The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 2 - Ross

Episode Date: February 3, 2022

There's so much fake outage in sports but some times you should be upsetThe Stephen Ross story is hugeGuest: Greg Cosell Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Jim Harbaugh is going back to Michigan. Joy Taylor's joining me. So Joy and I, she loves the Miami Hurricanes. I'm a U.S.E. Trojan fan. When it comes to pro sports, I really don't have a rooting interest. I was always a Brady fan or a LeBron fan or a Michael Jordan fan. But in college, I grew up in the Pacific Northwest. My teams went to the tank.

And I always had a fascination with Los Angeles, even as a kid in the Pacific Northwest. I didn't resent them. I was fascinated by them. I now live here. I love the USC Trojan Street. It loves Miami. So we root for college football power. We want, Joy and I, I think I can speak for Joy here.

We want Miami to be good, and USC to be good, in Alabama to be good, in Notre Dame. We want more stories. Joy and I are in the story business. Correct. That's the business we're in. I mean, we are journalists too. But we are overwhelmingly, Joy and I come into work every morning looking for stories. Yes.

We don't cover everything. We're not a newspaper. And Jim Harbaugh is going to go back to college, but I think eventually he'll leave to the NFL. So just think about this in college football. Right now, there is more control over personnel in the pros working with millionaires than 19-year-olds in college. There's no guardrails on any of this transfer portal stuff. Think about this. Oklahoma, a top five program ever lost a coach to USC.

Notre Dame, a top five coach ever, lost a coach to LSU. Michigan's coach on signing day was interviewing for an NFL coach. The sport now is getting very transactional. And I love that Lincoln Riley is now in my backyard because I think he's great and Oklahoma's going to be fine because they're Oklahoma. But the best offensive coach in college football and the best young quarterback in a month both just left. You're not going to have Sean McVeigh and Matt Stafford be on the Ravens in three weeks.

And I'm not against coaches and players moving. I am not. I'm not that guy. But I want you to think about this. I've never talked more NFL than I do now. Nobody complains about it. And there's a lot of reasons. But one of the reasons is the lack of mobility.

I talked a lot more NFL. NBA when you had the Shaq and Kobe Lakers or the Healds or KD Steff Warriors. Because those were stories and there were repetitive stories that built just like marketing. So every year you'd be like, oh, could Shaq and Kobe win another? Can Michael Jordan beat the pistons? Can Magic beat the bird? Can Bird beat Magic? Continuing stories.

Not saying players didn't have the right to move, but those are stories that I get deeply invested in. Deeply. Now in the NFL, I can't wait to watch Burrow beat Mahomes twice this year. I want to see him again. Mahomes beat Josh Allen. Can't wait to see him again. So transactions are important. But if you become too transactional, I have nothing repetitively to root for. Don't you want to see Michigan go back to Ohio State next year?

Harbaugh against Ryan Day, Stroud again against the same quarterbacks. like, oh, I can't wait for that game. Because now Ohio State knows they can lose. In college basketball, you'd never have that game. All the do-gooders in the media, oh, players, players, it's all about the players. College basketball's dead. The Christian Leitner, Bobby Hurley, playing North Carolina, a second year, a third year. You couldn't wait for it.

The sport now college basketball is so transactional, there's no story from one year to the next I care about. It's hurting the NBA. Players now move so freely. What's the best story in the NBA? I mean, the Warriors are fun to watch. So is Phoenix. And Milwaukee's excellent. Too many players moving, nothing you can get your arms around.

And I don't want that to happen to college football. I like players having the right to move. But I want some guardrails. Right? So you get to a point now where Lincoln Riley talked about it yesterday. And he just had a great transfer portal. USC went and got 12 players, nine or 10 will start. It was a great benefit to USC, but Lincoln Riley's acknowledging, guys, you know, in season,

we can't compromise our rosters week to week. It's going to drive you crazy. It's just too much movement. So a lot of the media do-goaters go out and it's always pro player, pro player. Folks, do you know what pays for everything in college sports in America? Two things. Football and March Madness. And what is March Madness?

