The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 3 - NFL news and stories

Episode Date: July 30, 2024

What should be the expectations of Caleb Williams this season? Thoughts on Tua Tagovailoa's big deal and if he can improve in cold weather What to make of the QB competition between Justin Fields and Russell Wilson   Guest: Eric ManginiSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On The Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me.

I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard,

but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific.

Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com, or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox SportsRourts. or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Two in Cleveland now, Fox Sports NFL analysts. Three Rings with the Patriots. Eric Mangini is joining us live from New York. Let's start with the Jets because we are in New York.

I've said this before. We've gone from 28 padded practices to 16 with the new CBA. And I've never talked more offensive lines in the last five years because there's so many bad ones and there's so few great ones. And so 16 padded practices, when you've got musical chairs and new guys, isn't a lot. Yesterday, the Jets offense was a mess. Go back to your years of the Jets and the Browns. First couple of days at camp, what do you make when you have just an absolute stinker?

Yeah, I look back at my notes and after my first year at the Jets, because we had a pretty bad practice early in training camp, and so I would keep notes on an Excel spreadsheet throughout the course of the season, and the next season go back, and I look at it, and we had another stinker, early in practice. It's part of the early process at camp. And what happens is you start to get a little bit fatigued. The defense is putting in more pressure packages, more blitzes, more looks, disguising. So the communication has to ramp up. And when you've got a new offensive line, they haven't worked together. You're subbing guys in and out. You're getting to know each other.

And now you're getting volume after volume of challenges from the defensive side. That leads the guys jumping off sides. It leads to the ball on the ground. Some sloppiness that's really frustrating, but not abnormal for the early part of practice. Yeah. The, you know,

you sort of look at Caleb Williams, and I like him. My knock on him was, at times in college, he could be moody. I saw that at Oregon State. He was very emotional and moody, which isn't the worst thing in the world

if you care about something. my second thing was sometimes there was a little ad lib component where I felt like he was just there was open stuff and he was out of structure and now yesterday he's talking about I don't believe in pressure and I'm like yeah boy good boy what are your early you're shaking your head what are your early opinions on what you see in here with Caleb look just because your drafted number one doesn't make you any more experienced than any other rookie and you don't have to have profound thoughts on every aspect of sports. You're going through this process and you're learning like everybody else. And that's my fear with Caleb as well, is he made so many of those wow plays in general, but then he made a bunch of wild plays

while he was outside of the pocket, when he was extending plays, when he was making something happen, which is great. But you have to understand that these guys now are faster, they close faster than they did in college, they anticipate better than they did in college,

they anticipate better than they did in college, and they hit harder than they did in college. So every time you're extending plays, you're putting yourself at risk. And if you're hurt, you can't help the team at all. So every play doesn't have to be a highlight play. He's got to make sure that he's not doing too much in order for him to be able to do the things that he wants to do.

And I feel like we have this discussion a lot, especially with mobile quarterbacks. They need to know how to slide. They need to know how to throw the ball away and live to fight another day. And guys, especially high draft picks, they want to just make plays, always make plays. And it's too risky at times. So you can have, when you go to camp, you can have two corners fighting it out for the slot corner. Or you can have, you know, two kickers fighting it out.

You kind of want to know your quarterback. If you go into camp and you're not sure, it's not great. So I've said the Pittsburgh thing, there's two components here. number one listen i'm just going off what i read and see russell's not exactly a unifier of a locker room whereas justin feels to the very end in chicago was loved by the players one of them's rich

one of them's viewed as a little inauthentic one of them is young one of the guys not paid much and by the way bigger faster and more athletic in his prime and i say to myself you can't lie to players and I bet you Justin Fields a hell of a practice player. Now, I'm not denying Russell's better today as a quarterback, but I'm saying to myself, when Russell gets hurt and dinged,

and here comes Justin taking first team snaps for two days, this feels like you get to a two-game losing streak in week four and five, and that locker room is not going to sit back when they like Justin more. Am I reaching here? Can you sense some of that potentially happening? No, I don't think you're reaching at all. what I love about this situation in Pittsburgh is they got both those guys for what Joe Flacco costs. Yeah.

