The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Cam Newton, GMs, NBA, and where Colin was right and wrong

Episode Date: March 30, 2020

Colin discusses why Cam Newton is no longer as good as most people think, why it is important for GMs to learn new technology, why playing the remainder of the NBA season in one place is a good idea, and where he was right and wrong over the weekend. Guests include Doug Gottlieb, Bob Costas, and Bucky Brooks. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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this is clivert taylor the fourth and on my podcast the clivert show i'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff like being an internet famous referee we're in the middle of a game this linebacker this linebacker walks up to me he goes a ref my mom wants you to wave at her what Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Rhett, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Ms. Parker.

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Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go. Live in Los Angeles. This is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1, and all our platforms, Sirius XM83 again, anywhere you want to get us, anywhere you generally get us,

podcast, Twitter, we are still there. Now, we are in a radio studio for the time being. Hopefully that changes. Bob Costas joins me next hour. We've been very fortunate trying to bring on some big names. A lot of people are at home. Had Mark Cuban last week. Had Charles Barkley last week. So Bob Costas, next hour is on the show. And Joy Taylor's joining me. Joy, I know what you did this weekend. You didn't leave your house, right? Lay low like you're supposed to. Yes. But you know what? we're all figuring out. This is the new normal, right? It is the new normal. And here's something I do want to say about the virus. Post 9-11, we could go to games, and we had concerts, and you could go outside, and you could go to restaurants.

That was a great distraction in a very anxiety-filled time in America post-9-11. With the virus, we can't do any of that. What does that mean, Colin? It means that there's a little more anxiety, a little more panic. That's being cooped up in a house with your kids. Small, compressed, anxiety. That would be with or without the virus a tougher life. So just take that into consideration now. Give yourself.

I try to give myself about an hour a day online reading some of the virus stuff. Otherwise, I try to entertain myself. My kids do the best I can. But post 9-11, we add distractions to take our mind off it. everybody's telephone usage is going up 60, 75%. It tells you every week how you did the previous week. Look at it. We're ramping, doubling, tripling, quadrupling our consumption.

Therefore, it elevates our anxiety. Stress hurts your immune system. It actually does. So take a deep breath. We'll get through it. There's a lot of positive signs in the last 24 hours. I want to start my show with this. perception often becomes reality

and this is a frailty to our human condition we read we're curious we learn something and then we refuse to move off it I'm a Trump guy therefore you don't care how bad he butchers a press conference you're on his side you're deeply embedded if you can't stand him I can't stand that guy that he could pass interesting legislation

he's not to blame for something, but you're going to blame him anywhere. You're embedded in that position. That's why it's important. I try to do it all the time. I make this mistake too. Don't get deeply embedded in beliefs. Be willing to get new information and move off it because otherwise perception will become reality. And I'll give you an example.

Cam Newton. The perception watching him in college and watching him up to his MVP year is that he's a great football player. reality is, since the MVP season, he's not as good as Tyrod Taylor. And that's why the L.A. Chargers didn't want it. My friend, Bucky Brooks, writes an article, the Charger should go after him. No, they shouldn't. No, they shouldn't. Tyrod Taylor wins more.

Yes, wins more than Cam since Cam's post-MVP season. Tyrod Taylor, no drama. Tyrod Taylor, 100% healthy. Tyrod Taylor, low maintenance, mature, a very easy distributor of the football. The Chargers just had Phillip Rivers throw 20 picks. They are looking with their roster, which they plug the only holes in free agency, guard and left tackle. They want a distributor without drama.

They've had drama. It's called Philip Rivers. Big plays, big interceptions, not as reliable. They don't want that. I'll give you a perception versus reality number. The last 46 starts for Cam Newton and Tyrod Taylor. Remember, you love Cam in college. It's embedded.

Number one pick, embedded. MVP season, embedded. It's never been the same quarterback. In his last 46 starts, Cam Newton is 23 and 23. Tyrod Taylor, with the Bills and the Browns, two rebuilding teams, is better. 24 wins, 21 losses and a tie. Cam Newton, since his MVP season, 65 touchdowns and 45 picks. Tyrod Taylor with the rebuilding bills and the rebuilding Browns,

54 touchdowns and 20 picks. Completion percentage, Tyrod Taylor, 62, Cam Newton, 59. Passer rating, Cam Newton, 82. Tyrod Taylor, 90. people are so embedded on Cam because he was so fantastic at Auburn and he's the number one draft pick and he's big and he's strong and early in his career the arm strength by the way I talked to two executives last week that said they think something's messed up with Cam's arm he doesn't throw it the last four years like he used to but if you look at Cam Newton the perception is he's

amazing and the perception is Tyrod Taylor can't really play. The reality is, Cam Post MVP is average. And Tyrod Taylor, post MVP, same 46 starts, is an average quarterback. Cam and Tyrod Taylor are the same guy. One's bigger and stronger, makes more mistakes, less accurate, more drama hard to coach, and we don't know as health. The gap between the two is tiny. And if coachability matters, and if health matters, I can say Tyron Taylor gets the edge. But the Chargers look at it and think, we've got all these players. We just want distribution without drama.

We've had drama. It's called Philip Rivers. We're over drama. So, again, you get in bet also. Tyrod Taylor is perceived to be a good mentor. So if the Chargers draft a quarterback, Tyrod is the kind of guy that would help out. You know, they signed him to a contract.

He'd help out. Cam probably not as great there. Cam also could never be a backup. He's just too big of a celebrity. Tyrod's been a backup. But it's funny, isn't it? Cam Newton, last 46 starts with what's perceived to be a better coach Ron Rivera and absolutely more pro bowlers and better players than the Browns and bills.

Cam's got worse numbers. When you get embedded in something, deeply, deeply embedded. And you're not willing to look at new data. you're missing reality. The perception of Cam up here and tie rod down there is simply not true. Let me shift to this. John Lynch, I covered him in Tampa. I worked with him at Fox, and now I root for him with the 49ers.

So there's these stories, man, I'm telling you, when it comes to this virus, there are people that either see opportunities and people that see nothing but obstacles. John Lynch said, no excuses. There's no excuses. work harder. Lynch went to Stanford, was initially a quarterback. They told him he couldn't be a quarterback.

He became a safety and an all pro. My theory on what's going to happen in the draft is GMs, the bad ones, are people that see obstacles. They'll make excuses. The good ones, see opportunities. They'll flourish. Here's what I find funny about all the guys in the NFL

complaining about the virus and what it's creating. They had the combine. No, I mean, there was an actual combine. They had the Senior Bowl. All the teams went to it. They have three to four years of tape on players. As long as we're talking about technology at some point today and about what we're facing, phones in America, last time I checked still worked.

And oh, by the way, it's called FaceTime. This is something Scouts didn't have in the 70s, the 80s, the night. They didn't have it six, seven years ago. FaceTime. use it. This virus, it's amazing to listen to the excuse makers. Stop it. There are people that are born with more anxiety.

They're born, it's innate, it's in their DNA. But the idea that every team in the league went to the senior bowl, every team in the league has four years of tape. Alabama players tend to leave early, maybe three. Every team got 45 interviews at the combine, each interview 18 minutes. that's not enough. American Idol, they give you 15 seconds and decide you got it or you don't. Every NFL player I ever ask, and I ask this regularly,

when do you know if a draft pick can play or not? They're like two practices. Two practices you know. Guys got it, guy doesn't. Technology has never given scouts from FaceTime. That's just one example. It gives scouts opportunities they never had. Ask your kids, if you don't know how to use it, how to use it.

I don't want to hear excuses. If you got three years of tape, maybe four, 45-minute, 18-minute interviews at the Combine, FaceTime phones the Senior Bowl, and you're still struggling with it, you're a bad GM. Get over it. There's either roadblock people, obstacle people, or opportunity people.

Watch the smarter people. people in this league flourish. It's not that difficult. It's the new normal, as Joy said. It's just the new world we live in. Deal with it. Coming up next, why, why I do think there will be an NBA season.

I go back and forth on this thing. I'm back in the, I think we'll have an abridged NBA season. Doug Gottlieb later this hour, Bob Costas next hour. Chris Long, son of Howie, a two-time Super Bowl champ, We'll join us on a Monday. Thanks so much for taking time for us. A lot of options out there.

We certainly appreciate it. I have officially run out of shirts. I am wearing this for our radio audience, black, whatever you call it, for the second time in 12 days. Goulet now dresses better than me. We've got a problem. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays

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deductible mail plier call 800 Car 6,000. Bob Cost us next hour. Doug Gottlieb joining us this hour. So I'm reading a lot of different stories from people I've known, Brian Winhorst, and people are saying, look at China, and they try to restart their season. It didn't work. I think one of the things I've been frustrated with is hearing people compare us to China or Italy or Europe. outside of Germany, there's no European economy that's even close to us in terms of the ability

to solve problems, dynamic financially. Money is going to matter in this thing, you know, $2 trillion, $3 trillion, $4 trillion, $5 trillion. Most countries can't do that. We can jam that into the economy and use it over four to six months. Money is going to matter. Wealthier countries like Japan and Germany have solved this, I think, rather quickly. I don't like us being compared to other countries. and our death rate is still incredibly low.

I would say this about the NBA. I was reading Outkick the coverage yesterday, and they talked about Las Vegas as a place where it's got an abundance of hotel rooms, Thomas and Max Center, where UNLV played forever. I don't think it's crazy. One of the things about college basketball and why March Madness, I think I said this the day before it got canceled, that's about the masses.

People flying from all over the country. You've got 380 Division 1 teams. They cut it down to 68. And then there's playing games. The NBA has always been a very exclusive sport. Okay? There's 450 players. Many of them fly private jets.

The teams all own their own jets. Make it even more exclusive. Go to Las Vegas, one city. You have 16 teams. These hotels have 70 floors. You can give each team a floor or two. You have one food service company. You don't have team doctors from everywhere.

Instead, you have one set of doctors. You have one arena that plays two or three games daily. You make the most exclusive sport. It is only 12 guys, really, that play in an NBA roster, right? 15 total, 12 actually play. I don't know how they, I'll ask Gottlieb about that, but I think it's 15 total on the roster. It's the smallest rosters, the fewest players that matter.

You don't have to have a fourth bench coach. You play in one arena, you stay in one floor, you have one private jet. And by the way, as the playoffs advance, you go from 16 teams to 8, to 4, to 2. And it gets smaller and smaller and smaller. It's why I've said they should consider shuttering the first round. And you just go to eight teams, four in the west, four in the east, eight teams, one city, one arena, each have their own floor at one hotel, one food service. I don't think it's crazy.

As far as playing basketball with no fans, again, it's the new normal. You deal with it. There's a lot of things happening in my life and your life that are odd. That if you had told me I'm going to live a certain way a month ago and I said you're out of your mind and I can't go to a restaurant. I can't go to all of my things have been turned on their head. I go to the health club every day. Done. I go to a restaurant three or four times a week.

I eat out a lot. Done. I can't leave my house for long stretches. Done. My family's in this house. I'm over here. I've, you know, I got to spend all this time now with my daughter, which is great, but she's not at school anymore. None of my kids are in college.

So the idea that the NBA would have to have games with no fans is not that big of an adjustment. I do understand the league is about style and performance. That's why I love it. There's style to it. Performance matters. It's harder to perform like I'm doing right now. I'm sitting in a small room by myself and I can see Joy on a computer and I can barely make out Goulet. I like being in a big studio.

I like having six or seven people, people on the floor, performing, just sitting and talking in a room by myself, I'll be honest. It's weird. But I do think the idea of having a centralized location makes a lot of sense. Here's Joy with the News. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herdline News.

Well, it didn't take much for the Buccaneers to get Tom Brady to sign with Tampa Bay, apparently, because GM, Jason Light, revealed that it was Brady who did a lot of the talking during their initial conversation. We had a great conversation. Bruce and I, we talked to him for over an hour and a half. He made it clear in the conversation that he was very, very interested. It was almost like a recruitment on his part telling us why it would make sense for him to come to Tampa Bay. And the next following day, we signed him. But it was at that phone call that we realized that we felt like, you know, we had him. Does that maybe tell you that there weren't so many teams interested in Brady?

No, I think. Maybe that rumored eight was a lot smaller than we thought. No, I think Tom Brady, you know, the one thing I didn't, I did not. We broke the story on Brady to Tampa, but I never thought it would come. The two things that Tampa had that we always said, Joy, you and I have moved a lot in our careers. You generally, when you move and take a job, Joy, at least for me, I won't speak for you. You try to solve the problems you have in your current destination. Right.

