The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Lamar Jackson, Rams, Cowboys & the Herd Hierarchy

Episode Date: November 26, 2019

Colin says nothing last forever so people should get behind QB Lamar Jackson, the Rams are feeling the affects of over spending for players, Jerry Jones' comments on the coaching staff proves he's ready to move on, and Colin reveals his new Herd Hierarchy. Guests include Peter King, Reggie Bush, and Ronnie Stanley. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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the hard way on the iha radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast what's up guys this is clivert taylor the fourth and on my podcast the clivert show i'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff like being an internet famous referee we're in the middle of a game this linebacker this linebacker walks up to me he goes a ref my mom wants you to wave at her what Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Rhett, my mama want you to weigh better. What?

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by searching herd. I'm going to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a busy Tuesday. This is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We're live in Los Angeles on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and

FS1, one hour from now our herd hierarchy. I think it's the truest, the most accurate. It feels like now. We know what we've got in the NFC. We know our six teams. It's where they're going to play. And we know our two best teams in the AFC are New England and Baltimore this morning.

So everything feels sort of set in stone with a few wild card spots up, of course, in the AFC. And Joy Taylor is joining me in a Tuesday. Joy, how are you? I'm great. That was some performance last night. It was some performance. And let's start here. Let me just ask you, if you are 40, 50 years old and you'd maxed your 401k and you'd maxed your 401k and

You paid off your house and you pay your cars down and you live below your means. And so you were set. Your retirement's set. You're going to be content. But somebody came to you and said, siphon just 5% off. And this is a stock that could make you rich. And some people aren't comfortable with it. Some people are like, no, no, no, no, no, I got my 401K.

I'm not taking anything out of my 401K. And then there are other people like John Harbaugh that said, well, I'm going to be a Hall of Fame coach. I want a Super Bowl. I'm going to siphon off about 5, 10% of that 401k. I'm not going to play it safe. I'm going to go all in on Lamar Jackson. And a lot of people are like, ah, Lamar Jackson. That's crazy.

He runs a lot. He can get hurt. It won't last. But John Harbaugh said, what lasts? Outside of Brady and Belichick in New England's dynasty, what the hell lasts in this league? So John Harbaugh, who had a great reputation, who had maxed his 401k, who was well respected, was going to get Hall of Fame boat, said, you know what, I'm going to go all in on Lamar Jackson. I'm going to siphon off some of that 401k. I'm going to take a mortgage on

my house a little bit, and I'm going to roll the dice on this kid, and maybe he'll get hurt. But this whole thing about Lamar won't last. What does in this league outside of New England? Nothing lasts. By the way, not every investment. I mean, you guys dated, right? You don't have to marry everybody you date. When you buy a home in real estate, when you get out of college, don't they call it a starter home? You know you can't raise your kids. it. It's not big enough, but you buy in real estate what they call a starter home. It's not what you're going to retire in. Not everything has to be forever. I don't know if Lamar Jackson is going to last. I don't know, you know, people tell me it's a lot like Colin

Kaepernick. So let's just think about that for a second. Colin Kaepernick got to a Super Bowl and two NFC championships. Think 99% of the coaches not named like Bill Belichick would take that today? That's a failure. You look at this league where 20 teams, you know, this morning wake up and they don't think they have much of a chance to win the Super Bowl? Like, I don't know if this lasts. But what I know is it's great now. That gets you another contract as a coach, great now. And the other thing is, I don't think it's a fatter.

I don't think it's a trick. I think he's a much better. And I think Baltimore, to me, feels, you can say the Kaepernick stuff, but he was a better high school quarterback than Kaepernick, a better college quarterback. And he's a better NFL quarterback. Capernick never had a curveball. Everything he threw 100 miles an hour. Lamar's got touch. Lamar's a team guy.

Lamar's coachable. Lamar is getting better. Lamar's about the team, not about Lamar. So, you know, if nobody ever took a chance in life, you'd have no Vegas. If you weren't willing to gamble on stuff, you wouldn't have a Vegas. And if you weren't willing to gamble on stuff, we'd have no Silicon Valley, which now runs the American economy. John Harbaugh said, you know what?

The 30 teams that drafted ahead of me are that they don't want to do this. this, I'm just going to go all in. I got my 401k. I've been putting away forever. I built a great reputation. And again, I don't know if this lasts, but I know it's great now. And what lasts? Cam Newton gets defended at every corner. Anytime I criticize him, you defend him. Cam Newton's had one great year. Can't stay healthy. How long did that last? Aaron Rogers, to me, does not look physically like the same guy he was six years ago after two collarbone surgeries. Nothing lasts. You just in This league, you take what you can get. You've got to evolve.

You've got to roll the dice sometimes. Take New England out of it. Best coach ever, best quarterback ever. One of the best owners ever. The best offensive line coach ever. The rest of the league, be great now. It's okay to siphon off a little of the 401K to get rich now. You know, I just love.

Everybody is so freaked out about, will this running stuff last? all these running quarterbacks work. Most don't last, but Russell Wilson's lasting. He never gets hit. And Kyler Murray, he's a baseball guy like Russell. Nobody's getting hits on him. Steve Young ran around for years. He ended up in the Hall of Fame.

Kaepernick got to a Super Bowl. Lamar's on the best team now. Will it last? Most stuff in life doesn't last. I've said this before. The greatest product I've ever purchased, ever. There's one thing that I bought for nothing. and it's lasted forever. Goulet, do you know what that is? It's a grill. I'm always shocked. You go to

Home Depot or Lowe's. You pay $300 for a grill. I use it 190 times a year and it lasts 30 years. That's the only product I've ever purchased in my life. I'm like, I pay nothing for it and it lasts forever. Nothing lasts forever. Win now. Roll the dice. Because what I'm watching in Baltimore is a lot better what I see in Los Angeles, and let's shift to that. From day one, Day one, Joy as my witness, I said, let's slow down on Sean McVeigh as a genius. Let's slow down on the Rams are the future of the NFL.

I said, remember the first thing I said, Kyle Shanahan is the best young coach in the NFC West. And Pete Carroll's the best coach in the NFC. West. So McVeigh's third, the second thing I said is, I live in Los Angeles, I'm watching what's happening, Rams are overpaying for everybody, LeBron comes to town, got a new stadium with PSLs, they're burning through money. Remember we used to joke with the Rams two years ago? We're like, are they using a different bank than everybody? Are they at one of these offshore banks where they get some sort of interest rate or they can hide money? Folks, this

morning, the bank came to collect the note on the Rams, and they're six and five. And they have no first round picks for three years. And McVeigh's the second best young coach in his division. And they got to pay Jalen Ramsey a fortune. And Brandon Cooks may retire soon with a concussion issue. And they have major offensive line issues. And Jared Goff next year will be the biggest cap hit in the entire league. And oh, by the way, you paid top.

Rod Gurley, a year early, and he's done. He's a B-back, and he's got two more years that you're going to have to load the Brinks truck over to his house. Last night, the Rams had 22 yards rushing. They ran the ball nine times. This was a power-running team a year ago. So on top of that, a story broke last week that the stadium overrun is making the $2 billion stadium a $6 billion stadium, which is as much as, you know,

Jerry World, the Colt Stadium, and the Eagle Stadium combined. So that's just going to add more pressure on the organization to win now. McVeigh, win now, coat less need build now. This thing is, I'm not saying the Rams are a bad football operation. What I'm saying is they're the opposite of New England. Just talked about this with Lamar. Great is fleeting in this league. Nothing lasts.

But here's a way to make. to make success last longer. Pay rarely and never pay early. Now, New England's going to pay Stefan Gilmore. They paid gronk. They paid for great kickers. They paid for offensive linemen or a pass rusher. But pay rarely, be frugal and never pay early.

And I thought the Rams, and I said this a year ago, LeBron came to down, new stadium, cost overruns, selling PSLs. They're paying everybody. expensive corner with Jalen Ramsey soon and defensive tackle and running back and now quarterback. What's the hurry? Today they feel old, stale, tired. They look slow last night. Now, do I think McVeigh is smart? Yes. Do I think they have good people in the building? Absolutely. But this, to me, we got way too hot on this. I did not believe it was sustainable. I didn't think they'd fall and be this bad like last night.

And to Sean McBay's credit, he's a stand-up guy and said, we're not going to waste too much time whining about this. We're all in this thing together, but I feel as responsible as anybody. And just put your head down and go grind and find a way to just get ready for next week. Because just dwelling on this doesn't do you any good. And you can't run away from the problems that we did have tonight. But allowing it to set ourselves back is what this team will not do. I can promise you guys that.

Appreciate that. He's a super smart guy. My theory on life is trust smart people. They'll figure it out. But this always felt like a little too hot of an organization. A little too many stars, money for everybody, using a different bank. And last night, the bank came to collect. And they're a little shy in L.A. Ramland. All right, coming up next, a couple of big stories. Jerry Jones is talking this morning, and Jerry Jones this morning is not backing down on his concerns about coaching in Big D. That's coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games.

And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversational. with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it

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And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me.

He goes, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Brett. My mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Ms. Parker.

Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what.

He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid.

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guys. Get your own. Dovemen Plus Care. Stop borrowing your girlfriends available at Walmart. So, Jerry Jones had criticized, had dropped Belichick's name before the game with New England, and then criticized Garrett after the game with New England, and then criticized Garrett again this morning. I don't think he wants to. I think he likes Jason Garrett a lot, but he's laying the groundwork for the firing.

Jerry knows it's going to be uncomfortable. Jason's part of the cowboy family, but Jerry's laying the groundwork before the big breakup. You start mentioning the ex-boyfriend, you mention the ex-boyfriend, you mention the ex-boyfriend again, you start picking little fights. Jerry doesn't want to fire him. He's going to have to. Too much talent here. So Jerry was on Dallas radio this morning and push back on those who say he shouldn't be overly critical of Garrett.

They've got to concentrate on the season. The same way that I felt then, you know, when your general manager of which I am, those coaches are out there at my ultimate decision. People seem to think that it's particularly harsh to have criticism. And so there's no question that disappointed is not the word. Here's the thing. And we said this was going to be an issue. Anytime you put good, and I think Jason Garrett is good, when you put good against great, good can look really mediocre.

You know, Roger Fedder in his prime could play the 38th best tennis player in the world. That guy is probably the best tennis player in his country. But against Roger Federer at the U.S. Open, he would shrink. He would look like a hack because that's what Roger Federer does. Kobe Bryant made a lot of borderline all-stars look anemic because he was Kobe Bryant. Sunday, the world's best football coach played a good football coach capable of winning divisions, and Jason Garrett didn't look good. New England prepared in every way.

Here's a team that plays outdoors in wet weather, has for years, and Gronk was on Fox saying it doesn't matter. If they know it's going to be a rainy game, Bill all week prepares for it. I don't care if it's raining, snowing, if there's a hurricane. You're going out there and you're practicing. And while there's snow drift out, he'll take the water bottle and he'll pour it on the football too.

And he'll make time throw the football in like 20 degrees. while it's all wet, too. That's how dedicated he gets to the wedding. Meanwhile, Ed Werder, a very reliable NFL reporter, says the Cowboys didn't use sprinklers, water bottles didn't really prepare to play in the rain. Maybe against other coaches, that's fine,

against Belichick, not so much. And what you're seeing, we all know this, and we would all acknowledge this. Football more than anything is the coach's sport. In baseball, you need pitching. in the NBA you need stars. There's been a lot of good coaches that have won NBA championships because they had LeBron or they had a great player.

