The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Burrow, Brown, Irving

Episode Date: January 6, 2022

Colin argues that Joe Burrow should be the MVPThe Bucs have released Antonio BrownKyrie Irving isn't reliableGuest: Kevin Clark Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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 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 which 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 Clifers 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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast.

For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching Heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Hi, it is Thursday. It's the herd wherever you may be and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. Yes, it's my birthday.

No big deal. Just another day. You stole my thunder. I thought you were going to be coy about it. Now it's going to be like, it's your birthday. It is. Happy birthday, Bob. Oh, Joy.

You have added to my life. Best partner I've ever had. Joy Taylor. and there's no reason to send me gifts for a cake. No big, just another day in America, whatever. I think you would take a... Jen, a size of a 16 shirt, it's good. An olive oil cake, right?

Oh, my God. Isn't that the kind you like? Oh, my God. Well, I'll go out. You know what? My daughter's in town. How about that? Very nice.

Look at this. Oh, look at this. It's your favorite guys hanging out with us. That's funny. We got to add burrow to this. There you go. So, you know, I thought about doing something.

I had a discussion the other day, and I've been very, very fortunate in my career. I've been able to build this really gigantic audience on digital and podcasting and radio and with the help of joy on TV and the executives here. And to both the companies that had me ESPN on Fox. I've been the luckiest guy in the world. I've had incredible support. And I had this discussion recently with somebody.

I said something happened to Twitter, and it got way more toxic in the last year. There's a lot more people that sign on and have a name like Bob 38, 694. There's more bots. There's more politics. It's more vulgar. And the filters are bad on Twitter. And so I said to a friend, why can't I just post stuff?

Because there's so much vulgarity. People talk about my kids. I'm like, why can I just post stuff? And there's no feedback. I mean, you still get my content, but you can't reply to it. And I'm like, you know, why can't I do it? It wouldn't affect my audience. I mean, the trolls would just move on to somebody else.

They could, you know, be brutal to. And I said, we're just, it's weird. I'm not a political animal. I've told everybody for years, I'm not even sure if God exists. I'm agnostic. I really am. I don't want to say no if I get up there and he's standing at the gate. You know, I'm just not going to commit either way, but I'm socially left.

I'm for pro pot before Obama, pro-gay marriage before, you know, in the 70s, 80s. But I'm kind of fiscally conservative. I run a business. there's a bottom line a way to run a business. But I don't really, I don't get sports politics too much mixed up. And this whole Aaron Rogers, Chicago reporter, is a political story. It's not a football story. He's only one reporter out of 50 people voting.

Who gives a rep? And I do think my gut feeling is Aaron's probably going to win. But, and I don't like that the reporter made it personal and said, I wouldn't vote for him because he's a jerk. I think that's the wrong reason, you know. But if you have 50 people voting on anything, we've got goofy, senators and goofy governors. I mean, you know, there's people have a lot of things and it's all political today. But to prove that the Aaron Rogers, if he doesn't win his political, I'll prove it to you.

Aaron had a better year last year. And two other quarterbacks got votes. And if Tom Brady would have won last year, would any of us been outraged in a pandemic? He goes to a brand new team and literally wins in his division. And, and by the way, beat Aaron in the regular season. And he also beat him in the postseason, but I wouldn't have been outraged by it. But we're outraged. Everybody's saying they're outraged.

It's going to be out. The conservative clickmeisters. Liberal media. Vaccination. Well, actually, I can make an argument. Aaron, who had the second highest passer rating ever last year was more deserving this year. And this year, I went this morning. I said, I'm not going to get into this political Chicago reporter Aaron Rogers thing.

And I went and looked at every stat. Joe Burrow should be MVP. He should be. Joe Burrow has less talent. He beats Aaron Rogers in completion percentage. Aaron has fewer picks. Touchdown passes the same. He gets more passing yards a game.

Over a yard more attempt. Again, the passer ratings are both. You get over 104, 105. They're both amazing. That's Aaron. But Joe has less talent, a younger roster. It's a losing franchise and a significantly tougher division. And in the biggest game for both teams out of division, it was Kansas City.

Burrow was amazing. Aaron wasn't available. Burl threw for 700 more yards. Higher completion percentage. Burrow leads the NFL with three. 15 touchdowns over 30 yards. 15. Aaron's got two.

