The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Brady, Watson, Cowboys

Episode Date: March 14, 2022

Tom Brady is coming out of retirement to play for the BucsTeams that are interested in Deshaun WatsonWhy the Cowboys traded Amari CooperGuest: Albert Breer Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Oh, here we go. It is a Monday. Great to be back. Live in L.A. It's the herd wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. Oh, March is so much fun. High Heart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. One hour from now where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong, plenty of both.

Joy Taylor filled in more than capably on Friday. The tournament seating is out. I'm taking Arizona to win it. And you know what? Arizona wins it. Phoenix Suns three months later win the championship. We've been going in two. Arizona's year, yeah.

It's that year. Remember the Tampa Bay Lightning in the box? We got the Lakers and the Dodgers and the Rams. It's been doing this. So I'm going to take the Arizona Wildcats on the Phoenix Suns, the basketball world in the next three months. They'll be very happy in the Valley of the Sun. Has this been like the best March ever?

we didn't have any sports for four months. And now this March has been insane. Well, the NFL is really good at this. They kind of look at the calendar and they fill in months. They do this much better than other sports, especially baseball. They moved their free agency. So they figured out the season ends. You guys go vacation for about three weeks.

And then in March, we're going to make this thing ratcheted up. And now with mobility, like, NFL mobility is like better than NBA mobility now. It's crazy. It's incredible. All right. So let's start with that. Good show today. A lot of stuff coming up. Tom Brady, you know, I thought he was going to stay retired because Tom's very detailed and planned out. He's not kind of an ad lib guy. But I said there's a 5% chance. And my reasoning was the days are really long. They're really long. Every day. I find myself going, all right, I'm done with stuff. It's 1145 in the morning every Saturday. And I've seen athletes do this. I want to retire. They have dad guilt. I want to retire, I want to spend more time with my family, and then seven weeks later, they miss hanging around and doing what they do for a living. So if Brady is anything, though, he's super hyper competitive.

We know that, right? He's very driven, very competitive, very aspirational. I think some of this is, number one, Tom looked around the NFC. Russell Wilson left the conference. San Francisco is relying on a kid, Trey Lance. Arizona's talented but noisy. Dallas always underachieves. And Aaron Rogers got more money,

but you're already seeing this morning, they have to get rid of people. And Tom looked around and thought, okay, what's my roadblock? The Rams. But Tom's been in this league long enough. Winning back-to-back Super Bowls is almost impossible in this league.

It's almost impossible. Guys get a little fat and lazy. They go to too many, you know, parades. They have an extra beautiful. in the off-season, it's just not the same. So much of the NFL, because the competition is so close, so much of it is your will, you're off-season.

Do you come and ready to go? So I think a big part of it is Tom looked around at the landscape. We talked about this. Joy and I talked about this. You kind of look around and you're like, man, the bottom of the NFC is big. There's a lot of bad teams and a lot of easy Ws and his division stinks. And the other thing I think is dad guilt. I think highly driven moms and highly driven dads always struggle with guilt.

am I spending time with my kids? Am I spending time with my husband or wife? And Tom had dad guilt. But his kids are getting older. If you've got kids, you know by 12, 13, they got options too. And his wife, she doesn't stay home much. International. Giselle's busy.

The kids have a life. And Tom, after about six, seven weeks, is like, okay, it's 10.45 in the morning. Anybody want to hang out? And the kids are gone. Jeddell doing stuff and he's like, oh, I don't really miss football. So I think Tom's hyper competitive.

He surveyed everything. I think there's the dad guilt, which I've talked to a lot of buddies for a long time about this. And the other thing we have to be honest about is Tom's taken care of himself. Marino was hobbled at the end. Elway was hobbled. Payton was hobbled.

Kurt Warner got whacked. All these guys fell apart physically. But athletes last longer. LeBron scored 50 points twice last week. LeBron James is in his 19th year. He's averaging 29 and a half points a game. Now, think about that. I grew up with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

He lasted forever. You couldn't stop his sky hook. The last day left the NBA. It's the best shot. Forget Jordan. It's the most unstoppable shot ever. Never been duplicated. The sky hook.

His last year in the league. And Kareem was a smart, is a smart guy. who's in impeccable shape. He averaged 14 points a game. LeBron's averaging over double that. And some of that's just a credit to LeBron, but it's not like Kareem wasn't in shape. The reality is you fly team planes,

nutrition's better, training staffs are better, athletes go home, the pliability stuff, they last longer. Brady is fine. He remains the best pre-snap quarterback in the NFL. The division stinks. The NFC is wide open.