Structure. That March Madness, the women's March Madness, and the men's March Madness, pay for the women's tennis team that loses money every serve. For the men's golf team that loses money every swing. Structure. Filled stadiums, football, paying a coach $10 million, structure, March Madness, Women's March Madness, Men's Marathon. Yeah, business matters too.

It'd be great if we could just pay all these high schoolers and everybody. It's not the way the world works. No 21-year-old attorney makes what a 62-year-old attorney who's a partner offer makes. There is a resume. There is a structure to stuff. Structure's good. What if I came here one day and I did a cooking show? And the next day, Joy Night did a sports show. And the third day, we did a show on fishing. A show wouldn't be very good. We do sports every day, a lot of NFL. We have a very tight structure. Bottom of each hour, Joy comes in for heard line news. Top of each hour, I've got a ramp. Thursday is Greg Kosell. Monday, Colin Wright, Wrong. Highest rated segments. Why? Predictable.

Stories. You're used to them. I look at every segment, every week. The structure always gets a rating. My highest rate at Blazing 5. Colin Wright, Heard hierarchy, Greg CoSell, same time, every week. Predictable. You come back. You have an emotional attachment to it. Do we want college football to be college basketball?

College basketball is dead. Arguably 25 years ago, it was as big as the NBA, pre-Magg, probably 30 years ago, whenever Magic got in here. College basketball to me, I would watch Biggie's basketball over the NBA. Now, outside of Gonzaga and maybe Duke, I watched Kentucky, Kansas for 45 minutes the other day. Didn't know any of the players. That's not good for business. That's not good for sports.

And by the way, the business part of college, the packed football stadiums and March Madness, pays for all the other sports that hemorrhage money. So you can listen to all these media do-goaters that pay the players, and they all deserve to be. Very few players deserve big money. Caleb Williams, USC should make a million dollars. Bryce Young, Alabama should make a million dollars. There's a handful of great quarterbacks and great players. I saw there's a couple of ladies that play softball, I think, for Fresno State. They're very marketable.

They're very fun. Pay them. I got nothing against it. But this idea that structure is bad, college football needs to get its act together. College sports needs to get its act together because what pays for everything is structure. And I don't want to see a 19-year-old. I mean, Nick Saban, thank God, came out yesterday. And Nick Saban said, I draw the line.

it using NIL to just buy high school players. I'm not going to do that, nor should he. This was Lincoln Riley yesterday, acknowledging he benefited from the transfer portal. And he admitted it's the Wild Wild West. It's changed, you know, really the way that college football operates. And I think at some point we'll have to put in some guardrails, some ways to got to ensure when this can happen, when it can't happen, so that players staves, all that are a little bit more on the same page.

Right now, it's so open-ended that it's, I think, difficult. I think it's difficult for players, difficult for coaches, difficult to build rosters. You try to project to the future. If you don't see the value of Brady and Manning for 15 years going back and forth at each other, if you don't get that, I can't help you. I like that. I'm not saying college football has to be the NFL. Obviously, you know, kids have four years of LAT,

eligibility or if they redshirt five, but I don't want college football to become college basketball. Where it's all about benefiting the player, it's one and done. They use college basketball like a tarmac at an airport. Oh, when's the next flight? I'm out. Boom. That's no good.

In my 25 years doing this, college basketball is a topic one day a year. I used to talk about it more than the NBA 30 years ago when I started this thing. And with that Greg Kosell, who we talk to every Thursday at this time, 42 years NFL films. All right. There's my rant, blah, blah, blah. Okay. I liked it. I liked it a lot. All right. So we're going to do a little different.

We're going to start for about five minutes on something. Then we're going to get into our NFL stuff. Okay. So we are now transitioning out of the NFL season into free agency, into the combine, into the draft. And I do not think it's a great draft for quarterbacks, but there are three that I believe will go in the first round. And I want to discuss them. the first one, and I want you to talk about the kid from Liberty, Malik Willis. Now, I've seen him only on YouTube.

YouTube. I worry that he's more runner than thrower at times. He likes to get out. My question becomes, and it's always been Lamar Jackson, can you go to a second read, a third read, a fourth read? Are you willing to? Not that you can't, but are you willing to because you succeed so much with your feet? Tell me what you see on tape from Malik Willis.

