The Herd with Colin Cowherd - LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Tom Brady, & Dak Prescott

Episode Date: March 11, 2020

Colin defends LeBron James, gives his thoughts on Anthony Davis criticism, why he feels Tom Brady will go back to the Patriots, and why Dak Prescott will get the contract he wants. Guests include Ric Bucher, Rob Ryan, Sarah Kustok, Frank Clark, and Antonio Cromartie. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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 the 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 Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

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

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. 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, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? 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. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was harmed. you just understood.

That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to her. He's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball.

So listen to Point Game on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the Herd at Fox SportsRodio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

Here we go on a midweek Wednesday, live in Los Angeles, wet and dreary Los Angeles. This is the herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. For the next 10 days, I will be wearing a gigantic band-aid on my forehead. You can see it right there or not hiding from it. Joy Taylor sat with me this morning in the makeup room, and we had to cut and paste and cut based. I will talk about why I'm wearing a Band-Aid for a seven-stitch gash on my forehead after the break. I am fine, almost 100%. Enjoy Taylor. How are you? I'm great. We're happy to have you back. Glad you're okay. I am okay. Was not Sunday night at

three in the morning, but we'll get to that in a couple of minutes. Let's start with one of my favorite guests on this show. I never thought Akieb to leave would be one of my favorite guests. I always thought he was like talented, but kind of a pain in the butt to coach. And then, Then I met him, and I'm like, oh, I love this guy. He's so authentic. And, you know, he started talking about Tom Brady. He used to play with the Patriots. And he thinks Tom's leaving.

And he started joking about, you know, everybody wants a warm and a fuzzy big hug from Bill Belichick. And he said, no, I got a call from Bill Belichick. And I can tell you about calls from Bill Belichick. They're not very good. So when I read the story, he said, Akeep Teab about Tom Brady getting a phone call from Bill, and it wasn't very good. I know how those phone calls go. here's Akeeb Talib talking about Belichick in New England.

I think time is gone. I think it's a done deal, man. Bill is going to be Bill. Them calls are going to be shortened to the point. We got a report that said it didn't go well. I could imagine. I had a car that didn't go well with Bill before, so I can imagine what happened on that call.

I got a call from Bill that said, if you want to make a bunch of money, you're going to make a bunch of money. If you want to play some football and win some games, then we got a spot for you here. So if he treated everybody the same in the meeting room, he probably treating everybody the same around free agency time as well. And, you know, it's really interesting.

In any relationship, one thing you should try to avoid, I have experience failing at this, is trying to change people. And they shouldn't try to change you. Bill Belichick has never tried to change Tom Brady. He doesn't ask Tom Brady to run around and scramble like Lamar Jackson. He doesn't tell Tom Brady to have a rocket arm like Carson Wentz. Belichick looks at Tom and says, this is what Tom is, this is what Tom can do. boom, we'll create an offense for Tom.

Is Brady trying to make Bill what he's not, warm and fuzzy? I still would suggest to you that this draft is going to be very disheartening for Brady. I think the Patriots may draft a quarterback with their first pick. They don't have a second round pick. May address the tight end with a third pick, but I'm not sure there's one good enough at that point to draft. Here's the thing. We're all guessing where Tom is going to go. I'm going to wait, because I see.

still think he's going to New England. Where you choose to go in life tells me what you value. And so Tom's decision, and this is why I think he's going to stay in New England, is going to tell all of us what he values. If he stays in New England, he values winning. He values being coached hard. He values family. The Patriots are his family. He values culture. If he chooses the chargers because I've been told they're going after him. The owner wants Tom Brady to sell tickets. The GM knows he solves some issues. If he goes to Los Angeles where he just opened up a production company,

it will tell you he has moved into a stage where business is pretty close to football, whether lifestyle matter, and there's nothing wrong with that. If he chooses Tennessee, that will tell you friendship matters with Mike Vavit. So Tom's going to tell us what he thinks, and I would offer that LeBron James has done this, and each time LeBron has moved, he's told us what he valued. So LeBron was in Cleveland, and then LeBron chose Miami. And all LeBron was telling you is, I want to win. I want to win championships.

So he moved to Miami. Everybody got mad at LeBron. LeBron was just telling you, I want to win championships. He did. He won a couple of them. And then he told all of us, you know what really matters to now that I have money and titles? Legacy. I want to be thought of kindly in my home state of Ohio.

And then he wanted title there. And then LeBron chose Los Angeles, even though it was not the best fit for him. Philadelphia had more good players. Houston could have been a better fit. I would argue that Clippers may have worked. But what he told you when he chose Los Angeles, LeBron was saying, you know what, man, I'm in mogul stage. Branding business is now, even with basketball.

Even though basketball drives my business, business, mogul stage really matters to me. So with all of LeBron's moves, LeBron has told us what he values. And as you age, all of us, as we age, we value different things. In my 20s, I was all about my career. Mid-30s, I had kids. Career becomes slightly less important as my kids become more important. So I've made moves that I think are valuable as much for my family as for me.

I'm more family guy now that I was in my 20s and 30s, early 30s. So I think Tom Brady values winning, values family, values culture. I don't think money is the be-all end-all. I don't think weapons are the be-all-end-all. If weapons were the be-all-end-all, he would have been grumbling in New England for a decade. So that's why I go with New England. LeBron has told us every time he left, here's what matters to me at this stage in my life. There are no right answers for this.

This is specifically what matters to Tom at 42 to 43 years old. I say Foxborough is his sight. So last night there was an NBA game. It doesn't mean a ton. It was a good team, Lakers and a bad team than Nets. It got very close late. It was in Los Angeles. Here is the final possession in the game.

Lakers ball. Let's roll the tape. 104, 102. Who gets the look for Los Angeles? Green. Looking for. James gets it to him. Three seconds left.

James drives, kicks. Davis for the win. No. Brooklyn holds on. Brooklyn wins in L.A. Taking down the Red Hot Lakers. 104, 102, the final. People this morning will once again say LeBron should have taken the shot.

No, he shouldn't. It was the right basketball play. And let's be honest, this has defined LeBron James from day one in the NBA. My favorite LeBron's stat is he averaged about 25 points a game as a junior in high school. As a senior, he only averaged one more point. LeBron could have easily averaged 50 points a game, easily in his last year in high school. But LeBron told us coming into the NBA, it's about team. And so LeBron, as the best high school player as a junior, and then as the best high school player as a senior, his average barely moved.

It's never been about points. It's never been about getting the final shot. In 17 years, it's the right basketball play. And the sporting people will talk about LeBron. But I want to talk about two other things watching that play. The Clippers in Anthony Davis. So Anthony Davis, I was told for years and years, he is the first or second best player in the league.

My takeaway was he's a super, super high-end defensive player and an excellent offensive player, but he's not a leader. He cannot carry a franchise. Have you noticed when LeBron and AD have now played together and you watch AD more regularly? He's not really dependable late. His fourth quarter scoring, 58 in the league. He averages two buckets a fourth quarter. That's playing with LeBron.

In the first three quarters, he averages almost 22 and a half. In the fourth, he averages four points. He is what I always believed, a great defensive player, a very gifted basketball player, but not a guy late, I trust. His plus minus this year, when LeBron is not on the floor, this is fascinating. So when LeBron is on the floor for the Lakers, they are the number one seat in the West. When LeBron's off the floor and it's just AD, the Lakers are minus 3.3. They're a losing basketball team.

This is what I always thought of Anthony Davis. A-plus defender, All-Star absolutely, but not a one. So now let me shift to the Clippers. The story behind the scenes is when the Clippers were looking at A.D. And Kauai and late Paul George. The brain trust of the Clippers, Jerry West, Lawrence Frank, Michael Winger, Michael Winger, Doc Rivers. They wouldn't say this publicly because their job is not to criticize players, but I was told by a source I deeply trust is that the Clippers had reservations about Anthony Davis. They didn't know if he was willing to be tough enough to play through injuries. And whereas they thought Kauai Leonard had shown an ability to rise in the biggest moments of playoff series and games, they didn't think Anthony Davis was trustable late in games.

Again, they didn't want to make this public, but they sought Kauai Leonard. That is who they wanted. Within the Clippers organization, they had reservations about Anthony Davis's ability, fourth quarter, late in games, to stay healthy. So as I watched that last night, I thought to myself, the Clippers are looking at that going, told you so, can't rely on him to hit the big shot. That game doesn't really mean much. Lakers weekend win over Milwaukee meant something.

The Clippers win. Psychological stamp. We still own this town in this arena. I think tomorrow night the Lakers play Houston if I'm right on that. The Nets game didn't mean anything last night. But it did validate my thoughts on Anthony Davis, and I think to some level it validated the thoughts of the clippers on Anthony Davis. Coming up next, why do I have seven stitches in my forehead?

and the very latest on DAC. I wish I would have been a swashbuckling pirate and save thousands of people. That's not the way I got my seven stitches. Again, nurses are angels. 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. 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 SportsLice 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. 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, Kear Gaines, as 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.

