He averaged a point or two more as he was in his massive growth stage because that's who LeBron is. That's why he's happy. That's why he's not quitting for the second time. That's why he doesn't

turn off all his teammates like MJ did when he went to Washington where nobody could stand playing with him. Last night, they asked Anthony Davis, what do you make of LeBron? And he's like, he's the best player on the team. The players love him. I mean, what did Joy and I say the amazing thing about this Laker team when they added AD? And all these parts, the first thing we said, Joy and I said the first month was, hell, they're like best friends. Their chemistry is incredible. Michael's last stop, nobody could stand him. And this is not to bash Michael Jordan, but watching LeBron play with the joy and the focus and the happiness and the sharing and the most assist. That's how I want to age. That's how you do it. That's how you do it. You give a little,

you don't, it's not a, I got this. It's a we got this. And it's, it is a pleasure to watch. All right, well, the interweb, for those of you just tuning in, that's the internet. It was Al Gore created it years ago, I think, and it's called the interweb. I'm on it all day. And boy, it went crazy yesterday when my friend, Bucky Brooks, who played in the NFL, that sort of matters, and scouted for the Carolina Panthers. And now he works for the NFL network. He came out.

And, oh, scary times on the interweb. He listed his top five quarterbacks. Oh, oh, Joe Burrell was a number one. number one. In fact, Bucky Brooks, top five quarterbacks were the exact order I would put them in. Tua number one, Joe Burrow number two, Justin Herbert, very close two to a three,

Jordan Love 4 and Jacobeson 5. By the way, until mid-November, you do realize everybody had Tua over Joe Burrow in mid-November. But what happened, and this happens a lot in sports, you get these perfect storms. And Joe Burrow, nobody will admit this. I like the kid, but he had a perfect storm.

LSU rolled the dice on a coach from the Saints named Joe Brady. None of us knew who he was. And Joe Brady ended up being a perfect fit. LSU's offensive line was named the number one offensive line in the country this year. They had a star running back, two star receivers, and a good tied end. They also played Tua when he was about 60%. and then they got to play the national championship, you know, as a home game in New Orleans. It was a perfect storm.

Perfect storm for Joe Burrow, who it should be noted is a fifth year senior. That's what I said about Baker Mayfield. Be careful about Baker Mayfield. Baker Mayfield came into the NFL older than Sam Donald, older than Lamar Jackson. So he was closer to his ceiling. I think what you see of Baker is his ceiling. I think what you see of Joe Burrow, this is his fifth year. He's transferred.

Last year at LSU, his numbers were average. He's an older quarterback, closer to his athletic ceiling. Tua didn't have to wait until his fifth year to be great. He was remarkable at 19 as a true freshman called on in the national championship against a great Georgia team and delivered three touchdown passes to win the game. Take a deep breath. Until mid-November, Tool was number one on everybody's board. Then he got banged up, people are freaking out, and they've moved him down.

I'll say it again. It happens in sports, and it happens all the time. You get this perfect storm of events. You play Oklahoma first. You don't have to play Ohio State first in the playoff. You get the championship at home. You bring it an assistant that takes an average Joe Burrow and fits perfectly. You have the best offensive line, a star running back.

great LSU wide receivers. You play Tua when he's 60%. I love Tua. I like Joe Burrow. But loving Tua doesn't mean you hate Joe Burrow. I just think it was a perfect series of events that allowed Ed Orgeron, a guy that lost to Troy at home in his second year at LSU to be named National Coach of the Year. I'm going to bet that never happens again.

And I'm happy for Ed, and he'll win a bunch of games. but he was on his way out by year three if they lost one more game. It was such a perfect year for LSU that Ed Orgeron fired at Old Miss. USC wouldn't give him a shot about to get canned at LSU when the national coach of the year deserves it. Happy for him. Good guy. Great story. But I think Ed's story at this point is leaped his coaching ability.

He's a solid coach. He's not the best college football coach. and Joe Burrough's story and perfect storm has leaped his ability. Arm, solid, size, okay, athletic ability, solid, good. Tua's accuracy is Drew Brees great. Interweb, take a deep breath. We get these perfect storms all the time, and they elevate coaches and players. I love Tua, I like Burrow, and Bucke Bruck's nailed it.

