The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Cowboys, Rodgers, Patriots, NY

Episode Date: October 6, 2021

The Cowboys made the right move with Jaylon SmithAaron Rodgers complemented Mike Tomlin for a reasonPatriots have cut Stephon GilmoreColin sticks up for one New York teamGuest: Nick Wright Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. One hour from now, Joel Clatt, some tasty college football coming up this weekend. Joy Taylor, who's got her serious look on today. Joy Taylor looks like the superintendent. of a school district and she's walking into fire one of her teachers. Oh, I'm firing a teacher? You're firing a teacher today. You look very...

Can you fire teachers like that? Probably not. Yeah. Yeah, they have unions and stuff. Maybe I'm like a... Very... I feel like an accountant. You're very serious.

You're a professional something. I did very bad in accounting in college. So, you know, Joy, you and I are not really hype fest people on the Cowboys. I think we both kind of view the Cowboys as. I always say, they're good, they're fine. This is very interesting. I really like this move. And I've talked about this before.

When an owner gets older, they want to win. And they may change their worldview on football. Jerry Jones always been very emotional. He loves his players. One of my complaints has been for two years. They overpay. They pay good players great money. So yesterday, they released Jalen Smith.

Now, they're on the hook for his contract this year, but not on the hook for his contract $9 million next year. This is very important. First of all, this is why the NFL is great. You don't get trapped with players. They draft Michael Parsons. He's a sensational talent. You have Vanderech, Neil from Atlanta. You don't need Jalen Smith.

Jalen gets paid. No sympathy there. He gets paid. Good guy. Great story. The Cowboys are now out of the contract as of next year. In baseball, the Brooklyn Nets, the Airs. Angels with Albert Pooleholes, the Brooklyn Nets with Kyrie.

One of the things I always feel bad for fans is when you get trapped into these bad contracts, especially in basketball, you know, it's a salary cap league and you're just trapped. Right now, you start looking at certain baseball teams and you're like, man, you've got nine years to pay a guy and he's already hit his peak. In football, this is why you can name the really, really bad contracts in the NFL on one hand. There's almost none of them. You can get rid of Brady today. Be no cap hit, seriously, in a year.

And that's the first part of it. This is good for the league. And Jalen Smith, good kid, great story. Jerry fell in love with him, 30-minute press conference. But he was no longer needed. They had a log jam at Corner or at linebacker. But this is another reason I like this. Because I have been complaining about the Cowboys for several years.

The one thing that guarantees you will not win a Super Bowl in any salary cap league is paying great money to good players. I'm all for paying LeBron and Brady and Aaron Rogers, Russell Wilson, everything the market offers, but do it infrequently and do it with great discretion. But this move is very interesting because it's coupled with a couple other things. So now this morning, by getting rid of this contract, who do the Cowboys pay big money for?

They're quarterback, you should. A star receiver, you should. a pass rusher, DeMarcus Lawrence, you should, and their offensive line. Well, you want to protect your asset with that. Now, are they overpaying for Zeke? Yes, but because they pay Tony Pollard nothing to back up, the unit as a whole is reasonable. But here's the other thing.

By hitting a home run with Micah Parsons in the draft and hitting a home run last year with Trayvon Diggs at Corner, now the Cowboys are not over. paying for any of their linebackers. In fact, their linebacker unit this morning is almost a bargain. Their secondary, Byron Jones gone a couple of years. They've got a star. It's almost a bargain. Not paying any of their safeties. Dallas this morning is overpaying a running back. But if you look in the NFL at the positions you should pay, quarterback O-line star receiver pass rusher. So the combination of moving off Jalen Smith, he gets paid.

No pity party, great kid, he gets paid. The Cowboys get rid of a bad contract. And now because they've hit two home runs in the draft, both their secondary and linebacker units, oh my, it's almost like they're getting a deal. That's incredibly important to win Super Bowls. that you draft them a Holmes and you for three years don't pay them anything. You draft a Josh Allen and get a break for three years.

That's how Goff gets to a Super Bowl. That's how the Cleveland Browns, because they haven't paid Baker yet, have this incredible O-line and receiving corps and Miles Garrett, and they paid for a secondary. So this is a really big day for the Cowboys. They hit on two draft picks. They move off Jalen Smith. Now their books look like championship books.

Okay, they're overpaying for a running bait. You have a right to overpay for somebody. I mean, Sammy Watkins, good receiver. I swear to God, every team he's been on. He's been overpaid. He's been overpaid by four teams. But he's fast. He's good in the playoffs.

