The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Tom Brady

Episode Date: February 1, 2022

Tom Brady officially retiresBrady not mentioning the Patriots is NOT an issueGuest: Mark Schlereth Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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One quarterback Caleb Williams is now a Trojan. One's entering my life, and I'm very happy. And another one, Tom Brady, is officially retiring. and it makes me happy as well. It's the circle of our sports life, Colin. It is. I've been listening to My Way all morning. Frank Sinatra.

I took the blows and did it my... It just... It's such a masterpiece. For reflection purposes, of course. Because that's what you got to do today. That's what you got to do today. Let me start with this. I'm not even prepared.

You know, I don't know what to say. Tom Brady's retiring. Um... you control a lot more of your life than you think. If you're angry today on the internet, you don't have to be. Holding a grudge with a cousin, you don't need to be. How do you view the world? Beginning to end, once you can walk, you overwhelmingly control your happiness.

Many don't see it that way. They're victims. They're unhappy. They find fault. Tom Brady played passionately and joyfully. And that is a huge memory for me. No acrimony, no bitterness. Move on when the time was right.

And the time is right now. He is the most productive and influential player in the history of the National Football League. Don't waste my time arguing he's not. He leaves dynamically with a sense of timing. Not shocking at all. he will not go into broadcasting. He owns multiple companies. He will no longer be an employee.

Roger Staubach, John Elway, and Tom Brady all had something magnificent in common. They left with a lot left. Elway and Stobach, it should be noted, are probably as successful as any pro football players ever in their post-business career. Brady will be too. Timing matters, I wish more people understood it. Michael Jordan to the Wizards. Eich.

Joan Namath to the Rams. Oh, Lord. Ben limping off into the sunset. It doesn't have to be that way. Even in comedy, Seinfeld and John Stewart left as icons and their shows, number one. Both would go on to excellent acts. beyond their startem. And when I look at Brady, it is such a refined, prepared way to leave.

He controlled his ending, just like he controlled the NFL for 22 years. Not a GM, not an owner, not a rickety body. Tom Brady controlled it. And it's not a coincidence that the most meticulously prepared, the most overwhelmingly detailed, the most driven and focused professional athlete of my life left completely utterly on his terms, in great shape at an MVP level.

That's what you do when you take care of your money, you take care of your brand, you take care of yourself, you take care of your body. This is how it ends. John Elway did it, Roger Staubach did it, and Tom Brady did it. And it's harder in football. They don't tackle you in baseball or basketball. They do briefly in hockey, but this is a hard sport to retire with elegance.

And it is in no way a coincidence that the most meticulously prepared athlete of my life retired perfectly. And both the Patriots and the Buccaneers will feel the wake. Now, from that to this, many people, I think restraint is an important thing. I've said this for years. Fans have a right to be crazy. Fan is short for fanatic. We're not supposed to be. If you tune into a show like this or the one before us or after us or a show in another network,

you're looking for us to give you something maybe you don't have, lead you in a direction of information that you didn't have. So many this morning are saying, can you believe Tom Brady didn't mention the Patriots? Oh, for God's sakes, media. Show some restraint. I went and looked up Tom Brady's letter when he left New England. It was a beautifully penned final chapter. The book is closed.

That book is closed. Now, if Tom Brady gives a Hall of Fame speech in Canton, and doesn't mention the Patriots, that would be a story. That would be a grudge. But there's going to be ample amounts and ample opportunities for Tom to discuss the Patriots. I don't know. One of his six Super Bowl anniversary nights in Foxborough, maybe the night they unveil his gigantic statue outside of Gillette Stadium. I don't know.

I've come to terms. We'll probably have one. or two Tom Brady nights over the next 20 years. Again, go read the letter. It's the final chapter. Media show restraint. There is no story here. Tom Brady had the greatest career for one team by a mile in the history of the league.

It was called New England. And then in the last year, it got bumpy. There were rumors. He closed it. Walked over to the owner's house. Signed, sealed, deliver. and it closed. And then now he goes to Tampa, quickly two years,

not an ideal fit, but like with Brady and everything, his passion and joy, his aspiration, his focus, won a Super Bowl. And now he wants to show respect to those owners and that coach and that GM and that city and those fans. It is not in the least, in the least disrespectful to New England. That's the best-selling book of the best-selling book. of all time. And this sequel, though short, it was a bestseller too.

