The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 2 - Justin Fields, NFL QBs Under Most Pressure

Episode Date: June 30, 2022

What to expect from Bears QB Justin Fields this seasonDon't be surprised if the Eagles win the NFC EastWhich starting NFL QBs will be under the most pressure this season?Guest: Melissa RohlinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but the show. celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 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 Heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio Welcome back to the herd

Joy Taylor in for Colin Coward as he is on vacation this week Thank you for joining us on FS1 and Fox Sports Radio It's been a fun week A lot of NBA news Hopefully we'll get some news in the Deshawn Watson situation today or tomorrow As those hearings are going on

Alex Curry is joining me in studio We're having a little weird deja vu moment I wish there was sometimes to fly on the wall or a camera on the wall that got the in-between commercial break moments

where we're just singing to ourselves we're either not talking the same song It's weird stuff that goes on in the breaks that's all I'm saying We need like the herd

In the break Yeah The show Secret hidden camera Yes Melissa Roland will join us in studio Fox Sports NBA reporter

In just a few moments But as I tease before the break I'm getting very excited about Justin Fields. I really enjoyed seeing the spark from Justin Fields last year. I'm, I guess I'm a bit of an elitist. I like

big brands being successful, mostly because it's great for the leagues, and when the leagues do better, we do better, and I do better, and so I'm selfish. I like when big brands are successful. It irritates me when the Giants are down. The Giants should be great. They're in New York. They should be better. That's better for everyone. When the Knicks

are good, it is wildfire, like around the league. That's what I, that's what I want. In Chicago is obviously struggled at the quarterback position for a long time. Well, now they have Justin Fields. And he, he has a connection. Let's take a listen to Mooney, who caught 81 passes for over a thousand yards and four touchdowns last year with Chicago. And he is singing Justin Fields praises. Just locking in and knowing what he wants to do with this, with this, with this offense, with this team, and him as a quarterback in this lead. He wants to, you know, take over the lead.

And he's already Justin Fields, I mean, but he wants to be, you know, the best quarterback in the lead. So he's taking the stride to, you know, be there. And then I got unbelievable faith that he will be there. And his success is my success. So as long as he doing good, I'm doing good. I mean, we're all doing good. Yeah, Darnal Muni is right.

is if he can take over the league the way that he wants to, it's going to be a different league. I think that the NFC North is not quite going to look the same as it always has. I mean, they went 6 and 11 last year, and they have a new offensive coordinator, Luke Getzzi, and a new coach. And if he can bring this team back to relevancy and win playoff games, he is going to be legend status. And it would be so fun for the league.

So part of me is rooting for this to happen. But I also think that we saw enough star quality in Justin Fields. That if he continues to develop, the way darned al-Muny was talking about, we are going to see a different NFL. When Chicago, when the Chicago Bears are in the playoffs and winning playoff games, like that's something to get excited about. They haven't won a playoff game since 2010. So we don't remember quite what that feeling was because that was quite a while ago.

And the other thing is that everyone in Green Bay is acting like it's no big deal. that Devante Adams has gone. Devante had 123 receptions and 169 targets from Aaron Rogers last year. He's no longer there. The next closest target was Aaron Jones, who had 52 and 65 targets, 52 receptions, 65 targets. That's a slight discrepancy. So I don't think that the division is going to look the same over the next few years. I'm very excited about Justin Fields.

I hope he continues to develop. And I had no doubt about his. leadership ability and him being able to go in there and command respect in the locker room and around that city who got obviously very excited about him. But I'm looking forward to seeing how he plays this year and how they take a step up. My question about how that's going to go is, of course, the organization. Because we haven't seen that in a while. Who are your top teams that you said, you know, when they're great, the league is great? I mean, I think it's New York. I think it's Chicago. You have big brands. Obviously, Dallas finds a way to be

interesting even when they're not great because they've won three playoff games in the last 25 years and they're the biggest brand in all of sports. So they have they have the special sauce to stay relevant when they don't win in the postseason somehow. I'm going to just take shots at Dallas all year long. They're going to be so irritated with me. The one yesterday was epic. Yeah, I mean, it would be Dallas. I mean, Los Angeles having a Super Bowl winning team is massive. Now we didn't have a team here. Now we have two. Yeah. So that's important. I think San Francisco is a team that needs to be competitive. And I don't have anything a against small markets.