Dad, guilt, after about eight weeks you're like House has been running without me for years it's going to be just fine the only surprise in this to me and it is a surprise because I didn't think he would come back the only surprise in it for me is Tom is so detailed and so meticulous and such a planner

that he's not the kind of guy that's just like yeah go either way on this stuff but he said on the Jim Gray podcast about six weeks ago He said, I don't know. Never say never. So he left the door open. And I think people like Tom, I think this is common throughout America for men and women, moms and dads and single people who are just willful.

You know, it's hard to say it's over when you're still great at it. He led the NFL in what passing yards and TD passes? I mean, he was an MVP candidate. I think he finished second in the voting. The division's bad. The NFC's kind of bad. I get it. Surprise me, but I get it. All right, let's segue

to this. I have been told for a week the Carolina Panthers should be the leading candidate to get Deshawn Watson. Now, the Saints have more to give than Carolina. But Carolina, you know, Deshawn's an ACC

legend. Carolina's right in the footprint of the ACC. They saw how big Cam was as a Southern football star. The owner wants Deshawn Watson. They've got an offensive coach. So let's talk about the Cleveland Browns and Deshawn Watson. Cleveland Brown fans love. Love, love, love, love, love, love, love.

They love to shoot the messenger. Mary Kay Cabot's been breaking stories for 10 to 15 years in Cleveland. And she has a story today that the Cleveland Browns want Deshawn Watson. I have been told the same thing. I was told midway through last season. I got on the phone with a general manager who was friends with Andrew Barry, the GM for the Browns. And he said, and I just asked him about it. I said, you know, what do you make of the Baker Cleveland thing?

It was, you know, a routine call. And he said, Andrew Barry's exhausted because Baker's exhausting. The media skirmishes. He's battling every press conference. You got to bring him in occasionally. The injury is not his fault. But he's, you know, he got injured last year because he threw a pick, thinks he's more athletic than he is, sized up a safety, got hurt, never the same. the OBJ stuff.

And now the Cleveland media has turned on Baker, unfairly in my opinion, because he was beat up at the end of the year. I kind of supported him down the stretch. The Cleveland media, though, which was easy on him early, is now too harsh late, where I think I was fair on him early. He was overvalued. And now I think it's not fair to crush Baker because he's beat up. And I think he'll be better in September and October.

But they'd like to upgrade. And it's a real simple conclusion here. I don't think they're going to get him in Cleveland because I don't think they have as much to give in terms of personnel and picks perhaps. Remember, Deshaun has a no trade clause. He can kind of pick where he wants to go. And I think he would take New Orleans or Carolina over Cleveland. But I will say this is you can't be noisy unless you're great.

Aaron Rogers is noisy, but he's great. And Kyler's noisy, but he's great. And Big Ben was noisy forever. But in his prime, he was great. It doesn't matter if you're a quarterback. It doesn't matter if you work at a law firm. or you're a landscaper. If you're going to be noisy, you've got to be special.

Because most companies, there's options, and they'll just move off you. Baker's noisy, and they don't think he's worth it. So they are trying to upgrade. I do not think Cleveland's going to get him. And I don't think he's necessarily a great fit. But I will say this. The Houston Texans are in a complete and utter rebuild. I actually think Jacksonville has more good players than Houston.

Houston. Houston could rebuild their defense and not even take Baker-Mayfield in a trade. If I was the Houston Texans, I'd say, give me that rookie linebacker from Notre Dame, give me John Johnson, and give me your three first-round picks. And I would use the two first-round picks, the third pick to get Thaubon-timtoe from Oregon defensive end, the later pick. 13th, I think I take a defensive lineman from the SEC, and you could rebuild your, Houston could rebuild their defense with one trade and one draft.

get a great young linebacker, a great safety, a good edge rusher, a very good defensive lineman, and you wouldn't even need Baker in the deal. You can trade Baker off and get other parts later. Believe me, Baker Mayfield has a market. He's a franchise quarterback. May not be my favorite, but if Gardner Minshew has a market and reportedly he's going to the Colts, that Baker Mayfield has a market. I don't think Cleveland's going to get him, but stop shooting the messenger.