They're separate. And Tom has the right when he pens a letter to end both chapters to stay on point. It's how he played. It's how he retired. It is a non-story that Brady didn't mention the Patriots. A total non-story. He's not retiring from the Patriots. He's retiring from the Buccaneers.

and the National Football League. All right. So that was the story today that is going to capture the nation's attention. You know, somebody, I got a fan came out to me the other day, just about 48 hours ago and said, after the story, I went out to the grocery store. And somebody came up and said, can you believe the media broke the story and didn't let Brady break the story?

I've said this before. Ideally, Tom would have controlled it. But it's very, very difficult when you have multiple properties. You live in Tampa. You may have just told somebody you're not going to rent their house anymore. It's very hard to control the messaging on stuff like this. And by the way, the media is a lot of different things. The media is the New York Times.

The media is Fox News Channel. The media is NPR. The media is listening to a baseball game in the summer as you drive to the lake with your kids. The media encompasses a lot. It's global. it's everywhere. Some of it you like. Some of it you don't. I've always compared it to the IRS. Everybody hates them with an audit. Everybody likes a refund. Sometimes we audit. Sometimes we do things that make people uncomfortable. The media is not created to be universally loved. That is the job of reporters to break stories.

Joey and I had the good fortune to break the story that he was going to Tampa. Tom probably would have loved to break the story that he was going to Tampa. But when you're Tom Brady and you have this web of agents and companies and friends and allies and you're just America's sport rock star, somebody's going to talk. I mean, ask yourself this, in your family, can you keep a secret for a weekend? The idea that Tom Brady in this web of media that he's been around, some allies, some enemies, somebody's going to break the story. I don't blame the reporters. The media is not one thing.

It's their duty. It's their job. Tom's duty was to win games. Their duties to break stories. It happens. It's about the only thing for the record. Tom didn't control for the last 22 years. His move to Tampa and his move out of the NFL, stories like that get broken.

Great to have you in today. There's so many different angles on Brady. I'm going to give you in 45 minutes my top five memorable Brady moments. And they're not necessarily games. The top five things when I think of Brady, the imagery and the images of what Tom stands for. Some are games, some aren't. But when I think of Brady, it goes beyond touchdowns. I mean, I tell you this, Brady's my favorite football player ever.

I could not tell you one record. How many touchdown passes all time? No idea. I couldn't tell you a single record. Brady was more than that for me. First of all, baseball's the sport of numbers, records, and history. It's a rear-view mirror sport. Football, have I ever brought up talking about running backs?

Gale Sayers, Hugh McElaney, Jim Brown. In baseball, you regularly bring up Kofax and Mickey Mantle and Bob Gibson. It's just a different sport. And also, it's not a sport where I care about records. It's about winning. Football is about winning games. Chargers didn't get into the playoffs. Nothing matters about Justin Herbert.

To him, it's a failed season. Joe Burroughs in the Super Bowl. Don't care about records, nor does he. It's about an opportunity to be the best team in football. So, for Brady, for me, was never about touchdowns and records and MVP's. Brady was about winning games and doing whatever it took to win games, including here's a number that people won't pay attention to and should. His salary. Tom Brady for the last 22 years, and I'd say really the last 12 to 15, when he could have been the highest paid player in the league and been the biggest salary cap hit wasn't.

We don't look at that number. That's the key to Mahomes. they're manipulating his contract in Kansas City so he can keep Travis Kelsey and he can keep Tyreek Hill and hopefully they can keep Honey Badger. That's the number that I think about with Brady. I don't think about any other number. The fact that he was willing and you could say, well, he's married to his supermodel. Long before he and Giselle met, Tom was not interested in puncturing any success with a massive salary cap hit.