But football's a coaching sport, and most great coaches have two things in common. One of them is they have almost an obsessive, odd fascination with details. Garrett's not really a detail guy. The second thing is they're mostly experts at something. Pete Carroll is one of the great defensive coaches ever. Sean Payton play calling. Most great coaches are obsessed on details and they're great at something.

They've got a side of the football, Belichick, Pete Carroll defense. Andy Reed, Sean Payton, play designing offense. They make quarterbacks better. He's not a detail guy, Jason Garrett, and he doesn't really, do you ever talk about him as a play caller or a play designer? Not a big motivator. What's his expertise? But it goes back to something when very good.

Good to very good. Face is great. You can be the best tennis player in a country. You face Federer in his prime, you're going to look really overwhelmed. And I think Sunday, when you juxtapose Belichick's obsessive nature on defense and details against Jason Garrett, it just came up short. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. Well, Lamar Jackson certainly made a statement last night. Yeah. as the first player with five touchdown passes in his Monday night football debut. Fans were chanting MVP on a road game as he left the field. Sure, that felt great for Jared Dolls. Yeah. Well, Lamar insists that winning that award is not his main focus.

It's okay, you know, but I'm trying to win the Super Bowl, and we're taking the game at a time. I'm not worried about MVP, you know. If you come and come, I'll be satisfied, but I'm trying to win the Super Bowl. That's a team award, and that's what I want. You and I were talking about Lamar earlier today. It's really been the story of the year Lamar Jackson. Yes. But it's also just, it's so easy to wrap your arms around him because while he's not really,

I wouldn't necessarily categorize him as an underdog. I mean, if you look at his career, that's kind of a stretch. No. But he was doubted coming into the league. Sure. He did fall in the draft, at least according to, of course, to his expectations. And, you know, there were some questions about whether he was. able to even play the position.

So he feels like it kind of has a little bit of a, you know, I have something to prove element. And every single week, there's always one person's like, no, I don't really believe yet. And then it's like, like at this point, maybe just buy in. We've said this before. Aaron Rogers went in the first round, but he felt he got dog. Right. Dan Marino went in the first round, but felt he got dog because he dropped. You can be a first round quarterback.

but what do we always say all the, by the way, Baker Mayfield and Cam were number one picks. They've never come in with a chip on their shoulder. I don't think Baker, I think Baker came in doing commercials. The quarterbacks who succeed in this world, they almost all have a chip. Well, I think Baker had a chip in college.

But now he's the voice of insurance companies. Now it's kind of, that's kind of gone away. I think just because you get drafted in the first round doesn't mean you can't in your mind talk yourself into, I got totally disrespected. I think that chip is valuable for quarterbacks. It is. Football's hard.

I think it keeps you driving on a Tuesday. It's why he gained 22 pounds in the off season. But he also plays with an energy that is contagious and it pops through the screen. And it kind of, you know, he plays in the way where you hear guys always talk about like we play a child game. Like we're out here playing a game. I'm going to be grateful for this opportunity. He kind of plays like he's enthusiastic about every single snap. I mean, if he gets, if he gets sack.

He gets up and gets excited and smacks the defender's head. Like, you know, good job. Like, he feels like he's enjoying every second of being out there. It's really fun to watch. And, you know, sorry for anybody that has to match up against them because they're on fire. Ridiculous. So Richard Sherman has not want to shy away from speaking his mind. And after the 49ers blowout win over the Packers,

Sherman defended his quarterback claiming Jimmy G is not getting the credit he deserves. You hear some of the noise and things said about him. And it's frustrating because we see him every day. we see what kind of work ethic he puts in, the hours that he puts in, the last one in, the last one out, the guy looks for no credit. All he does is encourage his teammates and put more work in. And then you have people nitpicking, nitpicking. We run for 300 yards. You're like, well, he didn't throw a lot. We ran for 300 yards. He's a good enough quarterback that people have to make excuses. They have to move the bar. They have to, oh my God, he didn't throw for 400 this day. Now it's pass rating is

145 on prime time against one of the best teams in football. And I'm sure they'll move to go post again. Jimmy Garoppolo is our leader and we will follow him into the, to the darkest, the dark, we'll follow him into a dark alley and I guarantee you you won't touch it. I love that. So, Mike, I mean, it's kind of true. We really have been given Jimmy G a lot of credit at all this season for the 49ers success. All we're talking about is our defense and Shanahan. He reminds me a little of Russell Wilson. So Russell comes into the league. The defense is great and the coach is beloved. Shanahan's beloved, the defense is great. And it took Russell, like, three to four years where, like, Pete Carroll last year finally said, boy,

Russell's great. Right. Right. So, like, you get this. If you come into the league, the downside to come into the league, when you have either a great coach, because most guys come into the league, they don't have a great coach. The coach gets a lot of the love. And the coach's particular strength gets a love.

And I actually think Garopla, I don't think he's as good as Russell Wilson, but it reminds me a Russell Wilson's first three years in the league. By the way, he came to the Patriots, so he backs up Brady. Then he goes to the genius young coach for the great defense. You know, it's just the reality of his world right now. And he's not really, his personality isn't kind of an over-the-top personality. He had one little weird thing in a restaurant that, you know, kind of popped on TMZ for a second. But then it's really been nothing from him.

So he seems like he's just a very low-key guy. In the football. He has a little bit of, I mean, kind of like a DAC quality. Like he just keeps winning, but we never really want to give him specifically the credit for it. Yeah. So I feel you, I feel you,

Richard. Finally, the Browns had to pick Pittsburgh for the second matchup this season with the Steelers,

hopefully a much quieter one. Fox Bet has the Browns as a two and a half point favorite over the Steelers. It's the first time

that Cleveland has been favored in a game in Pittsburgh since September, 1989. So congrats, Browns. Wow.

They went to the AFC championship game that that year. Okay. So Mike Tomlin has just announced that Devlin Hodges will start

at quarterback. In 1989, Freddie Kitchens was a high school freshman. Most of the Brown's roster wasn't even born yet. So the Steelers are almost a field goal dog at home to Cleveland. That's going to be an interesting game. I like Cleveland in that game. That's an interesting kind of subplot.

I mean, I would feel, I feel better about it that Mason isn't starting. Thank you. I think that that is a wise decision. Well, yes, he did not have a great game. Dinks. He's, yes. Yeah, he does. I don't like Mason.

I'm with you. I'm not. I'm not with him either. But I also think that there's kind of an emotional element to it that I think would add to his game in this in this situation. So I think it's a wise decision to start. I think Cleveland's kind of found their way offensively. I think Cleveland's going to score some points. That's interesting.

Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd Lie News. He's still the all-time sack leader for the Pittsburgh Steelers, which is remarkable considering it's the Mean Joe Green, you know, Dwight White, the great steel curtain franchise, 15 years in the N. NFL James Harrison, a Super Bowl champion. We bring him on to our show on a Tuesday, and his division is now dominated by the vaunted Baltimore Ravens. Let's start with this.

I started my show today saying, well, everybody says, is Lamar sustainable? And my takeaway is, God, outside of New England, what's sustainable in this league? Last year, we thought the Rams were going to run the NFC. Do you think he's sustainable? I think it's sustainable as long as he prepares his body for what. he's going to be doing. He's going to be more of a runner. So he's going to have to train a little different than a normal quarterback would. He can't go and train like Tom Brady and use all bands. He has to put on some girth, some muscle and, you know, be able to take, you know, contact if that,

well, because that's what he's going to be doing. He did, by the way, in the offseason, James. It looked like he put on about his traps got bigger. He looked like he got bigger in the offseason. Yeah. So if that's what he's, you know, what he's going to do, then I think it'll be sustainable. You know, that's the big thing. Every time you get a black quarterback that's running the ball more than normally, you know, for a quarterback, then you get the is a sustainable thing. As long as he does what he needs to do to train his body to prepare for what he's going to be doing at a position, you don't get this. Is it sustainable for a running back to play running back? I mean, as long as you train, right, you know what I'm saying?

You'll be able to do it. But my thing is, I think to defend Lamar, the big thing of trying to defend Lamar is, the read option. I don't know if they still have that rule, but when I play, once the quarterback started their read option, he's a running back. He's running back.

He loses the protections of a quarterback. So we were taught to, as soon as he read action, whoever has the quarterback, be line it to him. Don't read the mesh, don't read nothing. Hit the quarterback.

Because a delineman don't have to wait to see if this is a fake handoff or not to tackle the running back. He gets that same thing now because he loses that protection of the quarterback. And I think if you get people together and they start getting that scheme together of actually just saying, you know what, guy A has the quarterback, guy B has the dive, and then we go from there, you'll make him have to do what a quarterback does and pass the ball.

You know, it's funny. I've, years and years I've said that the advantage to being a great athlete and a quarterback is it takes quarterbacks. They say it takes about three years for the light to go on because the league so much fast, the playbook sticker. But you can win a lot of games in that two to three years with your legs while you're figuring out. Whereas Jared Goff, you've got to figure out the playbook fast because you're not going to win games with your legs. I do feel like Lamar's getting better as a passer. Yes, definitely. Yeah, he's definitely getting better as a passer. He's more accurate with his passes. No question.

He's making greater, you know, more technicalized decisions as far as reading the defense, seeing where the ball should go and getting it there in a timely fashion. Yeah. You know, it's funny. When Kaepernick came out, he threw pretty much a. fastball. It wasn't a lot of off-speed stuff. I think Lamar's really developed a nice touch. He mentioned, I think Joy had it yesterday. Lamar said the ball felt weird to me as a rookie. The NFL ball felt big. He said, I just had to, I played with a college football. He goes, there's no question last year. Sometimes a ball would come off my hand and I'd be like,

this looks awful. His ball, I know it's just optics, but his ball looks better this year. It does. It looks like he's more in control. He probably practiced a lot more in the offseason, throwing the ball, you know, just repetition, getting used to it, you know, more time doing the same thing. I want to talk about Jason Garrett's obviously on the hot seat. This is a very good team. They're six and five. And when you juxtapose him against Belichick on Sunday, who's all into details, you were briefly a patriot. And you, I said, Garrett's never been a great detail or an analytics guy.

And you can get away with that a lot in the NFL. But when you're facing Mr. Analytics and Mr. Detail and Belichick and you're up against each other, then it's like, oh, now I can really see Garrett's lack of attention to detail. Tell me a story about when you got to New England, because you told me before, it was just different, the intensity about their attention to detail in Foxborough. They're the organization, well, I've been with the studies, like you said, for a long time. Now, I went with the Patriots, and what I saw there as far as their attention to detail, that is the most detailed organization as far as their X's and O's planning that I have ever seen.

And I was with the Steelers for, you know, for 13, 14 years. They meet about meeting. You know what I'm saying? I'm dead. Seriously. Like, they meet about meetings. They meet. We go meet and we go have this meeting in 15 minutes, okay?

And that's what we're going to do. I don't even know what happens if you're late there. Like, nobody knows what happens if you're late. You probably get sent to another team or something. I don't know. So when I first got there, obviously, it was after Christmas or whatever. And I'm trying to learn the playbooks. So it's like 9, 30, 10 o'clock at night.

So they had me staying at the hotel that was right there at, you know, Fox, Fox World. So I called my coach. I'm like, you know, I'm having some questions about this certain defense and what I'm supposed to do. And he's like, well, just come on in. We can go over it and look at it on the film all this. I'm like, come where? He's like, come down to the facility. I'm like, you're still at work?

He's like, yeah, we're all here. This is 9, 30, 10 o'clock at night. I'm dead serious. I'm dead serious. If you don't understand what you're doing there, you have to try to not learn. You have to blank out, I don't know how you would do it, because they don't allow any type of technology going on in their meetings, no cell phones.

