The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Blame The Giants, Not Odell

Episode Date: July 23, 2019

On today's episode of The Herd, Colin defends Odell Beckham Jr.'s right to talk about his exit from the Giants, as the team was at fault for the dysfunctional relationship. Colin further reinforces his belief that the Cowboys should move on from Ezekiel Elliott, as he makes a lot of noise and noisy teams do not win in the NFL.  Warren Sharp, of Sharpfootballanalysis.com, explains why the Chargers shouldn't cave and give Melvin Gordon a big pay day. Former NFL DB and Scout Bucky Brooks tells Colin why Patrick Mahomes is exactly like Brett Favre, and former NFL OL and NFL analyst Mark Schlereth joins the show! PLUS, you don't want to miss Colin's newest show, Jeop-Herd-y! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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If we didn't talk ever again, I was harmed. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in, he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball.

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We're live in Los Angeles on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1, about ready to talk about OBJ and the Dallas Cowboys. Joey, how are you? I'm great. Good morning. Good morning, everybody. So yesterday, we had the author of the interview from GQ Magazine on Odell, back Jr. We brought the author on. We talked a lot about it. My takeaway is Cleveland's going to work

for OBJ for a while, but I think long term, they have too many great players, and OBJ's production is going to go down over time. And I don't think, I think it will be dramatic and a distraction by about year two, three, and four, and he'll move on. It'll be like Randy Moss to the Patriots, OBJ in Cleveland. There'll be a big year or two, and then over time it'll spiral out and he didn't want to be in Cleveland. Neither here nor there. I will say the end of the end. I will say the interview has been attacked by people in New York fans, media are crushing OBJ because one of his quotes in the story is, I feel disrespected by the New York Giants. He said he loved the fans, but the organization disrespected him as if he couldn't have made the one hand catch anywhere

else. It wasn't just about the Giants propping him up. He believes his God-given talent would have been big anywhere. And so people are telling him to move on and stop talking about it and shut up. And let me defend OBJ in this. Have you ever been in a relationship for five years or 10 years? And it's suddenly, and I don't mean kind of, kind of ends. It ends in an hour because you get traded or dumped. You don't talk about it? You don't talk your way through it? These professional athletes, this is not like you and your wife fighting, talking about divorce for years. How do we split up time with the kids? And then two years in, you break the relationship off. This is, hey, I love you too. I want a divorce.

Hey, why are you talking about it? This is what happens to pro athletes. And I've been in this business. I've bounced around to four different companies. You speak your way through it. And by the way, even when you do want to stop talking about it, people come up to you and ask you about it. General GQ magazine comes up OBJ.

Hey, we want to talk about the Giants? They have a choice. You can keep saying no. When I left my former company and came to Fox Sports, first of all, it's hard for the first year because you have friendships and habits and things you did at the other place. You come to a new place and you wake up. It's hard to break habits. You're driving to a new place, new cafeteria, new teammates, new coworkers, new set. It's hard.

And then about a year or two in, people would interview me. First question was, what about the old place? What about the old relationship? And I was like, I want to talk about the new one. So even when you want to get off the subject, people don't let you. That one-handed catch happened in New York. He's yet to play a game for the Browns. But I defended Kevin Durant on this with Oklahoma City.

When you're in a relationship for any extended period of time, excuse me, excuse me, and for OKC, OKC was his first love. And for many of you who break up, it's your first love. And the Giants were Odell Beckham's first team. And the Mariners were Ken Griffey's first team. Your first professional job. It's like your first love. It goes deep.

It's embedded. You make a name for yourself. First people to pay you and admire you. And you went to camp and you've got friendships. And then all of a sudden, they trade you. When they've gone to the media and said, we love him. We would never trade him.

So they lied. and one hour you're a giant and the next hour they remove your parking space and you're supposed to just shut it down and move on I don't even think I'm not a therapist I don't even think that's healthy I bet if you went to a therapist and said yeah I just broke up they'd say you need to talk about it

you need to talk your way through this situation these pro athletes get lied to get dumped get traded get moved on and you just want them to not talk about it a month later give me a break I mean I got my issues with OBJ. He can be a little needy and a little high maintenance and I'm not, I don't love being in the end zone and proposing

to a kicking net, but I'm going to defend him on this. He has a right to talk about the Giants. By the way, he did add juice to the franchise. He did prop up Eli Manning. He was the most captivating player. There were more OBJ uniforms and jerseys in the stadium than any other player.

He was the best part about the New York Giants offense for most of his time there until Saquan Barkley arrived. And they said they wouldn't train him. Then they did. Yes, it's painful. Yes, you should talk about it. Yes, I'll defend you.

And again, I got my issues with him. I think, you know, he, a lot of times, I'm just like Brady. No, you're not. You're PNN zones. You're on a fishing boat or some boat with a bunch of blunts right before a playoff game and you make sure it gets the Instagram. Like, you're not Brady. But in this instance, I'm going to defend OBJ.

He did everything possible. the Giants were a chaotic mess. Coach after coach fired, coordinator after coordinator fire, hanging on to Eli too long, didn't surround him with talent, battle line. I'm going to defend him on that.

He has a right to answer questions and a right to talk about it, and I think it's healthy. Nick Wright talked about this on first things first this morning. All parties are to blame for O'Dell now being in Cleveland. The problem is nobody wants to take any of the blame. O'Dell, as much as I like him personally,

does not, has not said, I should have done this better. And the Giants shouldn't have come out and lied and said we didn't sign him to trade him. And they shouldn't be lying to their fans acting. Like, no, Eli's still a great quarterback. But by the way, we drafted this Daniel Jones kid. Yeah.

Going to support OBJ on this issue. You have a right to talk about a relationship that just ended. I think it's healthy. And when you get asked about it, what are you supposed to do? And he's right. They lied to him. They didn't give them a ton of respect.

They weren't honest. The first sign somebody doesn't respect you is they're not honest with you. Respect isn't money. Respect is honesty and authenticity, and the giants weren't with him. All right, let me shift to the Cowboys. Swear to God, season hasn't started. They're in the news every day. Amari Cooper was a first round draft pick.

Went to the Raiders, made a lot of money. Cowboys said, we like Amari Cooper. Amari Cooper came out yesterday and said for the Dallas Cowboys, a very valuable player for them. No rush on a new contract. I'm going into free agency at the end of the year. I trust myself. And I'm all good.

Now, it should be noted. Amari Cooper has leverage. Dak Prescott was 7 and 2 with Amari Cooper and a passer rating of 103. Dak Prescott was 3 and 4 without Amari Cooper and a passer rating of 87. You keep telling me how valuable Zeke is. Dak Prescott was a different quarterback with Amari Cooper. Yet Amari Cooper, year out, going to play, going to deliver. This is one of the reasons I like the addition of Amari Cooper.

My guys in college football said, great kid. Hard worker, head down, great kid. I didn't buy the rumors that he was a malcontent in Oakland. I didn't buy it. I said it on the air. I love the move for the Cowboys because I love the kid. By the way, Dak Prescott also has leverage. Dak Prescott has won the division two of three years.

Dak Prescott was not a first rounder. He was a fourth rounder. He's never been paid yet. And he's won the division two times in three years for America's number one football brand. He's got leverage. He also plays the most important position. So Amari's got leverage and Dak has leverage. And in both instances, let's just play, get the season done.

Now, Dak has said I'm not taking a discount, but there's no holdout. Amari. No holdout yet this morning. Here's the latest on Ezekiel Elliott. You know, he hasn't firmly decided on his contract holdout. He may leave the country. Okay, this is a guy who was a first rounder. He's already been paid well.

He's two years out. There's all sorts of off-field nonsense. Some of it judicial. Zeke is noise, and noise loses in this league. Jacksonville was a very good football team that got to the AFC championship. They got noisy. They finished 5 and 11. The Steelers were the most talented team in the league that didn't make the playoffs.

Why? They got noisy. Green Bay and the Giants last year, both got noisy. You want to know who got quiet last year? Kansas City started to get noisy, bailed on Kareem Hunt, went back to being quiet, got to the AFC championship. Patriots were quiet. Rams were quiet.

Seattle was noisy two years ago, got quiet, made the playoffs. Saints, Bears. Rams, chargers, no noise. Noise equals distraction, and distractions equal losses in the NFL. This is not the NBA. The NBA is a living, breathing soap opera. The coaches know it, the players know it, the GMs know it, and the owners know it. Noise is just part of the culture of the NBA.

It's a players league, it's a Stars League, they have shoes, they've got brands, they've got opinions. it is a player-driven league and players talk a lot. The NBA isn't dependent on quiet to win. LeBron's teams are always noisy. The NFL is different. There is a direct line. The noisier you get, the less you win in the NFL. Because distractions, this is not the NBA,

where you have four or five teams that just have better players. In the NFL, the worst loss, the worst roster in the NFL could be Buffalo. the best roster could be Philadelphia, and if they played tomorrow in Buffalo, the spread would be four and a half points. I'll say it again on Zeke. You could get a ton of draft picks for Ezekiel Elliott. You could get players and picks and get really quiet.

You could get really, really quiet, really, quickly. Because Amari's got leverage, no noise. Dax got leverage, no noise. Zeeq has some leverage. Nothing but noise. NFC, NFC is jammed, folks. There is no room for distractions.

Coming up next, the New York Giants have gone from an iconic American franchise to a completely fear-based one, and a quote yesterday sums up the problem with the giants going forward, which is good news for Dallas, Philadelphia, and Washington.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd, weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHard Radio app. 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.

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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? Where's she at? Hey, man. Mr. Parker.

Listen to the Clifford Show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Help! Somebody! Please! But there's so much more to me than me. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian.

And recently, I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hippocrat, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice. and thoughtful solutions. Sike! I'm a comedian! I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, recommend some of the most legally dubious advice

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the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to help from a hypocrite. as part of the Mike Coulthura Podcast Network available on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So Joy and I have talked about this for years is in sports, being aggressive wins. And in life sometimes, cautions better.

You know, if you're talking about life in sports, in sports, there's almost, you know, be aggressive with free agency, be aggressive in the draft, be aggressive spending money, don't go cheap. and the New England Patriots move off players. You may think they're cautious and smart. New England's very aggressive. They sign the guys they like.

They bail on the guys they don't. They don't lose any sleep on it. Sometimes they're harsh, aggressive. Philadelphia, L.A. Rams, aggressive and free agency. So the New York Giants used to be a gold standard franchise. And one of the reasons I liked them is they had a point of view, they had a business plan, and they didn't care what people thought about it. They were very smart.

They had an IBM feel to them. They were industry leader. They were very smart. They had a place in the market. And they weren't concerned about things on the periphery. Now that's the opposite for the Giants. They're consumed with how it plays with the media. It's pathetic.

And here's a prime example. So the Giants, according to NFL.com, Eli Manning, will start week one. When the Giants take on the Cowboys, there will be no quarterback competition in camp. None? Didn't Russell Wilson win the starting job in camp? Didn't Carson Wentz win his starting job in camp?

Wasn't Dak Prescott? Didn't he all blow us away in camp? Didn't Derek Carr win his job in camp? It's not an open competition. There are 20 games under 500 last five years. You put a number six pick on Daniel Jones. You keep telling us how great Daniel Jones is, that you fell in love with him. He's a number six pick.

Top 10 picks got a plus. And if not play, they've got to compete for a job. You're not going to let them compete for a job? The report comes six weeks after Pat Schumer insinuated, there would be an open quarterback competition. What do you know? And that didn't play well with some people in the house. A, why would you leak this story?

B, why would you not have an open competition? If you're the number six pick in the draft, A, you should be, that's a good enough talent, you should be competing absolutely regardless of position, even quarterback for a starting job. And even if Tom Brady, if New England found a guy in the top six and said, you know,

and Brady's got a zillion Super Bowls, but you think Bill Belichick would announce four months out, there's no quarterback competition? Like Jimmy Garoppolo was not a first round pick. He was a project. Daniel Jones, the Giants insisted he was the best quarterback. They loved him. They weren't interested in other people.

