The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Brady, Rodgers, Allen-Mahomes

Episode Date: January 25, 2022

Tom Brady is considering retiringAaron Rodgers isn't leaving Green BayJosh Allen and Patrick Mahomes are making other GMs worryGuest: Kevin Clark Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Here we go on a Tuesday. So much to talk about live in Los Angeles. Oh, the weather has been glorious last week. It's the herd wherever you may be and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. One hour from now, we don't do the herd hierarchy for a long, long time, another six months. But to show you the level of talent that we are left with, with four teams. We'll give you a list of what we believe is the 12 best players left in these

playoffs. And it's kind of remarkable how evenly dispersed it is among all the teams. Joy Taylor is joining me today. We've got stuff happening with the Brooklyn Nets. That's very, very interesting. We've got a very, very busy show today. There's a lot going on. Yeah, Aaron Rogers, not the only unhappy guy. Let's start with this. Tom Brady's talking about retirement. And by the way, it's been talked about years ago in New England. And Brady always, especially in the last four or five years, season ends, he just leaves. When is Super Bowl or not, he goes down to Costa Rica. They got a compound down there. He'll go down there for three weeks. He'll take a, bring some, you know, coaches down there and the pliability guys down there and he's got a place in

Montana. And, you know, Brady's got six, seven places around the country. They'll go to Europe, blah, blah, blah, kids, fam, all that stuff. But this time, even, this time, he's not. But this time is a little different. Tom ended the season losing. There were more than a handful of games. You know, we talked about Matt Stafford having bad Sundays. Tom had some bad Sundays, though he had a great year. There are moments he does show his age, but I think it's not about that, and I'll get to what it is about in a second. But first, here's Tom talking about it yesterday in his podcast with Jim Gray. I said this a few years ago. It's what relationships are all about. It's not always what I want.

It's what we want as a family. And, you know, I'm going to spend a lot of time with them and, you know, figure out in the future what's next. It pains her to see me get hit out there. And, you know, she deserves what she needs for me as a husband. My kids deserve what they need for me as a dad. You know, I'll know when I know. Ah, he talks relationships.

It's always been what Tom's about. Listen, with all the Russell Wilson and Aaron Rogers drama, they're both NFC quarterbacks. If one or both left, and I don't think Aaron leaving, and I don't think Russell's leaving. Russell better chance, I don't think Aaron's leaving unless he wants to retire. But if they did,

the NFC would have only one elite coach quarterback combo. Rams, Stafford McVeigh. Look at the NFC right now for quarterbacks. Tom needs to think about this, and you know Tom is thinking about this.

Look at how bad the quarterback play is. NFC East. Philadelphia Limited. Washington, mess. Giants, mess. NFC North. Minnesota, limited. Chicago, we don't have any idea.

Detroit, limited. NFC South. Saints, Mass. Atlanta, limited. Carolina, Mass. NFC. West. San Francisco. I think Trey Lance could be good. And I think Jimmy Garapolo's okay and probably leaving.

And San Francisco is an easy one because there are reports surfacing that Brady would consider moving to a third team. I do not think that's going to happen because it would be such an ugly cap hit for the Buccaneers unless there's a handshake deal before Tom arrived. That's possible. I don't know about it. But if Tom walked away, they'd be paying $40 million cap hit and he wouldn't be on the roster. But San Francisco, it should be noted, would be his choice.

His parents are getting older, live in the Bay. Kyle Shanahan's getting Garoppolo to NFC championships. It's his favorite team when he was a kid. And again, San Francisco, there's no indication that Tray Lance is going to be great. He's certainly talented. And there's no indication Garapolo is going to be the long-term answer for the 49ers. But I think it comes down to something. And this was always the number one issue for me in Tampa.

Go back to the day that Tom left New England for Tampa. I never worried about the talent. Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Bruce Ariens. They were bad at right tackle. They solved it, drafting Tristan worse. At all sorts of defensive talent, they had Todd Bowles, who I loved is a defensive coordinator, and Ariens is obviously a sharp guy. What did I always worry about?