Okay, so you've got two guys who've been talented who have had different levels of success, but success and can contribute things stylistically very differently, but can contribute in a meaningful way. My argument would be that you should have a package and play them both. There is no reason not to take advantage of Justin Field's skill set if he's not the starter. And Russell Wilson can bring a bunch of stuff to the table if he's not the starter. And I understand the argument if you don't have a quarter, you know, if you have multiple quarterbacks and you don't have any quarterback, that's true in a normal situation. But to use both guys put so much pressure on a defense, you have to prepare for each

guy's skill set. You only have a limited time in practice. It can be easy for Pittsburgh and hard on their opponents and you can get the benefit and the upside of both players. It's not traditional. It's not convincible. But there's been wildcat quarterbacks. There's been this pattern historically. I'm saying use it even more than small practice. Use it in big doses.

All right. So the players vote on the top 100. Now, I believe that an owner should own, a GMCGM, a coach, and a coach, and a player should play. But star players sometimes Aaron Rogers may say, want this guy, that guy, Brady says, get me gronk. I get it. All right, whatever. But I generally think it's hard enough to be a great coach. You know, it's hard. Andy Reid pretty much says, Brett Veach, you do it. I'm not, I'll give you my opinion. But, you know, I look at Brock Purdy.

Players voted him. Players. As the 28th best player in the league above golf, Stafford, Herbert, love, Burrow, Aaron Rogers. What do you make? I won't even have an opinion. What do you make of that? When it came out,

I actually thought this was a very positive thing for Brock Purdy in the sense that you're right. GM should be the GM, coach should be the coach right on down the line. But the fact that his peers feel this highly about him,

these are guys that played against them, These are guys that played with them. These are guys that watched them on tape when they were getting, you know, could be getting ready for someone else. So they've seen him. And for them to have that level of respect to place them above the guys that you listed, to me is significant. And I don't, I can't say definitively where Brock Purdy is.

And there's the argument that he's a function of the head coach, the players that are around them. And the organization, I don't think, really knows where Brock Purdy is either. but when your peers feel that strongly about you, that's pretty good praise. That's pretty high praise. Jay Mack and I got pushback yesterday. You were more fortuit than I was, Jay Mack,

but my take was he's the only high-paid quarterback with an asterisk, which is, yeah, you can't play him in cold, windy weather. Well, welcome to the AFC in January and February. The average AFC championship game, the last five years has been played in third. 33 degrees in wind. And so I would, forget the injuries. I would just strike, if he played in the NFC,

Detroit's good, San Francisco, L.A. You know, there's a lot of teams that are good that could play inside. But in the AFC, I mean, 50 degrees in undercoach, he's not even a backup. That's that's not on the end. That's below Tebow. Well, well, that's one component of it. So, so, and that's, that's real. The injury issue is real, and it's hard to take that out of the mix.

But he had the anti-Jordan-Love season last year. So they're 10-1 against teams that aren't in the playoffs. They're 1-6 against teams that are in the playoffs. They lose three out of their last five games. I think it's only the fourth time in NFL history, where a team had a three-game lead to win the division with five games to go, and have ended up losing the division. And then in his last three games, he throws five picks.

he's got a 70 quarterback rating and two 60s quarterback rating in the 60s and it's it's exactly the opposite of the trajectory of jordan love so that's a concern too yeah it's it's the cold weather it's the injuries and then last year down the stretch it it was not it wasn't only not very good it was bad down the stretch yep and then you add in the mirage of what the season was when you're 10 and 1 against non-playoff teams and you're 1 and 6 against playoff teams that that's that's a not what you'd think of for a big contract extension. Yeah. I mean, I think the standard in Green Bay is Super Bowls. I think the standard in Miami is non-chaos, because for 20 years, they watched the Patriots dominated, and now the last four, they've watched the bills dominate it, and what they want to be is viable. So I think Stephen Ross maybe looks at that, and I mean, am I nuts here? The standards are different in the NFL. I think Miami looks at it and thinks, we had Brady and we have Allen. Can we be a wild card?

team? Can we be fun to watch? I mean, it feels like that's what they're betting on, which is they won't be in chaos at quarterback. See, but I don't think so. I think Steve Morris wants to, he's tired of looking at the Patriots win. He's tired of looking at the Bills win, and they've done things to try to get it right. They go out and make a giant move with Tyree Kill and between the draft picks and the money. They poured money into that offense. They go and add OBJ this offseason. It's not like they haven't made moves to try to

take the division over. And look, they should have by all accounts won the division last season. I think if anything, Stephen Ross will do whatever it takes for them to win the Super Bowl. They just can't quite find the right formula. Eric Mangini. Good senior as always, coach.