He was the guy. He's Eli Manning. Well, didn't Eli Manning his first year in compete for the job in camp? This is all about two things. The only reason you would not allow Daniel Jones to compete for the job. And I'll say it again, the Colts were able to move off Peyton Manning more quickly than the Giants can move off Eli Manning. Because the Colts did what you have to do with aging quarterbacks. You have to rip the Band-Aid.

You just got to rip the band-aid. band-aid off. It takes a second and it hurts, but the healing begins. You don't want to be the little boy or the little girl who tries to pull the band-aid off and a hair gets stuck on it and you put it back on and it's like, ow, I don't deal with that pain. And then the healing doesn't begin. San Francisco, ripped the band-aid off with Montana. Green Bay ripped the band-aid off with Farr. Colts, ripped the band-aid off with Peyton Manning. Now you can say, well, what about Brady? Brady's still the best quarterback, arguably, in the league. You're not going to rip that band-aid off yet. But Eli Manning, Let me see the numbers here.

Yeah, last five years, the Giants are 31 and 49. So again, if the Patriots took a number six pick with Brady, they're like, well, he's the guy. But they wouldn't make an announcement six weeks out. There'll be no quarterback. They want to see what they got. And, of course, Brady's the best in the league right now, first, second, or third best. Eli's not a top 20 quarterback, and you're not going to allow a competition.

That's telling me you're consumed with how the perception is. And secondly, that you reached on Daniel Jones. Because you've already watched them in OTAs. If you're telling me he's not competing for the starting job, then you reached on him. Because I know what you got, and I know what you told me he is. And that should be an open competition in week one. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, speaking of leaking stories, it appears the Lakers were never as close to getting Kauai as rumored. Kauai and his uncle, Dennis Robinson, Robertson, set up two separate meetings, one with Jeannie Bus and Rob Polinka and one with Magic. And according to The Athletic, Magic thought it was wise to broadcast that Robertson had called to pick his brain about the purple and gold before Free Agency had even begun. That sealed the fate of the Lakers, a person involved in the process told the Athletic. I think that right there was when Dennis and Kauai decided we can't trust the Lakers as an organization. And that was it.

I think that was it for them. That's real, you know, Magic wanted to protect his brand. Well, we kind of felt like this is, this played a role in Kauai going to the Clippers, but now this is kind of more of a solid yes that this was definitely influential in his decision. If you read the, the story in the athletic, which is great, by the way, it pretty much documents how this whole thing went down with Paul George and Kauai. It really feels like Kauai always intended to ask the Raptors for the world because his main intention was where am I going to be able to be successful for the prime of my career? I want to be

in the best place to win and where I live is secondary. And he didn't really feel like the Raptors had a sustainable plan. Temporarily, obviously, they were very aggressive and it worked, but am I going to be able to duplicate that? So it comes down to the Lakers, which would be a super team, which is not really Kauai style, and then you have the clippers. However, they were clearly very interested in the Lakers, but they had a simple mantra, which makes sense when you think of Kauai Lenners. don't talk about what we're doing. And this should really be a siren sound to all organizations in the NBA

that you have to run a solid franchise. You cannot have this function with so much on the line in NBA free agency and guys choosing to go to teams based off of not only just where they're living or what their stardom is going to be or whether they're going to winning, they're going to win, but they also want to be in a franchise

where they feel like it is functional. Why did this story leap? because two days ago a story came out that the Lakers thought they were played by Kauai. And Kauai's camp said, oh, you're going to badmouth us. So Kauai's camp dumps to the media. We liked you, but magic wouldn't shut up. This is a classic. Kauai had moved on from the Lakers.

But when the story leaked that LeBron and the Lakers thought they were used by Kauai, Kauai is like, okay, now I'm going to dump a story, put it back on you. It makes perfect sense. Yep. But it is revealing, though. It's kind of remarkable when you think about it because I'm sure Lakers fans have some animosity towards Kauai for not choosing the Lakers

over what many consider it to be the little brother and the Clippers. But when you look at the whole scenario, it's like the Clippers couldn't have played it more perfectly. They did everything that they should have done and they did it perfectly more aggressive and it worked out. So yesterday, the Spurs announced two new assistant coaches would be joining Greg Popovich's staff to fill the vacancies, one of which is Will Hardy.

and the other one is Tim Duncan. And the press release announcing this move, they wrote Duncan, a 1997 Wake Forest graduate, played 19 seasons with the Spurs before retiring in the summer of 2016. It is only fitting that after I served loyally for 19 years as Tim Duncan's assistant that he returns the favor, said Popovich. So Popovich making a little joke there. I didn't know Duncan wanted a coach.

I did not either. But this is, I mean, the Spurs are the gold standard in France. franchises as far as, you know, running things well, bringing back former players, being innovative with coaching decisions. And they're obviously a dynasty and had an immense success with it as well. And it's, they call it the Spurs way for a reason. He also had, uh, 15 all-star nods, three NBA finals, MVP awards and, uh, you know, quite a few rings.

So I like this move for the Spurs. And I also think it's very interesting because, you know, who's going to replace Popovich in that system is going to be quite the changing of the guard, considering the way that the Spurs do business there. And, I mean, eventually someone else is going to have to coach and who's going to take over for him. I mean, if Tim Duncan is there and getting in his, you know, coaching experience, what a better replacement than him.

So finally, after being ranked number three on NFL Network's top 100 list, Carson Wentz has taken a fall coming in at 96. health and availability could be a huge reason for him to drop 93 spots. But, you know, he played 13 games in 2017 and 11 in 2018. He's had quite a few injuries. I know that everyone is very high on Carson Wentz, but I am remaining a bit skeptical. Not of his talent, but of if he is going to remain available. The injuries concern me.

And not that they were going to turn the franchise over to Nick Foles, obviously, they really had no choice but to sign Carson Wentz. And I have no problem with the deal either because it makes sense for the Eagles to pay him right now and see what happens in the future. But I do think that there is some pressure on Carson Wentz this year. Yeah, I mean, he and Deshawn Watson are really fascinating talents. But the first thing I think about with both is,

are they going to be around in nine years? I think it's a real, I think it's fair to question Wences. And both, by the way, are great athletes, big guys who run around and take some shots and Houston's O-line's bad. But I think everybody has a right to be skeptical right now of Carson Wents' health. I think it's very fair.

I don't think it's... Philip Rivers plays forever and never gets hurt. Eli plays forever and never gets hurt. Some guys playing, they're always hurt. I mean, some of this is just DNA genes. Like, he may be a guy that just gets hurt a lot. And they could not have ever had a better backup situation. Right.

So he, I'm sure he's feeling the heat a little bit. Russell runs around, never gets hurt. Yeah. Cam Newton runs around. I mean, you can't control it. It's not his fault. No, no. But it's just one of those things.

Like, that's just somehow, sometimes that's how careers go. Some bodies break down. I mean, Brett Farr never got hurt. I think Aaron Rogers, big, strong, tough guy gets hurt a lot. Like if some of it's just your body doesn't withstand. And Carson Wentz right now his body, I don't know what it is. Yeah. I don't know what it is.

Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line news. Mark Schlarith, multiple pro bowler, three Super Bowl rings. Joining us in the herd. Mark Schlarith, Mr. Denver. By the way, I watched you this weekend.

and you love your lawn. You're very much a lawn guy. You were calling out your shoddy neighbors for their... Right? Yeah. Like, you... Like, I always look at it like, how can you not know there's a competition going on?

Right? Everything's that... Like I said in the video, I'm like, there's always a game going on. If you don't know what it is, you're probably it. Of course, there's a competition. Just look. His lawn...

His lawn... He is a lawn guy. So you're a stay-off my lawn guy? No, no, no. He mows his lawn three times a week. he is a manicure. I am in my yard. I would much rather spend five hours in my yard than going playing golf with my buddies. Yeah, no, that's okay. I just want to be there.

No, no, no. I just like to be there. I've, I've have friends who are yard guys. I totally get, my wife's kitchen. My wife, when she's bored, I'm going to go make a soup. And she'll sit there for an hour and just talk and make a soup, but yard guy, soup girl. Okay. Yeah. All right. Let's go to this whole thing. So the Giants draft, first of all, Eli's eroding. 31 and 49 last five years. They drafted quarterback six. He's a college kid who started three years. Great coaching with David Cutcliffe.

You tell us he's a great quarterback. And now you're telling me there is no quarterback competition. Right. Okay. Listen, obviously Aaron Rogers, Brady, there are a handful of quarterbacks that if you drafted a quarterback, we know whose job it is. Russell Wilson's not going to be replaced. Right.

But if you draft a quarterback top six, three-year starter, and your guy's struggling, shouldn't the Giants have an open competition? Well, I would say this. I think you have to understand that coming out of the college and coming out of college systems, there's a lot of guys that just don't translate well initially. You know, I'm in Denver, and they talk about Drew Locke right now

is there going to be a competition? And Vic Fangio, the head coach in Denver, said, listen, like this, he's like, he's like a pitcher who can throw really hard. It's like Nukalooch, right? Right. Man, he could throw 99, but he doesn't know how to play. like quarterback yet. And we've got to get him up to quarterback speed. And, you know, I think one thing

about the college system and being in shotgun all the time and doing that, it develops lazy mechanics. Your footwork is not right. It doesn't time up to the routes oftentimes. And we're so quick to bury Eli. And I understand why. I understand that he hasn't been great. But last year, he threw for almost 4,300 yards, 21 TDs, only 11 picks. And he completed 66% of his passes. Like, you would take that anywhere in the National Football League. Like there are, other than, other than New England and a couple other places, that performance you would take anywhere. So you don't think Eli's eroding.

I don't think he's what he once was, but I don't think he's too far off of that. So you think he's flacco? Well, yeah, yeah, exactly. And here's one of the things that I think is talking to different GMs around the league and different people around the league. one of the things that has happened where we are so, you know, we've got this lust to just draft the quarterback and throw him in and let's see what happens, right? Because we've got him under contract.

We can manage him for a long time. And what's happened is people have seen the Andy Reid approach to Patrick Mahomes. And let's leave Patrick Mahomes behind Alex Smith, behind the veteran quarterback. Now, you got to give Alex Smith a lot of credit because Alex Smith was, was monumental. mental in the development of Patrick Mahomes. He worked with him. He answered the questions. He helped mentor him along. In the film room every day.

Every day. And then Patrick Mahomes, you know, we unleash Patrick Mahomes in his second year in the league and he throws 50 touchdowns. And now teams are like, maybe that's not a bad way to go instead of throwing guys to the fire, baptism through fire. Maybe we let them learn, have a redshirt year before we replace our quarterback. And teams are looking at that as a viable way to do business. And we see it now.

We see it with the Giants. We're seeing it in Denver right now with Joe Flacco and Drew Locke. We've seen, we're seeing teams kind of take this approach and saying maybe it's not just best to throw guys in. You know, you mentioned before I came up here, Steve Young, well, Steve Young, you know, had his time in Tampa first. And then he sat behind Joe Montana. Right. And then they unleashed him. Well, I mean, yeah.

I mean, Aaron Rogers and Steve Young had to sit, learn the position. There is a stat out there that if you're, I don't have the exact stat. I had dinner with the GM one time. And he said there's a stat in the NFL. that if you play your rookie quarterback, eight games or more, his first year, the chances of you getting fired as a head coach are 70% in the last decade.

So coaches generally don't want to start a rookie because it means you're teaching instead of playing. You're spending so much time teaching a player how to play a position. College quarterback to NFL is a big transition. So O'Dell Beckham, I've had my criticisms of him, but I defended him to start the show today on one thing. When you're in a relationship forever, you're in a relationship in the NFL with a team for five years.