Pro football focused if we count everything. Joe Burroughs number one. Aaron's number four. If you're going to tell me, I always say this in college football. When Alabama lost a Texas A&M, I said, so what? You can't lose a road game in the SEC to a good program?

Cincinnati! Cincinnati played a bunch of nonsense. They met who was better. I'm not going to go on record solely whoever gets into the college football playoff, nor am I on the MVP. Aaron's in a crappy division. The lions are two layups a year.

The bears were a mess this year, and the Vikings aren't very good, and they still beat Green Bay. Joe Burrow had to go up against the Steelers defense twice, the wildly talented Cleveland defense twice, which for most of the year was great, and Baltimore, when they were healthy, had a good defense.

Burroughs also been sacked almost twice as much as Aaron Rogers. He has a wilder. worse offensive line. And he beats him in virtually every category. Aaron doesn't throw the ball down the field as much. So he has fewer interceptions. But Aaron gets credit for that. And he has a slightly higher passer rating.

And the Klickmeisters will make this about politics. Aaron was better last year and didn't get six votes. And Burrow this year, I think an argument to be made is better than Mahom. Holmes was last year or Alan was last year. Listen, we all know this. It's tougher to be a millionaire if you grow up in a childhood of chaos than it is if your dad was rich or your mom was rich. We all know this.

Cincinnati didn't even have an outdoor practice facility. They play in a tougher division. They had a tougher schedule. He had a brutal offensive line. And he beats Aaron in almost every category. It's not a political thing. Deep dive. And I know these days because of the phone and I'm, I'm,

guilty of this too. Every day when I get home, I usually take a 15 minute nap, get a coffee, and then I read for 90 minutes. And the reason I read is, because with these phones, it's very easy for all of us to just read headlines. So I forced myself to sit down. I go to six or seven or eight or nine sports columnists around the country that I like. I go to websites I like that have real news. And I force myself every day to read for an hour and a half sometimes too. Because I have that responsibility. I make enough mistakes as it is, but I want to be well-versed. And yesterday I'm looking at Burrow and Rogers. Because I said yesterday, I said, you know, I think Aaron's it, but Burroughs close.

And then you go back and you consider everything and you're like, you know, one guy plays in a way better division against way better teams and way better defenses. And by the way, is Matt LaFleur a better coach than Zach Taylor? You can certainly make that argument. So Aaron's got a better coach and a better organization and a better front office and an easier division. And Joe Burrell big tim and almost everything. Well, the interceptions. congrats.

But I've always said, what did I say about Mike Tomlin this week? I don't want you to use this to get into the Hall of Fame as a coach. You know, I didn't suck much. What did you do? I'm not really going to give you an MVP because, you know, he doesn't throw many interceptions. How many touchdowns? Do you throw the ball down the field? Do you have to overcome anything?

That's why I said Brady last year didn't win the MVP, but nobody would have been outraged of Brady. He beat Aaron ahead to head. he had all new pieces, all new coaching. He walked into the wrong house when he moved into Tampa. He didn't even know how to hell to get to work. It's like it's what you overcome, not just numbers. And we know it's not just numbers. And if it was, Burrell would win because the two greatest quarterback years in the history of the sport are Brady and Manning.

And they didn't win unanimously. So this is a political thing. The Clickmeisters will be out there saying it's about the vaccination. And I don't like that reporter's reason. for not voting for him. That's nonsense. If you don't, you know, whatever. But I do think it matters that in the biggest game on the NFL schedule this year,

forget vaccination, no vaccination. It was Green Bay, Kansas City was our circle game. We all talked, that was the Super Bowl. Aaron wasn't available. O'Burro was when they played him and was unbelievable. Was against a red hot Chiefs defense. He tore it apart. I think if you're honest and get out of the politics and the nonsense,

I think there's an absolute argument to be made. Burlesing MVP. And by the way, this is not an anti-Aren thing. The cheeseheads believe everybody's against them. No, we're not. I have defended Aaron on this. I've defended erred a million times. But I'm not a house guy.

I don't wave a pom-pom. I don't wear a cheese hat. And if you live in Green Bay, that's what you want. You want the constant praise. Aaron's worthy of occasional criticism. He can be a little needy. He's great, but he's a little needy. But I think if you really are totally honest and take all the nonsense about Vax and non-fax,

I don't care. It's just, again, get Vaxed, boosted. I've been both. I have friends who haven't. Whatevs. I don't hang out and breathe on him, but, you know, what-evs. It's not a mandate. Cole Beasley, fine receiver.