You have a right to overpay for somebody. But all of a sudden this morning, I look at the Cowboys and their structure, and I'm like, all right, that's the way to do it. You're getting a two or three of your stars. You're not paying anything to. You're paying all the right positions in units. By the way, they also hit a home run with C.D. Lamb.

So now you've got C.D. Lam. Trayvon Diggs, Micah Parsons, way outperforming their contracts. That's how you win Super Bowls. You can't pay great money to good players and have no value. You've got to find some labor on the market that you're winning in a salary cap sport. Now they're winning with three different players and they moved a bad contract. I think it's a very good day for the Cowboys. The books are much cleaner today.

They look like a championship accounting set. That's the way the great ones do it. They're getting value on a lot of people so they can overpay. pay for their quarterback or their left tackle. That's very exciting for them. The herd, by the way, brought to you by Jersey Mike's subs, be a sub above. So this next story is, you know, I always had this theory. Smart people don't have a right to get conveniently dumb, right?

Remember the deflate gate? I was always very suspicious of that. Bill Belichick has his fingers on the pulse of the whole franchise. Suddenly when it came to football, I have no idea what's going on here. I don't even check the footballs. I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Suddenly he was conveniently absent-minded. I was always a little, I don't know what happened with the flake gate.

I mean, it's not a Brady thing, really. He's still great. But Aaron Rogers is really smart. Really smart. He's one of those guys that, you know, he's manipulative and he can see around corners. He's a very smart guy. So in the last couple of weeks, he's made comments they played the Steelers, before they play the Steelers, after they play the Steelers.

He talked about Mike Tomlin. And let's not go crazy here. But Aaron is too smart to conveniently suddenly become very casual with his love fest with Pittsburgh. He was on the Pat McAfee show, our friend Pat McAfee, here's what he said. I'm a big Mike Tomlin fan. I have been for a long time. I like the way that he speaks about his team. I like the way that he goes about his business.

You know, I like his confidence. I've heard nothing but good things from guys that have played there. I like Mike Tomlin. Look, I'm just speaking the truth. They ask me a question about Mike Tomlin. I don't know how you want to take that and run with it and say I'm, you know, angling for some sort of next team or something. I'm not. I'm just answering a question about my respect for Mike and what he's accomplished in the league.

By the way, Pat was not drinking apple juice there. So here's my point. Aaron knows what he's doing. So the Pittsburgh Steelers currently have three losses. Look at their schedule. I count at least nine more losses. This is going to be a bad team. Yeah, I'm sorry, but they're not going to beat Seattle.

They're not going to beat Cleveland at Cleveland, at the Chargers, Baltimore, at Kansas City. They're not beating Cleveland this year. They're not beaten Cleveland. Get over it. They're not beating Baltimore. Not happening. I'm not sure they're beating Cincinnati. I may give you that one.

But this is very interesting. So combine that with the fact that, that, oh, Baltimore appears to have a star quarterback who can throw. Oh, Joe Burroughs really good and has star receivers and only getting better. Oh, Cleveland's got a really good head coach and a great O line and a really sharp GM and a franchise quarterback they mostly love. Pittsburgh is staring at a hole for years. Don't forget, the Packers disappeared for a decade. in the 80s before VARV. They disappeared. New England disappeared for years pre-Bradie. The Giants have been doing a pretty good job the last six years of disappearing. This is not

college football. You fire the coach. You get a new guy in. You got a big brand. You recruit a bunch of players. You don't get the quarterback right. You can disappear. So the division, the quarterbacks, you have at least two stars, and Baker probably remains in Cleveland. So you're going, to if you're the Pittsburgh Steelers. With that defense and Mike Tomlin, you're going to just roll the dice on a 50% hit rate first round college quarterback. Really? You do remember how many quarterbacks you move through between Bradshaw and Big Ben, about 12. This franchise has a history. They had Bradshaw, they had a bunch of guys, and then they hit Big Ben. And that's the only time they won Super Bowls.

The Rooney family remembers very well that big gap between Bradshaw and Big Ben. How do you solve it? You don't go college. You go get Aaron Rogers, who unlike a college quarterback doesn't have a 50% hit rate. He's got a 100% hit rate. What wins in sports in 2021? Aggressive. We've seen it with the Dodgers.

