The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Rodgers, MVP, Lakers, Rams-Bengals

Episode Date: February 11, 2022

Aaron Rodgers winning the MVP proves it's a stat awardMore on the James Harden-Ben Simmons tradeLakers chose not to trade Russell WestbrookWhat will be the story on Monday after the Super Bowl? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care 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 Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast.

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 a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians,

and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching Herd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, it is great to have you in on a Friday.

Live in Los Angeles. It's the hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1, Greg CoSell, and my Super Bowl pick in one hour. Last night I went on the town. Bumped into Sierra, Russell Wilson, Eli Manning, Alex Smith, Derek Henry, yes. Wow. And powerful agents.

Do you know what Sierra said to me? What did Sierra say to you? Have you ever seen her in person? I have not. I'm sure she's even more stunning than she is in photos and videos, which is one of those beautiful people walking the planet. So I saw Russell, and we've known each other for a long time. Yes. We talked for a while.

You know, he's one of the nicest guys. Very cordial came over. I never do this. He's very presidential. It's incredible. I said, hey, Russell, I'm not into this stuff because I just want to introduce to my wife. Ran over 10 minutes, talked about kids. And then I just didn't want to bother the whole.

full scene. Joe Montana is incredible. Just everybody's very gracious and nice. And then Sierra comes over. She goes, oh, I love you. And I don't remember anything she said after that. It was just, it was my head. You know, I love you from Sierra. Oh, yeah. Oh, I love you. You know, the show, but that's not what I heard.

I heard she loved me. That's what I heard. Right. Of course. That's what I would hear, too. She is one of the most attractive humans I've ever seen. Yeah, she's not. there's a few people that I've ran into out here in L.A. that I'm like, we're not the same. Like, you're just, you have been handcrafted by God.

I ran into Luke Keeckley last night. He said he liked the show. Oh, Luke Keekely. Yes. So it's, yeah, there's my little, uh, boogie star moment. Well, you know, listen, we're in L.A. We was on Melrose Avenue and all the big, yeah, all that stuff.

Big deal. No, but they're really, you know what, what I'll say this to start the show today, it's amazing how gracious, Derek Henry, Alex Smith, Eli, man. We're very lucky. These guys, if they wanted to, could it be such hoity-toity? They're so grounded. They come over.

They ask about your family. I felt very lucky. So let me start with this, though. Aaron Rogers won the MVP. I know. I know. You thought there was going to be some Vax thing. He won the MVP.

But I do think this is incredible. Joe Burrow did not finish in the top three. And I think it's absolutely ridiculous. his team was picked for fourth place. In an excellent division, they won it. Brady and Aaron, much better teams, much better support systems in lousy divisions, won their division. Now, Aaron is great. Nobody is questioning that.

I'm really not anti-Aaron or Brady. But what does valuable mean? Let's just be honest. This is not the most valuable player award. It's a stat award. and the people in the media that vote on the NBA MVP and the NFL MVP, they don't know what valuable means. Let's call this award the most impressive statistical season.

M-I-S-S. This was a big, big miss. Joe Burrow, if you want to judge somebody on value, what was the place before they got there and what is it now with their presence? The Bengals were a laughing stock, cheap, and completely irrelevant. relevant in Ohio. The Browns and Ohio State are more credible. And they won that division.

The Packers have been historic and consistent and smart and stable before Aaron and during Aaron. In terms of valuable, it's not close. I would put it this way. The Avengers movies. Great franchise with or without Robert Downey. Now, Robert Downey is great. Deserved every penny, number one box office hip. But Robert Downey is not the only actor.

that could have pulled that off. That franchise would have been good with or without him. He may be the richest guy in Hollywood. He's not the most valuable. Keanu Reeves, John Wick, that doesn't exist without Keanu Reeves. He makes it work. Now, Avengers may make more money. But if the word is valuable, Keanu Reeves to that series is more valuable than Robert

Downey is to Avengers. In fact, Robert Downey's character just got killed off. And the Avengers will be fine. It'll make a lot of money. If Keanu Reeves quit, John Wick Series is over. Valuable. The Bengals were a laughing stock of a franchise a year and a half ago. Now, you can't count the playoffs, which is absurd in itself since all these careers are defined by postseason success.