Tua, Burrell, Herbert, Love, Jacob Eason. Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama,

the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer-beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live

them. Listen to Sports Slice on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross,

because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines,

is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast. Learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th.

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

Quarterback on office blue with 42. A rep. My mama want you to weigh better. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before.

And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us

on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flanks. He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball.

So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We now have, and I noticed this about nine months ago, when Adam Schaefter, a friend of mine and somebody I respect, somebody, everybody at Fox respects, NFL reporters said, this Brady thing, he's going to look around. Don't kid yourself on this. So this is not Slappy the blogger. It's Adam Schaefter. Christian Fourier, a former NFL repatriate, now works in Boston Media, came out yesterday and said, Tom's done, and they're done with Tom. New England's done with Tom.

Now, again, I have my beliefs on where he's going to go. But there's three or four things we have to all be honest about here. We now have legitimate reporters who I trust and players that know Tom. that are saying these are not again, these are not bloggers quoting each other. These are real people. We also know that Brady and Belichick, Jay Glazer reported, Tom's not taken a pay cut. We also know Belichick generally doesn't pay anybody. I mean, outside of Stefan Gilmore, anybody.

We've seen tension in this relationship. We know that I can tell you I have one thing sourced. Brady is privately grumbling to those close to him about the lack of weapons and new In England's inability over the last five or six years post Randy Moss to get weapons and keep weapons and draft and develop weapons. These are all things you can't dispute. So I've been thinking a lot about this this morning. And on our show, we love pies.

We love a good delicious pie. And I was going to do a Brady pie this morning because I think it's, at least optically, it's the easiest thing to put your arms around. 70% of the pie, I think Tom's going back to New England, not because he's totally happy, but moving at his age, learning a new offense is a pain in the rear. I'll give 1% to retirement. He just throws his hands up in the air. 4% a surprise team.

I just don't buy the chargers. I don't. I have connections to the franchise. I don't buy them. I don't buy Oakland. I don't care that he bought a house there. I don't buy that. I don't buy Miami.

A team I'm going to throw out there, and the more I think about this, I think they're the favorite in the clubhouse beyond New England. It's the Tennessee Titans. And I'll tell you why I think this. I've moved four times in my career across the country, and I was comfortable and making a lot of money in all the places. But when you move, you always move for the same reasons. You choose a place that is solving a current headache.

Every place I left, there was an obstacle or a headache, and I wanted to solve it, and I didn't believe I could solve it. sort of like Brady. What are Brady's two annoyances in New England that he can't solve? Number one, Belichick will not spend money on weapons. He doesn't. He wouldn't spend it on his buddy Welker. He doesn't.

And Tom can't overcome that because Tom can't control acquisitions and trades. So Tom can't control that. So he wants better weapons. Secondly is he wants to have more fun. He wants to have fun. He's got the money in the titles. Bill's not fun. Bill's uncomfortable.

They don't have a relationship, really. So just think of the one place that solves both of those. The two annoyances Tom can't fix. Fun. Mike Vrable's one of his best friends. He coaches Tennessee. He'd have fun with Mike Vrable. number two is they have excellent weapons arguably the best running back in the league

they've got two excellent receivers a rookie last year from Ole Miss crushed it they've got a slot receiver Adam Humphreys and a lot of draft picks they solved the annoyances that are currently unsolvable he would have a lot more fun and they've got weapons Nashville is also a cool city I don't think that's the be-all end all but if you said Indianapolis or Nashville most people with money and options would choose Nashville as a place to live. I certainly would. Joy, if given an option, probably would. I think Tom Brady would. I don't think that's the be-all end-all, but I do think Nashville's a fun, cool, hip city where, you know, it's still close to the Eastern time zone. I think Nashville,

to me, kind of gains steam. And the other thing that matters here, you know, they've said before it's easier for a child's brain to learn a new language than an older person, that it's my daughter can speak French. At 12 and 13 and 14 years old, she picked up French like that. If you're trying to get me to figure out how to speak French, good luck. Picking up a new language later in life is hard. Tennessee speaks Tom's language. Mike Vrable knows his culture and his language. The GM's a former patriot. There are patriots all through the building. They're not all through the building in Indy or Miami or Oakland or the Chargers. They're not. There's a couple in Miami. A couple.