We've seen it with the Lakers. We've seen it with the Lakers. We see it with everybody. is Aaron's going to casually just throw it out there. Aaron Rogers is way too smart to just throw it out there. He wants people to know I like Tomlin. And by the way, players do. Mike's great.

But if you think he's just throwing it out there, he's not throwing it out there with a lot of other coaches. He's not throwing it out there with, you know, Pete Carroll, they got a quarterback. They're not thrown it out there with Kansas City. I love Andy Reed. They got a quarterback. He's throwing it out there with the one franchise with a great defense,

great wide receiver talent, great ownership group, great GM, great scouting, who just happened to have a quarterback who should be in a rocking chair. Aaron's smart. You don't get to be conveniently silly and glib when you're as smart as Aaron Rogers. And by the way, you know, and I know, Green Bay wants to get Aaron into the AFC. I don't want to have to face Aaron Rogers again.

They want him in the other place. So that's why even Belichick traded Garoppolo to the NFC. And that's just Garoppolo. He didn't want a chance of Garoppel to come back and beat him. I'm not saying it's going to happen. But Aaron's too smart. I never give smart guy, oh, deflategate balls. Who knows what happened?

Be a break. Phil Jackson, and I love Phil Jackson, the coach of the Lakers. legendary coach. He used to do this all the time. Phil would rip officials. So anytime he lost a big playoff game, he would hammer on the officials, and it would be very subtle. And then they would, you know, they would fine him or, and he would be like, well, what do you mean? I was just saying that Hugh Hollins, it seemed like, no, Phil, the greatest living basketball coach was doing his thing to manipulate officials in an off day. They read it in the paper. He'd argue about how they're grabbing shack and they're not giving him. And then the officials, the fans read it.

They feel pressure. The fans are the game of manipulation. But Phil was too smart to conveniently act dumb. Well, just a comment about an official. You're talking about it. Just keep your eye on Aaron Rogers in Pittsburgh. Perfect landing spot for him. By the way, if you're Pittsburgh, go ahead.

Draft the college quarterback from Liberty. Against Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, even Baker. All right, good luck. 50% hit rate. I'd rather go with 100% hit rate. It's just me. Crazy me. I got good stuff today. Somebody told me Nick Wright

still thinks the chiefs are the best team in the NFL. It's so adorable. He'll be joining us this hour. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

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

or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clever 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. What's up, fam?

This Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game.

We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reed. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us a lot. us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too.

Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, IZE, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey everyone, it's Ryder Strong and Will Ferdell from PodMeets World. And now the Pod Meets Twirled podcast. We're two men who were completely clueless to reality TV, who now have covered Dancing with the Stars, traitors, and we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor. So yeah, now we're experts. I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners by our severe lack of survivor knowledge. That is the point of the show. I'm just going to remind you. I have watched some Survivor.

I obviously haven't watched enough. Did people not like it? Like what was... Yeah. Just because we... Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion at the 50th season

from the final attempts at gameplay to the desperate pleas of finalists to a bunch of... Ha, ooh. Ha ha, ooh. Again, we are experts. So make sure to tune into PodMeets Twirled for all our Survivor 50 takes.

Listen to Pod Meets Twirled on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Compact GLA at Merse. Mercedes-Benz, not the size of the SUV in the fight, size of the fight in the SUV. Mercedes-Benz, USA.com, 250 dealers nationwide. So this is a story. Stefan Gilmore is a very talented corner for the New England Patriots.

He'd had an injury. He's not in shape. He's not ready to play. But he's very talented, very experienced. Two-time Pro Bowl are very smart. The Patriots have released him. It says they could trade him eventually. without getting too wonky, he has value.

Outside of the L.A. Rams, I think almost everybody in the league is looking for a corner. The Rams have Darius Williams and Jalen Ramsey, one being very expensive. They're pretty much set there. They don't have a ton of cap availability. But outside of that, a lot of people are going to kick the tires on this. Tampa, Seattle, to me, feels like a leader in the clubhouse. Almost everybody. There's so many good receivers now.

We talk about this all the time. there's not many great corners. So, you know, Miami's got one. The Cowboys now have one. There's not a lot of great corners. The Rams have one. Somebody's going to want him. But what's interesting here is he was on a slight decline.