That's why we consider Aikman better than Marino because he got trophies and he got rings. But this should be noted. Burrell won more playoff games this year than Aaron Rogers has won in the last. five years. Now, I know that doesn't count for the award, but next year when you vote on this thing, take into consider the playoff run. I know you're not supposed to. You probably should. I mean, listen, if some of you are going to consider the VACs, maybe you should consider the playoff run for Joe Burrell. I think he got totally hosed. So yesterday, it was a big trade in the NBA. I'll get to that in a second, but it's a very funny moment.

LeBron and Kevin Durant chose the All-Star teams. And as, as Roy, remarkable and gifted as James Hardin is as a player. You know, James can kind of quit on you if he doesn't love you or he doesn't love the situation. He kind of quit on Houston. I didn't love that. He kind of quit on Kevin Durant. So Kevin Durant is choosing the All-Star teams yesterday. And nobody's picking James Harden because you know Durant's not picking James Hardin.

And here it is on TNT. I'm going to need some size for sure. I'm going to need some size and interior. Yeah. Yeah. Especially with Giannis and LeBron James playing such great basketball this year. I need somebody to offset that. I agree. I agree. I agree. That worked out nicely for you. It worked out nicely. So James Harden goes to LeBron James as the final selection. Is he can he is he is he he he hasn't played? Is he healthy? Who's that? James he hasn't played out. He's he's he's missed. He's, he's

happens if he got traded he's healthy now he's missed the last three with a with a handy a very very funny moment um i am actually surprised by the number of people i respect media and fans like smart people i read a lot about this that think brooklyn kind of got the better of the deal folks kd's current support system now includes kairie irving who's physically available infrequently, and Ben Simmons, who is emotionally available infrequently. Oh, I mean, they got Andre Drummond, that's six points a game. Seth Curry, nice rotational piece, and draft picks completely worthless. Katie's also hurt.

They have no momentum. And Steve Nash is a head coach. I don't know how good he is. But what I look at this, I think about all the moving pieces that Brooklyn's going to have to put together. Look at all these moving pieces. You've got disgruntled guy, guy that's not Vax and he's not available. I mean, Ben Simmons was really, really bad the last time we saw him play. He was taking six shots per game in a playoff series, shooting 32% from the field. The organization in Brooklyn has no momentum. They've lost 10 straight. Lots of moving parts.

Injured Kevin Durant, emotional, the Vax thing, Kyrie and Simmons. Man, you've got to put that all together with Steve Nash. Now let's look at Philadelphia. Joel M. B's happy, locker room's happy, veteran coach Doc Rivers, who's dealt with multiple stars. They're very close to a one seat in the east, and they add one piece,

a really, really great all-time Hall of Fame level player who, when engaged and he mostly is, gives you 27 a night. Doesn't that sound more seamless? James Hardin is like the really cool foreign exchange student that joins the really cool family, and they get along the first weekend they're together. I mean, just the coaching.

Doc Rivers has dealt with stars his entire career and then pretty well with them. An experienced head coach. One player added to a joyful organization and their star is healthy and having his great year. Look at all the moving pieces and the question marks with Brooklyn. I mean, Brooklyn has two moody stars. I mean, I love Kevin Durant. He's great player. Top 20 all-time player, but a little bit moody.

and Kyrie Irving's moody and they just acquired another guy is kind of moody I don't get it like people I respect are like oh look at the take Brooklyn got folks Ben Simmons go Google his stats they're flat he hasn't developed

he doesn't want to work in his game last time we saw me in a cell phone in his warm up pants during a practice this is what he is can't really shoot not really engaged Couldn't get along with a one star and it's not like Kyrie's easy to get along with. Couldn't get along with M.B.

He was a pretty funny, joyful guy. Most people love M.B. Ben Simmons didn't. So I think Philadelphia is going to be really good, seamlessly, really fast, won the trade. It is much easier if you are a team or a company. And it's in a good space to bring in one really talented person that had a bad experience. but you know psychologically Hardin is going to come to Philly and be so appreciative of the room that everybody's vaxed and willing to play and they're winning.

You know Hardin's going to move in here and he's going to prove, this isn't my thing. That's Brooklyn thing. That's a Karee thing. That's not my thing. You think it's easier for a team on a 10-game losing streak where their star is hurt to join Karee, and you think that thing's all going to work? I mean, I look at the Brooklyn thing.

It's just a talented mess. I look at Philadelphia as best day the organization has had in maybe three or four years. Good for the Sixers. Good for their fans. All right. Greg Co. Selling my Super Bowl pick. You know, it's so funny. Earlier in the week, I just thought, I really did.

