The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast -. Nick Wright on Rodgers Arrogance, Mahomes Regression, Post-OBJ Baker

Episode Date: November 8, 2021

Colin explains why the struggling 49ers are reaching a breaking point (3:00), why it's okay to say Baker and the Browns look better without OBJ (6:00), and how Urban Meyer is proving his doubters wrong (8:00). Then, FS1's First Things First Host Nick Wright and Colin react to Jordan Love's NFL debut against the Chiefs (11:00), what's behind Patrick Mahomes 2021 regression (19:00), the arrogance of Aaron Rodgers (27:00),how Tom Brady won on Sunday without playing (31:00), the fallout from the Packers loss (33:00), how Baker and the Browns turned it around with OBJ (35:00), why the Bills' loss to the Jags is unforgivable, why James Harden's struggles are bad news for KD (41:00), and why the Lakers should definitely be concerned about LeBron's injury (45:00). Make sure to Subscribe and follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates and check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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And if you did not watch that game, and most of America did not, what you saw is a hobbled Arizona team without their best run defender, J.J. Watt, without their top receiver, with a backup quarterback, going to San Francisco, and. out-schene Kyle Shanahan. And there are tipping points in any relationship that is struggling. The Niners now cannot win home games as a favorite. And as you look around the division and the Rams look better coached, certainly better quarterback, more stars, better on both sides of the ball and special teams. And Arizona similarly now wins again in the Bay Area. What's it look like? It looks like John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan are a little over their skis. The game plan was noticeably rigid, and this has become something, if you're struggling, what you don't want to give the critics is a narrative they can grab onto. Cliff Kingsbury came out, very clever, very multiple

trick plays, San Francisco. And this has now become a theme, very rigid, very conservative. And this is an offense that has one of the top three tight ends in football, George Kittle, one of the emerging stars at wide receiver, Debo Samuel, a solid run game and an above average offensive line. There's no excuses here. Say what you want about Garapolo. Look at Shanahan's record without Garapolo. So now you have a theme building, a thread building against Shanahan. He's getting out-schemed by Kingsbury. He looks like his kind of intense, rigid personality is affecting Jimmy Garapolo. But this was a really, really bad look for the 49ers.

And the critics and the wolves are going to come out now. And McVeigh wowed us, then lost the Super Bowl to Belichick, goff eroded. He was still winning, but he had to sort of reset with Matt Stafford. So we know it's not linear. We know that even great coaches have bad years. But what you're seeing now, I think Shanahan's intense personality is affecting the way Jimmy Garoppolo plays and the way the Niners call plays. And it's a bad look. My takeaway on Cleveland, Cincinnati, sometimes we know things are true, and yet we struggle to embrace them. We know

chemistry matters in sports, right? We know this. You ever go on a guy's trip to Vegas with four or five guys, six or seven guys, and one guy's a turd and ruins the trip? That's all it takes. We've all gone on camping trips, Vegas trips, golf trips, just takes one guy who's snarky, little bit of an a-hole, it ruins it for everybody. We know that in professional sports, you can be really talented, but can do your team a disservice and chemistry a disservice. Kyrie Irving to the Celtics is a great example. How did that not work? Good coach, Jason Tatum, Marcus Smart, Jalen Brown, how did that not work? Difficult guy, narcissistic guy, you're on the plane with him, you're at practice with him. There were a lot of stories.

I talked to Ryan Rosillo about this about a year ago. There are a lot of stories that didn't get reported how difficult Kyrie Irving was. So the OBJ to Cleveland thing, Diva, high maintenance, dramatic receiver, goes to a young quarterback in a dysfunctional organization. It doesn't work. And then data over two years suggests it doesn't work. Everybody push back. Can we have a new rule in sports? Bill Maher has his new rules.

Here's my new rule. that great players can leave an organization and the organization gets better. High maintenance people. We know this in our own lives. You ever have a family get-together at Thanksgiving and you got a weird brother-in-law and everybody's walking on eggshells and it's not as much fun. Same shit happens in sports. I thought Baker Mayfield played as free and as comfortable as he has in a year.

And by the way, Donovan People Jones is a really, really nice young reception. out of Michigan, 6-2, over the last six or seven weeks. He's been open a lot if you're a Browns fan. He is a more than capable number two wide receiver to Jarvis Landry. And let's just stop pushing back on the belief or the understanding that sometimes you lose a great talent, but he doesn't work for the room. Dak Prescott was better when Des left. Okay, new rule. It happens infrequently, but it happens.