When intense people who love structure and they lean toward academics, and that's Brady, structure guy, intense guy, film study guy, is very Peyton Manning now. way. Structure. They don't do well in loose environments long term. And I've lived in both New England and I've lived in Tampa. So I speak from what I know. One of them is about academics, structure, the weather's cold, you stay at work, you put in the hours, you're absolutely focused, the Ivy League, private schools. That is the Northeast. It is structure based. I've lived in Tampa. Guys, 345, hey, it's Thursday, let's get a cocktail. Ebor City, loose. You move to have fun, golf, retire.

I like Tampa. I like Connecticut. But they are two totally different vibes, cultures, and the franchises are. The Buccaneers have always been fun and loose and talented, underwhelming, underachieve. And then Mr. Intensity moved in to their franchise. And for a year, he yelled, he yelled and he barked and Brady kept saying, follow me and you will be rewarded, this unstructured, talented mess of a franchise. Follow me and I will get you rewards. Well, what happened? They followed him.

They all got paid and they got the trophy. And at the end of this year, if you watched and listened closely, winning is one thing, sustaining it's another. The party franchise, the cocktails early, the Ebor City, let's go out on the boat franchise. They got their money. They got their fame. They got their car deal.

They got their trophy. It got really loose. Brady on multiple occasions, post- Thanksgiving, read the quotes I did this morning. We've got to get focused here. Everybody's got to do their job here. He was getting really, really. really frustrated. And then you watch them play Sunday. You saw it and I saw it. Tampa wasn't ready to play. Drop passes, missed assignments. They weren't ready to play. And I think that's

the difference. And I think Tom doesn't want to go to a third team, knows it would leave the Buccaneers high and dry in cap space. And it's thinking long and hard about Bruce Ariens is a little loose. The franchise got a lot of young guys. Maybe this is as good as it gets. It's not a football thing. Tom's still excellent. Tom's smart enough to look around the NFC. It's a mess at quarterback. AFC, it's like eight Hall of Famers eventually. NFC has a lot of crap. I think it's the culture thing. I think it's loose. I think he's intense. And I think post- Thanksgiving, he gave us hints. It's wearing him out. All right. So this is going to be a big story and we need to nip it in the bud right now. A lot of stories starting now.

Aaron Rogers future. Aaron Rogers future. Let me just tell you that Aaron Rogers is coming back to Green Bay. The only reason Aaron Rogers will not come back to Green Bay is Aaron retires or forces a trade. Green Bay absolutely wants him back for a lot of reasons. Let's start with this. Jordan Love in an era where it's never been easier to be a quarterback. NFL now runs college schemes. NFL rules lean all offensive. It's never been easier. In two years, I've seen Jordan Love play twice this year.

Against the Chiefs, he completed 55% of his throws. Against the Lions, he completed 58. Folks, he's a miss. 30% of first round picks are a miss. The Packers are very good at drafting, very good at developing, but even the Green Bay Packers and the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers, they miss. Everybody misses.

Bill Polian, Hall of Fame GM and I have had many discussions privately. You miss. Jordan loves a miss. Listen, Trey Lance, and I don't know if he's a hit yet, but he didn't play more than one FCS football game in two years. I saw him twice this year. He needs to get cleaned up. But you can see it.

You can see it. Justin Herbert was given a five-minute heads-up that he was starting with the worst offensive line in the NFL, the Chargers, against Patrick Mahomes off the Super Bowl. An hour later, we all went, whoa, whoa, Justin Herbert's good. Kyler Murray, Joe Burrell, by the second NFL game. I thought they'd be good. I had concerns by the second game. It's like, oh, yeah, yeah, these guys are going to work. Jordan Love's been there for two years.

I've seen him twice. It ain't close. It's a miss. He's a backup. So Mahalms first start, week 17, first year. Let him come from behind win against Denver. It doesn't take long to see it now. It's not the 70s, the 80s, the 90s.

College schemes are now brought to the NFRAs. overwhelmingly you have offensive coaches. The rules all lean offensive. It took Burrow a game. Kyler a game. Justin Herbert an hour. Mahomes, end of year one. Aaron ain't leaving. Green Bay is not letting him go.