Mary Kay Cabot has been breaking stories in Cleveland. for as long as I've been doing this, it feels like, and she was on it early. My sources tell me the same. They'd like Deshawn Watson. I don't think it happens, but it doesn't mean Cleveland wouldn't choose it if it had the options.

All right. A lot of things going on. Amari Cooper is officially going to Cleveland. Colin right, calling wrong, top of next hour. March Madness is here. Give you my underdog and my favorite. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.

on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHard Radio app. 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 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 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 Clivert 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 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 was big to me, not just because of crack.

I'm down to talk about crack all 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 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, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keer Gaines, we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Hustler Turfs, the brand lawn care pros have trusted for years.

For weekend, Joe's, they got residential zero turnmowers as well. Go to hustlerturf.com. HustlerTurf.com. So Deshawn Watson is the big prize out there for a lot of teams. Carolina and the Saints, multiple reports, are the leaders, Cleveland. is trying, I don't, I don't think they're going to land him. But it's really interesting to watch what's happening now. Seattle to Seahawks, the team I grew up with, right?

We all grew up with a football team. They're going to go from Russell Wilson to as of this morning as the market thins out, Drew Locke, a backup. So Russell Wilson to Denver, in my opinion, is going to look a lot like Brady to Tampa, where Brady and Russell go from defensive coaches to offensive coaches, much better weapons, teams that are just missing a quarterback and win a lot quickly. And the Seahawks and the Patriots with legendary defensive coaches start to free fall.

They're not as good with offense. The league is quickly changing. And the brilliant head coach, be it Belichick or Pete Carroll, that got a lot of credit for all those. W's wakes up and can't compete. Belichick in two years without Brady, 17 wins and 16 losses. Not only can he not compete with Josh Allen and not beat Tom Brady in Foxborough, he couldn't beat DAC in Foxborough. Hell, he couldn't beat Tua last year. Belichick 0 and 2 against Tua. So great cultures tend to be a tad overrated and great elite players tend to be underrated.

McVeigh's great culture. You know why I won a Super Bowl? Because Matt Stafford's better than Jared Gough. And Bill Walsh's brilliance, he was 5 and 16 in San Francisco before Joe Montana became the starter. That's Bill Walsh, arguably the greatest coach in the history of the league. So to me, the Seahawks have given too much power to an aging, defensive coach, and they are kind of royally screwed now. I think Seattle is going to be in a free fall. And what's really interesting, and we've been on this now for months and months.

Seattle has an older defensive coach. No idea what they're doing at quarterback. Pittsburgh's got a defensive coach. What are they doing at quarterback? The Saints elevated their defensive coordinator to head coach. If they don't land to Sean Watson, they're a mess. And the league is changing fast. Denver hires an offensive coach.

He makes it priority number one. they get Russell Wilson. And Carolina, Matt Rule, offensive coach, they have been working on this. I'm told by a source I trust, they have been working and investigating Deshawn Watson aggressively

for nine months to a year. So, you know, we always talk about cultures, and I'm not saying they don't have value. I'm not saying they don't have value. But in the end, you've got to have great. players. And I think Seattle bought into their culture. I think New England and Belichick. It's very much

Greg Popovich. Tim Duncan left. The playoff series wins dried up. He chose culture over Kauai Leonard. The Spurs are not even a top 12 team now. Cultures overrated. They only work when you've got the great unselfish player. Stafford, Brady, Tim Duncan, Russell Wilson, otherwise, just blanche. blah, blah, blah. Leagues changing, defensive coaches, can't win anymore. Can't win with a running game in defense and special teams. Those days are over. Joy with the news.

No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, the Packers got their deal done with Aaron Rogers, but not so much with Devonzee Adams. He reportedly told the Packers he will not play under the franchise tag this season, and he and the team are far apart. on contract terms, according to Ian Rappaport. Of course, the Packers have the least amount of cap space available, according to over the cap. Yep.

And he is the best receiver in the league and deserves to be paid as such and obviously agrees that he should be paid as such. Okay, so Zadarius Smith, according to Ian Rappaport, is going to get released. Yes. Now, he had a back surgery, but he was their best linebacker. He's a really, really high-end player. We said this years ago when they brought him over from, I forget if it was Chicago or Washington, may have been Washington.

And we said, this is a really good get. They didn't pay a fortune for him. He's terrific. He's been hurt. But he's now gone. Devante Adams refuses. So this is the whole thing. All these teams are improving.