So between solving the two annoyances, he'd have more fun and he'd have more weapons and the reality that in an incredibly winnable division, and that you talk about a place he could go tomorrow, a Jacksonville dysfunctional Houston, Indianapolis doesn't have a quarterback, he walks in, can win a division, they speak my language, I'd have fun and I'd have weapons. here's my Tom Brady, my official final Tom Brady delicious pie, 70% New England, 25% Titans, 4% Shocker, 1% I give up, I'm quitting. 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. I have never watched the ton of NBA in October, November, December, January. I don't think the teams care much. You get into mid-February, late February.

and then you start watching these NBA games, and the players are into it. You can tell. The good teams start to dial stuff in. The trading deadline's over, so you're stuck with what you got. You can't go to social media and demand this or demand this. At this point, the teams are what they are.

This is what they are. And I watched the Lakers and the Nuggets last night in Denver. It was a great game. And it was a great game, and it felt like a playoff game. It felt like a playoff game. It was intense. Yeah. Yeah.

You could see this. Now, Janus took the night off from Milwaukee, and they couldn't score. So you can do that way. as well. But last night I watched Denver at home, a very good team, and then I watched the Lakers. And I have said about Denver

after Yokic, and I like Jamal Murray, they don't have a third guy. You just can't go into, and they're really, really young. Last night's a great example of why Denver is not going to get out of the West yet and why the Lakers have a chance

to get out of the West and win it all. Although I don't think the Lakers should be favorite. Last night showed you all the limitations of Denver, and it showed you why the Lakers are going to end up at minimum in the Western Conference finals. And I said this two days ago. So I watched the game last night, and it was classic. Second quarter, Yokic, a great player gets cold. It doesn't do anything. He's just, they get outscored 18 to 2.

Jamal Murray disappears, and they don't have a third score. That's Denver's problem. You can't rely on Yokic to be dominant for 48 minutes. players have dry spells. Players get fatigued. Players, he did. He kind of disappears and there's nobody else in the building for Denver. Nobody.

Jamal Murray shot three times, missed all of them. They don't have a third score. Gary Harris is not going to get you to the neck. You can't depend on him. It showed all the limitation to Denver. Denver's at home. It's high altitude. It's the day before the All-Star game.

It's Denver's game to win. They got the home crowd. They're standing as they tip it off. And they have a dry spell in the first half. and then late in the game, Denver has 24-year-old Yokets, 22-year-old Jamal Murray, 25-year-old Gary Harris, one starter over 30 years old, over 25, excuse me, one starter over 25 years old, late in the game and overtime,

they just couldn't make the play. Of course they couldn't because they're kids. And the Lakers who have Rondo, Dwight Howard was once carrying a team to the finals. You got Javelle McGee, Avery Bradley, LeBron James. You have all this playoff experience. The Lakers go to Denver.

high altitude, game goes to overtime. They should be gas with their old roster and the Lakers made all the big plays late. And that's what the playoffs are. For an old team day before the All-Star game to go into high-altitude Denver and to be able to go to overtime. I mean, that place, it's a different altitude, folks. You're not playing at sea level. You're playing up in the mountains. It buries teams.

Even average Denver teams are good at home. The Lakers made all the crucial steers. couple threes by AD. They tie up, create a jump ball. All the crucial plays late by all the veteran Laker players. And that young team in Denver doesn't make them. And that's the playoffs. This is why Denver can win a playoff series, potentially could win a second,

but they'll never, to me, never win the Western Conference Finals. Last night's a great example. It was a playoff game in February. That's what a playoff game feels like. And it was a classic game. the Lakers will end up winning those in the playoffs because they have all these sage veterans. I mean, Dwight Howard's coming off the bench. And this is a guy who's been to NBA finals.

