The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 2 - QBs, risks, Rams

Episode Date: February 17, 2022

Will the Browns upgrade at QB?Some times you have to take risksWhat the Rams need to do to repeat as champsGuest: Peter King Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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I had a coughing fit an hour ago and not paying attention hour and two. A little off my game today. Well, my wife left down this morning, so that's what it is. You're all on your own. I know. She even took the dogs with her. Oh, really all on your own? Yeah.

Barely found my way to work. Alex Curry is joining me. Peter King in about five minutes. Watching some of that Super Bowl parade stuff is just great. Is that where you just watching on your phone? Yeah. So, you know, people will often say, oh, how come there's so many more people at like this parade or that parade? People in Los Angeles is expensive.

You have to work. It's just hard to say, I'm not going to go to work today. Secondly, there's a lot to do here. And it's not a knock on other cities, but there's a lot of teams and a lot of stuff. And also, it's a very diverse city. So a third of New York, a third of Los Angeles, you know, they may not be football fans. They're from maybe Russia. They're from, you know, these are very diverse cities.

Not everybody born here or from California. It's also a very transient state. So a lot of people are Buffalo Bills fans that live in Los Angeles. You can go anywhere in Los Angeles, find Steeler bars and Bronco bars. There's an Ohio State bar. There's a couple of Michigan Wolverine bars. So we have a lot of jobs here and a lot of sun. It brings in people that are from other parts of the country.

So we're never going to have the biggest parade count. It's just not the way it's going to work here. People are, I've said this before about Los Angeles. You know, and I'm not really, I'm not from here, obviously. People have lived here forever. I've been here like eight years. Spent a lot of time here for years and years and I was really attracted to it. It's a vibrant, fun city, and a lot to do.

But also, Los Angeles is very different. If Alabama, if Nick Saban retired and Alabama stunk, the stadium's still sold out. When Ohio State went six and seven with Luke Fickle, the stadium still sold out. In Los Angeles, we have so many options, the minute a team is bad, people don't pick it, people don't protest, they just stop going to the games. So you have to win in Los Angeles. It's like restaurants.

It's so competitive. I always thought this about New York. New York's got like 800,000 restaurants. You really have to be good in New York, or you just can't last. There's a lot of average restaurants that stay open. Not a lot in New York, not a lot in Chicago, not a lot in L.A. because it's so hyper-competitive. So whenever I see the crowds in Los Angeles and, you know, the Dodgers, if they win, there was a big, big parade for the Dodgers. In Chicago for the Blackhawks, I'm not saying we don't have in these big cities, you don't have as many sports fans.

But, you know, big cities attract people from all over the world. And a lot of people that live in Los Angeles, they like football, but it's the kind where you kick it. And that's reality, where they were born and what they were raised with. and also should be noted. This team was in St. Louis a few years ago. Also should be noted, the Rams were an Orange County team. You have L.A. County, north of us, Ventura County, South of us Orange County. They were an Orange County team.

It was like the Angels. So the Raiders were always the city team in Los Angeles, right? USC, the Raiders. So I think it's remarkable how many fans the Rams have right now. I think it's actually remarkable how strong their brand is. Everywhere you go in town, you see Rams gear in Rams hats. And I think it's, ask the Chargers. It's a hard city to enter and connect with fans.

Like the Chargers, until Justin Herbert arrived, I didn't know if they're going to make it. Like Justin Herbert sold tickets. I mean, he really, people, you forget how valuable a great quarterback is. Like, I have four buddies that bought season tickets to the Chargers because they wanted to watch Herbert and Mahomes. Like, that's the power of stars. So, you know, I was thinking about this. There's a story today from Mary Kay Cabot. I've known Mary for a long time.

She's a really good reporter in Cleveland. Been covering the NFL for over 20 years. And she says, and I trust her in her mailbag column, Cleveland.com, she said, listen, the Browns are going to look into a few veteran quarterbacks and look at the plausibility of upgrading on Mayfield. If it does not prove realistic, then they'll support Mayfield, as obviously they would. You know, I've said before I would bring back Baker Mayfield. I would.