What did Green Bay do this off season? Just pay their quarterback more. That takes you out of the Super Bowl. Oh, yeah. I mean, it's over. Since 2011, if you pay your quarterback more than 12.4% of your cap, you do not win the Super Bowl. Since 2011, that's not a trend. that's not a small sample size.

If your quarterback takes up most of your cap space, you don't win the Super Bowl. You don't. So, Chargers have gotten better. Denver's gotten better. Tampa Bay yesterday just got better. You just start looking at all these teams working the cap. Aaron is now a terrific, expensive quarterback.

He didn't trust a number two receiver last year, and now their number one receiver. They're over the cap. at least cap space. Now their star receiver is saying, I want a long-term deal. So this is now,

it's a mess in Green Bay. He had 123 receptions, over 1,500 yards and 11 touchdowns. He leads the NFL in receptions, receiving touchdowns, and 100-yard receiving games over the last two seasons. This team is not the same

without Devante Adams. Oh, God, no. And Aaron Rogers is not the same quarterback as talented as he is without Devonty Adams, because he's the only one that he trusts. So this was my thing about Aaron going back to Green Bay.

Like, it's, everyone keeps saying, like, oh, like, this is the best place for him to win. Why? Because he's in the easiest division. Matthew Stafford's in a pretty tough division, just won the Super Bowl. Like, it's good to win your division. That's great. But teams that don't have Super Bowl aspirations are super concerned about winning their division. That's just what the truth is.

You don't have to win your division to win the Super Bowl. No, Tampa was a wild card. Won it two years ago. It makes it easier. Yes, but Green Bay can't win home playoff games. the number one seed. Well, we've seen over and over. Top quarterbacks went on the road. Stafford won in Tampa. Like this is, we know this. Brady's one on the road. Yeah, is it easier? Yes, of course. But you can't plan your season around those kind of expectations.

You want to put together a roster that's capable of going all the way. And if they don't have Devante Adams there, that's... Oh, they're not, they're going to win a bad division. That's devastating. They're a one and done team. Yes. So Kirk Cousins, speaking of that division, has secured his future with the Vikings at least for the next two seasons. Cousins and the Vikings agreed to a one-year extension for the 2020-3 season worth $35 million. He monetizes the position very well. He does. He is the best in the business.

I've never seen anything like it. He's paid for this season was set to be $35 million, was increased to $40 million. The deal also has a no trade clause. So PFT reported that Cousin's cap number from 2020. who drops from 45.2 million to 31.3 million, so they restructured it to get more cap space. Now, neither one of us think he's bad. That's not it. I've said this before. He's very much in the DAC where I was like, he's grown up. You can get to the playoffs with him. He's a franchise quarterback. That's right. But that's it. Like, he's not spectacular. He's not a

winner. He's made to the playoffs once in four seasons with the Vikings. He has one and two in his postseason in his career. I would say the one thing that Kirk Cousins can always say, and you can never take away from him. He has a better winning percentage at Lambeau than Aaron Rogers does. I think I'm right on that. I think I read that. Kirk Cousins has been a great, great. He's really performed well against the Packers.

Well, yeah. I mean, so for Vikings fans, that's cool. Well, listen, I'm just saying, we all dump on these quarterbacks when they make a lot of money, you know, and it's like... Oh, I mean, I don't care how much Kirk Cousins makes. Look at this, look at the market. What are you going to do? What is better out there? Like, I understand the cult's frustration with Carson Wentz, and I don't like Carson Wentz at all. I think he is a very basic quarterback. He's a 500 guy.

I like him a lot. He's very talented, and he doesn't do anything spectacular when it comes down to the big moments. But he's certainly a starting quarterback. He's certainly a qualified starting quarterback. He's a franchise guy. Is he somebody going to build for the future around? I don't think so. You and I always, we lump him into two categories. I shouldn't put your name on this.

would you take a call or would you not take a call? With Kirk Cousins, with Carson Wentz, somebody calls you, you take the call. Now, I wouldn't take a call on Russell Wilson, but Seattle did, I think, to their demise. But basically, quarterbacks come in two groups. The charges are not taking a call on Justin Herbert, Chiefs, Bills, Rams, like seven, eight teams. We're not taking a call in our quarterback. And the rest of the league is mostly taking a phone call. I have three.