This is a guy who's a leader of a franchise. He's not what he used to be. He's been a hell of a player for the Lakers this year off the bench. And then I'm not a Rondo fan, but Avery, Rondo, Javale. That game told you exactly what you're going to see in April. Young, talented Denver team that needs a third guy and count on anybody. when Yokic is a little off or has a dry spell for six minutes and a Laker team that's going to get outplayed certain nights

and figure out a way to win because they have all these cagey veterans. LeBron talked about the game last night, which you could tell clearly he felt like this is a big one because we may end up playing in Denver in the playoffs and we want to let them know these are the games will win. Every opportunity that we get to play in the close game versus a tough opponent, It's a learning experience for all of us. It prepares us for a postseason game where it's going to be back and forth,

back and forth. I thought tonight was a playoff atmosphere, both teams being number one and number two in the West Conference, jocking for position. So, you know, just trying to make plays, whatever it takes, you know, on the offensive end, on the defensive end, and, you know, and 80 was there, you know, knocking down big threes, getting a block, getting some stops. You know, it was just got the jump ball as well, just big time. All the big plays. Spectrum Sportsnet. Thanks for the video there. All the big play is late. The old team that should be tired in OT. Getting ready for a nice all-star break made all the big plays late. The young guys did not. Welcome to what the playoffs looked like in April, May and June. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific.

Dak Prescott was asked a couple days ago. Is he worth $40 million? And Dak shot back, what do you think to the reporter? I mean, people tend to use, they tend to use words like deserve. Let's just talk about what contract negotiations are. Here's the word leverage. It's not about deserving. I've never been paid because I deserve something. I've been paid a lot of money if I have some leverage. The company needs me at least a little bit.

And maybe I have other offers. It's called leverage. It's not called deserve or earn. DAC has some leverage here because the count. Cowboys don't have anybody behind him that can play, and it's the world's, well, it's America's biggest sports brand. That's leverage. Forget deserve and earn.

Dak's got some leverage. Cowboys have some leverage. On the open market, Dax's not getting a lot of offers for $37 million. Let's start with zero and work our way down. So they both have leverage, different kinds of leverage, and because of that, a deal will get done. Now, it just comes down to a certain number, but the deal will get done because DAC needs them, on the open market he's not getting this money and the cowboys need him.

They don't want to go into chaos mode at quarterback. That's a nightmare. The one time they did, networks took cowboy games off and Jerry loves the publicity. Now the concern is, we have a quarterback in DAC that is going to get paid a lot of money.

35, 36 million. If you look at the current quarterbacks that are making that kind of money, Russell Wilson won a Super Bowl, Ben won two, Jared Goff got to one, Aaron got to one and one. Carson once was having an

MVP year when he got hurt, clearly shown the ability to carry a team, and Matt Ryan got to, should have, but didn't win a Super Bowl. Dak, with the best O' line, with the best running back, has a playoff win. That's a concern. Here's the reality with Dak. He doesn't miss starts. He got excellent leadership qualities, and he keeps in most NFL games. That and his leverage is going to get him probably $35 million.

Cap goes up, it won't hurt nearly as much. here's my biggest problem with DAC and why I would probably franchise tag him. Here's my problem. When I say the word Apple, Google, Amazon, those are massive brands. They are imperfect and flawed, but they don't really have a ceiling. If I say Real Madrid, Manchester United, international sports teams, they are imperfect and have bad seasons, but they never have low ceilings. They can go get and pay for who they want.

When I say Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Lakers and New York Yankees, I'm not asking for perfect, but I would never want to be trapped and feel like I have a low ceiling. When the brand is universal, Google, Apple, Amazon, Real Madrid, Lakers, I can deal with imperfection. I don't like the term low ceiling. That's what worries me with Dak. You pay him 35, you're not going to be able to re-sign some guys defensively, and I think Dak's good. He's not special.

I don't love that. It's why I would franchise him. I'd like to see him play again without Zeke for a couple weeks. Maybe with a beat-up offensive line, prove he can carry it like Wentz has to me so far. But a deal is going to get done. It's not about deserving or earning. It's about leverage, and Dak has enough, and Dallas has enough, but a deal will get done.

Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies,

and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source. the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games,

from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff.

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

want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano,

and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca. and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game.

We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense.