The kind of decline, Aaron Rogers was on a couple years ago when they drafted Jordan Love, the kind of decline Eli Manning was on when they drafted Daniel Jones. The kind of decline Big Ben's been on for five years, the Steelers did not draft a successor. So this is very much on brand. They are not waving the white flag here. They are not surrendering the season. What I like about this for New England is somebody chasing a ring, keep your eye on Seattle, older coach, Pete Carroll 70,

wants to get another Super Bowl ring. He's got a national title. He's got a Super Bowl. He wants another one, right? The legacy guarantees Hall of Fame. I wouldn't be shocked if Seattle, they drafted a corner. He's not playing at all. Small kid out of Oklahoma, not ready to play in that division.

keep your eye on teams that are chasing a ring. There's five or six, Tampa, Seattle, Kansas City, perhaps. They're in the Super Bowl window. Those are the teams to keep your eye on. But my other takeaway on this, it's a real smart move. Just because the Patriots are 8 and 12 since Tom left, they're not changing their identity. Their identity is Bill Belichick will not pay players for what they have done.

He will pay players for what they're going to do. And it is the job of good front offices to notice those granular declines. Aaron for three years. That's why I defended. I defended Jordan Love as a pick. I don't think you should have drafted a running back with a second pick, nor given up picks to get Jordan Love. But this is what teams do that are smart.

They don't radically change their ideas. Gilmore is now expensive and declining. The Patriots have been very good at drafting and developing secondary players. especially corners. This is a smart, thoughtful move by New England. It should not be viewed as a waving the white flag, even though they can't win home games now. It's not. This is what they've been doing for years. Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Very serious accountant, Joy Taylor. Very serious. You're right. By the way, I love the look

and you have the ability to look different every day. I do not. You're like a Emilian. If it's the fall you look one way, if it's the summer, if it's raining out, it's very professional. Well, whatever this yesterday. I have a very expressive person. There you go. Kyler Murray is having a phenomenal season and is leading the talks for MVP, according to Fox Betty, he's the current favorite at plus 550, followed by Patrick Mahomes, plus 600, Josh Allen, plus 650, Tom Brady, plus 800 and Aaron Rogers, Justin Herbert and Dack Prescott at plus 1,000. Dax undervalued there. I believe so. I believe so. I believe so. To me, Dax's the best bet.

I had Josh Allen going into the season. Yeah, and he has a chance. He's going to light up Kansas City this weekend, despite what Nick Wright thinks. Oh, I think Buffalo is going to wipe him out. Light up? I think Buffalo is the best team in the league right now by a couple touchdowns. Oh, I think it's irrelevant. Justin Herbert beat him there.

These chargers aren't as good as Buffalo. I don't know if I'm ready to go light up yet, but their defense has been playing, like for as many points as Buffalo has been putting up. have to get their defense spent some credit as well. But Kyler Murray is 4-0 and it has a 76.1 completion percentage, nine passing touchdowns, four interceptions, 109 rushing guards and three rushing touchdowns. And that is quite improved from last year, his completion percentage at least. And Mahomes, obviously, has the second best odds.

He has 1,218 passing guards, 14 passing touchdowns, 9, 2 rushing guards and one rushing touchdown. Kyla Murray's team is playing better, which accounts a lot for what happens with the MVP race. They are playing better, but a lot of it's that. Yes, which is Kyler Murray. Cliff Kingsbury, fired in college, now leads the toughest division. A lot of it is Kyler Murray. It's amazing the coaches we now think are dummies and are geniuses. It's amazing.

All the ones that are geniuses now? They all have a quarterback who just makes plays. Well, I mean, I don't know. I think we're kind of measured with that. And I don't think that, I think that maybe Cliff Kingsbury gets a little too much heat for not being a good coach. It's not like they had a bad season last year. No, that's fair. I mean, I will say this.

Kyler's gotten better every year. Yeah. It's not, Kyler doesn't get all the credit for it. And the team has gotten better every year. Yes, that's fair. Which is all you can ask for from a coach. Now, they host the 49ers on Sunday. This is an interesting weekend for that division because you have the Seahawks and the Rams tomorrow night.

By the way, that's on Fox. That is maybe the best Thursday night game that's ever been played. It's incredible. I mean, it's going to be Seattle now is in real trouble. Yeah. They can go two and three. The Rams coming off an awful performance, like a really bad performance. That is as good a football game on a Thursday night.