I'm going to save Green Bay and Kansas City for Nick Wright. I want to talk about Urban Meyer, who with arguably the worst roster in the NFL and a rookie quarterback, beat a great head coach, a great roster, and a great quarterback in Josh Allen with the probably worst roster in the NFL. Folks, I put a wet blanket on it six months ago, a month ago, I'll put a wet blanket on it again. He's not going to USC. He's not going to LSU. he has been paid a fortune. He and his wife love Florida.

They love that Jacksonville area. And now, I am not saying after two years, if Urban won two games this year and four next year, and just it didn't work. I could see him saying, you know, I love Trevor Lawrence. I want to get the right coaches in here. I'm done. You know, give me 75% of the money promised. I get it. It would look too weird for him to leave after one year.

Secondly, look at Brian Flores right now in Miami. They have a much better roster. They are struggling. We love Joe Judge in New York. He is struggling. By and large, you're about as good as your roster. Jacksonville's roster is terrible. And this idea, and I've talked about this before,

there are so many people that cover the NFL that were so opposed to Urban Meyer walking in and succeeding early. that he really entered with an anti-urban agenda from a good portion of the NFL writers. I don't know how successfully he's going to be. But folks, it's not science. It's football coaching. Buddy Ryan won a lot of games. Mike Ditka won a Super Bowl.

These aren't geniuses. Belichick's mom spoke seven languages. He's different and therefore has dominated the league for 20 years. But the average football coach, for anybody listening to me, who's a successful professional, education, law, anything, had you taken up coaching, you would be as smart as a football coach, or perhaps smarter. This idea that Urban was going to be overwhelmed by it. My concern with Urban Meyer was a simple one. Can he build a staff?

Because I think there were a lot of doubts in NFL circles. Is this guy a good fit? A lot of these college guys have failed. So I don't love his offensive staff. But this idea yesterday, Sean McDermott, bills, Josh Allen, folks, there's an argument to be made. That's the best team in the AFC. And Urban Meyer beat him with a rookie quarterback and a lousy roster. Urban may not work.

But we wouldn't give a quarterback eight games in bail on him. Why would we give a coach building a culture eight games? Just be reasonable. Just be fair about it. All right, here's my buddy Nick Wright. So let's start with this. Let's start with Jordan Love's performance. I want your takeaway on what you watched from Jordan Love

and his first official Big Boy start. Well, I think we have to be fair to Jordan because we're now learning that, you know, the three-time or two-time defending AFC champion chiefs, it's basically a steel curtain 2.0 on the defensive side of the ball. I mean, did you see you? I don't know. I don't know if you watched Daniel Jones today. Just dice, slice and dice the Raiders made him look awful.

pedestrian. The Titans scored zero second half points in a game against us just a few weeks ago. So I don't know. I mean, now, if you don't think the Chiefs have a historically great defense, as all the data suggests, they might. Here's what I was worried about, Colin. Everyone on Friday was just crushing Aaron Rogers as he deserved to be crushed. And that was before the McAfee interview. And the very last words I said on my show were, you know, he's probably going to get the last laugh in this thing because Jordan Love is going to come out, look awful and overwhelmed, and he's going to get to say, bleep you, told you so, that's the guy you drafted to replace me. Jordan Love, Colin, I know it's his first start, but he's been

a league a year and a half. I know. He's not supposed to look that bad. He's, and that's, and that's, and one, one other thing to remind the audience, sorry, but last year, we, we got a hint of this because he was not the backup last year. He was, inactive, if you remember, on game days all year long. He was third string. Yep. So he shouldn't look that bad. He's not supposed to look that bad. Yeah, people always point to Josh Allen, who we know coming out of college was sort of a wild pony, you know, bursting out of the barn. I would like to throw up to you Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow and Mack Jones, who have looked very good very quickly. So, you know, people love to use examples that benefit them.

But my concern was also how Kansas City defended him. What Kansas City was telling you after about three series is we have no respect for him. We're going to blitz him every second and big third down. He can't read the defense pre-snap. That's right. He's not allowed to change plays or something. And poor Troy Aikman, I thought Troy Aikman was going to jump out of the boot at the one play where I don't know. He didn't throw a pick on this play, but it was a big play late in the game.

game and Troy says before the snap, all right, so they're telling you there's no one in the middle of field. There's no one in the middle of field. And then he throws down the sideline, the near side line. Yeah. And then on the replay, Troy says, the thing is when there's no one in the middle of the field, you should throw to the middle of the field. Like Troy, Troy was trying to be gentle, but he's supposed to look better. He just is supposed to look better. And I'm kidding about the Chief Stevens, obviously. Chief Stevens isn't good. No. Like they might not be the worst in football like they were the first month of the year, but he was supposed to look better than that.