Well, he's the classic example. of a traits quarterback versus a quarterback that really is not proficient at all yet in the nuances, the details, the disciplines of the position. So you have to decide if you're going to draft him, where are you going to draft him, how you coach him, what kind of system he's in. I mean, he'll begin his career as an arm strength and athletic dual threat playmaking quarterback, but he will have a fairly steep learning curve. So the question is whether, that run-game dimension, both designed and secondary action, can compensate for and camouflage for his deficiencies and limitations.

He's a very good pure thrower. He's got a really good arm. He comes into the NFL as a better pure thrower than Lamar Jackson, than Jalen Hertz. He's nowhere near his big as Trey Lance, and Trey Lance at North Dakota State ran a much more detailed college offense. So really, the paradigm for Willis, Colin, is raw talent versus. is refinement, nuanced discipline. That's the paradigm.

Where do you stand, where you fall on that, will determine how you see him. Okay, let's go to who I think is the one I've seen the most of. Kenny Pickett, he's got the size, he's a big kid, he moves pretty well, here's my knock on him. He can be very loose, he can be very casual. Yeah. There's just, and I'm not sure you can coach that out of him.

I saw that with Drew Locke. It was always my turn-off with Drew Locke. He's too casual. He looks too loose. When I see Brady throw, when I see a lot of that Justin Herbert throw or Burrow, it's compact, it's tight. There's not a casual nature to it. Even when Burroughs moving, I feel like he's got his feet set. So, Kenny Pickett, what do you see you like?

What worries you? Yeah. And it's funny you say that because there were probably too many snaps when I watched his tape in which he broke down, left the pocket when he did not need to, being a little overreactive to pressure, left some clean throws on the field. but he also played in a college offense that you saw the traits needed to play in the league. He has vision. He was a progression reader. There were full field reading concepts because it was Mark Whipple who came from the NFL. He has timing.

He has anticipation. He throws with precise ball placement. He's got athleticism and mobility to make secondary action plays. I think he can be really efficient as an executor and ball distributor. He's got to clean up a couple of the things I mentioned. but, you know, just from what I've seen so far, and by the way, I've seen every quarterback through his 2020 tape. I've seen three with their 2021 tape. So I'm obviously working through the process now.

But to me, Kenny Pickett has what it takes to be a quality starter in the league because he has the traits and he has an understanding of full field reading concepts, full field routes, just needs to clean up some things. What you described is looseness and casualness. I would talk about more as breaking the pocket when he doesn't need to. All right. The third guy that's a pretty easy figure for me. I've seen a little bit of them on YouTube, a little game is Carson Strong, Nevada. Big kid, big arm. You know, he's not going to move around in the pocket much.

No. He's got an NFL arm probably in high school. But I just don't know if he, in this more mobile world, I think he would need the right coach. I don't see, you know, I mean, like big arm, not moving much. so he's an NFL arm, but what do you make of it? Well, yeah, and he does have a good arm. I don't think his arm is a power arm in the sense of, let's say, a Matthew Stafford, but he certainly has an NFL arm.

So he's kind of old school. His game's built on beating you from the pocket. He doesn't really have any significant or game-changing movement ability. So the question with him becomes, where's the balance between his pocket-throwing ability, which would be considered higher level, and his lack of movement trades both in and outside the pocket. He's going to have to be protected really well.

Yes. I mean, he's a better thrower, let's say, than Kyle Trask coming out of Florida a year ago, but in some ways they're similar. So in today's NFL, how do you feel about a quarterback that can't really move and is a little heavy even within the pocket? Yes. Yeah, I don't feel great. The first two quarterbacks, I think are much more NFL ready or NFL ceiling is pretty apparent.

me. All right, let's go. Before we get into breaking down stuff last week, Tom Brady, you covered him for 20, 22 years. So half of your career is covering Tom Brady. Is there anything to you that you look at, wrap a bow and go, here's what's remarkable about Brady? Well, I would say his ability over the course of his career to consistently adapt to new receivers, to different parts of the playbook. Don't forget, he was in New England. If you speak to Charlie Weiss, he'll tell you for the first couple of years that he was really a complimentary play. Then he developed into more of the lead player. Then they bring in Randy Moss.