I just thought the Rams were going to blow the Bengals out. Then the deeper and deeper and deeper you dig on this thing, I think we're going to have ourselves a pretty competitive Super Bowl. And that would be good for everybody. 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 a lot of.

trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'll say it. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clivert Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need. to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your

podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of ton-tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jay. 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 all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. 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. NetSuite.com slash heard one-of-a-kind financing NetSuite by Oracle, the number one cloud financial system.

Visibility control over your financials, HR, inventory, and more. Aaron Rogers won the MVP last night. I just don't think anybody understands what most value. means, but good for him. He did have a comment yesterday that I thought was, you know, I'm not going to try to figure Aaron out, complex guy, right? Kind of lives in the moment, does what he wants to do, and that's his prerogative. He said, I got some decisions to make. Yesterday was the first day that kind of felt like the offseason. Going to enjoy the next couple of weeks, good conversation with Green Bay and make a decision pretty quick. So I'm not going

to try to figure him out. I have three strong opinions on Aaron Rogers. Number one is that Green Bay has been very good for him and he's been very good for Green Bay. This is a smart, well-run franchise, better than average. It was a top five franchise before he got there. It's a top five franchise with him. They've been very good to Aaron Rogers. That's why I'm critical of him when he goes all victim and stuff. Come on, stop. This is a great organization. You should win as quarterback of the Green Bay Packers with this front office, this old line, this drafting history, this developmental history, and it's a crappy division. And they are easily the best run team in that division. Number two, is due to the Packers' cap situation, this happens all the time. I think they have peaked.

I think they're starting to feel like the Dallas Cowboys. If they sign Devante Adams and Aaron, right? They're going to have very little wiggle room. The division's lousy. They'll still win that. But they do feel like they're up against the cap. They'll be very good on the top with a handful of great players, but they won't be terribly deep. And if they run into injuries during the course of a season, they may not be a great team, maybe just be kind of average. And number three, Brady chose Tampa because of the weapons. And Stafford chose the Rams because of the coach and weapons. There is one team standalone that Aaron could choose,

and it's simply a better overall roster. It is, it's indisputable, it's Denver. Left tackle, pro bowler, receivers, lots of them. Tide end, gifted, running back. Like Green Bay, great running back set. the defense outstanding secondary. A young star corner, a veteran, very solid corner, a young star safety, pass rushers. Denver has a better roster. Yes, they do than Green Bay. They just don't have the quarterback figured out, and Aaron's the last ingredient. So I think there's a reason

Stafford and Brady chose those teams, because they're smart guys. They looked at it and thought, man, I can upgrade some here. You know, for Stafford, it was upgrade culturally. I don't think Aaron has to worry about that. I think Green Bay is going to be. culture's fine. But we have a long list of quarterbacks. Manning, Montana, Brady, Farv. They left, they won. Some won Super Bowls, but they all won. There is no question that Aaron would go to Denver. That would be a very, very, on a very short list of Super Bowl favorites. But I'm not going to try to figure Aaron out. He's a complex dude. Here was part of Aaron's acceptance beats as the MVP. I'd like to thank the Green Bay Packers, Mark, Brian, Russ, are incredible.

fan base. It's been an amazing 17 years. So thankful for the memories and the moments over the years. I'd like to thank Matt Lefleur and his perfectly groomed eyebrows. We have Matt, there you are. Bree, thank you. Great job tonight on those. But in all seriousness, two out of three years winning this thing, you're a huge part of this. I love you. I appreciate you. Thanks for trusting me, supporting me, and supporting me and powering me and making things easy for me. Appreciate you, buddy. All right. He's interesting. Even his appearance is just interesting. He's got a little John Wick thing going on. He's got a little Hollywood thing going on. Got a little hipster thing going on. Got a little getting emotional thing

going on there. That's very interesting. Aaron's very, very interesting. He's in a very interesting place right now. I find him fascinating. Don't always love some of his, you know, some of his, you know, some of this stuff. I like happy Aaron and angry Aaron. You know, the Zen Aaron's a little tedious for me, but that's just how it lands for me. But I do think, I mean, just look at his appearance. There's a lot going on there. No, he's, he looks like a man that is willing to travel. That's all I'm going to say. It looks like a man willing to make his own decisions and move to a new frontier. He's got cowboy boots. It could be the Southwest Plains. It could be, you'd Denver, very cowboy-e-ish.