And the Packers were supposed to win that game. Chiefs' offense looked terrible. I know we'll get to it. Packers supposed to win that game, and they didn't. Yeah, I mean, you can tell a lot by how a team calls a game, Green Bay and Matt Lafleur, very risk averse. You can tell a lot about a quarterback by how a defense plays him and both told you he's very, very limited a year and a half in.

So that's not great. Now, there are late bloomers in this. I mean, you know, we know there are some late. bloomers, but I didn't really see anything. I mean, he's not as athletic or move around guy like Russell or Kyler. His arm is okay. It's not special. He's got a big body. He moves pretty well, but I didn't see anything special. Now, I say that about Tua, but I think Jordan's a bigger, more athletic guy than two. I'm not talking about a completely, I mean, ineffective, small average arm. Jordan's got some gifts. But, you know, people remember.

remember this, his last year in college, a lot of mistakes, a lot of the GMs I talk to. And small school, which I'm not a huge fan of. And again, here's the thing about exceptions. There are exceptions for a reason. We can't pretend. We can't talk about all the trends Josh Allen broke. And then use that as a well, Josh Allen did it. It's the same thing in the NBA when it's like, if you don't have a top five player, you can't win the title. And everyone's like, oh, the 04 Pistons. What about the O4 Pistons? It's like, yeah, man, there's a reason you still have to go back for the only time in 30 years it's been true.

Was the O4 Pistons? Also, Nick, when people use Josh Allen, yes, but he was 6-6 with a cannon arm, which Jordan loves not that bigger, didn't have that arm, and he was hurtling people. You go to YouTube and look up Josh Allen's first eight games. He was hurtling linebackers. So they could have used that today, by the way, getting beat by the Jaguars. Oh, oh, the bills. Oh, the big scary Buffalo bills.

Hello, Josh Allen, MVP. Oh, scary bills. Lose the Jaggs. All right, Monday night matchup, Fandall Sportsbook's about to make it even bigger because Fandall's given new customers 30 to one odds on either team to win. That means you can end the NFL week right by winning $150 bucks in a $5 bet. Listen, Fandall Sportsbook is the number one rated sportsbook app in America. It's easy to use, safe, fast payouts.

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

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way,

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This should work. And then 18 months later, it's Barnyard musical. We know Andy Reid's smart. Mahomes is great. Spagg's been a good D.C., excellent weapons. Travis Kelsey, although he had a couple drops a day. A lot of these pieces, we know are exceptional. We've seen them.

And people say, well, Sammy Watkins isn't here. And that's the difference. And I'm like, no, no, it's not. It's not because, by the way, Watkins was injured two-thirds of the time before. It would be nice to have a secondary receiver, but that's not the answer. So when you watch them, you know, Greg Kossel told me about two weeks ago, he said he's going to be much harder to coach than Justin Herbert because he has an inclination. And this was the knock on him out of college. He likes the home run.

He likes the big hit. He's not overly patient. mechanically, some of his great gifts come when the mechanics erode, you know, the sidearm stuff. What do you see as somebody that watches every snap, reads everything about the chiefs? Let's not talk defense because I did think with Clark on the defensive line, they're better. Let's talk offense. What is wrong? He's second guessing himself and he's pressing.

And he, I mean, the first month of the year when the chiefs were two and two, they had a turnover and defense problem, but all the smart numbers were the best offense and football, bar numbers. The last five games, Colin, they have been held under 21 four times. Wow. Up until the last five games in Mahomes' whole career, it had happened three times. Think about that. His whole career, he had been, as of a month ago, he'd been held under 21, three times.

The last five games, it's happened four times. He is missing open guys. He's skipping passes. Today, he never, he didn't run the ball once. He would like, didn't get out of the pocket running. So I think he suffered some bad, bad luck turnover wise early. Yeah. And that made him start kind of second guessing a bit.

And then even when he was trying to be more conservative, he still made a couple terrible mistakes. And now it feels like instead of playing every single play, you can see like the wheels turning, which is why I really, and Rogers, to his credit, oddly enough, on the last interview he did before all the vaccine stuff came out, the COVID stuff came out, he was on McAfee. And they asked him about Mahom's struggling.