I have your franchise guys, your starters, and your backups. Your bridge guys, you mean? Yes. No, it's like starters. Staters. Like he's the starter. And he is the absolute best at making a ton of money, which I'm not mad at. This is what he does for a living.

Make as much money as you can. And if you provide a service that is not available anywhere else in the market. And reportedly there were other teams interested in trading for him, according to the athletic. Why wouldn't there be? Well, wouldn't the Steelers be better with Kirk Cousins? Absolutely. There are several teams that may be better with Kirk Cousins. So what he makes really doesn't matter because the market dictates what you get paid.

And that's what he gets paid. So NCAA seeding was released yesterday. The top four seats entering the tournament are Arizona, Baylor, Gonzaga, and Kansas. And according to Fox Bet, Gonzaga has the best odds to win the tournament at plus 300. Arizona plus 650, Kentucky plus 800, and Kansas plus 900, Baylor, plus 1100 is the top five. You are going with Arizona to win at all. They were the best team.

I saw most of the top teams play two or three times. Arizona is the best team I saw on their best night. Gonzaga feels like a lesser version of last year. I don't think they're quite as good as last year, so I don't think this is one of the Gonzaga team that wins it. I think Arizona is really good. I don't know if Kentucky's good enough to win it. They can score.

They're a little inconsistent. Tennessee's my dark horse. Yes. Because they're ticked off because they should be a two seed. Instead, they're a three seed, which I always think is a huge advantage for a coach to use in the tournament. Nobody respects you. Right. You got poorly seated.

So it looks like the people, I watched the whole thing yesterday like everybody else. It looks like the committee made their decisions before the weekend. So Tennessee got hosed, didn't get credit for weekend wins. They wanted to enjoy their weekends. Yeah. And now they play a ton of freshmen. and they play a bunch of guards. Tennessee is my dark horse.

The only bad news for Tennessee is they're in the south and they're in the same and Arizona's in the west. So they'll play each other. But I have Tennessee winning until they face Arizona and that game is an either way game for me. Well, I'm going, I think this is Gonzaga's ear. I actually like that they're not coming in and defeated.

I think that was a lot of pressure last year. It was. They added Chet Hohmgroom at 7 foot 1. He's a little thin, but that doesn't matter so much in college. Not a lot of seven-footers in college. They have a lot of experience. Brought back Drew Chimmy and Andrew Nempard from last year's final four team. I think this is their year.

Every year we think it's their year. Last year had a lot of pressure on them. I like the experience. I like Chet. And then my dark horses are UCLA in Iowa. Yeah, UCLA is really interesting. Well, UCLA also has a lot of experience, too. And the tournament, I think that that matters.

When we talk about players transitioning into the NBA, it can become somewhat of a negative if you were in college basketball for too long. But for the tournament, I think UCLA having a lot of experience, and Iowa is on a strong run as well. So those are my dark horses. There you go. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Hurd-Lie News. All sorts of stuff today. It's fun. Yeah, I watched that. And, you know, college, college, I grew up, college basketball in my formative years. College basketball, players would come back. Like Patrick Ewing would come back, his sophomore year, his junior year. So everybody's won and done.

So it's harder to kind of follow it unless you like go to Duke or go to Kansas or go to Syracuse and you're a student. You take your student ID, you go to the games, you know all the players. I follow Villanova closely. I follow Gonzaga closely. UCLA. Either I know somebody in the program. But watching it yesterday, it is fascinating to watch this. I would argue it's one of the only events.

College basketball is one of the only events. It's better early in the playoffs than late. Because at the end, it's all one, two, three seats. It's all IBM. It's all the big companies. It's Google. The first weekend, this next weekend, is one of the best weekends. Most playoffs, whether it's hockey, NBA, they get better as they go.

College basketball is the opposite. The first weekend is the best because you're going to get like four or five upsets, eight to ten near upsets. Keep your eye. She likes Gonzaga. I'll take Arizona. We're both more NBA than college fans. Tennessee's my dark horse.

UCLA and who? Iowa. And Iowa. Iowa's got a good big. Iowa's good. All right, there you go. So there is a story that the Cowboys, it's official, Amari Cooper's going from Dallas to the Cleveland Browns.

I like the move. I think Baker's going to be the quarterback. I think if you're going to find out if he's the guy for an extension, don't think he will be. Got to give him a fair chance. Cincinnati's got too many weapons. The AFC has got too many weapons. AFCA stands for ammo.

