The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Lakers, Rodgers

Episode Date: October 19, 2022

The biggest difference between a poorly run team in the Lakers and well run team in the Warriors The Packers should start getting what Aaron Rodgers wants    Guest: Nick WrightSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Wednesday. NBA season begins in earnest last night. Live in L.A. It's the herd wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Joel Clatt next hour. Nick Wright, this hour. Jay Mack sat and watched me some NBA hoops last night.

Oh, did you? Totally into it. NBA season is back. LeBron chirping early. It took about 30 minutes. For the Lakers to implode. LeBron is really mastered sending messages with a smile on his face. He's really mastered it.

He's really good at it. And there's an art to it. You know, there's some... LeBron sends a message, smiles, and everybody's like... And you picked up on it this morning. We'll get to that in a second. But you picked up on it very quickly. LeBron's a master of chess.

I'm afraid to play... I'm good at chess, but I'm afraid to play LeBron. So I want to start... I hope... LeBron's other business ventures are going well in L.A. Because his basketball venture right now is a mess. I'm not sure he can do much about it. So you watch the Warriors.

They are a perfectly constructed symphony of basketballs. Shooters, youth, age, wisdom, twitchy defenders. They can play multiple ways. They have a plan A, a plan B. They have a strong bench. They have a brilliant coach. They have 10 guys in the rotation. All with a purpose, all with a role, and all of them know it.

It's beautiful. It's a harmony of an organization. Smart, experienced, brilliant veterans tied together by a great GM and a coach. Its eye is always on the future, but capitalizing in the present. That's what the Warriors are. The Lakers are consumed with the past. I mean, the front office is Kobe's agent, friends of, and their current present team, I don't get it. LeBron's still amazing, but nobody on this roster outside of maybe AD is really built to play with LeBron.

LeBron's entire career in Miami, surrounding with shooters, Bosch, Ray Allen, Mike Miller, Badi, A, LeBron still, as good as anybody in the world, at breaking you down and feeding the ball to a guy to catch it and shoot it. He's brilliant at it. This roster doesn't have any of those guys. There's no cohesion. All three of their point guards, all three of their guards are really point guards. You know, what you need is all three guards to be shooting guards. Because LeBron's your de facto point.

We can sit and blame Westbrook here. But he is productive. He just happens to be a Palm Pilot. in an iPhone world. I mean, he was born too late. If he was born 15 years earlier and retired 15 years ago, he'd be an all-timer. You've got to be able to hit threes. You've got to be able to play off ball with LeBron.

And they've got guys that don't necessarily, Dennis Schroeder doesn't want to play off ball. He wants the ball. Westbrook doesn't want to play off ball. He wants the ball. Pat Bev. I'm not sure what he wants to annoy people. This roster doesn't fit. Now, Anthony Davis, in a way, is

kind of what LeBron plays well with. Chris Bosch and Kevin Lover, perfect. They can be great rebounders, but they'd rather, they're very skilled. You can move them away from the basket. LeBron loves that, so he can drive and score. But they can also love and Bosch are great mid-range shooters and loves actually a great three-point shooter. Anthony Davis is almost perfect. He doesn't want to play the five either. He doesn't like contact, right? So he's willing to move away from the basket. That's good. LeBron likes that. But he can't shoot. In fact, since the championship, his shooting from three-point land has gone straight off a cliff, and I can't describe it.

But you start looking at the construct of this. Last night, you juxtapose this perfect harmony of basketball. Everybody knows their role. They're so smart. The basic understanding with the Warriors is just get the ball to the open guy, and the open guy, unless it's Draymond, will hit the jumper. LeBron's capable of hitting the open guy. The Lakers last year were a top five team in getting great open looks.

They don't know anybody that can hit them. And after the game, I mean, I don't think outside of LeBron and AD, the Lakers have another player that the Warriors would use in their nine-man rotation. That's varsity and JV. It goes all the way upstairs. But LeBron sent a message last night after the game about the horrific three-point shooting and he did it as always smartly and with a smile on his face. I think we're getting great looks, I think, but it also could be teams giving us great looks.

I mean, if you be completely honest, we're not a team that's constructed of great shooting. And that's just the truth of the matter is. It's not like, you know, we're sitting here with a lot of lasers on our team. So, you know, but that doesn't deter us from still trying to get great shots and when we get those opportunities, you take them. but we're not sitting here with a bunch of 40 plus career three-point shooting guys. Oh, they could have buddy healed. Did you notice that?