And I remember having this conversation with Josh McDaniel. They changed the playbook a bit because having Randy Moss meant they could do different things. Then obviously Moss is gone. They go back to playing a different way. Then he goes to Tampa later in his career when you would think it would not be possible to really start over in some ways. And he was able to do that. And I would say the one thing that stood, two things really stood out to me about Brady. Number one, his ability to win before the snap of the ball, which I think is really critical in today's NFL,

and number two, his ability to be so, so efficient, and we just spoke about this with the college quarterbacks, without having any second reaction movement ability. Now, he was a master at moving within the pocket, and that's a really important trait, but he was not going to make plays truly outside the structure of the offense. So his pre-snap ability, Colin, and his ability to be so masterful and so good without making plays outside the structure of the offense, those two things really stand out to me. All right. Bingles upset the Chiefs. First, what did you make? Let's dive into it of Joe Burroughs performance Sunday. You know, it's funny you say that. I don't think their offense was great in that game. I mean, obviously Burrow made four critical second reaction runs on third down, which allowed them to be eight for 14 on third down. But I don't think their offense in that game was great.

I think that it was their defense and the chief's offense not functioning well that really led them to victory. They're a team that wants to run the ball. I mean, even when they were behind, Colin, they kept running the ball. Mixon had 21 carries. 16 came on first down. Mixon had the most first down carries of any back in the NFL in the NFL in the regular season. This is a team that wants to line up and run the ball and that has to run the ball

because they can't protect well enough to throw it by choice 45 times unless the game truly demands that. Bingle shut down Patrick Mahomes. I said he clearly body language, he cooled off in the second half. I thought it was now maybe it may have been the film says it's more defense. What did you make a Mahom's second half and overtime? Well, yeah, they made a defensive adjustment. What happened in the first half is the Bengals played predominantly zone coverage, and they play predominantly out of a two deep shell, two safeties deep. In the third quarter, the adjustment they made is they came out, they played more man coverage, and they essentially brought Von Bell down as a robber in the middle of the field. And there's a number of routes that the chiefs run where the robber really takes away those routes. The other thing they did, this they did throughout the game, but it became more evident in the second half was they used to spy on,

Holmes. It was either Logan Wilson, the linebacker, or Sam Hubbard, the defensive end. And at times, they rushed three and dropped eight. Now, to me, Colin, just my opinion, I've seen a lot of football along, as you know, and Mahomes is a great player, and Andy Reid's been doing this a long time. I was surprised that it caused such an issue for Mahomes and the Chiefs. But Mahomes, as you and I have discussed, he walks a fine line at times between his movement being controlled. and calculated and then very good versus undisciplined and random. And in this game, his movement started to become undisciplined and random. All right, let's go to Niners, very competitive loss to the Rams.

Garapolo, I thought it was a perfect ending of Garapolo in San Francisco. Good enough to get you into big games. You always question how much he can do. If things are not working, the running games not there, can he elevate you? And most of the time, the answer is no, although I do like him more than. most. What are the tapes say against the Rams and Garapolo? And I think he did not have a great game. And the interception at the end is not the reason. There were three or four plays in this game where the scheme presented a clean throw for Garapolo.

And for whatever reason, Colin, he just did not turn it loose. I can't tell you why he didn't turn it loose. Only he can. But those plays in that kind of game, a close, hard fought game, those were critical plays. It was one of the first times this year where the Niners run game was not a factor. They missed a lot of one-on-one individual blocks. Trent Williams did. I'm sure his ankle was an issue, but you rarely see him miss one-on-one blocks. Kittle missed a few one-on-one blocks.

They had a few assignment errors in the run game. The Niners cannot beat you. I shouldn't say they cannot beat you. They certainly could have won this game. But it's not Niners football when they're not control. the pace and tempo of the game, and they only ran 50 offensive plays. They did not out physical the Rams defensive front in this game. Yeah, and let's talk about that.

You know, it's really interesting. The Titans defensive front, to me, is more of a power front. They overwhelm the Bengals got nine sacks. So the Bengals' offensive line will now face the Rams defensive front. Not that it can't be a power front with Aaron Donald, but it's very twitchy. It's very athletic. It's very quick. It will present a different problem for the Bengals' O line.

