The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 3 - Teams facing major injuries

Episode Date: December 6, 2023

Thoughts on the NFL season and the major injuries so far More on Dak Prescott so far this season and why he could be MVP   Guests: Mark Sanchez, Chris Finch See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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or stream us live every day on the IHart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. All right, here we go. It's hour three. We're live in Los Angeles. It is the herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. FS1 is where we're at. We thought we'd start our third hour with Mark Sanchez. We didn't want to make him sit around for a while. We will have Chris Finch, by the way, co-to-the-teelves at the end of the show. The Timberwolves now, I mean, I think they were ever a number one seed or in that stretch. Stratosphere for about 10 minutes once in their franchise. They're now on fire in the NBA. Chris is a friend of the show. He'll join us. But Mark, you're sitting down here.

On the, you have the Vikings Raiders this week. You had the Rams Browns last week, and I watched the entire game. So there was a moment. I don't talk Joe Flacco much, but I thought he played his butt off, and I was shocked how good he was. He was excellent. I could not believe it. And I did say, so I've seen Kevin O'Connell with Josh Dobbs. I saw McVeigh with Baker.

I've seen last year McCarthy with Cooper Rush. Defensive coaches get backup quarterbacks. It's bad in spirals. Stefansky gets flacco. He was fantastic. And I said, it's not a coincidence. I got nine offensive coaches this year

who have been given a backup. And immediately, I mean, good God. Tommy Navito's got 100 pass already with baseball. And my takeaway is, I think it's sometimes it's unfair. we crush backup quarterbacks. They come in and struggle. But who do you inherit the culture? By the way, New England, Bailey Zappi, struggling.

Defensive culture. So you had Flacco in the Browns, and my takeaway was, I like Stefansky a lot, and you've done some, you're going to do Dobbs this week with an offensive coach. It does appear to be a clear advantage for a backup quarterback inserted into an offense if the guy has played quarterback

or the culture leans offense, doesn't it? If it revolves around the quarterback, it's always going to be beneficial to that quarterback. If you see it through the quarterback's lens, the entire organization, whether it's people selling tickets, whether it's people in the cafeteria, that's just the way this game is built. And it's easy for me to say that because I'm a quarterback,

but I genuinely believe that. That's just the way it is. When you were in New York, that was a defensive culture. Correct. It's harder. But you want everything to go through that lens of okay, how is this going to affect our quarterback? Does this help them get completions and touchdowns and move the ball down the field or not? With any decision you're making. So with, you know, that's why I was a little bit shocked with the Vikings

after they have this horrible loss to the Bears and they're embarrassed. But after the game, it was like, okay, well, we'll see if Dobbs is our quarterback moving forward. I was like, whoa, what? I mean, this guy gave you a couple wins so far. Why mess with his confidence, if anything, just try and keep it moving, correct the mistakes along the way. So I was a little bit shocked about that. But to Joe Flacco's point, I mean, or the point on Joe Flacco, that first third down, he ripped like an 18, 20-yard post to Amari Cooper. And then, you know, Amari gets knocked out of the game a little bit later. So he kind of shows up, or doesn't show, rather. And Elijah Moore has to make some plays for him.

Joe had one bad throw. The whole game. One bad decision, really. And, you know, I think it was an impulse control thing. And he just hasn't been in the saddle in a while. And sometimes that happens. but dang man he had him competitive and I feel like the whole game turned after that missed extra point and completely uncharacteristic of Hopkins he's been one of the best kickers in the league

for the last couple years the chargers are dying because they didn't keep them you know he was in their training camp and now he's you know winning games for the browns beating the 49ers earlier in the year and then he misses a silly extra point so it was like a couple things went wrong and that shows you the margin for error when your backup's in and Josh Josh Dobbs, he did the same thing with those interceptions. You know, one goes off of Addison's face, boom, tipped intercept. Well, you don't have that margin for air anymore. Right.

Because you don't have Kirk Cousins anymore because it's not your number one guy. That's the way this league is. And now it's guys, it's like a bunch of bandaged soldiers, right? With like their arms and slings and hitting each other with their crutches and stuff. All these teams, that's kind of what they look like. It's who can do the best patchwork. Who can, you know, hit the flex tape for the longest and hold the water as long as you can because this thing's going to overflow at some point, but who can just make it to the finish line?

And that's where we're at with the Raiders and the Vikings. So we were talking about this during the break. I think, I think Dak Prescott would be my MVP. Tyreek Hill, Brock Purdy certainly deserve consideration. But I do think Cam Newton had a year. Matt Ryan had a year. Sometimes, for all of us in life, I get the perfect producer. I get the best boss.