And I've said this. I think Russell Wilson and Aaron Rogers are remarkable, but they are punitive cap hits to their team. That means you can't get that edge rusher you need. You can't get that second receiver in Green Bay you want. You can't get that left tackle, right tackle, Mike linebacker, second great corner in Seattle you want. That number for Brady stands out. That's a sacrifice. And you can say was wife's a supermodel.

I can't speak for women. I'll speak for men. Money matters professionally. It's viewed as not just net worth, but respect worth. And for a pro athlete that is the best in the sport to say, I don't need to be a top three paid quarterback. It's not about the money. It's about respect for a guy.

You hear that all the time with guys. What about the respect? And Tom was like, I got to get over myself. I want to win games. I've said this about LeBron James. I'm never going to tell an athlete to take less money. But if you want another shooter on the roster, when your net worth is $900 million,

and you got shoe deals and you made $300 million on the beats by Dre. If you want a shooter, there's a way to do it. There is a way to do it. Tom shows all these athletes. There's a way to have better players around you. Not worry about your net worth. All right. Tons of stuff.

Just starting. Great to have you in. More around the corner. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHard Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

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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, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way,

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Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Oh, great to have you in. 1,800flowers.com is where you go. Valentine's Day around the corner, 18 stem enchanted rose medley, $39 bucks ago, 24 red roses, $10 more. 1,800flowers.com. Code heard. So, you know, there's been a lot of talk.

Aaron Rogers, three different times, has mentioned retirement this year. and there's a saying in the NFL, you start talking about retirement, it's around the corner. And I do honestly believe that your retirement and how you retire says a lot about you. Johnny Carson's last couple shows with Bet Midler was refined. It was elegant. So was Johnny Carson. The way Seinfeld and John Stewart left at the top says a lot about them, about their business savvy, about their intelligence, about how they want to be viewed.

They're not desperate. They're not wobbling, telling hacky jokes at the, joke factory to end it. Like how you retire is usually says a lot about how, you know, Big Ben limps into the sunset. He didn't take care of his body. He fell apart three years ago. Brady did look at his retirement.

Super Bowls, playoffs, MVP level stuff. And it's interesting about Aaron Rogers. He's talked about retirement. If he retired this year, and I wouldn't because an obstacle, Tom Brady just left the NFC. Next year, 11 of the. 16 teams in the NFC. Packers are not one of them.

They're great at quarterback. 11 of the 16 teams at quarterback are old, bad, or limited. The AFC is a gauntlet of great young talent. NFC is a mess. It's either like Matt Ryan, Kurt Cousins, okay, Jalen Hertz, not spectacular. Daniel Jones, bad. It's a lot of that. But it's interesting.

When I look at Brady's retirement, I think it's warm. It's joyful. It's elegant. It's refined. And if Aaron Rogers retired this year, it would be the Vax lie, arguing with the front office, talking about retirement, losing at home as a number one seed, holding out in the offseason. It would be abrasive and bumpy and cold and not articulated smoothly. And I think to myself, is that who he is? Like there's a reason Brady's retiring and it's like Staubach.

It's like Elway. It's just sort of, I got a lot left and I'm going to go on with a great zeal and attack business. I'm happy at home. I'm happy with my kids. That's who Brady is and that's how his retirement feels. If Aaron did retire this year and I don't think he should, nor do I think he will. Could I not argue it would be a lot of defining characteristics? Obrasive, disappointing, some victimhood.

Tom had faults. Never played the victim. It was always figuring out a way to make it work. If it had to be less of a cap hit, I got to move to a different city. It was just figuring out a way to make it work. With Aaron, it's a lot of, this doesn't work for me. And so as Aaron talks about and Moll's retirement, and again, I think a lot of it's just yap, yap, yap won't happen.

If he did retire, it would almost be fitting. It was such a bumpy year that ended with disappointment because that's overwhelmingly been what Aaron Rogers seasons have ended like. Not like Tom's. Joy with the News. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, someone that knows Tom Brady well, is Josh McDaniels,

and he is no longer going to be with the Patriots. He is the new head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. and he acknowledged in his press conference yesterday that he believes he is more ready for the job now than he was when he took the Broncos job in 2009. I didn't really know people and how important that aspect of this process and maintaining the culture and building the team was.