Was that athleticism on display against the Niners or was it the power of the Rams defensive front? It was actually the power because there's two players who never get spoken about it. You're obviously mentioned Donald and then you're speaking, of course, of Miller and Floyd. But there's two players on that front who are really, really good players. They provide the power, and that's Greg Gaines and A. Sean Robinson. Both of them have played extremely well down the stretch. Gaines doesn't come off the field. I'm sure you're very familiar with games.

It came out of U-Dub. Yeah. You know, most people just saw him as a, as kind of a run stuffer. Yeah. He plays almost every snap. He's in there when they rush the quarterback. So he's got much lighter feet than people might think. And he's played extremely well.

And the other player who played really well this week, you know, he may be less of a factor. Oh, no, he probably won't be less of a factor because the Bengals want to run the ball. But Eric Weddell, he's played every snap but two the last two weeks. And he is really, really good as an add-in defender in the run game. He understands where to fill in the run game. Eric Well, it's just amazing. We've got to get him on the show. He's amazing.

All right. Matt Stafford's performance. It's your play of the week. So let's go into that. Yeah. And it was a third down play. And he was phenomenal on third down in this game. They faced some man coverage on third down.

They face some zone coverage. And Stafford just saw things really clearly. And he threw the ball accurately. So the play will show here was the 11-yard touchdown to Cooper Cup. So we can show that play. now. When people saw it on TV, it probably looked like it was manned coverage just the way it played out, but it was not man coverage. So we'll get to the details here as we see Cooper Cup catch this ball in the left end zone here. And one thing to notice is the empty set.

Rams were an empty more than any team in the NFL this year. And let's look to the left side of the formation. It's a bunch set. And Cooper Cup was the inside receiver in the bunch. Now look at the 49ers. They appear to be playing man coverage. looks like they're matching up, but it's really zone. It's going to become what we call cover four. Now, Blant will run vertically, so he takes Mosley out of there. Mosley has to play him. Jimmy Ward's actually the safety in cover four, and he has to react to two vertical. That's Jefferson. And then Cups going to run the wheel route. And the only player who can play him, which is why it looks like, man, is the slot corner of Kowan Williams.

And Williams has his eyes in the backfield for whatever reason, and Cup gets on top of him. But this was not man coverage. It was actually his own, but he's got to run with the wheel and Cup gets on top of him and Stafford makes a really good throw. As I mentioned, third down was critical in this game. Stafford, of those 10 completions on third down, two were for touchdowns, including this one. When you watch that play, how do you defend it? You have to just blow up the offensive line for the Rams. That is a really tough play to defend. Greg Cosell, 42 years. It's great hearing from you, my friend.

Thanks, Con. Appreciate it. Good stuff. Get smarter every time. Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the I-Hard 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 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

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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, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah.

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness, this month. I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the middle health field and conversations

with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Sunday, a storied venue that's seen everything,

has never seen anything like this. Ascar comes to the Los Angeles Coliseum for the very first Bush-light clash at the Coliseum Sunday. Coverage begins at 5 Eastern only on Fox. It's good to have stuff on Greg CoSell. So excited for it. Those college kids, I don't think it's a great quarterback class, but I do think two of them, the kid from Liberty and the kid from Pittsburgh, I do think those are first-round quarterbacks. But it's just a year we have two instead of having five.

We've gotten into this trend. Like next year, if you look a year away, we're back to the four and five. guys in the first round. But it's just the way it's going to be for this year. It's not a great draft in terms of absolute lock guaranteed players. The best player on tape is a left tackle, then an edge rusher, then probably a center from Iowa, which by the way, everybody needs those positions, but it's not going to be a star-studded draft, and I love the draft as much as last year or next year. Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

Well, Mike McCarthy will be the Cowboys head coach next season, but Jerry Jones said that Dan Quinn is certainly qualified to fill the position. He's the most sought after coach out there. Would we all agree on that? I'd like to think that me opinion that he could have been a head coach, that everybody would say, now, by the way, that doesn't take much of a reach because he's the most active one in being interviewed. And so the point is that he could have been a head coach. In my mind, there's no doubt that he could have been. He also said the McCarthy shouldn't be upset with his comments and added Mike's good in his skin. Mike knows that someday somebody other than him will be the coach of the Cowboys. Quinn interviewed with the Broncos, Giants, Bears, and Minnesota Vikings. And he turned down an interview with the Jaguars.