That's a long time. Camps, friends, habits, trends. Right. You leave it. And we expect you to just move on. And I'm like, I've spent 10 years at companies. It takes you a year to talk out of it, to create new friends, create new trends, new habits, new habits. Sure.

Staff to get your idiosyncrasies and your peculiar habits. I got plenty of those. Like I think it's okay for OBJ To acknowledge disappointment with the Giants To acknowledge their relationship That doesn't bother me Like I'm okay you talking about your ex If your ex tells you I'll leave you

I'll never leave you and then trade you an hour later Right I don't have a problem with OBJ talking about the giants No I think that's kind of There's a natural human nature to that Like that that's where you came from That's what you know But there has to be a

You do you can't dwell on it forever. At some point you say, hey, man, I am moving on. Let's talk about what we've got going on, what we're building here in Cleveland. Like, at some point, you've got to be able to make that move. And I understand that, like, you and I worked at a different place. How many times you get asked about that place? Constantly. Constantly, right? You constantly get asked about it. So you answer politely. That's part of the process. I would say this, though, and I don't know when this kind of line of demarcation is, when you step across it. but you look at coaches that struggle that come from prominent programs.

And let's just use the Patriots for an example. Guys that coach under Belichick, right? And they come into organizations. They constantly say, hey, this is a Patriot way. This is the way we did it here. And instantly, guys in that locker room roll their eyes. Like, oh, Lord, here we go. Baby Belichick, Belichick Jr.

And that's a real issue because you've got to be you. There's got to be a level of authenticity about you because if you're not and you're always referencing them, eventually your guys are just like, come on, dude, really? Like take ownership of this place. That's, we're not them. Let's, let's focus on us. And so there's this authentic nature to being who you are to where answering questions is fine.

But if you're constantly the guy that refers to, well, what I was in New York, and when I was over here, what I was doing this, like, that gets old quickly. You played for the Redskins. They gave you your first break. and then all of a sudden you go to Denver, and how long did it take you as a Bronco to put the Redskins in the back? That was easy for me

because Norv Turner at the time, who, you know, has become a friend, but Norv Turner at the time was my head coach and told me I couldn't play anymore. We don't think you can play anymore. And so, like, you go through your career where you play hurt, you play injured, you sacrifice,

and then all of a sudden the organization that you did all that, for and you won a championship with says, hey, see around sometime, we don't think you can play anymore. So I was pissed. Like, it wasn't hurt. I was angry. I still am.

I'm still angry about it. It still drives me. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Like, I'll never forget going to Washington. I played them while I was in Denver. We won on the last play of the game. John Elway to Rod Smith.

Rod Smith's first catch in the NFL touchdown about 40-some-odd yards, right? I awarded myself a game ball. Game ball. Like Mike Shannon was walking by. I was like underneath my bread. Game ball, sir! Yeah! And he's like, yeah, game ball, stink.

You used to play there. I was like, so I got a game ball out of it. I give it to myself. And then we went to Washington in 98 and ran rough shot through him. I mean, TD had 170 yards. And I just wanted to flip them to burr from across the sideline. So it's better than you. You're human, right?

You're human. You're a competitor. Somebody told you that we don't think you're good anymore. and you're like, hey, up yours, I'm going to prove you wrong. I'm going to prove you wrong. And OBJ got lied to. In the end, they're like, we'd never trade you. We know the odometer.

We drafted you an hour later. He reads on the New York Post, he got traded. Like, I get bitterness. I get OBJ. Like, yeah, I'm kind of bitter about it. Like, I get it. Right. I do.

You're still bitter. Yeah. And we like you. Yeah, all these years later, I'm still angry about it. Mark Slareth is joining us. You know, I want to take a break, come back. I want to talk about the Zeke holdout because running backs are in a very peculiar your situation. It's the last inevitably

violent position in football. And a lot of these guys are like, I'm not working out with a team, I'm not doing this, I'm going to want more money. So Mark Schleros will come back. We'll talk about that next in the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific.

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 SportsSlic on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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 rapidly. up in the chase, that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different

intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about All 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. 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. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What?

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on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Mark Schleras, C, three Super Bowl rings, couple of time Pro Bowl, or Redskin, Bronco, and Schlerathan Evans gets a monster rating in Denver radio. Gigantic, and they've turned the corner. Rockies, not in the pennant race. Broncos still in the pennant race.

So it's Denver football talk. All right, Zieg's hold out. Did you ever plan a team with a guy, a star, held out? And we had situations where guys were going to retire and we kind of coaxed them out of retirement. But not a star holding out. How do you think it would play in the locker room? I think for the most part, guys want guys to get paid. Right.

Like there's a real brotherhood of, hey, let's get our guy paid. everybody deserves. We know how hard this is and we know the likelihood of, like, there's not very often in the NFL where you have leverage, where you can as a player swing the hammer, so to speak. So if you've got the leverage, then we're all for you swinging it. We want you to get paid. Zeek's interesting. So Amari Cooper, your left, don't want to talk about contract. Dak, I'm not taking a discount, but not talking about contract. Zique, two years left. I want to talk about my contract. Right.

I think running backs are in tough spots. Oh, yes. The whole league, less practice, less hitting, running back is inevitably violent. And the careers do not last a long time. You know, as your career was going on, are there certain positions where there's an understanding? Like, it demands more in your body, right? Sure. Absolutely. I mean, there's the one thing that I think Zeeke has going for him, and I don't think he has a ton of leverage here outside of

very productive is it is a position that a lot of people around the league now, a lot of star running backs are like, listen, I'm not, I'm not working at, I'm not taking shots in practice, Adrian Peterson at the end. I'm not taking, I'm not getting hit at practice. Right. So would you give him a little bit of a pass because he's a running back? Absolutely. And I'd give him a pass to saying, I understand the shelf life of the running back. And so I want to get mine. I'm one of the most productive. You can make a very compelling argument. I think he's probably the best running back in football. And so, yeah, does he want to get paid? I completely understand that.

Now, you know, on the flip side of that, you haven't done yourself any favors off the field, right? You've had issues. You just came back from a, you know, a meeting of the principal's office at Park Avenue just a couple of weeks ago. So you haven't done yourself any favors in that regard. You've had a suspension. You've had some of those things go on throughout the course of your career. You know, this is a big thing with the collective bargaining agreement that's coming up. And I had this conversation with DeMora Smith years ago in 2011 before the collective bargaining agreement.

And they had already made their decision that they were going to screw the young players by, you know, by agreeing to a rookie wage scale. And I was like, man, that's the biggest mistake you guys could possibly make. And like, why? You know, nobody wants these rookies to get paid and blah, because you're angry that they're coming in and making money. And I go, the bottom line is this. I said, I used to hang out at this bar when I was in college in Anchorage, Alaska, when I go home for the summertime. It was called Chilkoot Charlies. And their motto is where we cheat the other guy and pass the savings.

on to you. I go, if you think you're going to save money on the rookies and they're going to pass it to the veterans, the owners are going to pocket that. There's a reason the Dallas Cowboys are worth $5 billion, right? They're going to pocket that money. So what you've done to the rookie is bad enough. What you've done to the rookie

running back? Like, seriously, if I was running an NFL team, and I don't mean to be callous, but why would you ever pay a running bat? You've got him on a five-year deal, right? A four-year deal with the The option, the team, if you've drafted them in the first round, so you've got that fifth year option on that guy, run him into the ground, and then ship his butt out of town. Listen, there are analytics now.

I've talked to two executives in the league, very high-profile execs, very successful. There are analytics in the league right now. Don't give a running back a second contract. Three or four-year starter in college, you get to the NFL three years in, you're 1,500 carries in. You were a workhorse in high school football. Right. The analytics are telling you in NBA, get three-point shooters. In football, they're like, don't sign the running back to a –

Melvin Gordon is a small running back. He's not Zeke. How many more years can he take the hits? Melvin Gordon has had, like his holdout or him wanting a new contract. He's going into his fifth year, you know, his fifth year, right? You've had one, I think one year where you started 16 games. Last year was your most – Last year was the first year you were over three, three point whatever yards.

You were over four yards of carry. Last year was the first year you had five point something yards of carry. He still only had 800 yards rushing. Now he caught a bunch of football. I mean, he's an incredibly productive football player. But you've had one year in your first four where you started 16 games. And it wasn't last year, by the way. It wasn't off your productive, your career year.

They won four games without him last year, including beating Kansas City and Pittsburgh. So the Chargers won four games. They were four and oh without him. Right. And by the way, since Anthony Lynn arrived and their blocking schemes, all their running backs now are averaging over four yards of carry. I mean, you look at Todd Gurley. Todd Gurley was an MVP candidate for about 12 weeks, and then he hurt his knee. And then you're like, and then he was gone. And guess what? C.J. Anderson comes in off the street after he'd been cut by Carolina. He'd been cut by the Raiders. He comes in off the street. And I think four of the five games, he had 100 yards. Like, wait a way, man, is it, is it us in the scheme and the guys up front or is it the running

guy? Yeah, I think Melvin Gordon's in a very interesting spot. I like him a lot. He's been a very good teammate, but he was a workhorse. He's a smaller back who was a workhorse in Wisconsin. He goes to the Chargers and they're four in no last year without him. There's a surplus of running backs in the second, third, fourth, fifth round. College gives you a lot of good running backs.

I mean, when Labian Bell leaves, James Connor steps up and the Steelers are top for in offense. And I like Melvin Gordon. chargers like him, and I think they'll give him a contract based on it's a Super Bowl roster. Why mess with the roster? Like we're moving. We've got some space here. But I got to tell you, analytically, would Bill Belichick give Melvin Gordon a contract? No, he would absolutely not.

And by the way, I think Bill Belichick would move Zeke. I think he'd move Zeke. You can get a lot of draft picks for Zeke. Right. I wouldn't be shocked. That wouldn't shock me at all coming from him if that was the situation they were faced with. And you're right. And this is one of the things I look back at the collective bargaining agreement and go,

hey, you know, there's a couple of things you should, you should be fighting for, lifetime insurance for your players. And you need to scrap pile this whole rookie wage scale because this is, to lock a guy up for five years, to have him locked up for five years on a rookie way, like on, like you produce, like you produce and you've got to produce for five years before you can even get to your second contract. and the career life expectancy of your career is 3.4 years? Like, in what world does that make sense at all?

You see, analytics are the enemy of the player in all sports because the analytics become truth serum. Like if you can't shoot a three-pointer, Ben Simmons, analytically, that's your enemy. I look at running backs in the league right now, and the analytics are not your friend. wouldn't sign running backs the second and there's no way I'd sign him to a third contract. So the Chargers moved up to get Melvin Gordon.

So they clearly liked him. And I think they, and I've been told they really like him now. But I mean, you start looking around this league, New England, running back by committee. Philadelphia, running back by committee. Right. Do you think, let me ask you this because Sony Michelle, his rookie year in New England was, he was great. Terrific, terrific. There was a bunch of different guys that produced for them.

We all know that, right? You think he's getting a second contract in New England? Absolutely not. So again, people got mad in the NBA because it's more of a players league when Boston said no to Isaiah Thomas. And he had the hip problem. And they're like, we're not going. And a lot of players were like, well, they don't treat their players right.

Time out. I'm Danny Aange. I can't give Isaiah Thomas a massive contract. So players don't love it. And the NBA players have more power. So my question would be if Melvin Gordon's not offered a contract, does it play poorly in the Chargers Super Bowl level roster? I would be concerned about that.

does it play amongst the guys in the locker room? I've always said you have to understand the guys that have ultimate respect in a locker room. I think Melvin's one of them. And you've got to take care of some of those guys. Yeah, no, I don't think you're wrong on that. Hour two coming up, Mark Schler, with good seeing you. Thank you. 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. Last night, a blown call changed the 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 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, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations. with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

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

Because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. 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 walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her. 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've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my back. 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 and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier.

We're not becoming more so. social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. 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. Hour two on a Tuesday, this is The Heard, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. I Heart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me.