The only way he goes, if he retires, I find that highly doubtful. He's just too good. It pays too well. And to me, outside of Saturday night, night. He still had fun all year. He could demand a trade, but again, grass is not always greener, and I do not believe the Packers are in a rebuild. I don't know. It is arguable they may have piqued that by signing Devante Adams, they may be limited. They're going to have to move off a guy like Zadarius Smith or maybe an Aaron Jones, but they're not in a rebuild. Detroit's in a rebuild. Jacksonville's in a

rebuild. Houston's in a rebuild. Philadelphia is in a rebuild. Green Bay is not in a rebuild. But we're going to hear stories for the next several months. Green Bay, he may drive him nuts. There is no way in the smallest town in America with a pro franchise. They need. The 80s for the Packers were miserable. Like the Packers in the 80s were irrelevant, could not get on television. That's all that town has. They're not moving off. and Rogers with no succession plan. All right. Fantastic.

Very excited. Talented Kevin Clark stops in, oh, oh, joy's got something. Oh, my. You know, athletes say stuff like this all the time. We're all good. Things are good. And eventually the story comes out. Joy's got a good one coming up next.

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

athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations,

stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross

double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack 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. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

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

Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. person. Join me, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free Our Heart Radio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. It is great to have you in. There are things that happen, and let's just keep it to sports, because there's lots of things that happen beyond sports, but there are times in all of our lives where something happens, and it is so dynamic that it

leaves awake. You think about it, you realize you'll have to compete against it. And I think watching, it was interesting to see the people who reached out to me yesterday in the National Football League. And they all said the same thing. When you watch Mahomes and Josh Allen and Steve Spagnola and Sean McDermott, great defensive minds, couldn't stop him. Billa Check can't stop Mahom.

Belichick can't stop Josh Allen. That leaves awake. NFL people are looking around and thinking, thank God Josh Allen and Mahomes are in different conferences or in the same conference. You'd never get through them. You can't stop them. And I think what happens is the offense was so dynamic this week with the bills. Joe Burrow, Matt Stafford, the league is so quarterback-centric that it's making

a lot of people in the National Football League who have stubbornly defended their quarterback and their coach say, the world's changed. I mean, that Josh Allen Patrick Mahom Show, when elite defensive coaches put their hands up in the air, guys can score in 15 seconds. It leaves awake. And there was a story that I saw this morning where a member of the Miami Dolphins anonymously said about Tua, quote, he can't make every throw. He's only going to take us so far.

I'm wasting my career here if he's our quarterback. Why'd the players say that? Because he's got eyes. He watched Allen. He's the Dolphins. Brian Flores is a great defensive coach. In his last six games against Josh Allen, he's 0 and 6. Josh has 16 touchdowns and two picks.

He can't stop Josh Allen. But you know what he can do? Brian Flores stops Tua every day at practice. That's why Brian Flores got fired. He's like, I need a Mercedes. You're giving me a Kia. I got eyes here. I stopped Tua every day at practice.

I can't stop Josh Allen. And I don't want to play him 10 times minimum in five years. And people say, Brian Flores can't coach. I can't stop him. The league's changed. Belichick can't stop him. And so there's a reason the Chargers didn't make the playoffs, but there are no anonymous reports that Justin Herbert can't play. Boy, he held us back.

Why? Because he can. And players, you can't fool him. Players are watching Burrow get sacked nine times and still dropping dimes. They're watching Allen. They're watching Stafford. They're watching Mahalms. They're watching these great quarterbacks. You can't keep convincing yourself, marginally athletic, little guy without a big arm, Tua is going to lead us to the promised land. You can't fool players. And that's why, by the way, Brian Flores got fired. He kept going upstairs.

Guys, get us to Sean Watson. This anonymous Dolphins player, quote, quote, Deshawn Watson in his prime is the kind of guy we need. This is the other part to having a quarterback who's limited. I'm a free agent-wide receiver. Bills want me, dolphins want me. The hell do you think I'm going? Where do you think I'm going?