I'd get him healthy. I'd let him play. I think he'll be better. And then if you want to trade him, do it the deadline. But I would bring Baker back. I don't think he has much value after the end of last year. But the kid was falling apart. But there is something.

If you ran the Cleveland Browns tomorrow, if you did. And I haven't talked Baker in about two months. But if you did run the Browns, here's three things that are troublesome. OBJ leaves. He was a star before him and a star after him. but he never, ever worked in Cleveland. That would concern me a little. Jarvis Landry was more productive in Miami than he is now in Cleveland.

Last year, he had less than 600 yards. Austin Hooper, the tight end. He was a two-time pro bowler with Matt Ryan. Now, Matt's solid, but he's not Rogers. He's not Russell Wilson. With Matt Ryan, he was a two-time pro bowler and a touchdown magnet. He's invisible. So OBJ leaves, he's better.

Jarvis Landry enters. He arrives. Rhodes. Austin Hooper really, really good. Invisible. That's a trend. That's not good. And as I've said before, Mary Kay's story is they're considering veteran quarterbacks. As much heat as Carson Wentz gets, he's 6.5.2.37, big arms, super mobile, 27 TDs and 7 picks. I would move on that in a second. Now, Jim Ursay is furious about the playoff loss. And I've said this before about Carson. Winsk. We need to contextualize this. The Colts do not have a great wide receiver room, and I love Jack Doyle, but he's old.

Carson Winsk going 27 and 7 in, I think, below average receiver tight-in rooms. It's kind of impressive. He was really good. Now, I wish he would have gotten vaxed. I thought that was irresponsible. I didn't like that, and I didn't like that Jags game at all. It's okay to lose to the Raiders. That was okay. Derek Carr's really good, and they played really well. But, you know, I would move. If I could get Carson Wentz, I would go get him. If I could get Jimmy Garoppolo, 33 and 14, I would go get him.

Obviously, I take Deshawn Watson, who I think is a spectacular player, his legal stuff, aside from that. But so, you know, it's something to keep your eye on. Mary Kay is somebody I trust. And if she says they're looking, then they are. That's how I feel about it. Peter King, if he says something, I believe him too, football morning in America, NBCSports.com. I was talking about this, how you got to give Sean McVey a lot of credit for this.

Not only were the Rams never an L.A. team, it was an Orange County team. Not only did they move from St. Louis, but this is a highly distracted market. There's just a lot of teams. Dodgers, USC, Lakers, big, big, strong, like giant Yankee brands. And they've been here less than a decade. I mean, they feel like they just got here. And Peter, the Rams culture, the Rams are popular in this. city. And so when I heard that McVeigh could retire, I thought, I think he wants a raise, that he's built something here. You just can't hand this over. What did you make of the McVe

retirement stuff when you heard it? Well, first of all, Colin, I think when I hear someone's going to retire, I think it means that they don't want to do that thing anymore. And that's not, that's not the case with Sean McVey. Sean McVeigh is not finished coaching, even if he did retire this year. As his wife said yesterday, it doesn't sound like that that's true. But even if he does walk away at some point, I think he will walk back at some point. So the retire word, I think, is the wrong word. But I will just say this.

It's very hard. I honestly think Tony Romo had something to do with this, Colin. And what I mean by that is that when Tony Romo got whatever it was, $17 or $18 million a year to go on TV to talk about football games, that really changed the landscape. Now you've got Amazon. You might have ESPN, you know, regular ESPN, interested in changing its booth.

You know, we hear rumors, I don't know. So, but you definitely have Amazon. Amazon wants to walk into Thursday night football. And on the first telecast, Amazon wants to be a powerhouse. So what better way to do that than to bring in the guy who just won the Super Bowl, who's effervescent, embellion, really good when he opens his mouth. Yeah. So, Colin, that is what is happening right now.

and Sean McVeigh can make probably more money talking about football this next year and maybe the next two or three years than he could make coaching football. And so you ask yourself if you're Sean McVeigh, hey, what if I want to start a family? What if I want to do something different? That's going to be a factor. Now, having said all that, it sounds very much like he's going to coach the Rams again. but those I don't know how you couldn't think about that if you were Sean McVeigh. Yeah. You know what I'd struggle with? I got Matt Stafford here. I'd feel like I was bailing on him a little bit. Of course, yeah. Yeah, I think that's a big factor.