If I'm Buffalo, I'd rather have Cole Beasley on my team than not. And he's unvaccinated. I'd rather have him on my team than not. But if you dig deep and you talk about what you overcome. Burrow, by the way, is also coming off a brutal injury. And we all know in the NBA MVP and the football MVP, it's a story too. There's a story quality to it. It's not just raw numbers.

The story of Burroughs better. We don't even know if Zach Taylor's a great coach. The division's better. His support's worse. And he beats Aaron at virtually everything. That said, the Chicago reporter is wrong. I don't think Aaron's a jerk. I think he's a jerk.

and I don't think that's a reason not to vote for somebody. Okay, the AB situation. We got a lot. We got a lot here. Hold on. Let me see this one. Hold on. I have to do some work here.

Okay. The AB situation. We'll discuss that coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the 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 where you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clipper Taylor the Follinger. fourth. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you

behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast,

or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we picket 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 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 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 tons, tons 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 podcast. It is great to have you in today.

Now entering the No Bull Zone sponsored by Credible, great rates with none of the Bull, credible. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have just released Antonio Brown a minute ago. So he's gone. He was on Instagram and yesterday trying to embarrass Bruce Ariens. And listen, I don't know Antonio Brown personally. and I don't know the real truth in this story. I know that Antonio Brown almost once killed a child,

throwing furniture out of the building, rape accusations, robbed a delivery driver, stiffed multiple people, fourth team four years. He's a bad, bad guy. I also know Bruce Ariens is beloved by coaches, has the most diverse staff in the league,

beloved by players. There's a reason Brady chose that place. That's what I know. I don't know what happens on Instagram and texting. A lot of stuff happens. People say a lot of things on texting. This is interesting, though. It's a little bit of a cautionary tale on something.

Stars in American sports are richer and more powerful than ever. LeBron has a net worth of $800 million while he's playing, much richer while he's playing, not even close to Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan's had a lot of his wealth after playing. LeBron has as much money as Michael does playing with years left. He'll get MVP votes. Tom Brady, Aaron Rogers, Mahomes, $400 million contracts. They're players.

They're not personnel people. This is a cautionary tale. Tom wanted A-B. And that's why he's there. Bruce didn't. GM didn't. A lot of the players didn't. but Tom wanted him and Tom has immense pull especially you know if you look at Tampa's history it was not a winning culture

um Randall Cobb is not a bad guy he's a great guy but Aaron Rogers wanted him remember and he has 28 catches and is hurt again and LeBron wanted Westbrook the Lakers did not they did not want Westbrook and Westbrook now is driving LeBron It's a cautionary tale. Star athletes have power. Use it for your Instagram. Stay out of the personnel department. Brady wanted a player that's bad for the locker room. Shocking.

He was bad for the last three locker rooms. Kevin Durant's a brilliant basketball player. He chose Kyrie over Steph Curry. That's what star athletes do. They get players that make them comfortable. They're comfort food. LeBron James wanted Tristan Thompson paid because Tristan would do all the crappy, dirty work on the glass that LeBron didn't want to, made $82 million. He can't shoot to Shooters League.

But he was comfort food. Tristan Thompson was comfort food for LeBron. Westbrook would be big minutes, comfort food for LeBron. I can't play 38 minutes. Antonio Brown made Tom comfortable in that dependable veteran guy. Randall Cobb made him comfortable and he's hurt and kind of expensive and really doesn't produce much. Now, of all those, only one of those people is really, really toxic as a human. Rest them are good guys.

Just don't have a ton of value or we're overpaid. But this is something we're seeing in sports a lot, is that the star player has so much power that they're not making person. personnel decisions and they overwhelmingly do a really, really bad job of it. A.B. may have been good for Tom. There was never any inclination. He would be anything other than eventually toxic for this locker room. And today, moments ago, A.B. was released by the B. Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Jimmy Garoppolo was limited in his return to practice Wednesday after missing last week's game with a thumb injury.

His status for the regular season finale on Sunday is uncertain as well. And Jimmy said he's dealing with a lot of pain. It hurts. I don't know how else to describe it. It feels like the web in your hand is kind of tearing a little bit. Yeah, that's probably the best way I could describe. But, you know, it's sore. It was a pretty good throwing session yesterday.