And I failed and I didn't succeed at it. And so looking at that experience has been one of the best, things in my life in terms of my overall growth as a person as a coach what do I need to do different how do I need to handle my role if I have another opportunity and do better at it I like that you know your first job is rarely your best people Drew Bree's first team wasn't perfect most of the head coaches in the NFL have had multiple coaching jobs Belichick Cleveland been fired a lot of guys have been fired Pete

Carol's been fired. New England Jets. It happens. Yeah, all the time. It's not a reflection entirely of your legacy. But I will say, I do think this is important. If you do fail, you got to own it. Yeah, I like that he acknowledged that.

I like that he didn't blame it on some other things or other circumstances. You know, it is part of being a head coach that you need to take and shoulder the blame when things don't go well, even if it isn't entirely your fault. And there's a bit of politics to be played as well. We know a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes with a lot of different people in the league. We hear about it after the fact. And it's like, well, he kind of took the fall for this, but it really was someone else. By the way, I can make the argument, Brian Flores and McDaniels have that in common. The people thing is not great.

Brian wore a lot of people out. The coaching thing is pretty magnificent when you break down their career. They're really clever. By the way, college has Lane Kiffin. He was not great with a people thing. We have seen he rehabbed it at Alabama. The coaching thing's not a problem. Well, as you get, I think as you get older and you have more experiences,

you learn things. You learn the things that matter. The things that you go into a job thinking are the most important things are important, but it really is another element to it. A big part of being successful at whatever it is you do is what he just said. You're dealing with people. Like, you're dealing with humans. It's much easier to be successful at your job when you are easier.

to be around. You know, McVeigh is a better coach today than the year he went to the Super Bowl and lost and kind of got marginalized by Belichick. I was watching a show last night I love called The Center with Bill Pullman. Bill Pullman's in his 60s. And I'm watching it and I'm thinking, is it possible that actors peak in their 60s? He gets better every decade. You know, we think, well, you know, an actor, but the more experiences an actor has, doesn't it make sense? As an artist, you consume more experiences, you'd be better at your 60s. Your skin's not quite as elastic. What is the saying, youth is wasted on the young?

Winston Churchill. So I look at the coach and I think it's absurd to think that a Josh McDaniels or McVeigh are at their best in their 30s. Belichick is probably at his best, peaked at 59. But the truth is if you don't get a head coach by, now these days, by 43, you're like, yeah, the guy's kind of a coordinator. He can't handle it. So it's like Josh McDaniels should be a better coach today than years ago in Denver.

Yeah, as long as you apply the experiences that you have. That's right. My best friend's father is kind of like my father would joke with us when we were in our, you know, 20s. We were like, we have the best life. And he was like laughing at us. Like, you don't have the best life. I have the best life. I have all the money I want.

I can do whatever I want. I know everything. You don't know anything. You're broke. You don't have the best life. What you think is you're like young and hot, you have the best life. You don't. I have a better life.

Shlareth has the best life, but we'll get to that in five minutes. He just put us in our place right away. So Patrick Mahomes took responsibility for the Chiefs collapse against the Bengals on Sunday after getting off to a hot start, three straight touchdowns. His performance wavered in the second half in overtime. But Andy Reid said no one in the organization is putting the blame all on him. I think he was one half away from going to his third Super Bowl in a row. And that's pretty impressive. And most of these teams that are getting this far have good quarterbacks.

I mean, that's just how it works. And we're fortunate to have him. And there's nobody looking at Pat Mahomes cross-eyed from our side. And I would anticipate our fans feel the same way. He'll be fine. I'm going to go with Pat Romhom's. It's just going to be fine for the next 12 years. Well, everyone keeps bringing up Marino when it comes to this situation with the Chiefs.