Yeah. The Carson Wentz thing, generally Chris Ballard, the GM, has been very thoughtful, almost reticent to make, he wouldn't make rash moves. bang on Carson Wentz, but it's not a great receiving room. 27 TD 7 picks. I didn't like his stance on Vaxes, and I thought that Jacksonville game was a mess. But I don't think they have a backup plan, and I would, there's a lot of teams

in this league, four or five off the top of my head, I would take Carson Wentz in a New York minute. What do you make of the stories that he is, quote, likely to get cut? What do you make of that? When Chris Mortensen says that I buy it. Yeah, same here.

You know, I trust more. But I agree with you in one way, Colin. I look at Carson Wentz, and he's better than the guy who you can get out there unless there's a quarterback in the draft. Maybe one of the lesser guys who you absolutely love and say, let's invest in our future with a guy that we think has a chance to be good for a long time. The Wentz story is very weird because he plummeted to Earth in 2020. He got saved by the guy who he liked the most of anybody who ever coached him in the NFL, Frank Reich.

And for this to happen right now, Frank Reich has to be thinking there's something that I don't like when I look at Carson Wentz. And again, I say that if, because we don't really know what's going to happen here yet. And I agree with you. If you change quarterbacks again, that means that it will be Frank Wright and Chris Ballard's fifth season. And it will be, you know, together. And they will be entering the season with their fifth starting quarterback. You just don't want to do that. It's amazing to me that Frank Wright,

is eight games over 500 in his career. How can you do that changing quarterbacks the way most people change socks? Yeah. Kyler Murray, I didn't like him scrubbing the social media, nor did I like the Cardinals leaking stuff and taking shots at him. You know, I've talked to somebody who I trust around that organization that they had concerns last year about some maturity stuff, but as I've said before on this show, you get some drama with Aaron Rogers, Russell Wilson, and we've had drama with Jay Cutler,

you know, you're not going to get a bunch of Matt Ryan's and Dack Prescott. Some guy, you know, Big Ben gave us drama. These are American superstars. International soccer guys, NBA guys. You know, you get some drama, okay? You got to deal with some of it. But it does feel like there's a tipping point here. Where are we with it?

And what do you make of all of it? You know, I think there's so much smoke around Kyler Murray that, you know, the one thing we didn't see Sunday in either Indianapolis or. Arizona, we didn't see a single statement from anybody associated with the team, to my knowledge anyway, saying this is a pile of crap. And normally you would start hearing something or, you know, you'd get a little text or a note off the record from somebody saying, hey, that's not really the way it is or whatever. None of that happened. So, you know, the, you know, There is some smoke there. And the one thing that I had heard is that Kyler Murray's got to work harder.

I think it is, it's telling when a guy who is about nothing but the tape, he does not express strident opinions. He's about players. He's not a talk show host. It's basically when Greg Kosell speaks after reviewing the tape, and he says, Kyler Murray's made no progress from his rookie year. That would concern me. Yeah.

When you watch the Rams, is this a repeat kind of team to you? I mean, Whitworth may retire. Your takeaway next year, kind of where they are, you know, Brady's out. Aaron could leave, who knows. You know, I look at the Rams and I think to myself,

you know, between the Russell and Aaron drama, this could be a nice little run for about five years for the, I mean, the AFC, oh, there's so many young quarterbacks I love. I mean, it's an endless list of kids I love. You know, the NFC, you start looking at that. Boy, that Rams thing, if they stay together, Peter, there's a lot of tarmac here, it feels like to me.