Tom was not having fun and didn't have weapons. You can argue that Bruce Ariens is the most fun coach in the league and it has the best weapons. So I think Tom's a smart guy. He seized it and said, okay, I can get the fun thing here. They got the weapons thing here. And by the way, I was told yesterday that Tom's wife wanted the family to move to Miami, which we speculated because. It's an international city and she'd had business there before.

So I don't think it was a matter of nobody cared. I think Tom zoned in pretty quickly on the fun aspect and the weapons aspect. The Miami thing is interesting too. I mean, obviously we had conversations about him possibly going there. But if they move to Miami, it's not, it's drivable to Tampa. It's not a drive you want to make all the time. By the way, if Miami wasn't in rebuild, which they are, Tampa's not in you and I've talked about this, Tampa's not in rebuilding mode.

Tampa's ready to win right now. They were seven and seven with two games to go. They thought week 14, you can go back to our show. People thought Tampa was a playoff team, a wildcard team. So I think Tom, the one thing I will say, he didn't want to be part of a rebuilding effort. The Chargers in Tampa are not rebuilding teams. Right.

And, you know, interestingly enough, their offensive line is pretty decent as well. They rank 10th in pass blocking. The patients were 12th. And then 13th in run blocking, the Patriots were 10th. So they're right there with the Patriots, basically the same type of offensive line there. Obviously, you know, Patriots have a legendary offensive line. But it's not like he's going into a situation where he's going to be running for his life.

And they haven't made a lot of changes either. They haven't signed their re-signed their starting right tackle. Yes, that's their number one issue. I'm running back in a right tackle and they're set to go. Yeah, but they did sign former Colts offensive lineman Joe Hagan free agency. So you were just discussing this. What are you going to do with the draft? All the pre-draft visits are canceled.

and Tua will have to get creative to prove to NFL teams that he's making progress with his recovery. He was originally planning to have his own Pro Day on April 9th. But now Tua and his team are considering using a live stream or a taped version of his pro day workout for the NFL instead. He's going to continue to get medical checks and scans that can be provided to team doctors electronically upon request. I think this is very interesting because I said at the beginning of show. This is our new normal. I wonder moving forward, obviously, you want to, like, be in person, you know, but you also want to work smarter, not harder.

Yeah. I'm not saying that they're going to adapt this whole entire system moving forward, but who knows, scouts may take more advantage of not having to travel all over the place to get, you know, information that can be provided electronically. The greatest invention of my life is the television. I've argued once you have kids, FaceTime is second. I told you the story last week. My daughter's in Cape Town, South Africa this past summer.

I'm in my bathroom in Manhattan Beach. I call three seconds. It pops up. And I'm like, okay, this is the greatest thing I've ever seen. These NFL, these old NFL guys, figured out FaceTime. It's so unbelievably clear. There's a lot you can garner off FaceTime. Yeah.

And I mean, obviously there's something to seeing things. You know, scouts want to look for particular things. But if he's going to live stream a pro day or tape it and send it out, I mean, I would prefer live stream if I'm. I'm a scout and I'm trying to, you know, get as much real-time information as possible. I'd probably trust a live stream more than a pre-taped version of the Pro Day. But yeah, why not? This is what we're dealing with.

So the Rams have lost several key players so far this off season. But the team's chief operating officer, Kevin Demoff, said that that was always part of the plan. He said each year your players change, your team changes. And we knew walking into the season there would be tough choices. It's going to be a different looking team and the one that left the field in 2019. But I think everybody knew that was going to be the case. He also said they're going to count on their young players to step up this season. They lost seven notable starters, five on defense.

They lost Todd Gurley, well, they cut Todd Gurley, Clay Matthews, and the Calroby Coleman, the guys left in the free agency were Dante Fowler, Corey Littleton, Greg Zerline, and Eric Weddell retired. That's a lot of movement. That's a lot. And Wade Phillips have a new defensive coordinator. Rams have had, to me, too much movement. If we miss OTAs and we have an abridged preseason, Rams have had way. too much movement. Well, they're trying to pitch

some optimism here, but they have six picks in the draft, including two in the third round. They have no first round pick. Their highest pick is the number 52 overall. They traded away this year's first round pick and fifth round pick, and then they traded away next year's first round pick, fourth round pick, and fifth round pick, and

they also traded away their picks in 2017, 18, and 2019 their first round picks. So it's going to be kind of a patchwork job for them. They also have a new offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special team coordinators. Way too much movement. This is a lot

of changes amidst a kind of tumultuous offseason for every well everyone is particularly the NFL so yeah it'll be it'll be a different team we're going to see out there for the Rams this year and a different logo so a lot of changes for the Rams for the record I don't hate the Rams logo I'm one of I'm one of the only people on the earth I don't think it's that bad so it's you and the other three guys yes I think it's fine I'm not really a

uniform logo guy but I don't think it's as bad as the world thinks it is. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. He's my buddy, the Doug Gottlieb show. I call him The Dugger.

Of course, everybody does. Also on my herd podcast network, All Ball with Doug Gottlieb, joining us now. Sponsored by Mercedes-Benz, the best or nothing. I can't necessarily look at him because I want to look at the camera

and connect with the audience, but he's right over there to my left. And if you saw somebody sneaking behind me. I did the stairs thing. Did you see the stairs? Work on TV where I looked like you're walking down the stairs. There's a reason I started laughing in the middle of my discussion with Joy Taylor. It looked ridiculous.

So, you know, we were talking about this. Technology is unbelievable. And it's when you got kids as they get older and older and they're in college. Every day when I leave my radio show, Doug, I call my daughter Facetimer. And she's at college. And it's really an interesting. I get more time with my daughter now due to FaceTime. So when I hear all these NFL draft guys whining, I'm like, you had a combine, you had the senior bowl.

You got four years of tape. You got Facebone, Facebook. I just think it's excuses. I think it's paralysis by analysis. Am I wrong? Yes, a little bit. There's a portion of you, which is right, which is just because you've done it one way for 50 years, doesn't mean there's not a new or better way to do it. And I do think that many of their meetings, you know, the idea of flying scouts in to meet when the scout can do his presentation, you know, on a video call, it doesn't matter.

But there is definitely something to see. a guy run and throw and move in person and being on their college campus where you can talk to people and you can kind of get a sense of who somebody really, really is. I talked to a couple of guys, actually two GMs and one director of player personnel. They both said between 20 and 25 percent of their work that they usually do will not be done. Right. Right. Well, it does not be done. Right. Because there are these individual workouts you just don't have. And Tua is interesting because in addition to the medicals, which they do have from the combine, but can you advance medicals, the inability to see him throw and move in person is valuable.

And here's the best way to quantify it. Guys can look fast on tape and you can love a guy's production, but let's say he's a cornerback. And then you clock him in person and he runs 4-6-5. Like there's a less than 5% chance he sticks in the league. It just doesn't matter how good you look on tape if you can't run at that level in that league. it doesn't matter. And so I think that this is going to be a very hit-piss draft. Right.

Right. And you're talking about this is an entire year of investment. We know the teams have been built through the draft. And, you know, Team Raiders, multiple first-round picks. You know, what you do with those picks, considering the lack of some level of information in comparison to what they always have, I do think is being missed. But you played college basketball at a high level and an international basketball. Doug, it probably took you a game.

and I'm guessing, maybe less as a point guard, could take in you six possessions. You can see talent pretty easily. You played with a guy at Oklahoma State, I remember. Desa Mason. Who just, what a wonderful guy, by the way, but was, I remember watching you in college. I paid more attention to him than you because I didn't know you. It took you about five minutes to figure out, oh, he's different than everybody else on the floor. That part of it, teams always say, you know, let's be honest about the Chargers.

They'll be better players than the quarterback they take, but they need that position. Belichick always says, I draft player not need. That's funny. You drafted Sonny, Michelle, in the first round the year you lost Dionne Lewis. Even Belichick goes toward, what do I need? The last several drafts for the Patriots, they've gone offensive

guys. That's not been the best players available. It's what they need. The bottom line, to me, I look in the first three rounds, the New York Jets are going to take a tackle, a corner, and an edge rusher. So you kind of get down, Doug, to this

what's left at the spot I need, which I think reduces the whiff factor to some degree. Yes, but again, if you can't, eyeballing somebody in person is just different than Anten. You go and see a guy in person. But is it at the combine a little? A little, but not everybody ran at the combine. Senior bowl. Yes. But now all of a sudden, in terms of waiting, right, that becomes weighted differently.

Like, okay, I saw him at the senior bowl. when now I'm more in love with him or I'm less in love with him. I see him in person. Look, this is a, it's an offensive tackle draft. And a wide receiver draft. Yeah. And if you need it and you're at a spot, you're probably going to get to a spot. By the middle of the first round, this is what I need.

There's two guys available. Right. And how do you choose between those guys? If you haven't eyeballed them in person, I think there's a much bigger misrary. And now the Tua thing I agree, I think Tua is the real. is the really problematic player. Like a guy that's got an injury. It's a position where he's got to move.

I totally buy the two a thing. Here's what's fascinating about Justin Herbert. One of these quarterbacks is going to drop. Since he's taken one, Miami's taking one, the Chargers are taking one. Jacksonville likes Gardner Minshue. They may take one later with their second pick. They got bigger issues now.

They lost Callais Campbell, or at least similar issues. What's Justin Herbert to me, And I'm guessing right now, my gut feeling guesswork is that the Chargers take Jordan Love over Justin Herbert. I have no idea if I'm right, but it is the current league. Anthony Lynn wants to move the pocket, and he's the opposite of Philip Rivers, who drove him crazy. Let me just throw this out with Justin Herbert. One of these guys, because we know Joe Burrow and two are going quick, one of these guys is going to drop because 12 straight teams don't need a quarterback.

And I keep looking at Green Bay. and Justin Herbert, if you look at everything, Doug, size, arm, four point canon, likable character, one games, almost no picks, lots of touchdowns, no health concerns. I think one of these guys, and it's going to be Justin Herbert, Green Bay is going to be picking late and be like, I mean, they're smart. Smart teams have always manipulated dumb teams. If you just look at who needs a quarterback, Doug, one of these boys is going to drop to about 27, 28. I would like to think that, but I think the, the desire to get a young quarterback and to take a swing at him is too great. I'm not convinced that the Chargers do that in the first round.

I'm just not. You know, they have Easton Stick who has every, that doesn't have the arm. He's little and he doesn't have the arm. He's just not. They got Tyrod, don't you? I know. Well, look, people have tried to make it out that you want, why don't you want Cam Newton? But Tyrod Taylor is the same age.

They work out together, only he turns it over less. He's slightly more accurate, and he's played for Anthony Lynn. And you're right, the two things that he does, Philip Rivers doesn't do. Right. He doesn't turn it over. Right. Okay. I'm talking about Tyrodto.

Doesn't turn it over. Yeah, he's the opposite. And he can move. He's the opposite of Philip Rivers. Correct. Correct. So, and I think teams tend to go, what drives us crazy? Yes.

Let's go the opposite. He also doesn't make any money. He makes $7.5 million. Remember, the charges have to redo Hunter Henry. He's franchise tagged. And then they want to redo Joey Bosa, who's going into the fifth year option. So I'm fascinated by as well as you. Jordan Love is a.

developmental prospect. He's the type of guy that it's going to take a year or a year and a half to fix. Right. Way more so than Pat Mahomes, who people thought you needed to fix him some. Yeah. And I just, that's the type of team that will take him. But there just always seems to be a rush on these quarterbacks and guys go earlier than they should. And so I'm, I'm with you that in theory, somebody should follow the Packers, but the reality is they're going to gobble up, they're going to gobble up these quarterbacks because there's only a finite number. and even though there's better prospects next year, it doesn't matter, guys can't help themselves.

By the way, Jordan Palmer, you know him. He's terrific. Carson's brother had, he was on last week, and he said, listen, I was told this yesterday. You and I had talked about something on the phone and I made a call. New England's going to go with Jared Stidham. So here's the thing.

Jordan's big on Stidham. Sidham was an elite 11 guy. Like what people have to understand is when Stidham was at Baylor, when Baylor was at its peak. Like he was the big, big name recruit that they had gotten, maybe not on the back of RG3, but they were suddenly recruiting at that level. That thing falls apart.

He goes to Auburn. And he wasn't great at Auburn, but he wasn't the problem of him. People forget how bad their defense was. That's right. His last year. So I don't know if Jared Stiddam has it. I do know that he doesn't have to be peak Tom Brady for the Patriots to be good. You still have a good, still excellent on special team.