I get a good marketing campaign. It doesn't last forever. Good an excellent guest. Boom. Brady went a decade without a ring. He got these perfect players, perfect moments, perfect rush end, Edelman, whatever it is. And I do feel like with Dak this year, Kellan Moore left and you're like, uh-oh, but he's playing in rhythm, CD Lamb has exploded.

Ferguson, there's something about the buy happened, Mark, and the offense changed. Well, it really did. And the biggest thing, too, I saw one of the stats. They flashed on the graphics here. But 20 touchdowns and two interceptions in six games. I mean, that's right there is what you're going to get from DAC when he's playing hot like that. Those kind of catches, I mean, that ball's covered. Some of these throws are covered.

And these guys are making plays. And then the open ones, DAC hits. And, you know, he looks so confident. And I think the only reason he'd get the edge, recognizing that matchup with Ferguson on Adams, like that kind of stuff, at least. he's giving you, that's a higher percentage throw than maybe working on Witherspoon and C.D. Lamb. Maybe it's a little better working on somebody like Adams and pass coverage against a really good tight end. So exploit the matchup. Give your guy a chance. Throw the ball in the area. And that's what

he's done. Now these guys are making plays and they're making them like grapes, man. They come in bunches. When you start rolling, it just picks up and picks up. And I feel like if it's him and Purdy down to the wire and it has nothing to do, nothing negative about Purdy, but more of the personality and motivational stuff. Like that's a little more DAC and it just looks flashier. You're going to see him more times in commercials. It's the star. It's that whole media machine that is the Dallas Cowboys that will edge him out. Let's just say they're perfectly even. That just knocks him in to the winning category. I think that's a no-brainer. Yeah. So this is an interesting argument. So when you get anytime you get in an award. It could be a

Heisman, it could be an MVP. So let's say Dak and Purdy are even, and Purdy did beat him head to head, whatever. But I will say this in Dax's defense, and this is not a criticism of Jerry Jones, it's a reality. Dak has to deal with a bit more of a vocal and impulsive

owner. 100%. It's a bigger job being a cowboy quarterback. There's more pressure being a cowboy quarterback. He doesn't have the offensive weaponry as San Francisco. I'm not saying Purdy has it easy. I think being a Dallas Cowboy

quarterback is hard. Oh, it's really hard. You have the weight of the world on your shoulders as a quarterback as it is. And then Dallas, it's just enhanced even more because of that platform. Now, when it comes to awards, this kind of media powerhouse can benefit you.

It can help you. Absolutely. When you're going, when you're 20 touchdowns the two interceptions, you talk about more. You lose three games in a row and throw six picks, Whoa, now you're on all the time and it's just negative. And it was just like that in New York. When we're streaking, it sounds like we're better than we are. It's an inflated and distorted view of how good you are.

And, you know, the efforts and results get a little distorted that way. And you get confused that way. So this is working in his favor, but you know, you just see more sound bites from them. You just see more. There's just more. It's the star. It's the whole machine. And that's the way it works.

That's why guys take a cut, a pay cut, essentially, to play there because you're going to get the endorsement deals. You're going to get, if you play in a big market like New York, take a little less from the team, and then you can go knock it out of the park with endorsements and all those other things. So that gets that. And the thing I admire most about him is that through all that, I mean, he's been just steady, man. Steady on the boat. And he just seems unaffected by this, the media machine. machine that can be amazing or terrible, because there's none of this, except him.

He's been the constant, and that's impressive. So if you go back, we did it last week. If you go back and look at the last seven Super Bowl champions, it's nine of ten and seven straight. They average about seven blowout wins a year. They flex because they can. Philadelphia has two. Dallas and San Francisco and Baltimore are the teams that historically look like Super Bowl

teams. And I like Philadelphia a lot. But when I watch the San Francisco game, the blowout the score aside, there's a problem fundamentally. Dallas's some of their skill people and the Niners skill people are really special players. Correct. Linebackers, secondary for Philly, solid players. I thought San Francisco, the recent Debo was cocky, he's looking at film. He's like, I know what I am.

I don't think Philadelphia is equipped in the back end to beat San Francisco. Now, they could with a pass rush. But if you can block them, it's a problem. Well, that's their thing in Philly, and it has been the last few years. It's like, we're going to get to you and make it easier on our back-end guys. Our back-end guys are more than good enough to play man-to-man, but holding them, guarding a guy for a second and a half, as opposed to two and a half, three seconds.