What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. 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 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, ref, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam, this Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about Define the 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 a lot. 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 Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get to flying.

He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, IZAD, 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. Good to have you back in. True car. Buying a car, get as much transparency as you can. Find out what other people paid for the car you want.

Reviews and everything at True Car. All right, going to spend about a minute on this. Not too much. Not to bore you. I have a giant bandage on my head. For the radio audience, you cannot see that. So if you want to turn to FS1 and stare at me, go ahead. We're doing the best we can. The people in the back, the makeup artist, did a great job this morning. I wish I had a story where I was courageous and fought off burglars and somehow saved the day from. my family. It was really a stomach virus that got very, very painful late Sunday night. I had some, how can I put this plumbing issues downstairs, went to the bathroom at 10 at night, stood up and passed out, 6 foot 2, 190 pounds, straight face first into a tile floor. Don't remember much for the next two minutes. Although my wife wheeled me into the bedroom, she said she thought an omwire fell on the floor downstairs. All I knew is I had dogs around me, why a wife was over me with her beautiful, wavy red hair, calling 911, directing traffic with the kids. I could hear the ambulance. A couple of minutes later, Manhattan Beach Fire, and a medical

arrived at my house. Seven big dudes helped me, got me to a hospital where they eventually relieved the plumbing issues and sewed me up thanks to the plastic surgeon and the people that were there to help me. I will say again, it is remarkable the quality of health care professionals I not only have around me, but in my life, two or three times I've had to go to the hospital, all just being an idiot. I just didn't eat for 36 hours much. That's what happens. When you don't eat, have a stomach virus, and stand up quickly after sleeping. You fall down. I'm a dope. But I would like to say I'm lucky. It really hurts this morning, but I'm fine. I am, did not suffer a concussion, knock on wood. Still, you know,

know, 5% fuzzy, but most of you would argue I've been fuzzy my entire career. So I'm here. I'm healthy. To all the professionals who helped me three in the morning, up to three in the morning on Sunday night, thank you. I wanted to talk about the Lakers playing the Clippers. I was not taking time off. I thought I'd work today and tomorrow.

We'll revisit it and see if I'm back Friday. But I'm okay. It's all good. That explains it. And this is going to be on for about 10 more days until the sushiers get taken out by, you know, medical professionals. Again, I cannot tell you how lucky I feel and how lucky Americans are to have the quality of health care in this country. Every time I go and visit a clinic or a hospital, I'm completely utterly blown away by the kindness, the intelligence, the empathy, and the focus

of professionals in America. Now let's get back to me talking with a giant band-aid on my forehead. There are numerous stories that Dak Prescott's contract is going to get done here in the next day or a week. I don't feel like debating whether Dak should be a cowboy. He's going to get a deal. Okay, he's going to get a deal. The question is something in this league that's always been true, but is now more true than ever, is the quarterback really matters. Seattle's made a lot of mistakes over the last five years, but they got Russell Wilson right, and he is makeup on a forehead gash.

The Green Bay Packers got the quarterback right with Farr and Aaron Rogers, and boy, they've covered up some whiffs. And the Philadelphia Eagles got the quarterback situation right with Carson Wentz. And last year, due to injuries, the Eagles had scout team guys all over their offense, and yet they won the division. If you get the quarterback right, you can make a lot of mistakes in this league. If you pay the quarterback 35 million like Dak is going to get, and he's about the 12th or 13th best in the league,

and I would argue with all the young quarterbacks entering the league from college, will he be the 17th best quarterback in the league making 35 million? That feels like a problem. So this is very serious. The salary caps going up, but you can't whiff at this position. Minnesota, to me, has had the best roster in the NFL the last two years. Limited at quarterback. Indianapolis, the Colts, Chicago's Bears are very well run with excellent GMs and excellent coaches and excellent players.

They're not great at the quarterback spot, and it limits them. DAC is going to be a cowboy, but the length of the contract matters and the numbers matter. To me, DAC is somewhere between the 12th and 15th best quarterback in the league. Let's say I'm wrong. Let's put him at 10. We have three potential, very good quarterbacks coming into the NFL and two superstar college quarterbacks entering next year. What if they all hit?

And they're all better than DAC. And Daniel Jones is really good in New York. And Carson Wentz stays healthy. And DAC is suddenly the third best quarterback in the NFC East and the 17th best quarterback in the NFL and paid like the fourth, third, second best. Dallas, you got to get this right. right. There's a reason it's taken a long time because you can whiff on an outside linebacker,

you can whiff on a corner. Seattle and John Snyder and Pete Carroll have whiffed on multiple. I mean, really not done well. James Carpenter, Rashad Penny, Bruce Irvin, first round picks, meh, me, but they got quarterback right. Russell Wilson covers up the blemishes. So does Aaron Rogers, so does Carson Wentz. This contract has to be done right. I'd know. make it shorter than longer. 32, not 35, but I don't run the Cowboys. Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, Tom Brady is just a week away from hitting free agency for the first time in his 20-year career. It's crazy. Crazy. It is crazy. And there's been several teams linked to Brady throughout the offseason, but according to a report

from Diana Rusini, Brady's interest in teams could outweigh the number of teams actually interested in him. What do you know? So maybe all those eight teams, those eight rumor teams are not quite as interested as we thought. But that was what Tom wanted on the market. Right. So maybe most of those leaks are coming from one camp. Yeah.

So obviously the Patriots, the Titans, the Chargers, the Bucks, the Raiders, the Colts and the 49ers have all kind of been put out there. Some have speculated about the cowboys, but I think it was more of us just talking about that being a possibility rather than an actual link. I still contend the Patriots and the Chargers want him most, and Tennessee would consider it. I think the Chargers want him. Well, according to Diana, he is more interested in the Titans and the Titans are necessarily interested in him.

Okay, that hurts. He'd like to play with the Vrable, but they're not entirely sure that's the right direction for them to go in. Obviously, Tanna Hill did a good job with them this year. Yeah, and he's also in the current world market. place of quarterbacks, Joy, Tannejo can move. He's not a great runner, but he can move some. No, and he's young and he's strong.

And the Bucks are apparently very interested in him as well, according to Diana, but he is they're not at the top of the box. Brady's list, yes. So this is kind of interesting. If you, you know, if you buy into this then you'd have to

lean that he's saying in New England. Yeah. I mean, I want, Joy, go to your life. and you've been very mobile in your career. If you went back and were introspective and said, why did I move? Basically, you moved because in your life, there was something that you weren't getting enough of and you wanted more of and you valued.

And so I do believe Thomas shown us over the 20 years that he values winning. He accepts and understands and kind of appreciates hard coaching. So does LeBron, by the way. LeBron has said, coach me hard. And I think family manners, and we can say all we want about Belichick being grumpy. A lot of our dads are grumpy.

It's still family. New England feels like what he's shown me for 20 years he values. That's why I find this so interesting what he ends up doing. And then I'm very interested in, you know, two years from now. He did to start his production company. When we get the behind the scenes of what actually happened throughout all of this free agency period, which we always end up getting, what was really the driving force in all this? What was the thing that he wouldn't budge on?

How did that conversation with Belichick really actually go? because part of me feels like he really just wants a little affection from the Patriots. Not necessarily money, obviously some extra pieces so that they can contend next year. But I think it's a little love because that's what ideally all this free agency is about is getting attention in suitors. Yeah, and I think both of you and I have said, I find it almost uncomfortable how tough Belichick is on Brady. It feels a bit unreasonable. It does. Like at this point, at this stage, it's kind of like, oh, okay.

Like, we get it. This is how you operate. But it's bordering on insane. Yes. He should be, Tom deserves a big hug. And maybe they do that at the Hall of Fame speech. Then they probably break down and cry. Hopefully that'll be a lot of tears.

A lot of a lot of emotion. So Jimmy Butler only spent one season with the Sixers, but he spoke to former teammate, JJ Redick, about one of his biggest frustrations during his short time. in Philadelphia. Hell yeah, it was difficult. Man, it was so different. And on any given day, me as a person, as a player, I didn't know who the

was in charge. I think that was my biggest thing. I didn't know what to expect whenever I were going to the gym, whenever I were going to the game. I was like, man, I think I was as losses in that. You know, for the record, Jimmy's not wrong on this. he got frustrated with the Bulls. How are they?

He got frustrated with the Sixers. How are they? I mean, we can lash out at Jimmy Butler. But Jimmy Butler is an intense guy that demands you play hard. And to this point, the places he's left have been dysfunctional and of lack chemistry. And the place he goes to has overachieved. Miami is much better. Don't they have two starters that weren't drafted?