I just, you know, trying to get the motion back and everything. I get it feeling where I want it to feel. I know nobody likes him because he's the world's most handsome man next to Danzel Washington, but Jimmy Garoppolo is 30 and 14 with a Super Bowl trip. He is going. You know, we're all talking about these college guys. Folks, Jimmy, he's a little injury prone. The web is kind of random.

There's a lot of teams out there right now that need quarterbacks and nobody. three executives have told me this in the last month. None of these quarterbacks are top ten material. None of them are. I've been saying it. I know Jimmy G. It's a big problem staying available. It's my biggest issue with Jimmy G.

It's not so much his talent capabilities because we've seen that he can win and he can play on the highest level, but he's just not available. And at the quarterback position, that doesn't work. And that's, in my opinion, the main reason why Tray Lance is there. because you can't go year to year, month to month, not knowing if your quarterback is going to be available. And Jimmy is always hurt. But that being said, the quarterback market is bleak.

I mean, if you look at who is going to be available in that Jimmy Garapolo space, like somebody who you can trade for, somebody who's not a huge price point, outside of Deshaun Watson with a complete unknown. Obviously, we know Deshaun Watson is more talented and better. than Jimmy Garoppolo. But Jimmy's it. Jimmy is the only one who's available that's in this caliber. That's right.

Like, you can't, there's two big a cap hits if you moved off Matt Ryan or Kirk Cousins. And we have no inclination the Raiders want to move off Derek Carr. Like Jimmy's it. Nine teams need it. Aaron Rogers and Russell Wilson are, we have no idea if they want to move or not. And because Baker would have been an interesting trade piece, but he is now banged up. So a lot of teams will be reluctant because healthy Baker is absolutely a trade piece. Sure.

Beat up Baker, what we've seen for six weeks. is, it's a big, big gamble. So Jimmy's it, and they're moving on. So I think, I've said this before, if I was Carolina, if I was the Pittsburgh Steelers, if I'm Denver, better than what I got. Yes. And outside of the availability issues, which is just going to come with them no matter what, that's a massive upgrade over the situation that you have.

Now, this situation that the 49ers are in is kind of predictable for the same exact reason. Like, this is what you signed up for. Yes. My question is this. If they don't make the playoffs this year, is that kind of a wasted year for Tray Lance? Because this is the gamble that you took with Jimmy Garoppel. I don't think it is.

No, I don't. I think if you look at Tray Lance's lack of reps, this is exactly what I wanted to see. Get every last inch out of Jimmy Garoppel. Remember, Kyle signed like a seven-year deal, Lynch. These guys are safe. They're safe. Yeah.

And so to me, I think we sometimes, we forget that Patrick Mahomes really didn't play, and it's been great. And Aaron Rogers didn't play, and it's been great. And there's an argument to me made, they're the two best quarterback. So Tom Brady didn't play his first year. So I think the Trey Lance, I think ideally, this is the way to do it. You have a grown-up, Alex Smith, Garapolo, people that are secure in themselves and can handle it. You sit for a year.

You get one or two starts, and then you move on. So I think Trey Lance is a – I mean, I watched them this past week. It looks great. It was 16 and 23, 249 yards, two touchdowns. You wouldn't have been not way in week two, so I think Trey Lance was the winner. I think the Niners are the winner. It just, you know, it hasn't gone. The division's great. It happened to be great.

Well, they can clinch a playoff first with a win or a tie against the Rams or a Saints loss or tie against the Falcons. So it can be a tough game for them this weekend against the Rams if Jimmy G is hurt. And then, of course, if Trey Lance, the rookie has to go out there and start. So Tua was the subject of trade talks throughout the season. until the trade deadline. Miami was reportedly very interested in making a move for Deshaun Watson, but a deal was never reached. And the dolphins have now missed the postseason for the fifth season in a row, fifth straight year, third time under Brian Flores. And Tua's future is in question

again, but he says he's not focusing on what may happen this offseason. No, and I'm not worried about that. If it comes up, it comes up. If it doesn't, it doesn't. I actually, I was very impressed with Tua over the season dealing with that. those constant questions. Total adult. He's a total adult. By the way, very Alabama. Mac Jones, adult. Bryce Young. Jalen Hertz. You notice it's a theme. The quarterbacks that come out of Alabama are like, it's almost like Nick has said, guys, here's how you become a franchise quarterback. The podium matters. Well, yeah. And Nick has NFL experience, so he can speak to how all of that works and how it can go badly. if you don't handle the media the proper way,