I've heard it a lot with Burrough, too, like, wait five years when they're not back there again. Like, yeah, so what? If they don't make it back to the Super Bowl in the next five years? Do you think they're like they're not going to be competitive? The Chief's owner, A, GM, A, coach A, quarterback A, they're going to be around this puppy for a decade. It's also really hard to win Super Bowls. It's not that easy. Like we anticipate and we have these expectations

that they're going to win five or six or seven Super Bowls. Like no, one guy's done that. It's Tom Brady, he just retired. Like it's really hard to win Super Bowls. It's fine. Patrick Mahomes is fine. Is he going to go? And then one thing I will say about Patrick Mahomes is he is not someone who isn't

self-aware. So he had a bad fourth quarter. He does have to take some of the blame for this performance. Sure. He was 8 of 18 and 55 yards, two interceptions and was sacked four times in the second half every time. That's not a good stat line for that portion of the game. You have to make changes to what you're doing. Obviously, what you did was not enough, but he is a type of player that's going to work on that. So why wouldn't we assume that he's going to come back better? Since he's been the

starter, they were in the AFC championship game, won the Super Bowl, lost the Super Bowl, and went back to the AFC championship game. They're going to be all right. So a little injury update for the Super Bowl. We are two weeks out, obviously, but they're going to pay attention to a couple things. The Rams and Bengals are dealing with some injuries heading into the Super Bowl. Both teams lost tight ends in the championship games. Tyler Higby suffered an MCL sprain, so his status for next weekend is uncertain. And Bengals, C.J. Osuma, also left with an MCL sprain. But Zach Taylor said his prognosis is encouraging.

Yeah, let me make a prediction that almost all these guys will play. Yes. I mean, anyone who's banged up on the fence is going to try and make it out there, unless you are truly incapable of performing. Robert Woods will not play. And there's a defensive lineman for the, for the, uh, yeah, this doesn't have any of the guys that are on the IR. So all these guys have a chance to play.

And the Rams are favored by four and a half, according to Foxx. So right there, Aker's Jefferson Whitworth expected to play. Joy with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. Let's get Mark Schlereth out here, three-time Super Bowl champ, two-time pro-bowler, a veteran. And fittingly, he's got a hoodie on because I do think the hoodie was the part,

the most magnificent part of Tom Brady's career, the hoodie Bill Belichick. You know, you Well, first of, let me just Are winning Super Bowl is really that hard? I mean, I'm 3.0. I mean, it's not all that hard, Colin. Well, it is interesting because I said Stobach, Brady, and Elway left with something left.

And there's an elegance to it. And that's not to take shots at people, but I've just seen this sport's hard to retire elegantly. You get tackled. You get hit. Your hands are mangled. Tom, Roger Staubach, and Elway left. and you're like, I can remember Stoback as a kid leaving and being shocked.

And I remember Elway retiring and thinking, is he the best quarterback in the league? He just won the Super Bowl MVP when he retired. They played Atlanta, if I recall, blew him out. He had a sneak for a touchdown. He threw ball. I mean, he was fantastic. So give me a little bit of Elway. I'm sure you've talked to John about this, leaving without limping.

Yeah, well, I mean, John was pretty beat up by the time he walked away. And because he could scramble, because he could do those things. You know, we talk about this with Cam Newton during the course of his kind of heyday in the National Football League, winning the MVP. You take a beating. When you can move, it's like Ben Rafflesburg. When you can move and you're big and you're strong and you're athletic,

you do it. And they allow the defense to play a little bit. Whereas Tom has always been protected. But walking away, I think the biggest thing is, Colin, every one of us will continue to play on Saturday or Sundays. And, you know, I go back to Marvin Harrison said this once. I go, wow, that's really good. He said, man, they don't pay me to play on Sunday.

They pay me to practice Monday through Saturday. Like, that's what they pay me for. And this is what I have always appreciated about Tom Brady. He's all in. He's 100% in. And it's that insatiable desire to be great, to understand that when I'm all in, I am all in, and there is nothing that's going to deter me from that. I want to be coached hard.

I want to work hard. I want to prepare hard. I want to be ready to go. And I'm willing to do that Monday through Saturday so that I have that opportunity to live out my dream on Sunday. And when all of a sudden you lose that desire to prepare, there's integrity in saying, man, I don't want to prepare like that anymore. I don't want to put that work in anymore.

