The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Mayfield, Wilson, Watson

Episode Date: March 17, 2022

Colin was right from the start about Baker MayfieldWhy Russell Wilson wanted out of SeattleDeshaun Watson has told the Browns he's not interestedGuest: Kevin Clark Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Oh, here we go. What a day and a Thursday. Live in Los Angeles, it's the herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. What a day. Free agency. A lot of stuff breaking. By the way, it's a baseball story. Dodgers added, I don't know, another all-star last night, giving them the best batting order, probably since. to 1975 Cincinnati Reds. Don't want to make any guarantees. Maybe I called it a year early.

That Dodger lineup is the best batting order I have seen. They have literally young, talented second baseman. Gavin Lux is his name. Would start for virtually every team in baseball. Can't find a way to start for the team. People suspect he won't start. All right. Anyway, baseball talk.

Joy Taylor, how are you? I'm great. I'm an auntie again, number 12. Wow. Yep, 3 o'clock this morning. turning Apollo Benjamin, 8 pounds, 14 ounces. Wow. 12 times.

The Taylor family just keeps growing. The busy family. Congrats Noah and Christy. Congratulations to you. I don't know who to congratulate in Cleveland. So here's the story. So Mike Garofalo used to work at this company is reporting. Deshaun Watson, Brown's not going to happen.

And he says they've told Mayfield's agents at the Combine, hey, Watson was the only guy we were interested in. Now, Mary Kay Cabot, who I've known for 20 years, said, nah, that's not true. Cleveland's still looking. They didn't get to Sean. They're still looking. Chris Mortensen, who I've known for years, many of you know, great reporter, he reported yesterday what I was told in midseason, which is they're looking for an adult at quarterback.

They're out on Mayfield. Now, I was told midseason by an executive who was very close to Andrew Barry. He said he's just exhausted. He just wants a grown-up. It's literally what Chris Mortensen reported yesterday. And I had said that on the air. I'm not playing backseat driver here. So we don't know what's going to happen.

My guess is they're still looking. Mary Kay Cabot, I think, is on the right side here. They're still looking. In the history of Colin Wright, Colin wrong, that Chris Mortensen report yesterday validated this is the most Colin Wright ever. From the very beginning, I said Johnny Mansell is undraftable and not a franchise quarterback. He's a frat boy. Baker Mayfield, I said he is a franchise quarterback, but he's undraftable to me.

Too snarky, too juvenile, wants to be a frat boy, too cool for the room, always got to win arguments. And by the way, I'm not one of these talk show hosts who rips players, and I get them on set and I cuddle up to him. I brought Baker Mayfield on the set. Here's a piece of tape. I confronted him on all of this stuff. Right in front of him, here it is. when you hear all the stuff, Baker, first thought. When you hear me just blah, blah, blah.

That you really don't know me at all. I think you hear the big headlines, which is what people get paid to do, is right, whatever, to grab people's attention. So there's no digging, there's no actual research to it. You know, sidelines, grabbing stuff, you know, throwing, whizzing footballs. Come on, you're going to be a franchise quarterback.

What are you grabbing stuff that? Why? I wouldn't a franchise quarterback. then. I'm hoping to be one in the future, and I can learn from my mistakes and do that. Did teams confront you on this stuff? There were teams that said, what kind of guy are we getting? Are we getting another Johnny? Are we getting a guy that's not going to learn from his mistakes? I mean, you think about it, they're investing a lot of money, a lot of money. A time. Yeah, exactly. And so I was expecting that, but to be able to actually sit down and talk to

him, that's what I was waiting for. All right, he's always welcome back on the set. Always welcome. I don't think he's a bad person. I think he's immature. He's 27 years old. Let's hope he's learned from these mistakes. A lot of people mature so slowly. You know I love Bill Maher. He says this all the time. Not everybody learns stuff at the same time. Let's be tolerant of those who sometimes are a little slow to grasp cultural changes. Not everybody grasps stuff the first day and people can grow. But can you guys all stop arguing with me on this? I'm right every time on this. I was right on James Winston. I was right on Jay Cutler. I was right on Cam, although Cam's just so damn gifted. He overcame most of it. I was right on Johnny Menzel and I'm