Yeah, it's must watch. But that's a divisional game. And then the Cardinals play the 49ers on Sunday. So a lot, this is a really big weekend for that division. And the Cardinals are favored by five and a half, according to Fox Bet. So those are two games that are going to have a lot. lot of influence on the rest of the season. How come forward? I'm just going to say that I'm going to throw this out there. I do not want

to step on the toes of the marketing people at this company. But if we are not advertising Thursday's grand game as the greatest Thursday night game in the history of the league, then I think we're missing the mark. Does everybody understand how many stars are on Thursday? How big that game is for the- I mean, I just think it's an incredibly important game, aside from all the stars-in-A-N-A-N-A-Mess- Remember what we used to get on Thursday night, like six years ago, you'd get you get a team from Spain and the Jacksonville Jaguars in their 18th uniform. And it was like we wouldn't even talk about it the next day. Now the games are divisional rivals playing the most important game of the season.

The Thursday night games five years ago were honestly. It's almost like we're smart people and we figure it out. Yeah. Yeah. We, I had anything to do with that. I'm just taking credit for it. So Monday brought word that the Washington football team's head athletic trainer, Ryan Vermillion has been placed on administrative leave

due to an ongoing criminal investigation unrelated to the team. Ron Rivera's first two years that the organization have seen its share of off-the-field issues and Rivera was asked what he would say to people that say there's a black cloud over the team. Well, that's what we're trying to correct. That's what we're trying to fix.

But for whatever reason, we just keep getting drawn back into things. So, guys, at the end of the day, we're going to let this play out and we'll trust in the system. and we'll go from there. Now, look, this is completely unrelated to Ron Rivera and to football, which is why he said we'll let the system figure it out. But there are certain teams in certain leagues that just seem to always have something going on.

And I think Ron Rivera was a great hire for this reason, because Ron is a guy that is very well respected. And you saw it last year that he came in. And we were saying, like, he's really changed the end. energy up with that organization. It almost, for an organization that is an owner that has had habitual issues in many spaces, yeah. He really has changed the branding of it, but obviously that also was reflected on the field.

Right. This year, they seemed to have taken a step back specifically with the defensive side of the ball. They are ranked 29th in total defense, 30th in scoring defense, and 29th in past defense. Last season, second in total defense, fourth in scoring defense, and second and past even. So there's something going on with that defense. I mean, that is a dramatic. It can't be more dramatic.

They're not real good at Corner. I watched the Washington Atlanta game, and my takeaway is, Joy, is it's not right. That you cannot give up. That game shouldn't be competitive. It's weird. Your offense, this is a weird, I don't have time for it now because I got to get to Nick Wright and tell them how Kansas City is going to get drugged this weekend. But great defenses, unless you have like a Seattle or Baltimore where you have like nine

Hall of Fame like guys, it's weird in the NFL. defenses can go from really good to, like Tampa this year. You're like, what's wrong with the defense? Offenses, a good offense this year is going to be a good offense next year because it's mostly driven by a play caller, an O line, and a quarterback. But defenses are weird. Like I've seen really good defense. Where did they go?

But you can also lose physicality. Like one year of getting older can be a massive difference for a unit, like an offensive line or an entire defense when you have big playmakers. So finally, the nets are beginning to lose hope that. that Kyrie Irving will be available for home games. Oh, God. Due to concern over his vaccine status, according to a report, sources told ESPN that Irving's decision to get vaccinated remains unclear for this season,

and the team hasn't made a decision regarding the status of him as a part-time player. Yeah. If he doesn't get vaccinated. And according to the report, they were optimistic he would get vaccinated, but, quote, hope is waning. And they will have to consider the possibility he's not going to be available for the foreseeable future. So the NBA said last month, players who are, unable to attend games because of local mandates will not be paid for the games that they miss.

Shouldn't be? Now, that would apply to New York and to the Bay, to San Francisco. Toronto has a national interest exception that the Raptors GM just announced. So those players have to test negative and then they have to be basically quarantined to the team hotel and the arena when they are in town. So he would be able to potentially play in Toronto if everything stays the way it is now. But he would obviously not be paid for home games. And aside from the pay, which only really pertains to Kyrie Irving and the rest of us, he will not be able to play in those games. It's insane.

I mean, it's a team sport. I'm sorry. This is not skiing or tennis. You can make your own decisions. You don't affect hundreds of other people and team ads. It just drives me nuts. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly news. By the way, I want to go to Nick Wright, brought to you by Mercedes-Benz the best or nothing. Now, before we get to the Bill's Chiefs game, which is just going to be. really lobsided. Let's forget that for a second. I agree. I agree. Go ahead. So I saw this this morning. I think you and I are on the same page here. The Brooklyn Nets are a 72% chance according to the NBA GM survey to win the championship.