I mean, that is two different worlds of coverage. That puts a ton of stress on your defense. And I think it was week one or two. When Avanti Maddox went down, that really threw this secondary into a spiral. and they've been trying to recover the Eagles, that is. That was their nickel guy. That's the guy they want inside. Now they've had to shuffle players in and out inside,

and it just ruins your rhythm. It ruins the way you want to attack teams. It affects your game plan, and it makes things difficult. And then you add the pass rush. If they're not getting home, then it adds another element to that. So they've had these things piling up over the year,

and now it's, okay, what do we do with our injuries on offense? What do we do with these injuries on defense? this team just came in here and embarrassed us a little bit in our own place. Now how do they bounce back? And if it's any kind of Philly mentality like we're used to, I mean, these guys are going to come back playing with their hair on fire. So it's, you know, again, timing is everything, and it can be circumstantial in this leak.

So Jordan Love in October had struggled so much that Matt LaFleur couldn't contain himself after games. He was highly critical. Jordan Love the last three weeks has looked spectacular. all the players are the same the play calls are mostly the same what happens circumstantially same kid

same players same routes he looked like Mahomes meets Alan total baller completely confident yeah and I'm like same dude same protection same coach same receiver same tight in what was it well we had him a couple weeks ago

and it was interesting to which one did you have him with charger game yes the charges so the charges played poorly in the red zone. You know, they didn't look like themselves, and they were trying to figure it out. Well, Jordan Love was efficient enough. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. He had a couple drops with Watson.

Like it was the same old Packers that we'd kind of seen, but they ended up edging the other team out. And it felt like the Chargers kind of lost more than, you know, the Packers really won the game. They didn't just go own the game. Right. Well, after that, It's amazing how a win, that momentum, whatever it is, at this point in the season, when your season is going to go one way or the other, to, oh, man, what are we looking at

in the draft and what's our offseason travel plans to, oh, man, we're making a run here at this playoff. We're in. We got this. Christian Watson somehow came alive. They've given him some underneath easy throws, and then he's made the big catches that they wanted him to make, that he's dropped earlier in his career, whether it was with Aaron Rogers or earlier with Jordan Love.

and when that happens, those plays have been set up for him. But catching him versus not catching him is 25-yard chunks, touchdown plays, six points to no points, to a field goal that gets blocked. You know, things like that happen. And it's almost like we used to joke about it, like we'd call it Mr. Destiny. And like when a guy would drop a wide-open touchdown or the quarterback misses a wide-open throw or whatever, and then the next play, sack fumble, return for a 99-year-t, you're just like, can we just catch the touchdown?

Like, can we just hit that first play? and it felt like that with the Packers every single time. Like they missed the one they were supposed to, and then it was a calamity of errors that followed that play. And it just ruined them and sucked the life out of them. But now they started to hit them, and they've hit them at a high clip these last two games. And Jordan Love looks, once again, all world. So now how do you respond to that?

Can you really go make a run in this division? I mean, the Lions are going to be tough. Minnesota is going to be tough. They need everybody else to start losing. Yeah. And they got to go. So it was fun. It was a fun watch.

It was really fun to watch. and you could see him gaining confidence as the game went on. And he just looked a little bit better. And that's the thing. Some of this stuff, I've used this analogy before, but like a championship boxer, a title fight winning boxer. Nothing changes the next day after you win the title,

but everybody calls you champ and you're feeling good, and you just knocked out so-and-so. But you're the same size, you're the same height. You don't know any more today than you knew maybe the day before, but you just feel a little better about it. And you got a better attitude about you, and you walk around a little different. because things start to change on the outside.

And it's, all right, I got this confidence now. Let's roll with it. Let's see what happens. And so I feel like that's where Jordan Love and the Packers are at. I want to circle back to the game you had. I had said this a couple weeks ago, about three weeks ago. When the Rams had an over, under in Vegas of about five wins, I said, McVeigh, Stafford, they don't have great players in their prime, but if they're healthy, I just, McVeigh is so smart, Stafford so good.

They have played. Now, they're finally healthy on offense. Pooka Nakua is insane. insane, a rookie fifth round receiver. I can't believe he came back in the game. I thought he broke his shoulder. So what do you make? You're sitting there as a former quarterback, and you're in the game, and you're watching it.

Is it schemes? Is it use of personnel, or is actually their personnel when healthy, Mark? Pretty darn good. They're formidable, but there's nobody that, like, scares you necessarily, and they kind of sneak up on you right now. And you hear what you hear about puka, but you don't really realize, oh, my God, this guy's going to clips a thousand yards. in this game. Are you kidding me? Like, what?

What just happened? We saw it dropping past week one. Kairn Williams shows up out of nowhere. Their screen games really started to pick up. You know, they just played a historically good Cleveland Brown's defense and won. And like, got it to the wire deep in the game

and then ran away with it and made all the right decisions by the end. Capitalized on a big turnover. Didn't mess around. They missed one field goal. That was like one of their biggest issues last week. So their field goal kicking got to get better because they're going to need to steal points as they move on. But this is going to sound crazy.