And Rogers, you know, said, hey, absolutely quarterbacks can get the yips, can get in a slump. And he's like, it just takes one game, one drive. And he said this, he said, sometimes it just takes one play to get out of it. And so maybe I'm, you know, hopelessly optimistic. But I wonder if that third and ten game on the line today, that looked very Mahomes.

Yes. Oh, it's broken down. I'm rolling to the right. And I'm certain he was told before that play. The only thing we can't have is an incompletion. If it's easy, take it. If not, take the sack. Because the sack, the clock runs, you're punning to Jordan Love with a minute 15.

The only thing we can't have is an incompletion. And he still ran out to the side, one leg, zipped it to Tyree. That was a Mahomes play. And I do wonder if that gets him back to it. So I think because he hasn't been himself, he was, he's been the last month. He's been bad. And it's the first time in his career, forget being bad. It's the first month of football.

He hasn't been out. I'm going to add one other thing. And I, you know, I want to be gentle with this because I don't know this to be true. I just, I'm just going to present the evidentiary case. So in the last month, his mom has tweeted about Tyreek dropping the football. His brother has been in the news twice. Yeah. For stupid stuff.

His wife, who they're like, great. school sweetheart, it's been together forever, seems to be very into TikTok and posting videos with Patrick in them. And Patrick doesn't, like, there's, there's like a, it's kind of semi, you know, internet famous now. Patrick, like, just trying to eat some chips and salsa and his wife and brother doing some TikTok dance. So all that plus new parent, right? Plus, for the first time in your career, not playing great. I think it's a lot to deal with. Yep. I think. I think, that I think all of those things. It's like, you know, my family is famous because of me. And they're being a pain in my ass right now with my fame. But you love, these are the people you

love most in the world. So like, what are you going to do? You're going to tell your wife, your mom, you know, to stop doing something. You can probably tell your brother. But nobody, his brother's a teenager, a young 20s kid. Like his brother's not going to list anybody. He's a dupe. It's like we all were right. That's not a criticism. Um, so all that's going on. He's not playing great. And I don't know, probably sleep and less than the horizon life because you have a new baby, you have a new kid. Like that's a thing.

And so I think all of this coming at once has led to him not being himself the last month. I don't think it's a, I still think that he is unanimous that if you were to start a new league and every player would be available, I think all 32 GMs take him first. I still believe that. Yeah. But he's got to be better. By the way, Josh Allen struggled. Brady two weeks ago struggled.

This shit's hard. By the way, Jalen Hertz in the last couple of weeks has been sort of fascinating and interesting. Let's not bail on him. Another team, the chiefs defense shut down, by the way. Steel Curtin 2.0. Yeah, Eagles shut him down. So, I mean, I think we, I think he's, you're right on, by the way.

But I do think we have to say there has to be a pause. This stuff is really hard. It's really hard. Can I ask a question, though, about the NFL right now? Yeah. Is anyone in the AFC good? Like, that's kind of what? Like, who's good?

It's a great question. Buffalo's A game is the best. We know that. Yeah. But Buffalo last week looked like shit. It was three, three at half against Miami. They looked bad last week. And this week, they lost a game that you can't lose.

You just can't lose to the Jags. The Patriots are just feasting. How many awful quarterbacks do they get to play? It's unbelievable what they've done. You know what it is? Because the NFC has veteran quarterbacks. It's Stafford. Yeah.

I mean, it really is. It's Rogers. It's all veteran quarterbacks and Kyler. Right. It's all veterans and Kyler. In the AFC, it's all brilliant. young quarterback. Young guys.

And they are brilliant. But guess what? Peyton Manning Year 4 was awful in Indianapolis. So you're seeing this roller coaster. Okay. Now let's segue into the Aaron Rogers stuff. So, you know, everybody knows my assertion with Aaron, which has always been, he's a narcissist, he's into Aaron. He's pretty selfish.

When you can't get along with multiple members of your family, I've always been really skeptical. And his comments about, you know, I'm a critical thing. thinker, as if anybody that gets a vaccine, you're not a critical thinker. The idea that he gave 500 pages of anti-vax and ineffective mask, that is weird. Like, and he was asked what the NFL thought and he said, well, they thought it was a whack. Yeah, Aaron. Yeah. That's what people do on that have nine followers on Twitter and have a name like Jack with 13 numbers behind it.

Like the people that think they've got the secret remedy. It's just incredibly arrogant. It's just incredibly arrogant. The idea, and this isn't just Aaron, it's a lot of folks. But folks that think, I mean, here's what I would ask. Pardon me here. The fuck do you think people are doing for eight years in medical school? Playing Candy Crush?