They're overachieving. So as much, we've had Butler on this couch. before. As much as you can criticize Jimmy Butler, he's not wrong on his assessment, at least from our view. No, he's not wrong. And I can totally relate. And I'm sure you can too, because you've talked about it many times. When there is this function at the top, if you're a person that is routine oriented, if you're somebody who values, you know, getting things done every single day and not just coming in and maybe one day we'll do this and the next day we'll do that. And who knows? I don't know where to be, but who cares? Like, we're just burning time. I mean,

For someone like me, I can't, I'm like, oh, I can't, I can't do it. I lose my mind. I can't. What's the, what's the plan? What are we at? What time we have to be here? Is everyone here at this time? What time are we leaving?

You know, I'm a creature of habit. My sister is even more so. My sister has like, get up, feed the dogs, go to work, get stuff. My sister's an task-oriented person. And we've talked about this. It creates anxiety for her and I. We just grew up with parents like that. List, do stuff.

Get stuff done. Accomplish. Then relax. And I think you're very much like that. I'm the same way. Now, relaxing time, don't bother me. Yeah. It's off.

But if I have something I have to do, or we have something we're trying to accomplish, and there's no order. And as he said, nobody knows who's in charge, who's the leader? Who am I supposed to be listening to? Am I taking direction from?

Where am I getting my, you know, my tape from? Like, when do I have to be in the training room? Like, all that stuff is just causes chaos. It affects everything that you do. Yeah. It absolutely is a role in success. Finally, we've talked about this a lot, and it seems like it may actually be happening. Gronk might not be done with professional sports just yet.

Last night on WWE backstage, Ryan Satin reported that Gronk is in deep talks with WWE and is close to finalizing a deal. It's still unclear what exactly he would be doing with the company, but he could make his first appearance as early as March 20th, which is in about two weeks on Friday night Smackdown. His first appearance at WrestleMania in 2017. This is where he should end up. And I'm not saying that because we own the WWE.

The natural progression for Gromk, veteran tight end wins a Super Bowl, professional wrestler. This is exactly how it's supposed to go. And Gronk's personality, he's been a professional wrestler his whole life. Like it's genuinely his personality. All of this, all this is going on, he's not even performing. Like, this is just naturally how. Gronk is. He's an electric, energetic person, an entertaining person.

He's still in great shape, obviously, but if he's not doing the type of travel and wear and tear on his body that the WWE demands, obviously, because it's insane. Their travel schedule. 51 weeks a year of travel. It's bizarre. No, I think it's 52, actually. They don't take a week off.

I would imagine that he doesn't have the same schedule demands and whatever his deal is going to be with WWE, but this is the perfect crossover, and I'm excited for it. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News.

Rick Buecker, one of our voices on the NBA joining us via Mercedes-Benz. The best or nothing, Rick Buecker, senior writer Bleacher, Fox Sports NBA analyst, was at the game last night. By the way, Rick, I got a band-aid in my forehead. Yes. I passed out. Stomach virus, didn't eat 36 hours much. Had a cracker, boom, blood, hospital, I'm good. Seven stitches. You don't want to see it.

Yeah, I'm actually surprised because, number one, this is not a couch. It's their chairs, yeah. Okay, just technically. And you look fantastic. Like, if this was a black and white movie. No kidding, she does this. She goes into Marlina Dietrich mode about twice a month. It's phenomenal.

Yes, I was at the game last night. But by the way, I had an accident once where I got hit by my surfboard right before I was supposed to do a week of TV in the four hands. head. And my eye got black and it was huge. And I'm actually surprised because the makeup people were able to completely cover it. I think if they really

wanted to... No, I got seven stitches. Really? Yeah. There's legit stitches. Yeah, no, no, I have seven stitches. Listen, you're looking at a warrior here. A lot of sportscasters take the month off. Not all the... Honestly, though, I've seen it, though. It can't be covered. Like, the bandage

Bandage is very easy. I let Joy, she is my work wife because I let her see things and hear things that I don't let America here. I'm not telling you how disgusting my body was. Joy knows I'll just keep it in a stomach virus. It's not disgusting, but it's for everyone, we'll keep the bandage. How much does you have to talk him out of doing like the white bandage wrapped around his head like that just to really play that? All right. So let's start with this.

Everybody will talk about LeBron not shooting last night. Right. I think I was told when the Clippers were looking to land a star, that the brain trust of the Clippers said, we don't trust A-D in Big Spots. We think he's gifted. We trust Kauai in Big Spots. Jerry West.

Michael Winger, Lawrence Frank, Doc Phillips, Steve Ballmer's, the billionaire owner. But there was concern within the Clippers, like, this is what he is. You'll get numbers. But when LeBron's not on the floor this year, the Lakers are minus three and a half, meaning they're a losing basketball team. I watched that miss shot last night. It's no big deal, but isn't that the concern on AD? You can't trust them in big spots?

Yeah, sure. Is that fair? Yeah. No, and this was a wide open shot in a regular season game. This is the great flaw in the Lakers, which is it's going to come down to LeBron James having to take that shot in a big spot because when you're playing in the playoffs, there are no wide open threes. It is generally everything's contested.

Avery Bradley was six for 12 against the Clippers. Why? Because the Clippers didn't worry about guarding him. He was taking and making open shots. Good for him. The Nets come into the game and they go, okay, you know what? We can't let Avery Bradley have clean looks. He goes two for eight.

It's a matter of you can hit open shots in the regular season. In the playoffs, you have to be comfortable hitting contested shots. What I like about LeBron James is he's no longer afraid to take those shots, whether it's the mid-range step back or it's the three-pointer. There was a time where he did not want to take that shot. And so he would make the right basketball play and swing the ball to Kyle Corver, who's a great three-point shooter. Is he a great contested three-point shooter in big spots in the playoffs?

No. No. So it's not the right basketball play. But you would have people say, oh, no, no, no. he was double covered and he swung it and Corver's got look at Corver's three point percentage. I'm like there is a visceral understanding that players have with each other. Kobe had it with Derek Fisher. Kobe was literally went through the same thing with AD with Lamar Odom.

And I'll never forget because I just happen to be in a situation where Kobe swung it to Lamar for a three-pointer in a game and Lamar missed and Kobe came off the floor and said to me, going by. I'm never going to do that again. It was, but Derek Fisher, he would swing it to him all the time. Why? Because Derek Fisher not only could take contested shots, he knew that he had the guts to take them. Guys who have

great efficiency in playoff situations, sometimes it's not because they're efficient in playoff situations. It's because they won't take the shot unless they know that they can make it. The playoffs aren't always dictated like that.

Sometimes you just have to take the challenge and accept win or lose, I'm going to take it and I'll take the brunt of the criticism afterward. There's some guys that aren't willing to do that or aren't capable. For years and years, people said AD is actually the best player in the league. Wait, what's really interesting is when you put him right next to LeBron, the gap is tremendous. Yes, you see it. The gap is tremendous between LeBron and AD. AD is a remarkable defender and is a capable score.

Yes. So much of this league has been defined by big shots. I just don't trust AD in those spots. Yeah. Just just don't. I mean, historically, there's a reason. Name the big shots that he's made. And then people will immediately go,

they always bring up the blazers sweeping the blazers. He was matched up against Yuse of Nurkich. Okay? The AD's game against Nurkich, he should dominate that matchup. And meanwhile, Drew Holiday and Rajan Rondo were locked. down Damien Lillard and C.J. McCollum. That was actually the story of the series. That was exactly was the Pelicans back court.

Exactly, exactly right. So it skews things. I always say, I don't care about the numbers that a particular player gets. I want to know the numbers that he gets for the guys that he's playing with. How does he make the game easier for the guys that he's playing with? How much are they improved by playing with the guy? AD is a great talent, and AD gets great numbers. but does he make other guys better?

Does he make the game easier from other guys? He does not. But LeBron does. Absolutely. And when you juxtapose the two on the same floor, same franchise, same night, the gap is tremendous. Don't go anywhere. Some thoughts on Houston. Are we falling for it again?

I'll frame that up for Rick Buecker. Stick around. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed the 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, calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered.

SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsClyce on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier 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. 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. What's up, guys? This is Cliver Taylor the Fourth. 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 walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, rep, my mama wants you to wave at her. 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? This is 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 Nass 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, 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. Welcome back. So Donald Trump will face Joe Biden for president. There's a reason old people vote and young people do not vote, even though we keep hearing about the youth vote, it never really transpires. And as for 40 years watching politics, I'm always fascinated by the political media telling me, ooh, the youth vote.

And it never arrives. Ever, 70s, 80s, 90s. That's why we have two old guys running for president, Joe Biden and Trump. Like them or not, they're both closer. to 80 than they are 70. That reminds me of the Houston Rockets. I refuse to get fooled by the youth vote argument, and I refuse to get fooled by James Hardin and Westbrook this year are going to crush it in the playoffs. Rick Buecker joins me.