Defense. Remember special teams, how many games they win last year without really much of an offense? Trick plays, special teams, whatever. I think they're going to give him a legit shot. I don't think they're looking outside the building anymore. This is what I was told yesterday that they believe somebody I trust said they're going to roll with him. Now, by week 12, they may change their mind. But they think he's a much, he's a stronger armed version of Brady.

Disciplined, hardworking, buys into the system, accurate, Not a lot of wiggle can move within the pocket, not much out, but a big arm. And so I'm here and they're going to go with it. We make this mistake all the time. We think that in order for the Patriots to be the Patriots, he has to be Tom Brady, 50 touchdown Tom Brady. Tom Brady last year through, what, 24 touchdowns? Like, just don't turn it over.

Hey, make the easy read. Obviously, it's more difficult when you're Stidim without the reputation, commanding respect, but they should. They're coming to get us. They're coming to get us. I hear the sirens. They should. they should be able to, if they can use him and his contract,

next year when they're out of some of this cap hell, get better players around him if he can play. All right, Doug Gottlieg comes back on the other side. Some thoughts on the NBA and the importance on resuming play. Bob Costas next hour, Colin Wright, Colin wrong. Yep, we still got that 15 minutes away, 20 minutes away, my bad. Don't go anywhere. Stop waiting to see what happens in life when it gets back to normal.

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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 answers. 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. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch.

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

as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. What's up guys? This is Clifford 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 line is. You know these kids. 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, rec, 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. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta,

you already know, that's a lot to be. break down. Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. I like the bougie style of Housewives show. I think it looks like it's going to be interesting. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from

your favorite reality shows, including the Real Housewives franchise, the drama, the alliances, and the team everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not. not just watching it, I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this. At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Bob Costas, next hour, Chris Long, third hour, Colin Wright, Colin Wrong, top of next hour. It's great to have you in. We'll eventually run out of sports. They've got to play games. That's why I'm rooting for the NBA. I got to be honest. Sometimes I can root for stuff. I'm rooting for the NBA.

Clay Travis talked about this yesterday and outkick the coverage. I think it makes sense. The NBA has always been an exclusive league, right? It's 12 guys or 15 a roster, private jets for players. The teams own their own jets. It's very hard to get access, unless you're a beautiful young woman into the NBA. They can get access. I can't.

So it's unlike college basketball where it's March Madness. You come from everywhere, 360 Division 1, down to 68. to me go to Vegas one city one hotel each team has a floor one food and beverage group one set of doctors I think the I do think the NBA is unique small rosters it's got VIP access it's always been and by the way if you go from 16 teams to 8 to 4 to 2 you could skip the first round and just have 8 teams robotic cameras I don't think it's nuts you I don't think it's nuts I think LeBron continues to say stupid stuff like he at first he's He's like, I don't want to play in front of, if they have us play in front of empty arenas, I won't be there, I won't play.

That was back when we were playing. Yeah. And then he backpedaled. And then he was on Richard Jefferson's podcast. And he's like, yeah, I just don't, you know, that's not who we play for. Like, look, dude, the league needs you. Forget about whether Americans need sports on TV. Yeah.

The league is losing hundreds of millions of dollars. Yeah. You have, you also have the chance to grow your brand, far more so than an average regular season, because you're going to be the only thing on. It's what the NFL gets. It was like, yeah, we're doing a draft. You're the only thing on. Our numbers will be through the roof.

Yeah. So, yeah, we'll be weird. Absolutely. It won't be forever. And for a short period of time, they tell you to play in an empty gym. You play an empty gym. And everybody will watch it.

I think the biggest issue, and the biggest thing is a real discussion that they've had. There's also some of these incredible facilities, the Lakers brand new facility. The Clippers have not yet built. I think their new facility. So if they both had new,

ones you could maybe just do it in LA. But the other issue is if you're going to broadcast on TV, you have a TV truck somewhere. Yeah. And TV trucks do not allow for you to have six feet in between each other. Yeah. That's, I think, one of the bigger issues. But yeah, I mean, it's going to be, and if you're LeBron, you should want to come back. Like, this is, your window is closing. Remember, if we get to next year, the Warriors are going to be healthy and they're going to be back. They're going to be a nuisance. That's good point. The nets are going to have, whether you believe in Kyrie and K.D. together can make it work. They'll be far more talented. Also, the Lakers will be older next year.

The Lakers will be a year old. Anthony Davis, by the way, would be a free agent. I think he'll come back. Right. But he will be a free agent. There will be some tinker with rosters. So if I'm LeBron, I'm like, hey, just I'm going to stay ready as best I can. Tell me when. Tell me where. And I can kind of go from there.

Yeah, I mean, it's funny. I watch the media sometimes and they're like, the optics of free agency. Do you media people want jobs? Because writers are real easy to get rid of. You're not driving a lot of revenue. NFL's driving revenue. You do get, we're all in a business. You can call it journalism. We're all in a business. You want the draft. You want stuff to write about. Whenever I see these guys, the writers, they go to optics. Do you know how easy it is to get rid of a sports writer today? We're going to see

papers get flushed out. It's harder to get rid of a political talk show host now. You know, the Sean Hannity's and Rachel Maddow have massive audiences. It's going to be real easy to get rid of sports people with no games. You want stuff to talk about. In fact, I called, I can't divulge too much of this information, I called a big shot at our network and said, when's the NFL schedule release coming out? Because that's three days for me. Yeah.

Like, that's a real thing. That's a win. That's a loss. Whenever I see these media, sports media people that get into the optics and it doesn't look good, get stuff to talk about or we're all out of work. Listen, I'm very sensitive. to people who are affected by it. Yes.

I have a, you know, my mom's a senior citizen. She came over last night, bought banana bread. We had, we had not been letting her, like, hey, don't come over, whatever. She stayed outside the house. And I talked with her for a little bit. I don't even hug and kiss my mom. I have a daughter that has lung issues, so we're very protective of it. Okay, NBA players, I'm not saying they're all immune.

But if you ask them right now, like, hey, would you guys play if you could play? They would all, yeah, we play. Right? If nothing else just to get out of the house. Right. By the way, have you picked up any hobbies? I know I know Anne, she didn't leave you. You know, I got to be honest.

My son and I laugh about this. So I'm a minimalist. Yes. I've always been a minimalist. I don't like, I mean, I look at Joy's couch. It has seven layers of pillows and I get anxious. Like my house is. That's a woman lives there.

Women do this thing with pillows. We love them. So I got it. My son and I laugh about it. I text him this morning or yesterday. I said, are you bored yet? And he goes, no, dad, I love this. If I didn't have to go to school and I could do it online, this is awesome.

That's my, all my kids, all my kids are like, can we do homeschool? Like, no, no, no, no, no, no. So it hasn't changed my life other than I used to go to the workout club. Yes. Now I go run around the block and I do my sit-ups and push-ups at home and all that crap. But you have a speak-easy workout. That's, I think the reality show somebody should be filming right now is the speak-easy, like, knock three times and know a password. to get into a workout place.

In my neighborhood tomorrow, tomorrow, we're having a 10-foot party. So everybody can come out, bring a cocktail, we're all 10 to 12 feet apart. And it's like we all just want to say. This is an agoraphobic stream, by the way. I don't have to leave home. No, I mean, it's, I would say with all this, I guess my point about the NBA is, listen, you can follow whoever you want. There are two types of people in the world, obstacle people and opportunity people.

To me, there's opportunities going forward. I think the social distancing is going to work. I think it's very important. I'm glad the president said yesterday. Let's go to the end of April. I'm totally for that. I think you're seeing signs around the world. This stuff is working.

We're not Italy. We have a younger population. But I will say this. I think there is value. Post 9-11, Doug, we could go to concerts, games, movies, walks. Yes. Now we can't.

And I think there's a psychological effect here. Parents jammed into small places with their kids. I think sports has. And I'm not one of these. More important? Oh, I don't think sports has ever been more important. We can't do anything. Post-9-11, we could go to movies.

You could go to concerts. You could be out. The psychological ramifications for people of lower means, perhaps in smaller areas, kids, grandma, grandpa. Yeah, I worry about that. Forget the employment. I worry about the psychology of it. Oh, no question.

I mean, there's going to be numbers. There's going to be a baby boom in nine months, and there'll be a divorce boom. right whenever this thing is over as well. You're also seeing young children in chaotic families. You're seeing some really troubling signs that kids... Look, there's good and there's bad to it, right? Like, we've had family dinners. When the last time you had a family dinner?

I know. And we've had like family dinners. On the other hand, are you going to, as soon as this thing's done, are you going to vacation with your kids this summer? Right? Like, no. No. Thank you.

No. I love my children. My daughter is so over me. Yes. No, I mean, there, I mean, God bless her. No, but same, same thing. Now, like, look, I've gotten to watch, like, two teenage daughters, watch some, you know, we watched a Shawshank Redemption, which is an amazing movie. Content normally I would stay away from.

There's some good, there's some bad, but I do think that sports might become more important. People will realize that it's, we can survive without it, but it's like a black and white as opposed to a color. color. Right? Sports has color. That's fun. Yeah. It's also in a divided world, it's a unifier. Yes. Like it's it's it makes people happy. There's a winner. There's a loser, but there's always a game the next day. I think it's a unifying source in right now a very frightening and anxiety driven country. That's Doug Gottlieb show later, Fox Sports Radio. It'll be great. Bob Costas around the corner, but first Colin Wright, Colin wrong. We moved to hour two in Los Angeles. It's the herd. Catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio,

FS1, and the IHeart 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. 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. SportsSlice 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 Slices Life 12 and the TikTok podcast. network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me,

your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough, Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on Earth?

Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way.

Open your free, our heart radio app. Search learn the hard way and listen now. 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, this guy, 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, ref, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker.

Listen to the Clifferts show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Conky, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 Podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the big storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA.

Listen to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Here we go. Hour 2. We are live in Los Angeles. And this is on all our platforms, The Hurd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1.

Joy Taylor is joining me, Bob Costas, and 15. minutes will stop by. Last week we had Mark Cuban on the show, Charles Barkley on the show. A lot of fascinating people are sitting home like the rest of us, cooped up. Some with more space, some with less space, some in bad weather, some in good weather. Good news for us in Southern California, Joey, it is getting warmer starting today or tomorrow. So in the 70s. So it is a virus. Warm temperatures overwhelmingly help viruses. That part is encouraging as we move now into the spring. cross my fingers Texas the South get very very warm

it can't hurt we know that and all viruses generally this is a virus are eased with heat if you got a hot tub my ex-wife told me yesterday Joy I go in the hot tub three times a day I said why she said heat heat kills viruses and I'm like I'm not sure if that makes any sense but it's it's encouraging

that you're going out there and trying to do something with the new world there's a lot of you know a mentality that goes and do this too whatever makes you whatever makes you calm down and focus comfortable and, you know, de-stress a little bit. Yes. That's good.

As long as it's, you know, the positive direction. That's right. Bob Cost is 15 minutes. Well, we, I don't know how many weeks we can do this without games, but we're an opinion show. And oftentimes I give opinions and I whiff and I'm wrong. And I think I need to be held accountable. It's our most popular segment generally every week.

Colin right, Colin right. We do it on Monday's second hour to start. And here we go. Where Colin was right. I've always called Steph Curry, the adult, the grown-up of the NBA. He's like everybody's dead. dad, right? He's not real high maintenance. He's securing himself. He was able to go get Kevin Durant and say, yeah, take some points, take some shots, I don't care. Well, who did Dr. Fauci? You see him up there during

the White House press conferences. Who did he choose to talk to in the entire NBA? Steph Curry. Who joined the live Instagram show? Our former president, Barack Obama. This is what, and listen, I know pro sports in the NBA is younger than ever, and I wasn't mature. at 21, 22. But one of the things I've always thought is totally undervalued with Steph Curry is his maturity and his understanding that this is an emotional sport, having emotional discipline matters. And I think in this time of anxiety, what do you know? The nation's doctor of all the athletes chooses Steph Curry.

It's one of the reasons I love him. Where Colin was wrong. Well, the Joe Burrow fan club is now apparently it, listen, you can't have more than 10 people in a group anymore. Yeah. Joe Burrow fan club's got thousands of people. An NFL scout last week called him Peyton Manning. Joe Clatt compared him to Joe Montana. And my buddy, former NFL scout, Daniel Jeremiah, compared him to Tom Brady.

Okay, I guess I'm wrong on this because I consider Joe Burrow to be a very solid B-plus franchise quarterback, which is he's a very good player. My comp is Tony Romo. I don't think he's talented enough to overcome the frugality and the dysfunction of Cincinnati in what I perceive to be now, maybe the most talented division between the Ravens, Browns, and Steelers' rosters in the NFL. I think he's a good B-plus prospect. I've said, the comp is Tony Romo.