Great seeing you, college. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, 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 ton-tons and wampas on the ice planet hot,

or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to bowl your mind on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast.

I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, J-Mack, with the news.

No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. You know, some of the smart producers. here know where your bread is buttered and that's Kyla Murray Cullen. You love this guy and when the Cardinals drafted him in 2019, they thought he was their ticket to the Super Bowl. He has not quite delivered for the organization yet. Zero playoff wins. But Kyler says he feels the urgency now more than ever. I'm not used to losing, you know, so I mean I know it's it sounds

cliche. It's been five years. It's going on six. So having won yet. So, yeah, since the urgency is definitely there. Since energy is definitely there. You never know when the game is taken away from you. You never know how long you're going to be playing. So my goal is to be the best. And that's, yeah, since I was four years old, that's my dream was to be a quarterback in the NFL, when Super Bowls.

And that's, you know, that's what I strive to do every single day. Mm-hmm. Like what I'm hearing from Kyler Murray. That's good. The commitment, the focus. Career quarterback record. I know record doesn't matter. 2836.

in one. There's eight games under 500. Well, yes, Noah's had the greatest support. Oh, here we go. So who we're going to blame now? Cliff Kingsbury, the offensive line, the skill position, we're just going to blame everybody except Kyla Murray, right? Well, one, you know, I think I have

I can see this. It's being special very quickly. Like, you either like a guy or you don't. You like Brock Purdy. I like Kyler Murray. I used to like Kyler Michael Murray. That playoff loss, that was like the beginning of the end. And then, you know, we talked about I heard. Maybe I'm a little more loyal than you are.

Loyalty. You bail on people faster than I do. Well, you kind of got to. Didn't you tell me like, hey, when something's not working, you got to bail. Isn't that your motto? Sometimes. Just not what it applies to Kyle. Listen, it's a big year for it.

We got a Marvin Harrison. Year two again. No, I think, if you go back to look how they played last year, they're pretty feisty. At the end of the year, they were pretty feisty. I think Harrison is a win. I think Kyler's committed. I thought they had a pretty good draft. You want to back it up?

Say it with your chest? Maybe put some money on it or? Maybe. A meal? Let's not get into it. Ah, yeah, you don't feel that great about Kyler and the Cardinals. All right, next up, yes, here we go. Finally, a good quarterback.

Jalen Hertz. He's done his third offensive coordinator in three years. Kellan Moore joining the staff, obviously. Rough end to last year. Remember, they started 10 and 1, then kind of just 10. and playoff loss in Tampa was embarrassing. Anyways, Philly is aiming to start things off on a high note, and Moore had rave reviews from what he's seen about his quarterback so far.

Jayland's been really smooth the first couple days. It's been excellent. Just his operation, you can just tell he's in command, he's in control. He's an excellent job at the line of scrimmage with the little nuances and little adjustments that he has to his disposal. And so, you know, it's been really good. I think, you know, his experience over the course the last few years, all the things that he's been able to accomplish.

We want to build on those things. And so when there's a comfort level with a certain concept or scheme, we want to make sure we emphasize that. Those are the fun conversations we get to have because we're continuing to build this thing each and every day. It's because I mentioned Kyler's quarterback record. I'll mention Jalen Hurts, 34 and 17. A lot of games over 500.

Better organization. Better owner by far. Better O-line, better owner, better skill people, less chaos. You know what I expect my franchise quarterbacks to do? Overcome all that. And I haven't seen it from Kyler yet. I haven't. You got to admit, Jaylen Hertz is a better quarterback, right?