Yeah, your cell phone sits in your locker. You know what I'm saying? They don't go into any meeting rooms, you know, anything like that. And for you to not know or understand what's going on there, you have to literally be trying not to them. Why isn't that the norm in the NFL? Well, time. Some people don't want to put in that time.

I mean, to be honest with you, like, people ask me, like, why don't you want to coach? I'm like, it's more time than it is playing. And I put a lot of time in when I played. And to actually coach, it's not like you need to physically be able to go lift weights. All you got to do is put it in the time, learn and understand, but you've got to put in a lot of time. And the more time you put in, the better understanding you'll have, and the better you'll be able to, you know, explain it to your players and get them to perform. Do you think

Garrett's a bad coach? What do you think Jason Garrett is? Right now, I thought he was just a terrible decision maker and he can't get the information to his players in a timely fashion. And right now, I'm to the point where I don't even know if he has the power to do anything anymore with Jerry. I think his decision making in the games,

which is horrible, especially for, you know, last week. Right, right. Like, I'm going for that on fourth and seven. I haven't been down here this much. And I don't know when I'm going to get back down here. So, and the thing is, I gave him a pass because I'm thinking maybe he has a good reason for. Maybe he's thinking, we got to score three anyway to win the game, so we'll get the ball against, come down and get his cut down. But that's not his thought.

His thought process was, well, we get a field goal here. And then when my defense gives up a field goal, we'll still only be down by seven. That's losers mentality. You're not playing the win. So that right there led me at that point in time to be like, hey, you need to get rid of him, move on, get somebody in there that's not afraid to do what's necessary to win games. You're a former Pittsburgh Steeler. They played the Browns this weekend.

There was, you know, obviously a very ugly incident. Something happened? Yeah, the Miles Garrett thing. It's amazing. I go to the grocery store. People come up. That's all they want to talk about. My takeaway is you can't swing a helmet at people.

I don't care whatever happened beyond that. You just can't do that. And that guy's going to get the big suspension. Does that change the Brown Steelers, like this game in Pittsburgh this week, would it be talked about? Would Tomlin talk about that incident? Would that be? I don't think that would be fuel for their fires, so to speak. That's something that was just totally outside the boundaries of the game.

I think he would stick to what went on in the game, what they did wrong, that, you know, cost them to lose that game and focus on doing that better this week and going through. in making the browns look like the browns. You wouldn't make a point of revenge of the helmet. If I make a point of revenge of the helmet, how do I get you to get revenge from something that shouldn't happen that is just a totally out of bounds, illegal way of doing things? That makes you think that I'm okay with you trying to bop somebody else back with a helmet then, right? If I was to talk to you in that manner,

hey, they hit our guy with a helmet. We need to smash these dudes in their face. Well, is you telling me that I can get away with, you go let me pop somebody with a helmet? Like, I don't understand how you swing a helmet at somebody. you know, to begin with, especially, I don't, I don't care what happened, even though it's bogus, you know, because I've talked to guys that were actually there, like, they were like, it was nothing said. No racial thing. No racial slur was said, you know, so knowing the guys and knowing the guys that were there that I talked to, like, that is something that it seems like a cop-out, you know, hey, I'm trying to lessen what I did and make it seem like, you know, I had a reason for doing it.

and that wasn't talked about until at the actual hearing. Maybe he said it thinking that, you know, it would be a great defense, but it got out. He didn't, maybe he didn't think it would get out. And now you're stuck with running with this saying, what they're telling me is a lie. Yeah. Finally, when you look at the, so we watched the Ravens last night take on the Rams, and players want to get paid, but the Rams paid a lot of guys, and now they have an offensive line issue, and they got no,

first round picks and not a lot of money. I'm sitting there watching the Rams last night. Are you bailing on Gough, McVeigh? It was so bad and so ugly, or is it just one of those Mondays or Sundays and James, you didn't have a lot of these where everything that could go wrong

did go wrong for the Rams. I saw a team, especially on a defensive side that just totally gave up. They were deflated. I mean, it looked bad, especially after the second quarter, you know. A little bit of a quit.

It just, it was no fire in their eyes. You can see, you know, guys aren't even, you know, talking to each other. It's just a blank stare, so to speak. And right now, you can't sell on golf because he's, he's sold in. You know, he's all the way in. That's your franchise quarterback, whether you want it to be or not. Four years. Till 22.

Till 22, that's your franchise quarterback. So you're going to have to have to figure out a way to make that work. or whatever it is, but he's going to be there. That's one for sure or two for certain. Yeah. Good seeing you, James Harrison, two Super Bowl champs, multiple time, pro-ball linebacker, all-time sack leader for the Pittsburgh Steelers on a Tuesday great seeing you. You too.

Heard hierarchy in 20 minutes from now our top 10 NFL teams. Plus coming up next, Gronk talks about Brady, his intensity, and Brady talks about Gronk and his fun. Did they mesh? Did they disconnect at times? That's coming up. catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist,

Keer Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tript Fantine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses.

Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast. Learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. What's up, guys? This is Clifford Taylor the 4th. podcast, The Clifford Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Time out. Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the. Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast, Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows.

Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense.

And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball, like, after you go through a training camp with that, I said, you figure it out.

real quick. Oh, yeah. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Winners here, try Vic Sinix nasal spray. Last up to 12 hours, I use it. Vic Sinx nasal spray uses directed.

You ever drive down the road? I don't seem as much as I used to, but you drive down the road and somebody would have that bumper sticker on. I was never a bumper sticker guy to begin with, but they'd have a bumper sticker on and it would say mean people suck. And my first thought was always, oh, you're a lightweight. You think your boss is mean. No, your boss is serious and he wants to get crap done and you're a screw off.

I've never had a mean boss. I've been doing this 30 years. I've never had a mean boss. I've had serious bosses and the people who are screw offs at work think they're mean. They're not mean. They're just grownups who are serious and want to get crap done. Tom Brady, I was talking to gronk. It was really funny.

So off the air the other day I was talking to gronk. And I think he won't mind if I share this story. And so before he went on the air, he's an incredibly engaging guy. He's a lot of fun, a lot of energy. And I said, did you and Brady hit it off day one? And he's like, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. He goes, I was like, man, Brady is mean. Because Gronk came in.

He was fun. Gronk's fun guy. And then he's like, the more I learn the playbook, yeah, Tom wasn't as mean. Tom was like, you know, my guy. Tom was never mean with Gronk. But Tom's getting older. He doesn't have years to waste in his career. He's 42 now.

He doesn't have time for you to walk in the building and not get the playbook locked in. He just doesn't have time. When he was 24, maybe it's different. He's now 42, reverse those numbers. So Gronk was talking this weekend on Fox about how sometimes the intensity of New England, even after wins, can wear you down. That's the one part I don't miss about being there. Hands down.

I'm not going to lie. I don't miss that. You're frustrated. They're 9-1. They win a game last week versus Philly. We lost him in the Super Bowl two years ago. They should be happy. Instead, you're sitting there Sunday night like, what did I do wrong?

Like, no, that's not the feeling that you should have. You should be pumped about the window. By the way, Gronk is quarterback of the Patriots. You don't sustain the success. The reason the Patriots are able to sustain this success is they don't get too high or they don't get too long. You know, listen, we've had a really good three or four year run here. We're going to have a party Wednesday after our show, free sandwiches for the kids.

But it's like our job is to come in here every day and grind out a three-hour show. We don't celebrate a lot. That's my job. I'm paid to get a number. And I think New England like that, Brady talked about gronk this morning, and he's like, listen, this is, you know, I am what I am depending on the moment you see me. Sometimes I'm serious. You know, everyone deals with things differently. And, you know, I think that was part of having a guy like Gronk in a locker room that was so great,

was, you know, he approached it like he does. You know, we have different challenges we face. And I think, you know, for me personally, I don't have just one emotion after every game, you know. I mean, there's probably five or ten. You know, probably catches the moment you catch me is probably, you know, how I'll feel at a particular time. And sometimes it takes time to digest things and deal with things. And hopefully we can, you know, process. that goes by the time your preparation for the next week starts.

Remember, the NFL has always been dominated by serious people. Vince Lombardi, Tom Coughlin, Bill Belichick are serious people. Rex Ryan's fun. Jerry Glanville's fun. Don Shula was serious because you don't have 82 games like the NBA. You don't have 162 games like Major League Baseball. You don't have 38 games like the MLS. You got 16.

You got to win them all. And so the NFL's four serious people. They have dominated the league. John Elway, Peyton Manning, Russell Wilson. Cam Newton's distracted. Cam Newton can be fun. Cam Newton underachieves. One of the things I like about Lamar and Kyler Murray and Garapolo and Dak and they're into football.

And not a lot of wiggle on. I don't know about their social life. I don't care about your social life. If you want to win, you had fun when you were a kid in high school. You had fun at a fratten college. But when you get to the NFL for 12 years as a quarterback, you can have some fun in the offseason, but the season's serious.

And football rewards serious, committed people who grind daily and celebrate briefly. And I think Gronk is great to have in a locker room, but I wouldn't want Gronk as my quarterback. I think he's fun as a tight end. And I think what, I mean, when you look at LeBron James spending $2 million a year on his body through trainers,

Russell Wilson takes his trainer on the road in the summer on his vacations, that's what this league rewards. And that bumper sticker, mean people suck. They're not mean. They're serious and you're a screw-off. And there's just not a lot of time for screw-offs in the sport. Every game matters. So, you know, if you look at what wins in this sport, it is, I mean, remember we

joked after the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl? Everybody wrote a book. Everybody had a big party. They have never recovered from that. Well, that's kind of what I think Gronk is talking about because that's what they said, right? like I'd rather win one championship and enjoy my time than win five championships and essentially be miserable. But it's like you were saying yesterday.

That kind of success isn't for everyone. That's why there aren't 15 greatest of all times. There's only one. And there's a reason for that. It's why this dynasty will never be duplicated because you have to have the exact perfect formula of the two people with the most influence over the organization having the exact same mentality.

And that's what Brady and Belichick have. By the way, Kobe was known as, really serious. Michael Jordan could play his cards on the team playing, but Michael Jordan drinking or not, partying or not. Was the most serious. He was, Michael Jordan lifted every morning during the NBA season. Every morning. By the way, you're getting in, remember this. At three in the morning in Milwaukee, and Michael at nine would be uplifting. Like, and I covered Rashid Wallace. Rashid Wallace was so talented and so fun and so funny. But he was never serious enough. But you need every different kind of personality.

But, yes. But your leader, the Tim Duncan, the Brady, I want as a serious kind of obsessed guy. Peyton Manning was obsessed. Russell Wilson is just all in. I'm into that. That's just, you know, some, my kids say sometimes I am too serious. You can be serious. And I tell them to seriously get to their room and do their homework.

And I'm serious about that. All right. We got a great next hour. Peter King stops by. We have Ronnie Stanley, offensive lineman for the Raven stopping by in our third hour today. We'll go to Dallas, check in on the Cowboys with Mike Fisher, a longtime reporter in Dallas. Peter King coming up, Reggie Bush. We are packed on a Tuesday.

Heard hierarchy. We rate our top 10 NFL teams. I think this is the clearest and the truest yet. Next. One more Heard? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app. Search Heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own. experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

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

Are you a good person because you're a good person because you're a free. Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keer Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending. Opinions are flying. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. What's up guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th.

And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Rhett, my mama want you to weigh better.

What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed.

and finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup,

he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends, stop by like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash will get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers while he got the ball.

Like, after you go through a training camp with that, I said, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Oh, here we go on a Tuesday live in L.A. This is The Hur. wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We're on High Heart Radio, Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Peter King in 15 minutes, Ronnie Stanley of the Ravens next hour. That's very exciting.