right on Baker. You're a franchise quarterback. I know it's unfair, but you have to be bizarrely mature at 23 years old like Russell Wilson, like Andrew Luck. I know it's not fair in life, but you also get paid a lot. You're the faith of a franchise. You control the football. You're the coach on the field. You're the one that speaks at the podium. John Wooden, the legendary late basketball coach at UCLA created a pyramid of success. I think NFL teams should all use it the same way. And I'm not talking talent. Once you have decided this guy's big enough, he's strong enough, he can move enough. I believe there is a pyramid of quarterback success that every GM in the league should have. And this is the stuff that matters. Beyond the talent stuff, let's start with something that

really, really matters to me. And most of this stuff, Baker May. Mayfield has failed at. And all of this stuff, Justin Herbert, is great at. First, a willingness to take one for the team. Eli Manning was legendary at this. They lost. He went right to the New York media. They won. Eli let others talk. Don't always try to be right. Every time you lose, find fault in yourself. That plays hugely in the locker room. Be willing to take one for the team. A second thing that matters in my quarterback pyramid of success, be emotionally disciplined. Would you want a pilot in turbulence who freaked out but was cheering in the cockpit during a landing? Would you want a financial planner? Boom, stock up, selling everything in a bad day.

Don't get too high. Don't get too low. I don't mind a fist pump. But I'm kind of looking for a grown up there. The third thing that matters at the bottom of my pyramid, a unifying force. Can you bring the owner? The GM, the players. Some guys are country boys. Some guys are city guys. Some guys are veterans. Some guys are rookies.

Brady is a great unifying force. He introduces himself to everybody. We all know who you are, Tom. He unifies the owner, the fans, the boosters. Forget the media. Don't have to unify them, but do you unify people? The next two things that matter to me,

physical reliability. Do you take care of your? yourself. Some of that is luck. Eli Manning, some of it's just good genes. He stayed healthier than Peyton. That one's a little bit luck. Justin Herbert, Josh Allen, those guys are just, you can look at that body. That body's going to last for a long time. Something else that matters to me, a lot, bizarrely committed to your craft. People will call you weird, strange. My wife just doesn't get Tom Brady. And I'm like, so why is the best ever? Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan.

You're bizarrely obsessed with your craft. It means a lot to you. You don't have a big wide social circle outside of football. As Tom Brady said, I could watch film all day. If you got a lot of hobbies, you're not a franchise quarterback. And finally, and this matters a lot. Do people like you? Likeability.

People like Justin Herbert. I have friends all through the Chargers organization. Everybody just likes him. The kind of guy going on a road trip, everybody's like, oh, invite Justin. Invite Lamar. He's funny. Invite. Kyler struggles with this, by the way.

Jay Cutler struggled with this a lot. Aaron Rogers struggles with this. Forget just the arm and everything. Things that matter. Baker is committed, but he fails at a lot of these. Josh Allen doesn't really fail. at any of them or Justin Herbert. Or to this part, physical reliability on Lamar Jackson, we'll see.

But you're 27. I hope you've grown up. I think you can learn. You're always welcome back on the show. Let's you and I stop arguing over this one. It really matters. And it's unfair. I don't care about my linebackers.

I don't care about my rush ads. I don't care about my corners. I don't care about my guards. I don't care. Quarterback is different. You speak for the franchise, you're the face of the franchise, you touch the ball, you have your weekly press conference at the podium. They don't ask safeties to do that, and they don't ask tight ends and running backs. I wish them the best.

I don't know what happens in Cleveland. My guess is they'll make calls on Jimmy Garoppolo. All right, let's shift to another quarterback who in my pyramid of success nails all of them, Russell Wilson. So Russell Wilson came out yesterday and said all the things you do. during a breakup. You know, Seahawks and I, mutual decision, blah, blah, blah, mutual decision. You know, he said all the stuff that, you know, Russell would say. The Seahawks, very quickly, the owner Jody Allen came out and said, no, this was Russell's decision. Pete Carroll came out five minutes later. Yeah, yeah, as Jody stated, this was Russ's decision.

And then John Snyder came out a few minutes later and says, as it became evident that Russell wanted to move on. So the Seahawks are protecting the brand. They have a right to do that. It was his decision. I will tell you my belief, it was Russell Wilson's decision. And I'm closer to Russell and his agent than Pete. It was Russell's decision. And there are three reasons for it. Number one, he won a Super Bowl.