Broncos are literally out there with cowboys. It felt that looks old. That has got a Denver feel to it. A little yellow stone thing going on, John Dutton and his family. I don't know. I think it's fascinating. I think it's absolutely fascinating. Joy with the news.

No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. You know what, you and I believe in this kind of stuff. feng shui and restaurants. You dress for the moment. Aaron's got a very fascinating thing going on. Do you think that was an intentional suit?

I just think everything within Aaron is intentional. And he's got a new look and a new feel. I don't know. You don't think you could pull that look off? Me? No. Don't pull the one I'm wearing off now. I'm not worried about it. I don't pull off looks.

Let's just put it that way. I don't pull them off. That's everything. So the Lakers did not make any moves at the trade deadline yesterday. but they did have an offer for Russell Westbrook on the table. The Rockets were reportedly willing to swap John Wall for Westbrook as long as the Lakers also included their 2027 first round pick in the deal. No, I'm taking Westbrook over John Wall every day. No way I'm making that move.

Well, Lakers agreed. They declined. They did not want to give up the pick. However, Westbrook is making $44.2 million this season. He is the fourth highest paid player and he will make $47 million, the player option next year. which would make him the fourth highest-paid player again next season. He'll be a free agent in 20-23. So he's going to be with the Lakers for another season,

because why would he turn down 40s? Yeah, I mean, it's a mess, and I think Frank Vogel's going to probably not make it through the rest of the season. It's going to be an ugly second half. But, you know, it is what it is. It's a – I mean, I've been put in a weird position where, first of all, I said nice things about Baker Mayfield about a month ago. I have been very supportive of Russell Westbrook.

You think I've been pretty supportive of Russell Westbrook, even though I don't love his game. You bring him in, he is what he is, and now you don't like what he is. Well, this is what he is. I do think it might go down as one of the worst trades ever. Well, they let go. When it's all said and done.

I just don't like, I mean, it just seems to me that. He's one of the worst acquisitions ever. I mean, he doesn't fit what they do. Well, he's not an off ball player. He's not a winning player. and he's not really a team guy either. LeBron James makes everyone better. Russ is worth with LeBron James.

That's pretty tough to do. It's not a personal thing with Russell Westbrook, but he's not playing well. He is not lubricating the situation in any way when you're calling out the coaches after the game when you're playing the way that you are and you are a big catalyst to what's dysfunctional with the Lakers right now.

Whether that's who you are or not, you have to take some, Russ has to take some accountability for the lack of self-awareness in this situation. Yes, he's never been strong at that. Like, I do agree with you. It's silly of the Lakers to bring him in and think he's going to be anything other than what he is.

Yeah. But that doesn't also excuse you for being what you are. You know what I mean? Like there's two sides of this. Yes. There's plenty of blame to go around. Yes. But I don't want to skate over the fact that Russ is just being a disruptor

in this situation outside of just his play. Yeah. Like talking about the coaches, not knowing your rotation. Like, we don't need to know all that. Yeah. And then talking about you've earned your space. No, you earn your space on the court.

The data suggests you're a liability for this team late. Right. All the data shows that. Like, you might not feel that way, but the data says otherwise. And as the coach of the team, he has a prerogative and a responsibility to the rest of the team. And I don't know, the organization and fan base to put the best players on the court at particular moments. So, look, it's not a great situation for the Lakers. I think Lakers fans need to have some.

realistic expectations for this team. But I've said all along since the beginning of the season, this season was going to be contingent on two players. It wasn't Russell Westbrook. LeBron James, which we always know what we get with him. And way more importantly, Anthony Davis, who has missed 21 games. Again, yeah. They are 10 and 11 without him.

And LeBron is missed 17. So when you look at the evaluation of what the Lakers should be, they are exactly what they should be. Because they have been without their two stars, which Russell Westbrook is not. Yeah, yeah, yeah. For that long. So just have some perspective on what the Lakers should be. I don't think panicking is going to solve anything.

So all-star team captains, LeBron and Kevin Durant drafted their rosters last night. The All-Star game is next weekend. So as the leading overall vote getter, LeBron had the first pick, and this is his team. His starters are himself, obviously. Janice, Steph Curry, DeMarjorozen, and Nicola Yokic. And Durant's, even though he won't be playing in the game, Jewel and B, John Morant, Jason Tatum, Trey Young, and Andrew Wiggins are his starting lineup.