You know, Joy, today is this happens every year this article comes out. And I've touched on it every single year. It's a good time-waster as we have July and August sports talk. So Joy Taylor is joining The Athletic. A guy named Mike Sando does this every year. And he writes for the athletic, Joy. and he privately pulls 55 NFL coaches and executives. It's a survey, and it's an anonymous survey, placing all quarterbacks into five tiers.

And again, these are the GMs, these are the executives, these are not my opinions. I will offer my opinions on the tiers. And each tier has a description, he does a really good job. Mike Standard does a good job at this. He makes it very clear. And are you ready for them to be unveiled? I am so ready, yes. Okay, so it's Theathletic.com.

It's the quarterback tiers. 55 coaches and executives rank the NFL starters. So the first tier of quarterbacks is a quarterback that can carry his team each week. The team wins because of him. He expertly handles pure passing situations. And I don't really care much about the order. I really don't. It's Aaron Rogers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Patrick Mahomes, Andrew Luck, Philip Rivers, Big Ben and Russell Wilson.

I agree across the board. The only quarterback missing from that group is Carson Wentz, and they put him in our next tier two, because Carson Wentz has a lot of injuries. So I think it's totally fair to put Carson Wentz in tier two. I think he's the only quarterback talent in this league, not in tier one. But their reasoning for Tier 2 is injuries and that I agree with. Tier 2 is a quarterback that can carry his team sometimes but not as consistently. He has a whole or two in his game. Their list, and I agree with this wholeheartedly, mostly.

Matt Ryan, Carson Wentz, Matthew Stafford, Deshawn Watson, Jared Goff, and Baker Mayfield. I don't have any problems. It's not Baker Mayfield. I think that's what Baker's going to become, a tier two quarterback. Again, I would put Wentz in Tier 1, but I understand the reasoning, the injuries. So he's a Tier 2. Now, Tier 3 is a legitimate starter, but needs a heavier running game and or defense to win. It's a lower volume passing offense makes his job easier.

This is the most interesting tier because finally, NFL coaches and executives are agreeing with what I've been saying since Cam Newton came in the league. He's not a top 10 quarterback. Cam Newton is in tier three right next to Kirk Cousins, Nick Foles, Joe Flacco, Andy Dalton, and James Winston, Eli, Trubeski, Marioota, and Sam Darno. This tier also has what I believe is the most underrated quarterback on this assignment by Mike Sando, Jimmy Garoppolo. I believe Jimmy Garoppolo has a chance to be a tier one quarterback. quarterback, but by October 15th, he'll be a tier two quarterback. So my first takeaway on this list is, whence his injuries, fairly and proportionately knock him down a tier.

Cam is finally being unveiled for what he is, which is he needs a running game. You can't ask him to throw 35 times. He's talented, but sometimes distracted and emotionally uneven. Tier 4 is a tier 4 quarterback could be an unproven player with some upside or a veteran who's ultimately best suited as a backup. Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Case Keenham, Josh Rosen. At this point, I don't have any huge arguments with that. I do think Lamar's ceiling is lower. You could certainly push Trubesky into the tier 4.

I wouldn't have had a huge problem with that. So there it is. Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 4. So let's go back to Tier 1. Aaron Rogers, Brady, Breeze, Mahomes, Luck, Rivers, Ben Wilson. I overwhelmingly agree with that. Let's go to Tier 2. Matt Ryan, Wence, Stafford, Deshawn, Gough, Baker.

I overwhelmingly agree with that. The Wence's exception, I get their reasoning. So I agree with that. Tier 3, I agree with all of it except Jimmy Garoppolo. And I think, much like Wence's injury, Garoppolo's scarcity of games keeps him in a tier or lower. I think people really like him. We just haven't seen him play enough. He's

started eight games for San Francisco. He's six and two, but there's not enough games there. There's not enough film. There's not enough footage to make him in the same classes of Deshawn Watson or Jared Goff. And then tier four are guys that are seen as either backups. This is Lamar, Josh,

Ryan, Case, Josh Rosen. In a lot of instances here, I just don't. I don't know what Josh Allen and Josh Rosen are. I got to see more games. I do think Lamar's got a ceiling. But I also feel that with Mitch Trubisky, I think, is a thrower. I think Lamar and Trubisky, when having to throw late trailing are limited quarterback. They can throw on play action. They can throw on third and one. They can throw on their terms. But if you ask Lamar

Trebisky, third and nine, everybody knows in the park you're throwing, I think they're limited. I think their ceiling's pretty low. So, Joy, your thoughts on all these tiers? I completely agree with all of them, but I do think that Sam Darnel is interesting. You don't think Sam Darnold is going to make a jump this year? Well, Sam is in, hold on, let me see this real quick. He's in Tier 3. He's in Tier 3. Again, I think that's appropriate for where he should be. Right now. Yes, because first of all, they had a defensive coach. They had the combination of O-line receivers and backs was the worst in the league. So I can't put Sam any. I would be totally... No, no, but I'm saying you think that Jimmy Garoppolo is going to make a jump to Tier 2. I think Sam, Adam Gay's first year, will become a high in that Cam Kirk,

Dak, Prescott area. a high tier three, and then I think eventually he moves to a tier two in his career. And this is not an excuse. I watched every Jets game last year. The old line was atrocious. The receivers outside of Robbie Anderson, nobody's a game break. Right. They have a good young tight end.

He's not available for the first month this year, and the running backs were atrocious. So that's why they had to spend so much money on Lavian Bell. They also now have an offensive coach, Adam Gase, over a defensive coach, who I like Todd Bulls. So I think Donald's appropriate right now. I think he'll play himself to a high tier three this year. And by the way, I don't have a problem with Baker being ahead of Sam at this point. Baker's got much more things working in his favor. He's got unbelievable wide receivers, unbelievable backs.

At this point, a better offensive line. And I think you can trust Baker a little bit more than Sam. I know what I have more with Baker this morning. I got to see Sam with a new coach. He's got some good young pieces. So there we go. I mostly agree with it. I don't really care about the order.

Tier 1, Aaron was the highest rated. Tier 2, Matt Ryan was the highest rated. Tier 3, Cam was the highest rated. And Tier 4, Lamar was the highest rated. Those are probably appropriate, too. I wouldn't have Aaron 1, but I'd have them somewhere in the top 4. Yeah, but these are good groupings. I really like it.

This is the first list maybe ever that we've, like, mostly agreed with. Well, generally there's a shock component to when people do these lists. The NFL Network does this every year. They want me and guys like me to talk about their list. So the NFL network will come up with the top 100 players and, you know, Tebow's ahead of somebody and you're like, come on. They like the discussion. This is a non-manipulative list.

It's not a list. It's based off of what people voted on. So it's not just a writer comprising a list with, you know, otherwise arbitrary components. Like this is what the GMs and coaches voted on. So, you know what's funny about this? So Matt Ryan was the closest quarterback to. making tier one. He was tier two, but the highest rated tier two, meaning the votes came down. It was very close. A couple years ago, I said with Matt Ryan, I said he's the best B plus quarterback

in the league. I have him like ninth or tenth in the league. So the truth is, the NFL execs have Matt Ryan exactly where I have, which is ninth or tenth. They've got Ryan, Wentz, and Matt Stafford. And this is to me what Matt Ryan is. Matt Ryan's hole in his game is, he's got an average arm. He does not push the ball down the field like most of the guys in tier one. And he's not overly mobile like a Russell Wilson who's not considered the greatest passer, but is an unbelievable intuitive playmaker, and he can pass. So of all these quarterbacks, Matt Ryan is the one where the NFL execs and I agree completely. Good enough to win a Super Bowl.

Good enough to win his division four to five years. Hall of Fame votes, absolutely going to get Hall of Fame votes. Like him a lot. But when Kyle Shanahan made him MVP for a year, I didn't, unlike the rest of the American media, buy into, you know, he's better than Er Rogers. People were saying that. And I was like, no, no, no, no, no, no. Coaching matters in this league.

Matt's really good. He's a really good. Atlanta's lucky to have him. They're lucky to have him. I'd rather have him than all but like seven guys, eight guys in the league. So I love lists like that. You know what? First of all, I like lists.

You love lists. And they're like quarterbacks. So, I mean, this is like, this is like coconut cream pie, like my favorite dessert. This is Tiramisu. coconut cream pie is your favorite and taramisu. Key lime pie is my favorite. Oh, key lime's great.

I remember my first piece. Tampa Bay. Interviewing for a job with Daniel Webster. Sinch the deal right there. Overlooking the bay in Tampa, first key lime pie. When you're from rural Washington State, it's not a big key lime pie state.

Yeah, not a whole lot. Crazy Rob Parker's going to yell and scream at me. That's what he does. That's coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. Saturday, we've got a great MLB doubleheader for you.

First, baseball's fierce rivalry rages on as Aaron Judge powers the first place Yankees against Mokey Betts and the Red Sox. Then Jose Al-Tube and the Astros take on the Cardinals. It all starts at 4 Eastern 1 Pacific on FS1 and the Fox Sports app. For the record, you're a Hall of Fame baseball voter. You also have Rob Parker, a podcast on the herd podcast network called Inside the Parker. John Carlos Stanton, there's another massive contract. He hasn't even played this year.

There are nine games ahead of the Red Sox or maybe 10 this morning. These big baseball contracts, they're bad business. Bryce Harper, Phillies are in third. Dodgers, Astros, no thanks. Look how well they play. Yeah, but it is about ultimately selling merchandise and tickets. And you can say whatever you want about Bryce Harper. He sold 100,000 tickets in 24 hours.

and his jersey outsold LeBron's jersey when LeBron moved to the Lakers. So he moves the needle. And I get it. No, he moves it in merchandising. He does, but he's also somebody people want to see. All right, Rob. Let's talk about two or three issues. Odell and the Giants.

I defended Odell. It is okay to talk about a relationship. If you've been in it a long time, especially if you were dumped slash traded, I don't have a problem when somebody asked Odell about the Giants, referencing the New York Giant situation. He was the juice. He was their best player.

He propped up Eli. He said yesterday, I felt disrespected. I was the main reason keeping that brand alive. It bothers you. It does from this standpoint. Disrespected. They gave you the highest contract for any wide receiver. Was that disrespect?

Come on. This is a guy. If I'm a Cleveland Browns fan, I'm not feeling good about the whole thing. It's obvious he hasn't gotten over in New York and he doesn't want to be in Cleveland. Can I remind you something? LeBron James is from the Cleveland area

and left the town twice. I mean, so this to me tells me he's not over in New York. He got there and he's like the football situation might be better, you know, with the players and the quarterback compared to the Giants, but the whole idea of living in Cleveland and not being in New York anymore is starting to sink in. And I think that's why. And just because somebody asked you,

Colin, a question doesn't mean you have to answer it. So I'm not saying he can't talk about it with his friends and family. He could say, I'm not talking about the Giants. I'm not there anymore. I'm in Cleveland. I'm here to win a championship or whatever. And let it be. He sounds like a scorn lover.

That's what he sounds like. All right. That's fine. We can disagree on that. Zekeel Elliott, I think he's a lot of noise. I think he's got two years. He's already been a first round pick. So Zeke's not one of these running.

who's never been paid. Zeke's been paid handsomely. He was a top five draft pick. Two years out, he wants more money. I would consider strongly moving him for picks and players. You can't do that, Colin, from this standpoint. Look at the numbers, the difference when he plays with Dak and when he doesn't play. It's a totally different team.

And Dak isn't the same quarterback. They're four and four, 28, and 12 with him. He moves the needle. The Cowboys need him. The Cowboys should pay him and don't talk about the off the field stuff. It's already obvious. Jerry Jones turns the other way from that. So you can't use that now because he's gone out and signed all kinds of people with problems throughout the years.