That's LeBron saying, make the buddy heel trade. Give me a laser. Give me one. Pat Bev can hit an occasional three. Give me a laser. So that's LeBron. He's telling you, you know, teams are plan us this way because we don't have any shooters. And I know LeBron wanted Westbrook.

I know. But okay, something in business that's always been understood. Don't double down in your mistakes. Move off them fast. Let's move off the Westbrook thing. Let's not blame him for everything. He is what he is. He has to have the ball in his hands.

He can't play off ball. This roster makes no sense for LeBron. Who, when he's on the floor, remains a top three player in the league? And an unbelievable player at getting you shots. So here's a roster with nobody who's great at the shooting part. It just makes no sense. That was LeBron saying, let's make the move for Buddy Heel with a smile on his face. So this is interesting.

Trade deadlines are important. All sports have them. Some teams make great moves at the trade deadline. I went at the Atlanta Braves last year, made a couple of big moves, baseball, the trade deadline. That's the difference between, you know, winning in a World Series and not. So this is interesting. Chase Claypool is a big, strong, healthy, wide receiver, young, volume receiver. You're going to get 60, 70 catches a year from Chase Claypool.

He's with the Steelers. But the Steelers drafted George Pickens out of Georgia. He's amazing. And they've also got Dante Johnson. He's a pretty good receiver. So the Pittsburgh Steelers right now have needs. They don't need another receiver, right? They could shape up that offensive line a little, get another power.

pass rush, whatever they got to do. Draft picks, whatever they got to do. But there's a story out there that the Packers want Chase Claypool of the Steelers. This makes so much sense for Green Bay. So when Green Bay signed Aaron Rogers to that $50 million a year deal, okay, you entered the, let's just keep Aaron Rogers happy business. So dive into that. Don't tiptoe around the pool.

Aaron has 100% leverage over the franchise. He can walk away at any point with this contract and stick you and the fans and the organization with a huge tax bill. So your new business reality is keep Aaron happy. And Aaron can drive me crazy, but if I had Aaron Rogers in this roster and this receiving corps, I would keep Aaron happy. It will not solve what I think is the second issue, which is why is the defense underachieving, or the third issue, which is, are we sure Matt Lafleur's a great coach? Today, and when you sign that contract with Aaron, this became a completely lob-sided franchise. Everybody always talks about who's the MVP of the league.

The most valuable person for any franchise in this league is easily Aaron Rogers. I mean, I like Josh Allen, but Kirk Cousins could win you a bunch of games with Buffalo. Not as many as Josh Allen, but you could win games. You could put a lot of quarterbacks in this league on Kansas City. I mean, Alex Smith was getting to the playoffs, right? But I mean, this franchise with this receiving core and this coach and this underachieving defense, there is no player more valuable in this sport than Aaron Rogers. And you signed a deal that gave him 100% leverage.

Okay. Now you're in the make Aaron Rogers happy business. This is it. You created it. You signed it. Stop tiptoeing around the pool. Dive in. Make Aaron happy.

He can drive me crazy. Some passive aggressive stuff. Always has to be the smartest guy in the room. Whatever. Sometimes Kyler Murray drives me nuts. Whatever. He's great. He's a super talent.

Make him happy. Start nitpicking and publicly humiliating him. Okay, this is the new world we live in. Football is pulled away from every other sport in this country in popularity. And the league, because of safety concerns, has made the course. quarterback, ultra-protected and ultra-important. So the personality sometimes can rub me the wrong way. Who cares?

Make them happy. Make Kyler happy. Make Russell Wilson happy. Make Aaron Rogers happy. Get Chase Claypool. Big, strong. We told you before the season. Randall Cobb would get hurt.

Is Sammy Watkins would never finish the season. Hurt. We told you Christian Watson and, and Romeo Dobbs, the young receivers, we told you, don't buy into this preseason hype. Aaron's not going to rely on these guy in big games. They're kids. Everything we told you happened. Every single thing we told you.