And I'm like, they still have no rim protector. Two of their best players are always hurt. Kyrie's on his own spaceship. I, what is your take? I mean, I don't even understand. I mean, you and I think are the only... We just have to stop acting like, we have to stop acting like the Nets have a big three. The Nets Big Three is an idea.

It's something you can use in 2K. It's not something that existed last year in the regular season. It didn't exist in the postseason. It's the pre-season, and it doesn't exist now. So, Kyrie either will get Vaxed or he won't. If he doesn't get Vaxed, then I don't see how he can play at all. You can't have a guy who, who can't practice or play home games and be like,

we'll see you on the road, though. So he's either on the team or he's not. But even if he's on the team, what makes you think he's actually on the team? Last year, he took paid time off mid-year just because, and then he did what he typically does, which is get hurt for the postseason. 2015, he wasn't available for the end of the postseason,

2018, 2020, 2021. So scratch him off the table. And then you have James Harden, one of the best regular season players ever, whose next great playoff moment will be his first. So then you have Kevin Durant, who's unquestionably one of the 15 greatest players in league history. However, he doesn't have a ton of experience of playoff success

without another league MVP alongside him. The one time he had to play in the playoffs without Russell Westbrook and OKC, couldn't beat Zach Randolph and the Memphis Grizzlies, and last year they didn't get out of round two. So I get the idea of the Brooklyn Nets, They're like an NFT. It sounds good, but can you touch it? No.

So I just, I don't understand how we're just going to be like, yeah, their third best player currently is not allowed in the building. And the NBA made a rule specifically designated to change the way their second best player plays. But I'm sure they're going to be fine. I don't think they're going to be fine. By the way, just one more NBA topic, because the regular season starts here pretty quick. LeBron by the GMs voted kind of, it's amazing, top five at three different positions, and I know that struck you at some point. Well, yeah, I mean, it's just fascinating.

I mean, so LeBron's going into year 19, and the GMs of the league said he's one of the five best point guards and one of the five best small forwards and one of the five best power forwards. And I mean, so Kobe probably had the best year 19 of any player. he played 35 games and average 22 points. Duncan, it was his final year. He was eight points a game. Carl Malone, it was his one Lakers year. He was 14 points a game. Kareem was around the same. It was his second last year. Meanwhile, LeBron in year 19 is considered a top five guy at three of the five positions on the court. It is, and I don't want to get into the Jordan, LeBron, Kareem debate, but it is why when it is all said and done and people look at this years down the road,

they're going to say, how did people even ever argue about this? When Michael Jordan was five years removed from his last game, LeBron was a top five guy at three different spots. So, yeah, I mean, I'm bullish on LeBron this season, and I think the NBA GMs are as well. That we agree on. We disagree, though, on I think everything football related,

but I just chalked that up to you, probably taking too much cold medicine this year. You can't really believe what you've been saying. Okay, so let's pivot to Nick's NFL tiers, where he remains, despite the fact that the Chiefs are 31st and like almost every defensive category. They are a spectacular offensive team, and great offenses are always around at the end of the season. This is not the 70s or 80s. The Chiefs have led in 65 straight games. They'll be around.

That is not the question. The question is, will Malhombs often be a spectator at times against the better teams he'll face? So your NFL tears, let's go to it. Let's tell people your tears and where you're at this morning. Well, yeah, listen, I have the Chiefs as the favorite, and I know it puts me in the drastic minority. It's just me and literally every sports book in Vegas and our friends at Fox Bet. They also have the Chiefs as the favorite.

Where you won't see on there is your beloved Denver Broncos, who I believe as of last week you had is the fourth best team in football. Yeah. And I bring up the Broncos not to needle you, but because you are making the exact mistake with the bills you made with the Broncos. You're like, oh my God, the bills. The bills, have you seen them the last few weeks? Colin, how many teams in the league do you think would be three and one or better

if they had gone up against Big Ben, Jacoby Versette, Taylor Heinecke, and Davis Mills? Those are the four quarterbacks the Buffalo Bills have faced. The idea that you are not building into your math on how good the bills are, the fact that they have played nothing but dreadful teams is insane to me. The Chiefs, meanwhile, yes, they have lost. They played the Ravens to the final moment, the Browns they beat, they played the Chargers to the final moment, and now they play the bills.

They're going to have a tough schedule. That's fine. But what makes you think that Buffalo can go to Kansas City and win? What makes you think that? What's the evidence of it? Because Buffalo is better than the Chargers, and the Chargers did it. Yeah, that's pretty simple. Yeah, and the Chiefs are better than the Steelers.