We agree with that? So who are you not going to pay? Amari Cooper, Dak last year, Dak since Amari Cooper showed up, is seven and two with him, three and four without him. Yeah, but you're not factoring in Zeke as the running back. And he's more important. that opens it up so that he can throw to Hamari Cooper. I'm telling you it would be a mistake not to have a...

You trust Zeke with money. Zeke with the rookie money has been irresponsible. Poor judgment. I get it, but I'm talking about the football part, and you're right and all the other stuff. But if you're Jerry Jones, are you trying to win another Super Bowl or not? Everybody made fun of Levion Bell

and what he went through because they use up the running back and they don't want to pay you, right? Right. And then in Pittsburgh, everybody goes, well, it didn't matter. James Connor and they didn't even miss Leveon. They missed the playoffs. How can you say they didn't miss them? You're telling me that the Steelers would have missed the playoffs

if Leveon Bell played all year, not a chance. So it does matter. These guys are crem de la crem. We're not talking about a fourth or fifth round pickoff of a scrap heap who just happens to have a decent year. You need good running backs. Ask the Patriots, where would they have been without Sunny Michelle last year? They wouldn't have won the Super Bowl, I'll tell you that.

No, he was very valuable. He was a great fine for them. Okay, Cleveland Browns, I get, you know, sometimes people say I'm a hater, but I find it interesting, the team that gets hot in the offseason. So Cleveland was one in five against winning teams. They added a star receiver to already a great receiving group. They added a star running back to already a already. great running back group. They didn't address their

offensive line. They have a rookie head coach. It's the youngest team in the league. Expectations through the roof. I think they're a team at the end of the year that is fighting to get into the playoffs. Many people subscribe to the, they're a Super Bowl class operation. Do you think they are?

No way, no how. And I know people don't want to hear that in Cleveland. And I get it. They've been so terrible for such a long time. So people are against hope. And you're right. Go look at who they beat a year ago. The one game that they won against a team that finished over 500 was Joe Flacko early on in the year when they won the game 12 to 9.

And they didn't beat it. And he was bench later. Right. They didn't beat anybody. So I want to see them beat some good teams first before you start talking about going to the Super Bowl. And I could see this thing blowing up Landry Jarvis, right, is the one who made the connection already with Baker Mayfield. Well, well, it's funny.

I was listening to a show this morning driving in. I don't even know the name of the show, but he was talking about Jarvis Landry and Odell at LSU. Odell was the talent, but Jarvis was the volume catcher at LSU. Jarvis is a 90-catch guy with no drama around him. And this is what I'm saying. So what happens if Jarvis is that guy that Baker-Ma-Field already has a connection with,

feels good and starts throwing the ball mostly to him. Now OBJ is not happy. Now you have an issue going on. And you're right to think, The moves that they made were splashier, better, all the other stuff that gets you attention. And people go, wow, they're loaded. I get all that. But it doesn't mean that it all fits together.

And you're right. And a first-year head coach as well. Is he going to be able to handle the personalities and handle the situation? I think this has a chance of blowing up. I'm going to say that they do not an OT make the playoffs to Browns. Okay. I agree with you, but I think it's close. I think it goes down a week 16, week 17.

All right. So every year, I love this because I love lists and I love quarterbacks. So Mike Sando comes out for The Athletic and he interviews 55 NFL coaches and executives contributed to the survey by placing quarterbacks in tiers. Tier 1 is that you can carry a team each and every week regardless of weaknesses around the roster. And tier 1, I don't disagree with any of these. Let's talk about just the group as a whole. Aaron Rogers, Brady, Breeze, Mahomes, Luck, Rivers, Ben Russell. I completely agree. Now, Carson Wentz, I think, is a tier one talent,

but he's been hurt too much, so you can't put him in there. Deshawn Watson could be a tier one talent. I don't know. Offensive line had some injuries. So I think it's fair. Do you have a problem, Rogers over Brady? Because I think Tom is separated from Aaron in terms of leadership, coachability, evolving his game, injury-free, adapting.

I think Aaron is not the quarterback he was three years ago. I totally disagree. I think Aaron Rogers is head and shoulders above Tom Brady. And I think what people get caught up with Tom Brady, and I get it. He's won six Super Bowls. And if you're giving out a Lifetime Achievement Award, yes, Tom Brady. But if you're just talking about right here for this season, which quarterback is better, Tom Brady can't make the throws that Aaron Rogers can make.

He's dinks and dunks and the running back runs for 20 yards after he catches a three-yard pass from Tom Brady. Tom Brady can't make those throws. Go back and look at the film of the Super Bowl and see a 41-year-old decrepit quarterback who had no touchdowns, one pick, one fumble, and threw for less than 200 yards. That's Tom Brady. That's the last time we – they did win the game. But that's the last time we saw them.

And why don't you want to look in the mirror and look at him and say, that's what Tom Brady is? I've been saying for years he's going to fall off the cliff. You saw the video him and his daughter? They fell off the cliff. It's over for Tom Brady. We got the video proof finally. My thing is I don't like being, you know,

marginalized as an Aaron Rogers hater, but I do think there are things that you can't deny. Green Bay in the last eight years has had eight Pro Bowl appearances by an offensive lineman, better than New England. Pro football focus has a packer in the top 10 running back and receiver. Brady does not. They've always been above average special teams. This idea that Aaron's had to carry bad rosters.

Now, the defense. Oh, I'm going to say. Okay. I'm glad for bringing this up. Yeah. Now, the defense, the organization has gone full on free agency draft defense last two years. Yes, Aaron has not always had Tom's level of defensive support. But Tom has not had starbacks, star receivers, pro bowlers on the offensive line.

Yeah, but the only difference is when you go into postseason, go look at the games that Green Bay's lost in the postseason, where the defense is giving up 40 plus points three or four times during Aaron Rogers' career. It happened to Tom Brady once, I guess, against Philadelphia in the Super Bowl, just one time where the defense let him down. And I think that's what the added burden. Defensively, the Packers have been bad, and Aaron Rogers still gave them a chance to win because he's that good. Here are the only two stats you need. Aaron Rogers has the best quarterback rating of any quarterback in the history of the National Football League. Not the last 10 years, not the last five years,

the history of the league. More than Y.A. Tittle. Yes. And he has the best touchdown to interception ratio of any quarterback. And it's not even close. Four to one. Tom Brady's like two and a half to one. It's not even close. He has all the skills, all the tools. He can make every throw. He's accurate. He's mobile. He can do it all. And if he was on the New England Patriots and they were cheating for him, he probably would have won 10 Super Bowl. Oh, Lord. You know, Joy, it was going so well. Somehow, no matter what the conversation is. We can be talking about NBA free agency.

It'll somehow come back to that. By the way, you're in New Yorker. You're from Queens. My theory on quarterbacks is they age. When you see a decline, you've got to do the Band-Aid test. You've got to rip the Band-Aid off. It's painful, but the healing starts. The Giants, by the way, the Colts did this with Peyton,

ripped it off and watched Peyton go to two Super Bowls. It's painful. Niners watch Joe Montana go to the playoffs. Packers watch Favre almost get to the Super Bowl. You got to rip the Band-aid off. with old eroding quarterbacks, injuries erosion. The New York Giants, your team growing up, they pull the bandaid off, it hurts a little,

and they put the Band-Aid back on. They announced yesterday no quarterback competition in camp. Absolutely ridiculous, and this is why the Giants are living in the past. This whole Eli thing, I get it. He won two Super Bowls. He beat Tom Brady twice. He'll forever be. He's going to the Hall of Fame.

I get all that. But you can't live in the past. Eli is bad. He's been bad for years. And even last year, he had like a bounce back because they were already out of the season. And then he had some games at the end. People like, oh, all his numbers weren't that bad. No, it was once the season was over, Eli started putting up some numbers.

He's finished. And the sooner that they get to this, look at you just named. All the great quarterbacks, Colin, have all been shown the door and asked to go elsewhere. By the way, New England was very close to moving on Jimmy Garoppola. Remember, that's where the schism. created because Bob Kraft stepped in and said, get rid of Jimmy. If it was Bill Belichick's decision, Tom Brady would have been, they would have moved on from Tom. I believe that.

And I think pigs get fed, hogs get slaughtered. I think Belichick looked at it and thought, listen, we may have to watch Tom win a Super Bowl somewhere else. But I'm not giving up Jimmy Garoppolo, who I think is probably at this point in the league, the next star quarterback nobody knows yet. And then they wind up giving them away for almost nothing. Second round pick. Rob Parker teaches commentary at USC.

He's got host of the inside the Parker podcast. Podcast baseball stuff, Herr Podcast Network. I got Astro. How about World Series? Astros, Dodgers? I have Yankees, Phillies. That's what was my original. That was my original pick.

I'm sticking with it. There's still a long way to go. I don't think the Dodgers are going to make it only from this standpoint. Hard to make the World Series three years in a row. Fair. Pitcher's arms. It's a lot of work on the bear and tear on the pitcher's arms.

By the way, sleep cool and comfortable. Casper.com. The code has heard. special offer. H-E-R-D, casper.com, Rob Parker, good to see you.

Always. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, we've all been waiting to find out where Zion Williamson was going to go with his shoe deal. Oh, yeah. He has agreed to a shoe contract with Jordan brands.

Wow. No, wait, time out. Is that inside Nike? Jordan has some relation to Nike, but it's a separate brand. Oh, okay. If you're signed to Nike, like, Like, for example, LeBron is signed to Nike. He's not a Jordan brand athlete.

So while Jordan was originated with Nike, Jordan is a separate brand. So a Duke kid goes with North Carolina as Michael Jordan. Which coincidentally was the game where he blew out of his shoe. So it all comes full circle. So he's joining Russell Westbrook, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Jimmy Butler, Carmelo and Jason Tate. And, of course, the goat in Michael Jordan. I'm very excited about this.

Jordan is my favorite sneakers and my favorite basketball player of all time, my favorite athlete of all time, and Zion is a superstar. So I'm sure we're going to get not only some very good-looking sneakers out of this, but he is going to have the publicity and gear behind him. That's a pretty well-runner. That's I'm actually surprised by this. So good for you. I was too, actually.

I kind of felt like Nike was done. I had no inside information on that. I just kind of felt like that's what it would be. But yeah, this is surprising and this is fun. Here's what I like about Zion. He's not influenced. Everybody, don't play anymore. at Duke. He's like, no, I'd come back

for a second year. I love basketball. You got to sign with Nike. No, I want to sign with the Jordan brand. By the way, you can't stay in Pelicans. You got to go. And he's like, no, I want to play here. I don't know his parents or anything, but he's got a real good self-identity. Like, he's not

influenced by what guys like me say or media says, like this kid does what this kid wants to do. And I really like it. Yeah, and it seems like he has a good group around him, too. Yes, I really like it. This is very exciting. So, the The Athletic posted behind the scenes look of Kauai's free agency process this morning. Very interesting, including some details before the Clippers traded for Paul George.

According to the Athletic, they analyzed and studied every roster and star player in the league, attempting to find out who would be the best fit alongside Leonard, both on the hardwood and a personality standpoint. The Clippers inquired about Washington's Bradley Field. My God. That is your guy. And Houston's James Hardin, according to league sources, but neither star was available. The Wizards have made it pretty clear.

They're not interested in trading Bradley Beal. And the rumors about the Rockets were that pretty much everyone is available for trading except for James Hardin. So this was kind of a stretch to begin with. But when you look at how this all played out, I think they got the best guy for Kauai Leonard. Bradley Bill is obviously awesome and would have been great. But I just think Paul George, he just fits on both ends of the court with Kauai. And he sort of fits the Clippers brands. And, you know, they're both L.A. guys.

coming home. So this is kind of the better story. I don't think that James Hardin would have been a great fit with Kauai. No, I mean, listen, there's a different, James Hardin is an analytically unbelievable player. Right. But in the postseason, I like two-way guys. I like Clay. I like Paul. I like Kauai.