LeBron is 4-0 ever since the league switched its all-star game format to one with the two captains draft from the player pool, which I wasn't sure if I liked it first, but now it's kind of fun. The night is like an extra TV show. It always ends up being really funny. Yes, I think it's one of the things the NBA is, it can be sometimes, it can be a little bit of a car crash television, but it's very funny. And it's the TNT guys are great.

at it. Listen, one of the things the NFL's done a really good job with, they create TV events. I mean, good God, they made working out at the combine a TV event. The NBA said, we're going to make this selection a TV event, and it's really funny. It puts you in a really good mood. It makes the players, by the way, come off really likable, which in the NBA is not always the case. I think they become very funny. I watch that, and I'm like, you can't watch that and not smile and see kind of the humanity and like Katie's bitter. Yeah, Katie's like bitter, but he also is like cracking a smile, like trying not to laugh. It's one of their better nights of the year as a sport.

I didn't. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it because, you know, when you have a player pool like this, someone's going to go last. But it's not ending up as dramatic as I think everyone thought it was going to be. So I like it. So the NFL celebrated another year of incredible performances at the NFL honors last nights. And here are the big winners from the 2021 season, MVP Aaron Rogers, as we just spoke about.

Offensive player of the year, Cooper Cup, very well deserved. T.J. Watt won defensive player of the year. Offensive rookie of the year was Jamar Chase. No surprise there. Defensive rookie of the year, Michael Parsons. Coach of the year, Mike Rable, which I think is very deserved. Yeah, we thought Cliff Kingsbury to Thanksgiving and then Mike Vrable on the whole. Well, also, I mean, losing Derek Henry for, what, eight weeks and still being the number one overall seed in the AFC is really impressive. Comeback player of the year, Joe Burrow.

So he did win an award. No, he did. he better give him one. I mean, good God, you better give him one. Yes. But he definitely deserves that. And Walter Payton Man of the Year award went to Andrew Whitworth, friend of the show. Did you see his speech? I did. I'm going to play it later in the show. A clip from it. It's really great. I mean, LSU should be so proud, the Bengals, the Whitworth family, the Rams. It's my favorite award. I actually, I had some people tell me like, I'm not serious. I do. I think the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award is my favorite award. The MVP has become very like, all right. You know, it's given out right before the Super Bowl. So the regular season is, you know, in hindsight. In this situation, Aaron Rogers doesn't even win a postseason game. So it's like, it's sort of okay.

Like, it's a great honor, obviously, but it's not the same. I think it's really a prestigious honor to win the Walt's a Bayman. Oh, my God, it absolutely is. And the story Whitworth tells is, it's a great message for all of us. Yeah. It's a really remarkable message. He's been a friend of the show for a long time. Yeah, I'm going to play it later in the show.

It's about a minute and a half. You know, we talk about Brady playing forever. He doesn't have to block pass rushers. For Whitworth to be in his 40s to play that position. As well as he does. Yeah, it's astonishing. I think he was the highest-grated pass-blocking left tackle in the NFL this year. I believe he was, first or second.

That's at his age. Brady's just back there throwing darts. This guy's blocking edge rushers. Good stuff. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News.

The Aaron Rogers thing, and I know, you know, we obsess over him sometime, but we were talking about this this morning, that I try to think, we'll have Jason McIntyre on later today. We do this thing tomorrow's headlines today. And we have said if Joe Burrow wins the Super Bowl Monday morning, now that Brady's retirement, hired, there's an absolute argument that Joe Burrow is the best quarterback in the league. We're not saying the strongest arm, although his is fine. We're not saying the most gifted runner, Russell Kyle. We're not saying that. Best quarterback in a league.

This is not baseball or basketball. You got to win games. That's what you got to do. You got to win games. If this kid takes this franchise and it's not a bad roster, it's a solid roster. But I still think, oh, line they're rebuilding. There's some spots. The secondary is excellent.

But they're still kind of not quite as good as Cleveland or Pittsburgh or Baltimore when healthy. So if Burrow wins, that is to me the story. But if Matt Stafford wins, I think about this. So if Stafford wins in back-to-back years, a star quarterback, Brady Stafford, move to a team with better weapons and went Super Bowls. Doesn't that a little bit influence Aaron Rogers? like a little bit? I mean, the first time Brady did it, you could say, well, Brady's Brady.