So then I guess the transitive property does not apply in sports, and you know this. There are one off events. However, I do believe the bills will win if the Chiefs turn the ball over on their first three possessions like they did with the Chargers. But nobody thinks they're going to do that. And by the way, America, because Colin Coward won't tell you this. He's too busy slandering my guy, Baker, Mayfield, and other things. But somebody, somebody on this wonderful herd production staff put up on the screen at some point today, Josh Allen's stats this season next to basically any other quarterback.

Because he's looking up in the standings of facerating at the likes of Daniel Jones and Taylor Heineke. He's 27th in the league in completion percentage. The bills up to this point in the season are winning despite Josh Allen regressing back to rookie or seven. second year, Josh Allen. That's a statistical fact. Nobody wants to tell you about it on this show, which is why I'm here to speak true, hard, emotionless facts to Colin Cowher. That was pretty good argument. Okay, so I said this earlier. When you're smart, you don't get to conveniently be glib, absent-minded, forgetful, like Belichick deflategate. Yeah, I don't know what's happening to the footballs. You know literally everything with the organization. Phil Jackson years ago,

needle the reps in between games, get fined and go, it's just a random comment. I mean, you can't talk about officials? No, Phil, everybody knows that. Aaron Rogers is really smart. There's a term called in business, the ability to see around corners. He's very smart. He knows the only time he won a Super Bowl, he had his best defense. Peyton Manning's only Indianapolis Super Bowl. He had his best defense. Russell Wilson's only Super Bowl, his best defense. Tom Brady, majority of Super Bowls with his best defense. Aaron looks at Mike Tomlin. and that defensive team in Pittsburgh, and he knows the Packers if they'd move him,

would move him over to the AFC, and he knows, he knows, oh, hell, I can inherit Mike Tomlin's defense, the Roonies. Great GM. I'm not saying, everything about it. I'm not saying it's happening, but let's not be ridiculous and don't think Aaron at least is putting the seed out there, right?

Why don't we say it's happening? Why is it not happening? What's Pittsburgh's other options? option. You're totally right that Green Bay does not want to trade him within the conference. So just scratch all 15 teams. Right. And then in the AFC, it's a very short list of teams that don't either have their quarterback established or have just drafted one, like Jacksonville or Cincinnati or the Jets. So it's like Miami, Pittsburgh, and the cults, I guess. That's almost the entire list. So listen, I think on this one, you have totally redeemed your otherwise really shaky NFL takes today.

I think this is spot on. I think him winking at Tomlin was not subtle. This is like, you know, this is the couple that's in marriage counseling and the guy is actively flirting with the counselor. It's like, okay, like we're still together though, buddy. So, yeah, I mean, this is, to me, this is not a crazy Colin theory. I think that if you had, I mean, look at that. They damn near look in love. I mean, I don't blame Tomlin, by the way.

Yeah. Like, Tomlin's like, Tomlin's like, I remember when I looked at Big Ben like that, not anymore. And so, yeah, I think this is the likeliest outcome. If Aaron Rogers is not on the Packers next year, what is the most likely destination? I think it's Pittsburgh. And by the way, if they had Aaron Rogers right now,

they would be one of the three best teams in the NFL. Yes, yes. That coach, that defense, those receipts, those receipts. They just unfortunately have a quarterback that is done, done, done. So, yeah, I think it's a great fit. I think this is absolutely correct. All right, I redeem myself. Nick, it's a pleasure to see you, my man, as always, brilliant work.

Nick Wright, first things first. Thanks, buddy. Absolutely, any time. Talk to you guys later. All right. Sandwich Day today. Joel Clatt, top of next hour, very funny. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific.

Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast. straight fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day. Straight fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines,

accurate stats to help you win big at the sports book and all the best guests. Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre 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. A win is a win. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes,

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

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game.

We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get to flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball.

So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, everyone. It's Ryder Strong and Wilfredel from PodMeets World. And now the PodMeets Twirled podcast. We're two men who were completely clueless to reality TV, who now have covered Dancing with the Stars, traitors, and we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor. So yeah, now we're experts. I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners by our severe lack of survivor knowledge. That is the point of the show. I'm just going to remind you.