I mean, I'm from Pittsburgh, and you know, you have Kansas City being relevant, Denver being relevant, again, is important. I just think for balance around the country, having those big, massive brands, relative and playing in the postseason and winning postseason games

is different than just being competitive. Because you're always going to have those fan bases be attached to these teams. Like, the NFL is not, like, they're not going anywhere. And Jacksonville, maybe, but, you know, it is what it is. And even when they're good,

their fan base rallies around them. So it's a little different in the NFL because of just the massive nature of the sport. But I do think those big brands being relevant and winning playoff games is really important for the league. So I'm excited about Chicago and I hope that Justin Fields has a lot of success there. Let's bring in Melissa Rowland, Fox Sports MBA reporter,

joining us again in studio. Very exciting. Hello, Melissa. Thanks for coming in. Oh, I'm so excited. it to be here. How are you? Great. Don't mind me and Alex being weirdos. I love the singing. Melissa was here in the studio when we were being all weird. Thanks again

for joining us, Melissa Roland, Fox Sports NBA reporter. And you covered the Warriors for a while. And so I believe we had you on, we had you on before the championship. Correct? Yes. Okay. So we were in the middle of the playoffs. So what was your reaction to the finals? I guess we'll start. there since we hadn't talked to you about it because I thought it was a tremendous postseason. I thought it was a great finals. I really enjoyed it. I would have liked for it to go to game seven because selfishly I like game sevens. But it's fine. It went to a game six and it was a very

exciting series. What was your take on the finals? I really wanted a game seven to. I thought it was a really interesting finals. You know, having covered the warriors and being there when they were at the top of their dynasty and then seeing them just completely fall off, two losing seasons, finishing with the worst record in the league. 19 wins, Joy, just two years ago, to climbing the mountain again, seeing all of their stories, you know, Clay Thompson coming back from two and a half years of injuries, seeing Steph, his greatness been questioned in him leading the team to the top again. It was really beautiful to see, actually. Yeah, I loved it for Steph Curry, and now we're getting all of these stories about the finals from Draymond Green. And one of the soundbites that we played

earlier from Draymond with the Old Man in the Three and Draymond Green Show podcast in the volume was that he talked about what happened in game four with the hostile crowd in Boston and Steph sort of stepping in and directing the energy of the crowd towards him giving him a little bit of, you know, space and you know ability to kind of come down emotionally, which is really strange for Draymond Green because we think of him as this, you know, guy that like, likes that kind of attention. What did you think when you heard that? Does that surprise you coming from Dramon? You know, it was interesting because after that game, everybody was asked,

what did you think of those chants? Right. And Clay Thompson, Steve Kerr, they sarcastically called it real classy. They were upset by it. Everybody kind of expressed, you know, disappointment in hearing 20,000 fans chant, that obscenity. and the only person who claimed that they was not upset by that chant was Draymond Green himself. He said, I love it, it motivates me.

So it was interesting to hear him reveal that it actually did kind of upset him. It kind of took him out of his game. It was interesting hearing him acknowledge that. That being said, it was also really cool to hear him say that he thinks that Steph Curry went off for 43 points in defense of him. And it's so funny to me because their relationship is so beautiful and it didn't start out that way When they first became teammates, they didn't think that they'd like each other. They're so different.

I mean, Steph's background, he comes from privilege. Dre obviously came from poverty in Saginaw. They have different approaches. Dreymond is really outgoing. Talkative stuff is a lot more quiet. They didn't think they'd become friends. And now they're brothers. And they have each other's backs and they really play for each other.

Melissa Rowland in studio with us, Fox Sports NBA Reporter. Yeah, we talked about that earlier where the, you know, the connection and the emotional intelligence that Steph Curry has to even know to do that in that moment. So talk about their relationship a little bit because I do think it's interesting. Me and Alex were talking earlier about, you know, how much do you need to be friends?

You know, if you respect each other, do you really need to be friends to win a championship? We've seen different. I mean, we watched the last dance. These guys were like, you know, tackling each other. You know, not necessarily friends, but they had a respect for each other. Is that the case, or are they truly friends?

They're truly friends. I actually talked to both of them about this earlier this season, wrote a piece on it. And they told me stories about what their friendship is like behind the scenes. And essentially, they stick up for each other. They really have each other's backs. They really bonded also recently over both being fathers. And just, you know, they've been with each other for 10 years. They've seen each other through all of these different stages in each other's lives.

And they've become each other's supports. And, you know, when you especially have so many, any five straight NBA finals appearances for championships in eight years. They spend so much time together. They've played more than an extra season and a half of basketball over that period of time. And so they've spent more time with each other than their own families. And through that time, they've developed such a deep love for one another. So there was a pettiness that you talked about in your latest article with the Warriors.

And a little bit of that in game four was Steph, like there was that moment where Steph was kind of running around doing that thing that, you know, some people don't like that Steph does when he gloats a little bit. I, yeah. I mean, I love it. Humble is not my brand. I don't care. You know, I'm sure if you've seen my social media, you can tell.