We'll go into Dallas to check in on the Cowboys. Jerry Jones is Hammer and Jason Garrett in the radio today. Joy Taylor is joining me. I'll get to my herd hierarchy in about 90 seconds. Joey, how are you? I'm good. I think Jerry's kind of laying the groundwork there a little bit for the big breakup. It feels like it.

Let's me tell you something. Dallas Cowboys, this is as good a job that's been available in a long time. When Jimmy Johnson took over the Cowboys, they were a mess. They didn't have any players. Like they got all sorts of players. You got your franchise quarterback. You got your wide receivers. You got your old line.

It's not an easy job. No, it's not an easy job, but it's, you're not, you know, Freddie Kitchens gets fired. I got a quarterback. I got weapons. I mean, it's like Cleveland's not, if it wasn't for all the nonsense behind the scenes. Cleveland's got players. Dallas has players. Atlanta's got players. Those are good job openings.

Jacksonville's got players. You don't want to be Washington. You're not even sure you have the right quarterback. So if Dallas, if the job comes open, I think it will. You have to, I mean, Urban Meyer, Lincoln Riley, Brian Kelly at Notre Dame. I mean, that's a job you have to take the phone call. Jobs that come open are usually rebuilds.

Like Michigan football was a little bit of a rebuild. The recruiting had slipped. This is not a rebuild in Dallas. They are ready to win, and they're ready to win now with better details. All right, we call it the Hurt hierarchy. Top 10 teams, I rank them. Obsessed about this stuff. I know it's just a list.

Who cares right? I do, so here we go. Heard hierarchy. Time is now. Let's go. The top 10 NFL teams, according to college, number 10. Well, to start the year, Buffalo was a coaching and defensive story, but they're now, the quarterback's Josh Allen, who I thought had a chance to be a huge bust, is coming along.

He has now had multiple touchdowns in six straight games. games. That's a real thing. Now, again, Lamar's taking, you know, sucking up all the oxygen in the young quarterback room. Nobody's paying attention. Josh Allen's actually very athletic, gives you about 40, 50 yards rushing, throws no interceptions, 11 TDs one pick in the last six games. And this is a defense that has gone 23 straight games, not allowing anybody, any team, any quarterback, they have over 400 yards. So what started as a defensive story and a coaching story, now I got a wiggle on the offense, Buffalo at 10. Number nine. Kansas City.

We'll know more in two weeks because this team's going to go to Foxborough in a couple of weeks, and that'll tell us a lot. Let's not freak out. They had a buy week, so I'm not going to move them up much. They are second in the NFL and passing yards per game, and third in total offense. Their offensive line is better than league average,

and I love their coach. So this was a perfect time for a buy. Let's get Mahomes, another 10 extra days, a little bit of rest. Here we go. Patriots in two weeks. I have Kansas City at 9. Number 8.

Green Bay. Now, again, let's not go crazy because they got smoked. Clearly, they struggle with physical teams. But they are eighth in giveaways this year, meaning they don't give it up much. And they're ninth in takeaways. They do take it away. So if you keep it and take away, you win a lot of games.

But they are. Here's the issue. And I'm not saying Aaron Rogers is struggling. But, you know, he's completing. 64% of his throws this year with a great receiving core and a running game, so he's throwing on play action and Jimmy Graham. Aaron hasn't been great. His passer rating's 100. He's been good. He has not been great. And we finally got him a running game and finally got him a defense and finally got him a progressive head coach. And I don't think Aaron's been that special. I think Aaron's been okay. I think if you asked Aaron personally, he would tell you he hasn't been special.

So he was terrible on third down against San Francisco. I have Green Bay at 8. Number seven. I have the Cowboys a spot ahead of Green Bay, though Green Bay beat them because I do think teams change, and I don't think we should completely overreact to Dallas's loss to New England. Dallas hasn't lost in Foxborough in like three years. My big concern with the Cowboys is they do not have a takeaway in three weeks. Translation is, everybody's comfortable against Dallas.

Sam Darnold was great against them. Kirk Cousins was great. I thought Brady played really well. Stats didn't show you. Jeff Driscoll was comfortable. I'm fine with the offense. This offense is good enough to win a Super Bowl, the offensive line, the weapons. Their defense makes every quarterback that's reasonably talented, really, really comfortable.

And I mean, Donald, Kirk Cousins, Jeff Driscoll, Aaron Rogers, Tom Brady, had their most comfortable Sunday against this defense. That's the problem. Number six. New Orleans. They faded, they always start hot, right? second straight year, nine and two they started this year, 10 and one last year. Are they fading? A lot of people are like, they're starting to fade. I would say this to support New Orleans. Don't go crazy because Atlanta and Carolina in your division give you a pushback.

In your division, everybody knows Sean Payton's tricks and tendencies. So when you play a team over and over and Ron Rivera has seen every trick twice a year from Sean Payton for seven years. So sometimes in division, I mean, the great Seattle team struggled with Arizona them for years because Arizona knew all Seattle's personnel and tricks. Here's what I like about the Saints. You can't run on them. They force you to throw and they've got a real pass rush and I get a Hall of Fame coach and quarterback.

So don't get too concerned with these tough games in division. This is still a top team. Number five. Minnesota, I think this is a top roster. I think it's the best roster in the NFL. I do. It's a running team first with a conservative head coach. We all know that Kirk Cousins is.

is four and eight over the last two years against teams that are 500 or better. Sometimes he's inexplicably bad. They fall behind Denver, 20-0-0 at home. He got crushed last year at home by Buffalo and rookie quarterback Josh Allen. I do feel like the NFC championship game is their ceiling, and I think they'll lose a game before the end of the year, so they'll be playing on the road in the playoffs. But in terms of total roster, I think the front office has done a remarkable job.

the receivers that have two good tight ends, two good receivers, a star running back, big time safety, linebackers, pass rushers. I think they've solved some of their offensive line issues previous couple of years. Minnesota, I have at five. Number four. New England. Now, Mohammed Sunu wasn't available Sunday. He's coming back. They got their left tackle back. And if you really watch the football game, they were absolutely better in their protection. So they've upgraded it left tackle. Nikiel Harry, I thought, this is going to be a real story. Brady needs another weapon when Josh Gordon left. Nikiel Harry had a touchdown.

Philip Dorset comes back. Muhammad Sunu, Edelman. Then if Nikiel Harry is a six-target four-catch guy, that's another weapon they need, especially in the red zone. But 10-plus wins for 17 straight years. They are the model of consistency in the league. They're at four. I still wish they had a better deep threat.

Number three. San Francisco. I love the coach. I love the D-line and I really, really like the quarterback. Listen, they've, they've have 44 sacks this year. And if you cannot protect games over fast, there's a Baltimore feeling to San Francisco. Like if you don't have the linebackers that are good in space, Baltimore's going to knock you out first round. If you don't have an offensive line that can protect on the edge, San Francisco is just going to knock you out fast. There's a Mike Tyson quality to the Ravens and the 49ers.

By the way, to Joy's point, Jimmy G. since week nine, is completing 68% of his throws. That's right when I say Aaron Rogers is not having a great year. Jimmy G. with a bunch of young receivers, he doesn't have a DeMonte Adams. He's completing 68% of his throws. So he's better than people think. Number two. I think the Seahawks, you know, here's an interesting thing that speaks to. how smart they are and how well coached and how good Russell Wilson is.

They are 16 and 4 in their last 20 trips to the Eastern Time Zone. Now Seattle, I grew up there. It might as well be in Alaska. So they go to the East Coast, often play early, and they're 16 and 4. That would be a great home record. It shows you their preparation. It shows you their composure. Eight of their nine wins are one possession wins.

They also added Jadavian Clowney and Josh Gordon. Those are not just guys. We saw Clowny take over the Niner game. We know Josh Gordon, especially the way Russell Wilson works with everybody, could be a difference maker in a big playoff game. Six and O in the road. I mean, we always thought Seattle was a home story. They've now become the league's best road story. That's scary.

Number one. Let's not waste any time. Baltimore's just knocking people out. It's not competitive. Now, there's seven straight wins. And Lamar's, for the record. What's scary about Baltimore, if you had to look at their schedule six weeks ago, you're going to have to go to Seattle, and then you can play New England, then you got to go out to L.A. Monday night football. It's not like they got a scheduling break. They're knocking out good teams. And Lamar's last three, again, completion percentage, 73%. That's the league now. So I got to deal with his running, and he completes 73%. Hard pass if I have an option. Baltimore number one, there's no question.

question. Ronnie Stanley and their offensive line will be coming up. I find the Ravens fascinating. It does, it does remind, I said this earlier. It reminds me a little bit of Cam Newton, Carolina, the story in 2015, where you had this unique quarterback. The league was kind of figuring out how to stop him during the middle of a season, and they couldn't figure it out, and the team gets hot, and the team remains healthy, and you look up, and the team's on a seven or eight game winning streak and nobody's quite sure exactly how to defend Cam and nobody's quite sure how to defend Lamar. Now, I like Lamar, and I say this seriously, I've never been a Cam guy. A little like Baker Mayfield, they come in iconic. There's some ego. I think they kind of are more about themselves

sometimes than the team. I've never been a Cam guy. Lamar, I think, is more sustainable in terms of winning than Cam. I really do. I think Lamar's a much better thrower than I anticipated as an NFL quarterback. I thought he would struggle throwing the ball consistently on third down. He's been terrific. He's getting better. He's got a little chip on his shoulder because he dropped to the end of the first round. I think the Baltimore story is absolutely fantastic. You know, the other thing I like, not only Lamar, we shouldn't have all these dynasties in American sports, right? All these leagues are trying to create parity, right? There's limitations. If you're good, you draft last. There's salary caps. Salary caps are created to keep everybody even, right? They don't

want everybody playing in Los Angeles, even though they are in the NBA. So all these leagues are trying salary cap and you can't pay too much and you don't get good draft picks if you're good. But yet we have no parity. Golden State was a dynasty. Alabama's been a dynasty forever. The Houston Astros will be favored to win the World Series again last year. What do they all have in common?

They all went in on analytics early. New England, by the way, went on analytics early. And so what happens is when you go into something early, you get a head start on everybody, and everybody's playing catch-up. The rockets are playing catch-up to the Warriors on three-point shooting. And this is what I love about Baltimore, is that they went in on Lamar Jackson. They said, listen, if we draft Lamar, we're going to have to be different. And they went all in on it.

I always felt with Cam, half the buildings like, everybody's in on Lamar. Everybody's all in on Lamar. And by the way, I love Harbaugh, because Harbaugh hired a 25-year-old kid from Yale. and he puts them up in the box every game. And this is John Harbaugh saying, I'm not going to be old and rigid. My entire life's, one thing I've noticed about sports and I've noticed it about business,

stubborn gets you fired. Rigid gets you fired. That doesn't mean you need to put your arms around every cool, new, lit thing. But stubborn gets you fired. So John Harbaugh went out and hired a 25-year-old from Yale, and he goes, I'm going to put you up in the box during the game, and I'm going to call and ask you,

win probability on this play. And last night was a prime example. They were going to punt it. Rams had a penalty. He went up to the booth. Should we punch? Should we go for it? Ended up being a touchdown. So I don't just love the Lamar story. I love the Harbaugh story. I love the Baltimore story. This is a classic old guy town. And they're like, no, no, no. We're not going to be stubborn. We're not going to be old school. We're not going to be rigid. We're going to roll the dice on this thing. And they are all in on Lamar. Even in the draft, remember the draft they got him? They went and got tight ends. They went and got receivers. Next year, it's Mark Ingram. Everybody bought in. We're going to roll the dice on this thing. We're going to be early adapt. because we see college football changing, high school football changing. Now, Jerry Jones is not into analytics as much. He was asked about Jason Garrett's lack of attention to detail. Garrett's not an analytics guy. He said it this weekend, and Jerry defended him this morning.