There's a lot to like about the Rams. I don't think they're a team that was built for one or two years, even though I think most of the world thinks that they are a team that's built for the very, very short term. I walked out of the stadium the other night and I said, you know, Cooper Cups going to wear a gold jacket one day. Aaron Donald certainly is. They've got the basis of good talent on both sides of the ball and a lot of that talent is young. I guess the thing I would say, Colin, is I don't like anybody to repeat. It's just, it's so hard. At the end, a year ago at this time, everybody was saying, how can you not have the bucks

repeat again. Look at how great he is. Look at how great this is. How great that is. Things just happen, Colin. They just do. We don't know what's going to happen next December 20th. We don't know who's going to be hurt. We don't know who's going to be playing

great. Who called Joe Burrow leading the Bengals to the Super Bowl? It just things happen in the NFL. It is a not-for-long league. So I don't know who's going to win it next year. I mean, but I do think that problem surface, and we don't even know if Aaron Donald's coming back.

If he doesn't come back, that's a pretty big pink in the armor. Yeah. If they have to replace a left tackle who's been the absolute apple of PFF's eye for the last 15 years, Andrew Whitworth, I mean, that is a factor. So let's find out what's going to happen with those guys first before we just say, yeah, yeah, they're bound to repeat. Peter King, Football Morning in America, NBCSports.com, cover the NFL since the early 90s. Great seeing you again.

Thanks a lot, Colin. My pleasure. You bet. Yeah, it is, I still think there's an argument to be made. The team that on its best day was the best team was Buffalo. If you talk about who had the best fastball, Buffalo one, Chiefs 2, Rams 3, the best fastball. Tampa's fastball is pretty good.

problem with Buffalo, though. They had some really bad Sundays, and the Rams never lost to a non-playoff team all year. The Rams had one stinker. The Tennessee game was really, really bad. But they beat Brady twice in Tampa. They lost to Green Bay. But if I recall, there were some injuries they were dealing with in Green Bay. I don't know why that... Did Robert Woods just get hurt? I don't know why the game doesn't stick to me. Was their first loss to San Francisco ugly, so they had one. But again, a playoff team, a team that beat Green Bay. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.

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. recommended it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, 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.

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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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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Sunday, it's the most iconic day in all of motorsports, the Daytona 500. The great American race kicks off the 22 NASCAR season at 23rd. to Eastern, 1130 Pacific, only on Fox and the Fox Sports app. You know, I was thinking about this. Matt Stafford throws a lot of interceptions, and he just won the Super Bowl. Now, he doesn't throw him in the fourth quarter. Tom Brady throws interceptions. Josh Allen does.

Justin Herbert does. Joe Burrow does. And I've been saying this for years. I think we get, I wrote about this in my first book called You Heard Me. I wrote this about Andrew Luck. It's a change of possession unless it's thrown in two areas. in the red zone where you're subtracting points from your team, those are bad interceptions,

or deep in your territory where it becomes points for the other guys. Otherwise, the average NFL score is like 26, 23. You score on like four of your possessions of 13. Otherwise, it's a change of possession. I'm a risk taker. I think it takes no talent in the world to sit out there and take shots at people. I'm public.

You see me. Here are my opinions. Take shots at me. I put it out there. I respect people who put it out there. This idea that we should, oh, this quarterback never throws picks. Do they shrink? Are they willing to let it rip?

Mr. Never throws picks guys at Lambo. Doesn't throw to anybody but Devante Adams because he doesn't want picks. Like all the quarterbacks in this league that I love, Brady throws them, Stafford throws him, Russell Wilson throws him, Herbert throws him, Alan throws him. It's okay. Baseball finally figured this out with analytics. People were criticized for striking out. But the real liability in baseball is the ground ball. Because then you can have two outs with the ground ball.

So baseball analytically finally figured it out. Ground balls are bad. Strikeouts are fine. It's one out, it's not two. And I think analytically, at some point, I think some people are getting it. Bill Parcells used to bark about this all the time to Phil Sims. I can handle an occasional interception. We have a great defense.

Now, if your defense is terrible, you want to throw fewer. But the Rams defense is great. The Bengals defense is great. Buffalo's defense is great. Those guys can throw interceptions. Their defense is going to bail them out nine out of ten times. So I think we've gotten to this point where, ooh, look how few interceptions he throws. Yeah, but does he shrink late?