But if these guys make it to the playoffs, like as a six seed, right? I mean, because fourth is going to somebody in the south. Fifth would be either Dallas or Philly or Sanford, who doesn't make, you know what, like one of those teams. But they own the tiebreaker over Seattle. And on paper, I would have thought Seattle would mop the floor with these guys. Week one, I thought it was going to be, oh, this could get ugly for the Rams. And they swept them. And set the tone for their season.

They swept them. So when you look at these guys at 6 and 6, you're like, oh, man. I mean, if they go to the playoffs, Stafford should get at least one MVP vote. Are you kidding me? The way he's playing right now. And McVeigh, he might as well be runner up for a coach of the year.

Like, come on. No, I mean. There's no way. And Raheem Morris, too, as coordinator of the year. Because this team, remember the headlines leading into the season? Was this secondary like, oh, Daryon Kendrick, you know, Fuller, Yeats, who are these guys? They can't play.

Wether Spoolewether Spree. These guys can't play. they're playing okay. They're doing enough, you know? And now when they played against Dallas, struggled a little bit. Played against some of these teams with some big time, you know, offensive attacks. Well, that's going to be a little different. But they've been competitive, man.

And when it comes down to those situational cruncher at the end of the game, when it really matters, they seem to be on the right side of things. And they're not going to just give it away. Stafford's playing his butt off. Yeah. That's incredible. The Pooka Nakua injury, it looked like, first, of all, my son broke his shoulder. That's what

it looks like. It's incredibly painful. And when you get a big athlete that can't breathe, I thought shoulder. I thought shoulder, ribs. Then he comes back and I'm like, okay, can't be shoulders. And by the way, if it's ribs, that's maybe more painful. That's, ooh. That kid gutted it out. It's a tough sucker man.

It was a good game, though. It was a lot of fun. He's built a lot like J-Mack, you know? Yeah, ready to fight, overcome. You're an overcomer. I'll take it. I'm built like an NFL player. Hello. That's what Shady McCoy tells me downstairs in locker room. He's like, hey, Jay Matt. Shady's being nice. He's being nice. Let's leave it. I'm a dressing room,

not locker room. I'm thinking like an athlete. Good scene. Hit the showers, dude. Happy holidays. Happy holidays. To everybody here. You're watching. We're in December. We're feeling it. They got pumpkin latte, spices everywhere. I'm having an eggnog tonight. It's that time of the season. I feel it. It's getting chilly out. All right, I've got a great parlay for you

this weekend. Thanks to Draft King's Sportsbook. New users use the code. Heard. H-E-R-D when you download the app. Now for the Parlay pick of the week via Draft King Sportsbook. I like the Ravens at home minus seven against the Rams. NFC teams this year, Detroit, Seattle that have gone east to face Lamar Jackson and that speed offense have been clobbered. I'll take the Ravens to win by over a touchdown.

The Browns have Joe Flacco, but their defense at home should shut down the Jags who won't have Trevor Lawrence or Christian Kirk. He's having surgery. I like the Browns by a touchdown. Chiefs minus two and a half at home over the bill. They're better. They're bouncing off a loss, which they normally do. And I just don't trust the bills in a big spot. Ravens, Brown's Chiefs, home favorites, like them all.

If you want to take the Herd Parlay, check out Draft King's Sportsbook. New users, please use the code Herd. When you download the app, takes a minute. That's all. 21 plus in most eligible states, but age varies by jurisdiction. Eligibility restrictions apply. Gambling problem. Call 1-800 gambler. In New York. Call 8778 Hope and Wire.

their text Hope and Y 467-369. See show notes for full details. 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert 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, 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 I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you at 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 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all 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, so. 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. Huge day of football. Sunday, we've got a huge day of football coming your way on Fox. The Rams take on Lamar Jackson and the Ravens or the Seahawks Battle Christian McCaffrey and the Niners. Check for the game in your area only on Fox and the Fox Sports app. Seahawks Raiders, Seahawks season in the nutshell. The Bills at Kansas City and the Seahawks at the Raiders.

Watch those games be highly competitive. Very, very cool. That's a big game for the Seahawks. Huge game for Buffalo. I may call for an upset. I already got my five picks. I really like them. You're picking games on Tuesday now.

No, no. It's Wednesday. Oh, geez. Yeah, I know. Midweek, who knows? You go to a Lakers game one night. You go to bed off your schedule. So do you go out there and get all sauced up or are you ready to go?

You know, in between taking photos with fans, I had a couple drinks, yes. That's so funny. Hey, listen, people watch this show. Let me tell you something. It's crazy. What's amazing, I'm telling you, it blows me away. Tuesday night in Los Angeles, Tuesday night in Indianapolis, L.A. is hard to get around. Traffic's brutal.