And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He run up the court, his fingers why he got the ball like after you go through a training camp with that izaa you figure it out real quick get your ass up and down the court and you're going to get the ball so listen to point game on the iHeart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts will blackman is joining me uh 10 NFL

seasons a super bowl champ with the giants uh and now he's in the wine business i screwed up last night uh you slid into my dms and asked me about i didn't slide i asked you a question which was i said what kind of wine do you like? And I thought I put Pino Noir and I put pink noir. So I said rosé? You said, no, Oregon Pinoes. Like, like, duh. And then I'm like, I just read five minutes ago and I'm like, oh, I did put pink noir. My problem is I'd had a couple of glasses of Pino Noir, so I couldn't see straight. I was at the shop. I was going to shop for you and then you, you took too long. You were what shop? At the wine shop, yeah. Do you drink rosé? No. No, but by the way. I've had rosé. But why not, though? Because I like Pinoes.

I'm a guy that goes back to the same thing over and over. I'm not like a, I find what I like in life at a restaurant and I order one or two things at the same. I go to the same restaurants and I order the same two things. I'm not going to take big chances in my life now. Why not? You don't bungee jump at 70. Why not? My grandpa went skiing at 73.

Well, skiing's not a risk for me. I'm an excellent skier. I'm not going to jump out of a plane at 80. If I die at 84, it'll say cowher dies of old age. It won't say, jumped off a cliff just to have a good time. Coward dies. So I'm not moving on to wines that I haven't tasted and haven't grown an affinity with. That's very extreme, though.

Jump back on a plane or trying rosé. That's very extreme, bro. Will Blackman is joining me. So let me ask you this. When you take over a new business, I've done this a few times. I start a new show. I generally want to start from scratch. I went out and found John Goulet because I'd had John Goulet before.

So I said, I've got to get somebody that's familiar with me. I buy the Carolina Panthers. I got a new coach. I've changed the front office. I think I would move off Cam. I think I would move off him. By the way, I'm already picking seven. I can get to the number two spot.

You moved off of a really good coach. So that's not far-fetched. So what would you do if you ran the franchise in Carolina with Cam? Well, based off what Teper said, he said, I handle the business side. Now I need to go down and handle the football side. And he is truly going through every single little piece of what's going. going on there. Yes. And his last interview, he said, okay, is Cam healthy? Because if he's not healthy,

we can't do anything yet. So I'm sure he's truly waiting to see if he's healthy because he can't, he can't be a guy that owns a dealership. And he's like, man, I got this 2011 Bentley that is ready to go. We got a couple flat tires. So you have to wait until we repair it, you know. So I think that's truly what it is. I think he can get a second for Cam. You can get a second rounder. Yeah. So I can draft my future quarterback. I've got a transitional piece. Kyle Allen that's not my future, but I can compete with him. And he's someone you can hold on to because he gets it. He's a backup quarterback.

You can win with backups for a while. They did. Oh, absolutely. Now let's go to Matt Stafford. Now, at least Cam's gotten to a Super Bowl. I like Matt. He's a good kid. He's got talent.

11 years no division titles. Now he's a little broken down. He's still young enough. I could send him out to the trade market for Indy or the Chargers, and I think both potentially would bite. I would move off him, take the cap hit for a year. We're not winning the Super Bowl anyway, because I'm going to draft Tua with a number three pick.

I'm not worried about the Super Bowl for a year. What I need to do is add juice energy and start over. Is that crazy, or would you keep Stafford? If Stafford went to Indy, they're instantly going to the playoffs because he's not going to get hit. So he has value on the market. He has tons of value because just based on his skill set alone, I think the most underrated things people realize what Stafford is his arm strength.

Yes, no question. I still have a ligament that is partially torn because I try to pick off one of his passes and it just went right through my hands. Like he has a strong, and he's able to lead his team back. But Will, I've always said this. When the Colts moved off Peyton, when you get a divorce, you have to realize, as a man, I'll speak as a man. When you get a divorce, my ex-wife is going to find happiness elsewhere.

I've got to come to terms with that and not worry about it. Denver, Indianapolis had to realize Peyton's going to leave us and he's going to win for a while but we're going to move on to luck. Green Bay moves off Farr. Brett's going to be able to beat us for the next couple of years as we go to Rogers. When you move off somebody, the only way to move off a player with value is

he's going to win somewhere else. But you also better have a plan. And Tua's my plan because Tua is not going one. So I love Tua as a plan. I'm just saying. I like that too. If I could take two and say, listen, I'm going to move Stafford. I'm going to trade him.