I always like Tony Romo. Tony's a poor man's Aaron Rogers, which is still really, really good. It's a Pro Bowl-ish kind of quarterback on good. years, but I'm being outweighed here by people who love and know football. Where Colin was right? The Washington Redskins last week traded for Cam Newton's backup. And the coach that did that used to be Cam's head coach, Ron Rivera. Listen, one of the things about the media, there's a total disconnect between the media's perception

of Cam and executives. And executives are seeing a quarterback since after his MVP, season that's a 500 quarterback, completes 59% of his throws, doesn't win a lot with a passer rating in the mid-80s, who now you're not sure physically if he's the same quarterback and he was a very, very physically intimidating player. Some of that's gone and now he's just kind of an inaccurate thrower of the football with bad mechanics. We've told you, we never thought the market was big for him.

Now, I do think by mid-season, if nobody picks him up, somebody will get hurt and he's just too talented. You'll put him in there. He's a big physical presence. Hopefully by that time, he got doctors. He can be tested. But I never thought there was much of a market. And when his former coach takes his backup, it tells you we were right on that one. Where Colin was wrong. I figure these NBA guys would just jump back at an opportunity to play. But LeBron on multiple instances has said, I don't want to play in front of no fans. And Charles Barkley, the former great current broadcaster, said it doesn't sit well with him either. I think it's an impossible. I think it's impossible to play without fans.

One of the reasons the game is great. You want to showcase your talent. The crowd has a huge effect upon the game. I know there were times I was tired. And the crowd's going nuts. And I'm just like, I get energy from anywhere. There's nothing better than sticking it to a fan who's sitting right behind the bench who's harassing you the whole game.

But when somebody's giving you a hard time, that motivates you. When you play on a game seven at home, man, this is a huge advantage. Yeah. Can you imagine playing a game seven with nobody understands? But when you get tired and depressed,

who's going to give me that extra zill of energy to bring you back? Yeah, I was wrong on this one. I thought basketball's basketball, last paycheck, by the way, is this Wednesday. I figured basketball guys. But you know what?

Basketball is a style-driven sport. Nothing wrong with that. It's just, it is. Style matters, performing. It's a little bit like a stand-up comedy. or Broadway. It's harder to do with nobody is there. Baseball's probably a little bit easier. Football, you know, maybe it's a little bit easier. But NBA guys have pushed back. They want fans. Where Colin was right. I've said through the years, the NBA is very progressive and baseball tends to

have a rigidity that drives me crazy. And I'm reading over the weekend, many of baseball solutions to the coronavirus are, okay, we're not going to cut any games. We're going to get the whole season in. We're going to have seven-inning double-headers. Oh, Lord. Baseball, this is the opportunity to put your arms around urgency, which with all this technology, we all have attention spans that are shortening and shortening and shortening. We don't need more games. Fewer games equals urgency equals ratings, and TV now drives all professional sports leagues. Baseball, once again, as we've said, struggles with change.

The NBA never has. and I think they'll get their season in. Where Colin was raw. Another Patriot two last week came out and said, not surprised at all. Tom Brady left. I was. I gave the chances of him leaving between 1% and 25%,

but I was surprised. Not shocked probably, but surprised. Kyle Van Nuoy came out last week and said, Not surprised. The best player on that football team now is cornerback Stefan Gilmore. He said, not surprised. A player like him, play that long.

National Football League is business. That's how you have to look at. it. So apparently guys in the building who were close with Tom, productive veterans, not surprised at all that he was leaving. Where Colin was right? The NFL, one of the things I love about it, it doesn't care about optics or Twitter. If it did, Kaepernick would be in the league. Colin Kaepernick would be here. NFL last week said, of course we're going to have a draft.

Why wouldn't we have a draft? It'll get pushback from the media. you can't worry about it. The free agency is a phone call business. You can have social distancing. The NFL draft is overwhelmingly a phone call business. The schedule release is a phone call business. You know, certain sports, the NBA is very tied to social media.

The NFL is not. The NFL is tied to Fox and NBC and CBS and ESPN because they feel like they're in business with those businesses. nobody's ever in business with Twitter. It turns on everybody. Where Colin was wrong. I don't get the Tiger King. Critics love it.

Number one on Netflix. It's featuring a beyond bizarre zookeeper with bleach blonde hair, a mullet, one word, polygamy. I don't get it. It is weird people, and I'm uncomfortable watching them. And it's often dumb people making really poor decisions. That's not interesting. strongly advised you watch documentaries that make you that you could learn something.

I'm learning nothing from Tiger King except I'm not going to Oklahoma. Well, you're already not allowed in Oklahoma. You need a pass to go there already. I get it strange and, you know, you drive by something on the freeway and, you know, it's got the car wreck quality where you look at something and you go, oh, my God, I got to watch. But eight episodes, I watch three. And I'm like, I can't, this isn't working for me. So I'm back to Ozark.

I just can't, I can't watch it. Well, you can't compare Ozarks to the Higer King. That's real. That may be. The Hager King is so fun. So weird. Everything doesn't have to be understood, you know. Sometimes it's just like we want to turn the brain off and watch some madness.

I get that. Where Colin was right. Well, I always said LeBron James is the Swiss Army knife of the NBA. I've never seen a player in my entire life, including Michael and Magic. that can do more things well. Apparently he's a lifeguard. Carmelo Anthony said, a few years ago, I'm on the banana boat,

middle of the ocean. He goes, I fall off. Braun jumps off the boat like he's McGiver. He jumps off the boat into the water, brings me back with one arm. He's swimming with the other arm, and he's carrying me in one arm, and I'm like 240 pounds.

He goes, that was special, said Carmelo. He saved my life. Yo, Braun, I appreciate that. You saved my life that day. So LeBron is not only the great Swiss Army knife, in basketball, he's McGiver out of basketball. Is he the most amazing guy ever?

That's an amazing story. It is. LeBron James does it all. All right, good stuff. Bob Costas. A zillion national sportscaster of the year awards, a million Emmys, you know, all that stuff. Bob Costas next.

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. 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 athletes 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. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice 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 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.

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 hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliver 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, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to the Clipper. on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down. Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew.

Pinky has financial issues. I like the bougie style of Housewives' show. I think it looks like it's going to be interesting. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real Housewives franchise, the drama, the alliances, and the T, everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching

it. I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this. At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. have you in. I've said this on more than one occasion when I get into my self-indulgent moments that you know when I was in my you know teens and 20s and early early 20s I was going to college and Bob Costas was the broadcaster that to me really hit the right tone he was smart word efficient thoughtful concise always had something interesting to say 28 Emmys eight-time sportscaster of the year and I know that he has a I'm not going to give away his address but he has New York and Los Angeles or homes.

Bob, are you in the warmer weather or out east right now? I'm in the warmer weather, Colin. It's pretty nice, isn't it? Right? Yeah, you know, a friend of mine said this to me about a week ago. He said, we're fortunate. We just have to adjust. Many other people are figuring out how to survive.

Right. And we ought to be aware of that. Even in a circumstance like this, which requires. some adjustment, there's a difference in degree as to what this does to us and what it might do to others. You know, Bob, there's so many different ways. You've done NBA, you've done baseball,

you've done NFL. Let's start with baseball because this virus is creating obviously some scheduling issues. This to me is a golden opportunity for baseball. I believe, and I think most reasonable people

do, that we live in a different environment now. The telephones and technology our attention spans are shortening. Urgency is really vital. Shortening seasons, not lengthening them is generally the answer. Is this an opportunity for baseball to say, you know what, 122 games, end a little sooner, get out of the way of football? Or is baseball in your mind so much about history that making those kind of moves

are irreparable damage to its lower in its history that you just stay with 162 games? this is what the sport is? Well, this year, everything's on the table. Whatever ideas they may have, whether we think they're sound ideas or whether they seem a little wacky, whatever ideas they have, if they're able to play baseball at all this year, and that is a big if, but if they're able to play, they might as well within reason, try out every idea that has been on the table over the last few years and see what flies. You know, Bob, it's funny.

Baseball's often been considered the thinking man's sports. which would make anybody believe that smart people adjust and evolve. But there's an old saying in sports, the NBA thinks of it first and baseball makes the most money on it. But the NBA has been, you know, we're for gambling, very progressive. Adam Silver has said, listen, we'll do anything. Baseball, and perhaps it's the strength of the players' union, can sometimes struggle adjusting over the last 10 to 20 years. It frustrates me. Does that ever frustrate you?

to some extent, but it doesn't make you part of the baseball Amish community to say that, you know, baseball is different in positive ways from other sports. It is more reliant on its history and its generational connections, not that those don't matter in other sports, but they matter much more in baseball. And that's really the reason why the steroid era hit baseball harder than almost anything else because it poisoned the record books and it distilled. destroyed some of those generational comparisons. It matters in baseball. Now, do I think they could say, look, we're going to 154 games or 156 once we're back to a completely normal situation, once the coronavirus situation is behind us? And who knows when that is? That may not be till next year. There may not be a single baseball game played this year. I'm sure you've discussed this. There may not be a football season. That's entirely possible. I'll have to wait and see on that.

Let's say baseball was to say, we're going to go to 154 games. It has some sort of historic coherence because that's what it used to be. Yep. we're going to alter the playoffs a little bit, but we're going to do it thoughtfully. Yeah, you want to involve as many teams as possible, and you want to involve their fan bases, therefore, but you can't do it in a way that compromises the meaning and the drama of the regular season. There's a balance there in baseball that's different from other sports. Yeah, you know, it's funny. My mom was, my late mother was British, and so I've been to England a few times. In England, cricket's called the national game of the UK, but soccer's more dynamic, more urgent, shorter games, so it's better on TV.

Therefore, the EPL, English Premier League dominates the country. In America, baseball is called the national pastime, but football is more urgent, more dynamic on television. We bet it. Therefore, in the UK and in America, the national pastime has been lapped by, you. sports that economically work for television and those economies. I've always felt this with baseball. In this time in America, for certainly young people 16 to 36, the pace may not be ideal. That does not mean, because it's got volume on its side, that does not mean it can be formidable.

It can't be lucrative. But like Disneyland, it's not the coolest thing, but you do feel good taking your kids to it. That I think it's okay for baseball not to be number one. Pepsi is a hell of a business, Bob. It doesn't have to be Coke. And I think baseball at times should be okay with that and not tinker that much. I agree with everything you just said. And while baseball is certainly not as culturally cool as the NBA,

overall, it is a very, very profitable business. And if we're going to compare every sport to football, it would be like saying, we're not going to let anybody in the Hall of Fame who isn't as good as Babe Ruth or Willie May. A lot of people had very great careers, undeniably great careers, who weren't as greater as impactful as Babe Ruth or Willie Mays. So baseball, actually, over the last generation, has seen its revenues explode exponentially. Yes. And even as they fret about what they are not, let's think about what they are.

Where was all its money coming from to sign Garrett Cole and a bunch of other people during this offseason? It's coming from a business that despite whatever its issues are, And all businesses have issues. It's coming from a business that's essentially very lucrative. When I was younger, which seems like eons ago, but when I was younger, teams used to boast when they passed the $1 million mark in season attendance. Now, even teams that are thought to be doing poorly with very few exceptions go over $2 million. A team like the Cardinals in a medium-sized market consistently draws more than $3 million.

And when you consider the national ratings, which are a concern and there are reasons for it, You have to also take into account the huge amount of revenue that baseball realizes from now having every game on local television, every game on regional television, those regional networks pump millions upon millions of dollars into baseball. So before you go screwing around with what is in pursuit of something you might not even be able to grab hold of that isn't, you've got to think about it. Doesn't mean you don't do anything, but I wouldn't rush into anything either. Like the way you can contextualize that, Bob Costas joining us here on The Herd, which is a unique time for us. And we appreciate Bob and Mark Cuban last week in Charles Barkley stopping by. I want to go into the Astros thing because I was a minor league baseball announcer. That was my first job out of college.