Obviously, he is staying there in Dallas under Mike McCarthy as the Dallas defensive coordinator, which I think is amazing news for Dallas. I don't know that I would have stuck with Mike McCarthy again this year, but I don't know that Dan Quinn would have been the answer either. Generally in the media, you love the Cowboys, Skip Bayless, or you hate them, like, you know, Stephen A. Like, I always feel like I'm right in the middle. I always think they're going to be pretty good.

Yeah, I'm done being full by the Cowboys. Yeah, but I don't think they're special. And I think it's going to be a, and I think Stephen Jones has done a good job. I think it's going to be a particularly interesting year. Zeeke on many Sundays is not your best running back and you're paying him a ton. You may not want to pay Amari Cooper that, but if you lose Michael Gallup because of the injury and the tight end, you have to have Amari Cooper. And we also know Dak without Amari and Zeke, or I should say Amari in 100 yards rushing,

can struggle. You also have a left tackle that's great, but he's getting up there and he's not as, he's the Anthony Davis. Great when he plays Tyron Smith, does know his play. So I think they're going to have to last year. There was a lot of defense in their draft. It was very much a defense draft. I think the Cowboys have to go.

They got to go to get a tackle. They got to draft the running back. I think they have to draft another receiver. I think it's going to be an offensive draft for the Cowboys, and I can't wait for it. And it should be because their defense was great this year. Yep. They were seventh and scoring defense, 19th in total defense, number one in takeaways, number two and third down.

And two of their most talented, you're not paying yet. So you can, I mean, like Micah Parsons and Trayvon Diggs are great players. DeMarcus is a good player. is a good player who you're paying a lot to. But you need to make, right now, your offense is getting older, less efficient, and expensive. And you're locked into DAC. So you've got to go to the draft and find some players like your defensive stars. Because to me, I think you move off Zeke.

I'm just done buying into the Cowboys. You are done. I'm done. You're not even cynical. No, I'm just done. Like they won their division. So they're going to probably win their division again next year because Giants are running it back with Daniel Jones.

Philadelphia did a nice job. Maybe they improve a little bit, so they'll give them a push for the division. Washington doesn't have a quarterback. So they'll probably win the division or make the playoffs, and then they'll lose in the first round and we'll have the same conversation again and again. When you continue to do the same things, which is what Dallas has done. Now, they did make a move on the defensive side of the ball with Dan Quinn, which obviously paid off.

And he's an incredible defensive coach and has improved the defense tremendously, which was a huge problem for them last year. but the head coaching position and what you do to score points in this league and what you do situationally is very important and that's why their season ended. So we'll see. But I've seen this story with the Cowboys.

I read this book. And that's probably what's going to end up having next year. So Tom Brady announced his retirement on Tuesday. And as you mentioned earlier in the show, everyone was very upset that the Patriots were not mentioned. So ridiculous. Where's Bill Bellojack? You know, the reaction to,

the reaction to Tom Brady's retirement announcement is why I wonder sometimes why anyone takes themselves seriously. Like you just, you saw that. And rather than just taking the time to process Tom Brady's retirement, you immediately started picking apart his retirement announcement and paying attention to who he didn't notice. Like it's some like breadcrumb situation to what kind of animosity he has towards it. Like guys. a hobby is all I suggest. Like just an additional thing to do in your day. Because this is insane.

Patriots for a great orange, Tom squeezed every bit of juice out of it and moved on to the next piece of beautiful fruit. But also, it just said, like, everything isn't something. Like, I get it. We're in the story business. We're always looking for stuff. Yeah.

But like at one point or another, it's not stuff. It's just his retirement announcement. Well, anyway, Bill Belichick did release his statements, complimenting his longtime quarterback. He said, I am privileged to have drafted in coach Tom Brady, the ultimate competitor and winner, Tom's humble beginning in professional football

ultimately ended him with him becoming the best player in NFL history. He said it. He said it. Oh my gosh. Tom consistently performed at the highest level against competition that always made him the number one player to stop. His pursuit of excellence was inspirational. It was so important for so many people.