It's time for me to go. And the guys who leave, like you said, with elegance, realize that about themselves. Like, I don't want to go through the off-season. I don't want to go through the OTAs. I don't want to go through the lifting. I just don't want to do this. One time we're sitting in the exercise facility in the gym,

and I'm doing this leg routine. And Rich Tootin was our strength coach. And we had this hammer leg press machine. And he just leaned on it. And it was miserable. It was, I mean, absolutely miserable. And I'm in a group with Elway. in it. And Elway gets in the chair, you know, he puts his feet on the board and he looks at

Rich and goes, you realize that if I refuse to do this, I'm still going to make the team. I'm still going to be. And you're like, yeah, you don't have to do this, but he did it because he had that integrity about him. And when it was time to go, he just said, I don't want to do that anymore. Tony Gonzalez told me that one time. I asked him, and he came on the set, I said, Tony, you're in great shape. How often do you lift? He goes, oh, I hope to never lift the rest of my life. He goes, I loved playing football. I loved everything. about it. Tony was really committed to the sport. He goes, but if I never have to take a barbell or a dumbbell again, he goes, it's just a lot of work. I'm going to lose weight, go on nice

walks, sleep in. So I think Brady, like Tony Gonzalez, moved into acting. You know, he just, I think there are certain people, Kobe Bryant, by the way, retired, got into coaching. I think certain people can compartmentalize stuff. I don't think Brady's going to broadcast. I think he's never going to be an employee again. I think he's going to be family, fun, business. You know, John did a pretty good job of that John L. White. He went into business. You know, when you've been in production meetings with Tom. And I said this when he left for left New England. I said, you know, he and Belichick weren't buddies, but they did, they're really aspirational. They're very driven. Winning and doing it the right way and efficiency matters.

And I said, when he moved to Tampa, I didn't worry about the winning part. He'd win. But it's a loose culture. It's different. It's DeBore City. It's a port city. It's laid back. Ariens is kind of, and I said, I wonder how long that works. And I did feel at the end of this year, Mark, Tom dropped multiple little comments. We've got to be focused. Everybody's got to do their job. And I think he realized, listen, I'm not going to change Bruce Ariens. I'm not going to change the franchise or the culture. That feels like it mattered somewhat. Yeah. I think the biggest clue for me and you know all this thing it all came out and then of course he made it official today but the biggest thing to me was at the end of the year he talked about being satisfied

satisfied with where i'm at yeah and as soon as you become satisfied as soon as you lose that insatiable appetite for more um it's it's time you know and that most of us don't get a retire like that like yeah i probably have told you this story before but i was sitting in film And I had multiple knee surgeries that season, and I was trying to come back and play Monday night against the Raiders. And it's in Denver and October, and we get one of them snowstorms, you know, and I don't have my glasses on so I can't see.

And I'm kind of squinting at the screen, and I'm watching practice. And I'm thinking one of the scout team guys is taking my reps. And I'm thinking of myself, oh, my gosh, that guy sucks. He's awful. And I was like, wait a minute. And I got up closer to the screen. I was like, oh, shoot, that's me.

Right? I'm sorry. I kid you not. You told me that story about five years ago. Right. And I'm like, that is me. And I'm like, dude, it is time. You're more of a hindrance than you are a help.

And it was, that for me was devastating when I came to that realization that I'm no longer good. I just can't do this at this level anymore. I'm hurting my team more than I'm helping them. As much as I'm trying and as much as I'm working toward coming back. And I played about three plays in that game. game against the Raiders. And I'm in this block and I've got this raw bone spot at my knee that's just every time I hit it, my leg just collapses. So I'm coming off on the nose guard. I'm knee deep and I'm like, I got a great block. I'm a bit bad. I hit that spot and it just is and boom, collapse.