Come on. I think they're both really super talented. I like Jalen's intangibles better than Kyler. I like Kyers game a little more than Jalen Hurts. I know you say don't read the comments, right? Is that one of your lines? Never read the comments? Yeah, don't get into that stuff. So when we did our quarterback draft for Wes on social,

you should read some of the comments. What? I dominated that draft. I mean, Jaylen Hertz was such a steal. And I think we're low on him, Colin. I'm getting close to saying the Eagles are my new pick to come out of the NFC. Like, the more you read about this team and what they have coming back, that lion's kicker injury, that's significant. Be careful.

Jalen Hertz and the Eagles on the come up. Final story is Team USA faced South Sudan in an exhibition game. Remember before the Olympics? and one by one. They face tomorrow, I believe it's early. After the show. It's right after our show. After our show.

Perfect. The U.S. refuses to overlook their opponent a second time. And now Steph Curry is saying they have appropriate fear and no, they can't sleepwalk through any game. Adding to that, Steve Kerr has said Jason Tatum will definitely play in this game, which I think is a little silly. And they should probably peel that bandage off quickly. Just make him the six man, get him in early, get through that storyline. and then rock South Sudan. I don't know if I'm willing to bet on this game,

but I kind of sort of feel like the U.S. gets big payback here. I won't say you. Yeah. I'll tell you, these highlights, it's LeBron and A.D. are rolling. It must make Laker fans wince a little. You're thinking to yourself, how can we not win a playoff game?

Well, it's different. Can I add this? Listen, I know he's my guy. Have you watched Curry closely in the Olympics? hasn't played one. Hasn't been amazing. Well, and the other thing is, it's almost like the three-point line is too close for him. It's almost in his head. Well, that's the thing. When they said the three-point line's closer, Curry's going to dominate,

and he hasn't, but I'll point this out. If you watch when they're on defense, the other teams are hunting Curry every single possession. They're calling. Bring them over. Bring them over. And the U.S. are doing smart stuff, will they'll switch the defenders so Curry doesn't have to go. But they're coming after him, and it's a physical, it's a much more physical game in the international. No. And I'm not saying it's impact the Korea. necessarily built for his game.

It's more built for LeBron's game. And by the way, it's built for LeBron's game and Anthony Davis's game. And they're both great. I mean, this is a, that FIBA is much more physical. Anthony Davis and LeBron are big, strong physical players. Well, Kevin Durant also, not as physical. He's a great score. Yeah.

He scores in every level. High school, A.U., college, pro, Olympic. Yeah, and listen, to be clear, I'm not bashing Curry. I'm not saying he's struggling. He's just not playing amazing and otherworld league. He hasn't been a standout yet. I've said this before. If you watched the Copa tournament, the United States Men's National Team,

has a lot of players playing in Europe. We become kind of European stylistically. Copa is much more punch-in-the-mouth soccer. The field's shorter, not as wide. I didn't think Copa's really built for our players now, as we've gotten more skilled and more, you know, more skilled and, space is more valuable to us now? I didn't think copus.

The dimensions of a field matter. You don't think the Yankees, that short right-field porch or Fenway and left, teams build for the environment. So this is a tinier court. I think it's a little in Steph Curry's head, and the physicality is really not built for Curry. J-Mack with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lye News. Mike Shosheskiy stopped by. I was a earlier to talk about Wemby and LeBron. He's a three-time gold medal winning Olympic basketball head coach. A little coach K next live in L.A., it's The Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, I'm Doug Gottlie.

The podcast is called All Ball. We usually talk all basketball all the time, but it's more about the stories about what made these people love their sport and all the interesting interactions along the way. We talk to coaches, we talk to players, we tell you stories. You download it, you listen to it, I think you like it. Listen to All Ball with Doug Alib on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 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's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the world. 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 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-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 a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So South Sudan gave Team USA a scare J-Mac last time they met in an. exhibition. South Sudan outplayed the Americans and you know, at the end, it was your typical NBA stars taking over and slipping

past South Sudan. This will be an interesting match because Jason Tatum didn't play in our team's win over Serbia, which was really close early and then we pulled away. So, you know, I had Coach Kion earlier who won three goals with Team USA. And I said, how do you not, you look down the bench, it's not like at Duke where it's a freshman or it's, you know, a guy that's really like eight in the rotation. You look down the bench and it's Devin Booker and Jason Tatum.