And Matt Stafford does it. You're like, all right, because Aaron's beating Stafford almost all the times they play. So I do think, Joy and I have moved multiple times in our career. Every single time I've moved, I've looked for a sign. You just kind of, you have it in your mind. You're thinking about it a couple of months. You're watching for a sign for management or teammates or momentum. And I think if Matt Stafford wins the Super Bowl,

And by the way, we've seen this before. Players tend to follow what other players do. The NBA was not nearly as mobile. And then LeBron arrived. And LeBron started saying, hey, I'm going to control this. I'm going to go where I want to go. Well, now everybody followed him. KD followed him.

Paul George followed him. Kauai followed him. LeBron kind of started the mobility train. And now it's understood. That's what you do. The transfer portal. You know, Caleb Williams transferring, star quarterback's transferring. there used to be a stigma.

If you were a quarterback and you transferred, it was like difficult. No, not very coachable. I mean, this guy had to transfer. Lincoln and Riley took Kyler Murray in a transfer and Baker-Mainfield a transfer. Now we look at it and we're like, well, if you're a player and you don't like your coach, it'd be crazy not to transfer.

So momentum is a very powerful thing in sports. And I start looking at Aaron Rogers. And if Brady goes and gets better weapons and then all of a sudden, And Stafford goes and gets better weapons and they win Super Bowls. It's like, I mean, that Denver offense has got more weapons than Green Bayes. They don't have it, they don't have a DeMonte Adams, but they've got a lot of good receivers. And Aaron doesn't really have a go-to second-star receiver. The other thing is, and you have to think about this, is, and I would, not that I'll speak for joy,

but one of the things I look at in my career when I've moved around is, is our company have any momentum? Have we peaked? have we lost people? Well, Green Bay lost their offensive coordinator. Oh, he went to Denver and they lost their quarterback coach. He's now the O.C. with the Bears. Well, those are the two guys in the room. You know, it's Jordan Love. It's Aaron Rogers, the O.C. and the quarterback coach. Well, Jordan's trying to replace you. So you can only be so close to that, but you lost your two guys. So I look at this thing in trends matter in sports, momentum matters.

And if Stafford wins Monday, there's a kind of a blueprint. It was kind of like, this is what's working in the NFL. And Aaron has always been sort of a progressive, you know, he's going to be his own guy. I understand that. But if Stafford pulls it off and you're like, wow. Because to me, we can talk about all these teams. Denver is, I don't care about my homes and Herbert and Carr. You put Aaron Rogers on that Denver team.

That is a handful. They really don't have a flaw. They could be a little better maybe if you went into PFF on the interior of their old line or right tackle. But backs, corners. pass rushers, tight ends, safety, running backs, wide receiver, like Denver's ready to go. Just like Stafford, like they're ready to go. And it would obviously, the entry point is always big. We know this, right?

You don't want to replace like Howard Stern on FM radio. The entry point is they haven't figured out that quarterback thing in years. And it'd be like he would be a savior. You're not replacing Brady. You're walking in. The guy that's got to replace Rogers is in for it. he's replacing the whole city is like God if we could get a quarterback so Aaron would not be he wouldn't be marginalized he would be a bigger star than ever going to Denver I think he would it would just be good for

his brand good for his commercials it would be a more really joyful fun next I mean look at Matt Stafford I mean look at what's happened to Matt Stafford good God it's changed everything I mean Matt Stafford has talked about on this show every day he was in a Bermuda triangle for 13 years We talked about them on Thanksgiving. And that was the game we didn't want to watch. We said, why is he always on TV on Thanksgiving? How do the lions get on television? All right, good stuff today and a Friday.

Greg Kosell, Drew Bledsoe, both in studio, joining us. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, what's up, everybody? It's me, three-time Pro Bowl of LaVar Arrington, and I couldn't be more excited to announce a new podcast called Up on Game. What is Up on Game, you ask? along with my fellow pro-bowler, T.J. Hushmanzada and Super Bowl champion. Yep, that's right. Plexico Burris.

You can only name a show with that type of talent on it. Up on Game. We're going to be sharing our real-life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen to Up on Game with me, LaVar Arrington, T.J. Hushman Zada, and Plexico Burris on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast from. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

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

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,

or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators,

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

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford. and a TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away,

such as the biology of tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam 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 cracking the A-Aid.

To be clear, 84 was big to me Not just because of crack I'm down to talk about crack all day But just so y'all know I mean at this point Mark this is the second episode where we've discussed crack So I'm starting to see that there's a through line

We also have AIDS on the table right now So Thank you finishing that sentence And 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. Greg CoSell and my NFL Super Bowl pick, top of the hour. Great to have you in today. Joe Montana was on the ringer yesterday with Kevin Clark. He was doing the slow newsday thing. And he said he doesn't know if Tray Lance is ready for the 49ers. Listen, Tray Lance had two starts.