As an oil guy, like, if a scientist told you there's oil there, you're probably going to drill. Like, don't you think that information is useful to the team that, hey, if you go for it here, you increase your chance of winning by 3%. Not really. If a scientist could do that, then just hire the smartest scientists. Don't even bother with the middleman. Just take all the money out of the banks, let the banks go drill all the well. The reason the banks don't drill all the well is because they've assured the people that put the money in the bank, they'll get their money back.

If you're drilling wells, there's no assurance like that anywhere. All right. That was over my head. Well, basically he's saying that, you know, football, much like Jules, oil, which I know nothing about, but I do know some things about football. Nothing is an exact science. So you should have a balance of analytics and, as you like to say, me analytics. Yes, I do think analytics are important, but I don't like reducing my athletes to numbers.

I don't want to walk into a room and say, analytics say this. Sometimes you have to go into your room and just say, like a baseball manager. I'm just going to keep you in the game because I'm looking at you as a 6-5 starter. You've won games for me. Tell me I've got to pull you and go to the pen. Well, there's an element of gut instinct. There's an element of experience. There's an element of human error and reliability that you have to consider.

But I do think that, you know, analytics can greatly enhance your chances because it's more information and why would you not want more information? Right. What do my eyes tell me? And then what are the numbers say in conjunction with my eyes? It's just something to help you make a more educated decision. Are we analytic? Is this show very? very analytic? I think we have a really

good balance of theoretical and analytic. Okay. I think we spin our theories based off of things that are actually can be quantified. Oh, that sounds very intelligent. There's a lot of big words there. Yeah, it sounded very smart right there with Joyce.

I'm glad somebody took a math class. Joy to it, I didn't. Coming up next, Peter King stops by. What a spectacle last night. You know, I don't overact and say the world's changing, but there's stuff happening in high school college football and now it's working its way to the pros. And I find it fascinating.

There's so many good young quarterbacks. We got three A prospects coming in this year, two A prospects next year. We could have five-star quarterbacks coming in from college to go along with all these great stories coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific

on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway, with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental Health Awareness Month. I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we

don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good, person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keir Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Last night, a blown call changed

a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending. A PINC. are flying and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves,

their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions,

everybody wants answer. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. What's up guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee.

We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her. What?

Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca. and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what.

He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup,

he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stopped by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash will get that thing. That man, hell get to fly.

He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, you go through a training camp with that, I said. You figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

By the way, Lakers won last night, 15 and 2. LeBron's taking over the world. They're good. going on the road winning all the games guys dove men plus care available at walmart stop borrowing your girlfriend and your wife shampoo dub men plus care uh you know i said to start the show today people are like is this lamar jackson thing sustainable and my thing is what's sustainable in the nfl except new england what is sustainable you know this i mean i i don't know i look at it and i think let colin canpernick got you to a super bowl and

two nfc championships i think most coaches not named bill bellichick would take that. I think sometimes we worry too much about sustainability. Can you win now and what wins now for the next three years? With that, three-time national sports writer of the year, Vita Coward Global Satellite Network, Peter King, NBCSports.com. You know, who's, who's idea? I was just talking about early adapters, the Astros, early adapters, the Warriors, early adapters. And somebody in the Baltimore organization said, okay, if we draft this, this is going to change the way we play. From old Joe Flacco to Lamar. Whose idea was it in that room to draft Lamar Jackson? Because, man, Peter, they have gone all in day one since they drafted him. Well, Colin, they had a scout who scouted a lot of Louisville games

last year, a couple of years ago, who brought Lamar Jackson to Ozzie Newsom, the general manager and is entering his last draft, and to Eric DeCosta, his heir, who now is running the Ravens drafts. And DeCosta and Newsom loved Lamar Jackson. But you know what's funny about that? They didn't tell a soul. They traded with Howie Roseman of the Eagles and they did not tell Howie Roseman who they were trading for. The guys in their building didn't know until Ozzie Newsom picked up the phone when it was time to pick at number 32 that they were picking them. And I think that's one of the things that the Ravens do well. They let people. people in their organization know stuff on a need to know basis. It's the old Belichick way.

And that is how the Ravens got this done. One other thing, though, and you were talking a lot today about analytics. I think, hey, look, Eric DeCosta was, you know, a long time ago, the assistant GM at the time, now the GM, he was in a waiting room or in the, in the delivery room, waiting for the delivery of one of his children. And he's there and he's reading Moneyball during the loans. So, I mean, he's one of these guys who has always embraced the analytics. And now it's his show to run. Yeah, it's so much fun to watch.

By the way, I want to shift. There's so many things out there. I kind of feel like Baltimore, San Francisco, New England are the teams. And they just, they're working it out. I do worry that the Niners without Kwan Alexander, could they beat a Lamar Jackson, I don't know if they can. You're in San Francisco. And I want to ask you about that game against Green Bay. So here's another opportunity for Aaron Rogers. He's got a running game. They got in the coach he wanted. And that game's over nine minutes in. Not all losses,

Peter King, are equal. That felt fairly daunting to Green Bay. They got pushed around again. And I wonder if there's a frustration, an identity issue with Green Bay, that's a real thing now? Colin, I think that was all about one thing. It was about John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan, Adam Peters, the scouting staff, and Robert Sala, the defensive coordinator, creating the kind of pass rush that is hell on wheels for anybody to defend. And in my opinion, it was all about the pressure. It was all about the pressure that just never, ever stopped for three and a half quarters against Aaron Rogers. And I'll just say this, you know, as good as an offensive line as that has been traditionally in Green Bay. They're showing signs of age.

Yes. And showing signs of where. And right now, if you're going to try to win one more time and Aaron Rogers say next four years, that is going to be something that Brian Gutikin's, the general manager of the Packers, is going to going to have to address. Just like he got Zadarius and Preston Smith last year to remake his pass rush and they're great. This coming year, he's got to draft a tackle and he's probably got to go out and get an underrated offensive linemen in free agency to freshen up that line. Yeah, and they have done. The Green Bay has done a great job to develop offensive lines for the last eight to 10 years. So it is one of their core strengths. I want to go to Jason Garrett.

I was saying is that when you put good, and I think he's a good coach against great Belichick. It can make good look very average. Roger Fedder could play the 38th best tennis player in the world in his prime, and that guy could be the best player in his country. But against Roger Fedder, he'd be undressed. Great against even good

is, it can look really bad. Garrett looked worse Sunday. Dak wasn't prepared to throw in the rain. The special teams blunders. It does feel like to me Jerry's laying the groundwork to fire him going on air over and

over and over. Does it feel like that to you? I mean, look, if you work for Jerry Jones, you are going to get micromanaged. And that also means getting talked about in the press openly. And in my opinion, you know, this has all been about one thing. And that is making noise in January. If they don't make noise in January, Jason Garrett's contract is up. He will get the gold watch from Jerry Jones. and Jerry will be on the phone with whoever, Lincoln Riley, you know, whoever, whoever it may be. But he's going to go out and try to get, I believe, he's going to try to go out and get an offense that's going to be an intergalactic type offense that you're seeing with, you know, the Seahawks, even though it's not the same as Baltimore's offense. But you're going to try to get a progressive way of running your offense that I think Jerry Jones,

And the other thing is, you're right. There is no excuse for special teams play like that. Yeah. And the New England Patriots have three players on their team absolutely specifically for special teams and special teams almost only. And, you know, that's not a bad model to model your franchise after. Finally, I looked at the Rams last night. And then I read the, and I was, I kept telling people, I kept saying a year or two ago,

I kept saying slow down on Sean McVeigh. Kyle Shanahan is the best coach in that division. You're going to see this. And Pete Carroll, Kyle's the best young coach. Pete could be the best coach. This division is tough. They've got a stadium issue with cost overruns, which is adding tension. LeBron comes to town.

I think they're overpaying everybody to sell PSLs. It felt last night like the bank came to collect their note and they don't have any first round picks. Was it just a loss? because it feels like to me, I'm reading that article by Seth Wickersham. I'm like, it feels like there's a lot of tension in this building in Los Angeles, Peter. It isn't just, well, the Wickersham Van Nata article on ESPN.com essentially has said what a lot of people around the league have felt for a while, which is there's a tension between the chargers and the Rams in figuring out how you're going to fill that building. but in my opinion the bigger issue both with bigger issue with the Rams right now is you're absolutely

right they're going to have to hit on an awful lot of third and fourth round picks yeah because because and they're going to have to be trading down now to get multiple picks because they're without so many of their upper picks in the next couple of years the one other thing I would say is you know there has to be a reckoning about Jared golf you know and and and there has to be work done with Jared Goff to make sure that even when the pocket collapses in a hurry, he's not making dumb throws. He made a few dumb throws last night. And I think you're just seeing it right here on these clips. I just think he's hearing a lot of footsteps. Yep. Yep. Sam Darnold said it verbally ghosts. He's seeing ghosts in L.A. because he is not, he, he is just not the same

quarterback as a year ago, and it's not offensive line issues exclusively. Peter King, NBCSports.com, and San Francisco. Great seeing you, Peter. Nice talking to you. Thank you, Colin. By the way, Casper the most loved the trusted sleep company in the world. Casper.com.

The code has heard, H-E-R-D, H-E-R-D at Casper, pillows, duvays. They've got it all. Here's Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd-line news.

Well, Tom Brady was vocal about his frustrations with the Patriots offense against the Eagles last week, despite winning the game 1710. Yeah. And on Fox's pre-game show Sunday, Gronk said the Patriots should just be happy that they're winning. Yes.

That's the one part I don't miss about being there, hands down. I'm not going to lie. I don't miss that. You're frustrated. They're 9-1. They win a game last week versus Philly. We lost him in the Super Bowl two years ago. They should be happy.

Instead, you're sitting there Sunday night like, what did I do wrong? Like, no, that's not the feeling that you should have. You should be pumped about the window. I agree, Rob. But Tom Brady says the frustration was just him being authentic to how he felt in the moment. You know, everyone deals with things differently. And, you know, I think that was part of having a guy like Gronk in the locker room that was so great was, you know, he approached it like he does.

You know, we have different challenges we face. And I think, you know, for me personally, I don't have just one emotion after every game, you know. I mean, there's probably five or ten. You know, probably catches the moment you catch me is probably, you know, how I'll feel at a particular time. And sometimes it takes time to digest things and deal with things. And hopefully we can, you know, process those by the time. the time your preparation for the next week starts. This is,

this is Brady and Belichick. This is how they roll. They're not, they're not fun. Fun. Fun. No. But success is not always fun. It sounds fun. It creates a lot of its own issues and tensions and stresses. What do they say? More money, more problems.

That's what I say all the time. That is what you say. I actually say, Mo money. More problems. It's true, though. Like, in order, anyone can have a one hit wonder, all right? And lots of people have won one Super Bowl. In order to have the level of success,

to sustain success that Belichick and Brady have, one, you have to be extremely detailed, as we were talking about earlier with James Harrison. You have to not be all about fun. You have to be very serious. And you have to be humble. And that's what I really think this is about. That's why I think every single week when Belichick goes out

and talks about how great their opponent is and what they needed to do better last. He's creating a kind of a template of humble. Right, because once you start feeling yourself, that's when you underestimate people. And in the NFL, as we know, any team can win on any given Sunday. It's not college where you're just, the talent level is just impossible to overcome. These are all professionals who are all prepared. Why I don't compliment Goulet.