I was 21 years old. And I got one inning of play-by-play in Las Vegas in between $3 buffets and showgirls. I did baseball play-by-play. In fact, I think I met you there one time as you were doing something around the country. And I remember Jose Konseko played, Mark McGuire and Jose Konseco briefly played for the Tacoma Tigers, the A's AAA affiliate. And it was the first time steroids were,

I remember being upstairs at Cashman Field and somebody said, you know, that guy's on steroids. Now, I also worked for the Padres who were the AAA affiliate. The AAA affiliate was Las Vegas. Ken Kameniti was on that team. And word started spreading that Kameniti was on juice. And so when the Astros story came out. My contextualization was, yes, it's awful, but it does appear to be brief,

whereas I believe steroids was a 10 to 12 to 15 year issue, and people said, well, everybody was doing it. And I said, no, they were not. It ranges from 30% to 50%. So my takeaway is, do not take away the championship for the Astros. We did not take away titles for steroids, nor did we take away a lot of personal achievements. I didn't hear your final judgment on that. But do you think there are, contextually, arguments to be made that steroids were as bad as what the Astros did? I think there are arguments to be made that overall, to the points that you just made, that it was worse. It was more far-reaching. It was even more insidious, which is not to minimize what the Astros did. I think one of the big differences is

that it took a long time for players themselves to come around and say anything, if If they said anything at all, it was these vague kind of, well, we may have an overall problem. But they didn't call out names, and it took a long time for them to pressure the Players' Association. Don Fear and Gene Orza, as brilliant as they were, as successful as they were, and their mentor, Marvin Miller, took a long time to see the forests for the trees and to see that those players, also part of their membership, dues paying parts of their membership, many players, many believe a majority of players, were victims. of the steroid era. They were competing at a competitive disadvantage, or they were forced to use against their better judgment just to keep up. But it took a very long time for that to become

the consensus, whereas here, I think the general feeling among players is that there were 29 teams that were victims, and one team that was the perpetrator. Plus, you have social media now, and players who grew up in that environment and less constrained about putting their every random thought on Twitter or on Instagram. So it didn't take very long at all for this to reach critical mass in terms not only the public reaction, but the players' reaction. Now, my initial response to this was, just like Barry Bond's 762 home runs, people have a mental asterisk next to that, if they know anything at all, and they view Hank

Aaron differently than they view Barry Bond. And people will view the 2017 World Championship differently. But as this outcry continued and became more and more fervent, I'm open to the idea. Maybe Rob Manfred viewed it as too late and not necessary, but I would be open to the idea of some sort of record book, official record book notation that the 2017 World Series was not entirely authentic. Bob Costas joining us, I want to shift from baseball to the NBA where you were the voice of it for a long time and outstanding. In fact, many people don't remember my introduction to you was not hosting. It was play-by-play where you and Tony Kuback did the number two game, which I remember many times getting you. And that's when I first kind of like found this young Bob Costas, who was mid to late 20s,

had a very different feel from Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola, and I felt generationally I connected to it. But you did NBA and did it quite well. And, you know, I've always thought the three best basketball players I've seen in my life were Michael, number one. one, LeBron, two, Magic, three. And, you know, I'm in the opinion space where it's a list-driven, opinion-driven proposition on most days. I want you to go back to your career and just the archival ability you have, your encyclopedic mind on baseball, obviously, but to basketball.

I always thought the gap between Michael and Magic, because Magic's ability to elevate others, was a tad closer than he was given credit for. Go to the prime of both of their careers, which. you broadcast. Maybe my recollection is poor. Was the gap between Michael and Magic, Laurel Canyon or Grand Canyon? How big was it? I'm going to go with Laurel Canyon, and that takes nothing away from Michael Jordan. I am in agreement with the consensus, but all things considered, you've got to put centers, I think, in a different category. Yes.

Wilts or Kareem or a healthy Bill Walton or et cetera, et cetera. I don't know how you compare them to guards and forwards. But all things considered, I would say that Michael Jordan was the best. But he peaked during the time of branding and marketing and booming. Larry and Michael, and to a lesser extent, Dr. Jay may have started it. Larry and Magic, I meant, and Dr. Jay may have started it. But it really peaked during the 90s. So he came to prominence and did what he did, which was magnificent, at a time when all of it was amplified, globally, the dream team.

Nike, all that stuff. And so especially for younger viewers, he became the guy. That doesn't mean he wasn't the guy, but to your point, he wasn't that much better. Was he better? Yeah, give him the edge. But he wasn't that much better than Magic Johnson. He wasn't that much better than Larry Burr. Was he the best? Yes, in my opinion, he was. But it wasn't like Secretariat in the Belmont, where the guy who's second was closer to the horse at second, closer to 10th, than the secretariat. All right, two more questions. I want to address this because what is often printed is it doesn't have the, again, the tenor sensibility that sometimes you and I broadcasters, and you're still doing it at a very high level.

When you left NBC, my takeaway was it was very amicable. You had given them a great 25 years. they had helped you, you had helped them, and you were just kind of over the NFL, and you were totally forthright. I thought it was an incredibly healthy end-to-a-relationship. It did not necessarily land that way to some, and I felt watching one of my broadcasting heroes, Bob Costas, I felt, although perhaps punitive is the wrong word, that it bothered you, that it was viewed as some sort of real disconnect and some ugly divorce. I never sensed it. You were up front, they were up front and all relationships end.

I mean, good God, Belichick, Brady. It went 20 years. Let's just, let's accept it, put our arms around it and go, thank you. I never thought you in NBC, you were just like over it. And you've done well. Did it hurt you, Bob? Did it, did it bother you that it landed to some as

though either you were escorted or it was not a refined happy ending? It was ugly, sharp, and intense. Well, it was close to 40 years. And if you have the time here, I'll be as concise as I can. These are the facts, but I guess there are some people who can't believe that somebody who was then only in his mid-60s, and actually when the decision was made, I was just entering my 60s,

that that person would decide on his own that he wanted to leave the Olympics and he wanted to leave Sunday night football. There are some broadcasters, I guess, who will have to be pulled kicking and screaming out of the booth and who want their last breath to follow back after this, and then they keel over in the booth. That was not me. So in 2012, when things were just all, you know, wonderful with me and NBC, we signed a deal that said that after the 2016 Olympics that I would step aside. That was my plan.

They said to me, think about it. They put a clause in that said, if you want to continue on a year-by-year basis, you'll continue with the host of the Olympics and the host of Sunday night football. But I told them in 2015 that I was certain that I wanted to step aside and activate what they called an emeritus clause in a contract so that I would be to NBC sports, what Tom Brokaw has been since leaving the anchor chair to NBC News, and that was fine. But then as things played out, I began to feel ambivalently about the NFL. And some people think that I'm antagonistic toward it. No, I'm not. I recognize the drama, the excitement.

I admire the strategy, the shared experience, and I can still get caught up in a dramatic game. I don't really follow it that closely during the regular season, but I can get caught up in it, and I have fond memories of my time covering the NFL, and many of the best people I've met in sports have been associated with the NFL. But I came to feel at that stage of my career, why do I want to be the 1,000th guy talking about the NFL draft or speculating about why the left tackle won't be available on Sunday night? People have that covered. What, if anything, can I do that is of quality, but is somewhat different, at least on network television? And I thought it was the journalistic aspect of that. But the NFL is so powerful that some of what I wanted to do, understandably, might not have made business sense for NBC.

So, for example, on the last Super Bowl that I was to have covered, I didn't care at all whether I was the host. I'd hosted six or seven Super Bowls. I agreed at that point that I was not the right guy to do it. I understood why they might have initially wanted me to do it because they've been associated with it for so long. And for a huge audience that expands beyond hardcore fans to casual fans, I might have been more recognizable than someone else who would sit in that chair. But then they decided, given your ambivalence about football, maybe you're not the right guy. I immediately agree.

But my suggestion was, why don't you have me interview Roger Goodell? You got a six-hour pre-game show. have him come on for a real interview with all the stuff that's going on around the league Colin Kaepernick CTE franchise relocation this controversy or that controversy this would be not only newsworthy not only journalistically responsible but very good television yeah and they asked giddell i'm sure they asked i'm sure they didn't lie to me and they immediately were turned down and at that point i'm just thinking myself other than and i don't mean this flippantly other than when Muhammad Ali passed away or when Al Davis died and they wanted to put his career in perspective,

other than moments like that, other than Jerry Sandusky, which actually was done under the banner of NBC News, what is it that I'm doing here other than people being familiar with me that really moves the needle? Not all that much. So like you said, even the best of relationships reach a point of diminishing returns. The thing that I regret Colin is that a lot of people in this atmosphere, without understanding the context that I just laid out, speculated that they fired me, that they forced me out, that I left in a huff. None of that stuff is true. But I will take this much of the blame. And I apologize for going on this long, but it's a chance to explain it. And now people will misinterpret what I've just said, even though I'm speaking plain English.

But nonetheless, here's where I was at fault. Mark Faineruwada of ESPN, one of the most outstanding sports journalists of his generation, League of Denial, Game of Shadows, those are significant contributions to sports journalism. I had never met Mark, but I was obviously an admirer of his. He called me up, and this was when I was still at NBC, but I was kind of transitioning to that Emeritus role. And his proposal was, look, given the fact that you're going to be less visible, something will be lost because nobody in network sports. We're not talking about Bryant Gumbull and company on HBO or outside the lines or E60 on ESPN. But nobody in over-the-air network sports does quite the things that you do.

And I'd like to do an appreciation of your career. Well, anyone would be flattered by that. And so we sat down and did it. And everything that Mark did was completely legitimate and completely accurate and honest if you read the lengthy piece that he wrote about it on ESPN's digital platform. But the piece that aired on television had a focus, again, it was accurate, it had a focus on why I didn't do that last Super Bowl. Right. And yeah, and you know, Colin, I've been around long enough. I should have realized this is always true.

If someone asks you to comment for a biography of someone you really admire, you have to be aware that if you say 50 things, the one or two things that seem a little critical or a little less than a bouquet of roses could be the only thing that appear. So out of a two hours sit down, the part about the NFL and the little disagreement that I had in that respect with NBC, that part for the producers, moved the needle. And that became, that became the focus, which made it seem to many people as if my overall take was, or the overall take was Costas is the hero who's standing up for journalism, and NBC are the corporate villains here. I never believe that. I don't think it's true. I'm very appreciative of all the years I spent there. They elevated me. I hope on occasion I elevated their presentations. And I have great appreciation and respect for the entire Well, look, if you're a thinking person, you can't be good with 100% of what happens.

You can have your own point of view. Right. But I was good with 95% of it. Let's put it that way. Yeah. Well, said. I am up against the clock, which is a... Well, I pushed you there.

Well, yeah. I really had fun, Bob. I, you know, I've admired you for a long time, and I appreciate you've taken the time today. You have a closer relationship to Al Michaels, who I asked to dinner, but he never returns my call. so say hi to Al. I know where he's eating dinner, by the way, when we're allowed to eat dinner. I know exactly the table he's eating dinner.

Oh, that's right. He's got about three places he goes. Talk about a creature of habit. No vegetables. Same corner, same restaurant. Bob, thank you for your time and your insight, and thank you again. Thank you, Colin, for giving me the time

to lay out the whole story. I hope I never have to address it again. All right, thanks, Bob. Take care, man. All right, good stuff. So that was a long interview. Joy is going to have Herdline News. So the interview, we had a lot of things to broach.

So let's go with Joy after this. We'll take a break. We've had time the last couple of weeks to have these long interviews, which I generally don't have time to. And I'm enjoying the heck out of them. So that was Bob Costas. Bucky Brooks comes on at 1115. I'm going to argue with him for 10 minutes about Cam Newton and Tyrod Taylor.

Joy Taylor's next. It's The Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, Weekdays at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart 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. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered.

Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo 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 therapy. 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,

and Ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as 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 Clever Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Clifford 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 with 42. Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to. to the Clifford Show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown

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Good stuff. Do hope you enjoy the longer interviews. We're doing this for obvious reasons. So I'm trying to get guests like Bob Costas and Mark Cuban, who can give me a variety of different angles and thoughtful interpretations of their world. And I really enjoyed it. And I've enjoyed Barkley and Mark Cuban and Bob Costas, and we'll try to bring you more and more.

Guest bookers are working their tails off, and here is Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, we're all spending a little extra time on social media these days, Colin. So is Cam Newton. He continues to post his off-season workouts on social media, showing teams that he is ready for his next opportunity in the league over the weekend.

He shared photos and videos from his latest throwing session with the caption, People Love a Good Underdog Story. this ain't that I've been a dog and he had another post yesterday and he used the caption there is a pain that use you and there's a pain that you use so basically he's just

completely abandons all fashion posts and anything other than football and letting everyone know that he is working out I like that for the record imagery matters this matters you know this was my knock on cap and obviously Cam's a much better player than cap My knock on cap was, if you want to be in the league, then you better tell me every day because there's a million college quarterbacks coming out.

If Cam is, I saw two workout videos for Cam and my takeaway was, that's right. That's what you do. I want to see you sweating. Well, Cap would post videos too, but it's, I think like for this situation, it's become very obvious that people are looking for reasons to be extremely critical of Cam Newton during this time. So he has said, fine, I'm going to give you what you want. Yep. This is me working out, running steps. I'm training all the time.