We told you Devonthe Adams would be fine. He'd make a bunch of catches with the Raiders. He's making a bunch of catches. We told you the rookie receivers, in the end, Aaron's not going to trust these kids. They're not ready to go from Reno to a divisional game. Minnesota. They're not ready. They're kids. Nobody even plays in the preseason as starters anymore. We told you that Cobb and Watkins would get hurt. I like the tight end. It's not a great offensive line. The defense is underachieving and I'm not in love

with the coach. But you've got Aaron Rogers. Go get Chase Claypool. It makes so much sense. You refuse the draft a receiver in the first round, so get a first round talent. That's a trade deadline changer. That changes a team's fortune. Six, four, 2.30, runs pretty well, volume receiver, mostly healthy. So you get stuff that you don't get with the other receivers. The old guys can't stay healthy he can. The young guys don't understand the game yet he does. And he's a number one talent.

Alan Lazard isn't. He literally checks the three boxes. You get the experience, you get the star power, and you get the health. Go get him. Whatever it takes. Who cares about draft picks? Aaron owns the franchise. He could walk out tomorrow and give you a big tax bill.

Get it. I don't care about your draft picks. all right i'm all worked up this morning so we're already it's only one game in and we're already in the blame russell westbrook for everything phase of the laker season and i refuse this year to do that because i feel i think we've reached a point now it's just like it's like picking on a guy who's not built for this roster anyway you know you're not built for it and people say well didn't he sign in he could have left when you get that much money in life and somebody offers you million dollars if you resign. You're going to resign.

Okay. Like I'm not, I get that part. 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 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.

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

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

right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games.

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And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross. Because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different.

intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, Our Heart Radio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. So the Russell Westbrook stuff, I made myself a promise. I just, I'm not going to blame Russell Westbrook for all his issues this year, all the team's issues. I do not believe Westbrook is the cause of what will be a bad Lakers season. He is a symptom of what's wrong with the Lakers. He has no business being on this team. No general manager worth his paycheck would put a guy who can't play off ball and needs the ball with LeBron.

He's not the cause of their issues. He's a symptom of it. They don't know what they're doing. And Russell Westbrook, who's, you know, he plays hard. When he got traded here, we set on this show, I get it. He'll give you 35 minutes a night. He plays hard. Anthony Davis and LeBron, they're always hurt. But LeBron and him on the floor at the same time for long stretches, it doesn't work.

He is a symptom of what's wrong with his franchise. So now they bring in a rookie coach who good luck in the West with Popovich and the Kurs and the Malones and the, I mean, this, this, this, this, this, this. You got a lot of good coaches. Monty Williams out west, up and down, Ty Lou out west. I don't get a rookie head coach. So even if you had as much talent as all the other teams, you could get out maneuvered because you got a rookie head coach in Darwin,

Hamm, and who knows if he's good? Maybe he is, maybe isn't. I don't know. We'll watch 20-30 games. We'll go to the All-Star break and see what it looks like. But Westbrook had a hamstring issue, and he was asked, you know, you got out of your routine. You came off the bench that it screwed up your routine.

Is that the reason you got hurt? Do you think having to change your routine and stuff like that could have played any role in and feeling something a little different? Absolutely. I've been doing the same thing for 14 years straight. Honestly, I didn't even know what to do for a game. Being honest, I was trying to trigger out and try to stay warm and loose and that's something that just I wasn't accustomed to. I don't know if that's true.

Westbrook sometimes can't get out of his own way. Last night was a prime example. he hit back-to-back buckets. He cut the lead to six. And then he slaps the ball. I mean, it's a classic Westbrook where he gets back-to-back baskets. He's playing with huge energy. Slaps right there, gets a technical.

There goes your momentum. Sometimes he can't get out of his own way. I doubt the change in his pregame ritual is why he pulled his hammy. But again, it's not his fault. It's just his game. This is who he is. You don't ask Tom Brady to run RPO's. You don't ask Derek Henry to run seam routes.

This is what his game is. He shouldn't be on this team playing with LeBron. He should be on a rebuilding team. He gets the ball, 37 minutes, 23 points, fun to watch, sell some tickets, and it's an athletic, hyper-athletic young team, and he can give you a lot of minutes. That's what he should be on. This team needs shooters.

He can't do that. But this Laker House, you know, it's the classic thing. Westbrook is the paint on a house. that has electrical issues, plumbing issues, and foundation issues. It could use some new paint, but it's got much bigger issues. And he is just, this is what he is. You're asking Tom Brady to run RPO's. It's not what he does.

This is not what Westbrook does. Barclay talked about it after. You know how I feel about Russell Westbrook. I admire him. I respect him. It's time for the Lakers to move him. They have taken all his joy out of life in basketball. This guy used to be so exuberant playing with great energy and great emotion.