So I love it. And I also think if you're winning, you get to do that, which is why I don't have a problem with any of it. I'm sure Boston fans loved hearing that Jemann was upset, but I got lost. So, you know, I don't know how to tell you. Like, it didn't work. But congratulations. on rattling Draymond Green and making Steph go off for 43.

But talk a little bit about that pettiness. You know, it was a lot of fun to see, actually, because the Warriors aren't a petty team. Like, Draymond, if anybody is the guy who veers closest to that. He's obviously the mouth of the team, the soul of the team. But Steph's a quiet guy. He doesn't trash talk. Yeah.

I mean, are they not petty? I don't know that I would say that. Really? Yeah. I mean, I think, like, Clay took a little jab, you know, in the press conference. I think Draymond is definitely someone I would describe as fully on petty. And just full transparency here.

I am a petty person. I embrace it. I don't deny that this is my toxic trait. And I think for some people it is empowering. But Steph is like you mentioned the shimmy. That's been going on for a while now. Right, right. There's definitely little things don't get me wrong.

But you saw it grow into this full blown beautiful pettiness during the NBA finals. Like especially Clay, he's a guy who doesn't really talk much. Like he likes to talk to his dog more than other humans. And then after he wins the NBA championship, you have him bringing up unsolicited, mind you, that Twitter exchange between, you know, him and that Memphis player where the Memphis player brought up, you know, the warrior's previous motto. Strengthen numbers. Strengthen numbers. And it really irked him.

It pissed him off for months after that to the point where he brought it up after the Warriors won. And then you see Steph wearing a shirt that says Aisha, Curry can cook and Draymond takes a bunch of shots at the Celtics players. I think what happened was during those two years when they were counted out, they really got a chip on their shoulders. You know, people, especially when Steph held up zeros over his eyes, making fun of ESPN analysts who claim that's how many championships the Warriors would win over the next four years, they remembered slights like that and they used it as motivation during the finals. So these guys who aren't known for typically being petty, they relied on that and they used that as a

motivation. Similarly to how like Kobe, when he shot alone in the gym, he'd think of every negative thing anybody ever said about him. Or similarly, like a lot of the all-time greats use pettiness as motivation. Yeah, that's what I do when I'm in the gym. I remember Tom 746-5-7 said I was fat on Twitter. Let me do an extra rep. That's not true. Don't get crazy, Tom. No, I think it's very patriot-like, actually. Because to your point, they were bad. for two years. And when they are favored, the patients would do this thing where they'd convinced the entire locker room and everyone in the organization that they were underdogs when they were really favored doing the championship every year. I mean, I feel like I was the lone one like, hello,

the patients are really good. It's Bill Belichick, it's not Brady. Like, why are we talking about them? Like, it's like this miracle that's back again. And they are, there's remnants, I guess, when you have dynacies to each one. What is unique about this? Because we are now officially. in a dynasty. What is unique about this particular dynasty? What's unique about it is that they were dead. Yeah. And most dynasties, once they end, they don't come back to life. And they resuscitated themselves. I mean, nobody thought that they'd be a championship team this season. They defied all odds. You know, both Steph, Draymond, Clay, they're all 32, 34 years old.

There's a bunch of young players who were unproven. Everybody came together. during the NBA championship run in a way that nobody expected. Wiggins played exceptionally well. Kevin Looney played exceptionally well. I mean, all of these guys, Jordan Pool at times played really well. I mean, all of these guys just came together in an unexpected way, and they just showed such a strong belief in themselves and each other. After being totally counted out.

We're talking to Melissa Roland Fox Sports NBA reporter here in studio with us on The Her. Joy Taylor in for Colin Cowherd. He'll be back next week from vacation. So Jemann also said that they, we didn't guarantee it, but he feels like they're going to win three of the next four. Now, I don't think they're going to win three of the next four. However, I do think when you're the dynasty, when you're our current dynasty, when you're the champions,

when you're bringing mostly everyone back, you're at the top of the mountain. You get to talk to all the peasants that way. And I think that they will win another one. I would not be surprised if they win multiple ones. I'm going to defer to the dynasty when they believe that. But do you think that they will win more? I do think they'll win more.