I'm on the ground. That dude makes the tackle. I got up off the ground coming to a tripod thing. Walk the sideline, took my helmet off and said, I'm done. Yeah. I'm finished. Yeah. You know, it is interesting, you work for Fox and do a lot of NFC games. And I said, Aaron Rogers, this is not a time to retire. If you start looking at the AFC blueprint how to get to the Super Bowl, it's a lot of Lamar's and Joe Burroughs and Mahomes and Josh Allen and Justin Herbert. And a lot of these guys aren't in their prime yet. You start looking at the NFC. And it's either Kirk Cousins, I mean, we've had Brady retire NFC, Brees retire. It's a lot of guys with what are perceived to be ceilings. And then it's a lot of Daniel Jones and Jalen Hertz and Taylor Heineke and players that most of us would say, that's not the

future of the franchise. The NFC mark, Stafford and McVeigh, either they're going to have a run or it's a door wide open for Russell or Aaron, right? Yeah. Oh, yeah. You would have to think. I mean, in San Francisco, in all likelihood, he's going to move off Jimmy Garapolo. He's going somewhere. And we don't know where. We don't know where. know how good Tray Lance is. We don't know how good Justin Fields is. Yeah. Oh, absolutely. I mean, there's a huge, there's a huge growth. I mean, Justin Fields would tell you there's a huge growth process. He, I mean, he got to Chicago. He's like, oh, my God. Remember, he almost got decapitated in Buffalo in a preseason game because

he didn't understand protection. Right. So there's a lot to, there's a lot of growth that you're going to have to go through there. And you're 100% right. I do wonder about Aaron Rogers, though, when it comes to, do you look at the Brady blueprint? Do you look at what's gone on in Green Bay? even though you're winning 13 plus games a year, and that division is ripe for the taking. I mean, you can continue to drive through that division, but do you look at what the fun, you know,

the social media aspect of what Brady was able to accomplish? Brady became a whole new person. Yeah. Right? He went from evil empire. Stoic. Don't talk to anybody. Stoic, you know, blah, blah, blah.

To, man, Brady is, you know, walking off the boat parade, and somebody's helping him along the way, you know? I mean, he became, Brady went from, being robotic to being a human. And I think there's some appeal to saying, man, I want to finish having some fun. I want to finish like Brady got to finish. And we saw Pete Manning do it in Denver.

You know, is there that allure to go do it somewhere else and kind of change the atmosphere? I know for me, leaving Washington and going to Denver gave me a whole new lease on my football career and my life in general. 40% of Americans never leave their hometown. I've left nine about 12 times. And I say, regardless if I made the right move or not, it's invigorating.

It's energizing. I feel younger. And I will say this. And I call it the Packer quarterback syndrome for both Farr and Aaron Rogers. You don't have an owner. And that matters because it was Sean McVeigh who banged Stang Cronkey. I mean, that move doesn't get made in other cities. Stan Cronkey told me he was on the tarmac.

And remember, the lion said you pick the team. Right. So Stafford and McVeigh met in Mexico. They didn't meet there. They bumped into each other. Les Needs and McVeigh go to Cronkey and say, we're going to give up multiple ticks. And Stan Cronkey told me he was about ready to take off. He had to make a move because if Stafford, it wasn't going to sit around for 15 minutes.

I mean, the calls were coming in. And Stan Cronkey said, go for it. Right. You don't have that in Green Bay. you don't have the ability to go to your owner and say, we got to overspend for that number two receiver. I got Devante. So I think that is something that wears on Aaron and Brett.

Secondly is it's not a free agent town. He's talking to RG3 the other day. He's like most players don't want to play in Green Bay. That's a disadvantage. So to your point, I'm going to bring back Mark Schlarith, who is a wildly popular radio host in Denver knows the city. The Denver thing makes so much sense.

And I want your perspective on how a pro athlete thinks moving into a tough division next is the Hurt. Be sure to catch live editions of the HARD weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day. Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the sports book, and all the best guests.

Do yourself a favor and listen to you. straight fire with Jason McIntyre on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping. the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the 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 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.

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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 Jek. 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 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. 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, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway.

Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Hustler Turf, the brand lawn care pros have trusted for years, zero-turn lawn mowers. This guy mows his lawn every 15 minutes. Yes. Hustler turf, residential moors, 1,400 dealers.

You are my first. friend, when I think of you, I think of your lawn. I'm not joking. Yeah. Anybody that knows you have a beautiful house in Denver in a beautiful suburb. And Mark's lawn is irritatingly perfect to all his neighbors. It is a... I will literally leave notes on my neighbor's door from my lawn to their lawn asking, is everything okay?