For Belichick to acknowledge that, who cares if he didn't? Tom's the goat. You don't need validation from anybody. Tom was professional on and off the field, carried himself with class, integrity, and kindness. and I thank Tom for his relentless pursuit of excellence and positive impact on me in the New England Patriots for 20 years. Brady responded last night with the post on his Instagram story.

Thank you, Coach Belichick. I appreciate being coached by you, the greatest coach in NFL history. Heart, heart, heart, heart. And both are true. Belichick's the best coach. Right now, I think he is. I do think it's significant that Belichick said this because for the longest time, he's always said that Lawrence Taylor was the best player in NFL history.

No, Tom was much more disciplined and Tom played much longer. and much higher standard. Well, look, I mean, people have preferences on, you know, what position they like, and, you know, people say Jerry Rice is a goat or Lawrence Taylor and there's, you know, lots of other, of course,

incredible all-time greats. That's what we have a Hall of Fame for. But at one point or another, Tom rose above the rest. Like, he is the greatest player in NFL history. He plays the most important position. He did it at the highest level

for the longest amount of time. He's the most decorated. You play to win Super Bowls. He has the most of them. And that's not the only reason because everyone wants to start talking about all the other Super Bowls, everyone won. He has more Super Bowls than any NFL franchise. At one point in another, that does play a role in it as well.

Yeah, I mean, it should be noted that there's an argument to be made whether it's true or not that LeBron's the greatest player or not Michael. Joe Montana has four Super Bowls and there's no argument to be made. Brady's the greatest. You can't get into the argument with Wayne Gretzky and Brady. As great as Michael was, because he retired twice. there's an argument to be made that LeBron has been greater, longer, and done more things at a high level, and won in

multiple cities. You can't even argue that with Brady. And Montana's got four Super Bowls. It was the MVP and three of them. Yeah, people are going to continue to argue LeBron and Michael for the end of time. You can't argue Tom Brady. You're just trying to have an argument.

Like, you're just trying to prove that you're different. Like, Tom is the best. It's okay. We can put him in a different category, and then we can discuss everybody else. And for that matter, I think everyone I think to a player, you would ask them, everyone would agree that he's the best. If you as players, most of them are going to tell you. They have voted him the best player. Like, I don't know, the NFL network or something does that poll.

They voted him for years before he'd won in Tampa. So the Rams will get to play Super Bowl 56 in their home stadium. And COO, Kevin Demoff, thinks that the opportunity will give the team a boost of popularity among fans. I think it's an unprecedented opportunity for the loss. Angeles Rams. And when you get a chance to play in a Super Bowl, that always helps wins hearts and minds. When you get a chance to host a Super Bowl, that obviously helps elevate your brand, the SoFi Stadium brand, the NFL in Los Angeles as a whole. When you combine those two, it's an unbelievably powerful mix to develop that next generation of fandom. The Rams are the second

consecutive team to host a Super Bowl that they're playing in. The Bucks did last season. I'll tell you this, their momentum in that facility and the power of the NFL and sports gambling, we bet on football, I feel like they're shrinking the Lakers. I don't feel like they're shrinking the Dodgers because the Dodgers are the summer sport in Los Angeles. They have an incredible history in L.A. They have a massive footprint. They're like a set. But the Lakers play when the Rams play.

NBA season's a late fall winter league. And now you go into, I really believe the rants. When I walk around my town now, I see a lot of Rams gear in the last 12 months, a lot. And my buddies are calling me all week asking me Rams questions. They're not asking me Lakers questions. I think between the magnificent stadium, the ability to gamble on it, that's only growing. It's not even legal yet in California. Wait until it is.

I think the Lakers, you know, the NBA's got a story problem. It's an old roster. There's some LeBron fatigue. He doesn't feel nearly as popular as like Shaq Kobe or Magic Word, nothing against LeBron. But I'm watching this Rams story develop. It will never, I think my guess is going forward, it's going to be a Rams Dodgers town and USC football as long as Lincoln Riley is around.