I think they've proven that you can't count them out. It's interesting because I talked to Bob Myers right before the season ended. And he talked about just sort of how, you know, at one point, people were questioning whether the team should be blown up. And he felt like Steph, Dre, and Clay deserved another chance to win a championship together. And meanwhile, he's been trying to build pieces around them, develop those players, and everything came together. well. And I don't see any of them slowing down. Steph just gets better as he ages. He's gone stronger. He's added musculature. He's become more of a complete player. He's a two-way player. We've seen him play better defense than he's ever played. Clay, this postseason, he wasn't himself. No. Coming off

ACL injury, coming off Achilles tear. He was not himself. He's going to get better this off season. We're going to see a different version of him when he comes back. Dremond, he wasn't himself a lot during the playoffs. Like we talked about those, you know, obscene chance, which we can't repeat here. Everyone knows. Everybody knows. But they took him out of his game a little bit. You know, he's known as being like the most gritty, toughest, hard-nosed player out there. And sometimes he wasn't himself. When those guys are all on, who can stop them? Well, yeah, especially when you look around the West. I mean, you don't know this because this just recently happened, but I'm like very in on John Wallace the Clippers.

Her new favorite team. I'm drinking Clippers Kool-Aid right now. I do think it's going to require them all being healthy in the postseason and deep into the postseason, which is obviously a big question mark with the Clippers. But when you look around the West and you look at the veterans that you

need, the depth that you need to take them out, I agree with you. I think that they should be favored again. So let's talk about some other moves around the NBA right now, starting with Hardin, who really struggled in the postseason this year. We haven't really seen consistent vintage Hardin, if you will, for a while. He had one moments during the, you know, in the playoffs where we all

got a little scared and then he, you know, came back down. But the report is that he's going to be making a bit of a team friendly deal. To me, I feel like that's commendable. If this ends up happening, like this is a smart move for Hardin at this point in his career. They have an opportunity to win a championship in Philadelphia. Absolutely. I mean, it would have been a mistake for him to opt in because then the 76ers would have been pretty handicapped. Yeah. And so by him opting out and potentially agreeing to a longer-term contract for less money, it opens up the 76ers to pursue other guys to add to the roster to potentially help them win a championship. Hardin's never won a championship. He's smart enough to know that this is his chance, and he's smart

enough to know that his value on the market has also greatly plummeted. I mean, he forced his way out of Houston, he forced his way out of the nets for him to leave another team. It just wouldn't look good. Second of all, his play during the playoffs, he stunk. I mean, he really stunk, especially when they were eliminated in the second round. I mean, it was just he... No, the number drops up, drop-offs are obvious. He was significantly worse in the playoffs. Absolutely. So it was smart of him to buy into the 76ers completely, to say, you know what, I'm going to do whatever it takes, even if it makes, it takes making a sacrifice to myself, making a little bit less money to try to win a championship here, to invest in this team, to do this right here, right now. That was

the smartest thing he could have done. So I love this the Jean-Ca-Murie move to the Hawks. I hate it for the heat, but I love it for the Hawks. And I also really like Spurs players. Most people around the league do. This is Spurs way. And as you know, a Spurs tree that, you know, just gets treated a little differently around the NBA. I just think this is the perfect addition to this team and the perfect partner for Trey Young. Rick Bueger and I were talking about it a little earlier in the show that this feels a little bit Steph Curry, Clay Thompson. Like you have earlier, not now, not the

player that Steph has developed into and being a two-way player and moving without the ball and all of that. I think Trey is still a bit of ways from that. But he's a tremendous offensive player. He's clearly the face of the organization and DeJante Murray is a two-way player that is a playmaker and plays defense. So I think this is a perfect pair

for him. I agree because that's Tray's biggest criticism, right? He's not a great defender. The Hawks were 26 in defense last season. And Dejante is a great defender. He's hard-nosed. He prides himself on playing good defense. So I think he's really going to compliment Trey.

I also find it really interesting from the Spurs perspective because I'll tell you this. So I used to cover the Spurs as well. I've never seen Pop so happy this season. He was just light. He was happy. And I was with him when he won titles. Obviously, the team didn't even make the playoffs this season. But I think he really enjoys coaching young guys.

and he really enjoys the challenge of that, the sort of carefree likeness of that. So I think also he's looking forward to the challenge, almost like hearkening back to his Pomona-Pitzer days, of working with a bunch of younger guys. Meanwhile, this could not have been a better move for DeJante. Yeah, I love it for him. I love it for the Hawks.

That's interesting that you said that about Pop, because my initial thought was, does this mean that Popovich is kind of like ready to, I mean, they're getting all these draft picks, but you're saying he loves coaching young players. How much longer is Pop going to coach for? Oh, that's such a good question. You know, I really don't want him to leave.

I don't either. I don't like playing that game. Like, when's Belichick going to leave? When's Brady going to leave? When's Popovich going to leave? But that was my other thought after Deshante was traded. It was like, maybe. Because we've been talking about this with who, like, who is going to replace him?