But there's so many parts with Detroit where it's like they're not far off. Oh, you really think that? I think, yeah. In the NFC? In the NFC, I don't think they're far off because one, when's the last time they had a 2000, I mean, a thousand-yard-russia, Reggie Bush? Was it like 13? Is he going to have one now?

You got to find, you got to get something like that. You got to get something there that's going to, once again, he has enough talent where, There's plenty of talent where he needs something complimenting around him. When Marvin Jones came back, they will lighten it up until Marvin Jones got to injured. They still have Kenny Gallaudy, a great receiver. They got to get just more pieces on the offense around him, find a way to protect him. They have a franchise quarterback, like you said, he's still young and he's still able to do all these things. He can throw for 4,000 yards into sleep.

I guess my take on Cam and Stafford is they have market value. they will win elsewhere. I don't deny it with the right fit. But I need to start over. I need new juice. I'm 11 years in with Matt Stafford and I don't have a division title and I don't have a playoff win. Yeah, Detroit is an interesting and yet confusing organization because you don't know.

At least with Teper that he's speak, he's telling you what we're doing. Oh, I know. Listen, Tepper's going to win games. I think he's going to offend some people, but he's going to win games. Because he's honest. He's brutal. He's cut throat, bottom line, super bright. he's running his football team like he ran his hedge fund.

He's going to make a decision. Give me another quarterback. Dack, what do you do? You pay him. All right, how much? 35. That's fair. 36.

Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't pay him that much. Why can't I franchise tag him for one year? Because he, I believe he deserves the contract. Oh, deserves? Yeah. Deserves gets a lot of GMs fired. Is he special?

He's a franchise quarterback. All right. So is he better than Andy Dalton? He's better than Andy Dalton. Is he better than Matt Ryan? He's not better than Matt Ryan. Is he better than Kirk Cousins? That's debatable.

Okay. So 35 million for Kirk Cousins. And you'd be comfortable with that. If I had a turnkey situation like Minnesota and like Dallas does, yeah, DAC is good. Kirk Cousins is good for that. All right. Just come in here and don't mess it up. Well, that's not very willful and aspirational.

It's not willful and aspirations, but that's why I look at... Don't mess it up? For example. You can't win in Super Bowls on Don't Mess It Up. Well, for example, Minnesota thought they were one quarterback away. So they go get Kirk. As in coming here and get us to where we need to be because we have everything in place. Dallas, they felt like they had things in place and they needed someone to come here and as a head coach to get us to where we need to go.

Because we have a lot of the pieces here. So you think McCarthy and Dak is capable of getting to a conference? championship. I believe so. All right, then by the way, you should pay him if you believe that. Yeah. Because if you think about, forget the Super Bowl, if you believe your quarterback, this is every quarterback in the league, do you believe your quarterback can get to the conference championship? I didn't say win it.

Yeah. If your quarterback can get to. I 100% believe that. Okay. To be the quarterback. That should be the line. Yeah. Because once you get to the conference championship, you're facing Brady's and Rogers.

you're facing Russell Wilson, Mahomes. That really is the baseline to all this. If you believe your quarterback with the current construct of your coaching staff can get to a conference championship. Division title is not enough now. No, it's not enough. Deshawn Watson now. He's going to win the South pretty much, ever since Andrew Luck left. He's going to win the South a lot.

So Dak and McCarthy to you can get, then pay him. That's fair. What do you make? I can't believe this is a story. So years ago, when Will Blackman's joining us. So years ago when Tim Tebow got hot and I was at the other place

and I think I was the only on-air person of note in America during a seven-game winning street. I just said this is not, he's winning, but I'm not building around Timmy. He's a good football player. He is a good football player. It's not sustainable.

There's a difference between can he win Sunday and are you going to build around him? So all of a sudden, I never even thought of Taysam Hill as a starting quarterback. I mean, he's a good kid. I think he's a more athletic Tim Tebow. He ran a 4-4-5. Tebow ran a 4-7.

He's a more athletic Tebow with a better throwing motion. I think he can win on Sunday. Tase of Mill can win on Sunday. But in all the years he's been in New Orleans, he's attempted 15 passes. Pretty much sums up what they think of his throwing. He's blocking punts. He is a great athlete. I never thought of them really as a franchise quarterback.