So I watch them, and I sit here and I think to myself, why am I being told that these guys, if they play well, they're got, and I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, I've been burned on this. They're the youth vote of the NBA. I've seen how they play in April. Do you buy them? Because I'm hearing now, Rockets won last night. They've got it figured out.

And I'm like, no, no, no. I don't buy the Rockets. I didn't buy these guys playing together. But I'm watching them with Dan Tony, who historically has underachieved in the playoffs. What do you make of Houston today? They play the Lakers tomorrow. I give them credit for doing as much as they have with these guys

and playing the way that they do. But do I think it's sustainable? Do I think it makes you a champion? No. I've never thought that, no matter how much success they had. It's sort of a one-trick pony. The number one thing, and probably the greatest misnomer, is everybody says they're playing small ball,

and small ball won championships for the warriors. It wasn't offensively, first of all, it's two different types of small ball. And it comes down to efficiency. Russ Westbrook and James Harden to play the way that they do, requires a tremendous amount of energy, the expenditure of energy. The playoffs require a tremendous amount of energy expended regardless. So now you're taking a style that in the regular season requires a tremendous amount of energy,

and now you have to make it work in the postseason where you're expending additional energy. Bottom line is you just can't do that when you don't manufacture it. easy, efficient points collectively. And you're not comfortable. The biggest misnomer is that the Warriors were a really great defensive team. Yeah. Everybody thinks about them, the Splash Brothers and scoring and scoring from range. This is a great point.

They were a great defensive team. They were a great defensive team. By the way, Clay is the best two-way guard in the league defensively. Dremont. Defensive player of the year candidate annually. And Kevin Durant, when he moved there, decided to play defense. Andre Iguidala, Sean Livingston, they could switch everything. You could play.

Even Steph as a result of playing with those guys lifted his defensive game. So you could put five guys on the floor that you could switch almost every position, and they were just, they could suffocate you. Do you know why I think people fall for Westbrook and Hardin? Because in baseball, sometimes, even if you lose, stats are part of your legacy. Sure. And in the NBA, even if you lose style, Dr. Jay. part of your legacy. We remember Dr.

Jay very favorably because he was the first person that got me hooked on basketball. Their style is fascinating. Hardens is frustrating and unique. Westbrook's athleticism is marvelous. And so I think even when they lose, football's about winning. If you lose, you're a loser.

But in baseball, Arod lost for years, but he was a hall to famer. And in basketball, Dr. Jay didn't win enough, but he was Dr. J. Wilt didn't win a lot. But he was, we all like wilt more than Bill Russell, even though Russell won, and Wilt was kind of a flake. And so I think we fall for these guys, because stylistically, they're fascinating.

Well, the other part is, is we've talked about this. They are made for the way the game is consumed today. Highlights? The statistics are big, and the highlights are sensational. But if you watch for 48 minutes, you'll see a lot of possessions where you go, ooh, that wasn't very good. Like, there's a lot of in-between stuff,

And the in-between stuff is what wins and loses you games, particularly when it comes to the playoffs. It's a matter of can you be efficient. Russ is dynamic. And the fact that Mike D'Antone and the Rockets have figured out how can we make him more efficient than he's ever been, I think is genius. I applaud that. But it takes a tremendous amount of energy from him. And you can't sustain it. Because if you can just, if he's not getting things in transition and now you're making.

him work against the set defense every time, it's going to be difficult. Look, it's the same thing as when we get into the MVP and the rookie of the year voting. And I just happen to look at this. The two teams that play with the fastest pace in the league are Milwaukee and New Orleans. So the numbers for Zion and Janus are going to be inflated. And if you're just looking at statistics, then you're going to be fooled into thinking, oh, these guys are playing better than anybody else. No, their teams are playing faster,

so their numbers are going to be better. That's really well said. By the way, Sunday, I was going to be on the show, then passed out, and now wear a giant band-aid on my forehead. I was going to talk Monday on the show about the Clippers, Lakers. My takeaway was there's a half-dozen regular season games that really matter. They're usually late in the season, regular season, and they're two titans who know they'll face each other later.

Yes. I thought the game meant more to L.A. Lakers because they've been beaten twice. I didn't take a ton from it, although I did think it was a little bit of an emotional, psychological win for the Lakers saying, okay, remember you're the Clippers. This building is full because of us. I felt the Lakers wanted to make a statement. They may have, but I believe that Doc Rivers took a page out of Greg Popovich's book. Oh, what is that page?

Which is, I'm not going to play you hard. And if I beat you, you're going to know we didn't play you hard. We didn't pull out all the stops, and we still beat you for a third time. And if we lose. And if we lose, it's, you know that we didn't pull out all the stops. When he had, the Lakers made sure that they had Anthony Davis or LeBron James on the floor at all times. The Clippers had Kauai Leonard and Paul George off the floor together. more than they had them separate.

They had Jamichael Green with Reggie Jackson and Lou Williams and Marcus Morris on the floor. Jamichael Green guarding LeBron James with no rim protection. I'm like, what do you do? You would never do that in a playoff game if you were trying to win this game. By the way, what you're saying, I can hear Laker fans saying, you just hate her 100%. But this is something. There is a history in this league of this psychological warfare between veteran coaches.

And what you're saying is the Clippers basically said, go ahead. But we're going to play a little bit. And we're going to, if you can't beat us today, this is not the end of the world game for us. And by the way, if this were the last meeting between these two teams, then I dare say, what I'm very curious is to see the last meeting. Because we have one more meeting coming up. I want to see how the Clippers approached that one. I don't think they want to go into the postseason with this record two and two. They knew they had a game to play with.

And this was that game. We'll see how they approach it when they meet again. Rick Buecker, good to see you, brought to you by Mercedes-Benz. It is. I am fine. Tomorrow I'm doing radio only because I guess we're knocked off TV. So tomorrow I can wear a hoodie and nobody can see this big billboard on my forehead. Loss for them.

Yeah. Hate your job. Maybe it's time for a career change. IT Pro, little as four months. Go to My Computercareer.edu, free career evaluation. One more herd. The herd streams

24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. 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 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 SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so rapid. 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. All 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. What's up, guys?

This is Cliver 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, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss 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 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, Isaad, 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. Welcome, it's Hour 2.

We're live in L.A., soggy and wet L.A. for the next six or seven days. We don't get that much. This is The Herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Force Radio, FS1, hour two, top of it. Yep, that's a band-aid, seven stitches. A little stomach virus tipped over, slammed my head on a marble floor. Not great to look at. Thank God I got a smart wife. Thank God I work in a community with amazing nurses who are angels. I'm all K. Joy Taylor knows the particulars of my stomach virus, which are mostly gross. No reasonable person would want to know those, even my wife.

But Joey now knows, and we're doing fine. Joey, how are you? Doing great. Glad you're back and glad you are safe, obviously, and it went as well as it could go. I literally had a friend, a woman that texted me yesterday and said, you know, guys kind of look cool with scars. And I'm like, not me. I've got enough baggage. I think you can pull off a scar.

We'll make up a different story for how it happened. Right. I wish it was more valiant, you know. So we have, this is kind of one of the deadest week in sports. It just is. Next week, that's when free agency starts. And so I will say this week is quiet, but you're getting a lot of stories on either quarterbacks that are available right now or will be available or who are rumored to be

available. And it's a number that far surpasses anything in my life. You just don't get, you don't get Tom Brady's on the market. it just doesn't happen very much. But we have something going on in football where quarterback has never meant more. There's a lot of good young quarterback. So some teams like the Chargers and the Patriots may just bail on a successful quarterback. Tennessee, even though Ryan Tannahill had a great year, kind of a lifetime 500 quarterback, they may bail on him.

So we thought we'd play the three-word game today. We play it from time to time during the NFL season where if you really boil it down, if you play the three-word game, it forces you to be very precise and very succinct with all the rumored to be available or available quarterbacks on the market. So here are my predictions on what happens. Here we go.

Let's start with Tom Brady. Three-word game would be Home Sweet Home. I don't think there's as many offers as people think. I do think the Chargers want him and he'll go after him and have the perfect compliment of players for him. I thought the Chargers acquiring Guard Trade Turner was a symbolic. move that Tom will shore up the interior of our offensive line, which is a weakness. I also think

they've told Don Yee, who is Tom Brady's agent, will use our first pick to get a left tackle, therefore giving Brady a full complement of excellent receivers, a top tight end, two good backs, and a solved offensive line to go with a defense that gets Derwin James back. But my gut feeling is Tom values winning in culture and family, and he will stay in New England. Teddy Bridgewater gets tasty offer. This is my guy. Of all the veteran quarterbacks on the market,

this is the one I like. He's 10 games over 500, high IQ, learns a playbook, total grown up, doesn't make mistakes. Now, the downside to Teddy is he's not going to beat you

over the top. He's not a world-class athlete. But there are teams, the Chargers are one of them that don't need a superstar quarterback. They've got very, very good players. What they need is somebody, unlike Philip Rivers, who lost games with big interceptions. I think he's going to get an offer or three in this free agency period, Teddy

Bridgewater. Derek Carr, one more year. I think the Raiders, Mike Mayock, wants to move off him. I think Gruden likes him, doesn't love him, but I think they're stuck with him for a year because unless they can get Teddy Bridgewater, who frankly is a lot of what Derek Carr does. does, very accurate, can make all the throws, but it's not going to be over the top. And does have, like, Bridgewater an injury in his resume. I think they're going to stick with him one more year. Listen, he hasn't won enough games. He did complete almost 71% of his throws.