The whole conference. now is star receivers, star quarterbacks. Dallas is basically telling you by doing this move that C.D. Lamb, they view as a number one receiver, and he's much cheaper than Amari Cooper. He had six touchdowns, over 70 catches, the productions there. He was bad in the playoff game, but you can't judge a guy in one game. What you really know now is there is such a scarcity of talent at the quarterback position, right? When we talk about great quarterbacks, we say, boom, boom, boom, boom, but seven, six or And then you start kind of getting into the DAC and the Kirk Cousins and the Derek Carr and the Matt Ryan. We argue over how great they are.

It's not the same. Because of college football now over the last 10 years, throwing the ball a lot more than they did, 70s, 80s, 90s. And because young kids are generally out front on cultural changes, these kids realize quarterbacks and wide receivers is where the money is. Kids not only lead us with music, they not only lead us in a lot of areas, they lead us in sports. They know where the money is. And that's why you're seeing the quality of young quarterbacks in high school and college get better, the quality of receivers get better. There are multiple NFL teams that have two star receivers, Minnesota, Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson, the Rams, the Chargers, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Cincinnati, Tampa, Dallas. Tennessee. So what you're seeing now, and that's not counting tight ends. I was talking to Greg

Olson about a week ago, a Fox broadcaster, former NFL great, and he's like, it used to be if a tight end had 600 yards, he was viable. He goes, guys now have 1,000, multiple guys. You can make 90 to 100 catches. So if you look at what's really happening in football, is that there's just, you don't need to pay wide receivers a ton unless they're Devante Adams. Like literally can't be guard it. Or Cooper Cop. I'd pay Cooper Cup, whatever the market bears. He literally is open 10 times a game. Devante Adams. So there's a lot of Amari Cooper's out there, and they're younger and cheaper. So Dallas is telling you, C.D. Lamb had six touchdowns and 72 catches. That's going to go up now because he'll be the focal point of the offense. He drops the ball a lot. But when you

watch C.D. Lamb play. My takeaway is he looks like a one receiver. He's fast and agile, big catching radius, good after the catch. And there's just a position these days. College football is giving us not only more receivers. Many are instant stars. Justin Jefferson, Jamar Chase, walk into the league, and you're like, is that the best receiver in football? So I get the Dallas move.

And I also understand you got to give your quarterback Baker-Mayfield a fighting chance in the last year of his contract. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, I'm Doug Gottlieb. The podcast is called All Ball. We usually talk all basketball all the time, but it's more about the stories about what made these people love their sport

and all the interesting interactions along the way. We talk to coaches. We talk to players. We tell you stories. You download it. You listen to it. I think you like it. Listen to All Ball with Doug Gottlieb on the IHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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 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, 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 a 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 Jett. 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 all day, but just so you all know.

I mean, at this point, 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 IHeartRadio 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. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way.

Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. All right. Colin Wright. Colin wrong. Top of our number two. It is so much fun. Joy and I were talking about this, is that this is just a really good time of the year

for football where, you know, the NFL has always done a really good job in selling optimism and hope. You know, in the NBA, we just know there's seven or eight teams can't compete. Baseball, just because of the finances, seven, eight teams can't compete. I mean, I'm watching the Chargers this weekend. I'm like, if you're a Charger fan with Khalil Mack

and they may get J.C. Jackson, how much fun is that? I mean, you just feel like you're on cloud nine for six months. Albert Breer is good as anybody in this business, Monday morning quarterback. Let's start with Brady's return to the bucks. I mean, you're dialed into Tom as well as anybody. How surprised were you? I'm not surprised.

that he's coming back, I am surprised it happened this quickly. Like, I really thought when he retired, he clearly left the door open. I mean, we can argue whether or not that thing was messy intentionally or unintentionally, but one way or the other, the exit and the way that was handled in the week after the buck season ended. It didn't seem final as that was going on. And so, you know, I think really the intention here was to buy Brady more time. And while at that time he may have been leaning towards retirement, you know, I don't think the door was ever completely shut.

And, you know, he indicated that in a couple of different occasions. Yeah. You know, I thought that what would probably happen here is he may stretch this out into May or June or July and then make a decision after taking a few months away. You know, but obviously the Bucks free agent situation, I think, demanded an answer faster. And also, Colin, I think the other thing is he probably came to grips with the fact that, the Buccaneers probably were going to be his only option for 2022. Yeah, they weren't going to make it easy for them.