You got the sold-out arena for a regular season game, and it's going bonkers. I'm sitting there watching on TV. I am always blown away by the commitment Americans make. These late games don't get over until 10. You don't get home until 11. You got kids. you got things, you get up, you're at six, you're, people give up lots in their life to be entertained. I gave up a workout this morning because I had to sleep in a little bit.

You want to work out this afternoon? What time did you get home last night? A little too late. And you were sourced up. I had to record the podcast, you know, and like this morning. Jay Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd. I was in bed watching that game. 825. As Clat likes to say, champagne problems. You know, obviously, watch you go to a Laker game. Anyways, Steelers Patriots, tomorrow night, Colin. I know you're super geeks for this one. Awful.

Kenny Pickett is going to miss multiple weeks after ankle surgery. It'll be Maserati Mitch. I'm championing a change to the nickname Mazda Mitch. He's more of a Mazda than Maserati. He's going to start in his place. First start since Week 15 of last year. Here's Trubisky on the mindset for Thursday. We're trying to score points.

I'm going to be aggressive. I'm going to take care of the football and we've got to play better as an offense. We're going against good defense this week, well-coached. So we just got to do our job, execute well. I'll play all 11 together. And we want to be an aggressive offense. So whatever that means, taking care of the football,

we've got to find ways to score points. That's the bottom line. I know you're not a big fantasy guy. Would you bench Pickens the receiver with Trubiski as quarterback? He's not, pickets, is going to get like two catches. Yeah, I wouldn't. What's the latest on the other receiver,

Deonté Johnson, who is pouting? How's he doing now? Probably not happy. that the QB1's down. Once Peckett got hurt, that was a corner game. I wasn't. I mean, you can't, they're just a tough watch with Trubisky. I think I'm on board with you.

They need to draft a quarterback, possibly first round. I was just told Deontay Johnson scored their only TD. Yeah, garbage time when it was 24-3. Well, if you're a fantasy player, it counts. Doesn't it in fantasy, don't you get that counts too? That does count in fantasy. I do not have him, unfortunately. Let's move on.

We talked about this yesterday. Brian Dable has announced that Tommy DeVito is starting over Tyrod Taylor. against the Packers on Monday night. Tyrod has returned to practice, and he was asked how he felt about Dave Ball's decision, said he was disappointed that it, but it's part of the game.

And our staff has now pulled some crazy. This is no bad for Tyrod Taylor. He has lost starting jobs to Nathan Peterman, Baker Mayfield, Justin Herbert, obviously, and Davis Mills in his career. That's a Tommy Davido. Nobody believes Davido is better than Tyraud Taylor.

Not even Brian Dable. Is this a tank move, Colin? Well, you don't, nobody tanks in hockey or pro football. It's too dangerous. A subtle tank. Like, if you want to win this game, you put Tyrod Taylor a quarterback. True or false? Yes, I think Tyrod Taylor is a top five or six backup quarterback.

So then why is he starting DeVito? Well, DeVito won. He probably feels loyalty. It's a thing in New York. People are having fun with it. I mean, also, there's just continuity. So you have a starter. He gets hurt.

put in Tyrod. And then he gets hurt, you put in DeVito. Do you want to go back? That's the jet story. It's a circus. So Dave-Bull is probably just saying, hey, we lost the starter, went to a backup. We're now in a third. Let's just get through the season with our third guy. Tommy DeVito gets some reps. Can he make the squad next year? I'm really interested to know what the Giants do in the mock draft. I can figure out almost every team in the first round, the first top 10 mock draft. I can literally, I feel like this is a very predictable year. What are the Giants? do. They don't need a defense. They could use a corner later.

But nobody wants to, really truthfully, if you ask GMs, most do not want to draft a corner in the first round, unless they're like sauce gardener Patrick's or Dan. Well, by the way, Stingley, who started rough with the Texans, is now rebounded. He's having a good stretch here. I just want, are the Giants even like a compelling offseason team yet?

No. No. They would have been if they were like the third pick in the draft, you know, but I don't think at like 8 to 10. Do they take a quarterback? I think the guy that I would say to keep an eye on Jaden Daniels. Just remember what Daybold Thrive with was Josh Allen, the dual threat. Can run and pass.

Like Daniel Jones, I don't think we think he can win through the air. Jaden Daniels can't. I don't know. He's compelling prospect. The only way to get out of a big quarterback contract easily is if you hit on a young quarterback and don't have to pay him. It's like the Trey Lance mistake. Okay, we hit on Brock Purdy, and then we don't care about the picks

because now we're not paying our quarterback a penny for four years and it gets you out of it. So that's what the Cowboys had for Dack when they hit him in the fourth round. Or Seattle had Russell Wilson third round. When you hit these late round quarterbacks, you can overcome some of your draft mistakes or personnel moves. You're not paying anything to Brock Purdy. Here's the weird part. So let's say Giants draft the quarterback and then 2025 they released Daniel Jones. You think there's a scramble among teams to get Daniel Jones?