I've always liked Derek Carr. I would not move off Derek Carr as you're transitioning to a new city. I think he's an adult. He's a grown-up. He works his butt off. I like him. I don't love him, but I love him. like him. There's some Tony Romo here. I always doubted Tony in big spots, but I did think he was

a franchise quarterback. So I think Derek's one more year in Vegas. Andy Dalton, nice knowing you. Listen, he was serviceable at his best. Now he's old and not as serviceable. Last year, 16 touchdowns, 14 picks. Not a lot of arm strength. He's not really what the league has become. You're not going to roll the pocket out much with him. Obviously, Cincinnati's moving to Joe Burrow, as they should. I'm not a huge Burrell fan. I do think he's a better prospect by far than Andy Dalton was, and he's an Ohio kid. So they're going to go and move.

They should move. And by the way, he's had four playoff spots, O and four in all of them. Never been a big game guy, but a nice kid. Nice knowing you. Jimmy Garoppolo. Jimmy some more. Best quarterback rating in San Francisco since the 90s. John Lynch likes him and is all in.

Kyle Shanahan, whose legacy is not completely formed yet, is a little more impatient with Garapolo. I do think his judgment is not the best, but I will say this about Garapolo. You can move the pocket with him. You can roll him out. He's athletic enough. He's very accurate.

He's got an above average, though not great arm. And I think in the end, this is a franchise that's 21 and 6 when Jimmy Garoppel. Oh, starts, Jimmy some more. Dak Prescott gets his money. Listen, he's won 16 more games than he's lost.

I do worry that an aging offensive line could expose some of his limitations. He's a good athlete, not special. He's got a decent arm, not even really, really good. His accuracy is hit and miss. But he wins a lot of games.

He's good for the brand. He's tough. You know, he doesn't shrink in big games. I think he has just certain limitations. I think he's going to get his money. Philip Rivers, not the answer. I mean, listen, after Baker and James, who were both younger and more athletic, he led the NFL in Picks. Indianapolis is sniffing. He had a good career. You know, I've said this before. I think sports tend to move into certain athletes and out of certain athletes. I think the sport is moving away from the Eli Mannings and the Phillip Rivers. It's moving away.

from solely pocket guys. He has also become increasingly mistake prone. Listen, it's hard enough to win in this league. It's hard. It's hard for everybody. You can't lose games you should win, and that's become his moniker. Ryan Tannahill, tag.

I'm it. I'd franchise tag him. I do think Ryan works hard. I think he's athletic, big can make plays. And in the current culture of the Titans, which is a physical run first team, you can win a division with him. I think that division is kind of a mess anyway.

Andrew Luck got hurt, left. It's never been the same. It's Deshawn Watson, bailing water for the dysfunctional Houston Texans. But I would not give him a long-term deal. Again, he's a 500 quarterback. That is what he is. He's a 49 and 49. You know, you are what your record is.

He is a 500 quarterback. Now, in that division, 9 and 7 may be good enough. And I do think Brable and Derek Henry are kind of the foundation of the franchise, but I'd tag him. Finally, James Winston, walking the plank. Listen, it's over. He's the most productive quarterback in the league, just half the time for the other side. I think he's had more than ample opportunities.

I think it should be noted that Tampa has done a great job as a franchise, the draft offensive personnel. Receivers, tight-end running back. I like Tampa. I think Teddy Bridgewater, this is the perfect fit for him. If I was Tampa, I would go get Bridgewater. he doesn't have the arm of James he makes no mistakes and this offense is

loaded there are a lot of special athletes in Tampa on that offensive side. Rob Ryan's coming up in 10 minutes brother of Rex has some interesting thoughts on what he's going to see in free agency on Monday. I want to talk about this though

before banging my head and wearing a dumb bandaid I watched the Lakers play Milwaukee on Friday and I was really interested to talk about it so I want to spend at least two, three minutes on this. I do believe there's five or six regular season games, second half of the season, generally last 20, 25 games of the season that matter. They are psychological, emotional, physical imprints that I do think give us signs of what will happen in the playoffs.

Milwaukee went and played the Lakers, and I thought it was very telling. First of all, LeBron was better than Janus. Second of all, after scoring 10 points in the first few minutes, Janus was effective but nothing more. Third of all, Chris Middleton, once again, when desperately needed, did not arrive for the bucks. And fourth, there is now a way to guard Janus. Put a big in front of him, make him shoot.

He's pretty average. Now, he's going to finish with his 25 to 30 points. I don't mean he's an average player. But there is now a book on how to defend him. There isn't really a book ever on Michael, on Kobe, on LeBron, on D. Wade. They just scored their points. Janice is going to get numbers, but if they don't have a number two score

in Middleton, they can trust, and they don't, this is a basketball team that's got a Mike Tyson quality. They will ravage the average. But they're just good against the really good teams. They're 0 and 2 against Miami. They're 500 against the Celtics. They're 500 against the Lakers. And I thought the Lakers really took it to them.

Milwaukee did not score a point. I got one field goal, excuse me, in the last two and a half minutes Friday. One field goal. One field goal. That's what they got. So that game is one of the rare regular season games I felt that really put an imprint. Milwaukee wanted to win.

The Lakers wanted to win. Yonis wanted to prove he's MVP. LeBron wanted to prove he's MVP. The Lakers won. LeBron won. Middleton didn't deliver. Yonis was defended very capably. That game matters.

It's why I think Milwaukee is going to breeze through the first and second round of the east, but will eventually, maybe Boston, certainly the Lakers or Clippers, they have a ceiling. And that ceiling for Milwaukee to me is lower than what most people think. All right, good stuff today. Rob Ryan's coming up. Sarah Custock, one of the great young broadcaster. That's what I said. Custock.

Yeah. Listen, the Band-Aid may have thrown me off on the uh or the uh, but I'm close. 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. 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 Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

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, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so rapidly. 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 How all 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. 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? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Cliverts 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. 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 Reed. 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 Nass, but 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.

The Big East Tournament tips off tonight with the double header on FS1. First at 7 Eastern, St. John's takes on Patrick Ewing's Georgetown Hoyas. then at 930 DePaul Battles Xavier you can catch all the exciting tournament action on the Fox Sports app. Rob Ryan, 20 seasons of coaching in the NFL on the defensive side part of the Redskins staff last year

he is now joining us. So the Redskins are a fascinating team. They have the number two pick. There have been rumors they should go get a quarterback and start over like Arizona acknowledge we didn't get the right guy. Let's not be rigid. Let's just move on.

So let's start with that as somebody who was in that building last year. Would you move off Duane Haskins? I'll tell you what, that'll be interesting because you know, last year the Redskins, you know, were invested in Haskins. He was a little

later in the first round. They picked him up. So it's not like he was the first guy taking in the draft. But there's a big investment there. And the young man wasn't ready early. Like, he really wasn't. You saw him at practice. Oh, yeah. I saw him at practice. He's a good kid. He's

got a big arm. Big arm. A lot of talent, but definitely not ready for the rigors of the NFL. Now, as the Redskins were unraveling, as they're prone to do at the end of the year, he got slightly better. Did he impress you? Yeah, he did. I tell you, he got a lot better from when he was thrown in the games.

I remember in New York, it was awful. He wasn't ready. He threw him in the game, and it wasn't fair to the kid. He just wasn't ready. So at least each week, I saw him trying to get better. I saw him trying to meet with Tim Rete, who's a real fine coach now at Oklahoma State. He was trying to get better now.

Is he NFL ready? No, not even close. You know, so it'll be interesting to see which route they go. You know, can Alex Smith come back? I know that was a gruesome injury and everybody forgets about him, but you know how Alex Smith works. I mean, you know that guy's going to want to play again.

So if he comes back, you know, now that'll be interesting to see, but now they don't have to draft a quarterback. But I understand what you're saying, if the organization, Kyle Smith now, will be his first chance to be the GM. You know, that's new because they moved on from...

All new people. Ron Rivera. So you have time. If you really want to commit to a guy, if you're in love with Tua as a quarterback, then you can do it. Now, the only... The tough thing is about that is, remember, this is a franchise that's moved up

to trade for RG3, that didn't work out. Okay. And they moved up to the second pick in the draft, which, ironically, this is a second pick. Okay. And you have a generational talent as a pass rusher. The one thing you can do is when you see, you know, a Chase Young at Ohio State.