I think to wear and tear mentally last year, starting this year. And the thing is, he's going to get the blame no matter what. Because the Lakers ain't a championship contender. The way I would classify the Lakers and the Warriors, there's 30 teams in the NBA, 15 of them, 15, 16 make the playoffs. The Warriors are the best team in the top 15 in the league of viable teams. They're the best team. The standard of the league.

Depth, brilliance, coaching, shooting, everything. The Lakers are arguably, of the remaining 15 teams, they're the best of the teams that'll either play in-game or won't make the playoffs. Now, we know they're not a tanking franchise. So the NBA is kind of cut into halves. there's the halves that'll make the playoffs. Some are championship teams, warriors, bucks, Celtics. And then some are like Minnesota, the Pelicans.

They're good. They're ascending. They're rising. Probably not a championship team yet. Cleveland's in that class. Good, though. And then there's the second half of the teams. And some of those think they could make the playoffs probably be playing teams like

the Lakers or the Knicks. And then some are just bad. And then some are tanking. And so that's the difference. but you can't ask Westbrook or any pro-athlete to do what they don't do. LeBron's the Swiss Army knife. He does everything. But you don't ask Steph to guard the other team's best player.

Clay Thompson does that. Or Draymond does that. Or Andrew Wiggins does that. Even though they're pro athletes, almost all pro athletes, there's the occasional LeBron, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, O'Tonnie. You know, there's the occasional pro athlete that can do anything. even among pro athletes that is totally rare. I'm a sportscaster.

Most sportscasters are play-by-play guys, Joe Buck, opinion guys, me, reporters, Tom Rinaldi. Like they've got roles and they do things. You go to a hospital, there's the surgeon, there's the nurse, there's the foot specialist. You can't ask these pro athletes to do everything. Most are great at one or two things. LeBron's an outlier. He's a great ball handler, a great defender, a great, I mean, he's really, he can drive to

the basket. He gets people open. He's the best passer, arguably, in the league. Josh Allen can jump over people. Go deep. Run it. That's rare. You're asking Westbrook to do stuff. He's not built to do. Even at UCLA, when he got the, they didn't know what to do with him. They were like, he's just really athletic. He got to the NBA. He refined his game. But he's still just a hyper-athletic player that can't play off the ball. He doesn't work on this team. And to Barclay's point, whether you agree or not, this is a functional problem within an organization. This is a business that brings in an employee, pays him a lot, puts a ton of pressure on him, and says, why can't you do that? That's not what he does.

Colin, do you remember when LeBron got Chris Bosch from Toronto to Miami? Chris Bosch was like a 24 and 12 guy. LeBron said, we don't need that. Here's what we need you to do. He adapted. When LeBron got Kevin Love from Minnesota to Cleveland. Kevin Love was like 26 and 12 All-Star. Kevin, we don't need that. Here's what we need you to do. He adapted. Why won't Russell Westbrook adapt to him? Now, I don't know what they want Russ

to be. But here's the reason. Whatever they want him to be. Because Bosch and Kevin Love could adapt because their game has more layers to it. Kevin Love was a great rebounder. I watched them in high school. He's a great score. He's a great shooter. Chris Bosch. Again, his game has layers to it.

Chris Bosch can rebound. He can defend. He's long. He can actually go outside and shoot. Westbrook, and this is why he is age quickly. He is a hyper athletic need the ball in his hands guard. He is not as, I don't think he's nearly as layered or nuanced. His game isn't as complex as a Bosch or a Kevin Love, both who I'd put in the

Hall of Fame. And not everybody in the Hall of Fame can do everything. People are asking him, hey, change your game. Your game is your game. and Westbrook's game is all athleticism. I've always compared Westbrook to Cam Newton. Cam Newton was never going to complete 69% of his throws. That's not what he was.

And that's why Westbrook and Cam's career hyper-athleticism is the key. Go off the cliff. That's the difference. Why Josh Allen's a better version of Cam? Because Josh Allen can be a more consistent deliver distributor of the football. And so when I watch Cam, I'm like, Enjoy it now. It's not going to last forever.

There's not a lot of nuance. You watch certain quarterbacks in the league and they add elements to their game every year. Cam's game is what it was. So enjoy nine years of greatness. Westbrook's game, it is what it is. There's some of these guys that, you know, Ray Allen came into the league, hyper athletic. Then he became a shooter. I mean, Ray Allen, like, shifted his game.