Then a few years later in 2018, the Seahawks went and visited Josh Allen's Pro Day. He's like, you can be kidding me. And Russell was always sensitive to that because he got ditched by his college coach at North Carolina State. That's why he had to transfer to Wisconsin. Though he was the best football player on his team, the coach said, too small, run around, I'm going to go with Mike Glennon. That coach was fired. Russell was sensitive to it.

Seahawks, bad move. You had a quarterback, totally committed quarterback, highly elusive quarterback, Super Bowl winning quarterback. The second thing they did is increasingly over the last four or five years, Russell's just getting the, you know, what, beat out of him. They can't get the offensive line right. and Russell wants to play until he's 45, and he looks at the protection Tom Brady had

with Dante Scarnackia in New England. He looks at the protection of Aaron Rogers as the Packers always draft and develop offensive lines. And Russell's like, I'm going to play until about 37 years old and fall apart. And the third reason was, and I've had Greg Olson tell me this too, Seattle and Pete Carroll are running a 1999 offense. It's just Jurassic. It's just outdated.

Then they ask Russell Wilson to be a hero. with four minutes left on the clock and win it. Now, the first two reasons, Pete Carroll could sit on this couch and argue, and I would listen to him. He could argue, hey, Josh Allen, 6-6-250 leaps over tall buildings. We had to go look at him. You could make that argument.

You can make that argument. You can also make the argument, and Pete could sit on this chair and say it, hey, Russell ran around. A lot of those sacks are on Russell, not the offensive line. I've heard that before from Scouts. outs I trust and executives I trust that Russell can run himself into stuff. But the third one, I would push back.

This is an outdated offense. I've had multiple Seattle Seahawks tell me. Too much run oriented. The division, Shanahan, McVeigh, Kingsbury, you got too many smart offensive guys. And this league is now not, not allowing for that. Vic Fangio, defense fired. Mike Zimmer defense fired. Pete Carroll Belichick right now, struggling.

So, yes, this was Russell Wilson's decision. But for three reasons, one of which you can't argue is that Russell Wilson looked around and said, I deserve a better offense, I deserve more progressive coaching, I need better. And that's why I chose Denver. offensive coach, excellent weapons, embracing football, 22, offense, offense, offense. Russell Wilson yesterday, here he is at the mic on his departure from the Hawks. Then it was a time time per change, and when did that feeling really start for you? Yeah, I did initiate it. It was definitely mutual along the way. There's definitely been a lot of

conversations. It hasn't been I initiated anything, but it is what it is. I'm excited. I'm happy to be here. That's all I know. Obviously, I'm happy about the 10 years I've had, but I think that we'll have to read about it later. We'll have some fun maybe with my book one day. We'll have some good stories. I've always been on that side and not the Seahawks side. Kevin Clark, the ringer, joins us this hour as well. Stop breaking. Joy, I'll have that during Herdline News. 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 unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the fourth. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment.

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

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because 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.

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You young peeps. So Deshawn Watson is on the market. He's going to go to the NFC. He told the Browns today, I'm out. So he's going to go to the NFC. C. Saints or Atlanta. Now, I've said yesterday, and I'll stand by it, Atlanta's where I would go. But they've butcher this thing. Atlanta's always in a perpetual rebuild. Even when Atlanta's great, they screw it up. Years ago, 1999, they made the Super Bowl. The next year, they're 5 and 11. A few years

ago, they made the Super Bowl for the next five years, losing records. They just can't sustain success. I like their owner. I love the city. It's the most economically dynamic, and he's from there. that's where I would go. But the problem is over the last decade, and I can't blame to Sean Watson for this. The Saints have had the best roster in the last decade, the most stability. I mean, you can't blame them for Katrina and some weather stuff,

but I mean, it's been a really good organization for 10 years. They've had a bunch of good players. They draft well. Mickey Loomis, Jeff Ireland, front office. Gail Benson, it's like they've had good ownership. They have good rosters. They have the best record. I don't blame him.