because that's what Sabin's legacy is in Miami because largely for that reason. So I'm not surprised the way the Alabama quarterbacks handled themselves. He was very impressive with that all year. That's a lot to deal with as a young quarterback to constantly, to come in thinking you're the franchise guy based off of your draft position,

to then not have the starting position to Ryan Fitzpatrick, to get put out there, to get yanked in the biggest moments. And then through the whole first part of the season until the trade deadline, there's constant conversation about if you're even going to be there or not. But that being said, what happens on the field matters. And this was always the question with Tua. And the circumstances with the dolphins are pretty unique because they have missed the playoffs for five years in a row.

So whether it's completely on Tua or not, they might look to operate at the quarterback position. Now, I don't know that the Deshaun Watson thing is going to become a conversation again because we still have no answers on his legal situation. And if we don't have any answers now, what difference did it make if you didn't do it in the middle of the season? But they're, I mean, he's six and five as a starter. The dolphins are eight and eight. Their offensive line is the lowest pass block and grade and 29th run block and grade this season. So the offensive line is terrible. Yeah.

And that's really what they need to focus on this offseason. Regardless of who it is is playing quarterback, that's the unit that you need to upgrade. So Joe Burrow will not play in the Bengals final regular season game on Sunday against the Browns. He looked hurt at the end of that KC game. This is the right move for him. Yes. So at the end of the win over the Chiefs, he limped off the field. of what seemed to be a knee injury. He said there's no concern going forward. The knee is a little sore,

but he's healthy enough to play if he needed to. No value in having him out there. We've already seen how catastrophic this can be. Give him the rest. The game doesn't matter. And I mean, they're still playing for seating in the AFC, but it's not worth possibly getting him injured after the incredible MVP level season that he's had. So they've elected to give him some rest instead. Good stuff. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping you. The Herd Lie News. 30 minutes from now, if you love football, you play fantasy football, you bet on football or just want to get smarter. Greg CoSell on a Thursday.

Last week may have been his best ever. He's so good on explaining this league to all of us. So last night, Kyrie Irving returned, had 22 points. Kevin Durant was still unbelievable. Watch a little bit of this game. He was unbelievable. And so Kyrie did what he did. And this morning, everybody's like, oh, look.

look at him. He is brandishing that talent. He is unbelievable. The question has never been, is Kyrie Irving talented? The question has never been, can he get along with other stars? The question is, is he a long-term personality to build around for a title? So let's go to resumes. I know they don't matter much anymore, but let's go to resumes. You know, they used to teach you how to do those things in high school and college. So let's take his entire. basketball career. His one year at Duke, then take Cleveland and Boston and Brooklyn. We have a 12-year resume. College he got hurt. Cleveland, he got hurt. Boston, he got hurt. In Brooklyn, he got his feelings hurt, and he got hurt. That's his resume. You trust him in the playoffs? KD. is the number one

score, and Hardin also got to the foul line last night. Hardin is really the number two guy on this team. better overall player. Brooklyn has 18 games left. Kyrie will be allowed to play because of VAC stuff in about 9 to 10. I would give him big minutes. I would give him big opportunities. After every game, if I was Steve Nash, I would say, what a wonderful teammate he has been. And then at the trade deadline, trade deadline, I would trade him for bench and size.

It's not about his talent. NBA fans are addicted to talent like a volleyball player is to a beach. It's in their makeup like NBA fans. Talent, talent, talent, talent. Talent's not when entitled, folks. The Miami Heat didn't have a center. We're bad at point guard. The bench was hit and miss.

They were too old. Smart's chemistry, availability, dependable players. That's not Kyrie Irving. His 12-year resume says, emotionally you can't. trust him. Physically, you can't trust him. And because of his vaccination standing, you can't. And this thing's going to be worse for the next three or four months. And he's, you know, like in Brooklyn, you can't trust him for vaccination stuff. So it's actually, he's in one of the worst places in the country to be an NBA player if you're unvaccinated in a

city, you know, in a borough in a city that is very, very restrictive. You know, he'd be better off being a maverick or a Houston rocket or a San Antonio Spur. So when I look at this team, if you look at the east, Milwaukee should be favored to win it. I don't care what this seating is now. Come on. Chicago's got one A player and Zach Levine has no history of dominating the playoffs. We all know the Chicago Bulls story.