You know, it's funny when I heard this story this morning, Joy told it to me first, the Devante Adam stuff. And, you know, I'm watching these teams get better. You know, depending on where Deshawn Watson goes, maybe a Carolina, the Chargers are better. Denver's obviously better. This is an exciting time for fans. And then Green Bay, well, they just paid their quarterback more.

So now Devonte Adam, I mean, seriously, that's great, but that doesn't benefit anybody but one guy. And what do you make of Devante Adams saying, I'm not going to plan a franchise tag? I mean, did they know that two weeks ago? Yeah, you know, I think they knew this was going to be a difficult negotiation. The reason why is that position, Colin, there's a real outlier contract. In what DeAndre Hopkins got from the Cardinals on paper,

looks like $27.5 million per year. Now, if you really break it down, in actual actual, Is it that? Maybe not. But the way any agent who represents a top-flight receiver is going to look at it is say that's the new top of the market, where the guy on the other side of the table is going to tell you, no, like, that's not where the market is. The market has been closer to $20 million per year, and that's where we want to pay you. And this sort of is reminiscent of, you know, 10 years ago when Calvin Johnson's contract was an outlier. And it was tough for Dallas to get Dallis Bryant done. Tough for Houston to get Demarius Thomas done. I think that this is sort of like that, like where they're going to have to find a middle ground and it's not going to be easy to do and it could wind up taking a while. So, you know, I think that Packers knew when they tagged Devante Adams that he did want to do a big third deal with the team and that it wasn't going to be easy because of those logistical

challenges. And look, here's the bottom line too, Colin. With most guys who get tagged, like 90% of them don't get long-term deals until July anyway. So, you know, I think the Packers always viewed that tag as a placeholder here. And I think, you know, after they get a bunch of other business done, they'll get more serious about trying to find that middle ground with Devante Adams. And again, those sorts of things with guys who are tagged usually happen closer to that July 15th deadline. All right. You're always good on this stuff.

Deshaun Watson. I don't know why. I just go back to this. Carolina, ACC, Ledge. they saw the power of Cam. It's a crowded market. A lot of NASCAR fans. College basketball still huge.

They need a star at quarterback. Like, Donald's not it. I just keep going back to, and they have an aggressive owner in Carolina. That's my gut feeling, but they may not have enough stuff to give Houston. It may come down to, they don't have enough picks.

They don't have enough players. What are you hearing under Sean Watson? Well, Carolina is willing to go to the distance. Look, there's no question about that. I mean, I can tell you, they made an offer to Houston. like back before any of the lawsuits were filed. They made a big offer to them before, you know, Houston was willing to part with him.

Now, obviously, lots of changed. Lawsuits were filed. Houston's stance on it softened. You know, but they've been one of the teams that's been in this from the start and one of the most aggressive teams. And if it's not going to be Carolina, Colin, I would say the issue will not be the Panthers coming up short on draft picks, coming up on short on any sort of desire to go and get to Sean Watson. And I think it'll be on whether or not Deshaun Watson wants to go there.

He was unwilling to waive his no trade clause to go to Charlotte last year. You know, Matt Rule, you know, for better or worse, looks like he's going to be fighting for his job in 2022. And so, you know, over the next couple of days, they're going to have to sell Deshaun Watson on the idea of going to Carolina. I think another team that's in that mix, you know, that I think would have to sell him on going somewhere is Philly. And I think Philly is going to be serious about it, whether or not they can get him to go there. It's going to be interesting to see because there are another team that's been in this for a little while. And then I think you had other teams that are sort of new to the fray, Cleveland. I would pay attention to New Orleans.

I would pay attention to Seattle. There are a bunch of teams that have real interest in Deshawn Watson. And for most of those teams, this is the finish line. It's not the starting line. I think just about every team that's had an interest over the course of the last year's put their security people on it. And as Colin, as you know, that's ex-law enforcement. People have been on this. And a couple of those teams have even put private investigators on the ground in Houston over the last year.