I like Janice. I like my defense situationally late. I think they work. I've said before, they shouldn't be an overwhelming favorite, but the clipper should be the favorite to win the championship. That's what it feels like to me. Yes. And it also had in there that Kauai wasn't, didn't play such a huge role in recruiting Paul George after all.

It was more of the Clippers just being aggressive and saying we have to go all in and we'll get Paul George and show Kauai that we're serious. Clippers look smarter and smarter. Every story that leaks. Yes. On every story that leaks in the NBA, I'm like, oh, the Clippers really had a game plan. They are winning the PR battle at this point. So finally, speaking of the Wizards, they're shaking things up in their front office after announcing the hiring of Tommy Shepard as GM. They have hired Sashi Brown,

remember of the Browns fame, as their chief planning and operations officer. Now, he didn't have the best tenure with the Browns, obviously. They went one in 27 with him in charge of personnel, which makes this hiring kind of interesting. Now, Paul DiPadesta joined the Browns three years ago. He was the longtime baseball executive,

famous in Moneyball. So it's not unheard of for guys to sort of switch sports. It's just kind of interesting because Sashi left the Browns on not the best terms. He whipped in the drafts, of Corey Coleman, famously passing up on Carson Wentz and Deshawn Watson when they were in desperate need of a quarterback. But we're always talking about, you know, how different sports could learn from each other.

And it's interesting to me that an NFL guy going to the NBA, what I would take from the NFL to apply to the NBA, because I don't have a lot of critiques of how the league is run. But I do think that what the NFL does amazing is urgency. And now that's also just a part of the setup of the sport. Right. But I would like to see some sort of, and I don't know what that changes. And there are talks about are they going to shorten the season? Are they going to put in a mid-season tournament?

You know, what can they do to make the regular season have a better sense of urgency like the NFL does? That to me is one of the really only things I can think of that would bring to the NBA. The Wizards are a really interesting franchise. And I don't mean this. I know the guy Tommy Shepard. I knew him years ago in Las Vegas. My first job, Tommy Shepard worked for UNLV, and I was a Vegas sportscaster. they feel like to me a little bit

like a lost franchise a little bit like so I think I would if I ran the Wizards I would just bring in as many smart people as I could Sashi Brown's supposed to be a real bright guy I don't know a ton about him he's the raw Polinka of football people can badmouth him but I just I just don't know enough about him

and I don't like to judge how people exit exit situations like that when it's that dysfunctional it can't be one person's wrong I'm not blaming Sashi but I will say this is one of the things with Bradley Beale Bradley Beal has the organization has not lived up to Bradley Beal's standards. Right.

I would think long and hard about resigning. That's not a shot at anybody in Washington. But Bradley Beal is excellent. And this organization has not been excellently run. So I think this Bradley Beal thing is fascinating because Bradley can make more money in Washington. And they're going to offer him the match. Oh, yeah, they are going to offer him. But he's...

Now, they've said they're not interested in trading him, even if he does turn that deal down. But, you know, that's easy to say right now. And I also think you can get a lot. If Sashi Brown's an analytic guy and you trade him, Sashi goes, you can get nine, you know, we saw what the Pelicans got for Lons Owen, Owen, Owen, Brandon Ingram. Yeah, I mean, no contract is not movable anymore. We've done that except for maybe Chris Paul.

I feel like Bradley Beal's been let down by his organization. Yeah. Yeah, that's fair to say. So it'll be interesting to see what they do if he ends up turning that offer down. Good stuff, Joy with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Live News.

He's one of the single smartest people. I rely on his book. I rely. One of the people on Twitter that's really a grown-up offers incredibly keen insight into football. His name is Warren Sharp. He'll join us on the phone. There's very few guys that cover this league. You know, we talk about analytics with the NBA and analytics years ago with baseball.

He's on the forefront of analytics with football. And we're just going to ask him some numbers. Is perception reality on some of these teams? Warren Sharp joining us by phone coming up next. Be sure to catch live at. of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed

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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,

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follow Timbo Sliced 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. Kier 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.

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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 wave at her.

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from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Excited all day. I've got to talk to Warren Sharp of Sharpfootballanalysis.com. Book is out. We're going to bring him on today. Nobody is more honest about this stuff. Analytics are moving into football,

and it's fascinating year to year how these incremental little changes are happening in football. So we bring in Warren Sharp, to the herd today. Let's start Warren. What happened last year in 2018 or maybe 2017 and 2018 that leads you to believe Delp we'll see more of it in 2019 analytically? Interesting things that nobody really discusses is building that lead in the first half and how important that is. Just five years ago, if you strip out games where teams have like two or more turnovers, lose a turnover battle or double-digit underdogs, just look.

at games that are like relatively close and no turnovers, the team that leads in the first half a couple, just five years ago, only one 64% of the time. Now it's up to over 80% of the time. So teams need to stop establishing the run, trying to avoid mistakes, coming out conservative early in games with a run-heavy strategy on early down. And instead, be aggressive, dictate to the defense. Don't be afraid to pass the ball. The floor on first down pass. has improved tremendously, higher completion rate, get the ball out of the quarterback's hands, make efficient plays, and try to build leads in the first half. The goal is to make your opponent adjust to something that's less efficient at halftime

rather than coming out and trying to be conservative and just playing in these games where you hope to keep them close. Okay, analytically, Jarvis Landry, OBJ, will it work? Landry is a volume receiver. OBJ is going to want his touches. They have David and Joku. They have good backs. OBJ and Landry, does it work analytically?

From a just pure analytics perspective, having good wide receivers who excel at getting open, theoretically, will definitely help Baker Mayfield identify matchups and throw the ball to receivers that have greater amounts of separation. So the offense itself should theoretically be more efficient from a passing perspective, and that's obviously going to help Baker Mayfield, and passing helps much more than rushing. so the team should win more games. Where it could hurt, obviously, is the individual statistics from a yardage and a reception standpoint cannot be as high as they've been when they weren't playing together.

That said, I will note that if they get down the field more often, because the offense is more successful, they might have similar amount of red zone targets simply because they're having many more trips to the red zone than the Giants had last season, for example. But that said, overall, it's silly to think that their statistics will be similar together than they would be separate. Zeke, I say trade him, accumulate picks. He's a lot of noise. What do analytics say if you did trade Zeke from the Cowboys? Well, I think that's actually not a bad suggestion whatsoever. It'll obviously hurt to a slight extent the drop off between Zeke to a number two running back.

But it's really what fans need to understand is it's more about the offensive line than the running back themselves. Dallas has the number one most expensive offensive line in the NFL. They spend a lot of time drafting and building that line. They were the most expensive in the league last season. They had some injuries so they weren't quite as good as they had been in the past. They should be a really good line this year. If the goal is to win game, where you should be investing the most in is good coaching, a modern offensive system that exploits edges and a good offensive line in addition to your

quarterback. We will see if DAC is their franchise caliber quarterback with Zeke not being there. However, you need to see that anyway. And in my opinion, definitely aren't going to get the same level of drop-off that a lot of people think because of how great this offensive line is. Biggest turnaround this year in the NFL. I've got my teams that I think will double their wins. Who's your big turnaround team?

Well, I don't know how much it will manifest on the actual win and loss column, but the San Francisco 49ers are at a team that was shockingly much better from my analytics perspective in 2018 than their 4-12 record indicated. What Kyle Shanahan did with that caliber of quarterbacks and the number of injuries they had on both sides of the football was astonishingly great. And this team from a who do you not want to face last year that was a 4-10 type, 4-12 type team. This is that team that you're not going to want to play in 2019 because I think overall from top to bottom there's going to be a tremendous

amount of improvement in this club and it's going to set up for very good, close game. And, you know, if they get their luck and turnover luck goes their way, I mean, this could be a team that has a winning record this upcoming season. Finally, Melvin Gordon. You can make an argument. I've heard this from executives, he's been hurt, he's small, he's been a workhorse. Do you assign him to another long-term deal? Last year was kind of his breakout year, but prior to that, I mean, I and a lot of other guys were looking at his metrics and saying that this guy was a bus. And if you're talking about who, which running backs are replaceable, literally the two best backs from the 2017 season, the guys with the most fantasy production out there were Levyon Bell and Todd Gurley. And both

of them had to be replaced in 2018, and both backups came in and outproduced from an efficiency perspective those two-star running back. So if you can replace two of the best in the league, you can certainly replace the guy like Melvin Gordon who had one good season. I'm not saying he's a bad back, but I'm saying I wouldn't invest a large amount of salary into a guy like him. And just by the way, Justin Jackson delivered a higher success rate than he did than Melvin Gordon did last year and was substantially more efficient, especially when you take him. away the fourth quarter garbage time. By the way, I have the Niners being a kind of a dark horse Super Bowl team.

I think they're going to compete. I want to throw one more team out. We've got a minute left. I think Tennessee is going to be the team in the league that actually wins playoff games. I think Vrable can coach. They ran for 2,000 yards. They were the least penalized team. They have a legitimate backup now.

I think he proved he can win. What do you make a – what do the analytics say about Tennessee? they have a very, very good offensive line. What do the analytics say about the Tennessee Titans? Well, we know that offense is what leads to wins and losses in the league. And the problem right now for me with Tennessee is, I don't know what Marcus Marriota really is. Matt, I was not impressed by Matt LaFleur that offense ran the ball more often

and with less success than in either year of the exotic smash mouth last year. And new offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith, said we're just going to do a lot of what Marcus Mariotta did last year because we don't want to change too much. they play the number three most difficult schedule of run defenses this upcoming year. It's going to put a lot onto Mario daMas plate. He's going to have to perform really well for them to have success. I know they've been a very consistent team from a win-loss perspective,

but I just don't see the really high ceiling on this team. I think the floor is high, but I'm worried about their ceiling. Boy, this is great stuff. Warren Sharps' 2019 football preview is out now. If you're into analytics, I am, I'm already, burying myself in that book. I did it on the Utah vacation. So Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis.com. Love it, Warren. Thank you so much. Thanks, Colin. Warren's the kind of guy that if I like the Titans and he tells me beware, I'll just

beware. I'll sell all my stock. Seriously. Blind trust. Yeah, I mean, he's one of those guys I trust. His analytics are fascinating. He loves the Niners like I do. I like Tennessee more. But again, his reasoning, I just sold all my Titan stock. No, are you still, are you still? Well, hour three next. We'll talk. That hurt. One more herd?

The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeard 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.

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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, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out.

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Join me and my comedian friends as we riff rant and recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice. One ring is too scary. Cream of chicken suit. Hey, cream A chicken soup. This is Help from a Hypocrat,

the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrite as part of the Mike Coutura Podcast Network available on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Guess where I'm going to dinner tonight, Joy? Hmm, somewhere where you will order fish? Pack 12 football dinner. Gonna share some of my knowledge with the best coaches.

Bucky Brooks is. laughing at that. Played in the NFL. Scout now NFL Network, our friend NFL network analysis analyst, excuse me, Bucky Brooks. I want to start a couple days ago, Brett Farb said, you know what? I watch Mahomes and I watch Baker, and those guys look a lot like me. I see Baker, and I see somewhere between Drew Brees and Case Keenham. I see Mahomes and I see a very coachable guy with a huge arm. I don't really see Favre. I see a lot more precision. So what do you make all these Favis Mahomes comparison? Oh, I think he hit the nail on the head. when he talks about both guys, but particularly Pat Mahomes.

Part of the reason why Andy Reid wanted to go and get Pat Mahomes in the draft is because he reminded him of Brett Farb. And I think what happened, Brett Farf played so long that we kind of forget how special he was at one point of his career. I was there in the mid-90s, 95, 96, 97. He won three straight MVP awards. He was magical. And in fact, the way that Pat Mahomes played last year

was the way that Brett Farv played in the mid-90s. And I think because we're so far removed from that, we can't see that comparison. But when you talk to Andy Reid, Andy Reid learned how to coach Pat Mahomes through his experience with Brett Far. By letting him kind of push the envelope and practice that first year of the rookie season, he encouraged him to really make all of those throws. Then that second off season, they then started teaching him how to play the position. So they allowed him to still be kind of the gun slings. but they taught him how to rein it in so he could play winning football.