I think of him as a more athletic Tebow. And I always said about Tebow. Love to have him on my roster. I'm just not building around him. So there's this belief that if Breeze retired, I would go with Teddy Bridgewater. I wouldn't even think twice about it. Right. There's a lot of people out there saying, you know, the special teams coach said he throws a better ball than Lamar Jackson.

Do you as a football player see Taysam Hill as a franchise quarterback? No. Neither do I. I never seen anything that will let me believe that. That's exactly what I think. He's a guy who's going to play 10 years because he has value. And I would pay him. By the way, I would love to have him on my roster.

I give him some kind of like a Matt Slater type of deal. Even more, because I think he can score touchdowns. Matt can block a punt. Right. You know, there are guys in this league. I think the mistake we make, Will, is we confuse. He could win a game Sunday with I'm building around him. The infrastructure for Taysam Hill would have, you'd have to have this quirky off.

It just wouldn't work. So he's not as hyper athletic as Lamar, and he can't throw nearly as well as the top 12 quarterbacks in the league. I don't get the story here. Yeah, because, you know, he wasn't healthy in college. I think he got a medical red shirt in order to, you know, keep playing. And then I haven't seen any full preseason games of him. By the way. He's going to have to go somewhere and win a job.

I could be wrong here. Let me look this up real quick. Hold on. One second. Joey, what's up? He's going to turn 30. He's going to turn 30. So ask yourself, in the history of comedy, one stand-up comedian was a late bloomer.

One, Rodney Dangerfield. Everybody else by 16, 18, 22. Who wasn't in bad? No, he was good and young. Was he young? Okay. Dangerfield's the only. Generally, if you look at most in tech, nobody's a late bloomer in tech.

The people that are great at 12, 18, Bill Gates, 16, you can't be 30 and nobody has said, let's make him a franchise quarterback. It's not a position you can be, quarterbacks don't be, aren't late bloomers. I just don't see it. Finally, Tom Brady, your Tom today. What do you do? I am staying with New England. And we look at Tom Brady, you're like, okay, what's the incentive? Right, right.

He's done everything. Right, right. If I look at, if there's one thing that would motivate Tom is because there are only two organizations that have six Super Bowls, right, Patriots and Steelers. Maybe he wants seven. You stay and get seven. Otherwise, you go home. Here's my Brady pie.

70% New England, 25% in Nashville because he would have fun and he has struggled having fun. Retirement surprise team. 1% retirement? Yeah, I mean, 1% he just says, I'm done with this, guys. I don't trust New England. I've taken a beating. He's in Costa Rica with his wife and kids and is like, you know what?

I don't miss it. I'm out. What do you think retirement's at? I think it's higher than that. Higher as in. I think like 25. You think? Yeah, I think it's 75, 25.

75, New England, 25 retirement. I can see him going to Costa Rica and just saying, you know what? We don't show any indication we're going to draft the tight end or wide receivers, and I'm out. I can see it, but I just have it a smaller percentage. Yeah, if I'm waiting to see what happens during preseason. Do I get weapons? He just needs offensive weapons. Well, all you have to wait for is the draft.

You don't have to wait for preseason. But at that time, listen, New England's got to thread the needle here. Because bottom line, in order, if they want him, they have to pay. Pan by March 18th or it's a much bigger cap hit. So they have to thread the needle on this, and I don't think it's going to happen. It's funny here. Tom can really screw over the Patriots. Why would he?

Well, I'm not saying he would, but Tom's got a lot of leverage here. They don't have anybody in house who can win a lot of games. That's very true. You know? Will Blackman, good seeing you. Yeah, always. A pleasure. Yeah.

It's a rose in your life. Yeah, among other things. David Bruce, Pino-N-N-War. Fantastic. What is that? David Bruce. Pino Noir. Yeah.

Where's that from? Santa Cruz Mountains. Oh, yo. He was his wine was in the 1976 judgment of Paris. Oh. Finish top 10 out of the 20. It's a sleeper. It's not a sleeper.

It's legit, dude. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. And every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports

and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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, S&L'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 Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff.

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

What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. The story I've talked. told myself can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast Deeply Well with Debbie Brown.

If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to Deeply Well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.