Young teams with players with a chip on their shoulder bust their tail in the regular season. Chicago's not a team went in three and four series. Miami, Jimmy Butler's hurt. They're good. They're not special. And we know Philadelphia with M. B'd, cross your fingers on his health. They still haven't figured out the Ben Simmons piece. So I would play, Kyrie.

I'd manipulate the market. I would just talk about what a great guy he is. And then I said, this is very, this has never happened in my life. I would give away. I think he's the best small finisher in the game. I'd give him up for size and bench. We have a resume. 12 years.

You can't trust him. Emotionally, physically, and now a mandate issue. Can't trust him. I can't. So, you know, people go, all they do the day is, oh, he's so talented. It's never been the issue. I say this with Baker Mayfield. Tough's never been the issue.

Judgment's the issue. You've got to figure out when you have a team and you're a general manager, it's not about the draft. It's not about free agency. You first have to self-scout. What are my players good at? What are my players' liabilities? Three different boxes, he doesn't check.

Physical, emotional vaccine. I'm moving him. Now, you put him in Texas with the vaccines. He gets to play all the home games. You know, if the Mavericks never had to go, they were not going to face the rockets in the play. You know, they're not going to face, you know, the New York Knicks in the playoffs.

So, I mean, a Texas team or a Florida because of, you know, those governors, hey, those would be great fits. But, you know, I don't want to hear how great any, Kyrie is. That ain't the issue. It's never been the issue. playoffs are dependability, reliability, physical reliability, emotional reliability, same guy show up every other night. All right, Kevin Clark, smart guy the ringer, NFL stuff, lots of it.

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

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

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. 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 is big to me, not just because, a 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 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 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 tons 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 podcast. Greg CoSell, top of next hour.

We break down games going forward. What happened last weekend. We said this year is interesting in the NFL. On average, seven to eight coaches get replaced. Now, Urban's out. Raiders need one. Chicago's moving. I would say Denver's going to look.

We're at half right now. It feels like, but it's funny. Maybe Minnesota. I say this every year. It's only going to be four guys fired. Then all of a sudden, week 17, I would have a hard time firing Mike Zimmer. I think he's really a good coach.

And they have been to the playoffs a couple times. I would struggle with, I would struggle looking Mike Zimmer in the eye and go, yeah, I'm going to take this coordinator who's never been a head coach. I think Mike's really good coach. Let's bring in Kevin Clark, the ringer, NFL writer.

His article today, the NFL keeps failing hiring 101. So listen, Matt Ruhle, it's hard. Matt Ruhle was a great college coach. He's struggling. Kingsbury got fired by his alma mater. He looks great. So a lot of this has touched tied.

If you have a great quarterback like Kyrie, it's a lot easier. But give me a little insight into your article in the ringer today about the hiring process and why so many coaches don't work quickly. Yeah. You know, it's interesting, Collum, because I ran into an owner a couple months ago at a league event. And we got to talking about what works and what does. And he said, he said this epiphany that the only competitive advantage that's sustainable is culture. And that you can say, okay, we're going to do this on offense.

We're going to this on defense. We're going to the draft. But that can be caught up to. That can be replicated. The guy can leave the building and take it. And culture is the one thing you can build and not lose. And it's hard to build it. And when I look around at hiring, it was interesting.

I got some data from this. 75% of NFL GMs who've been hired since 2010 came from the scouting community. 70% were from Super Bowl teams. So NFL owners just go out there and say, okay, this guy's number two for a Super Bowl team. Let's hire him. There's almost no thought put into it. Part of the reason, Colin,

is because it's really only two weeks, three weeks. The hiring is even done. There's not a lot of time spent on it. I mean, the process is kind of broken. And one thing, I heard this a couple weeks ago

from somebody really smart. They said, if the bears go out and fire Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace, you know what they're going to do? They're going to hire the Ryan Pace and Matt Neggie of 2021. They're doing the same thing they all. Holy shit. You know, they're just going to find a number two with a good team and a hot coordinator and pair them up.