Over those two starts, his stats didn't blow you away. He completed 59% of his throws, a couple of touchdowns, a couple of picks. He did run around for about 120 yards. Passer rating was low 80s, mid-80s. 80s. His second game was way better than his first game, so that feels good. His second game was way better. And he hadn't played much college football for the previous two years. But you can't have the fourth best quarterback in your division. And in a division that has Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray, and Matt Stafford. You're talking about big arms, lots of experience, guys that

run around, and Jimmy G. feels small. Okay? Trey Lance is 6'4, 225, and can run around. He feels His tool set is right up there with Russell. He's a bigger athlete than Russell. He's a bigger, stronger athlete than Kyler Murray. Probably doesn't have Stafford's arm, but it's a power arm. So to me, when you have a coach and a structure like this, they don't have to depend on the quarterback, but I'm not going to have a quarterback who I think is the fourth most gifted physical quarterback in the division.

Trey Lance, there's an argument to me made. He's as big and strong and physical and talented as anybody in the division. I'll take that. I'll figure out a way to refine them. Remember, the Niners are not a franchise that needs you to carry them. It is very physical-centric, coach-centric, run-game-centric. It really, I mean, they use Debo Samuel in the backfield. So you don't need Trey Lance to be brilliant on the pre-snap yet.

You understand he's growing. But I can't go into another season. I think it's bad messaging for the organization. What are you telling the players? You got to give the players, here's our guy. here's why we gave up picks. Let's go for it. George Kettle talked about it yesterday.

I don't know how good Trey Lance is, but I see a lot of tools in that division that you've got to have to win games. I would say a big difference. Trey's got a little bit more zing on him. He definitely has a big arm. He can, you know, make throws all over the field, which is really cool to see.

Jimmy can too. It's just, they just do it differently. Trey can move around, like moves around a lot better, like you said. He's kind of a freak athlete. I will say this too. And we forget this. Not all drafts are equal, right? Like they're not. We know there's strong quarterback drafts and weak quarterback drafts. This is not a great NFL draft in terms of elite talent. There's a couple of good pass rushers. There's a great center, an amazing left tackle,

bunch of really good players. But it's not nearly as good as the previous couple years, in my opinion, at the top of the food chain. You do know that Train Lance would be the number one pick in this draft. The only discussion we'd be having in this draft is, what's Jacksonville going to get with the number one pick? Because Trevor Lawrence, who by the way, I ran into last night, I met a lot of famous people last night. Anyway, Trey Lance would be the number one picking this draft. It would not be a defensive end from Michigan. It would not be. Trey would be the overwhelming number one pick. All we'd be talking about is can Jacksonville get two ones, another two, another three? So that's the talent you're talking.

talking about. It just happened last year that he had, you know, there was a bunch of good quarterbacks, all had different needs, all had different skill sets, but this is a really talented guy. But you can't give me the fourth best quarterback in a division, which is what Garoppolo is. It worked this year because Kyler got hurt and Russell got hurt. But you saw who won it, Stafford. And that's with a coach and McVeigh that struggles to beat Shanahan. So to me, the obvious move is you got to move on to give the kid a shot. He's got all the tools. Yeah, you moved up to get him. It's your job to figure out how to refine the skills because he got the size, the arm, the movement. He's won games. He's a smart kid. That's all I keep hearing. He's this. He's

that. He's this. Okay. I want to see it. You moved up. You got the ingredients. Make it work. Make the cake. You know, it's interesting. There was a report here that some Laker coaches put pressure on Rob Polinka to trade Russell Westbrook. So, this isn't really a criticism of the NBA as much as it is a reality of the NBA. Great basketball players at 13, 14, 15, 16 are really incredible commodities. They're going to make shoe companies rich, themselves rich, teammates rich, the league rich. You know, in the NFL, most of your star players, half the league's undrafted. A lot of these Mahomes, Josh Allen, this junior college, you know, there's a lot of

of different routes. But in basketball, you can identify talent very quickly. I always tell the story years ago, my daughter was in some basketball tournament, and I walked into a gym in Hartford, Connecticut. There must have been 600 girls playing basketball. And there was a bunch of coaches. And, you know, I'm a sports guy, so a lot of the coaches knew who I was. I sat down. We just talked basketball. And within 90 seconds, I'm like, who's that girl over there at that other gym? She's a little tiny point guard. They're like, yeah, yeah, she's like, she's like an eighth grade. She's getting recruited. I can identify that.