I'm telling you that I have a chip on my shoulder. I have something to prove. I'm fully dedicated. Yes. And I like it. I mean, I don't really think that because somebody, like we make fun of people, like influencers or whatever who post, you know, every piece of broccoli they eat or whatever. You know what I mean?

Like if you didn't post it, then you didn't really have lunch, right? Like, that's the era that we live in now. But if you want to control the narrative, then just put it out there. Listen, it's branding. Leagues have branding. Why can't players? And it's sometimes you have to, I mean, if you go look at Kanye West branding 15 years ago and Kanye West today, it's like he's a different artist. Like, this is part of social media.

I tell my daughter this. Use it. Don't let it use you. Absolutely. And as long as you keep the mentality, you'll be good. We miss the old Kanye. According to Fox bet, the odds for Cam Noon's next team, the chargers minus 145, Jaguars plus 450. dolphins plus 475, Broncos plus 650, and the Patriots still have odds of plus 700.

And we'll talk to Bucky Brooks later about that as well. So Tom Brady is hoping for a fresh start and a chance to win another Super Bowl in Tampa Bay this year, which Quinn Stanley Super Bowl is in Tampa Bay this year. But Hall of Fame running back to Rale Davis is not so sure that Brady will find instant success with the bucks. I'm not the person who says that you instill, you install Tom Brady in that system, that offense, or that club. and everything is all peaches and cream. I've seen it too many times because there's too many variables

that are not even with, you know, a lot of these things are not even in times control. And we're talking about a 43-year-old quarterback, going to a new place. I think people have to recognize when you talk about teams for like football, it is difficult to go somewhere, elevate the entire,

not only team, but the culture there. You've got to change from, you know, just the people there in the locker room who probably just don't, are not good fit, and that takes time to flush those guys out and get guys in a lot of who are. I agree with him, but I do think that that's why one of Tom Brady's requests when he joined the team was to get the numbers of every guy on the team.

Because Tom Brady's been doing this a long time. He knows exactly what it takes to establish a culture, whatever that culture may be. And coming from a culture as strict and corporate and controlling as the Patriots, that he, I'm sure, can tell from talking to someone. what kind of individual they are and where they're going to fit in with whatever culture that, you know, he and Bruce Ariens have decided they want to establish there, which like we've said, I'm sure will be fun and a little more loose than the Patriots, but still needs to be a winning culture.

Yeah. So LeBron's greatness on the court is undeniable, but his teammate Alex Caruso says it's how LeBron acts off the court that doesn't get noticed enough. Great teammate, first and foremost, just like, like, good person. I don't think he gets enough credit for that. You know, everybody likes to analyze his basketball game so much. And there's a lot to analyze because he's very good. But he's a heck of a teammate.

Great person, just one of the guys. And then obviously his basketball kind of talks for itself, right? But being able to play with him has been special. Yeah, I mean, you know, by the way, we pick apart LeBron for a statement here, a statement there. He is hand. If you go look at his childhood to today, he has handled himself. brilliantly. There's no way I could have been given that fame and money at 21 and handle it.

LeBron has handled it. He's a great teammate. He just, by the way, sometimes he gets tired of owners. Players like him, he gets tired of owners. He is the most remarkable superstar we've ever had, probably in the history of sports. I agree. When you consider everything that he has had laid on him from the time he entered into the league, really before he even entered into the league,

He's never had tremendous off-the-court scandals to discuss. He does amazing work in every community that he's in. He elevates everyone around him. You can be critical of basketball or whatever. But as far as an individual, he's very difficult to be critical of. I mean, what was the most dramatic thing, the decision where he raised a million dollars for charity? Yeah, and people, like he talked about the China situation, but it's like, folks, everybody gets in trouble on Twitter. If you're a public figure, you could be a president, you can be a senator.

Look how often they step in it. The idea that people are going to verbally be perfect their entire career as a public face. You're going to step in it once in a moment. And he's about as perfect as you could ask for. Yeah. Considering the circumstances. Yeah. Joy with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. You know, I was thinking about the seven or eight most talented rosters in the NFL. I was going to name him next. and there's one, I just can't figure out what I'm supposed to make of them. And because all the other seven bring back everybody. But what happens when you're super talented and you have a bunch of new faces

and it's the Cleveland Browns and I can't figure out what to do with them next year? Plus, Bucky Brooks, he and I argue about Cam Newton, I suppose. That's coming up around the corner. I want to thank again, Bob Costas, Hour 3 in L.A. next. Be sure to catch live editions of The Horde, weekdays, and New Neuton. Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Oh, here we go. Hour three. We are live in Los Angeles. And this is the hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports

Radio, FS1, Sirius XM Channel 83. Joy Taylor is joining me. We're moving things around today. We moved Heardline news to the last segment. Bob and Kostas and I were just chatting. I looked up and said, well, that's a 28-minute interview. Got to move, Joy, keep her in the show. Joy is joining me. We're trying to figure out eventually, I do think the show

is better when you can see Joy instead of a random, mysterious voice. I don't need a mysterious virus and a mysterious voice in my life. I need to see Joy Taylor on television. Joy Hour. How was your weekend, by the way? That was good. It was chill. laid back like everyone else.

Do you watch you watch? Did you go on some walks? Yes, yes, walks, walks. And we were just discussing you, you've been losing weight. I've been doing the opposite of that. Really? So I think I'm going to have to start picking it up into a run. Do you have?

I'm working out in my house, but. Yeah, you have nice walks around where you're at, right? Don't you have parks around? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, parks are close, but, you know, it's, there's plenty of space. We are very blessed to live in Los Angeles that is much more spread out than some, you know,

metropolitan areas around the country. So we do have lots of lots of, lots of, lots of, fresh air and space to walk around and around. Not as much vertical living in Los Angeles as perhaps New York. You know, one of the reasons for years and years, the Cleveland Brown fans do not like me. I think it's unjust and unreasonable. I was right on Freddie Kitchens. I was right on John Dorsey, and I still believe that Baker Mayfield's a franchise quarterback,

but was a reach at number one. But people believe what they want to believe and they think I'm negative. I just think I'm, I don't know, accurate. it. One of the reasons I have said over and over and argued with Browns fans is over the course of time, smarter people will appear to get luckier, but if you run a cohesive, coherent business, it's not luck, that there's lots of bad breaks in the world, this virus, things happen that are unforeseen, and the companies that are patient will win. And this is why I've said to Cleveland for years and year, stop firing coaches. Just give them more time because the imagery within the NFL industry is that

Cleveland, you don't want to raise your daughters there. You can't take your family there. They'll embarrass you. They'll fire you. And here's a prime example. I'm thinking about this this morning. We're not going to have OTAs. I think it's almost guaranteed. And we'll have abridged, shortened camps. So this is going to be a year in which we're going to have, there's going to be an advantage. There's always an advantage for veteran teams that are well run. But I think this year, more than ever. The well-run organizations, the Baltimore's, the Philadelphia Eagles, the New England Patriots, although they lost Brady, are just going to flourish because they have stability, many of the same people. And I was thinking this morning, once again,

Cleveland has a golden opportunity this year, and I think they'll underachieve. And I'll give an example. This morning, I sat there and I thought, what are the eight most talented rosters in the NFL? Take the coach out, take the GM out, best rosters. Now, I put them in order. But, you know, the order can be argued. But I think the best eight rosters, Baltimore is the best roster in the NFL. They were number one scoring last year. They've upgraded their defensive front, and they have the best secondary by a mile in the league. I think the Minnesota Vikings are probably the second overall best roster in the league. They keep winning games with Case Keenham and Kirk Cousins and a pretty tough division. I'd go 49ers, Chiefs, Chargers, Browns, Saints, and Steelers.

just rosters, and there's a lot of them close. Remember, as much as the Chargers, you know, people roll their eyes, go two years ago when they were playing the Patriots, I think, at 12 and 4. But what's funny is the team, because I think the Chargers with Tyrod Taylor are going to be a very good team. He's going to be more mobile than Philip Rivers and doesn't turn it over, and they have a great roster. Cleveland's once again, the team that has a golden opportunity with all this talent,

first time coach, first time coordinators, first time Kevin Stefansky's ever been in the NFL outside of Minnesota, maybe he and Joe Judge more than ever need time. They need space, they need time, they need days, and they're not going to have it. I think Cleveland's got a top seven roster, and this is why I kept saying, Atlanta Falcons, keep your coach, New York.

York Jets, keep your coach. So the Jets this year, same head coachback, same quarterback, same defensive coordinator, same offensive coordinator, same playbook. They've had a new GM, Joe Douglas, who's been in 11 months. So the Jets, as long as they can patch up their offensive line, they're in the process of doing a very good job at that, and C.J. Mosley is healthy. It's repetition. And you could say, Colin, this virus was unforeseen.

so are injuries over the course of a season in the NFL. But if you're patient and smart, it always benefits stability. Yes, we're not going to see anything quite like this virus. But there are lots of obstacles that present themselves over the course of three or four or five years in the NFL. The virus is certainly not analogous to anything else. But when you look at the talented rosters in the NFL and I say to myself, I think Cleveland's like six or seven, but they're the only one, I think they're not going to going to win. They're just, I don't know what to do with them. They're not going to win.

Another team, the Atlanta Falcons, the Atlanta Falcons kept their coach. So now they'll have the same offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, playbook, head coach, quarterback, general manager. So I think both Atlanta and the Jets could have easily fired their coach. But they were patient. And my point is, in any business, give promising employees another year. Keep them for another year. It's much better to be patient and wrong than what can really be a catastrophe, impatient and wrong in Cleveland's case. So now not only do you get the wrong coach,

but you have created a sense that you won't give anybody two real years. And so Atlanta may end up firing their coach. But in the league, people think of the Atlanta Falcons and think, Oh, Arthur Blank, he gives his GM, has had some average drafts. Matt Ryan's, you know, had some years that were great, not so great. The coach, be patient. Take a deep breath. Don't overreact.

Because I believe Cleveland absolutely has a top 6, 7 roster in this league. And yet they're the only roster of those good rosters. I don't think you can make it work. New coach, new coordinator, new playbook, new system, still young quarterback. I mean, they had chemistry issues last year, and you're not going to have OTAs. We're going to have a short and preseason. Be patient. It matters.

A second story is I was talking to somebody yesterday, two people actually, and the first person said, I'm hearing New England is really all in on Jared Stidham, so I made a call to an exec in the league. And he said the same thing. And then I read a story this morning where Stefan Gilmore and Devin McCordy are both saying, is Patriot DBs. This dude's got a hose. He's got a big arm. We watched them in practice. He can tear us up. He's really, really good. And it got me thinking to what Jordan Palmer came on last week. Now, Jordan's the brother of Carson. He does this. He's dealing right now. I've been told Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Kyle Allen are all living down in Orange County right now, believe it or not. The Bill's quarterback.

Now the Redskins potentially backup quarterback, the Jets quarterback. They've decided to room down in Orange County. They're working with Jordan Palmer. They're training together. He's terrific. So he talks about Jared Stidham and just how good he potentially could be. In terms of just spinning the ball, throwing it, velocity, how efficient his spiral is, control accuracy. You know, you named a couple of guys that worked with. I also worked with a lot of other guys, too, that are going to Pro Bowls and, you know, one that just won a Super Bowl.

And he's at the upper echelon in terms of arm talent. You know, last off season, he's in the in the – in the – quarterback meeting room with Tom Brady and Brian Hoyer. 31 years NFL experience and 27 or something like that in that offense. Just as much information as you can possibly have in a room of how to run that system, plus Josh McDaniels, plus some of these other guys. In terms of sitting for a year and learning, he just went to MIT. And it got me thinking if New England is out of the quarterback derby,

and by the time they draft, the best prospects are probably gone. they're certainly no better than Jared Stidham. So why draft Jared Stidham if you have Jared Stidham? It'd be different if you had Lamar Jackson or you had somebody that you thought that was, you know, like a Tua. But if you have Jared Stidham and you look at Jacob Eason and think Stidham's Jacob Eason, but he's been in our camp longer, what's the point? That wouldn't be a draft pick I'd make. So we know Cincinnati, Miami, and the Chargers probably draft a quarterback. What does that mean?

it means that either Jordan Love or Justin Herbert, because we know Cincinnati's taken Joe Burrell, and we know Miami's probably taken to them, whoever the Chargers don't take, either Justin Herbert or Jordan Love, and I don't know, is going to drop. Because outside of Jacksonville, and they have two first-round picks,

and they apparently are eyeing a defensive tackle because they lost Callas Campbell, and they like Gardner Minshue, it means one of these quarterbacks, one of these really talented guys, Jordan, Love or Justin Herbert, are going to drop because there's eight or nine or ten or twelve teams that do not need a quarterback.