And how do you not look down the bench and think, oh, he's a star? He plays 42 minutes a night in the NBA. He's an all-star. And I can't get him in the game. And I asked Coach Kay about how do you manage that? when we met as a team and developed standards of how we were going to live together, and we were bonded by the fact that we wanted to win the gold. And really, the only question that will be asked of a player,

let me say I played in the Olympics in 2024, they're going to ask, did you win? They're not going to ask how much you played, how much you scored, did you win? And so I asked each of the guys to give me their word to pledge that they would do anything that they that was needed. Less minutes, more minutes, not playing, playing to win the gold medal. And they all did. And we tried to come up with a rotation of probably nine guys and maybe 10 and who started and to give some level of continuity.

and then a key thing in the real close games was to have a closing unit in the last six minutes or so that were accustomed to playing with one another that would be somewhat different from the starters. Yeah, and I tried to use that throughout, and I never really, I didn't worry about the playing time of players because they shouldn't be worried about it. They should only be worried about one thing and that's winning. I think this team has that mentality, and I can tell you that the five teams I coached, all those guys were terrific in handling that.

You can't worry about, you cannot worry about playing time. You got to be worried about defending the three and not committing too many team files that give them free throws. And if we do those two things, then we're going to web. Yeah, I think NBA players, for a variety of reasons, sometimes of all the athletes in America, they often speak more often on social causes. You know, a lot of fans don't like that. NFL players, Kaepernick was an outlier, generally don't.

Baseball players don't that often in recent memory. But, you know, basketball players do our pro basketball players have opinions on politics, LeBron, certainly. And coaches, Kerr and Popovich, certainly. and so for a variety of reasons, sometimes NBA players aren't quite as likable as other pro athletes, but I do think it speaks very well of the players that these guys, LeBron James does not have to play in the Olympics.

Money, fame, legacy titles. It has no reason to, but Kevin Durand didn't have to play on this thing. Steph doesn't have to play on this thing. These guys are taking time away from their families, time away. I mean, it's Steph, Curry, K.D. and LeBron have dealt with injuries. So for our, Our superstar athlete, and our basketball players are the richest of our athletes, because they get longer deals.

Their CBA is stronger. They have seven figures, eight figures on shoe apparel, Instagram. There are international soccer stars. International soccer stars and basketball stars are the highest paid, usually. Football guys are starting to make more money. But I think it speaks highly. Think about LeBron James, who Shoshchevsky knows very, very well. and we talked about earlier sort of his relationship with LeBron

and here he is 39 years old still with an insane commitment to the Olympics and basketball I noticed him when I started coaching him how smart he was you're you're a little bit shocked at the athleticism and just this amazing athlete that that's there and then you add intelligence, then you add a command voice, then you add leadership, and then you add something that a lot of people don't have, and that's the will to prepare to win.

Everyone wants to win, not everyone will pay the price every day, every year to be at their best. But before practice, I mean, he has the same guy helping him for two decades. You know, he stretches for over a half hour. And he preps his body and while he's prepping his body, he's prepping his mind. And he's just so damn prepared. He and Kobe were the two guys I thought were just above everyone. preparation, physical, mental, you name it.

And when they were on the court at a practice or in a game, they wanted to be the best all the time, all the time. And they paid the price for it. And for anyone who knocks LeBron in any way, they're just crazy. Like, you know, we're not going to see anybody like him. he's one of a kind just in what he's doing in the olympics

his verb his demeanor his attitude I mean he helps his team by how he looks not just how he plays I want to play with a guy who looks like him because there's

hardly anybody who looks like that I mean facially not just body wise is the face of a champion this guy has that face of a champion. You know, I was thinking about this.

If you go to the greatest players of all time, you think you go to a gym, you watch good basketball games, you watch college, is most of the great quarterbacks played similarly. Drop back, sit in the pocket, 6-4-ish, 225, 2.30, throw the ball, same kind of motion. same in baseball. Joe Morgan was unique.