I think he wants to go to Atlanta. Reportedly it's down to the Falcons and the Saints. And I think his heart is in Atlanta. But Atlanta plays New Orleans twice. And if you go to the last 10 years, Atlanta has lost a lot of those games because of the stability and the roster and the players of the Saints. So they just, they just now also Calvin Ridley, tremendous player for Atlanta. He's suspended for a year. Russell Gage, who I think one of the more underrated number two or three.

receivers in the league for Atlanta. He just went to the Buccaneers. So I get Kyle Pitts, but who are my wide receivers? So the Saints have a better role line. They have Michael Thomas. They just have better players. The Saints, you know, sometimes, I'll give you an example. When Tom Brady left New England, the perfect place to go was Miami. Giselle's an international supermodel. Miami is an international, as Joy will tell you, it's an international city. There's a flights every day. Brazil, Germany, Europeans, that's where they vacation. You go to Miami, walk down the sidewalk. You'll hear eight languages. That's where Tom should have gone. He could have gone to Miami, which is prettier than Tampa, and it's more international than Tampa,

and his wife's an international supermodel. They wanted to go there. In fact, my source, we broke the story on that, my source said Tom wanted to go there, and he could face it and beat the Patriots twice a year. That was where he wanted to go. But in the end, he chose Tampa because they got a better GM and they had better players. And so Tom, you know, he wanted warm weather, no state tax. He wanted weapons. He wanted weapons. And Miami didn't have enough weapons.

They were, as they've been in the last 12 years, they're in perpetual rebuild. So Miami was a great place for Brady to go. But you just can't trust the owner, the organization. So they went, the glazers are better owners than Stephen Ross. The roster's better, the GM better. and Bruce Ariens, you know, Bruce Ariens got a lot of peltz. And so he went there. And Tom made the right call.

I think New Orleans, he's going to win more games in New Orleans than Atlanta. But his heart, I think, is really in Atlanta. And if he goes there, I get it. It's hard to say no to your home. Like Tom Brady still, I think, has an itch to go to San Francisco and play for the 49ers. I still think Tom wants to. Sometimes it just doesn't work out, right? So there you go.

Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, speaking of those weapons, according to multiple reports, the Titans are planning I'm releasing Julio Jones. After one season, they traded a 2022 second round pick and a 2023 fourth round pick in exchange for Julio Jones and a sixth round pick in 2023 to the Falcons.

Yeah. And made a mistake. And they just, I'll say this. They kind of overspent. and they just said we're out, we're going to move on. They are moving on, but where is Julio going to move on to? Well, our very own Skip Bayless has a source out there. This morning, a source who knows Julio texted me that Julio got a DM yesterday

from this guy who plays quarterback down in Tampa, this guy named Tom Brady. Man, get out people DM, Tom Brady. He was sliding into Julio's DMs. And the message effectively said, hey, come on down to the sunshine here in Tampa and let's be great together. Wow. Sources. Sources. Well, he did that for a long time.

Yes, he did. He's a seven-time pole bowler, Julio Jones. Obviously didn't work out well in Tennessee. But he has the most receiving yards of any active player right now with 13,330. By the way, they brought on Antonio Brown, who's a nuisance. You tell me it could be a number of three or four? Well, he's a grown-up. Julio's 2021 numbers, 10 games, 31 receptions, 434 yards, and one touchdown.

Again, also, that's with Ryan Tantanhill. Yeah. A.B's numbers in 2021, 7 games, 42 receptions, 545 yards, and four touchdowns. Okay, but you got to babysit him. So I would do Julio Jones. If Julio took a discount, I get Evan, Godwin, Godwin, Gage, Julio? Yeah, so they signed Russell Gage, who was. Nice players.

also apparently recruited by Tom Brady. 65 catchy your guy in Atlanta. Hey, Tom, if you want to go into a college coaching when you're done one day, one of years from now when you retire, he's got the juice. That's according to Stragher. So yeah, so Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Godwin's coming off of an ACL injury, but just agreed to a three-year $60 million deal. Russell Gage and could possibly add Julio Jones.

They need to draft a running back outside of that good football team. And they just got Shaq Mason from the Patriot. So they have Ryan Jensen, argument, first or second best center in the league. Shaq Mason, top five right guard. Tristan Werf's probably first or second best right tackle. So that right side of that old line, they lost both guards, but the right side is elite. Well, Von Miller will be joining the bills on a six-year, $120 million deal. Wow.