Free agents on the market. They look at Mahomes. Allen, Stafford. You don't think OBJ was excited to go to the Rams? Come on. Jarvis Landry has a chance to leave this year. You think he's not going to consider the quality of the quarterback? If Devante Adams leaves and I don't think the Niners will let him, nor should they, pay the man.

But if he did leave, you don't think he's going to look around and go, Oh, I like that quarterback. No, no. Yes. Yes, yes. Yes. Of course he is. So I think that even Jim Ursay, the owner of the Colts, had a tweet today or yesterday.

He said you can see clear his day, the final eight NFL teams, you need a quarterback who can score 30 or more in regulation. Jim Hersey is saying, you know, got one. We all got eyes. I think I think this weekend, especially Josh Allen and Mahomes. I think a lot of guys are looking around the league going, we got to be aggressive here. We got to go after Russell Wilson. We got to go after Aaron Rogers.

You can't compete with that stuff. Not even close. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, Mike McCarthy's future with the Cowboys has been questioned after that loss of the Niners

in the wildcard round. And he spoke with a Dallas radio station about whether he and Jerry Jones discussed him returning. next season. I'm full speed ahead. I mean, our whole conversation was, you know, obviously we talked about the disappointment of the game and things that went into the game. But, you know, the majority of our conversation was about aligning all the positive things that we have and how we're moving forward. So job status just never came up. It's just planning ahead, talking about the game. That just never came up between you and Jerry. Yes, no, we talked about.

about everything that needs to be talked about. Well, that last little part's a little vague. We didn't directly answer the question on the fan. Well, it just lets me officially cross out the Cowboys as a Super Bowl bubble team next year. I'm fine with that. It makes my job easier. Well, yeah. I mean, I think that's fair at this point.

I'm done being fooled by the Cowboys. I've reached that point. I'm not a Cowboys fan, but, you know, I do, I can admit that I was, you know, you know, bamboozled by the shine of the Cowboys in the regular season. I still think they'll win the division next year. Yeah. But that doesn't mean anything.

It just does not mean anything. I fell for it and I'm done doing it. Until you make some noise in the playoffs, I just, I'm not going to believe in the Cowboys. That was a disaster. That was a meltdown. If you look at,

just compare the end of Bill's Chiefs to the end of Cowboys Niners, you had more time in the Cowboys. boy's game. You have an extra second, which according to Mike McCarthy is might might as well be four minutes. Patrick Mahomes drives right down the field, has the timeouts, does it correctly, executes, and Dallas completely blows an opportunity to move on from the wild card rounds. Yeah. Like situational football matters in the postseason. That situation that the Chiefs were in,

the Chiefs won that game, not because of overtime rules, they won that game because they're great, they're capable, and they are well run. Yeah, I mean, this week. weekend was all these games were walkoffs. Situational football, won four games. Yes. It ended the Cowboys season. And so it was just one of those things.

If you didn't like Mike McCarthy and you're paying attention, you watch this weekend and went, okay, now it hurts even more. Like now it's even more punitive. You should absolutely walk away from this weekend if you're a Cowboys fan. Frustrated. Frustrated. Discouraged.

And assuming that there's there really is no hope that that's going to change in the future. That wasn't a one-off all year long. Clock management. Penalties. Penalties and clock management. That's what Eric Manjini said before the game. He goes, I can't get over McCarthy's teams. It's all penalties and clock management. Two days later, it's exactly what ended the season.

And that's the structure of your team. Like not knowing what you're supposed to do in certain situations, not executing, not being disciplines, not being under control emotionally, pre-snap penalties. And in the biggest moment of the game, which guys say all the time, they practice two-minute drills all the time. because you want to know it has to be ingrained in your head. You can't be asking questions.

You know in this situation, this is what we're doing and everyone knows that because you practice it. People I'm sure ask you like, do you ever get nervous when you go on air? No, why would I be nervous? I'm very well prepared. When you're prepared, you don't get nervous. You don't make those critical mistakes.