So these teams were prepared for what happened on Friday. And I think for each one of them, there's a real desire to go and get him. The question is going to be what he wants to do. And with that no trade clause, he can dictate his destination. So explain this. You know, I feel like sometimes I just dump on Kirk Cousins, who by all accounts, is very capable and a good guy. but you know he gets banged on more than anybody he's won playoff games he's gotten to the playoffs he's actually been great at lambo he's been a very good quarterback against green bay and the mark there's

a scarcity at his position explain to me in the audience why they extended him the money what did they do this weekend with kirk well they alleviated the cap issue okay and that cap number was big the expectation is next year the cap because the new television deals is going to go up to 230 or 235. So if he has a bigger cap number in 2023, that'll be a little bit more manageable than it would be in 22. So they extend them for a year. They create a little bit more stability at the quarterback position for themselves. And here's the other thing, Colin. I think a lot of people, because of the era we're in right now, because of the sort of homesization of the NFL, you know, everybody looks at their quarterback like, say, the Rams looked at Jared Gough now

or the Niners have looked at Jimmy Garoppolo, is what we have good enough. The problem with that is, you know, if you offload your quarterback, then what? Because the Josh Allen's and the Patrick Mahomes and the Justin Herberts aren't just falling out of the sky. And so I think the logic in what Minnesota is doing here is sort of like where Kansas City was in 2013. Andy Reid got hired there. The draft had guys like Gino Smith and E.J. Manuel in it. They decided let's just get competent. Let's get good at the position.

They traded for Alex Smith. Alex Smith gave them five years. That bought them time to build a team for. a young quarterback and wait for the right young quarterback. And it wound up, you know, ending up, that that story wound up ending with the chiefs trading up to go and get Patrick Mahomes. So I think that's Minnesota's strategy right now is Kirk Cousins is good for right now and he'll buy us time to build this thing up.

We can be good with him at quarterback and eventually he'll get us to the next guy. I think that's what the Vikings are doing right now. I think it's a strategy that's being used in a bunch of different places. Yeah. I'd say the Raiders are another one with Derek Carr. There are a number of teams that are looking at this and saying, we can't just count on somebody like Trevor Lawrence falling out of the sky for us. We need to be good at the position now,

and we need to buy ourselves time to find the right one. Yeah, no, I think especially the way the league is moving toward offense, it's the right call. Albert Breyer, Monday morning quarterback, 20 years cover in the NFL. Good seeing you. All right, thanks, Colin. 15, actually. He's not old enough to cover it for 20 years.

He's a young guy, as you can tell. Fairdi's got good news. Best selling legend sweater shirt, back in stock all new colors. Great looking clothes. Super comfortable. Go to Fairdibrand.com. Code heard 20 for 20% off.

You know, remember we talked about a couple weeks ago? I said, if I was a GM, I could not make a move on Jimmy Garoppolo. He's not going to throw for four months and his previous injuries. And all of a sudden there were all these stories. Well, his name has disappeared. So you can tell he is like, I can't figure out what Pittsburgh's doing.

I mean, I'm sorry. I got Joe Burrow. Lamar's coming back. So you are battling Cleveland, and Cleveland's got, in my opinion, a better roster today than Pittsburgh. What is Pittsburgh doing? I got to imagine that they're planning on drafting

a Malik Willis or Kenny Pickett. They just don't want to show their hands because they're going to have to move up. All right. Okay. Did Seattle have a plan? Like, if you're going to move Russell, 48 hours later, I want

another, I want somebody else pulling into my drive-in. I don't know that Seattle and I wouldn't put Seattle and Pittsburgh in the same category. Seattle's in a complete rebuild. Oh, totally. Like they don't have...

Pittsburgh's in a better organizational place. Well, Pittsburgh's led the NFL in Sacks, I think four to five straight years. Right. Seattle's defense is a mess. Yeah, they're far apart. So Seattle not going aggressively after a quarterback

and potentially waiting until next year's draft to get a quarterback. would make more sense to me than Pittsburgh doing that. It is interesting in this league, though. As the league becomes more quarterback-centric, it really creates a have-and-have-noughts in the league. Talking with a friend over the weekend, who's a New York fan,

I said, give me the 12 best players between the Rams Chargers, Giants Jets. The Giants Jets had none of them. Like the bottom and the top in this league, and I consider the Chargers roster a top, like 7-8 roster. the bottom and the top of this league is, especially if you don't have the right quarterback, that gap has widened. 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 I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 Tontons and Wampas on the Ice Planet Hot,

or the practicality and corporate business. sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to bowl your mind 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 I'm 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 Cliver 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.