He's going to turn 33, March 26. eight-time Pro Bowl or two-time Super Bowl champ, including a Super Bowl MVP and Super Bowl 50. And he was instrumental to that Rams defense and to that Ram's Super Bowl. In his final eight games regular in postseason, he had nine sacks, including two in the Super Bowl. So he is joining a defense that in 2021 ranked first in points per game, first in yards per game, first and passing yards per game, first in third downs, and 11th in sacks. So they're going for it. The rich get richer. They should. This is what good teams should be doing. Go pay veteran guys that are game disruptors. You have a young quarterback. You have it set up. Josh Allen's locked in. Just load up. Do what the Rams did last year. I don't think that the Rams style of building teams works for everybody. Because you have to be in that situation. You have to be solid at the coaching position. You have to have all of your coordinators in place. You have to have your quarterback in place. You have to be, have a veteran.

roster that is capable of taking a step up with a few extra pieces. If you're a young developing team or you have a very young quarterback that you're still trying to build up, you're not in a situation to give away all your draft picks and go all in. The bills are. The bills are right there. So why not add an extra piece like Von Miller? That's a great deal for Vaughn as well. They also added OJ Howard on a one-year deal, but the Bucks tight ends. So that's another weapon for Josh Allen. Gosh. They have knocks. So he has two tight ends now. Moves are being made. Other pass rusher news. Chandler Jones went to the Raiders. Yannick and Gokwe went to the Colts for cornerback, Rockieson, and Zadaria Smith is

going to the Ravens. I will say this. Denver, because of Russell Wilson, has had the best offseason. Pittsburgh got Miles Jack, has quietly gotten much better. People forget this, because it wasn't a sloppy ending. Pittsburgh made the playoffs this year. Yeah. Okay, they made the playoffs. Thank you, Jacksonville. Yeah. So, So just a heads up on this, Pittsburgh has had a remarkable offseason. They attacked all their weaknesses. They wanted a number of linebacker. They got Miles Jack, who's got a lot of years left.

It's a great move. They needed to be more athletic and cheaper at quarterback. Check, check, Trebisky. And they needed to improve dramatically the interior of their own line. Check. And by the way, the rest of the team is fine. Running back, tight end, outstanding. Receiver, above average.

Pass rush, amazing. They added a safety as well. They're a little soft there, but like it's Pittsburgh. Minka Fitzpac right now. Got a guy next to him, corners. Yeah, that division is going to be rough for a while. Pittsburgh. That's why Cleveland's in the conversation for quarterback.

Yeah, I'm telling you right now, they didn't make a lot of headlines. It's a lot of B guys. You can get really good in this football world with a lot of B guys added to your roster. And you have a Hall of Fame coach who has never had a losing season in an organization. and knows how to win. Lakers, 124-104 against the Timberwolves last night. Bad. But as bad as it was, basketball-wise,

it really got kind of messy with the trash talk with Patrick Beverly and Carl Anthony Towns. And Russ said after the game that the trash talk didn't bother him. I honestly don't pay no mind to it. Maybe other guys, they weren't talking to me. So they were talking to individual guys, particularly, but the trash shotgun isn't bothered me. Nobody over there has done anything that in this league that, you know, make me to put my eyes. I'm like, oh, they're talking mess.

Let me respond. No. It's fine. They're good. They won a game. You know, happy for them. We want to the next one. That's that.

Well, Pat Beverly did not. I appreciate those remarks. He tweeted playoffs every year to Western Conference Finals with two different teams. Individual stats or team stats. I thought this was a team sport. Interesting. So he's responding to Russell Westbrook's comments. You know, I've had a difficult time figuring out what the percentage of the blame pie is for the Lakers this year.

Because it feels like it's a sliding scale. But I will say. Pie has been in the sun too long. It's a bit of a mess. It's kind of blurring. Every time, not every time, that's an exaggeration. When we get comments like this from Russell Westbrook after games, I feel like a little bit more of the pie goes to him.

You got to have some fight. You got to have some pride in these situations. Like, it's not just on to the next game. You guys are still playing for something. Aside from, you know, getting into the playoffs, you're the Lakers. Like, you got some pride here. No disrespect to Carl Anthony Towns or Patrick Beverly. but if they're talking trash to you, you got to make it a chippy game.

Like, you have to be mad about that. Like, Cat is a good player. You just put up 60 points. Russell Wilson, Russell Wilson, Russell Westbrook has never once in his career acknowledged I could be part of the problems. Last week he got mad at fans for calling him Westbrook. Right. He's shooting 11% from threes since the All-Star break.