Some guys can do that. Even great athletes, most, their game is their game. Don't ask them to do what they can't do. Nobody's asking me at Fox to be a play-by-play guy. Nobody's asking me to be a journalist like Tom Rinaldi. Nobody's asking me to be the host that asks the questions. I come in, fire off opinions. I go home, take a nap, and have my dinner.

That's what I do. How about Blake Griffin? We saw Blake Griffin as a hyper-athletic only dunking machine. Age fast. He was aging. He was about to be out of the league. Blake, we need you to learn how to shoot three-pointers. What did Blake Griffin do?

Got in the gym and that's all he did. And Blake Griffin's career keeps on going. Now, he's not a great player. but he can make threes down and that's all they want him to do. Right. But you just answered your own question. Nobody looks at Blake Griffin as a vital piece to winning. You're asking Westbrook to be a vital piece of a championship team shooting. It's not what he does.

Blake Griffin is a bench guy. Oh, he can hit a jumper when he's healthy. That's fine. Maybe Russ should be a bench guy to come in with the second unit. But I'm actually defending Russ on this. Like you're starting to ask singular players to do multiple things. To evolve as a player. The Warriors are a great example.

Draymond doesn't score. So they make sure they get Wiggins complimenting him. And Steph, he doesn't need to be a score. Steph isn't a great defender. They get Clay Thompson to do the dirty work to the back court and defend. The Warriors acknowledge very quickly, here's what our guys do and here's what our guys don't do. Kvon Loney is a great example.

They only ask Kvon Loney be a great rebounder. And he has become a great NBA rebounder. everybody's got a role. Westbrook is your hyper-athletic ball in your hands on a rebuilding team. You bring him and say, you know, we need shooters. Well, then go get Buddy Healed, by the way, isn't nearly as athletic as Westbrook,

but he's a great catch-and-shoot guy. At the same time, Colin, do you think Russell Westbrook understands this? Russ, if you don't evolve, you're going to get traded to Indiana for Buddy Heald, and they're going to cut you, and you're going to be out of the NBA because you refused to evolve and learn new skills

that could have worked. He's not going to be in the league. The Pacers don't want him. They will write, roll out Tyrese Halliburton, young guys, and tank. Russell Westbrook will be out of the NBA by Thanksgiving at this way. And by the way, he's going to be 34, 35. He'll have 300 million in the bank. He's got a beautiful wife and family. He'll be fine. Probably, yeah. All right. Jay Mackle of the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

All right, let's go to a more positive vibe here. Tom Brady, coming off the tough loss to the Steelers, Colin. John at the teammates on the sideline, of course, caught the eye. of Ben Rathosberger, who believes Big Ben, of course. He's seeing a different side to Brady. Here's what the retired Rathosberger had to say. My opinion, and Tom is the greatest. I mean, the Super Bowl rings show it and talk about it and whatever. It didn't look like he wanted to be out there.

I mean, maybe it was the pressure and he was getting hit and whatever was going on. Like, there's no way he's enjoying this. No way. When a defense gets after you, like sometimes your anger and your disgust for things happened because the other team is affecting, not just because you, you know, it's you. Right. But yeah, it did.

It just looked like a different Tom. Yeah, well, it is a different, Tom. He's going through a marriage crisis. He's aging. He wanted to retire last year. It is a different, Tom. He compared it to military deployment. He said, you know, when the season starts, like, that's where my mind goes.

I'm all in on this. I keep saying I can be the perfect dad and the perfect husband. And the season starts, and I'm all in on this. And so, yeah, I mean, I think. think we are looking at a player who would secretly plan to retire a year and a half ago and get into ownership. It didn't work. I mean, I've seen Brady do things in the last year that I haven't seen him doing 20.

So I think, you know, it's really difficult, even for Faventon, Peyton Manning, Michael Jordan. It never ends beautifully. Joe Namath, Johnny Unitas. The end is always. Jeter is rare. Elway is the two great finishes are Jeter and Elway. And both could still play another year or two. They ride off into the sunset.

But it usually ends like this. It's clunky. It's underperforming. You're doing things you're not used to. You get frustrated. You're falling apart. It's one of those or all of those. So it's interesting.