The teams that have it, need it, are at the top and may move up. And it was really interesting to think about this. I'm going to keep, I'm going to throw a team out. So it would be very hard for a team like Green Bay to move up to 10. But if Green Bay is in the 20s and nobody needs

a quarterback, and I don't know who the charges are taken, you're going to either have Jordan Love or Justin Herbert in the mid-first round available. Indianapolis needs a quarterback. They traded away their first-round pick. They traded it away. And I saw a story yesterday where the Packers be prepared for the Packers moving up. I want you to consider something with the Packers. Number one, they had two big issues last year.

thought offensively, center and tight end. They addressed both. That's why they let Jimmy Graham go. They got a very good tight end at a Texas A&M and a very good center, I believe, out of Mississippi state. I couldn't be wrong. They also need a wide receiver, but Green Bay doesn't need to take a wide receiver at the end of the first round because there's so many wide receivers.

So they can address their primary concern this year. They addressed their two concerns last year. And Green Bay has a good enough roster. they can take a quarterback and have him sit. Green Bay is not a desperate roster. They really needed a center and tight end. They got it. They need a receiver absolutely available after the first pick.

Indianapolis no longer has a first pick. So if Cincinnati takes Burrow and Miami goes with Tua and the Chargers, my guest this morning is Jordan Love. He's developmental. They feel comfortable with Tyrod Taylor for a year. Taylor's kind of the mature athlete, the mentor, who I think to teach Jordan Love, who needs a year to watch a system. You're going to have a Jordan Love potentially dropping this draft.

And I just want to repeat, Jordan Love at Oregon, 95 touchdowns, 23 picks. 6.25, 225, good armed, great student, highly productive, high character, 64% completion percentage. I'm just saying we see this about every second or third draft. Aaron Rogers fell in the draft. You see one of these really good guys fall in the draft. And this is not a shot. I know what you're saying.

Colin, you are picking on Aaron Rogers. No, I'm not. Nobody was picking on Brett Farve when the Packers took Aaron Rogers. Aaron's had a couple of injuries. His numbers last couple of years with two different coaches, slightly declining. Remember, Green Bay is smart.

Green Bay is a smart franchise. Smart franchises. Green Bay doesn't have the ability right now or the draft capital, maybe to move up to top 10. But one of these guys is dropping. Keep your eye on Green Bay moving up 7, 8, 9 spots because they have the players to do it. They got the players to do it.

Give out a player and a couple picks, move up a few spots. My guy's coming up, Bucky Brooks. I'm going to have to argue. After Bob Costa is, and I had a very, I mean, very engaging conversation, no yelling, no screaming, a lot of agreements. Bucky Brooks and I are going to have to argue. He's a cam guy, and I think Tyrod Taylor, last four years, is better. I do. Healthier and better. We'll talk about that coming up. Discover matches all the cash back you earn on your credit car first year. So all, all the cash back,

no limit whatsoever. It's available on 99% of, send of the credit cards, places that take them, they take Discover. So limitations apply. Go to Discover.com slash yes 2019 Nielsen report. The Hurd. 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. Welcome back. Good to have you in. Bucky Brooks, a former NFL defensive back and a scout for the Panthers and Seahawks. We agree on most stuff. Excuse me. I spilled some water there. You know, it used to be, you know, it's funny, Joy.

I was thinking about this. Like, I'll, you know, once or twice a day, I cough. Like, you know, you have a handful of peanuts or something that goes down wrong. Every time I cough now, I'm like, all right, stabilize. How do you feel? Is it a strong cough? And I'm thinking, I've got to stop this nonsense. That I know all of this is driving some anxiety with all of us.

I wake up, I swear to God, if I'm a little warm, which I am 30 nights a year, I just opened the window. I think, okay, I've got a fever. I've got the virus. My point being is, you know, post 9-11, we could go to movies and concerts. Now this is trapping us in our houses, our apartments, and our condos, and we're reading, reading, reading more about it. And it does create a certain level of anxiety.

And I'm not really somebody that I'm not, I'm more glass half full than empty, but there are moments for all of us where a gentle cough this morning and I think, okay, breathe, breathe, how do you feel? breathe, breathe. I think mostly we're all going to be okay eventually here. Let me bring in Bucky Brooks. So your article this morning, I want to do specifically, I want to talk about Tyrod Taylor and Cam Newton to start this.

So there is a sense that Cam Newton's great and Tyrod Taylor is at best serviceable. But my argument is since he was in the MVP season, Cam has not been the same quarterback. He relied never on great mechanics or accuracy, but his body. and it's let him down, and I still think it's letting him down. That in the last 46 starts for both, and I would argue, CAMs been surrounded by a better coach, mostly, and better players, Tyrod Taylor has a better record, significantly better touchdown to interception rate,

significantly better passer rating, and a slightly better completion percentage in the last 46 starts, which is not a small sample size. That is like three seasons, in that the initial cam, the college cam, MVP Cam way better. But post-M-VP, injured Cam, Bucky, I don't think there's a sizable gap between Tyrod's ability to distribute, his pre-Snap excellence, and the size and gravitas of Cam. How wrong am I?

I mean, I don't know if you're wrong. I would say that Tyrae-Roy Taylor is an underrated quarterback. Tyrae-Roy Taylor ended the Robbie Buffalo, got the Buffalo building to the playoffs. Yep. and for all of his work, he was dismissed. technically, never really given a shot in Cleveland because Baker Mayfield was the number one overall pick was going to get the job.

Tyra Taylor is a certain quarterback in his league. I think the difference is in Cam Moon and Tyrae Taylor, are you one that wants higher ceiling or higher floor? Basically, you're kind of to enjoy. You say you tend to look at the glass half full as opposed to half-fifty. That would lead me to believe that you want a higher ceiling. ceiling, which would be Cam Newton.

Higher floor may be Tyra-R-Taylor in terms of safety and confident and knowing exactly what you're getting. You may not get the wildplay but you could get more consistency and so it just depends on where you lean at. I believe the conversation isn't really

about the charges though. Because I think Anthony Lynn knows Tyra-R-Taylor. There's a comfort level in that. Cam would give them star power but sometimes the trust factor exceeds everything else when it comes to who you want to be your starting quarterback. Also, I do believe Cam is still a celebrity.

If you're the Chargers and you're like, listen, we're going to take a quarterback, and he's probably going to start in a year. I can make the argument that Tyrod Taylor won't overwhelm a new quarterback. He's got a little bit of an Alex Smith mentor capability, whereas Cam walks into the room and sucks the oxygen out of the film room. so could I not argue if I'm the Chargers? You know what?

I'm going in a different direction any way in a year. Tyrod's a better fit with a 23-year-old college quarterback. You know, a lot of it kind of depends on how you want to deal with it. And I'm going to be honest. Like a lot of what we'll see with the quarterback, Cam and even James, because then we talk about that later,

it comes down to the comfort level that executives and coaches have with Cam Newton sitting across from them as they're facing the franchise. You can say a lot of things about Cam, but Cam has won a lot of games. In this league, he won a lot of games in college. Cam is a bright light when it comes to being a star player. But if you're not comfortable being able to coach stars and everybody can't coach start, he's not going to be the right guy for you.

However, if you are a guy that is willing to coach a star and willing to kind of play to what Cair Newton does really well, I think you can get a very undervalued play at right now because what I'm hearing doesn't match up with what I'm seeing from Cam Newton because we dismiss the injuries and how they impact people, but Ken Newton process the shoulder injury when he was playing in the North Turner in 2018. Can Newton was playing at the MVP level, completing over 67% of his passes, 13 to 4, down to interception ratio. Since that point, he's falling off a cliff,

but he fell off a cliff because he was hurt. Now, he tried to be the tough guy and played through the injury, whereas if he didn't play, he wouldn't have those same concerns. He is still an MVP-calibular player potentially with the talent. We just got to make sure that we tell him. You know, momentum, Bucky Brooks joining me is a real thing. You know, if you took Charlie Weiss at Notre Dame and his last year was his first year,

but then he started winning. He would have been a coach much longer. He started hot, two good years, then cooled off. So the direction you're heading matters. I'll give you an example. Jarrett Stidham had a very good sophomore year at Auburn, but they had some injuries, coaching issues. Then he didn't have a very good year the following year,

and we think of him as kind of a backup lower-level prospect. Joe Burrow had an average junior year in a great senior year, and he's the next Joe Montana. Is it possible? Jared Stidham has a better arm than Joe Burrow. All the scouts I've talked to, that's not even, that's not close. Stidham's the bigger arm guy. Is it possible?

Let's not worry about Burrow here. But we're undervaluing Jarrett Stidham because maybe we were watching at the beginning of his, or at the end of his career, Tua. George had a better team. And we've seen Joe Burrow, and we forgot about this kid at operas. who actually, in the year that he actually had some help at Auburn, his sophomore year, was very productive. What do you know about this guy? I was told yesterday the Patriots are rolling with for at least one and probably two years.

Look, Jared Stidham is a good player. Jared Stidham is super talented. Jared Stubham started at Bader, went to Auburn. As you alluded to, like the first year at Auburn, it popped. Different play caller. They ran the offense a little differently. kind of played through his turn of second year, play calling change. It didn't necessarily look like the same player.

He certainly has the talent to be able to be an effective starting quarterback. He certainly can be an effective starting quarterback in that system. We have seen the Patriots modify and adapt their system to help quarterbacks thrive. And so if you kind of get what the Patriots like their quarterbacks to do, meaning play smart, take care of the football, don't give it away to the other team, make the play that are there to be made, he'll be fine.

The only thing that I am, why I put it to Paul's button on Jared Stidham? Because when I look at that Patriots room, right now that quarterback room in Jared Stidham and Brian Hoyer, I'll be honest what you call it. If you present that to a bunch of defensive coordinators around the league, I don't know how many defensive coordinators are going to be shaking in their boots at the prospect of playing this,

team with that quarterback, either one of them. And so I just don't know if the new and the Patriots are done with the quarterback situation based on how it plays out right now. Finally, we were talking about this year because probably no OTAs and a shortened preseason

that usually I can look at seven or eight rosters, the best rosters in the NFL and think they're going to win as long as they have a capable head coach. I actually said today, I think Cleveland's a top eight roster in the NFL, but they just got a new coach. He's never been out of Minnesota, a new coordinator, new defensive guys, new GM, new front office.

And I said, they're the one really great roster. I don't even, I think, will probably underperform because, you know, here we have this shortened season potentially in training camp. Am I overstating the Brown's roster? No, the Brown's rosters is talented as they come. Like the Brown's roster is loaded. I mean, they have everything that you could want on offense. They got a big time running back.

They got receivers. galore and just Austin Hooper like they have talent. The quarterback regressed a little bit but good

office coordinated Alex Van Pelt Chester Fancy putting in that office like maybe they can get it going. The problem that you have

this is very similar to the 2011 lockout where you didn't have all of the OTAs and we also even worked so you kind of have to get the ground

running. This is where experience matters from the coaching staff. Having been there, having done, having put together plans, having figured out like this is enough but not too much. We can be really good with this during the first quarter of the season and continue to build it out.

We will see with the ground, is Kevin Sophansky have enough kind of in the reservoir to figure out how to slowly build this team where they can get better over the course of the year, where they're playing their best ball down the stretch. And if they can get in the tournament, that kind of, it could certainly pop at a level that we hadn't seen. By the way, when is it legal? Like if I'm Kevin Stefansky, can I get my playbook to Baker Mayfield now? When am I allowed to do that?

See, man, like, I think everyone is still kind of working through that virtual learning thing, whatever. Normally, you wouldn't be able to get together into, like, the all-season program will start right around now. And at that point, you can begin to send stuff around. And talking to some people today, they're still trying to figure out how they're navigating. Zoom, virtual stuff, what can I send, how we can get this going. But make no mistake, the best teams are trying to figure out how to work around the challenges, and they're going to put their team in the best position to succeed regardless of the circumstances. And so it's one of those things that they're really smart coaches are already on it.

They're hounding the IT guys to figure out how can we get the stuff that we need to get to our players so they can be successful. Yeah, FaceTime after television is the greatest invention of my life. Scouts, GMs, coaches, players, get on FaceTime. I can watch a lot, and it's crystal clear. Bucky Brooks. I mean, I'm telling you, it's, you know, just if I was Kevin Stefansky, I'd say, listen, here's my, put a whiteboard up, and I would put the phone on the whiteboard.