Is he good from behind? Will he let her rip? I mean, if you go look at Eli Manning, the greatest moment in his career, it was a couple of throws where he threw it into double coverage. Mario Manningham, two people there. He rolled the dice. He took a shot in a little window. David Tyree Helmut.

It's not like he was wide open. Like sometimes let it rip. I thought the most disappointing performance in the playoffs was Aaron Rogers' second half. He wouldn't let go of the ball. So I think we've gotten to the point with Matt Stafford just met Joe Burrow in the Super Bowl. those dudes throw picks, but they know they have the coaches and the defense that if they throw them,

at least try not to make it a pick six, try not to take away points, but they don't throw them at key times, but they do sometimes air it out. Force the safeties, make them uncomfortable. I think you got to swing big. I think baseball finally figured it out. It's the ground ball, not the strikeout. And I like that two quarterbacks who sling it, I mean, ask yourself this. You know, Patrick Mahomes, remember that series against Buffalo?

Now, they eventually won the game, but he was running around and wouldn't let go the ball in the red zone. And I was saying, like, he got in his head. When he lost to Cincinnati, actually, when they lost to Cincinnati, it wasn't Buffalo. He was running around in the red zone, three different plays, and he wouldn't let it go. And it's like, dude, you got to let it go. Now, in the red zone, the story has always been in the red zone. If you throw in the end zone, at the front of the end zone, you throw it low, in the back you throw it high. That's always the rule.

But Mahomes just wouldn't let it go. And so to me, he had a really bad second half against the Bengals and a lousy overtime. He got paralyzed. He started overthinking it. He wouldn't let it rip. I like Burrell throwing occasional picks. I like Herbert. They throw it downfield.

Josh Allen, Stafford, four of my favorite quarterbacks in the league. Guys that throw picks. Alex for the news. No. No. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. To your point, to get big reward, you got to take big risks.

As we say, embedding scared money doesn't win money. Exactly. What it takes. Yep. But let's talk about the big game because Joe Burrow was close to leading his team to winning Super Bowl 56, but he came up short. And Ram safety, Eric Weddell, thinks that Burroughs' chances to celebrate with the Lombardi will come soon.

He said, I was obviously impressed. I mean, you don't lead a team to the Super Bowl if you're not all in, right? And I just love his mentality. I love his moxie. I love him. He's all ball and he's not on social media. He's not in the limelight. He's not into what everyone else thinks.

He is just silently going and doing his work and it's refreshing to see. And obviously, I mean, they're going to be good for a long time. His moment wasn't tonight, but he'll get his moment. My only concern with him has always been the organization. I never worry about Joe. I said it when he was drafted that you could make a strong argument that he should pull an Eli Manning and go, I'm not going. going there. And by the way, so everybody today would say, well, he got to the Super Bowl.

He was also sacked 70 times and was a twist away from a second major injury. So I don't doubt him, but I do doubt structurally this organization that unlike the Rams, doesn't take big swings, doesn't make big deals, doesn't jockey for position in the draft. That's my concern. Burroughs not the concern. But this organization does not play the game inside the game, which the best GMs do, which is trading picks, big swing. moving around. You know, Belichick has this legendary reputation that he hoards picks, but Bill moves up in the draft as well. Maybe not in the first round, but Bill is somebody that's constantly manipulating hoarding picks, using them, using the compensatory picks.

You know, Cincinnati can be really uber conservative, and I don't think that kind of football and that kind of drafting and talent acquisition. I don't think that's the future of the league. What stood out to me most for Bro was not just his leadership within his team, but around the league. I don't know if you saw the behind the scenes videos of him at the Super Bowl introducing himself to a bunch of people on the Rams. You can just tell he has that respect from everybody. He has that leadership. He's young, but he's excited to be there and he's having a good time. He has a bright future.