No. That just shows how bad the Giants screwed it up. Final story. Oh, oh, hey, here we go. Shohei Otani news, Colin. He's a free agent, and everybody's whining and dining him now. But Dodgers fans are irate because Dave Roberts had a media session with reporters where he was candid and confirmed a meeting took place with Otani's reps,

revealing the Dodgers met with Otani a couple days ago at Dodgers Stadium. He thinks it went well. He feels confident. The meeting was two to three hours. No players were present. Following the media session, Roberts was scolded by his bosses. for revealing too much information. Prior to free agency,

Otani's agent warned everybody. Don't talk about any details. Don't say anything. It will be held against you when it comes to decision time. Colin, I know we've been, well, you mostly have been ticketing Otani to the Dodgers. They move money around. They were ready.

Can you imagine if Dave Roberts screwed this up by just opening his mouth? Give me a colossal whiff. Do you fire him on the spot? Like he blew it. But Otani's people said don't say anything. And he went and talked about the media. How about this?

You know I don't believe in conspiracy theories. Okay. I'm not into that. Those kind of people are irritating to me. Agreed. I've heard a million about media, and I don't think any are true. And I have some contacts in the media. So this stuff's all nonsense.

But I do believe what I do believe is true, and it's not a conspiracy theory, because I've seen it happen to me and others, that there are agreements in place to bring talent to places before it goes public. So the Dodgers cleared their board out. They let Bellinger go, Turner go, Kirchon one-year deal. It was very obvious. They've been big spenders in baseball.

The Dodgers basically said for a year, we're going to save some money here, we're going to get some stuff liquid here, save up our money. cash for Otani. Because they have Freddie Freeman, they got mokey bets, they got a lot of bills to pay. So they let Bellinger go, Turner.

So it was kind of viewed as this team was less talented in L.A. The Dodgers were less talented, but it was a tweener year. So that they all kind of know they all kind of know it's been sort of wink-winked that he's going

to the Dodgers. And that Otani's people basically said to protect him, because he'd get ripped if it was agreed upon. He said if anybody talks about anything, it will hurt you so he couldn't negatively be ripped if it was just a done deal to the Dodgers. So they're making this look like it's a hard decision.

Nobody's sure. And he's going to the Dodgers. And that's why the Dodgers are really mad. It's like, Dave, be quiet, you know. So what I'm saying is, O-Tani... You think his mind was made up weeks or months ago? I think he likes the West Coast. I think he loves L.A.

doesn't have to buy a new home. The Dodgers are well run. It's a great organization. They had the lead. The big bosses in the world have talked about it. O'Tani, though, didn't want to be crushed. Because first of all, if you go Angels to Dodgers, that's a rivalry, you're going to get a lot of crap from Angel fans. So they want to make it look like it's a hard decision. Are there angels fans out there? I think they're not vocal. I don't think he's worried about them. What I'm curious about, did you see? I don't say any of this is true, but this whole thing has been so covert and secretive. And baseball is usually very open. I mean, you always get rumors from Jeff Passon and

Roodoochie and all these guys in Busteroli. They always have all the information. Nobody's got anything. So, you saw the Cubs were on that list? That came out of nowhere, seemingly. Now, I don't know if they actually make the cut, but, like, if the Dodgers don't get him. Now, that will be interesting.

Dave Roberts. They can just pin it on him. Hey, this guy opened his big, fat mouth. He'll be working at the MLB network. Well, I mean, listen, It's a soft landing spot. By the way, it also, it's leaked out that Dave Roberts was scolded. So somebody wanted it out.

So what the Dodgers wanted out, they wanted to make sure Otani's people knew, hey, we're ticked off at him. So the reason that story comes out is the Dodgers want Otani's people to know we're not happy with Dave Roberts. So you would still favor slightly Dodgers over the field? I would still favor significantly Dodgers off the field.

Oh, okay. Edging out my Mariners. J-Mack for the news Well, that's the news And thanks for stopping by The Herd Lie News I just always had this feeling that it's a done deal It's a wink-wink done deal

And I don't believe in conspiracy theories But I think in my lifetime I've seen, you know People are going to places Upstairs they keep it quiet But you know people know where people are going Where they're going And they just keep it quiet

And everybody's covert And then it happens But it was going to happen six months before One more herd The herd streams 24 hours a day Seven Days a Week within the IHeart Radio app. Search Her to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Hey, it's Ben, host of The Fifth Hour with Ben Mallor,

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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 you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilbert. took 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 Cliverts Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations,

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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, so. 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.