I think gunslinger is romanticized. Is a gunslinger a winner in today's lexicon? I think a gun slinger can be a winner, but I think you have to understand when to turn it on and when to turn it off. There is a way that you have to play winning football. When we look at Tom Brady, Tom Brady probably physically has diminished some, but mentally he's still at the top of his game

because if he gets into the fourth quarter and the game is tight, he knows how to win it. And so there's something to be said for being a gunslinger, but also for being a winner. So Big Ben to me is a gunslinger, and I think his accuracy concerns me, and I think sometimes his decision-making. So I consider him today's gunslinger, and Ben, to me, has underachieved the last four years. He's underachieve some. But here's what I'll say about Ben Rothersberger. Todd Haley was a really good coach and mentor to Ben Rothesberger when they were together.

because if you remember what being Rothesberger was prior to Todd Haley, he was a gunslinger. He ran around. He made plays. He was kind of the physical player and presence at quarterback. Todd Haley comes in and is like, look, you have to play a little more controlled. We have to kind of have a control passing game so we can be efficient. He learned how to play that way. I think his game went to the next level.

However, at the end of the day, the reason why we continue to celebrate the Drew Breezes to Tom Brady's because they know how to win the game in the fourth quarter. There's a method to winning games. Tom Brady, Drew Breeze, some of the other quarterbacks have mastered at, and that's what all quarterbacks, particularly the young ones, they have to learn how to win the game by playing the game the right way in certain parts of it. 55 NFL coaches and executives took part in a poll for Mike Sando. He listed the quarterbacks in Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3. By and large, I agreed with it. I love Carson Wentz, but he hasn't been healthy enough.

I'd put him in a tier 2. I do think he's a Tier 1 talent. Cam Newton was a tier three. I've been saying this for years. He's too distracted, and I think he needs a lot of help to win. So tier one is Rogers, Brady, Breeze Mahom, Luck, Rivers, Big Ben, Wilson. And I think that's about the order. I like Russell Wilson more than I like Rivers or Big Ben, but I'm okay with it.

Tier two is guys, according to this, that they've got a hole in their game. They need more. I agree with this. Matt Ryan, Wentz, Stafford, Watson, Gough, Baker. Do you have any problems with Tier 2? We have to go to Tier 3 before I have. a problem because I would have a problem with some of those guys ranking ahead of some of the guys that are okay let's go tier three uh the one that jumps out to me I think Garoppolo is a tier two guy

but I think with only eight starts in San Francisco it's hard for people to wrap their brain and their arms around what he is I am a fan of Garapolo uh I think mostly tier three is right on is there something that bothers you about tier three well when we put Matthew Stafford in the mix and uh I think we put Baker already as a tier two quarterback I I would just say Baker, Mayfield, and that crew, they went seven and nine. So he played well. He had a rookie record, 27 passing touchdowns. However, if we always talk about measuring quarterbacks on wins,

he has to get some signature wins before I would rank him ahead of a guy like a Cam Newton. Because say what we want to about Cam Newton. Cam Newton has played at an MVP level. Cam Newton has led his team to a Super Bowl. We have seen Cam Newton be a mercurial talent in this league. Does he play the game like the traditional players at the position? no. But when he's playing right and he's healthy and he's able to do some things, he certainly is a guy that can play that tier one, tier two level.

What do you make a Garoppolo? I like Garoppel, do you? I like Garapolo, but I think here's the issue that I have with Jimmy G. He was kind of anointed as a guy on that run that he had very early in San Francisco at the end of the season when they won some games he got hot. However, in that same offense, we have seen Kyle Shanahan elevate the talents of others that have played the position. Nick Mullins was a very solid player for the 49ers last year. When we go back and we look at the way that Jimmy Garapolo started, he struggled a little bit. Sub 60% passer, only five touchdowns and three interceptions.

This is a make or break year for Jimmy Garapolo because the San Francisco 49ers can get out of that deal in 2020 during the offseason. So he has to play well. I think he will play well because it has an upgraded cast around him, but I'm not ready to say that he is more than a tier three quarterback. Okay. Would you leave, if somebody offered you a GM job in the NFL, would you base? Would you bail on broadcasting to be a GM?

Oh, well, I think so. I think the right organization you absolutely have to. Okay, so I want you to be a GM. Okay. The GM of the New York Giants. My theory on aging quarterbacks, pull the Band-Aid off. It's hurt, but the healing starts very quick. This is what the Colts did with Peyton Manning.

They knew he was good. They knew he'd win games. This is what the Green Bay did with Farr. They knew he still had stuff in the tank. Didn't want him to go to Minnesota, but he ended up there. New York is struggling. They can't rip the Band-Aid off with Eli. So when I see his erosion and you told him,

told me as an organization, Daniel Jones was worth a number six pick. And now this morning the story is there'll be no competition in camp. Time out. So you're either telling me you're reached on Daniel Jones or you're deeply concerned about how this lands in New York with your older fan base and Eli. Because if I look at Eli's numbers and Daniel's a three-year starter who you said is the next great player, something doesn't jive with me. Something doesn't job.

So we have romanticized Eli Manning. He's a two-time Super Bowl winner, won multiple MVP. He is a legend in the New York area for the success that the team has had while he has been the franchise quarterback. And David Gellerman privately he had told some people when he was at Carolina that Eli Manning is the prototypical franchise quarterback that you need to have. And so, as they say, loving eyes can never see. He still sees Eli as the guy that won two Super Bowls, regardless of the, the, diminishing game and the way that he's kind of falling off the cliff the last few years, he still sees that guy as the one that has been able to hoist the Lombardi trophy twice.

I think he let us know what he was thinking with Daniel Jones. Before they even selected Daniel Jones, he talked about the Kansas City Chiefs and the Pat Mahomes model and how that worked out for Kansas City, where Alex Smith was entrenched. They drafted Pat Mahomes. Pat Mahomes sat on the bench for a year. He takes over and away the chiefs go. I believe that they're trying to use the same kind of plan.

in New York. Elon Manning is going to be comfortable. You can be our franchise quarterback this year. And then depending on how you play this year, maybe we hand it off to Daniel Jones or maybe we continue with you. But either way, Eli Manning was going to get every opportunity

to be to starting quarterback in New York. Bucky Brooks joining us. I want to go to the Zieg situation. So let's start with Melvin Gordon. Melvin Gordon's a smaller back. They were 4-0 last year when he didn't play, including beating Kansas City in Pittsburgh. since Anthony Lynn has been given the job,

all the Chargers running backs are now averaging over four yards of carry. I would struggle giving Melvin Gordon a long-time contract. I'd front-load it if I had to. But you know the analytics, Bucky. So Melvin's a smaller back. He's been hurt.

There's some micro-fracture history. College football gives us a lot of running backs every year in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth round. Would you give Melvin the contract? I like man it's six on one hand half a dozen on the other here's what I believe is going on in the national football league and we've seen it and we've seen it in drafts the last few years you talked about finding a bargain or value running backs in the third or fourth round I don't believe that's the way the league is trending I believe what the decision makers are

doing to really smart people and we always talk about the Patriots being the trendsetters let's look at what's happened in the league we've seen a number of running backs go in the first round. And all of those running backs have pretty much hit. The only one in the last three or four years that maybe we're questioning would be Rashad Penny. But Christian McCaffrey has been a stud. Seekwan Barclay lived up to it. Ty Gurley, Zeke Elliott. All those guys have been stars. So what you do is when you draft a running back high, you get to control the running back for six or seven years throughout his prime without really having to give him big money. So yes, you have to give him significant draft capital.

But for instance, Josh Jacobs was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the first round. For your deal, $11 million. If he turns out to be a blue chip player, hey, I'm playing my blue chip player, maybe $2.5 million, that's a bargain. If he gets to the end of that deal, we kick in the fifth year option. If he's still playing at a high level, we can do the franchise tag. So for all of his prime, we can ride him into the ground and never have to give him a second deal. I believe more teams are dribbling out the shot clock on running backs,

drafted them early without really thinking we're ever going to commit to giving these guys another deal. It's something that Jimmy Johnson said a long time ago. That's the way you treat the running back position. Draft them high. Ride them to the wheels fall off. Last year of the deal, draft another one high and move on. That's, I think, what teams are trying to do. So I have said two years out, I've got judicial issues every other offseason with Zeeke.

I do think the offensive line in Dallas has helped Zeke, although I do consider him an elite player. I think you can get a haul for him. I think Dallas has shown a history in recent years of drafting very, very well at multiple positions. Would you consider if you ran the Cowboys of moving off the noise of Zeke and giving him a second contract early? So here's the thing. Zique has no leverage at this point. Like there's nothing he can do. He can whine and cry and kick.

He has no leverage. Like he can hold out, but the fines kick in, all this stuff. He's on the contract. He really has nothing that he can do to force the Dallas Cowboys to move the needle. And when we look at this franchise and we look at their history, the all-time leading Russia Emmett Smith had to hold out to get another deal. The Dallas Cowboys don't necessarily value running backs in the same light as they value their quarterbacks, who they've always paid and their wide receivers,

who they've also paid. It's just the way they look at the position. Now, I say all that in same. saying, I believe Zeke Elliott is the best running back in football. I believe he's a guy that can run it inside, outside, kicks the ball out of the backfield. He can block the problem that you have. When you're looking at the Dallas Cowboys

and how this team is going to be constructed, you have to pay Dak Prescott because he's your franchise quarterback. You also have to keep Amory Cooper. I heard you cite the stats about when he came over, how the game changed. And I'm still saying this, that valuing, I value Dak, Zeke, and Cooper in that order. But in terms of importance,

is Zeke, Dak, and Cooper. Zeke is the most important, but the value is in Dak Prescott because he's a franchise quarterback. Listen, this is the reality of analytics have been seeping into the game over the last five to six to seven years, and the analytics are not always friends of all players.

Analytics in the NBA were bad for centers. Analytics in the NFL are not great for running backs. Like, there's always somebody that, by the way, analytics in Major League Baseball are not always great for starting pitchers. They're great for guys in the bullpen. Like, analytics can marginalize positions that we've glamorized for years.

It can marginalize it, but you have to be careful because as much as we want to look at the numbers and say like the stats say this, the quantitative data suggests that this player can be, you can get them at a value or an undermarket deal. I believe you still have to trust your eyes because the one thing that you can ask is ask players and ask coaches. When Zeke Elliott is on the field, what kind of reaction does he bring about from the defense? Do we feel compelled to put another defendant in the box? because number 21 is the guy that really makes them go.

Do we feel like if we bring in that other running back, a fourth round running back, do we feel like he's going to give them the same production? Maybe the production that he gets is by design because now when you have an inferior running back in place, on defense we're saying, hey, you can have as many yards as you want because now we're going to focus our efforts

on slowing down the passing game. Amari Cooper, more zone, take away what Dak Prescott wants to do. And if he has a big game on the ground, We don't believe he can impact it. With Zeke Elliott, you can't take that approach. That's why I think he's special. It's just tough because he plays a position where the Dallas Cowboys are reluctant to commit big dollars.

Bucky Brooks, NFL defensive back, scout, all that stuff. Man, between you and Warren Sharp today, my brain just exploded with all that smart football. Good seeing you. Hey, thanks, man. Lucky Brooks, Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

We still get about one Laker story a week. No matter what. Why not? Well, apparently they weren't as close to getting Kauai as was rumored. Kauai and his uncle, Dennis Robertson, had set up two separate meetings, one with Jeannie Bus and Ropalinka and another with Magic. And according to the story today in The Athletic, Magic thought it was wise to broadcast that Robertson had called to pick his brain about the purple and gold before free agency had even begun. That sealed the fate of the Lakers, a person involved in the process told the athletic. I think that right there was when Dennis and Kauai decided we can't trust the league.