He had kind of a different tick to his swing. Most baseball batters, you put him in a silhouette. You couldn't really tell the difference that much, unless you were a diehard baseball fan. But it is interesting in basketball. How many of the great players played differently? Starts with Kareem. He had his own shot.

Nobody ever duplicated it. And then one of the next great players was magic, a six, nine and a half guard. nobody had ever played like that. And then there was Michael Jordan. And though Kobe was similar, we'd never seen a player that was that relentless. The greatest mid-range player, high-flying,

we'd never seen a player like that. I'll argue that Larry Bird, now you think you've seen Bert. When Larry Bird came out and was the best shooter in the league and arguably the best passer in the league at 6'9 as a forward, I'd never seen a player like Lillard, a player like Larry Bird. So Larry Bird was, now LeBron's a better version of Byrd.

6-9, handles the ball, passes, shoots, and then you go into Shaq. There'd never been anybody that big, that powerful that had run. And then LeBron. LeBron's the greatest Swiss Army knife in the history of the league.

He can play literally every position. Magic's about the only other guy that could play virtually every position. Steph Curry. You used to get benched if you took shots like that. So you look in the NBA how often the truly unique players and then you say well who's next

I've seen players like Ant when you watch Wemby play that is that is never been duplicated so it's one sport where if you look at our all time great players like it's a list of about

10 their games are transformative transcendent they don't even look like other people people's games. Now, there's been other players that are very unique. I grew up with George Gervin, who would do 11-foot finger rolls. Great score. Not an all-time great player. Dr. J's swooping dunks. Nobody played like Dr. J. I think those are very, those are really good players. I don't know if Dr. J is a top 12, 15 of all time. But it just, when I, when I watch Wemby in the highlights today, that's, that's what all-time stuff is. It not only breaks through in production,

but in aesthetics. Also, Coach K touched on something I thought was interesting. J.J. Reddick. Now, the criticism of JJ. Well, he's never coached before. He's kind of Duke, arrogant. I like him. I think it'll work.

Here was Coach K. I'm one of his all-time favorite players. Now with the Lakers. I don't pay any attention, so, because, you know, we're dominated by social media. So who is making the criticism? You know, where, you know, opinions are good, but where's the opinion coming from?

And what's the source? For me, JJ is amazingly competitive and is prepared as well as any player that I coached at Duke. He's smart, he's confident, and he understands the game. And having 15 years of being a pro, he has empathy for the guy trying to make it when he's trying to make it,

who makes it and for the veteran who is still trying to make it. He was never a superstar in the NBA, but he was certainly a superstar in the national player of the year when he played in college. So I think he has empathy for what a roster would look like. He certainly understands the pro game, and he desperately wants to be a coach. And I think he surrounded himself up to now.

I don't know his entire staff with some veteran coaches, which will, that will help him. But I, I love him. I think he's terrific. And I think he can relate to his players at the best level. How do you think the Lakers do?

Watching LeBron and AD at the Olympics, you're like, are they the two best players we have right now? And, oh, by the way, Rui Hachimura had a monster game today against France before getting ejected. I need to go over the ejection. Could have been home cooking for France. But Hachimara had an amazing game. He couldn't miss.

And I'm just telling, like, I know the popular narrative is all Likers. Come on. They're not that good. Come on. They're maybe a play-in team. They got six or seven really, really good players. Can they fill out the rest of the roster and win? You know, Brony's going to take a spot, obviously, near the end of the bench.

The young kid out of Tennessee, Dalton Connect, should be a factor. I think Lakers are a top six team in the West. Well, top six team in the West, but they're not the Celtics. You admit that. No, they're not the Celtics. Keep your eye in Indiana. I like Indiana. I think New York and Indiana.

But if you had to guess the West regular season, OKC is going to win a lot of games. I would say we're over-c criticizing Denver. I think OKC and Denver. Minnesota. In Dallas. Dallas, and then Lakers would be... That Kyrie Luca thing will... Watch it start to regress a little this year.

Oh, gosh. See you tomorrow. 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 Seidel,

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement home. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voice. that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down,

and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite offers. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. It was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 we're 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.