And that's coaching. He's 18 and 15 with the team. I just don't believe that the Cowboys are going to do anything in this offseason that's going to put them over the edge in that situation. I think if the other teams in Dallas's division, Philly, the Giants in Washington, were as good as, say, the Niners, Arizona, and the Rams, in the NFC West or the SEC in college football, you can't stammer and pause on a coach. You can't, it's over. So that's why, like, LSU with Edo, the minute they have reservations, out Brian Kelly in, the minute Georgia

reservations, ricked out Kirby Smart in. In the NFC West, You don't have time to pause if the cowboy, but the cowboys have the giants who they dominate, Washington who they dominate, and Philly over the last several years. So it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Like, we're doing well here. We're really. Well, they're just relevant enough. And maybe for the Cowboys, that's good enough.

Now, Jerry Jones likes Sean Payton. We don't know what's going on with Sean Payton and the Saints. He's kind of been off the grid for a little while. Could just be taking some time away. Who knows what he's going to end up doing? If Sean Payton has some interest in it, maybe that's something that happens. But again, I don't believe that Jerry wants somebody in there that pushes back on him. I think he likes having a coach that's just good enough, wins the division, gets you in the playoffs, sells tickets, gets a little buzz.

But a guy that's going to take you over the edge isn't going to just be pushed around and told what to do all the time. And that's not what the Cowboys want. So Jimmy Garoppolo knows that his future with Niners is uncertain. But Kyle Shanahan thinks that Jimmy's positive. attitude has helped the team's approach in their playoff run. I think throughout the... You know, I read this today and was thinking about it. Obviously, you're going to look at the situation with Aaron Rogers as a good comparison

for how these things could play out. And initially, I was 100% on Aaron Rogers side. I think if you are a player of the status of Aaron Rogers, you deserve a conversation if they're going to move up in the draft and take Jordan Love. And comparatively, the organization deserves whatever reaction Aaron Rogers has. when you choose to not communicate with people. Like both of those things are fair. The organization has the right to do it.

If you choose not to communicate with your star and in a situation like Green Bay, a very important star, you deserve whatever his reaction is. He deserved a phone call or a meeting, yes, absolutely. A DM, like anything, an email, nothing. I agree. So however you react, that's on you.

You have to know how to deal with people on both ends of it. But the 49ers is an interesting comparison to that situation because Jimmy Garoppolo really could have been a pain this year. Oh, yeah. And he chose to be the exact opposite. Not only was he great about all of this,

knowing every single week people are talking about Tray Lance, when he gets into talking about Tray Lance, if he doesn't win this game, we're moving on to Tray Lance. If he doesn't win this wildcard game, as he moved out immediately, and the Tray Lance era starts. And we haven't heard a peep about it.

Like the beginning of the season was a little bit, a little rocky. Kyle Shannon was kind of weird about who was going to be the starter. But from all accounts, he has kept this entire situation drama-free. You could make an argument in the NFC. What won this weekend was better cultures. The Rams culture, more academic, really progressive and tight,

was better than the Tampa culture, which Brady subtly complained about post- Thanksgiving, and the Niners all-in culture beat team led by a star who bailed on teammates. once Mercedes-Lu has fumbled the ball, the trust factor deteriorated. There's an argument to be made. Cultures in close games won football games in the NFC this weekend. And I think it was very strategic and smart by Jimmy Garoppolo,

who, you know, we've been critical of his decision-making over the years. But I think this year was a great example of what kind of a leader and professional he can be. That's a hard situation to be in to make a trade like that for Tray Lance, to have that looming over your shoulder all year long and to be able to be a leader in the locker room the way that he has. And to Shanahan's point, he's taken that off the table.

Like, he's removed that from the conversation so everyone can focus on winning. Like, I think that's a tremendous trait to have wherever he does end up if he saves with a nineers and moves on. Like, you have to commend him for being able to handle it that way. All right, here we go. Nets drama, James Hardin. Here we go.

This is big. An important part of the Nets current lineup. But according to Bleacher reports Jake Fisher, Hardin might not be with the team for long. According to Fisher, Hardin has not enjoyed living in Brooklyn. And he has voiced his frustrations regarding Kyrie's part-time playing status. Oh, what do you know? He's also made it clear. He intends to test out free agency in the offseason.