You said underperforming. From the eye test, Brady's not great. But according to Pro Football Focus, he is the seventh graded out best quarterback so far this season ahead of Aaron Rogers, Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert, which is a little surprising to me, but I looked this up. Last year at this time, after six weeks, Brady had 17 touchdown passes. He's only got eight this year, and a lot of them came early.

He's really done nothing the last couple weeks. And also, you said he's better than Joe Burrow. Burrow had major surgery. Joe Burroughs' first two games, he was totally out of sync. Aaron Rogers doesn't have a number one receiver. So, yeah, he's better than those guys. Is he better than Mahomes? Is he better than Marr?

Is he better than Alon? Is he better than... No. Guys that have weapons like Tom's got weapons, which are good weapons, are outperforming him. Yeah. All right. On to Aaron Rogers. Uh, he made headlines after calling for the offense to be simplified following the Packers,

2710 home loss to my Jets. But Aaron Rogers went on the Pat McAfee show yesterday where he expounded on his thoughts, saying the point was, if we're not executing those plans, which to be honest, they're not the most complex things the majority of the time, then the only slight. reaction might be to even simplify things even further. It was really an alert for our players. We need to lock in a little bit more and simplify things in our own mind. Even the most complex plays can be simplified in our mind. We just need to be better in the details. The details have not been good enough. Well, either, frankly, either are the receivers. We can keep blaming details. But the defense

is not performing up to its standard. They got six first round picks. Is that a details thing? Is that a simplicity thing or is it a coaching thing? So Aaron Jones isn't getting the ball enough. Is that a simplicity thing? No, he's not getting the ball enough. I've said, I've defended Aaron on this. I do not think he has a Sean McBea, Shanahan, and Andy Reed, a Belichick, a John Harbaugh. I've got real questions. What part of the Packers is better? What part of the Packers is performing at an elite level? Now the special teams go to the first month, they're a mess. So let me defend Aaron on this. This whole simplicity thing, sounds like to me a little bit too much.

You know, whenever I, whenever I, whenever anybody just has an answer for everything being simplicity, it's like you don't want to put the work in. Uh, because, because football's really, really hard and really complex. But I don't think their issues are simplicity. I think their issues are in this league, quarterback and head coaches win Super Bowls. They've got the quarterback. They don't have the head coach. I've got real issues with LaFleur.

Tell me where you see elite coaching. So who is, is Rogers taking a shot here at the teammates, the wide, Receivers who get a shot at anybody? Or is it LaFleur? He's basically saying we need to simplify things because we're not a smart team. Well, on McAfee, he's basically explaining what he said. I don't buy into this simplify stuff. I don't think simplification is their problem. Their problem is, go get Chase Claypool, and you won't have to be simplified. Go get a number one receiver because then Alan Lazard can be a three, which is what he is. Now you're asking Alan Lazard to be a one. He's a three. Think about this as a pitching staff. This would be like bringing an ace to a pitching staff. And now the guy that you were fooling everybody, everybody is an ace goes to be a two. So he was a bad ace. He's an okay two. He'd be a great three. Alan Lazard is a three. You could win a Super Bowl with that. So if Dobbs becomes the two by November,

so you go Claypool, Romeo, Lazard, Watson, and then the old guys who are occasionally available with a tied end. Cobble be back in like four weeks. That's a real receiving court. You're bringing an ace to a staff that's got a bunch of two and three starters. So the Claypool thing and the difference between him and OBJ, he's bigger, stronger, volume, and never hurt. OBJ, you don't know about health. I mean, Claypool is a man. He is big and available.

And so you bring him in and you can slide all those receivers down. Then 10 targets a day to Claypool, you know, seven to the young kid, five to Lazard, and then you sprinkle around the tide and everybody gets three or four. Then it's a real receiving court. You need a one. That'll make everything work.

Well, this week they play Washington, which has like a top seven run defense in the league. So Jones and Dylan can't do anything. Yeah. Who's going to win on the outside? This is, this could be. If Green Bay falls to three and four, that's a major problem, Colin. All right. We'll wrap up with another quarterback story.

Deck Prescott nearly back from his thumb, which he hurt in week one against the bucks. All signs point two. He's going to start this weekend against the Detroit Lions. Jerry Jones, because that's what owners do. They jump in front of microphones and explain. to the media, what's going on. Jerry, no limitations for Dak Prescott. Let's just say this. From my perspective, from what I can know and see, I think he's going to get there. We feel like that physically he's at a position that the risk, reward that justifies him

being out there in terms of any reoccurrence of the injury is that no one is more prepared, no one has spent more hours getting ready to play a football game than Dag. I think we've got it all there, a full repertoire. So I don't think there'll be any limitations on anything we do. All right. Lions plus seven feels like the play. Lock it in, baby. But here's the funny thing.