He just takes a little pat on the butt and goes nuts with it and he doesn't show up for a week. Too-y, you can say all sorts of nice things, too. But Goulet still shows up. He's just, Goulet gets into himself very. quickly. Well, the team that they beat on Sunday, the Cowboys missed their chance for that statement win, and Jerry Jones was very unhappy with his team's overall performance. He's been called lost a significant step back. Oh, that's bad. But Dak explained he does not agree with that. Oh, really? Because that was a good team we played. That was a championship team we played right

there. As I said, they made fewer mistakes than we did and more plays than we did. And once again, I'm going to bet on myself and my team every chance with the ball in my hands, with the ball in our hands on offense with a chance to win the game. So as I said, this one's behind us. We definitely can't say it's a setback or have a setback when we've got a game here in four days. So not at all was there to setback. They did lose in Foxborough in a tsunami.

So that's okay. This is what I've been saying all week. This is what I was saying before this game. Yes, it felt like a very big game for Jason Garrett. But the reality is that's not a bad loss for the Cowboys. You would have liked to see them play better for sure, of course. And he's right. They did beat themselves.

It's ridiculous mistakes. Right, but that's what the Patriots do. They make you beat yourself. They just take advantage of your mistakes, and they don't make mistakes. That's the difference. But they have won 21 games in a row at home. They were six and a half point dogs.

That would have been an incredible win for the Cowboys, actually. I'd love to see what the line would be if Baltimore went to New England, because just out of respect for Foxborough, like once it gets ugly there, it's like the odds makers. Well, everybody's playing in the same way. So I don't want to make too much of the weather. They're good at it.

The Patriots are more prepared. Yes, and that is at home. So they're used to playing in that. But everyone's playing with the same equipment now. You know what I mean? So I don't really, I don't make too much of that. But I don't think it was a bad loss for the Cowboys. I think it was a bad loss for Jason Garrett,

but not for the Cowboys. Finally, some nice news for Carmelo Anthony. He scored a game high 25 points and the Blazers win over the Bulls last night. He entered the game with 25,590 total career points. total career points, and the additional 25 moved him ahead of Alex English to 18th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list. Why is Portland so bad this year? They have some issues, yeah.

I don't know what's going on. But this is, I don't know if this play from Carmelo is sustainable because he's going to continue playing ISO ball, which is not really what they do. But it was a nice moment. And Lala was there and was like holding up her phone with her son on it so you could see. Is he with Lala? Yeah, they're married. I thought there was problems.

Well, most relationships have problems. I thought La La and Carmelo, like a year ago, had a problem. It was a while ago. And they're back. Yes. Well, and she's obviously there supporting him. He also said that she was a huge part of keeping him, like, motivated to get back. It's a nice story.

Yeah, it was a really nice moment for Carmelo. Who will be a Hall of Famer? So she's showing, she's holding up her phone and their son is on face time, which is really cool. That is pretty cool. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News.

Reggie Bush around the corner. Ronnie Stanley joins us. Michigan, Ohio State this weekend. Ronnie Stanley of the Ravens next hour. We'll go to Dallas as where we're still packed on eight Tuesdays. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Welcome to my new podcast. Learn the hard way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist,

Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the with health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase

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

Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves.

Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer-beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Slical Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. What's up guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game.

This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways. to win no matter what. He's the smartest player

to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs.

I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us

on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash will get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball. Like, you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah. You figure it out real quick.

Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's college football rivalry week on Fox. It all starts with the Big Noon Saturday. week as number two Ohio State battles number 13 Michigan. Then it's Notre Dame facing Stanford, followed by Bedlam as number nine. Oklahoma takes on number 21 Oklahoma State at 8 Eastern on Fox in the Fox Sports app. I have a feeling it's going to be an upset weekend. Reggie Bush is joining us 11 years in the NFL iconic college career. Michigan hosting Ohio State. It's going to be lousy weather.

Nothing hurts a great offense like crappy weather. 100%. And you were a dome quarterback and a warm weather at USC. So you didn't have a bunch of bad weather games, but take our audience to wintery mix running back. Oh, it's perfect for a running back. I mean, anytime you wake up in the morning and you see rain outside or you see snow, whatever it is, you know it's going to be a big day for the running backs because that's when we get to thrive the most in the bad weather games. You got to hand the football off. You got to run the football, especially if you're on the road, right, and you're in a hostile environment. You run the ball even more. because you want to kind of take the other team's crowd out of the game,

and you want to take the other team kind of out of the game as well with the physicality. By the way, this is Harbaugh's best team, I'd make an argument. They've got nine wins. They've only lost road game. Shea Patterson, I'm not sure if he's ever lost a home game. Can Michigan beat Ohio State? You saw the Buckeyes make some mistakes last week. I did.

I did. And I think that had a lot to do with the bad weather, with the rain. And second half is where they started to really turn the football over. First half, it was dry, it wasn't as rain. It wasn't as much rain. And then once the second half came, that's when you kind of saw some of those plays start to unravel for Ohio State. Justin Fields, J.K. Dobbins, put one on the ground. And so I do believe Michigan can beat them.

If we see a similar repeat of performance from Ohio State from their offense, not protecting the football, turning the ball over, in their own territory, Michigan can definitely score some points and their defense is playing well right now. You're great. You were on some of the most talented college teams ever at USC. Is Ohio State in that class in terms of overall roster town? You know what? It's funny you mentioned that because last week in my notes, I was going to say this on there and I didn't say it. I was going to say that I believe this Ohio State team could have played with our national championship team. I believe they're very talented all across the board. Obviously, Justin Fields is a problem. and I would Justin Fields would be Vince Young back then right they got a great defense Chase Young who's arguably the best player at his position the most dominant player at his position all across the board stud running back stud running back they got receivers that can get open to man-to-man coverage I see a great football team and I even said on the show I think this could be the best Ohio State team ever assembled I think it's really good I think you you have these athletes now playing quarterback.

It adds such a dimension. Matt Liner was more of a pocket guy. USC at that time, and the culture in football was have star running back, star receivers, and pocket quarterbacks. The world is now changing. By the way,

Auburn hosts Alabama. I like Auburn to beat Alabama. I really do. That series has always been very interesting. The at Auburn games have been crazy good. So are you going to, if Alabama wins that game with a backup quarterback, we've got to put them in, right?

Well, they would definitely, I think they would definitely, who's the Georgia playing? Georgia's playing. Well, we know Clemson's in Ohio State if they winters. Georgia doesn't have a ranked opponent. So Alabama could jump Georgia if they stay at the five spot, but the thing that's going to hurt Alabama is they don't play in the SEC

championship game. So they're already out of it. And so that's one extra game that they're not going to get a chance to, you know, to make a case for them going into the playoffs. I also think, Reggie, I don't, I want to reward programs that get on the phone. and schedule tough games. Oregon scheduled Auburn. So I want, my gut feeling, my gut is I'm rooting against Bama this weekend because I want

college football to be better in September. And it's only good in September if you can lose a big out of conference game and still get in. Georgia played Notre Dame the last couple years. Georgia didn't have to play Notre Dame. So if it comes down to Georgia and Alabama and I was a go either way, I don't even care if you had a lost. Georgia got on the phone and dialed a tough opponent.

I have total respect for that. It's the same thing Urban says all the time on our show. You know, teams should be rewarded for scheduling those tough road games, much like Oregon did, right? They scheduled first game of the season. Auburn. You're scheduling Auburn. That's a tough opponent.

And then when you look at some of the other SEC teams like Alabama, where they're playing some of these FCF schools and they're blowing them out of the water by 60 points, well, I don't know how good that is for the sport, right? When you're picked to win a game by 50 points, is that raising the needle? right? Is that, is that, are we catering to the viewers, to the fan base? And I don't think we are. No, I mean, Alabama struggled to sell some of their tickets. I think the kids there are bored. They want to see good games. They don't want to see them.

Okay, let's get to the NFL. Lamar Jackson, sustainable. I don't know. It's winning now. Yeah. It is crazy, right? It's unbelievable. I mean, I was at the game last night. Boy, the Coliseum was chanting MVP for him. I was just going to say that. To hear the Coliseum chanting MVP and you're on the road in another team stadium, that was absolutely unbelievable. believable to see. And I was actually last night at the game with Steve Bouchardy, the owner of the Ravens. And one of the things that he kept saying was just how much of a leader that Lamar Jackson is and how smart of a player he is. And that to me said a lot, right? When the owner is saying that about you as a player,

when the owner is, you know, vouching for Lamar Jackson, the way that he is, it speaks volumes to Lamar going to the lab in the off season and reinventing himself. Because that's really what he did. He had to reinventing himself throwing the football. He admits it. He said first year it looked ugly. It looked ugly. And to see the transition now this year, because a lot of people don't do that, right?

A lot of guys will get the bag, right, get the big contract, and they kind of just keep doing the same things, hoping that it's going to work every year. But every year you got new players, guys got more film on you. They know your tendencies a little bit more. And now you have to find ways that what can I do differently that's going to make it tough for defenders. And that's why Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton, all these guys are so great because they did those things. We're showing this too. Sorry for our radio listeners, but we're showing some highlights.

There are some, these are really good throws. Oh, my God. Now, wait, not. Now, watch this one, not this one. That's fine. But watch this next throw. Sorry, radio. He's unbelievable, man.

That throw right there. There's a seam right here. Watch this. Yeah, the seam was. That's velocity in the right spot. But also he had one to end the first half, to end the first half, the touchdown he threw was a cover zero blitz. And so for people back at home, cover zero blitz is when it's an all-out blitz and you're playing man-a-man covers or every receiver. It's the same exact blitz that Jared Goff got caught with in the Super Bowl against the Patriots that ended up being an interception and they lost football.

They lost a football game. Yeah, so it's fun to watch. You know, the Coliseum, it was interesting watching it last night. You know, you had the stadium where you could still see the USC, UCLA markings. Yeah, yeah. It felt like half college hat NFL. I swear to God, you were there, Reggie. Fifteen minutes into that thing, it was dead.

It was going to the game was never close, by the way. The game was never close and the stadium was dead. What were the before the game when Lamar came out? Were they all hooting and hollering to? Oh, yeah. Like he's a movement now. So much energy, the electricity, just the amount of people that want to see him play, that are following him, the fan base.

He is must-see TV right now. He is, when you turn on the TV, and then once the game is over, you're like, you want more. Like, you want to see more. You can't wait to see what he's going to do next. And, you know, that's what I tried to be in college, right? That's the way that I wanted to give the fans a show. I wanted to give the fans a show.

And I didn't want to do it just for our fans. I wanted to do it for all of college football fans. wanted to do it for my teammates. And when Steve Bushadi is vouching for this man to wait it, he is. Yeah, it's really remarkable. It's a great show. Reggie Bush, hour three next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific.

Guys, stop borrowing your wife for girlfriend shampoo. Get your own. Dovemen Plus Care available at Walmart. Well, the Cowboys are America's number one sports brand. They're fascinating. And I've said, I think Jason Garrett's. It's a good coach. But when you put good against great Bill Belichick, it did feel on Sunday. It got exposed a little.

Jerry almost feels like he's laying the groundwork for having to move off of a coach he dearly likes as a human being. And with that, we go to the very respected Mike Fisher v. the Coward Global Satellite Network. Sports Illustrated Cowboy Insider, 105.3, the fan in Dallas. By the way, he's at the Cowboy Library. He'll explain that before we let him go today because that's an amazing place. He's at the star, and we'll get into that in five, ten minutes. Let's start with this, though.