You see Chase Young outperform Bosa head to head. There's a pretty good resume right there that this guy's going to be successful in the national football. So if you were in the rooms, Rob, you'd be championing this kid, draft this. kid. I'd be championed draft that defensive player because I'm a defensive coach. But it'll be interesting because if everybody

comes back and there's a consensus of, hey, let's go get the left-handed quarterback tool. This is our guy. Then you can see a strange thing happen. But I believe they'll stay with the pass rusher. I really do. There's such a premium. Quarterbacks, pass rushers,

and corners. That's what the league is. He appears to be the best pass rusher by a long shot in this draft. No question. And really he's probably been the best pure pass rusher in a long time come out. So they draft Montes sweat last year was going to be a real good player. Yep. He's he's got a ways to go. Carrigan is a fine player, but he's getting older. Yeah. And there's a guy Ryan Anderson, which is a terrific player that plays behind him. And he got better as the year went on. So it's actually a

position of strength. But again, you never can have enough pass rushers. San Francisco has them. There'll be more number one draft choices on that defense and that defense affront than San Francisco has. So if you want to improve your defense right away, that'd be a way to do it. Let's talk about the Patriots. You coached there

for two years. What is your gut feeling on Brady and the New England organization going forward? Does he stay or not? Yeah, I coached there for four. I won two Super Bowls, but I can remember the first year we were there, we had a terrible football team, Belichick's first year.

I think we're five and 11. Five and 11. And then you started the next year, Owen two or O'N three? Yeah, something like that. But it was, and everybody's saying, well, you know,

they wasted a draft choice for Belichick, get rid of all of them. But there's a conversation he had with, with the staff and Ernie Adams, who, you know, his trusted guys, and this was back in 2000, can you win with a $30 million dollar quarterback?

When this was back then, it was like, you know, we had Drew Bledsoe. He's all we had. You know, he's a good, player and it was interesting we're thinking wow this we might move off of drew that'd be crazy well then two days later we signed him for a hundred million dollars so I'm like well into discussion there's

our quarterback right but he gets hurt and bellichick benched him for tom Brady and moved on from him the next season now let's not pretend bellichick hasn't done this before in Cleveland he benched Bernie kosar yes which is like mentioned Jim brown yeah no it was very unhopperated death threats you know it was in the bellichick book it's brutal it's a bigger story than the tom brady thing is like it was it was massive but he did it this guy's done he's gotten rid of hall of famous ty law richard seymour uh willy mginnis these these great players he's moved on from us so i can see this actually going in that direction which is crazy to say but i can see it and i could see tom brady going in being like peyton manning

and going to try to win two Super Bowls, as Peyton did, when he changed addresses, because Tom Brady can still play. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, the Chargers, actually, it's funny, I brought this up last week, and Doug Gottlieb said I was nuts. But the Chargers made a very, not a daring move, a substantial move a week ago. They went and traded for a Pro Bowl guard. Right.

And I believe it was a signal to Don Yee, Brady's agent, saying, listen, our receivers, our backs, our defense is great. We're bad up the middle. We're going to sign this right now. Before free agents. Right. Here's our sign. And then you tell Don Yee, Brady's agent, our first pick will take a left tackle.

It's a good draft for left tackle. Sure. So Tom, we're giving you the best college left tackle, a Pro Bowl guard. This is a Super Bowl roster. I think it was a signal. And I do think the Chargers owner, Dean Spanos wants him. They can't sell tickets. So whether or not Tom chooses the Chargers, I do think,

the Chargers made that preemptive free agent move. A, it makes our football team better. And B, it was a signal to Brady. We are building a fortress around you. Does that sound nuts? I think it's exactly right. And look, this Tom Telesco, he's up against Ballard, your guy in the Colts, you know, who's a charmer.

These guys are going to come out of woodworks to get Tom Brady. But Telesco has to win here. He has to. You're going to impact. You've had good drafts. You've done things. But you're a quarterback away from winning at all. This is your quarterback.

I don't care what it costs. Go get them. And remember this, Rob. Mookie Betts, great baseball player signed with the Dodgers. LeBron goes to the Lakers. Anthony Davis, Kauai Leonard, Paul George. You got to have a star. The Chargers have a bunch of good players.

To sell tickets in L.A., it is an incredibly competitive sports market. Oh, there's no question. And not only you're going to sell tickets, which obviously, I mean, you can't outdraw the XFL team now. This is a slam dunk for him. Selling tickets, absolutely. You would do that overnight. But you'd also have a chance to win it all. You've got a great head coach in Anthony Lynn.

You've got a young coordinator there that's smart. It's not like Tom Brady's going to come in and learn somebody's offense. He's going to come in and put his own offense in, just like Peyton did when he went to Denver. So you have to have a group of people that will work with him. I don't think him going to Oakland is going to change John Gruden's way he runs things. It's not going to happen.

It'll definitely happen with L.A. charges. It'll happen wherever else he goes. So I would love to see that because I think the charges are begging for that to happen. And I think this general manager, whatever, don't come second place. You've got to win. Like, well, we almost beat the tight. No, no, you have to win this one because your whole franchise is begging for this to happen. Finally, you faced DAC a couple of times in Washington.

Washington when you were coaching the Redskins. Dak got your number. So would you pay him? Oh, there's no question. Dak Prescott, to me, is he and Russell Wilson are two best quarterbacks in the NFC. I've seen this guy grow from when he was young. We played him early in the season, fourth game of the year, then we played him the last game of the year. When everybody else was going home, quitting and crying and going home and coaches, players, whatever, I was at 3 in the morning, watch a tape.

This quarterback is so impressive from last season. And it was amazing. The year before, he used to take sacks. He'd be in the pocket. He'd hold the ball and get hit and take sacks. He doesn't do that anymore. I think the moving the Kellynmore kid at offense coordinator really helped him. I think he does a good job.

He doesn't look like much, but obviously he's done a nice job. He allowed Dak the freedom to check plays, get into right plays. And then he allows Dak Prescott. He functioned better from the pocket and then outside the pocket, throwing deep, then I've seen anybody other than Russell Wilson. So this guy is on a tremendous upside. He's been in the league four years. To me, he's Russell Wilson.

Russell Wilson took off playing for Seattle. Four years, they had great numbers. They had all that. But you could feel them on the tape. You could see the leadership. You could see where this guy was going. This quarterback's the same guy. So when you watch tape of DAC, you see Russell.

Oh, I do. And I see an ultimate competitor. When this guy's in the red zone, There's only two guys in the red zone now that Cam Newton's been banged up. Right. Inside the 10, this guy is a physical quarterback. He's a physical player. That's in the kid that plays for Buffalo.

They're going to run you over. They're going to do whatever it takes to score. I love this about this player. And he's so vastly improved. You can see he's the star of the team without question. You need to pay him. The guy that everybody says, well, you got him. Then you got to get Cooper.

I'd move on from Cooper faster than anything. because he disappears in games. He wasn't even on that tape. At the end of the year, he was a ghost. He's averaging 40 yards a game in the last seven weeks of the season and one touchdown, probably against us. But I'm just saying it's like, like really? Like, where is this guy?

What is he doing? He's quitting on Rouse as a primary receiver. I remember all the hoopla about Des Brian. Well, Des would cry because he never got the ball. This guy doesn't want it. So, I mean, I get it. hey, we got to pay this. No, you don't. You better pay the quarterback because he's the star of the team. And I love the way the kid plays and he's exciting to watch. And I just know, look, there's players.

Aaron Rogers is descending. These guys, you see him on tape. This kid in the heart, he's four years in. In his prime, he's going nothing but up. This is where you pay him now and, you know, have the rewards later. Yeah, well, the stories are they are going to pay him and we're going to find out sometime next week. Rob Ryan, great seeing you again. Great seeing you. All right, Joy with you. Better. Thanks, man.

No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Sponsored by Mercedes-Benz, the best or nothing. Well, sticking with Dak Prescott. The Cowboys are still trying to get Dak Prescott's extension done, but there seems to be a little more movement with Amari Cooper's deal. According to Ed Wurder, the Cowboys are working hard to reach an agreement with Cooper, and both sides are motivated to get the deal done.

he also believes that it's possible that Cooper could sign his deal before DAC does. That could obviously complicate some things. It is so fascinating to me. Dallas is paying everybody a tad early except DAC. So it tells you they're, you know, they want to get this quarterback thing right. That's what it tells you. Yeah, I mean, you would think that that would be their number one priority above everything else. But Jack seems to be not budging on that.

But basically, they're trying to sign at least one. and then they're not going to lose both of them. So they're either going to franchise tag Amari Cooper and sign DAC or vice versa. Obviously, ideally they'd rather sign DAC. At some point, they're going to lose that corner, Jones, Byron Jones. They can't keep paying everybody. So at some point, if you told me who Dallas is going to draft in the first round, I'm going to make a prediction, a cornerback.