I'd have my IT guys put it up perfectly, and I'd literally host a class for 15 minutes. Say, here's, here's our concepts. because I honestly think there's some really good teams here. But if you, like the Browns have all this talent and they don't have any continuity, you know, some see obstacles, some see opportunities. We got to go. Bucky, good talking to you. Hey, thanks so much, Randi, O'Callagli, Bob Costas, and Bucky Brooks.

Good stuff today. Today's health concerns, more important than ever to take care of your body. How about MDrive Elite? Go to MDrive4Mend.com. The code is heard. Refind Your Prime. Immunity support and elite testosterone. Drive. Here's Joy Taylor with the news.

No. This is the herd line news. The NFL is going forward with the draft next month, as we know. So teams are going to have to adapt to finishing up their player evaluations remotely. And 49ers, GM, John Lynch, isn't letting the new normal slow his team down. He said this draft is absolutely huge for us. So there's no excuses, no explanations. We've got to get our work done.

They have seven total picks in this draft. They have the 13th overall pick from the Colts in the DeForest Buckner trade. So that's big. And they also have the 31st pick in the first round. So they have two first round picks after just going to the Super Bowl. So I like this mentality. I'm with you. I think, look, we were very blessed.

I'm very happy that we're both healthy. And we both live in Los Angeles where we have lots of fresh air and place to walk around. We both have our jobs. We both have stuff to talk about. So I feel very grateful. So I'm trying to look at this time as an opportunity. for me to do things and, you know, just take advantage of whatever it is, the space that we're in. But I do understand it is, it's a huge challenge for NFL teams to go into a draft with the mentality that they have to do everything different from what they've normally done in a space where you're already going up against half the picks being a bust anyway.

But I like this mentality that it's not an excuse. or sometimes in life there are excuses and then there are reasons. We know that there are just going to be some bus in this draft. And maybe it's because they're just bused or maybe it's because they didn't have the same evaluation process they have. Everybody's dealing with the same thing. It's like playing in lousy weather. It's raining for both teams.

Like, okay, we're all at a disadvantage. When everybody's at a disadvantage, I'll still bank on the smartest people making better decisions than the less smart people. And I think the Ravens and the pay. Patriots, you know, the Packers, the Vikings, well-run teams, I think will flourish in this time. Smart will still win regardless of limitations. Yes. And to me, the only teams that are truly at a disadvantage is what we've talked about a lot when we were just talking about.

Teams that have new coaches or new offensive coordinators or defensive coordinators or special teams teams coordinators, yes, or are bringing in rookie quarterbacks. Like, we understand that. I think everyone is going to look at those teams with a little bit of wiggle room towards how they come out at least in the beginning of the season. So with all the pre-draft visits canceled, Tua will have to get creative to prove to NFL teams that he's making progress with his recovery.

He was originally planning to have his own pro day on April 9th, but now Tua and his team are considering using a live stream or taped version of his pro day workout for the NFL instead, and he's going to continue to get medical checks and scans that are going to be provided to team doctors electronically on request. Now, I know a lot of teams would like to physically, be able to evaluate him, not only watching his pro day, but have their doctors evaluate him. But I don't know how far that really goes.

I mean, for me, being a Dolphins fan and missing out on Drew Brees because of a team doctor evaluation and, you know, basically changing the course of my sports life for the past, whatever 10, 15 years. I don't know how much I give into that to begin with. I mean, obviously teams would feel more comfortable, like it's a doctor that. they trust. But I do like the idea that they're being innovative and, you know, trying to find a new way to get teams information on Tua. But at this point, it is what it is with Tua. Like if you're going, you know what his, his injuries have been. You know what he's capable of

in college football. You have, if it's, if he's there available for you and need a quarterback, you're taking Tua. It's a risk no matter what. So I don't know how much, how much more information you're going to get. Okay. So you're out on Tiger King, but it's obviously a fan favorite. Yeah. And, uh, well, I wouldn't say you're out. on it. You just, you're just not as high as the rest of the world. Yeah, I mean, it's strange, erratic people making weird decisions. I think it's fine. I, the critics, America loves it. America love making a murder. I love that. I thought it was brilliant. I thought it was a mystery. You were playing part-time detective. This is, you want to watch a bunch of

weird people. I'm not as high on it. Well, I mean, there's just a lot going on on the day. Well, Gardner Minchew is having some fun with its popularity. He posted a picture to Instagram of his face, photoshopped onto Joe Exotic. And he's hugging a Jaguar instead of a tiger with the title, Jaguar King, mustache, madness, and mayhem. I don't know if you can see. I'm going to show you via Skype, the little edit there. Oh, that is very Gardner Minchew. It is very Gardner Minshu.

He's got a little outlaw quality to him. Gardner Manchu. He has a little Joe Exotic swag to him. And he posted the caption, Here, Kitty. Kitty. Hachgaguar King. So he's obviously into it as well. I just think it's fun and it's a little escape from whatever our reality is right now,

but everybody's into it. That, that I think is a really good point. In this reality, which is depressing, to watch something that's crazy and fun is like refreshing. And it's kind of in a weird way, replace sports for us because if we're all watching the same thing and then discussing it on Twitter and texting each other about like, oh my God, did you see what happened? That's kind of a fill in that space a little bit. I like Ozark, but I will say it has a great ending to year three.

I just finalized it. I don't think the characters are as likable. And I think Laura Lenny's the best actress, best actor maybe in America. She's incredible. She may be the best acting talent in the world. I don't think the characters, yet there has to be a thread of likability. I don't like almost any of the characters now. I haven't started yet.

Okay, even the kids have gone into the weeds. I see if I watched season four. Joy with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. My wife just sent me a picture. She is so bored.

Because our kids are pretty self-reliant doing their own thing. My wife is just sending me pictures now. Out of Legos, she made her favorite restaurant out of Legos. It's absolutely amazing. She's really talented. That's really impressive. actually. It is

I can't. She is really clever. She's a designer and an artist, so she's got the creative gene. It's just unbelievable. So she's doing

Legos of her favorite restaurants. Well, get the creative juices on. I'm talking to a wall. Enjoy Taylor. So coming up next, best for last,

TB or not TB, Tom Brady, Tampa Bay. We'll make our predictions on this season for him coming up next. Discover matches all the cashback you earn on your credit card.

At the end of the first year, amazing, because Discover is accepted at 99% of the places in America that take any credit card, limitations apply. Discover.com slash yes, discover. Back in a second. 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. Good having you in. Greg Tooie just said something in my ear and I didn't hear it.

What was that, Greg? I'm looking at virus information. There's some really encouraging news coming out. I won't get into it. That's for somebody else. So, you know, Hamlet, to be or not to be, right? Joe, you've heard of that? Well, we thought we'd play TB or not TB. So Tom Brady or not, Tam Brady or Tampa Bay or not Tampa Bay, the play on Hamlet. you will set up potential scenarios for Tom and I'll say TB, that'll happen, Tom Brady, or not TB.

We're playing off Hamlet. We're very Shakespearean. We had Bob Costas. We're talking about Hamlet. It's a very smart show today, Joy. Yes, very cultural. Here we go. So Tom Brady throws for 30 plus touchdown passes, TB or not TB.

TB. TB. Listen, he's averaged 31 in his career. James had 33 last year and that's with all sorts of turnovers. This is a pretty easy one. Remember, these Tampa Bay young players, they're also going to draft a running back and upgrade it right tackle, are getting better.

These are not older players who have peaked. So I think Tom will have 30 or more touchdown passes. Tom Brady throws for 4,000 plus yards, TB or not TV. TB! James threw for 5,100. yards. So even if he's significantly less than James Winston, Tom's thrown for over 4,000 yards, eight of his last nine years. So this seems fairly obvious. You know, 4,300 yards. He won't make the mistakes, but he also probably won't take as many downfield chances as James Winston. So I doubt

Tom gets to 5,100 yards, but I can see somewhere between 43 and 4,500. The Bucks win the NFC South. TB or not TV? Not TB. Saints have won at three straight years. This used to be a division that every year you had a new winner. But I think Mickey Erison's a, I think they have a really good GM, a really good coach, and an aging but really good quarterback. They also pay a lot of money to their offensive front.

They got Emmanuel Sanders. So I think right now the Saints are really humming as an organization. A lot of it's Sean Payton, Mickey Loomis, excuse me, not Mickey Erickson. Mickey Loomis is the GM for the Saints. a lot of credits given to Drew Brees, and he deserves it. But this right now is a very well-run organization. They're scouting, they're drafting, their free agent signings. I love Emmanuel Sanders.

So I just, and you also have continuity. These guys have been together for years and years and years in New Orleans. So my takeaway is that's too much to overcome. It's still the Saints Division. The Bucks make the playoffs, TB or not TB. TB. They were 7 and 9 last year. Now think about that.

that's with their quarterback, James Winston, not only throwing 30 picks, not only having five fumbles, Joy, but seven pick sixes. So they were giving teams. They gave teams 42 points directly on interceptions. Seven teams now make the playoffs from each conference. That's an additional team. So I think Tampa Bay and Brady get in. The Bucks win nine plus games.

or not TB. TB. Remember, they get a scheduling break. Tampa Bay has the 16th easiest schedule, meaning it's not one of the top seven or eight hardest. And their tough games are Green Bay, Kansas City, Minnesota Rams, L.A. Chargers. Those are all at home.

And they could get lucky here where they get a cold weather Minnesota down in Tampa in September. We've seen teams, Joy. You know this. You were in Miami. You see these northern teams come down in the first three weeks of the season and melt in Miami or Tampa. And Brady's won nine plus games in every season. He has been a starter.

The Bucks reached the Super Bowl. TB or not TV? Not TB. NFC's two loaded. 49ers, Seahawks, Eagles, Packers, Vikings, Saints in their own division. And I also think you've got a lot of teams in the NFC. Like I think Arizona is not a great team, but they're improving. I don't think Atlanta is a great team, but because they have a lot of continuity,

they'll be better. I think Teddy Bridgewater and Carolina will be way better than the Cam Kyle Allen, Carolina. I don't see, I just think the obstacles, the top is too deep. You know, whereas in the AFC, I think you have two or three super teams. the Chiefs and the Ravens, but a real bottom. I don't think there's much of a bottom in the NFC. And the tops equally is hard.

So I don't think a Super Bowl is in the sights for Tom. Tom Brady makes the Pro Bowl. TB or not TV? Toughest one, I'll say TB. Now, there are a lot of good teams in the NFC. But if you look at the weapons and you look at their schedule, Tom's going to put up some pretty good numbers. You know, I like Russell,

Wilson, but that's a tougher defensive division. I like Carson Wentz, but Carson can get hurt. I like Aaron Rogers, but that's a very good defensive division with the Matt Patricia. I think it'll get that turned around defensively, the Bears defense and the Vikings defense. So I don't see necessarily great defenses in Carolina. They're rebuilding their defense. I think the Saints defense is good, not great. I think Atlanta's is solid, but pass rushes hit and miss.

So I think Brady has a chance to be on that Pro Bowl roster. Now, we do know if Tom gets selected to the Pro Bowl, he won't play. He'll be in Costa Rica or something, or perhaps a Super Bowl, though I doubt it. TB or not TB. Good to have you in today. We will at some point reach a point that we're really going to be struggling for topics. We have not reached it yet. And hopefully, Joy and I are in the same room sooner than later, which helps.

Yes. But we're doing a great job. Our staff is doing a terrific job coming with content. Dave Coelho, our guest booker, is lining up a lot of interesting guests. I'm seeing some very positive news today on the virus. You know, I'll let other people cover it. But there are some signs here that are interesting and promising. I will say this, fourth straight day in Italy of declining percentage.

So that's, and Italy is the hot spot in America. That's the hot spot. So that's something. I do not think as a country where Italy, I think we're more dynamic. I think we have younger people. Our national average smoking rate is lower, especially in California and New York City. There's a lot of dynamics. we don't have as much multi-generational living perhaps as Italy does.

And so you cross your fingers on this stuff. We don't have sports, movies, we can't go out, restaurants that would distract us from this. Like post-9-11, it was high anxiety, but there were lots of ways to get your mind off it and the coverage. Whereas now we don't. So I think this is a battle psychologically, physically. There's a lot of isolation going on. And I think people are always happier when they're around friends and family and can share good time.

So I understand there is a lot of stuff going on here. Take a deep breath. Be around your family as much as possible. Try to create some normalcy in your habits. But cross our fingers on this. Joy, it's been a pleasure today. Back tomorrow praying we can put together, cobble together a show. We will.

We'll see you tomorrow. Thanks so much for joining us in Los Angeles. It's the herd. 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 SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline.

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