Jerry's been, he's mentioned Belichick about four times in the last week or two, Mike. He's never done that before. From my vantage point, you're in the belly of the beast. I'm not. It feels like he's laying some groundwork here to make the uncomfortable firing eventually, does it not? His anger after the game in New England, and I'm standing there watching it, it didn't come out in his tone. it didn't come out in his in his actions, but it came out in some fiery words. He used the phrase outcoached.

He said in a sentence that some parts of why they lost were 100% coaching. And then he used what I think is some of the most damning and venomous things you can say about an employee, which is he said, we weren't good at some of the fundamentals of coaching, which is a direct stab, obviously, at Jason Garrett and the coaching staff. And Colin, you're right about the Jones family's affection for Garrett. And people talk a lot about they want him to be their Landry. But every owner wants that. Every owner wants their coach to be Tom Landry.

Right now, it's not working that way here. Wanting it isn't enough. You know, what does this mean for DAC? I mean, I look at this and I think DACs established himself. I'm more of a DAC guy than a Zieg guy. I think it's DAC's team and Tyron Smith, the left tackle. Those are the two guys I can't lose. I do think you could have a Nick Chubb, a good back, not Z can still win games.

Does the Garrett potential firing? Does it affect Dak's contract, the commitment to him? Is he in this at all? Yeah, the Joneses are committed to Dak. And they have accomplished the hardest thing to do in the NFL, find a franchise quarterback. And they've got that guy. And we've already, you and I have talked about it. I know you've talked about it a lot.

He's already, we already know, he's the right kind of guy. RKG, we call him around here. He's got the qualities you need as a person and a leader and an athlete. But now he's developed into somebody who's not just a thrower. He's a passer. That didn't all work in New England. It almost never does where they won 20 straight games. But overall, that's going to work for the Cowboys long term.

Dak Prescott's not the problem. You know, Mike, Jerry, who mentioned again this morning that I am the GM. He likes to throw that out a couple times a year. You and I know, we know this, that Jerry. Jerry fashions himself as not just a successful global businessman, but a football guy. And a lot of football people, Jimmy and Bill Parcells specifically, are a little turned off by that. A lot of football coaches don't want the owner peeking into the meeting rooms. If Jerry hires a coach, is he willing to give him sort of Jimmy authority?

Or do you feel like he would go a college way where a Lincoln Riley perhaps would feel more, appreciative of the opportunity. Like, what's your crystal ball and what kind of coach he would get, Mike? I think you want some of the things that Jason Garrett either gives you or was supposed to to have given you. Jason Garrett's a creature of habit. Jason Garrett loves the mundane parts of football. Jason Garrett really enjoys the process.

He's a detailed guy and a communication guy. The problem is those things have all fallen apart in recent weeks in very obvious ways. Your Casper mattresses, the Cowboys special. teams look like they were sleeping on him in New England. The next coach here needs to be all those things, but maybe he needs to be, because this is the way it works in the NFL. You know, first you hire a vuncular guy, right? Then you fire him and you get a mean guy, a taskmaster. Then you fire him and you bring in a professor. It's kind of a rotation in that way. I think the Cowboys and the Jones's filing cabinet on replacing Jason Garrett, which is going to happen if they don't have premium success in

the playoffs. It needs to be a Y. deep filing cabinet. We can throw out the Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma name is a sexy name to throw out because it's regional, first of all, because he's tremendously successful, at least on offense. And Stephen Jones and him happen to be friends. But this can't be a

one name search. This has got to be a big filing cabinet. Yeah, you know, it's so interesting because I really do think they're a highly functional organization. And you know, I've said this for years. We see Jerry sometimes in the vanity, but God, they draft well. They, I mean, it's almost

nobody in this sport can build an offensive line anymore. It's hard because of the spread offenses in college. They've done that. You know, this morning when you look at it, what saves Garrett's job? This whole thing, he's got to win two playoff games. Well, if you beat, let's say you get a home field and you beat a Minnesota and then you lose an overtime to the 49ers,

is that not retaining your job? Yeah, first of all, to the organizational chart, it's more organized than it's ever been. And there is this myth. And Jerry feeds the myth a little bit with his, you know, I am the GM comments. He also, if you review his comments this morning on 105 The Fan, he noted all the help he gets. He's got big ears, Jerry does. Stephen Jones is a gigantic contributor here. So is Will McLeh, the personnel boss. And so is Garrett. So he's not just ruling things with an iron fist. The organizational chart is fairly organized. If there's dysfunction, it's because the owner,

wants when they win these trophies, he wants his hand on the trophy along with the coach. If the coach will let the owner put his hand on the trophy, and why wouldn't you, frankly, then there really didn't big problems there. I don't think, Colin, that there's a line of demarcation that says he's got to win the NFC championship game and go to the Super Bowl or else. I think it's more gray than that. And you're kind of noting this. What if the ball bounces sideways in the playoffs? What if you play valiantly? and well with this team, this roster, by the way, that never quits on this coach. A decade in, they never quit on him.

They obviously believe in him. As corny as he sometimes might be, they believe in the cornyness. So I don't think there's that specific line. They've got to do X. That's why my phraseology here is they've got to do something of premium level in the postseason. Yeah. By the way, we have to show you this. The Cowboys, we talk about them a lot.

You are in the Cowboy Library, which I did not know existed. I did not know it was a thing at a facility called The Star. So I want you for a minute here or so. Take my audience in Duke. I've met Charlotte Jones, way impressive. I've met Jerry, very impressive. The stadium's in Arlington, but you're at something called The Star. Explain to my audience, radio and TV, what that is, Mike.

The people I think most fans know about because you get to see AT&T Stadium on television, and it's glorious in so many ways. even to the point where it's actually, thanks to Gene Jones, Jerry's wife, it's an art exhibit museum. The whole building is on top of everything else. This is an extension of that. It is a kind of a self-enclosed, all-encompassing place where a player or not player could live. There's a hospital right here on the facility, a full hospital. There's bars and restaurants and dance clubs and you name it right here in the facility.

There is in the basement, I guess, as you walk out to the fields where there's two outdoor fields, not to be confused with the indoor stadium. And it's not AT&T size, but it's big enough. I think it seats 8,000 and high school games are played here every weekend indoors in Ford Center. You walk from the field into these glorious locker rooms, if you turn left or turn right, and you go into a dining center. It's not, you know, your elementary school cafeteria, the way, and that's the way most of the way. NFL lunchrooms are, this is a full service. It's a dining experience for the players. If you want to go just upstairs, this is not directly related to the team, although it's an extension of it. There's a place called the Cowboy Club, and it's an exclusive membership club, no cameras. Because,

and the reason there's no cameras is because you can go out and look over the balcony and watch practice if you want to. And then next to that, there's a place called Cowboys Fit, which is the most luxurious fitness center you've ever seen. So this is the Taj Mahal on football steroids at the Star in Frisco. And he's in the library, which is a place I never went in high school much or college, so I'm unfamiliar with it. No kid nowadays even knows what a library is, so don't worry about. Mike, great talking to you.

Thanks again for the Cowboy Insight. Thank you. Covering the Cowboys for more than 30 years. I wanted to give you folks a little bit of an insight on that. I've heard of this. The Cowboys go all in. It's the best stadium. It's the best facility.

What do you need a dance club for? You know what? People like dancing. Keeps you pliability. I want my defensive end to dance a little bit in between wins. I would love to see that. I would love for us to do a show from there one day. It sounds amazing, but it's not surprising.

Wouldn't that be great to do a show? How many stadiums, how many facilities are there in the world that are just called somebody's world? Jerry's world. God, that's a great life. I've got to get into the oil business. According to Jerry, it is. is not scientific. That's right.

So he doesn't believe in the end. You better have a feel. He's more analytics than analytics on that. We love Mike stopping by. By the way, Ronnie Stanley left tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. Right now, the world's best offense will be joining us before the end of the hour. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, speaking up the Baltimore Ravens, Lamar Jackson certainly made a statement last night. He did. He became the first player with five touchdown passes in his Monday night football debut. Fans were chanting MVP. game was not played in Baltimore. Yeah.

As he left the field after the 45-6 win, but he insists winning the award is not his main focus. That's why I like him. It's okay, you know, but I'm trying to win the Super Bowl, and we're taking the game at a time. I'm not worried about MVP, you know. If you come and come, I'll be satisfied, but I'm trying to win the Super Bowl.

That's a team award, and that's what I want. He is a team guy. He really plays with a very special, unique kind of energy. What I like watching with Lamar the most is like, obviously, everyone pays attention to, you know, his when he scores a touchdown or his big runs. But the way he acts when he gets hit is really pay attention to that the next time, next game.

Like anytime he gets touched by a defender or a big tackle, he pops right up and like runs over to them and smacks him in the helmet. And it's almost like it ams him up or something. Well, Andrew Luck used to have a little bit of that. Like it like, you know, Andrew Luck said one time on our show, he said, I'm not, I got to get hit once. I need to get pop once. Well, no, this is like throughout the game.

Like he, he, it's like he, it's like he. likes it. He just loves football. It's really been a joy to watch him play this year. I'm very excited to see what they do in the postseason. That thing was, I mean, they just took the energy out of the Coliseum. Well, that, I mean, that performance

by the Rams was... It's just not great. I understand. You get down, you kind of lose a little bit of your zest, but you can't lay down like that. It's also a time to get into the new stadium. Enough of this, you know, it looked like a college stadium. The numbers were all duplicated. It's like, let's time

to get into the real stadium. It is. It's going to have a different feel. But like still, you have to have a better performance in that. Richard Sherman is defending his quarterback after the 49ers blowout whenever the Packers. He says Jimmy G is not getting the credit he deserves. You hear some of the noise and things said about him.

And it's frustrating because we see him every day. We see what kind of work ethic he puts in, the hours that he puts in, the first one in, the last one out. The guy looks for no credit. All he does is encourage his teammates and put more work in. and then you have people nitpicking, nitpicking. We run for 300 yards. They're like, well, he didn't throw a lot.

We ran for 300 yards. He's a good enough quarterback that people have to make excuses. They have to move the bar. They have to, oh, my God, he didn't throw for 400 this day. Now it's pass a rating is 1.45 on prime time against one of the best teams in football, and I'm sure they'll move the goalpost again. Jimmy Garoppolo is our leader, and we will follow him into the darkest of dark. We'll follow him into a dark alley, and I guarantee you you won't touch him.

Well, he's one of about 10 to 12 really great young quarterbacks. He's ranked 15th in Pro Football Focus right now. Oh, he is. He's at... Yes, he's at 68.8 completion percentage, 20 touchdowns, 10 receptions, 100.6 pass a rating, one rushing touchdown and four fumbles. They also, it's... They need George Kettle.

That offense is not the same without George Kettle. Yeah, I mean, he's been special for them. He's their gronk. Yes, he has. But you got to give Jimmy G credit, and he kind of has a little bit. bit of a DAC feel to me. A little bit. And look, I wasn't, I was not sold on Jimmy G at first because I really, I felt like

it was like an anointment before any kind of proof. Yeah, no, I get it. And he has still not, not played that many games, but you have to give him credit. He's, he's winning, which is all that matters. He doesn't have to be spectacular for them to win. And that's what Richard Sherman's point was. Like, he's what you want. Yeah, I mean, Jimmy Gill makes him, he'll, he'll throw some picks.