Like, these folks that are acting like, I've solved it. What did you do? I dedicated a weekend. You dedicated a weekend. These poor suckers are doing 40-hour rotations or in a lab or conducting experiments. And it's just I would never. And it's so odd that people have gone this route on science and medicine.

Could you imagine if I went? I don't even know what a good comp is, but I go to the mechanic and I'm like, hey, you rebuilt that engine wrong. How do you know? I watched a YouTube video. What? Like, no, he's an expert.

He's trained. I just can't believe the arrogance of guys. And let me say something else about it real quick. If Aaron Rogers actually thought he had discovered something vaccines, it's incredibly selfish to not share it with the world. Like you cracked something evidently. You tell everyone, don't be cagey. Oh, I'm immunized.

I didn't want to say. If you've uncovered one of the greatest conspiracies in the history of modern America, you should let the world know. But I don't know. There's also coding when somebody says like Aaron, I don't care what anybody thinks. That is code for. I care what everybody thinks. And Aaron has always been super sensitive. So he's gone into hiding now.

By the way, I think this is being lost. The Packers no longer have the number one seed in the NFC, Arizona does. they will not have the number two seed if the Rams win. And by the way, a dome team, a dome team Rams and a warm weather team Tampa could have played in January in Lambo, a significant break for Green Bay. If they lose, so they don't have the number one seed nor perhaps the two seed, if they lose against Seattle when Aaron can't practice, they're then behind Tampa. they're a four seed. By the way, they're going to be behind Tampa. Tampa's scheduled the rest of the way.

They have one team left that you expect to make the playoffs, the bills. Another game against New Orleans. Maybe they will. But those are only, the third toughest game left for Tampa's Atlanta. This is, and it's unbelievable. I thought you might lead with this, Colin. The biggest winner this weekend of every football player in the world was Tom Brady. He didn't play.

Think about, he's coming off a bad game. But think about Brady and the MVP. All right, well, Josh Allen just was awful. And they lost to the Jags, turn the ball over a bunch. Derek Henry's done for the year. Dak Prescott was terrible. Aaron Rogers missed the game. Kyler missed the game and his team won.

Lamar, they won. Lamar wasn't great. Brady all of a sudden, I think it has to be the overwhelming MVP favorite. And with the Cowboys losing and the Packers losing, I think the Rams and Cardinals, I think that that schedule for both of them is tough enough that you've got to think Tampa, I feel like Tampa right now, worst case scenario is 13 and 4. And it looks like Brady's going to be the MVP and Tampa's going to be the one seat. It's unbelievable.

The Bucks don't play this week and they're the biggest winners. And Brady's MVP hopes skyrocket this week. All the other MVP candidates felt plum. Rogers missed on. Rogers can't win it now, even though he looks more like an MVP now than before. because you saw the Packers without him. No one's going to vote for Rogers after this. He misses time because of this nonsense.

You know, it's one of those things where, you know, I talked about, I was on with Ethan Strauss the other day. Yeah, he's great. He's real smart, thoughtful. I don't view him as contrarian, but he has a lot of different views on stuff. In fact, included covering the NBA. But, you know, we were talking about a lot of things. And, you know, there's, like you, he makes me think.

And when I was done with the podcast, I went and put something on, you know, my phone for the volume. And that one of the great pieces of advice I once got in my life is there's enough hurdles and obstacles to overcome. Don't get in the way of yourself. It's hard enough to overcome the challenges. I really think Aaron. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only. legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

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

A win is a win. A win. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

This is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84's big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

has gotten in the way of himself. And Bill Simmons mentioned this to me the other day is when you get older and you're single, you don't sacrifice for your kids. You don't sacrifice for a wife. Being married, having kids. It's a lot of L's a lot of take-on for the team. Combine that with Aaron is in the smallest market in America

for a pro sports team. So he is a Messiah. Combine that with they have no owner to call him on his shit. And that Aaron's gotten into a world where it's, Aaron does what Aaron wants. Aaron says what Aaron wants. Aaron has no pushback. And I think he's starting to sort of get in his own way a little bit.

Well, listen, I said this on the show, I think on Thursday. I'm not sure when. And I don't know if you heard it when you were driving in. But I said, I was like, man, Colin's been on this corner for the better part of a half decade, that Aaron Rogers has an allergy to criticism. and him doing these gymnastics about immunized and the masking at press conferences, all for one express purpose, avoiding criticism, is all the proof you possibly needed that you were right about that. And, you know, and I've gone to battle with you about the Aaron stuff.