You can see basketball talent very clearly. In football, as good as a quarterback is, he's got a bad left tackle, he's got a bad coach, doesn't have pass blocking. It's harder to identify it. Plus, football is a physical sport. So a lot of kids don't develop early. I mean, they don't. Some kids just don't grow up around the weight rooms and the support system.

So football is a sport where you develop. There's a lot of Tom Brady developed. later in his entire, the best player ever developed later. So, I mean, Aaron Donald had like two college offers. He's the best defensive player in 15 years. So it's different. Basketball, you can see it. So in basketball, it's a lot like Hollywood that the stars are identified very early.

When's the last Hollywood star? You were like, yeah, I mean, he didn't do anything. He was just doing this and that 47 years of. Tom Hanks identified very early. Ed Norton, Don Cheadle. I mean, there is the occasion. Samuel L. Jackson. It's an outlier where you're like,

all of a sudden at 45, you're like, he finally hits it. And again, there are some late developing players in the NBA. But by and large, basketball in Hollywood, you see the talent very early. It's identified and we groove it to be great. It's going to make a lot of people money. Studios, the actor, the agents. And so what happens with basketball players is they live in a world from about 14, 15 years on where you're amazing, you're great, and because you want access to Hollywood stars and NBA players,

you want access, the press tends to be a little fawning. We're rough on our football players. We crap on our football players all the time. I rip them, you rip them, we all rip them. Writers rip them. Same with baseball players. I mean, there's a lot of criticism. Basketball players in Hollywood stars, they got the agents.

You want access to about seven guys in that league. You don't rip them. it's pretty fawning coverage, which is great if you're a player. But the downside is when you live in that tunnel, that world of your amazing and AAU coaches and shoe companies and everybody fighting over you, nobody critical, when you start to age, it is for some players, you're in a kind of a delusional space. Carmelo Anthony would laugh when people suggested, dude, you're a bench player. I mean, he laughed at it.

Russell Westbrook, the data shows you. hurts the team. And I'm not picking on him. This is the data. And Westbrook, when it was suggested, you know, he's been benched a couple of times. Here he was a couple nights ago. Do you have a sense for what benchmarks you have to hit to be in the starting line or the closing lineup more consistently? I shouldn't have to hit any benchmark. To be honest, I put a lot of work and I got a lot of respect in this game. I don't have to hit a benchmark. I shouldn't have to. I earned a right, you know, to be in closing line. I mean, I mean, I know, numbers would say I don't have to explain that.

Well, kind of. Nobody cares about the work you put in. In football, you would just bench a player. You would trade a player. You would cut a player. In basketball, you can't do that. And so Russell's falling into a lot of the Carmelo Anthony stuff, where this is what the basketball in Hollywood culture does.

If you're not getting the callback on the big movies, it's over. And if getting benched on a team that's dying for efficiency late with two, you know, brittle players, LeBron and AD, it's over. Like the big days are over. So, and it's not a criticism. It is a reality of Hollywood. It's a reality of the NBA. Star-driven.

You identify the talent very early in both. And you do live in a very positive tunnel. I mean, Frank Vogel is having to tip toe. tiptoe around a not only declining player, but a quickly eroding player, like fast, has to tiptoe around it. So, you know, it's going to be a really ugly second half. I don't think Vogel probably, he's a good guy. I don't know if he survives it.

But this is kind of the reality of what you see. I mean, look what we've seen. Ben Simmons, I'm sitting out, James Hardin. I'm going to quit. Kyrie Irving, I'm going to disassociate from the team because of my beliefs. You get a lot of this stuff. And I do think on a macro level, I don't think it's very relatable to the average person watching sports. I think we like our athletes to care as much as we do, be as passionate as we are to be mostly humble.

We put football players on their show all week. They work hard. They're humble. They're grateful. That really is it's an easy sell to the fans. they're kind of one of us. And so the Westbrook thing is a little bit of endemic of, I think some of the bad PR,

some of the bad aesthetics the league sometimes faces. Greg Kosell around the corner, hour two on the Friday 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, reader 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 I-Heart 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 which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement. to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfilts of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the Iheart Radio app, Apple 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 J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it, with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 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.