But let's stick with the Super Bowl champions this time because despite talk that Sean McVeigh and Aaron Donald could both retire after their Super Bowl championship, both men said they plan to run it back in 2022. Aaron, Sean McVey just tapped me on the shoulder. He wanted to know if you were interested in running it back. Give it up for Aaron Donald. What a stud. Everything. We built a super team.

We can bring a super team back. Why not run it back? We can be world-chairs. Yeah. That's the good answer. Yes. It's the right answer in L.A. It is, especially if they get all their weapons,

if they're able to bring back majority of the guys, why not? And Fox Bet gives them the third best odds to win the Super Bowl behind the Chiefs and the Bills and then the Rams and then the Cowboys. Yeah, first three I buy a fourth, I don't. Yeah, that's a debate for another day. But let's move on to the Lakers where they were able to pull off the win against the Jazz last night. Are we still on the Rams here? There we go.

There we go. All right. they were able to pull off them, defeating them 105 to 101, but unfortunately, they suffered a loss in the game. Anthony Davis rolled his ankle in the second quarter and had to leave the game. He is expected to miss at least two weeks with the injury. LeBron had to pull it together and lead the team as usual. He finished with 33.15 of those coming in the final period of play.

Now, the positive side, it looked like LeBron kind of lit an internal fire once he saw AD go down. It's hard to watch. I can't watch these. There was also another AD on the sideline last night. Aaron Donald, I think, went straight from the parade to the floor seats at the Lakers, and LeBron kept looking at him. And I don't know. That's not a two-week injury.

No, that's a lot. That's painful. And it's sad because it's not uncommon. It's more of a, here we go again. Here we go again with Anthony Davis injury. It's unfortunate. Yeah, Alex for the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. Phil Sims next hour. Yeah, the, you know, the Aaron Donald retirement talk, just think about this. In modern history. Now, Jim Brown is the only player that left and was still like the best player in the league. So Aaron, there's no comp for Aaron Donald retiring. So you could say, what about John Elway?

But John Elway's last year, he missed four games. He was getting old. He was way past his peak. still really good, but he missed four games. And Terrell Davis was the MVP, not only of the Broncos, of the league. You could say Barry Sanders, but the organization was a clown show. They were five and eleven. There is no recent comp for a guy like Aaron Donald retiring, where he is still the best

by a mile at his position. He just dominated and won a Super Bowl, and the organization is great. The culture is great. There is no comp for that. Elway was older, missing games. Barry Sanders left allows the organization. So I don't really buy into Aaron Donald retiring. The only comp in the history of football that even you could line it up with that is Jim Brown,

who was, I didn't see him play. He's obviously a legend, but Jim Brown was great and quit. And that's just, and by the way, they weren't making what they were making. He went into acting eventually. At this point, now I think here's the issue with it. It's contractual. So T.J. Watt makes about 20% more, and he's great too. T.J. is great. He makes 20% more than Aaron Donald does. And Aaron just won the Super Bowl and is just as dominating. But the other thing is in real cash, in terms of real cash next year, T.J. Watt's going to make $24 million in Aaron Donald 14. And Aaron Donald's a more dominating player, is winning Super Bowls and dominating playoff games. So now Aaron's got three years left on his deal. He's not, poorly paid. I don't think he's unfairly paid. I think he's top of the market,

but there's that one guy in Pittsburgh that's got a new deal. And I think with Aaron Donald and Sean McVeigh is, there's only, as good as the Rams are, there's like three, there's only on the Rams, there's only four I've got to have. I'd move everybody else. You got to have McVeigh, you got to have Donald, you got to have Stafford, and you got to have Cooper Cup. This is a salary Cap League. Everybody else. Now, I want the center, Alan back. I want Von Miller back.

I'm not saying, but Darius Williams, Corner. Didn't have a great year. Jalen Ramsey. Could we draft another? I mean, I like Jalen, and he's great, but he's a high risk taker. He didn't always have a great playoff.

And not saying he's not great. But every organization, I would include the GM less need. I think he's really good. Give me the GM, give me the coach, give me the quarterback, give me Aaron, give me Cooper Cup. At that point, I could move off people.