But this whole thing is such a rough look for him and such. And listen, I obviously think that folks who can be vaccinated should be. However, the quarterbacks who have chosen not to, it's been a one day if that story, then you move on. Kyrie was a big story because it cost him his season. But in the NFL, those guys have not been, Lamar hasn't been crushed for this. Kirk Cousins, we made fun of him for a little bit because he was talking about like building plexiglass rooms and stuff. But aside from that, that was it.

But Aaron didn't even want to deal with that. And it is, to me, all of it shows it does give you a window and it's not a flattering one. And on the field, if folks want to, you know, don't care about any of the vaccine stuff, just on the field. With the way the chief's offense look today, does anyone think of Aaron Rogers, out there, the Packers aren't 8 and 1 right now. Does anybody think that? And he's not, they weren't, and now

they're in, you know, it's an uphill battle. And they likely will have one playoff game in Lambo this year, and that's it. Get right to the romance and find the way to wow this valentines with 1,800flowers.com. From classic roses and bouquets to decadent chocolate-covered berries,

gourmet treats, and more. Surprise your Valentine with 1-800. Flowers.com. Right now, get the 18-stem enchanted rose medley for $39.99 or upgrade to 24 red roses for $10 more. Go to 1-800flowers.com slash tune in. That's 1-800flowers.com slash tune in. Adoption of teens from foster care is a topic not enough people know about and we're here to change that. I'm April Dinwiddie host of the new podcast, Navigating Adoption, presented by Adopt U.S. Kids. Each episode brings you compelling real-life adoption stories told by the families that live them with commentary from experts. Visit adoptuskids.org slash podcast or subscribe to navigating adoption presented by Adopt U.S. Kids.

Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families and the Ad Council. If I could be you. And you could be me for just one hour. If you could find a way to get inside. Each other's mind. Walk a mile in my shoes. Walk a mile in my shoes. in my shoes.

Walk a mile in my shoes. We've all felt left out. And for some, that feeling lasts more than a moment. We can change that. Learn how it belonging begins with us.org. Brought to you by the ad council. Walk a mile in my shoes. You know, it was interesting.

We know the Patriots Dynasty. They often were a much better post- Thanksgiving team than a pre-Thanksgiving team. And the Cleveland Browns, I thought Baker and the Browns played the best football game they've played in a year. And this is not to dump on OBJ. But we know that you can have great players and they don't work in the room. Kyrie to the Celtics. They should have been absolutely in the finals.

Kyrie, Tatum, Marcus Marte, Brad Stevens, Jalen Brown, they had a little bit of size and they got worse. We know this to be true. The data suggests DAC was better when DES left. He could sprinkle the infield. Baker's better that OBJ left. I did feel like watching Cleveland. I felt like, oh, oh, this may be just one of those. Doesn't mean OBJ's a bad guy, but he was hovering over the franchise.

And he's now out of the room at Donovan People's Jones is more 6-2 runs well more than capable to be a tandem with Jarvis Landry. I think, listen, it clearly didn't fit. It clearly didn't work. And the Browns got a nice reprieve. Because if the Browns lost this week, then everything's falling in Cleveland. Instead, they win. And it's important who they played, right? The Bengals, who you used to make the point, you weren't wrong, that Baker owns the

Bengals and is terrible against a lot of, you know, the rest of the division, other teams. But now the Bengals are good. And you still own the Bengals. You still kick the hell out of them up and down the field. And I know Baltimore ended up getting the win. but you look at it and you're like, okay, none of the teams in this division are great. You now, the Cincinnati after the high they were on, they have come crashing, crashing back down to earth. And the Browns feel like, okay, we get a nice reprieve from all the drama and we'll see how we look in the next few weeks.

Odell, on the other hand, Odell does have the chance, not at the same level, but to have, and I've talked about this a ton, the Randy Moss trajectory. Amazing in his first stop, goes sideways at the end, goes somewhere else, is almost irrelevant the whole time he's there, and then a great next act of his career. But if he doesn't have, like if wherever Odell picks to go, it doesn't work, things can go left real quick now. A guy had suffered a couple major injuries, a guy that's a pain in the ass. Now, I think he'll be smart and he will pick based on quarterback and he will pick a team that he believes is going to be in the postseason and he can go show the world he's still excellent. But if his next team, it doesn't work, then that's just a, you know, a squandered talent is what he'll be remembered for. Like, you don't get, you don't usually get a fourth chance, right? So this will be his third chance.