He used to, he's talking up Cooper Rush, quarterback controversy for a couple weeks, Colin. Has Jerry Jones uttered the name Cooper Rush this week since the loss of the Eagles? I mean, he's doing an interview every day. Nothing. Kick to the curb. J-Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The herd lies. May Mac, Nick Wright, Joel Clat, a lot. Next, live in LA, The Hurt. Be sure to catch live editions of The Hurt. Weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. This is Steve Kavino and Rich. And together, we are Kavino and Rich. Kavino and Rich.

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Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

Yep, that's me. 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.

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

Podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations

with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch.

Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose. On my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. Nick Wright, co-hosts, first things first, right after our show, Monday through Friday, joins us live from New York.

All right, let's first touch on this. I said Westbrook's not the cause of the Lakers issues. He's a symptom of it. They're a poorly constructed mess. Your thoughts on what you watched last night? I mean, that's 100% correct. Now, for them to have any chance, at competing at a high level, they are going to need to trade Russ,

not only because he doesn't fit with them, but because they need pieces that do fit, most notably shooting. But right now, the Los Angeles Lakers, of the 25 teams in the league this year that are not in full-blown tank mode, have the single worst starting back court. Like you're starting Russ and Patrick Beverly, who I know Patrick Beverly thinks he's a star, but nobody else does. You have no shooting, and you're relying on LeBron to have the greatest year 20 anyone's ever had,

which just in last night's game alone he might have already accomplished, but that's not going to be enough. And Anthony Davis, you know, I tweeted after the first quarter, this Anthony Davis could be a problem for the whole league. And then he reverted the rest of the game back to the jump shooting other Anthony Davis, where he's been the worst jump shooter in the basketball over the last two seasons prior to this one. So they have massive issues. It's a poorly constructed roster,

which is why, of course, they gave Rob Polinka contract extension. I don't know what they're doing in L.A., buddy. I don't. What do you make of the Draymond Green Pool situation? I think it's an incident. It's a great coach in culture. They'll win again.

It doesn't be. I don't think it's that big of a deal, but you disagree, I would imagine. Yeah, I don't think he finishes the year on the team. I think that it is that there's a couple of things at play here. One is you're going to have. I think an unprecedented, unprecedented,

pardon me, amount of quality players available early in the season via trade because there are going to be so many teams that pull the ripcourt and just say, you know what,

let's tank for Big Vic, let's tank for scoot, the number two pick of the draft. So I think you're going to have a lot of teams just saying screw this, we're out. You also have already a luxury tax bill with the Lakers, I'm sorry, with the Warriors that's going to be

historic because they have given Poole as money, they have given Wiggins' money. And then they have Dremont staring into potentially opting in as a deteriorating asset. I don't think it's going to work long term for the full season. I think that Dremond plus Comingo

or Dremon plus Moody or maybe Dremont plus both of them could get a really, really good piece. Wiseman can soak up a lot of those front court minutes and I don't think this is a long, that Dremon Green ends the season with the Warriors. So I threw something out yesterday and I don't think it's crazy. The owner,

the owner doesn't like Kyler Murray, called him out, that stupid addendum they put in, they've made it public, and it's not working. And the coach and GM got extensions. Russell's not working in Denver. But Denver wants the old Russ, move around Russ. That's Kyler. What Arizona would like is a little bit more of, in their eyes, a veteran mature coachable. I said, if I was Arizona in Denver, I would be like, if I was Denver today, I'd be like, I'll take a call because we don't have the receivers or infrastructure. So my point is, I do think you're getting to a point with Denver is.