Wouldn't like it. I mean, I think Vaughn Miller was almost a revelation. I never thought he would be that good. OBJ never thought he would be that good. But again, when you win the championship, you know, Tampa brought everybody back and they were kind of apathetic at the end of the year. Philadelphia in 2017 brought 17 to 22 starters back and they eroded. Like, you've got to make big heart.

decisions, there's only five I got to have and stand cronky to me. It's got to rip up some contracts and write new ones. 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. Hey, it's Ben

host of the fifth hour with Ben Mallor along with my trusty sidekick, David Gascon, would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking what in God's name is the fifth hour? I'll tell you, it's a spinoff of the Ben Mallor show, a cult hit over nights on FSR. Why

should you listen? Picture if you will a world when we chat with captains of industry in media, sports and more every week explore some amazing facts about human nature and more. Listen to the fifth hour with Ben Mather on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an

Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the

iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-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 a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so 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. Manscape launched their ultra-premium collections. All in one skin and hair care kit got you covered, head the toe, 20% off free shipping, Manscape. code heard. Joe Varden's a senior NBA writer for the athletic and a very good one.

Good follow. Joe and Jason Lloyd's athletic article came out today where they rated the top 75 players of all time. Okay. So you got MJ1, LeBron, too. I actually am interested in who number three is. In your top 75 of all time, all the data, is it Kareem? It is Kareem. It is. Oh, all right. Indeed it is. Bill Russell for Magic Johnson 5. Let's see.

Yeah. I don't have any big. You know, it's funny about Kareem. I think we forget how well he aged. People forget he was a dominant player, year 15, very much like LeBron. You know, I grew up with LeBriene. I remember I used to imitate his skyhook in my backyard. People forget, was it an easy pick for Kareem 3?

Because I look at him as a notch above Russell. Yeah, for me it was. You know, we had a bunch of voters. I don't know if I can't remember how. many, but maybe as many as 30 voters. And for me, I actually voted LeBron one, but I'm not one of those guys who will, you know, go on the hill and die for that. I'll accept Michael as one.

I voted LeBron. Kareem was no problem for me at three, all-time leading score, surrounded by a lot of great players later in his career for sure. Bill Russell, you know, I think it's harder for someone like me to know everything about him because he played so long ago. I never saw him play, of course. But you just consider the winning and the way he won.

And most dominant player of his era, I think he's got to be in the top five. And Magic is another one pretty easy. Number six, for our whole poll was Larry Berg. I actually voted Kobe. So I think that was probably the vote where I

was the most different than the rest of my colleagues. Yeah. No, I wouldn't have a problem. Tim Duncan would be up there as well. I'm interested. What do you do with Steph Curry? So my argument with Steph is he's the best ball handler and shooter I've ever seen in professional basketball. That's got to put him way up there. But in a lot of lists, not that the three-point shot is quirky, but it is a fairly new analytic development over the last decade. And there are some, even among players, you know, he's not a physical player, doesn't have, you know, there's a lot

a pushback sometimes from other stars. Where does Steph end up on your list? So for me, I had him 13th, which was a little bit higher than some of my colleagues had him. I had to put him that high just because he is one of the few players to ever play who has changed the game at least how everybody plays. And so I had to go with that. I will push back on you on one thing, though. When it comes to ball handling, I've got Kyrie. You think Kyrie is a better ball handler? I do. Okay.

He's not a better shooter. Obviously, he's not a better, you know, teammate and some of the other, the intangibles to go into it. But Kyrie is the player who I have most enjoyed watching with the ball. All right. Fair enough. So I want to ask you about three NBA questions. Let's do Hardin Simmons. I think it's much easier to bring James Hardin, a great player when he's engaged than it usually is.

into a good chemistry with a great center, with a very veteran coach. I think it's hard to ask Brooklyn to make all this stuff work. That's a lot of moving parts at the All-Star break. I think Philadelphia is going to be a better team really quickly. That is my takeaway on the Harden Simmons move. Am I way off? How do you feel about it? I feel really good about both teams.