He's never been a free agent in his career. He should. He said he remains fully invested in helping the Nets pursue a title this season. And the Sixers have also wanted to try and land hard in this off season. and it's also been reported by the athletic that Hardin chose the Nets over the Sixers when he was traded by the Rockets. Okay, so this is the greatest example.

Kevin Durant and Hardin, we're good with Kyrie. Two things happen, though. They asked Kevin Durant about Kyrie at 1.3 months ago and he says, I don't know, I haven't talked to him. Is that how you did? If Joy just left my show for a month, I wouldn't, I texted you this morning. Okay, so that was a warning sign.

and now Hardin's story comes out, I'm not happy with it. Folks, do not, there's always a story behind the story. The idea that James Hardin and Kevin Randt were, I'm good with it. If Joy showed out one so we could only do Tuesday shows, you don't think I go to management and go, yeah, I love her, but she's not, she's not here for the show enough. Folks, of course they're going to say they're happy. Hardin's ticked off, Durant. Why?

Because they have to play more minutes. When they lose, they get all the heat. This has always been a selfish move. I said Kirk Cousins was selfish and Wentz was selfish not getting vaxed. And I'm not a mandate guy. But quarterbacks, there's two a roster, maybe three, get vaxed. It's not receiver or linebacker. And star NBA guy that says, I can only play a road games.

Of course it ticked off as star teammates. Now we're getting the real story. Well, especially because who knows if they wanted to do it or not, but they did because this is what they do for a living and that's what requires them to do it. I'm not a mandate person either and there is no mandate in this situation. No. It is a New York City mandate, not an NBA mandate. So this is a choice that Kyrie Irving made, which he is allowed to make.

Yes. And it is also a selfish decision. Two things can be true. You can feel however you want it to feel about it. He is making this decision for himself, which he has a right to do. It is also a selfish decision. If I was a skier, a bowler, a tennis player, it's different. When I'm part of a collective, a team, and I'm not available to you half the year,

yes, that tears at the fabric of a team. It's just, it's not difficult. Can you imagine if Tyreek Hill? Guys, I'm only available for roadies. What? If Missouri had, I mean, seriously, we would be, it would be outrageous to think about that. But in the NBA, people tend to give athletes a pass, I guess. It's really frustrating.

Well, I don't think he is getting a pass. I think it's becoming obvious now that it's a huge problem for the team. I mean, I understood why they brought him back because KD is playing all these minutes, and now KD is hurt, and James Hardin is being forced to play more minutes, and it doesn't work. Like, you need all of your stars. It's not the way the league is set up. The NBA is not like the NFL where it's next man up.

You can lose a player in a certain position, not a quarterback, obviously. Maybe not a left tackle. But you can kind of make things work in a big moment. It doesn't work like that in the NBA. You have to have your stars if you're going to make a long run. And they don't have him. And even when they do make the postseason, which they will, they're only going to have him for road games during the postseason run.

And in Steve Nash, it's all good. Kevin Duran, it's good. James Harden, it's good. You think Steve Nash was happy about this? No, he's got to be losing his mind. Of course he is because he's a human being. He's a coach. Andy Reid.

Yeah, Travis Kelsey only plays half the games. Yeah, Andy's going to be like, yeah. It's just frustrating from a fan perspective to not have been able to see this group together fully healthy 100% of the time. Like we just, we never got that and we never will get it. Yeah. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line news.

It is amazing. At the top of the hour, you know, herd hierarchy is done until next football season. But I want to list the 12 best players, the best players and the most crew. players going forward in the NFL conference championship games. It's amazing who I left out. And I went 12. I thought about going 15 because you start leaving out people that are just magnificent and important.

We'll do that. Kevin Clark next from the ringer. He's great. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. He's by Carmen. I'm Dan Byrd. We have a brand new fantasy football podcast called I Want Your Flash. Twice a week, every Tuesday and Friday, we come up with new episodes to not only look back at what happened, what you need to do at that minute, and also look ahead of what's coming up in the fantasy football world.