I mean, he's, he's kind of an aggressive, good-looking alpha, aggressive, uh, got a little wiggle to him. He's a good athlete, not great, like Dak's a good athlete, but he's not running around like Russell Wilson. There's a lot of DAC in there. Neither one of first round. Right. And clearly he has those leadership qualities that's, you know, keeping the rest of the

team inspired. Finally, the Pro Football Hall of Fame has narrowed his class of 2020 down to 25 semifinalists. Includes some big names as first-time nominees like Troy Palamalu, Reggie Wayne, and Patrick Willis. And the list will be cut down to 15 in January

and then five will be selected as the next Hall of Fame inductees. This is the list of 25, five modern players, 10 seniors, players who have been retired for more than 25 seasons. Fred Taylor's underrated. Yes, who are an individual other than a player or a coach as well. And two coaches will be inducted in the class of 2020 in honor of the NFL's 100th season. I've had two different players tell me, Fred Taylor's the most underrated running back in Lee history. I can buy that. Yeah, but he played in Jacksonville.

Didn't get a lot of love. Fred Taylor was a man and a great running back. But again, didn't have a lot of playoff games and so much of this league is, do we watch you play? No, Fred Taylor was a dynamic. And he's actually very beloved. Can you imagine if Russell Wilson played day one with the New York Giants? And that's no shot at anybody else.

But Seattle, 30% of the country... Well, also, I mean, when Fred played it was a different era as well. I mean, you couldn't get every game in every city. You know what I mean? Like, it's different now. You can be in Miami and be a man of Russell Wilson in Seattle. Like, it's a proximity doesn't matter anymore. But shout out to Zach Thomas.

Like seeing his name on there. Good stuff. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line news. We're saying there's, there are some positions in football you absolutely pay. And running back is a position now where, you know, the feeling is there's so many running backs. You can't give a guy a second contract. I just had an NFL scout tell me. Somebody I've

never brought on the show actually told me two days ago. He's never seen a wide receiver draft like this. He said there are so many wide receivers coming out of high school and college over the next two to three years. He goes, I'm not sure you better get your money as a receiver now because the market's going to get flooded. There are so many great wide receivers coming out of high school into college, into the pros. They're saying this is the best wide receiver draft, which, of course, delutes the position. But here's a position I'd always pay for. We talked about it at the morning meeting.

Left tackle. Tackle period in the NFL. Ronnie Stanley is the tackle for the Ravens. He is the highest-readed pass-blocking tackle in the NFL, according to pro-football focus. And he's going to join us next. That offense is just steamrolling people, and they got the best defensive line coming up in San Francisco. So the Ravens O line, the Niners D line on display.

over the next week. That's one of the great matchups in the trenches all year. So Ronnie's around the corner. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. It's going to be a great starting Thursday,

an amazing four days of football. By the way, the Patriot Cowboy game on Fox was the highest rated NFL football game on television since the 9th. these or something like that, wasn't it? Since 1996? It was a massive number. I was talking to a boss the other day.

I said, I don't know what it is about this NFL season. It's the best NFL season I remember. I think a lot of it is. I have so many young quarterback stories. I got the DAC story. I've got the Sam Darnold's playing well. I got the Baker story. I got the LaMars story.

I got the Kyler Murray story. I got the Jimmy Garapolo story. I got Derek Carr's back story. They're just, Josh Allen and Buffalo is playing well. You know, I always know I have the legends, and I got Aaron and Russell Wilson, I got Brady and Breeze. But this league has so many captivating quarterback stories right now. And if you watch Lamar last night, it was kind of won for the ages.

It was a remarkable performance where he threw for five touchdown passes. Jared Goff looked tired, and the offense for the Rams looked stale and stayed. And so the ratings are on fire for the NFL. and I think so much of it is, you know, the NBA has always been known as a story league. The better the stories, the better of the league. The NFL this year has got a bunch of great stories. Guys, stop wearing your girlfriend shampoo. Get your own.

It's called Dove Men Plus Care. It is available at Walmart. And I want to bring on Ronnie Stanley. He's the highest rated, former Notre Dameer, been in the NFL now four years, highest rated left tackle, pass blocker in the NFL. He just got back into Baltimore a couple of hours ago, kind enough to join us via the Coward Global Satellite Network. Ronnie, let me start with this.

So at Notre Dame, you had a bunch of different quarterbacks. It felt like you guys had a different quarterback every year. And then you get to the NFL and you got Joe Flacco and boom, then you go to Lamar Jackson. So you've had a lot of different styles of quarterbacks in your short NFL career. When did you know with Lamar? When did you sense, Ronnie? Wow.

This cat is. different, this cat is special. Really, it was the first game. He came in and started, you know, when Joe went down with the injury, Lamar had to come in. It was the middle of the season. And he came in and played like a vet like he's been in the whole game. And just seeing that firsthand, seeing the amount of maturity he had and, you know, the poise he had, I knew he was a special talent.

What's the difference between Lamar last year, Ronnie, and Lamar this year? I just think this year he's more sure of himself. He's not second-guessing. He's just going out and playing. And that just comes with his preparation. He goes in every week, always focusing on his mistakes and trying to correct those. Are you surprised?

It looked like he put on 15 pounds in the off-season. It looks like he's throwing a tighter football. Did you see his off-season work? Because it looks like he got totally committed to this craft. Yeah, so personally, I didn't see it physically, but I knew just by the person he is he's going to put in the work. He's not just going to sit around and enjoy his time off. He's going to go out there and try to get better. And he came back and he's showing people that work he put in.

You know, he dropped in the first round of the draft. So did Dan Marino. So did Aaron Rogers. I can remember Lamar being with his mother during the first round. His head was dropped. Teams were passing on him. And I kind of like that chip on the shoulder when players drop in the draft. They come out and they want to prove it.

Does he ever talk about that that he dropped? Is it part of him? No, I don't think he really talks about that. That's not something, you know, that we try to, you know, reminisce on and remember, but just, you know, move forward. And we're just thankful that he's with us. And we're all thankful that we're playing on the same team together. And our strengths, we just, you know, complement each other very well throughout the whole team.

You guys go on the road to Seattle, dominate the Seahawks. You go on the road last night and dominate. When I think of Baltimore, I always think of what a great home team. There is something, though, Ronnie, that's impressive when you can go on the road and win. And did it feel different last night? Is it a little more special to go to the other coast and win? Yeah, it's always nice, you know, win those road games because those are, you know, very difficult games to win. You have to deal with the crowd noise, you know, in this case, the time zone, the time change going three hours, you know, handling that.

all handling that and be able to execute a high level. It just says a lot about the maturity and the type of guys we have on our team. Ronnie Stanley, Ravens Left Tackle, number one rated left tackle and football. Take me and take my audience, Ronnie. You know, I grew up with pocket quarterbacks, and I always figured offensive linemen liked to know where their quarterback is. And now we've got moving mobile quarterbacks as a left tackle. Do you prefer one of the other?

Is it different playing with a guy that can take off in any second run? Yeah, you know, it definitely is different because those defensive ends are not just, you know, running to a certain spot per se. They kind of have to have to read the guy and maybe a guy will track back because Lamar, you know, is taken off down the field and I have to be prepared to, you know, counterback to that and cut off his, you know, angle towards Lamar. So those little things like that change a little bit, but for the most part, the technique and the fundamental state of the same. John Harbaugh is one of those coaches. He's got a Super Bowl. We always mention great coaches, and yet we don't put Harbaugh into that. Maybe it's because Jim Harbaugh is so famous and outspoken. Give me a sense from Brian Kelly, who's a great coach, to John Harbaugh. Did you connect with John Harbaugh immediately? What makes him special? You know, he really is good at just letting his players be themselves and not try and force people to be someone they're not.

And when you do that, you're allowing guys to flourish. You're allowing guys to play at their best ability. Because when people are, you know, anxious, uptight, you really can't play at your best ability. You can't go out there and just let it lose. So I think he's done a really good job to balance that line of making sure we're prepared, but also letting us, you know, play free and just let loose. You beat New England convincingly. They don't lose much at home up in Foxborough.

your thoughts, and if you had to play New England again, I mean, I think it would feel special dethroning them, obviously the guys like me in the media. Your thoughts of potentially facing New England again? You know, if it happens, it happens. We know that's probably a potential matchup, you know, on the future. But right now we're focused on San Francisco. We're trying to, you know, run the table right now.

We're trying to, you know, do some special. And we're just taking it one week at a time. And we've been having that mentality throughout the whole season. the results have been shown. Have you seen the tape on the Niners' defensive front yet, Ronnie? I've watched a little bit of tape, not as much as I would like to, but I've watched a little bit. You know, they have a very talented defense line.

I know a lot of those guys, just from recruiting in high school, a lot of those guys are West Coast guys. Yep. DeFords, those are all, I've known them for a long time, and they're all athletic, you know, big guys. They can move. They're strong. It's going to be a challenge for our offense.

and we look forward to it. Okay, Ronnie Stanley, good luck to you and the Ravens. Congrats. He just flew home, got home a couple of hours ago. The Ravens are on top of the world right now. Ronnie, thanks for stopping by. Thanks for having me, Colin. You bet Ronnie Stanley, former Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas,

which is as good at any high school program in America. West Coast kid, then he goes to Notre Dame. He dominates. He's the number six pick, and now he's a great left tackle. I get into this discussion. Joy, you and I have talked about this. Take quarterback out of it. And I don't even know why this fascinating.

me, but just take quarterback out. If you had to pay four more people on a football team, who would they be? And I've told friends of this for a year, I'd start with left tackle. Like I would do- Left tackle, pass-rusher. Interior. Probably another offensive lineman. Center, audible caller. Now, it used to be, I had receiver like nine, but you get to a point where, you know, it's funny because I do these mock drafts at home, whatever. So I've never seen a wide receiver draft like this.

It's insane, but there are literally two great left tackles. I mean, honestly, now, if you have a premier tight end, probably a tight end. Isn't that incredible? Think of the value that Gron had last year, Travis Kelsey, George Kittle. George Kittle is. They're game changers. It really is. You know, it's funny because Antonio Gates is a prime example.

Antonio Gates was a college basketball player, and nobody's. drafted him. So it's when NFL people look at players, like in their scouting, they look at bodies. What do you do with this body? And it was always a weird body type you didn't know what to do with. When the guy was like six, five and a half, and you were worried about him on the defensive line because his pad level would be bad. So he's too tall to be a defensive lineman, but he was too athletic to be an offensive lineman. He could catch. And for years and years in football, it's like, what do you kind of, do you make him a? And now it's like, oh, he's impossible to guard. So when you do get a George Kittle, he's way too big for defensive backs and way too fast for linebackers.

And you start looking at these teams that are hard to defend. And a lot of it starts it tight end. Travis Kelsey, gronk in his prime, George Kittle. They're just, you know, again, six, five and a half, 250, and they run a four, five, eight. Baltimore, by the way, got Lamar Jackson, went and drafted two tight ends. One Mark Andrews, I think, from Oklahoma is just a beast for them. Really tough to defend.

Most of your good teams in the NFL now have a great tight end. Tomorrow as a Wednesday. Now, tomorrow is special. It's our last day of the week on the air. So we're going to have Greg CoSell tomorrow. So we usually have them on Thursdays. We're bringing in Greg CoSell tomorrow. We're going to have our Blazing Five tomorrow.

we're going to have Nick Wright tomorrow yell at me and Joel Clatt and I will disagree. So tomorrow's an all-star show for all of those of you just tuning in. I'm going to give you a Blazing 5, a Greg CoSell, a Joel Clatt, a Nick Wright. This is, tomorrow's our last day of the week.

And then we take a little break to the following Monday. Are you going to be around town? I'm going to Pittsburgh. For four or five days? Wow. It's supposed to snow. Oh, it is?

We'll see. It's going to be cold either way, though. Yeah. By the way, the Michigan, Ohio State game on Fox, a wintry mix, which is, of course, great for football, but awful for the rest of civilization to have to ever deal with a wintry mix. Speaking for yourself on a Tuesdays coming up next. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind them. headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports

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