I just feel this Laker brand going up against them getting overwhelmed. Well, the NFL is just so massive now and continuing to grow. It's just this snowball effect that it has. I mean, you talked about the ratings for the game. What was it, two weeks ago here? It's like it's impossible to get local ratings like that. 66% of Los Angeles watched and the same thing. Well, also I think uniquely and not intentionally, but it is benefiting the NFL that because of the structure of the sport, it creates a massive amount of urgency.

And as we move into a less patient society, a more urgent society, a more distracted society, the more urgent the event, the more eyeballs you will get. Because we already know sports is the last thing. Sports and politics, elections are the last thing that people really watch live on television. Everything else is streamed on your own time, on your phone, in the car, on the train, wherever you are. So this is something you have.

It is appointment watching, which is the term we use in the business a lot. This is the last appointment watching is sports. NFL is so massive with the gambling and with the natural urgency that it has in the design of the sport. Yeah. Society is getting more distracted. If you do not present urgency, Monday through Friday viewing of sports in America is in trouble.

Sunday is not. Saturday college football is not. March madness will do well. It's urgent. It's once a year. The World Cup will do well. But those regular season baseball NBA hockey ratings. You have to feel like it's something you can't miss.

And that's just not the truth with most Monday through Friday viewing. Joy with the news. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio app. 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. Straightfire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports have. lines, 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 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 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 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 big. 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-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim?

Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick 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 I-Heart 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. Trip 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, Keer Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. 1-800flowers.com covered for Valentine's, 40 bucks for a 18-stem chanted rose medley, or 24 red roses, 10 bucks more. Go to 1-800 flowers, and on the code heard, offer expires Friday. So most of the time I say on this show, I think the media is overreacting to something.

I think the media tends to get too explosive, too hyperbolic on stories. I say sometimes I'm a cold take. I think overwhelmingly most stories, the outrage is dramatized. I just don't think there's that many things that happen in sports that are that big of a deal that compromise, you know, the sport. And then about once a year, I'm like, why are we not covering this? I remember the last time I thought this. There was a story about Ray Rice and Elevator and his girlfriend. And I read the story and I thought, this is egregious.

And I remember being at the other company and saying, does everybody understand how bad this sounds? then the video came out. And everybody went, oh, my God. Stephen Ross, the accusations against him, the owner of the dolphins, does everybody understand this? If a quarterback, because these guys make $30 million a year, right? If a quarterback, I won't even put anybody's name on it, offered a receiver $100,000 drop passes.

We're going to tank the game. It would be outrageous. And he's probably a 27-year-old kid with bad judgment. If a wide receiver was dropping for, footballs to tank a game for 100,000. Be outrageous out of the sport. If a coach told a player, hey, throw a peck, it would tear at the very fabric of the game. The coverage of Stephen Ross asking his coach to tank isn't getting enough coverage,

especially with the emerging sports gambling industry all over the country. it is you know the way it usually works is the more power you have in life the more responsible you should be right like like let's say I said a bad word on the air uh fox would get fined by the FCC coward said a bad word but if my bosses did something uh that was uh they're going to be held to a higher standard the fine would be much greater. If somebody above me in management or ownership did something, the FCC penalty would be much harsher than just a talk show host being an idiot.

When an owner is involved in a story like this, it is so outrageous, so egregious. To me, it rises to different stories clearly, but it rises to Donald Sterling step in, remove the owner. Now, I don't know that it's true. Stephen Ross is saying it's not true. But got to tell you, Jimmy Haslam was involved in a $92 million fraud scheme that he had to write checks for. I can't dismiss Hugh Jackson's claims. I'm not going to just dismiss them.

I'm willing to listen. If you're dismissing him, you're a Browns fan. But if you're a reasonable person, if you knew somebody that was involved in a massive five-year fraud scam, and he asked you to go in a car wash business, wouldn't you check him out of all? You'd be like, what happened in the previous business? You wouldn't dismiss that. I'm not dismissing anything. But if either is true, we need new owners in Cleveland and Miami.

Hour 3 next. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an 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 game. 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 Hardweight with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences,

having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what you're doing. doing how many men carry a suit or armor it signals to the world that you 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 iha 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 fourth 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 taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.