Like, you don't look well, you know, signed Mark's lawn. Like, yeah, I am, I am a dick. Like, I'm the worst. It's okay. Yeah. You have a right to love your line. Right, exactly. Okay, so we're talking about all this stuff.

Nathaniel Hackett gets hired by Denver. It's my favorite hire so far. Right. It's not, he's a likable, good in the room, worked with Aaron. Sure. I think the roster is really Tampa's before Brady waiting to be presented to the world on a playoff stage. I love Denver's roster. Is there a feeling that?

this morning that Denver's got a real shot at Aaron because you do a morning radio show. And what is your audience tell you? What are your sources tell you? I think there's, I mean, so last year I got really excited. You know, draft night. I'm covering it on the radio for us. And I get information that, hey, man, that Denver is, it's close to being a deal with Aaron Rogers. And so, you know, I don't source it. I'm just like excited. So I'm on the radio going, hey, man, I'm just hearing this, right? So now all of a sudden, like, I'm not a reporter.

so I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I'm just excited, right? I'm talking on the radio. But here's the interesting aspect of that. So I get a call from Denver. I get a call from the Broncos like I do on occasions, right? And a lot of times they'll call me and say, hey, man, here's the deal with the ownership situation.

Or here's the deal with the news that's breaking right now. We just want you to know kind of, you know, straight up what's going on, right? So if there's any misinformation out there or this didn't happen. So I get that call. And normally it'd be like, hey, man, There's no truth to this. Like it's this erroneous information, blah, blah, blah. You know what they said to me?

Where'd you get your information? Who's your source? Are you talking to Aaron directly right now? Not this isn't happening. Like where it's who told you? Where'd you get this? And so I think it was already something that was in the works last year. Obviously didn't work out.

He resigned his contract. But it's prohibitive. You know, you talk to people around the league and they'll tell you right now that he holds the cards. because I think his cap numbers like $46 million, right? And if he doesn't choose to work with them, they can't fit him plus the rest of the team underneath that situation. So if he were to renegotiate with them and say, hey, I'll give you three years and we'll move the money around

because it's all, like, you can move the money. You know it's all. It's all funny money, right? Saints figured out a way to get all those players. We talk about the Rams. They use a Swiss bank. They just figured out. Right, they just figure it out.

So I really believe that, you know, it's in Aaron's hands. And I don't buy into, I don't think as an Uber competitive, you're not a type A competitor. You don't sit there and think, oh, gosh, I don't want to go to the AFC West because, you know, Mahomes plays there and Herbert plays there in car. I mean, listen, if that was the way people thought, I mean, you could make the argument, if I was a women's basketball, football player. I wouldn't want to go to

Yukon because they've got like four All-American every year and I'm going to have to compete. I could go to any other school and be dominant. If I went with Gino to Yukon, when I get on the floor. But I think if you're great, you want to play with great. And I think if you're great, you want to compete and get the most out of you.

And so that's why guys go to coach in the SEC with Sabin. It's a gauntlet, but you're going to get the facilities and the commitment. So I get it. I think Aaron. Aaron is too great and confident to be bothered by Derek Carr and Mahomes. And I think he just would say, look at these weapons.

Right. I think there's that aspect of it. I think the other thing is, wait a minute, I'm about ready to, I'm fixing to be the two-time MVP back to back with my fourth MVP. Like, I'm afraid to compete. I talked to RG3 the other day. He said, you start looking at all these teams. I thought it was a really good point.

He goes, everybody else has a second. Like Aaron's got Devonte. And then, then, like Stafford. going, oh, I got OBJ. And look at these two bad. And then you start looking at Brady. Oh, Chris Godwin, and A.B. And Green Bay can't afford another weapon. And I think that's a reality

of the financial place they're in. Okay. It's Mark Slareth. He's going to be off here, mowing his lawn in about 15 minutes. By the way, USC has landed Caleb Williams. 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 Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. Space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing.

How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. 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,

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