You know, he's a Bill Belichich type. Like, who's going to replace Popovich? He's going to replace Popovich? Right. Well, allegedly. You can't replace Popovich. That's the thing. But allegedly, Popovich gave his approval to trade Dejante.

So he was okay with it. He was in on it. I think he's just in a good place right now in his life. There's no pressure on him. And he enjoys the challenge. I mean, it's kind of funny when he's, what, he's 73 now? Is that correct? I mean, he's up there and he's working with guys who are, what, 19 years old?

It's kind of funny. I mean, like, even just him not knowing the music they're listening to or the cultural references and learning about that and learning them and getting a kick out of them. And, you know, he's such a great player development coach, too. Like, guys fall in love with him. I was with the Spurs when they got DeJante. And it's funny because DeJante obviously had a pretty checkered past. And the Spurs really believed in him.

And that all fell behind Pop. Pop decided, you know what, I'm going to support you. I believe that you're going to be the best version of yourself when you come to the Spurs. And he absolutely developed into that, turning into an all-star this season. Nobody saw that he'd become an all-star so quickly. So it's really an incredible story. And I think Pop really enjoys that challenge. Yeah, well, I'm really excited for it.

And I'm with you on that. Like, that's what I love about Deshauncei going to the Hawks and being a former Spurs, that he did have that opportunity to develop with a Popovich and become a professional and an all-star under, you know, a legendary coach and legendary system and culture in San Antonio. Melissa Rowland, Fox Sports, NBA reporter. Always a pleasure. Make sure you check out her work on Fox Sports.com. her on social media at Melissa Rowland. Thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you, Joy. Always great to have you. So fun. So great to be on. Yes. I am also all in on the Eagles. So I've got the Clippers and the Eagles. Our Eagles fans on staff are not buying into my hype. But we'll discuss that next on The Herd. 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. We're 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. 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. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream,

this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network, on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim?

Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84's big to me.

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, 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 Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer 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, our heart radio app. Search learn the hard way and listen now.

It's the first ever USFL championship game live from the Pro Football Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. The Birmingham Stallions and Philadelphia stars go head to head in a quest to take home the historic. First title Sunday at 7.30 Eastern on Fox. Welcome back to the herd, Joy Taylor, in for Colin Cowherd all week as he's enjoying his vacation. He will be back on Monday.

Then I will be off on my vacation. And I am looking forward to it. Alex just got back from her vacation and she is here with us and it is time for the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. You like that set up? I do. It's like we all

kind of went like, Kay, tag your turn. K. Tag your turn. It's like I went first and Kay Colin, you go. Colin's going to come back. Jay, Joy, you go. We're running a relay. We are. It's good teamwork. All right, well, let's talk about the champs again. Because in game through the NBA finals, Draymond admittedly had an awful performance, which he attributes to how he was treated

by the fans in Boston. Now the Celtics ended up winning that game and we're looking for a 3-1 series lead, but Steph Curry had an incredible 43-point double-double in game four to even the series at 2 in Draymond has a very specific theory as to what set Curry off. The emotion from him in game four, I selfishly think,

and no one's going to stop me from thinking this, I selfishly think it was, in protection of me. What you dive into is your struggling playing. I mean, is your game, but I couldn't really dive into that. I was struggling. And so I'm like, wow. And I think he visibly saw that. I think this whole conversation we've played it a couple times today. Really, first of all, humanizes Draymond Green because he is such a figure where he is that, that tough guy. He's the one that has no fear. No one's going to take him down. He is like the bulldozer that sets the tone for the team and hearing that that's not always the case.

We're all human. No matter what kind of facade or what kind of image we portray or character we put on when we are on, we are all still human. And the fact, we just talked about this again, that his teammate that he has spent so much time with, Steph Curry, is able to see that. This is what takes a good team to a great team to a championship team to now the best that we have seen in a long time. And I think Steph Curry had a lot to prove too.

There was a lot of doubts that he might have not been as great as people were talking about. Well, I think everything that Melissa just said is really true. We're obviously bathing in the greatness of, you know, basking in the greatness, not bathing. We talked for three hours. Look, I'm going to get something wrong. Basking in the greatness of Steph Curry and the Warriors right now,

but they had the worst record in the league and they were down bad for two years. Now, we know obviously a big part of that was injuries, but there was plenty of people saying there's no way they're climbing back out of this, probably myself included. Now, to go from being as great as they were to being that bad is kind of the best motivation

that you can have when you're at the top. To know that people are doubting you that way, to feel actually the losing. It's not just that people are doubting you. Like, you're really losing. You're really bad. Yeah. Really, the reason why is really kind of irrelevant.