I have watched some Survivor. I obviously haven't watched enough. Did people not like it? Yeah. Just because we... Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion in the 50th season

from the final attempts at gameplay to the desperate pleas of finalists to a bunch of ha, hoo. Ha, ha, ho. Again, we are experts. So make sure to tune into Pod Meets Twirled

for all our Survivor 50 takes. Listen to Pod Meets Twirled on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Michelin Tires. Get them at Michelin Wipers, excuse me, get them at Walmart. Weather's getting nasty. End of fall. Into winter. Change your wiper blades.

They use advanced technology. Hug your windshield. Michelin Wiper Blades at Walmart. It is amazing to watch the standard of New York Sports. Has circled the drain for about a decade. New York sports fans got fired up because the Knicks just made the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, that the Mets had a decent first half, that the Yankees almost, almost were special. The Jets and the Giants both won last weekend. First time in two years it's happened and everybody

freaked out. The standard for sports in New York is just dropped. Conversely, everything in L.A. is good. Both are NBA teams, both our NFL teams. Shohei Otani is going to win MVP. Dodgers are going to win. They'll win tonight. They'll get into the playoffs. It's just different. Maybe it's the sun, I don't know, but everything in New York's a mess. I will say this. The Yankees lost last night to the Red Sox. Not shocking. Garrett Cole had struggled.

They paid him a fortune. He had struggled in September. He struggled at Fenway. The Yankees hit for power. They do almost nothing else well. They're a totally uneven baseball team. The Dodgers are in a wild card because nobody's ever healthy. Mookie Betts was hurt.

Ballinger was hurt. Walker Bueller. Everybody's been on the deal. Everybody's been hurt. The Yankees won an injury thing. They're not very good. They've overpaid for John Carlos Stanton. Garrett Cole's good. He wasn't spectacular.

But the one New York team, I will defend, and let's just go to the data, that I actually, because the Brooklyn Nets now are a mess, and the Knicks aren't talented enough to do anything, and the Mets aren't going anywhere, and the Yankees have to rebuild some stuff. They really do. The New York Giants all defend. I defended them last week. I said last week, it's easy to like the Packers. It's easy to like Kansas City. It's easy to like great. Nobody pushes back on Twitter. go find a team that everybody thinks is bad and, you know, circle the wagons on them. And I said, last week, the Giants are going to go to New Orleans and they're going to beat the Saints. I said, this team I like. Now, I don't think they're great yet. But I'm going to defend the New York Giants because the Jets aren't even close to being competitive against good teams.

Forget the Tennessee win, please. All the Sharps were on that. The Giants do two things, three things well. Number one, Daniel Jones isn't the problem. He has cut down on his turnovers. He's big, he's strong, he's semi-athletic. He's crossed a threshold. The turnovers, the interceptions are gone.

I watched almost the entire game with the Saints. He is not the problem. You have your quarterback. He ain't Kyler Murray, but there's not a lot of those out there. Number two, Joe Judge. He has coached 20 games for the New York Giants. 20. It's been blown out once.

And that's in a rebuild with a young quarterback. Well, the division. I'm not talking division. Last year, they played Seattle. and the Rams type. They've been blown out once in 20 games. So it's a quarterback coach league. I think Daniel Jones is good enough to win and Joe Judge is good. The other thing is Dave Gettelman is their general manager. His personality is a little odd. It can be a little off-putting. He's a little cocky. Whatever. I'm not going to judge him on that. You can rip Dave Gettelman,

but I want to defend Dave Gettlement here because I've been critical of him. In an offensive league, in an offensive league, he has been able to land Sakewan Barkley. Kenny Goliday, who's now starting to play well. Darius Slayton, a very good receiver. Cadarius Tony, an excellent draft pick out of Florida, who is crazy, crazy electric. And their left tackle, who was, it looked like he was going to be a bit of a mess. Andrew Thomas, their left tackle. And everybody said last year, that was a bad draft pick.

Last couple of games, not just quarterbacks. It takes everybody a year to get this thing figured out. It looks like Thomas can play. It looks like he can pass block at least. He can play. So in an offensive league, they got a quarterback, a left tackle, several good receivers, a star running back. I think the Giants are a real team. Now, this week, they may be facing the most underrated team in the league, the Dallas Cowboys.

So that's not a perfect matchup in Dallas. But all these New York teams are a lot of hype and a lot of nonsense. The giants I buy into, they've got the right pieces. I think their GMs a little crazy, but you can look at his cupboard. It's full of good stuff. Joel Clatt next. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy,

not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere,

but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you not to be played with, And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen and learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver 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, unfiltered 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.