And at some point, you just say, isn't this whole thing a little bit broken? Shouldn't we expand the pool of what we're looking for? You know, it's interesting. I said this yesterday is Harbaugh was more successful in the NFL than he won 69% of his games with Alex Smith and Kaepernick, certainly capable, not elite. And I would say. And it's like, that's better than Parcells and Belichick. and they not had a winning season for eight years before Jim, and then he leaves and they get bad again. So, like, he's had four jobs. He's turned him around.

And I do think, Kevin, what's happening to college football, I am four-player mobility and the NIL, but it's the Wild Wild West now. Like, there's no bumper bumpers on this stuff. It's just pay them what you want, bidding wars, players can transfer after a game. And I do think Jim's kind of a guy that likes control and structure. We know that. is he considering the NFL?

It tells me I think he is. I think he is. And I think that if you have the option right now, I think that there are some guys who love college and can thrive in this new environment. Lincoln Riley, I think he's all in on NIL in the transfer portal. There's some guy, Mario Cristobal, he's in.

But Jim Harbaugh didn't sign up for this brand of college football. And I think that he might just say, listen, I don't want to deal with, even if I have a hot prospect after one year, he might want to go somewhere else. I don't want to deal with NIL. I mean, some guys are just not wired that way. I mean, I think that counterintuitively, some NFL guys looked at Mel Tucker and said,

wait a second, why don't I go on the college track, use the transfer portal, use my evaluation skills and get a $90 million contract four years from that. Why not try that? But there's some guys like Jim Harbaal who just don't want to deal with this stuff. And I kind of think if he can get back to the NFL and he should, he should be the first choice for everybody. He can't be for Jacksonville because they're taking his arch enemy, Trent Falky, as general manager.

But if you have an opening right now, your first call should be to Jim Barbaugh. And at this point, I think he might be real tempted. Bruce Feldman would not throw that out for no reason. Yeah. So I was told by somebody in the Baker-Mayfield circle, Baker's come to terms with, it ain't great. And he knows his future there is at best dicey. And he's, you know, he's smart enough to know. It's obvious.

I think a healthy baker you could move. I don't know if a banged up one, you can. And because I've been critical of him, you know, a lot of people just, they don't want to hear my opinion. They just think I don't like him. So I'm going to turn it over to you. What do you believe his future is? I don't think it long term it's in Cleveland. And I don't think, you know, so much of this was well, there's a number of the Browns are comfortable with extending him.

I just can't believe that would happen at this point. I don't think they would have any negotiations right now because they just don't know. It's interesting. People have been quoting the last couple of weeks. Andrew Barry said something to me before the season that has come up, which is that if you don't have the quarterback settled, you're stuck in neutral. That's his philosophy. Andrew Barry, the GM, came up under Bill Polion, which is the first question is, do we have

a quarterback? And the second question is, how do we support the quarterback? And if you don't have the first question settled, you don't care about anything else. And that's the question Andrew Barry is asking himself right now. And I don't believe they have the evidence to commit to Baker long term. Mary Kay Cabot had a piece over the last 24 hours, basically saying that Baker did not like the play calling this year. Baker, you're not going to get better.

You're not going to get the Matthew Stafford treatment. You have not shown enough to where anybody else is going to say, let's take a claim to our franchise to this guy. It's not going to happen. Stefansky's going to be as good as you can possibly get right now. You'd have to go a very different route to get a better offensive coach. There aren't many, by the way, Spansky is very good.

Listen, the injuries I understand, but right now, Baker Mayfield is not in the top 20, really in any meaningful statistical category over the second half of the season. On third down, there's some statistics where he's like 35th. He's not even one of the 32 best starters in the league. And so the numbers are ugly. I think if you're Cleveland and they take everything in a very analytical way, they're not all that analytics driven, but they're going to think about this.

You've got to bring in big, big, big competition at the very least. And you've got to think about just moving on and trying something new next year. So what is today the Bucks that says, are they going to release Antonio Brown? And I said this earlier. I don't know Antonio Brown, but the last four years, he's been a bad person. I know Bruce Ariens and people that know Bruce Ariens. And for the last four years, he's been a good person. And I said it's a little bit of a cautionary tale.

You know, when you get these stars like Aaron Rogers or LeBron or Tom Brady, they often want to say in personnel. And, you know, LeBron wanted Westbrook. The Lakers didn't. Now they're stuck with him. Aaron wanted Randall Cobb. Good guy. Heard again, 28 catches. is, you know, you want to appease the star.