So, yeah, I'm with you. I think these tiny things when you get back up to the top are the difference in championships and dynasties and just being an all-time great team that, you know, didn't win. And, you know, obviously winning in six is something else entirely as well. You know, I was hoping for Game 7, but... I think everyone does.

You know, it's really impressive what the Warriors have done. And I think that's why I give them so much credit. That's why I love this team so much and I love talking about this team and I admire what they do. I like people that do their job well. I don't know. I like functioning situations. I like when people treat, you know, their players and personnel and, you know, staff well. And I like when they're rewarded with that with winning and championships and dynasties.

Like that to me is how you do things the right way. And that's why I don't understand the current backlash of, oh, well, you know, now they're just spending too much money. like, all right. Do what you got to do? What do you want them to do? Do what you got to do? We get mad at teams when they don't pay players who deserve to be paid to be paid. Now you're mad at owners for spending too much.

Like I just, I can't, I don't know what else to, I don't know what else to critique with them. No, I think the biggest thing, Melissa brought it up, in, in Dynasties, you don't often see when they're at the top, hit rock bottom. Yeah, you don't see a total collapse. And then come right back up to the top. and now believe that they're back up there because everyone's healthy. They have a chance again. It's something special.

And I always say, why not appreciate greatness when it's right in front of you? Well, sometimes it takes a little time to see that. You know, there are people that really just hate the Warriors and that's fine. I was, I mean, I was this way with Tom Brady for a long time. You know, being a Dolphins and Steelers fan, you know. That makes sense. But eventually, and it really was a moment after, and it wasn't that I ever hated Tom Brady. I have stuff to do.

Yeah. But, you know, it's an irritating. to constantly lose to someone all the time. And especially, you know, a dynasty like the Patriots. But after that, come back against Atlanta, I was like, I give up. What is the greatest ever? What am I supposed to do? I'm going to watch the rest of his career and enjoy it.

It's the same thing with LeBron. When LeBron came to the Lakers, I'm like, I'm over what happened in Miami with him leaving Miami. I'm just going to enjoy watching one of the greatest players of all time play a sport that I love. I can't just sit in this animosity forever. Appreciate greatness when it's right in front of your face. You got to do it. You got to do it. All right, switching to James Hardin, who declined his $47.3 million

option with the 76ers yesterday and will become a free agent. But Hardin is keeping the possibility of staying in Philly on the table, obviously. Reports indicate that Hardin and the 76ers are willing to meet in the middle so he can get a long-term security that he needs while providing the team with cap flexibility. Now Hardin is eligible for a max. The high is $47, $48 million per year, but willing to reduce his salary to the mid-30 range, so he would be taken off about $10 million. And honestly, I think this is the smartest thing he can do right now. He does not have a lot to show for over his last couple of seasons.

Didn't have a great playoff run. He has not had great playoff runs. He has 13 playoff runs in his 15 years in the league with nothing to show for it. That's got to be frustrating. I mean, he's a Hall of Fame player. when he was in his prime probably one of the most prolific scores that we've ever seen.

It's not that he's not an all-time great, but you do want a championship. And at this point, when you've got, you know, you've made close to $500 million in your career, it might be in your best interest. And also, if they're going to give you a long-term deal at this point in your career,

take a little less and get a long-term deal in place. So there is benefits on both sides to them doing this, to Melissa's point, like this is a better situation for him to take a long-term deal. Oh, yeah. But I also think that he deserves credit. If he does end up doing this,

we can't get on players for taking all the money. And we can't get on players for not having self-awareness for where they are in their career and then not give them the flowers when they do make concessions like this. So he absolutely does not have to make. He can absolutely make as much money as he wants to make. Yeah. He's a professional.

This is what he does for a living. And you have a short window. People forget that athletes, yes, they make a ton of money. But it is a 10 to 15, if you're lucky, 20 year window where you get to make some money. So you got to make it all at once. You got to invest it well and then have a plan after. So yeah, I'm with you about the money. But I also think this is his best opportunity to actually make a run. If you want to get there, if the team has potential, they want to work with him. Joelle Embede, who was almost a league MVP last year, if he can

have a season of the season like that and they use this money that they've opened up to bring in a veteran player that can contribute that they are in contention. Yeah. Smart. Interesting to see how it's all going to play out and who they are able to get with that extra money. Let's switch gears because Freddie Freeman is a Dodger today, but if he had it his way, the National League may look a little different. Freeman fired his agent on Tuesday following his free agency, and many linked the decision to him not resigning with the Braves. Now, yesterday, Doug Gottlie provided more insight, tweeting Casey Close never told Freddie