Well, they have not won. The Timberwolves have not won a playoff series since 2004. So this culture, they've had some good players too. So much of sports is creating cultures and winning cultures. And then sometimes you need to get an Anthony Edwards. And then sometimes you have to take a big swing on a trade, and they did with Rudy Gobert. So the Minnesota Timberwolves now were the best team in the league. They have the best record, best defensive team. They allow the lowest field goal

percentage of any defense in the NBA. And their coach is Chris Finch. He's going to face Wemby in the Spurs tonight. So like when you got there, so you get there, and it's not a winning culture, and you'd been all over Europe, and you had some good players,

how do you make guys believe, listen, we can be a playoff team eventually? Like, was the hardest thing convincing young players we can win here? Was it hard? Yeah, I mean, these jobs are always hard, particularly when you get them. You know, most of the coaching changes in the opportunities in the league, Colin, come when you take over, you know, teams that aren't successful, you know, and it's a hard climb after that.

You know, the key to it all was just getting us to understand what competing look like, you know, competing every night, competing every single time. down the floor. You know, sometimes you can go through periods of play in the NBA where you're more performing than you are competing. And those teams don't win at a high level. You got to compete all the time. So that was really the first thing. I was just talking about what it felt like, what it meant to compete through every part of the game. And then, you know, you build some momentum, you build some good habits. And then your young players start to grow up. And, you know, then you can feel things changing.

And as you pointed out, you got to have talent, but you also, you know, you got to take swings and augment the roster in the right way and keep building on what you've been doing. So you guys made a big deal, Rudy Gobert trade. So you got two bigs. And as the league has gotten, you know, and I never, when the league got small, and I always thought to myself, well, it works because of Steph Curry. Maybe it's a Steph Curry thing.

And it doesn't, my entire life, big basketball players did well. And you guys are like, you know, we're going to go the opposite of the small ball. We're going to get gigantic. And there was a lot of myself included, I'm like, I don't know, you already got it big. Was there a moment for you where you were like, I don't know if this is going to work? It has, but did you know it was going to work? Yeah, I mean, we felt it was going to work, but we also felt it was going to take time. You know, going into the last season, we thought it would take us about 40 games, maybe 50 games,

which is about half the season, if not more, to really figure. out. You know, that got a bit derailed with the Carl Anthony Towns injury, and then it became just a matter of kind of surviving and continually reinventing ourselves, but we learned a lot about it while we were able to be together. The key to it all, and, you know, if you're, to your point, like, if you're not better at small ball than the people who are really good at small ball, or you're going to lose anyway. So you might as well try to be different. And that's just the case. but the the intriguing thing about it now is like all these bigs are so skilled. I mean, it works because Nas Reid and Carl Anthony Towns.

I mean, these guys have the skill of perimeter players. And we can employ them as such at times. But yet we still have great length to be really good defensively around the rim, rebounding and all the other things that go with being big. So the in-season tournament, listen, the court's different. I don't think all fans quite understand it, but my takeaway was, these are long seasons. And the NFL, you get one game a week. College football, you get 12 games. NBA got 82.

Like, make it interesting. I think it's a swing. It's noticeably more intense. The Suns Lakers game last night. Pacer, Celtics. You guys went, I think, three and one in those games. I like it. I'm surprised how much LeBron's into it, how much the players are into it, because they're all rich anyway.

did you have to sell players on the in-season tournament? No, not at all. And that is the biggest takeaway from the in-season tournament. For me, it's just how much the players have embraced and really enjoyed it. And, you know, like many people, we didn't all understand the mechanics of it, you know, and the points differential, and there's a lot of kind of odd things, which makes it unique. And it really wasn't about the money of, you know, the money, the prize money is certainly, significant. I think the prize money actually tops out more than championship bonuses that were

earned last year by the nuggets. So it's certainly substantial or not discounting that, but it really kind of sparked the competitive nature, made these early season games doubly meaningful because they also count as league games. But guys were locked in, they were excited, they were asking a ton of questions, and they were looking forward to it. So the other night I watched Imeo Doku and LeBron get into it, and I just don't see Chris Finch doing that. But it is interesting. In the course of your career, have you ever had moments where you kind of poke a player? Like, what is the relationship coached to player intense?

They're snooping on your huddle. They're talking trash. What are you comfortable with? Yeah, I think, you know, 90% of the interaction between coach and player from the opposing team is positive. You know, having been in the league, we've coached. a lot of these guys and we have existing relationships and much of the banter might be around that. But being competitive, sometimes we get drawn into less than fortunate interactions. You know, I think we all have a few of those we probably like back. But, you know, generally

it's a very well-behaved kind of relationship between, you know, coach and opposing player. Yeah. You face Wembe tonight. It's the second time you face him. You're probably not a good matchup for him because you've got two veteran defenders and gobert's a great defender you know he's the time i've watched him play four or five times my takeaway is he's obviously gifted but these are kids it's a more physical league i think the big i think guys really veteran players like to show the kid they like the block is you know they like to make you push him around your takeaway on what you've seen so far from wimby the thing that impresses me the most i mean the skill and the sides is it's It's obvious.