I'm not sure if it's solvable. The coach isn't right. The O-lines a disaster. The left tackles out for the year. What, what? Okay. Listen, of course Denver takes the call. your guy, your beloved adopted son Russell Wilson

has the single worst contract in all of sports. Go across all of sports. It's the single worst one. Now, Kyler's contract ain't no peach, but of course Denver would take that on because at least there's hope there. And I know, listen, your producers, little birdie's whisper in my ear,

I know you have a segment coming up that's, I don't know what you're going to call it, but I've got a name for it. why it's not Russell Wilson's fault, except it is. Except, yes, Hackett seems to be in over his head. I get that. But I remember you and so much of the media when you were so high on Denver. Now all of a sudden the roster stinks. Over the summer, oh my God, look at these receivers. Oh, the O line in Seattle was terrible, but it's better in Denver. Now that they are averaging 15 points per game. They have arguably the best

defense in the whole league. The defense is allowed six total touchdowns all year. We can't blame Russ. And what is unbelievable to me is Colin, you are giving Russell Wilson more benefit of the doubt than you would give yourself.

I know some of the viewers might not know this, but years and years ago, Colin used to work somewhere else. And Colin, if when you came over to FS1, it was a total unmitigated disaster. for six months. You wouldn't go home to Ann and be like, well, I mean, the EP of the show stinks

and the sets no good and what do you want for me? You'd say, I'm the one that needs to figure it out. The guy that makes a quarter of a billion is the one that needs to figure it out. But he can't because he hasn't run anymore and he doesn't throw very well. And Seattle got six draft picks, three players, and upgraded at quarterback with Gino Smith. And you just don't want to admit it. Oh, I've never been more right about something than this one. Everyone's like, who could have seen this coming?

Me, this guy, I saw it coming. Well, let's move off that segment. I think when I watched Kansas City in Buffalo, I have no definitive opinion. I thought in that game Josh got a little more help from his defense and a little more help from his run game. I think every game they play now is closer. I don't think there's a tactical edge. Von Miller certainly helped in their cause.

I think, I think Kansas City will go out and get an OBJ or a Chase Claypool or something. I think it's the best rivalry in sports. I don't think either team is better. I said it's not a who's better. It's who's got the ball last rivalry. And that's where I think they are now. Is that fair? Well, listen, and I think that's fair.

I also think, and now I will surprise, you know, the upstate New York viewers here and give credit. In this game, it was not who has the ball last because Mahomes had the ball last and he made a mistake. You know, he threw that pick. What made me, oddly, Colin, more optimistic about the Chief's chances against Buffalo than I was before the game is that, so here they've played, obviously, a bunch of the last few years. When they played in the regular season last year, Buffalo scored 38. When they played in the playoffs last year, Buffalo scored 36. On Sunday, pardon me, Buffalo scored 24. And if you're telling me that the Chief's defense down two corners in a game that Josh Allen doesn't throw a pick,

and you allow them to go 98 yards with a minute left in the first half, you're going to hold Buffalo under 27. Do I like the Chief's chances when they play again no matter where that game is played? I do. Like Mahomes is not going to make that level of mistakes, at least I don't think he will, a second time against the same team. You mentioned the Chiefs adding OBJ or Chase Clems. The Chiefs, it's kind of an underrated story, highest scoring team in the NFL this year.

I don't think they're going to add an offensive player. I do think Robert Quinn is available. I don't think they're going to be able to pay for Brian Burns out of Carolina. I would add a pass rusher. A few years ago, they added Terrell Suggs. He helped him win a Super Bowl. Last year they added Melvin Ingram. He was sensational for them into the regular season in the playoffs.

I would try to add someone on the front seven because as good as Josh was, The best player in that game was Von Miller. And he was the difference maker. They obviously can't go out and out of Von Miller, but I do think they could add another pass rusher. All right. Well, you know, let's give the Russell thing a couple more weeks. You're jumping to very quick conclusions.

A couple more games, and then maybe I'll come around on that. I mean, Colin, it's the lowest scoring team in the league. The worst offense in football. And now every week he has somebody whispering and some media guys here, Oh, this is the injury. Oh, that's the injury. Oh, the offensive lines. Give me a break.

Quarterback's got to play better. He's your guy. I'll make you a deal, Colin, and I know I got to go. I will be a little more critical of Russell Westbrook if you'll be a little more critical of Russell Wilson. How about that? It's not a bad. That's a deadline, a trade deadline move.

I like that. Nick Wright. Good seeing you, buddy. See you, my friend. Joel Clats coming on next hour. I have, I, I always bring out the blame pie. So I'll bring out the blame pie with the Denver Broncos. That's what I'll do.

Draymon, not making the end of the year interesting. They heard. 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 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, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, the Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, 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. On the Look Back at a podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick you here, unpack what went down, and try to be. to make sense of how we survived it with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. It was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.

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