You don't usually get a fourth. So Odell's got a big, which is why he gave the way he had the contract restructured. He just wanted to not be claimed, meaning he doesn't want Washington to pick him up and him be like, oh my God, what am I going to do? He wants to be able to pick his spot, but he better pick right and it better work out. Because it's been a long time since people saw Odell Beckham Jr. do something amazing on the football field. And there have been a few controversies since then that people won't have time for. Okay.

Only two things I wanted to talk about, Packers, Chiefs, a little browns. So I'm going to give you the choice of these two NBA topics because I'll never bring you on not talk NBA. Yeah. I watched working out. I didn't watch it live. I got up and lift weights on the morning on the weekend and watched Russell Wexbrook, who was absolutely horrifically bad against Portland. It was...

It's not good. Or James Harden. Yeah, let's talk about that one. Okay, so it's interesting. So I'm old enough to remember the NBA changing several rules for Wilt. The free throws, the zone defense, wide lane. This has happened my whole life. The NBA used to be able to hand check.

And then they said it's too physical. They used to be able to put your forearm into a guy's back. The NBA has changed. It's almost like the IRS. If they see big companies finding a loophole, they close it. the big companies find another loophole and they close it again. And I feel like James Hardin had found a loophole in the rules and the league's like, nah, we're not going to allow this. That's what it feels like to me.

And by the way, I have watched the Nets play four times, not a full game, but probably four halves. James Harden now is a passive player. He went from like ball-centric. His ball usage was through the roof. I mean, there are times he disappears on the floor. it's unbelievable. And so to be fair, it should be noted while everyone was watching football today, the Nets played, they played the Raptors, and Hardin had, I think, far and away his best game of the year.

And he was excellent in the fourth quarter. He, for the first time all year, it was on during the late window of games. So I saw the tail end of the game while I was watching the Chiefs game and the Cardinals game. And by the way, shout out to the Cardinals, getting that dominating the Niners, no Kyler Merck. Unbelievable. Yeah. So Hardin was good. today. But he was awful Friday. And prior to today, like this is what jumps out to me. And I,

you know, I tweeted the numbers. But he has, he has stopped, not only stopped getting to the free throw line, which we talked about. He had one game where he took 19 free throws. Every other game this year prior to today, it was four or fewer. Today he got six. But it wasn't just that, Colin, he stopped taking or making two point baskets. His, you know, I have, in the prior to today's game on the season, he had 19 made twos and 44 turnovers. He had more than twice as many turnovers than two point field goals. And he, so I do think he's a little out of shape and I do think he's a little overweight.

And I do think he's still a little unsure about the hamstring, all of that. But what's also clearly true is, and this is the part that people I think are not baking into the hardened stuff when they talk about, well, he'll adjust. Yes, he will adjust. But part of what made him so great at getting to the basket was people were afraid to foul him. So they guarded him a specific way. now that people are less afraid to foul him. It's not just that he's not getting the calls. He's having a harder time beating guys

because they are guarding him more honestly. That's not going to change. That isn't going to adjust. And they, Hardin has to be like a fringe MVP level guy for them to win the time. No question.

Katie's been the best player. in the league so far this year. Katie has been sensational basically every game. He's playing almost perfect offensive basketball. And the team is not great because even with Katie playing at this level, Blake Griffin looks old fast. He looks like Detroit Blake Griffin. Paul Millsap was never going to make sense. Aldridge was never going to make sense. They need Hardin. And they don't need Hardin at 19 and 10. They need Hardin at 26 and 11. Yep.

And I don't know if that Hardin's going to exist again. I just don't. I do not know if that Hardin is going to exist under these rules. Just like by the way, John Lynch, would he have been a Hall of Fame level safety if he was drafted today? Probably not. Don't hold it against him. Rules change.

Players change. But I don't think Hardin is a top eight guy in the league right now. We have to have him be able to be. Remember, Hardin was a late bloomer anyway. Hardin started on the bench. Hardin was a player. He's 32 or 33 now. And he's really only been great for about six years.

In our worldview, he should be like 28 now. Right? Like when you see the great players come out, they're Rocky the first year. And then you're like, I mean, even Jordan Poole, you're like, he's 16 and a half a game. Now, he's not close to, I don't think Hardin. But this is a league, especially now with the rules, where if you're offensively gifted, you're really good by 23. You're exceptional by 25. I mean, Luke is better than everybody, but you can dominate at 21, 22, 23.