When you see him in person, you know, there is a wow factor to it. But the thing that impresses me the most is really his maturity and his composure. He never complains to the referees, never has any kind of negative interaction with his teammates. When the opponents come at him physically, you know, he responds, he doesn't get down. He just, you know, hips an even keel. His maturity, it's very impressive for somebody of, you know, his age. and being first time in the league, just nothing seems to bother him.

Anthony Edwards has missed the last two games. You've won them both. Final question, when you get a transcendent athlete. I mean, he just does, it doesn't look like other players. There's like six guys in the league at any one time in my life, maybe three, Dominique, Michael, Anthony, just looks different. He does different stuff.

How much is coaching? How much is you staying out of the way? How much? Because there are players, and he's one of the, of one that do things that most people on the planet will never do. Is he harder to coach, easier to coach when you have these super hyper athletic stars? Yeah, I mean, he's the joy to coach, extremely coachable. You know, with him, coaching is about teaching and, you know, holding accountable, you know, when you have to, and he'll, you know, he allows that and he enjoys that, he

embraces it you know I've always maintained the the approach that as coaches at this level you know we have to create the structure the philosophy and then kind of get out of the way and let these guys be the great players that they really are you know certainly guys like anthony and um so you know some of the guys that you've mentioned and many guys in the league right now you don't want to overcoach those guys because they have they have talent and ability inside of them that they're going to reach um you know, and you could only get in the way at times. You know, you could only put obstacles there. So I'm really big on creating as much freedom for our players,

certainly offensively as we possibly can. You know, and then obviously as a young player learns the league and learns different defenses and what teams are doing against them, you know, that's where we can help them as coaches as he kind of evaluates all that. Best record in the league. Does that mean anything to you? I mean, at this point in time, it doesn't. I mean, we're certainly proud of our start.

You know, we came into the season wanting to hang our hat on defense. We've been able to do that. We need to create an identity. You know, the returns on what we set out to do are positive, but we got a long, long way to go, as we know. And, you know, it's certainly great to have a cushion when you get off to such a great start, create that kind of buzz about you, but, you know, we're not satisfied with where we are yet. All right.

Chris Finch, T. Wolves. Congrats on the season. Are you always into work this early? This is what time you get into work? Well, I'm just, you know, I got a little bit of early game tonight, so just killing time here in my office waiting to join the herd. That was nice. We appreciate that. You could be home hanging out.

We appreciate that, coach. Thank you. Thank you. Chris Finch. We appreciate him stopping by. Yeah, best record in the NBA, 15 and 4. You see some of those highlights with Anthony Edwards. My God.

It doesn't even look. I said Austin Reeves is him. Okay? Anthony Edwards also him. I mean, he is so good. Like, just utterly dominant. super young. It's like when you watch Tyreek Hill sometimes

against other good DBSs, it flies past. Yeah, yeah. Rick Buecker made a rare good point earlier this week when he said that the mid-markets, Minnesota, OKC, they're really rising in the West, looking good. Yeah, good for them. You know, this is a culture that Minnesota is such a funky sports town.

So they've had a lot of good. They've rarely had, I mean, the twins. Oh, Kirby Pucket back in the day. Well, I mean, the Vikings are almost always good. The T-wolves are now good. one of those, Seattle's had a bit of this, that there's been a lot of good, and there's been very few championships.

That's why when Russell Wilson won, it was such a big deal. You'd have the Huskies, the Sonics, and the 70s. But Minnesota, I always feel like there's competency in the front offices. They've had good coaches. They've had great players. Maybe if they don't afford the final piece,

Seattle doesn't afford the final piece where a Boston, New York can go buy that. Similar to my jets. A lot of below average football since I've been alive, and they're just missing, like, one or five pieces. You know right now they're the worst team in the league. Stop. Let's move on. I'm sorry to bring them up. Let's get back

to talking about your pumpkin spice, ice cold, whatever I'm doing to do. I'm going to have eggnog tonight. You're looking thinner. I see that shirt kind of hanging off you. You're swimming in it. I've been sick for six days. Oh, that's right. How much weight did you lose? I don't measure. I don't do that. You're not stepping on a scale every other night?

No, but I, yes. Yeah. Blueberries, an occasional beer. Carrots. I eat. Well, All right, we're done. Joel Clapmark, Sanchez, Chris Finch. We'll see you tomorrow. It's the herd.

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 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 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

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