And again, I don't want to pick on Russell Westbrook. Like, whatever, it's over, right? Like, we don't know. Yes, he's not going to be there. next year. Okay. So, but at some point, what Carmelo Anthony did in the last two years, he deserves credit for. Carmelo Anthony looked himself in the mirror, said, hey, I'm a bench guy. I'm a rotational guy. Carmelo's been terrific for the Lakers. Westbrook's not there yet. He needs to in the offseason, look in the mirror and go, you know what, I'm a bench guy.

Like, it's a shooters league. I'm aging poorly. Cam Newton knew his credit. Cam, and I was never a fan of of it. Cam went to New England and said, I got stuff to work on here. Cam was unvaxed, got vaxed, hey, listen, I'm being viewed around the league as irresponsible. Like at some point aging stars, you have to look in the mirror and go, wow, I can't be that expensive. I can't make demands. I have to get, you know, vaxed, whatever. Now, Kyrie's still great, so he can push back on that and there are people that just want his talent. But when you're aging, like Carmelo Anthony deserves a lot of credit.

He was like, okay, I'm a bench guy. I'm going to be a great bench guy. If you watch Carmelo during Laker Games, he's engaged in a huddle, he's helping guys off the floor. Carmelo is totally a team guy now, deserves total credit for that. I think it changes your legacy. And everybody likes Carmelo. I've been critical, but people like Carmelo Anthony. Let me tell you something, in that building, they see that video of Russell Westbrook,

like not defending. Yeah. They go to Huddle and Russell's off by himself. Like that is getting talked about in the building in Los Angeles. It's going to change his legacy what happened this year. It's one thing to, you know, bounce around to different teams. It's going to be his fourth team in four years. That's something.

Like, it's, you know, I very rarely cite Patrick Beverly, but it's a team game at the end of the day. Like, we talk about stars and how important they are and they definitely are. But you've got to be there for your guys. And it doesn't feel like he is. And when he says things like this, it's like there's still just zero self-awareness. Like at some point, you just just stop. Like, don't clench so hard. Like you got to let it go.

This is everyone's fault. And like take part in what you're responsible for. I feel bad actually at this point for Lakers fans because it's got to be so frustrating. Yes. And with the expectations coming into the year, however unrealistic I felt that they might be without Anthony Davis healthy, you got to still have some sort of community sense here. I actually feel bad for Westbrook because he's from Los Angeles. His parents live here.

You could have helped the situation. No question. There was more than enough runway. No question. To make this smoother, to make it at least feel like I feel somewhat responsible for this. Mirror still work. Westbrook should use one. Yes.

I'm not denying that. But I think he will in the offseason have a discussion either with himself, his parents, his wife, or somebody, and he'll do a mellow. He'll be like, okay, I got to come to terms of what it is. I don't know. I think this was the time to do it. I think this year, this opportunity with this team, with this microscope, playing alongside LeBron James, who makes everyone better. who gets along with everyone who is the ultimate team guy.

This is the only time in LeBron's career, he can't fix a player problem. This whole career, this one, he just put his hands up. That's what I'm saying. I felt like this was the year that Russ was going to do that, which was what you're talking about. And as much conversation as had been had about him this year, for him to still say things like this,

it's like, I don't know if that conversation is going to be had. Good stuff, Joy with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. They catch live editions of The Herd, weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, I'm Doug Gottlieb. The podcast is called All Ball. We usually talk all basketball all the time, but it's more about the stories about what made these people love their sport and all the interesting

interactions along the way. We talk to coaches. We talk to players. We tell you stories. You download it. You listen to it. I think you like it. Listen to All Ball with Doug Gottlieb on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or ever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the

athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the 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, Clifert 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, Untax. filtered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations,

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

Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what we? went down and tried to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know.

I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, We get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses.

Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on Earth. 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, Keir Gaines, as we have real. conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast,

learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. The CFO that gets it, gets it. The CFOs that don't, don't. Go to net suite.com slash heard visibility control over your financials, e-commerce, and more. All right, let's get to my buddy, Kevin Clark at the ringer NFL writer for years. Slow Newsday videocast.