So Hardin was a late bloomer. So I don't think he's athletically as vertical or as gifted as your Kobe's and your Michaels, even though his numbers would line up with theirs. He had a style. The NBA allowed the style. They have now eliminated the style. and he's not a world-class athlete in the context of the other great scores. Correct. And it's so like he is, again, I don't hold this against him legacy-wise that he was exploiting seems unfair.

But he understood the rules. He was playing by the rules. And he was exploiting in a positive way the rules. and it made him he was the three years he won the scoring title in Houston and he averaged like 30 36 and 34 those three years he was shooting combined 25 threes and free throws a game

thereabouts so he just he with Mori understood all right the most efficient thing you can do other than dunk the basketball which I can't really do like obviously can dunk but I'm not, you know, I'm not above the rim guy, is get to the free throw line and shoot threes. So what if that's all I do? What if that's all I do? And it was unguaritable.

It was unbelievable. But now it's guardable. And it's, to me, is one of the most fascinating things. The reason the Lakers thing is this. I, the very little happens with the Lakers when LeBron's not there matters. The question is, is LeBron now injury prone? If he is, there's. screwed.

Yep. Like, and by the way, people, and I said this on the TV show on Friday as well, but I want to reiterate it here. Whenever we talk about the greatest players ever, and people think I'm needling Jordan because I call Jordan and without a doubt top three guy. Right. And people think I'm needling him. And it is a bit of a needle.

But the reason I say top three is because I feel like Kareem is the most historically disrespected guy ever. He is the most points. He is the most MVP's. He has six rings just like Jordan. and all that stuff. But the thing about Cream is, he never got hurt.

Kurt Vincent in the face that one time broke his hand, sighting that in year 20, he's playing 74 games. He never got hurt. Look at his game log. Now, he's not as effective. He's not at high level, but he never got hurt.

Jordan played 11 full seasons with the Bulls. Was out of there. Like, just gone. I'll see you later. As far as, like, injury-free full seasons. that there is no what LeBron is trying to do in year 19, there is no comp for it. The closest is Carl Malone year 18. And we are going to see if he can make it through.

If he can make it through him plus Anthony Davis, and what I think right now is a very up for grabs west. Like the Warriors, I know you're super high on them. Warriors could be the favorites right now in the West. Who knows? I think the Lakers could be fine. and we'll see, Colin. LeBron's not afraid to, you know, press reset on an experiment.

I don't think they'll do that. But, you know, famously, the Cavs did trade Dwayne Wade away. Like they had Dwayne Wade and they're like, see you later, buddy. It's not working. You can go back to Miami. So the Rust thing doesn't get better. I think they'll make a move. But the question for the Lakers is, is LeBron going to be healthy for the postseason?

If he is, I like their chances. but it's fair to say now, a guy who never got hurt. Colin, I watched him what I thought was break his ankle during a playoff game with the calves, tighten his shoelaces, miss a possession, finish the game. In the finals, the game seven against the Warriors, when he went up for what would have been the greatest dunk in NBA history, up three, and Draymond fouled him,

I'm convinced this day he broke his wrist and Wolverine to that son of a bitch. Like, ah, I can't have a broken wrist right now. was fine. He never was injured. And then he tore his groin. And then last year, he messed up his ankle. And now this year he's already had two little days. Yep. So it's something to watch. Like it doesn't change the fact that he's the greatest player that's ever lived. But it does change the math on can the Lakers win the title. Nick Wright, a lot of Packers Chiefs, Little Browns, Hardin, LeBron, perfect, buddy. Have a great show tomorrow. No problem. And by the way, the next time we talk,

Talk, Chiefs will be in first place, buddy. Oh, yeah. Let's go. First place on the line against the Raiders. Let's go. All right, buddy. All right, that's Nick Wright at the Volume Sports. Instagram, YouTube channel. Check it out. Think you'll like it. Talk soon. The volume. Hey, pet parents. Have you heard of Just Food for Dogs? Since 2010, we've been helping dogs everywhere live healthier, longer lives through the power of fresh whole food nutrition. Our meals are formulated by an in-house team of veterinarians. And we only use human-grade meats and

veggies with zero preservatives. After transitioning to Just Food for Dogs, pet parents report seeing more energy, firmer, stools, improved health, and even longer lives. Give us two weeks, and we'll change your dog's life forever. Visit JustFoodforDogs.com slash mobile and save 10% on your first purchase. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast is. Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio

app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick you here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of

we survived it with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. It was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.