Lakers is an organization and that was it. I think that was it for them. Now, when you look at the whole article, I think there was a little bit more that played into it than just magic talking about the story. Now, it seems very clear that Kauai in his camp were very upfront that we don't want leaks. We don't want what we talk about, spilled to the media. And for the most part, aside from the Lakers, it was pretty quiet. We did not know when he was going to announce.

We didn't know which way they were leaning. We really didn't know what his feeling. were towards the end of the season with the Raptors. Clippers were the quietest team and all that, though. They were. If you're ranking it, it was definitely the Lakers, then the Raptors, then the Clippers. So they play their hand perfectly when it came to that. But that's kind of already what they do. They fly under the radar to begin with. So it wasn't like they were going to all of a sudden start becoming this organization full of leaks, but that's kind of the point. Guys are not only looking for a place they want to live, that they want to raise their family, where there's a good fan base.

to have nice weather. They want to win, but also they don't want a dysfunctional organization while they're winning. Obviously, the best winning situation, if you're looking at right now, would have been with the Lakers. You're joining LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Of course, that's more talent than the Clippers have, even with Paul George. I mean, you can't argue that.

They have a great team, and they look like they're the favorites now because he neutralized the NBA and everyone has two guys instead of three. But the dysfunction of it was clearly still obvious. And that kind of still lingered, despite the fact we weren't getting the crazy stories that we were getting during the season from the Lakers. There was no point where anyone came out together and showed a United Front and showed that anything was really cleared up there. Yeah, I just, I just the Lakers, again, this is I always felt we talked about this pyramid. Like the Clippers pyramid was very easy. Balmer's the owner, West and Michael Winger and Doc.

The Lakers organizational chart was a spider web. and there was the rambuses and there was, and in the end, that dysfunction where there was, Jeannie wasn't talking and Magic was and Rob wasn't, but the rambuses were, I think it was just, I mean, if I would be entering a company, I think Kauai looked at it like you and I would look at a company running.

There's a lot of noise there today. A lot of stuff ends up in the newspaper, and I don't want to be part of it. Especially if you're not a noisy person. Yes. It really makes sense. So speaking of an organization that's well run, yesterday the San Antonio Spurs announced two new

assistance that would be joining Craig Popovich's staff. One is Will Hardy. The other one is the legend Tim Duncan. In their press release announcing this move, they wrote Duncan, a 1997 wake force graduate, played 19 seasons with the Spurs before returning, retiring in the summer of 2018. It's only fitting that after I served loyally for 19 years as Tim Duncan's assistant that he returns the favor, said Popovich. Duncan has five rings, 15-time All-Star, three NBA finals MVPs, and two NBA A MVP's pretty qualified to be an assistant coach, especially with the San Antonio Spurs. I never knew he wanted to be one. No.

Well, Tim Duncan, kind of like Kauai Leonard, is a very quiet guy. You don't really find out too much about him. We know that he is obviously a great teammate and was a part of that illustrious dynasty with the Spurs. And he's a Spur for life also. Another interesting move is R.C. Beaufort is moving to CEO of the Spurs. And Brian Wright is taking over as GM. The Spurs are always a sleepy team. They're always a team that we tend to just forget about.

We just know they're going to be good. We never really know how good because they are a quiet organization that is very functional. That said, they did take the Nuggets to seven games in the first round and nobody was giving them any thought. They're going to have Lamarcus Aldrich and Demarge Rosen and DeJante Murray is coming back from his ACL injury. Their young point guard, who they really liked and was looking incredibly promising before his injury.

So spurs are something to watch. And I do think that there could be possibly a grooming situation to replace Greg Popovich because whoever fills those shoes is going to have to be someone who's going to command a great deal of respect in that organization. Well, you know they're not going to be chaotic. They're always organized. Always. Always.

Finally, a year after being ranked number three on NFL Network's top 100 list, Carson Wentz has taken a little bit of a tumble coming in at 96. Health and availability could be a huge reason for dropping 93 spots. That pretty much would seem like the only reason because it's not like his talents has gone anywhere. Carson Wentz worries me.

I had no problem with the Eagles giving him a deal. They had to give him a deal. He's their franchise quarterback. He's in the MVP race. He's young. Obviously, he's the guy you go with in that spot. Although, I do think Nick Foles is, that was kind of the best case scenario for the Eagles. And obviously it worked out very well for them.

They got a Super Bowl. That said, he's one injury away from being kind of a disaster because he is, is, their guy moving forward and being the guy, you have to also be available. I mean, their, their season and their future rests in Carson Wentz's hands, literally. Yeah. He's a, you know, I mean, you get to these points. Look at if Jimmy G. has another injury. Like, you're like trapped. I feel much better about Carson Wins than I do about Jimmy G. Well, I haven't really seen Jimmy G. Yeah. I think Wenz a better overall talent than Garoppolo. But Garoppolo and Wens, Deshaun Watson's not quite in this class, but could be one more big injury. And you're like,

Like, uh-oh, I think Deshaun, I don't feel the same with Deshaun. But Wenton Garoppolo, or one injury away from, you're paying somebody a lot of money, and you're not going to get many games out of them. Well, to me, it's more than just paying them a lot of money. I mean, they're your franchise's future for what you hope to be the next 10 years. So you have a lot leveraged on them. And that's not their fault, obviously. Injuries are no one's fault.

But it's interesting that will happen with Carson Went. Joy Taylor with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. Herd Line News. Coming up next, our first edition of Jepp Hurdy. It could be the worst segment we've ever done. Or the best.

Jepp Herdy. That's coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. Go further than ever with the Discover at Miles card. Match automatically. First year's Miles. 35,000 become 70.

Discover match for new card members only. learn more at Discover.com slash travel. So Jeopardy had a champ recently, James Holshouser, who was just amazing. Right. And Ken Jennings and James, and he was a sports gambler, not Ken Jennings. He was the first, like, legend of Jeopardy. And then this James guy came in, James Holzhauser, and he was a almost like rain man. He was a sports better in Las Vegas, very successful sports gambler.

And he basically just for a month and a half cleaned everybody's clock. And he was talking to Peter King this week. And he said he could not believe the Cleveland Brown. were picked as a Super Bowl team. He thought it was total hype. He said, I can't believe we live in a world where the Browns are the most hype team in preseason. I would say they're probably the single worst bet to win the Super Bowl right now. He said the Patriots and the Rams got there last year and they're probably, if you look at sports betting, we'll get there this year.

So in honor of the Jeopardy champ, we are going to put our own spin on Jeopardy. Here we go. This is Jeopardy. Oh, boy, that's a stretch. Now, here's your host, Troy Taylor. All right. All right, Colin, these are the five categories you'll have to choose from. Terrible NFL franchises, cities nobody wants to live in,

overrated quarterbacks, famous boat trips, and head coaches with zero experience. All right, I'm ready. All right, pick your first clue. Terrible NFL franchises for 200. Okay, this NFL team has, the lowest winning percentage this century. Detroit Lions.

Very close. The answer is, in fact, the Cleveland Browns. They do? Yes, the Browns are 93 and 210. The Lions are 111 and 193. So Detroit's second. Yes, yes, close second. All right.

Choose your next clue, please, Colin. Cities that nobody wants to live in for 800. Okay. This city is so wonderful. that LeBron James left it twice. Cleveland. That's brutal. That is correct.

That's terrible. That's very obvious. Although I don't necessarily agree with that, although I wouldn't want to live there because I'm from Pittsburgh. All right. Choose your next clue, Colin. Overrated quarterbacks for 600. Okay.

Last season, this Cleveland quarterback had more interceptions than starts. Tyrod Taylor? Baker Mayfield, 14 interceptions, 13 starts. That's not entirely fair to be. Baker, but it is true. Yes. All right. What's your next clue? Famous boat trips for a thousand.

Oh, yes. Well, we have a photo clue for this one. This wide receiver had three drops in the game after this boat trip. It's very. Odell Beckham of the Cleveland Browns. Correct. I see where you guys are going here on Jeff Hurdy. I get it now.

It feels like a setup. All right. Choose one more clue. Head coaches with zero experience for 400. This Browns head coach had literally never coached an NFL game. Well, Freddie Kitchens. But either is Cliff Kingsbury. Yes, there's other coaches, but they don't coach the Browns.

This clue says the Browns coach. All right, we're running out of time and patience for this segment. So let's jump to final Jeopardy. Okay. All right. Colin, write down your answer to this clue. This Super Bowl contender has zero. chance of making the Super Bowl.

All right. And the answer is... Well, I'm not a total dope. I'll put Cleveland. Zero chance? I think it's pretty low. I didn't know this was an anti-Cleveland Brown segment. You guys told me it was going to be Jeopardy.

I was all fired up. Have you not heard the show before? I feel like it's very unfair to Baker and O'Don-Doh. So Andrew said, let's do Jebherty today. And I'm like, oh, that's a funny idea. I had no idea it was an anti-Cleveland segment. I don't think that they have zero chance of By the way, I do believe that Freddie Kitchens as a rookie head coach will win more games than Cliff Kingsbury as a rookie head coach.

If you guys wouldn't, I thought Detroit had the worst record in the last hundred years. That's a very good guess, though. Yeah, Detroit. In fact, I saw a stat the other day. I was listening to somebody. Detroit has one playoff win in like some, like five decades. It's just an unbelievable number. Yeah, they don't get enough credit for how bad they've been.

They really don't. You know why? they've had some stars like Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson. So whereas Cleveland's been, you know, this kind of inept, Detroit's been a lot of seven and nine, a lot of six and ten. Where Cleveland's had some 016s, some two and 14s and their ownership, the Ford's haven't done a great job, but it doesn't, Detroit doesn't feel chaotic as much as they feel they're just not as good as Green Bay's quarterbacks or Minnesota's roster.

They haven't been as dramatic with their losing. That's right. They're just, they just lose. Cleveland is dramatic. Like Buffalo and Cleveland have been dramatically thumped and bad. Detroit's just like six and ten a lot. Yes. And also because Green Bay's had great quarterbacks that we haven't paid much attention to anybody in that division,

not named the Bears' defense or Green Bay's offense in like 30 years. And to Cleveland's credit, they have a lot of talent this year. And if nothing else, it will be incredibly interesting and discussable. By the way, this came out today. Cowboys are the top franchise in the world in terms of value. the Dallas Cowboys, according to Forbes, are worth $5 billion. The Yankees are second at $4.6 billion. Then Real Madrid, Barcelona, Knicks, Manchester, United, Patriots, Lakers, Warriors,

and then Dodgers, Giants are tied for 10. So in the top 10, you have three NBA, three soccer, two baseball, and three NFL. I was thinking, I think they're all undervalued, by the way. I think they're worth all more than that. If you were a billionaire today and you had a lot of, you had to, you were a billion dollars, and you had to park money somewhere. Okay, A, I'm not putting it in the market or the house. I think we have bubbles in the market and bubbles in the housing market.

The other thing is, with technology now, companies rise faster than ever and implode faster than ever. They rise and disappear faster than ever. I know 30 years from now, the Patriots are going to play in New England and the Lakers are going to be playing in Los Angeles. If you are a billionaire today, where would you park your money? We've got so much political upheaval globally. I'm not putting it in the market. I'm not putting it into housing. I think all these are undervalued.

Steve Balmer, by the way, paid $2 billion for the Clippers. Remember that a few years ago? And people banged on him that it was too much. By the way, this morning, they're valued at $2.2 billion, and that's heading into

their greatest team ever. And if they win, they may get approval for a new arena, now they're worth $4 billion. So this idea that Steve Balmer overpaid for the Clippers, I said it at the time.

He bought it cash. He's never selling it. Yeah, it's not a bad investment. No. If you had a hundred billion, and you had to park it somewhere for the next decade. I'm buying a pro sports team. Good stuff.

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

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