What a crazy, crazy week. It's maybe the most underrated week on the sports calendar. Yeah. It is, I mean, there's supposed to be a deadline. There's supposed to be a starting point. Nobody listens to any of it. So what do you make this morning of the Baker-Mayfield Cleveland situation, Kevin? I've never seen anything like it because you have a quarterback who said goodbye,

even though he said it wasn't goodbye, it was goodbye to a team that didn't have a quarterback lined up, hadn't said goodbye to him. There was no plan. Maybe he was trying to get control of the situation. but this is one of the most awkward things I've ever seen in sports. No quarterback has ever played out their 50-year option. It's never happened. It may be happen with a couple of guys in the next couple of years.

But I just think that this is unprecedented. Now what do you do if you're Cleveland? Do you overpay for Jimmy Garoflo just to end this? Do you try to move Baker Mayfield without a plan in place? Do you try to go with Case Keenham, who, by the way, couldn't have been worse than what Baker Mayfield was last year? I've never seen anything like this, and I doubt the Browns have either. Yeah, I don't know.

I think the Colts and the Browns are both talking to Jimmy Garoppolo's agent. And now, Deshaun Watson's interesting because I think his heart is in Atlanta. Economically, it's a really viable city. It's the Hollywood of the South. It's great for marketing. I also think he's from there. But the Saints, I see all the teams now in the running. Saints have the best roster, a great owner, stability.

Is he going to go to this? What do you make of this? kind of situation. Okay. So when I saw the last four, the actual best football situation is Cleveland. And I would like to say with all the past couple weeks, with the last 20 years of Browns football,

the fact that this, all of this, the Baker stuff, but this might be the biggest mess the Cleveland Brown's quarterback position has ever been in. That's saying something, okay? But when I looked at that list, I said Cleveland makes the most sense

from a football standpoint. I understand why it wants to be home. But I also want to say, there's some real embarrassment potential for any team that takes the plunge here. There's going to be a lengthy suspension. There's still 22 civil cases with outstanding. And I think that I was surprised, frankly, Colin,

at how quickly this all moved where as soon as the grant, there was no indictment last Friday, it was on Saturday. It was okay, he's making decisions, he's taking meetings, all of that stuff. I think that the fact that the last two teams are the Saints and the Falcons, two teams that have newish head coaches that have quarterback desperation, at least long term, the Falcons are happy to go with Matt Ryan. The Shear shows that there's some desperation.

and that maybe the market for him is not what we thought it was going to be. So I thought it was interesting. I would not take Deshaun Watson to my team right now, but I understand, unfortunately, that that's the premium for quarterbacks is they get to write their own ticket, even when they have these issues. And so it's been a very strange week in that regard. I'd say from football standpoint, I agree with you, New Orleans, but we don't know, Sean Payton's not there anymore.

It's a better situation than Atlanta, but I can understand why he want to be home. Yeah, Russell Gage and Calvin Ridley no longer Falcons. does not make the Atlanta position nearly as attractive because those are, those are, you know, really good players. I said Denver's had, I think they'll be the most improved team. I think Pittsburgh has had an unflashy, but really smart offseason. What offseason jumps out to you? Well, I mean, Denver has a case to be made, but it's Tampa Bay. I mean, I'm not even talking about Tom Brady.

Tom Brady is the Pipeper, and then he comes back and then Russell Gage will, We'll sign that deal. Chris Godwin is ready to do a long-term deal. I mean, none of this stuff was happening without Brady. I mean, that's the best competitive advantage in football. We just saw this with Buffalo. I understand that Vaughn Miller got a lot of money, but guys want to hitch their wagon to quarterbacks. And right now you have the best to ever do it, coming back, refocused, was retired for two

months. I guess he got some new perspective or whatever. And guys want to be there. I wouldn't be surprised if Rob Grunkowski, who loves playing with Tom Brady, comes back and takes a deal that is undermarket. Like, that's what you've got. get that is that is why tom brady is so valuable is the guys in new indland wanted to play with them for decades they will take one year stopgap thing so it's the

bucks denver for me their improvement is nice and fine but the a fc west is the sec west now where it is so unbelievably hard to get through that barrier to entry that i'm not even sure it matters if denver's improving i mean the entire a fc right now because going more broadly is the cc it is the european champions league there is so much depth there that even being good doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. You have to be incredibly. You have to do four or five high octane moves per off season and then get lucky with injuries and quarterbacks. That's it. So I'm not ready to jump on the Denver bandwagon. I thought it was ridiculous when they were, I think, fifth favorite to win the Super Bowl after the rest of Wilson trade. I just think there's too much

depth in the AFC to say any of this stuff. And we kind of forget about your buffaloes and those sort of teams that are already better and have the quarterback. So this show has been highly critical of kind of the Seahawks in general. Bad drafts, Jurassic offense. And I have a close enough relationship with Russell and his agent is they didn't like Seattle window shopping for Josh Allen at his pro day. The offensive line deteriorated. The offense feels especially in the division with Kyle Shanahan,