We all knew A, B's bad for locker rooms. We knew that four years ago. He was comfort food for Tom. Tom wanted him. By the way, so is Gronk, but Gronk's great for locker rooms. So my take, that's my takeaway on this is, you know, you get the star. They want their guys. And I thought this was, I think Joey and I did.

This was dicey at best to start. Where do you land on it today? Well, the risk reward worked because they weren't. a Super Bowl. And I think that they would trade all the things they're going through now for that ring and they got it. He scored a touchdown with Super Bowl and they needed all, you know, that that receiving court was nasty last year. And I think that that was a big part of it. And so that the gamble worked. Now, I think the Bruce Ariens, there's a locker room component to this, how we handle it. I'm sure players are watching that. We had Jim Jones on our podcast the other day and he

was basically saying that, you know, I think that maybe players would maybe want him to be a little more honest and forthcoming about what actually happened and what actually happened on the sideline, maybe even publicly and not just say, hey, he's no longer a buck. You want that kind of communication. But I think that, you know, at this point, you have to separate Antonio Brown needing help, which he does. And I hope he gets those resources and hope he gets people who love him with the fact that the bucks have a football problem right now, which is that a guy they really needed after the Chris Godwin injury quit on his team in the third quarter. And so I think that the Bucks have just an offensive problem right now. People I've talked to really don't think they're

an FC contender right now. And this is the gamble you take when you bet on guys like Antonio Brown. Yeah. Good stuff. Kevin Clark, the ringer, NFL writer, host of the Slow Newsday videocast. He is in an undisclosed beautiful location in Florida. Not going to get into specifics, but it's very classic old-est town in Florida. So it's good seeing you, buddy. Great seeing you, man. I've been here. St. Augustine, by the way.

I'm not telling you his address. It's a beautiful place to be. Wolf and Shepherd, my favorite shoe brand, amazingly comfortable shoes, wolfenshepard.com. Yeah, I mean, a lot of times in sports, you know, I use analogies and metaphors because, and the reason I do that, I think I've told people before, my mom didn't like sports and my sister didn't like sports.

So if I ever talk sports around my family, I would try to make it about stuff so they could understand it, right? And I used to do a bit with my mom all the time. She knew so little about sports. I used to bring her on the air. And if she could get one question right, I would make callers call the show, and they had to ask a question that was so simple she could get it right.

Like they would say, this really happened. What is the name of the team in Phoenix and the NBA? And she said vacuums. She had no idea about sports, and she was vacuuming that day. So I tend to use metaphors all the time for stuff, right, to simplify it. For somebody in your car listening right now is not a diehard sports fan. And with Antonio Brown, let's make it about us for a second, like our businesses. And I've worked in this business 25 years.

And I have overwhelmingly had unbelievable teammates. But there was a time in my first job in Las Vegas where a reporter, I'll not name him, got into a fist fight with the lead anchor in between newscasts. He was really talented, but a pain in the butt and toxic and chemically imbalanced. And we hired him, and he was difficult. And I can remember literally our anchor going on the air with a cut. And it was, this is what I remember about it because my office was next to that desk. I heard guys fighting.

I had to, I walked over. I'm what the hell's going on? It stayed for a month. People talked about it. It just everybody in the newsroom was tense. Everybody. around either when they walk by each other. And there's just, that's the downside to bringing in people like A, B.

Is that, and this is what management, I think, has done a really good job with here, is it does matter who you hire. You can't just go to places for money and you can't hire just on talent. Are they a good hang? Whenever you go to Vegas with people, you go with girlfriends, I always say there's a rule. You can't go with four guys. you can barely get through three. If you take four guys with you, one's a meathead and ruins the trip.

Guys are not capable. Somebody's too cool. They get too drunk. You can't do it. You can basically take two friends with you. You get to a third, it's trouble. You get to a fourth. It's a disaster.

And somebody makes the room uncomfortable. Sometimes I'm going to take a little less talent because I want a good hang. I want somebody that's good for the room. Tampa doesn't have a talent problem. They can win the Super Bowl without A.B. They won it with him, but they could have won it without him. And I think this was at best a risky proposition. Hour to Greg Kosell next.

Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me.

I'm Sam J. 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. with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast.

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