Freeman about the Braves' final offer. That is why Freeman fired him. he found out in Atlanta this weekend. It isn't that rare to have happened in the MLB, but it happened. Closed New Freddie would have taken the Atlanta deal. Now, in a tweet response, Excel Sports put out a statement on behalf of Close saying Doug Gottlieb tweeted wholly inaccurate characterization of our negotiations with the Atlanta Braves

on behalf of Freddie Freeman. We are immediately evaluating all legal options to address the reckless publication of the inaccurate information. Now, this whole situation seems. very messy and very unfortunate. Now, I don't know how it's all going to play out. No one's going to know the exact way it all went down except the agency and the Braves, not even Freddie. He's just hearing hearsay right now.

But I'm not sure if the agent thought that he was actually helping him in the long run or thought it was a good idea to not give him the information of where he wanted to stay. but at the end of the day, agents work for you. And in this situation, it's lying, it's deceiving, it's frustrating. Freddie is, he was Atlanta. He had just won a World Series with them. Yeah, I mean, look at him. Dodgers isn't a bad place to end up, by the way.

But, yeah, I mean, if this is true, this is not obviously how you want to do business. I mean, he could have fired him for any number of reasons. But it happens right after he goes to Atlanta, gets his World Series ring, very emotional there. and get some news. Well, there's worse places you could end up than the Dodgers. I do understand, obviously, if he wanted to stay in Atlanta, and this ends up being true, obviously, that would be heartbreaking that you didn't get that opportunity to say where you wanted to say.

With one team. But you could do worse than the Los Angeles Dodgers. Oh, yeah. That's Alex Curry with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. So it's basically been back and forth in the NFC East for the last

17 years. The NFC East has not had a repeat winner since 2004. That's the longest active streak among divisions in NFL history. That's not why I'm on the Eagles this year. I think that the way the Cowboys season ended and was happened this offseason had mostly the fact that I'm not a Cowboys fan and I'm done pretending like they are Super Bowl contenders. They're in contention to win the NFC East, but I am on the Eagles this year. And so, is Woody High alum, Wooden Hills alum, Miles Sanders. He thinks that they have something special going on there. Here is Miles Sanders quote from CBS Sports on the Eagles roster this year. He said we all feel like we're on an all-star team, so we feel great. We feel unstoppable. I'm not going to

lie. The vibes are great. Always have been. Nick Siriani is doing great job, just keeping the vibes right, the chemistry good. We compete a lot in practice. We've got to see. It's got to come down to camp, taking it day by day, putting everything together. Now, I I was very excited about this this morning, but our Eagles fans on the staff were like, nope, we're not falling for it. And I can understand being a Dolphins fan. Like, I'm not falling for the bait this year. I want to wait and see.

I want to see what happens. I'm going to wait and see. I am going to be, I don't even want to call it cautiously optimistic. But another reason why Eagles fans might not be so quick to, you know, jump into all of the hype this year was, you know, it was a little reminiscent of Vince Young in 2011. You remember this proclamation? What about the pieces of this team has added in this in the past few days? Oh, dream team.

From Nandi to Camardi, from Jason to myself, you know, I know they're going to do some more things. You know, it's this beautiful to see that, you know, where we're trying to go. And I'm all for it. Confidence. Now, there's a little revisionist history. They went eight and eight that year. So it's like, it's not like things fell completely off the rails. You act like he won three games that year.

Obviously, Dream Team is, you know, a little bit of an exaggeration of a quote when you talk about how that season went. But I know Eagles fans aren't ready to jump on the hype, take that dive because of the scars, which I understand. I don't have scars with the Eagles. Maybe after this year I will. But I love the moves they made this offseason. I think they had a lot of great additions, A.J. Brown, which I'm very excited about. It's going to be another year for Jalen Hertz, led all quarterbacks with rushing touchdowns last year. I'm going crazy on the Eagles this year.

I was so wrong about Nick Siriani. That's not why, but I was very wrong about Nick Siriani. I like the momentum in their building. And someone different wins the NFC East every single year for the last 17 years. So why not the Eagles? It's okay. I can get excited to Eagles fans. It's all right.

Follow me down this wormhole. When we come back, who has the most pressure on them around the league in the NFL at the quarterback position? We play pressure meter next on the herd. Be sure to catch you. live editions of the herd weekdays in noon eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod pushing the same

tired narratives down your throat every day. Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the sports book and all the best guests. Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, 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 Clivered Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need. to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here. unpack what went down and try to make sense of how we survived it.

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

Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, We get so wrapped up in the chase

that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth,

or 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, Keer Gaines, we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way.

Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Welcome back to the herd. Joy Taylor in for calling Cowherd. Let's play quarterback pressure cooker. Is the pressure cooker or pressure meter? What do we decide on? Pressure cooker.

Okay. That's what I have in my paper. Cool. Let's do it. Okay. How much pressure does Trey Lance have going into this season? I will decide whether they have low, medium or high pressure heading into the season. Tray Lance is medium pressure. Okay, he's he's still basically a rookie. Um, he only has three

starts and 101 pass attempts over his, uh, two seasons. So he's, he's only 22 years old. And they gave up a lot of picks, three first round picks to move up and draft him. So they are going to move forward with him regardless after this year. But, you know, he's coming off of, uh, Jimmy Garoppolo's era with the Niners. And that was a lot of winning, a lot of injuries, but also a lot of winning. So medium pressure, especially with this organization. All right, how much pressure does Russell Wilson have coming into this season? High pressure. You could argue the highest amount of pressure because the last two big time quarterbacks to move, as you mentioned earlier, Matthew Stafford and Tom Brady switched teams deep into their career, won Super Bowl's first year with their new team. Now, I don't expect that with the Broncos. I didn't expect it with either of those players either.

But, you know, they have a new coach as well. It's Russell Wilson. He's forced his way out of Seattle. he's a, you know, future Hall of Famer and I think a lot of people feel like he probably needs another Super Bowl. The Broncos have been a quarterback away for a while. There's a lot of pressure on Russell Wilson this year. All right. How much pressure does Dak Prescott have this season? Medium pressure. The Cowboys have won three playoffs games in 25 years, but he does make a lot of money and rightfully so.

I do believe that he deserved it. They did have some losses this offseason. Nobody seems to think Amari Cooper, Cedric Wilson are a big deal. but C.D. Lamb's going to have to become a true number one. What happens with Mike McCarthy if they don't do well this year? And a lot of that is going to ride on Dak Prescott, who always puts up great numbers. But again, it doesn't translate to postseason success.

I love Dak Prescott. He's one of my favorite players in the league. But he's got a little bit of pressure on it this year. All right. How much pressure does Matthew Stafford have coming into this season? Low pressure. Low pressure. He spent 12 years in Detroit paying his dues in the league

and won a Super Bowl in his first season. joining the Rams. I do think there are a lot of expectations of the Rams to be great again this year because you look around the NFC. There's not a whole lot of competition at that level. They've made some additions this offseason, Alan Robinson replacing Robert Woods. They could bring O'Dell back during the season. But he shut all the haters up and won a Super Bowl, which I'm happy for him. He deserves it. I don't think there's a lot of pressure on him this year. I'm calling back to back. All right. How much pressure does Justin Herbert have going into this season? High pressure. Joe Burrell just played in the Super Bowl against Matthew Stafford, and that is this guy that was drafted in his draft class.

And he's still searching for his first career playoff appearance, not even win. They had an aggressive offseason. They need to take advantage of his rookie deal also as well. But he is tremendous talent. Love watching him play. No question he's a star, but they do need to make the playoffs this year. How much pressure does Aaron Rogers have coming into this season? medium pressure. I mean, look, Aaron Rogers isn't a postseason quarterback now. We can have that conversation. He doesn't do anything in the postseason. He's a

tremendous regular season quarterback, back-to-back MVP. They were the number one seat in the NFC, had home field advantage, and we know how that ended. So I thought it was a catastrophic ending for their season, but we don't even talk about it. Medium pressure on him. How much pressure does two have coming into this season? High pressure.

They've already tried to replace him twice. For two and on, they've already tried to replace him twice with Tom Brady and Deshawn. in first year under his new head coach, Mike McDaniel, but I think if this goes badly with all the moves they've made this offseason, he will not be the starting quarterback in Miami next year. So high pressure on Tua. How much pressure does Trevor Lawrence have coming into this season?

Low pressure. New head coach, it was a disaster last year. Any kind of development with Trevor Lawrence would be a step in the right direction. I'm rooting for him. I think he had a really bad start and go to the season last year. and I'm looking forward to seeing what he does under his new coach. That is pressure cooker. We had a few more we'll get to.

Maybe we'll do that tomorrow. Maybe we do the second half of pressure cooker tomorrow. Thanks for joining us on The Herd. Joy Taylor in for Colin Cowards. He on vacation this week. Enjoying the Caribbean. He will be back on Monday. I'm alongside Alex Curry.

Coming up on the Herd, more MBA news. 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, S&L'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. 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.

Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Cliford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills 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 Cliford Show on the IHeard 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. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was 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. 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.