Kingsbury, and McVeigh, it feels outdated. And I think Russell just, he wanted an offensive coach, better weapons. All that said, what did you make of, Russell said it's mutual. Three different people for the Seahawks said it's not. What did you make of that sort of public commentary yesterday? That was strange. Yeah, that was strange.

I don't love, he had to leave Seattle. But knowing when to leave and knowing where to go are two very separate things. And again, I'm not sure Denver, from a football standpoint, made the most sense. From a lifestyle standpoint, there's a reason Peyton Manning wanted to go there. There's the reason John Elway loved being there for two decades. Denver's a nice place to be. I understand that. The public back and forth has been strange. And I was surprised by Jody Allen, the owner's statement yesterday that he wanted out and all that stuff. Part of me thinks, listen, if the Seahawks thought that Russell Wilson was still a top three, top five quarterback, he'd still be in Seattle.

It's really hard for a franchise quarterback to force his way out. Seattle must have wanted this to the point that, yes, it's mutual. If you trade a franchise player in the NFL, it is mutual. The entire game is stacked towards players staying with their team, franchise tag, long-term contracts that get signed years in advance for anybody hits free agency unless you're Kirk Cousins. I mean, this is, teams get to keep their guys in the NFL. And so it's always mutual. So the idea that Russell said, hey, I went out and they agreed to that. That doesn't really happen when franchise players in the NFL. So I think by definition, the way the NFL works, this was mutual.

By the way, let's circle back. We've got a minute left, minute and a half left. If you were Cleveland, what would you do at quarterback this morning? I would overpay for Jimmy Garabolo to end this saga. Yeah. Because you can't go in for an entire season. And with a guy in Baker Mayfield where it has the capability to be a toxic situation, Chris Moranson had the report. They want an adult quarterback.

You can't get Chris Mortensen to unreport that. That's out there. That's out there. You can't call Morton and say, Morty. Nope. They said it. They meant it. And now what do you do? I think it's going to be, you know, Kevin Sifansky's an amazing coach. The fact that he won a playoff game last year and it seemed normal, it didn't seem miraculous is one of the greatest things that's the last couple of years and the way that Cleveland embraced that team in a weird year.

Baker has that success. Andrew Barry, you know, he said this to me one time. He said he came out through Bill Polion. All that matters is the quarterback position. That's all that matters. And so he's going to be thinking all the time. There's always going to be window shopping. So I think you go with the stopgap, someone like, of Jimmy Garoppolo and I think you try to take a big swing next year. I know Cleveland is not Denver. I know it's not Miami. I know it's not Tampa. But what better way to establish a legacy and a legendary status than actually being the quarterback to make it work in Cleveland? I think at some point a good quarterback thinks that way. Good stuff. Kevin Clark the ringer. He's back in the West Coast. I'm not going to, it's undisclosed location. Very tony, very pricey, obviously.

It's great seeing you, my friend. Anytime, Kyle. Yeah, the ringer pays very well. He's afforded a wonderful life and he's got great insight and I always appreciate him. All right. Yeah, it is hard to unsay that. When you leak, we want an adult at quarterback. For the record, what I was told midseason came on the air.

Andrew Barry told people it's exhausting. I can't babysit my quarterback. It just, it was exhaust. And they're right. Like, listen, we all. have strength and weaknesses as people. So I'm not patient. Yeah, I'm not patient either. Okay. So therefore, I'm not into frat boy guys. Most of my friends are older. So I know my weakness. That's why I said, Baker's draftable, not for me if I was a team. I can't babysit my quarterback.

I take Kirk Cousins with limitations. I have to babysit him. Well, Baker also has limitations. That's why this conversation is being. Yeah, limitations and babysit. If he was a little bit of sitting great than they would deal with it. This show made a revelation late yesterday, and we need to readdress it and revisit it in our two. Next. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an acapella 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. Here. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, 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 IHeard 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 it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how. 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. Guaranteed human.