That's right, Dan. Every week we're going to scour the waiver wire to find the pickups to turbo boost your fantasy lineup. Sit, starts, fantasy football players' rankings to get you ready to dominate the competition. Listen to I Want Your Flex with Mike Harmon and me, Dan Beyer on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast. at wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, 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 be heard but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories

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

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 was 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, so... Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes, I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years. for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month,

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

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Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. All right, one of my favorite guys, Kevin Clark works at the ringer. He has great football thoughts all the time. Joy and I love him. Kevin Clark undisclosed location. I'm not giving it away, but it is warmer than most of American. I'll just stop there.

All right, Kevin. I said this earlier. There are things that happen sometimes in our lives. They leave a wake. and I'm watching Josh Allen and Mahomes and I think there's NFL executives around the league looking at that and thinking, in the AFC thinking, Tua?

Mac Jones? And it's not a shot at those guys, but that was so stupendous. I looked at it and I, you wrote an article about this. I think it left awake. I think a lot of people in their departments, personnel departments went, guys, that's 12 years of this. Your thoughts about what you watched.

the barrier for entry to be an elite team is higher than it ever has been. And it's not just having an elite quarterback. Nobody wins the Super Bowl because they have an elite quarterback. They win the Super Bowl because they figured out what to do with their elite quarterback. That's the lesson of the Chiefs and the bills right now is they pushed all the right buttons around them. They had the play caller. They had the talent. They kept them upright with the offensive line.

That's the fear for everybody is you need that elite quarterback and you got to be smart. You can get to the final four. We see this with the Niners right now. but you have to do everything else perfectly. Okay, if you're the dolphins right now and you have Tua, sure, you can get to the final four, but you've shown no evidence that you can build an offensive line and pick the right players. There's nothing going for them. I mean, with the offensive play callers, I mean, I love Brian Flores, but he's treated offensive coordinators like Uber drivers.

Oh, this guy's available. Okay, fine. And you think about all the steps necessary to get to here. Yes, the barrier for entry is higher than it ever has been. And if I'm a GM right now, I'm very, very scared about the future. You know, I said my concern about Brady to Tampa was never, you know, that he wouldn't work. He is so academic and intense and driven. And so is sort of the New England region where I live for a decade.

And I lived in Tampa. It's loose. It's loose. It's loose. It's cocktails early. Bruce Arian runs a loose ship. And I said, that'll be an interesting fit. Well, it worked in year one because Tom said, follow me in this intensity.

And you'll win. And they did, and they all got paid, and they all got contracts. Sustaining that with that football culture and Aryans may be a second thing. And Kevin, I kept hearing post- Thanksgiving from Tom. Subtle reminders. We're not focused. Everybody's got to concentrate. I think he was giving us message.

He was getting very frustrated as the ship was loosening. I do think he will think long and hard about retirement because I don't think he can fix that overall city. football franchise culture, your thoughts? Everything is different in the south of the NFL. It's warm weather. The media is completely different. And you're right, the culture can be completely different. Where things are just treated differently.

And I think Arizona is one of those. Tampa Bay is one of those. Miami, Jacksonville, just a little different than the daily grind of New York or New England. I think that Tom Brady, from a football perspective, hasn't lost anything. This is a guy who's addicted to football, and addicted to getting better. Remember, he's not only the best player in history.

He improved more than maybe any athlete in history. No one's gone from sixth round pick to best player in history like this. He had almost 5,000 yards this year, 40 touchdowns. Only four other guys in history have had those kind of numbers. I know there's an extra game, but that's incredible. I think he's always said he could play to 46. And his throwing coach used to compare up to Nolan Ryan, who had the mechanics at 46.

So there's something there. This is going to be a family decision. I think if he's frustrated with the culture, there's not really much you can do. You're under contract for another year. You're not going to switch again. But this is a guy who built a system exactly how he wanted it in New England. He knew where everything was. This was a guy who'd get upset in June if he was two inches off a pass because he was thinking about yards after catching November.