Because it looks like to me Dallas has one good one, and they're not going to be able to pay Dak, Amari, Zee, Tyron Smith, Jalen Smith. I think they'll pay Van der Reyesh within a year. So at some point, they've got to lose somebody with these contracts. And I think it's their corner. So anybody that needs a corner, i.e. New York Jets, go look for the Cowboys. Well, the Broncos are reportedly interested in Amari Cooper if the Cowboys don't hold on to it.

Well, they lost Emmanuel Sanders. So he's a, yeah, that's a nice veteran move for them. Yeah. I mean, I, again, I think that they should sign DAC. I mean, I'm with Rob. I don't see how you allow DAC to hit the open market or you continue on. If you franchise tag, I'm having to continue on with this. It feels like we've been talking about the tax contract.

I swear to God. And counting Dax dollars for like well over a year now. Well, we've been talking about it for longer than that. So I think they end up getting a deal done with Dack and franchise tagging. I'm R.E. Cooper. So the Panthers are still waiting to make a decision on Cam Newton's future, but they've locked in his backup from last season. Carolina has signed Kyle Allen to a one-year deal.

Alan took over for Cam, obviously, in week three and won four straight games. And everyone. kind of went a little crazy. And then, yes, he dropped seven of his eight starts the rest of the season. This is what you do with him. This is what a new coach does, though. Let's just sign him for a year. We need him on the roster.

This is what I would do. Listen, we're going to give you a contract for a year. We're not committed to anything. But right now, we got so many questions at quarterback. At least the players, everybody in the room knows you. You know, everyone knows you. You know the system. Obviously, you're not a starting quarterback to figure that out relatively quickly

after everyone kind of went a little bit overboard. But also, he's a backup quarterback. Backup quarterbacks are not supposed to come in and do what Teddy Bridgewater did. They're supposed to come in. Ideally, when you won of two games and keep you afloat while your starter's out. You know what? He is a classic backup. When nobody'd seen him, he could win games.

And then people got film on him. He couldn't win games. That is essentially what a backup is. A backup should be good enough that if your starter goes down for two weeks, he can win one of the games. Now, Teddy Bridgewater, to me, is not a backup. No, he's a starter because everybody had film on him and he still went five and O. But a true backup is, uh-oh, starters out two weeks. We can win one of them.

Exactly. And it's generally the first game because nobody's seen him and by the second game, they've seen him. And that's what Kyle is. Well, Cam's also been posting videos of his workouts on Instagram. He expects to be ready to begin off-season workouts on April 6th, at least on a limited basis. And Matt Ruhl said that the combine that he expects Cam to be on the Panthers roster in September. I mean, the issue with Camas, we won't know if he's healthy in time for the draft so that any kind of big trades like that can be made. So finally, it's been reported that the Bucks are likely to move on from James Winston in Free Agency.

And Teddy Bridgewater has been rumored to be Tampa Bay's next targets. The Athletic first reported that an unnamed NFL GM said the Bucks were hot on Bridgewater. Well, now Peter Schroger is agreeing with that report, saying the rumors of Bridgewater to Tampa Bay are real. Yes, and this is a perfect fit. This is exactly what they should get. He's Jamis without the mistakes. I love, honestly, I love Teddy Bridgewater in a lot of places. But yes, I think this is the perfect place for him.

He's going to walk right in and take over that organization. He deserves to because he is a starting quarterback and has just kind of been hiding out in New Orleans. And I'm sure New Orleans would love to keep Teddy Bridgewater, but obviously it's just too expensive to make all that work. And it looks like they're moving towards making Taysam Hill the replacements for Jewry. Well, the backup bands, you know, the next quarterback of the New Orleans Saints. I'll believe that when I see it. I think he's a backup.

I mean, I don't know. Yeah, I don't think we've seen enough from Taysam Hill in that spot that much responsibility. And I think it shows at least this year they went with Teddy Bridgewater when Drew Brees was out and they had Taysam Hill on the roster. So I think the bucks are a perfect place for Teddy. Enjoy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News.

Sarah Custock is an absolute rock star, part of the best local. broadcasting team in the NBA, the Brooklyn Nets. They've won that award multiple times. She knows her stuff. She is going to be joining us next for the first time on this show. Can't wait to meet her. What in God's name is going on with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant and the most interesting team where their two stars aren't playing. That's coming up next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. 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 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. 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, Kear Gaines, as 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.

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 walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue with 42.

Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? This Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about Default. find 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 guard. 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 Nass 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, 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. Sarah Kustak was a college basketball star at DePaul.

It says here she led the country in three-point field goal percentage 16, 17 years ago. So you were a gunner before a gunner was cool. Are you given my age already? It's pretty amazing. It doesn't feel that long ago. Captain of her DePaul University women's team, she's a Chicago girl, the south side of Chicago. So she's a white sock fan, not a cub fan, right? True.

Yeah, you got it. My wife's more north side, cubs, you're more south side. All right, so you're a part of the broadcast team, Sarah, four, and a fantastic broadcast team it is for the Nets. We have breaking news that tomorrow you will become part of American sports history. The Nets play the Warriors, and there'll be no fans at the game. Everyone's going to be able to hear what Ion Eagle is saying throughout the broadcast. This is going to be beautiful.

Now, we've known for two days it could happen. What were players saying leading up to this? Well, the questions go into it about just how do you make it feel like it's still the magnitude of an NBA game. And I think a big part of that, there was questions about, do you play music? Do you pump in some noise?

How do you go about this? And so many of the players are like, you're still out there competing. It may feel a little bit scrimmage-like. It may feel like you're practicing, but nonetheless, it's something that I think they value the fans so much of just the energy that they bring to the arena,

how much that impacts the flow and the momentum of the game. So it's going to be bizarre, and I'm really interested to see just the entire feel of it. Yeah, the World Health Organization today, did call to a pandemic, the coronavirus. Do I think there's some panic? I do, but I also think you have to err on the side of caution. And so you're going to be part of a very unique environment. Now, Brooklyn's fascinating anyway. It's the number two team in a city with the New York Knicks,

although they've been better performing. So last year, it was all about chemistry. And then this year, the chemistry's not been great. Kyrie Irving's a remarkable transformational star. Can be difficult on coaches. Last week, they move off Kenny Atkinson, who's a well- like coach. How did that play? A lot of people said, oh boy, this is Kyrie Irving. This is what it is. How did it pay in Brooklyn? I think that that is a narrative that has been continuing to be discussed about Kevin and Kyrie. And that may have been the reason for Kenny Atkinson and the Nets mutually parting ways. However, you look at it, Sean Marks took over this Brooklyn Nets organization four years ago. And he made sure when he was taking over that he had full autonomy of decisions and

decision making within the organization. It was in a bad place. He has turned it around. And so I think it was his decision, his pulse of the team, his pulse of what was going on, what he thinks is best moving forward. And so I think in some ways, you know, it was too Kenny Atkinson getting used to new players. Kyrie Irving, though, only played in 20 games. Kevin Durant still is in a rehab process around practices. So I do not think in any way that you pin this. I think a lot of people are naturally pinning this due to some past events with Kyrie Irving. I don't think it's that. I think it's Sean Mark's taking the pulse of what he thinks is best for the organization moving

forward, discussions with Kenny Atkinson that had been ongoing for months and just the ways in which the team was moving forward and what it would be like next season. So I don't, so I do not think that it's fair to just have people put it on. This is a Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Star thing that this is what they want. I don't think it's a directive from them. I like bringing people on that do local teams because, you know, you're the foot soldiers of this league. You are there every day. You're at shootarounds.

Kevin Durant not playing. How actively is he engaged with the team, though? I would not. I would have no idea. Do you see him daily? Yeah. He's in the, he's in shoot rounds. He's in practice.

And obviously it's changed in some regards, given where he's at in his rehab process. So how much he's been on the floor. But since training camp, since the off season, going in. into practices early on in the season, especially now he's on this trip. So he's sitting on the bench. He's been at all home games. This is the first road trip he's been making. But he's around and he's active.

And he'll be talking to guys on the floor. He'll be pointing out things. He was talking with the coaching staff as well. So I think that is part of his acclamation process despite the fact that now he's, he's been playing some three on three, four on four, and he's starting to get more active than actually what he can do on court. But he's very much immersed in what this team has been doing this year. Sarah Kustuck is joining us, Fox Sports NBA analyst, and also a member of the with Ion Eagle,

the great Brooklyn Nets broadcast team. So last night, you guys beat the Lakers. You know, when you watch an entire NBA game and you travel around, you don't get the same team every night. You don't. I mean, Lakers obviously had two massive games, Milwaukee Clippers. And then the Nets come into town with the Rockets coming in tomorrow night. And I didn't sense the Lakers urgency, but I did think the Nets played well. If I said to you, what makes you think the Lakers can win a title and what do you have reservations about, Sarah?