I know that's a cop-out. But when I look at Brooklyn, with Ben Simmons, if we take away everything that's happened going back to mid-year. July. He does a lot of things that they haven't had in years. And he's actually a better compliment to Kevin Durant and even Kyrie Irving when Kyrie's out there because he will distribute. He doesn't need the ball in his hands as far as scoring goes. And he defends. He defends at an all NBA level. James doesn't do two of those things. And he's a great player. But his game was too similar to Kyrie's and that was one of the uh like there was some friction there because of that so

I do like Brooklyn uh however um I think Philly is super long I think that Joelle and Bede is playing obviously at a or at an MVP level and if James comes in and he's motivated and he stays healthy yeah I mean for sure I mean I think that trade probably made those two teams you know the top two in the east Zion, second surgery needed. You know, juxtaposed next to John Morant, you could argue he's a bust, but he was remarkable when he did play. It was breaking wiltz scoring efficiency records. Is there a feeling around the league? This isn't going to work.

He can't stay healthy. Weight issue, health issue. It's a bust. Yeah, I think there's two discussions here. There's one, is he going to work at all? He's been too heavy for too long. he is now officially injury prone. And then when he has played, like you said, yes, he wildly efficient.

But there was also some maturity concerns. And they stretch all the way back to his rookie year and in the bubble and things of that nature. So then the second thing is, what do the pelicans do about this? I mean, it's pretty clear that he's either lukewarm about New Orleans or thinking about New York or interested. I mean, the fact that he's doing all of this rehab away from the city of New Orleans, I mean, to me, calls into question what he said last year about how I love New Orleans, at least love the city. And so I don't know what Griff does.

I don't know what he can get for him this summer, but, you know, Zion's got another year left before his restricted free agency comes to fruition. And I think this is probably something the Pelicans think about. I've argued this before the injuries. I think you got a title out of AD, I'd move him. I just think if you look at his history, he's not a leader. They won in a bubble where the pandemic gave a brittle AD three and a half months off. He doesn't stay healthy.

You did get a title. The Lakers standard is pretty high. They're ninth in the West. It's an old roster that doesn't shoot threes particularly well. If I said to you, AD in two years, do you think they'd consider moving him at this point and starting over? You know, I've heard you say that, and I've heard it elsewhere. And when you guys said these things, the first time I was just shaking my head, like, ah, this is not the Laker plan.

The Laker plan is for AD to be the future. And LeBron to kind of ride off into the sunset as the ultimate wingman. But you guys are right. That's not happening. It doesn't happen. Anthony has proven to be injury prone, as we all know. And there's also some question of if he can be. that alpha player.

He hasn't really shown him that. So again, it's a question of if you're going to trade however many time All-Star this guy is, a champion as this guy is, what are you getting back for him? Because LeBron and Russ Westbrook, who you're saddled with contract-wise, that's not a championship roster either, whereas LeBron and AD, they were. So if it's me without having done the legwork and the homework on this, I still think that it's LeBron and AD together. But I have to concede that given the salary structure of all three guys and the injury history of Anthony, that, yeah, this is something they're going to think about. Okay, so I want you to go read Joe Varden's piece in The Athletic.

They have a story about LeBron's old apartment in Akron. We know he has a house there, but his old apartment. It's a fascinating story. read it. Go read Joe Varden's also top 75 list. He did with Jason Lloyd. Good stuff. Love having you on again, my man. And look at that bookshelf. He reads books, folks. Look at

this guy. He is studying and reading books every chance he gets. Good seeing you, Joe. Thanks for having me, Colin. Yeah, I think, so he had Steph Curry 13th all time. I'd probably have him higher than that. I love Steph Curry. There's just something about, I just have,

he's like an inventor. He created a new way to play basketball basketball. Literally change high school, AU, college, pro basketball. That to me, that influence is staggering. Weather's looking nasty, don't change your plans, change your wiper blades. Michelin wiper blades, available now at Walmart. Hour three, Phil Sims, are on the corner next.

Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Side Up. help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This speech is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having him 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, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes.

Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tantons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.