I think he wants everything perfect. And if it's not, he's fine going on a boat and being dealt out of this whole NFL thing, I bet. 30% of NFL first round picks are misses. Gordon Love, two years, no indication. It's a hit. Green Bay historically drafts well and develops well. So they do. It's a good team.

I do not believe they're in a rebuild. But they are in a bind. Aaron's got a lot of leverage here. And he can threaten retirement, so that would mean they could only trade him to a really good roster like a Denver or Pittsburgh. I don't think he's going to retire. I think he's going to go spend some time doing Aaron stuff. where are you on a shocking loss?

He got very safe in the second half, a lot of three and outs. It was, if he had lost a shootout, it's one thing. The whole thing felt ugly and it just felt like the worst way to lose. Where are you today on Aaron, the Packers, and his future? Those comments after the game were pretty unbelievable because it sounds like he doesn't want to be around for a rebuild. And with the cap situation, there's at least going to be some retooling. Devante Adams will be franchise tag. I don't think the Packers are stupid enough to mess that up.

But this is a bit of a mess right now. And one of the most influential games of this season was Jordan Love at Kansas City showing that he's not the guy in the short term. Maybe he will be after some development of a system. But he didn't show he was ready. I mean, Matt Flynn did better in MopUpdoub a couple of years ago. So I think that's extremely worrying. I think Rogers comes back.

I agree with you. I mean, especially if Adams is there. I think that there's probably, listen, I mean, there's probably a step back. David Boxiari will probably be back next year. But I think this is, if Rogers was a free agent, the best place for him would be Green Bay. There are things that concern me about Saturday night.

I mean, listen, we can put all the blame on Maurice Drayton, the special teams coach. That was one of the worst special teams performances I've ever seen from a team, especially a good team. But I'm a pretty big, no excuse. guy, Colin, and this is an offense who, easy for me to say, I just talk about it, but this is a guy who put up a lot of points and ran a lot of good plays all season. And for him not to overcome one unit against a team in San Francisco that didn't have a quarterback, I was extremely disappointed.

I thought this Packers team was going to make the playoffs. I thought the last dance narrative was perfect. The fact that they went out so quietly to me was kind of disturbing. Just a minute left. Brian Dayball to the Giants feels so right. to me. How about you? Well, first of all, pray for Brian Daibor going from Josh Allen and Daniel Jones, okay? Prayer is up for Coach Daibol, if that's the case. But I agree. I think that he's shown the ability to maximize his quarterback. And if you're a team right now, like the Giants, without a long-term planet quarterback, who else would you rather have? They're Brian Daibald. I mean, I think there's assistants right now who are showing they can do anything you want them to do with a unit.

D'Amico Ryan in San Francisco is showing unbelievable things. the kind of coach that I would hire right now. I mean, that's the same reason Dan Quinn is able to write his own ticket at this point. There are owners who are impressed with their ability to make these guys better. That's what you need right now. Player development and culture are the two things that you should hire off of. I think all these guys have it, Colin. All right. It's Kevin Clark. He's actually, are you in vacation and just did this for us today? What's going on here? I know where you're at. I'm working. I'm working from Florida, but I'm locked in. I'm just looking out the balcony. like twice a day and then I'm just doing my normal work stuff. That's a good place to look

out. Kevin Clark, good seeing you, buddy. The ringer. Anytime, Colin. So I'm going to give you my 12 best players. It's remarkable how much talent there is. And he talked about culture. It is, I think to me, if you can go to the bills and get

their assistant GM and Brian Dayball with what's happening in the league with offensive coaches, that feels about as good. I said this last year. You were here. Robert Sala to the Jets. I said, you're asking the Jets to draft a quarterback, build an offense in an offensive league,

and you're hiring a defensive coach. I didn't like to solve a hire. I don't get these defensive hires. I've seen Dan Quinn. There's a ceiling. So to me, Brian Dable and Joe Shane, that's as good as the Giants could do. They're in the same state.

They get the intensity. They get New York. It may be Buffalo, but they get it. That feels like a really good GM coach combo to me. What's it mean for Buffalo? More on that later. Hour one, down hour two next. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends.

Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel. Help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the eye. Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor.

It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, 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 tantons 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.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.