Give me one of each. What makes me think they could win a title is you start with LeBron James, Nancy Davis. And the way in which LeBron James has performed in this being his 17th season has been remarkable in matching him up with Anthony Davis. I think what impresses me most, though, is the compilation of how this roster has come together so quickly. Frank Vogel and his coaching staff, what they're doing on the defensive end of the floor. They're very long. Seven blocks a game. Yeah, their chemistry, by the way, defense is often chemistry.

Joy and I have talked about this. The team likes each other. And that happened so immediate. When you think about new parts and different pieces, they like each other. You could see that. I mean, they get points in easy ways. They get the second in the league and fast break points, second in the league and points off turnovers. You know, get to the free throw line.

So a lot of those things that you can manufacture, you could do that as well in the postseason. They've got shooters and players that have been there before, been in postseason situations. Now, what concerns you? I think just generally speaking, and we saw it at the end of last game. I have all the respect in the world for Anthony Davis. I think he's been incredible this year. I think he's a great match with LeBron James. But to me, he's the X factor of winning that title.

You know, it's interesting, Sarah. the Clippers have made it very clear. We got four guys now to stop LeBron. The Clippers have also made it clear. We're not getting another big to stop Anthony Davis. It's as if the Clippers are saying, we know we're going to face you. Anthony Davis, go beat us.

And that's how I feel. Because the Clippers now, when they brought on Morris, they've said, okay, now we got Patrick Beverly. Kauai, Paul George, Morris. I think there is a belief in the NBA. It could be wrong on this. Anthony's a great player. But is he the guy in a game seven?

And I don't know if he is. And I think we'll find that out. And I think that we'll find that out if the Lakers come away with the championship. Because we even saw the end of the last game. And I know there's a bunch of discussion about it, you know, this morning about LeBron making that pass, which I love always makes the right play. That's why he's one of the greatest to ever play the game because of his basketball sense and knowledge and how he plays it the right way.

However, it came down to Anthony Davis making a shot. And it's going to come down to that in a variety of occasions. because you know the Clippers or the Bucbers, whether it's the Raptor, you name it, whatever team that they are up against throughout the course of the postseason, that's going to be a part of it. And even Anthony Day, I mean, even the concept of him going from the four, playing the five, how their lineups shake up knowing that he's best in that center position and how he can exploit that against different teams and different matchups, I think that is going to be the big question mark. So when you cover all these NBA games, again, you don't get the same team every night.

what team at its best did you leave the arena this year with Ion Eagle and your broadcast staff of the Nets? Yes Network and go at their best, that's the best team I've seen in the league. That's a great question because we've yet to see the Clippers. We'll see the Clippers Friday and then back in Brooklyn in March. Who's the best Eastern team? The Bucks to me. On their best nights. On their best night, the Bucks will roll.

You've got Janice, who is an absolute monster to try and handle. And when they are at their best, when Chris Middleton is playing well, Eric Bledsoe, I think, speaking of X factors on the team, how he plays, the depth that they have, some of the complementary players he bring to the table, Brooke Lopez, the way he's playing defense. You can keep going down the list. I think Mike Boodenholzer is an excellent coach of understanding how to put his guys in the best position.

They, to me, at their best, are, a team that I believe could contend for a title. Yeah. When you're a broadcaster for the Brooklyn Nets, do you live in Brooklyn? It's where the hipsters live. I don't. Okay. I'm not very hip.

I'm in Manhattan. Okay. But I'm into Brooklyn. Yeah, Brooklyn's very cool. I love Brooklyn. It's where the cool people live. That's why I don't live there. That's why I don't live there.

Now, Ryan Eagle, does he live there? He does not. He's a Jersey guy. I know, he is a jersey guy. I know. He's been 26-year calling Nets games. He's a remarkable talent. The best that there is.

is the funniest human being in our business. I've on air. I normally gut laugh. I try to use my cough button. A few games ago, I didn't get to my cough button in time. I snored it on air because I was laughing so hard. My band-a-in- Is it great?

I don't know. It was a little embarrassing. It continued to bring it out. So tomorrow, you will be broadcasting in the new, is it? Chase Center. Chess Center. And there'll be nobody there. It's going to be, yeah, I mean, honestly,

players will hear play-by-play and analyzation. We're trying to figure out where, so the new Chase Center, the position, the broadcast position is high. Yeah. And so they're going to move us down, but we're saying if we're right next to the benches, players worry everything, people are everything. It's getting very bizarre.

Are we overreacting? I think you always have to air on the side of safe. So I applaud the NBA for doing this, but it is remarkable what is happening in our country. Sarah Kustok is joining us. You're always welcome. It's great to have you on the show. Careful. I'll be.

be back. Oh, yeah. You're welcome. And we'll have you anytime you want to come back. Say hi to the crew at yes. They do great work. Thank you. All right, hour three is coming up. Frank Clark of the Kansas City Chiefs, Antonio Cromarty. Well, free agency really starts early next week. The Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app.

All right, welcome back. It's good to have you in. I do have a little audio problem here, guys. Maybe it's my bandied on my forehead. Frank Clark is joining us. Boulder defensive end, got paid the big bucks last year and delivered for the Kansas City Chiefs with a Super Bowl. So you have a fascinating career. You're a great college player at Michigan. And then you go to Seattle. And it's very interesting.

Seattle had won a Super Bowl. It's my hometown. I'm a Russell Wilson guy. And he comes on the show all the time. You go to Seattle. But when you entered Seattle before going to the Chiefs, there were ESPN article, a little backbiting. There was a little tension. When you entered the Seattle Seahawks locker room,

did you sense we got a little chemistry problem here? It wasn't really a chemistry problem. You know, myself, I'm coming in as a rookie. You know, I'm not understanding football. I'm not understanding how nothing works in this world. And I got all these great leaders. I got Richard Sherman. I got Michael Bennett.

I got Bobby Wagner. I got even guys ordered Brennan Mebain. Cliff Aver, I can go on and on about these guys in my own. man, Earl Thomas, Cam Chancellor. Man, it's exciting to even reminisce on it. And you speak about defense and all these guys on the same defense, you know, and guys who I was just granted the, you know, just the blessings to play with and that helped guide me onto my way into the league.

And, you know, just to have these guys. And it was kind of, it wasn't a bad situation coming to it for myself, like I tell everyone, it was the best situation for me. I'm coming in with a trouble past. I'm coming in, you know, as a guy who, you know, had a lot going on. coming in with a lot of controversy, and then to come into a place like Seattle where I got a lot of guys who came from similar paths

and similar backgrounds as myself. And overcome them. It had been great. And overcome them, you know, guys who came from this underdog mentality, you know, that Pete Carroll had built there with drafting undrafted guys, bringing in undrafted guys,

or just making these guys who, you know, was kind of thrown under the bus special. And, you know, that's kind of what we dealt with. You know, we went from such a high before I had came there of going to two Super Bowls back to back. And then when I get there, you know, not being of the, amount to that that next season.

And then you find out you can't do that the next season. You know, and I spend three, four years there, and then we aren't able to get back there. And then you start to see the, you know, the stuff boil up. And I feel like that's what eventually start to happen. They trade you. It was interesting. So you go to this great defensive head coach and this culture in Seattle,

tough. Yeah. And then you go over to Andy Reed, and they're throwing the ball. And it's an offensive culture. Your first moment when you got traded, were you concerned that were you were going to an offensive culture and that you wouldn't be the guy and that perhaps it wasn't going to be as good a fit as Seattle? No, I really wasn't concerned about that.

I was more concerned about the new beginnings. You know, I'm going to a place where, you know, I hadn't spent four years in my NFL career to start. You know, Seattle was kind of like home. You know, you don't realize, you know, how fast change comes until you're in a place like the NFL. You know, you don't realize how fast a business can affect you until you're in a place like the NFL.

So it was never nothing personal. You know, everything with Seattle, I understood. I had fun there while I was there. And you won a lot of games. I won a lot of games. And it was an experience. Like I said, I can never get that back. The guys who I was around, the guys who helped teach me the game,

the guys who helped, you know, moan into the player I'm in today. You know, help instill this championship mindset. I wouldn't have got that if I wanted to make that stop in Seattle, I believe, first coming out to start my career. So you go to the Chiefs and the defense for the first eight weeks, and not that great. And then about week 11. Yeah.

Yeah, about week 12. We talked about it on the show. It's like, oh, boy, now the Chief's defense is great. What was going on within the Chiefs late in the season? Everything started to click, Frank, for your defense. I feel like we started having more fun, you know, and particularly on defense, the guys that core group of guys, we just got together and decided, you know, that we wanted to have fun, more fun than go gangster.

We say go gangster. That's a term. That's a term that Coach Spags used, you know what I mean? I mean, when we say you go out there and you know, you just want to play wild. Impose your will. You know, play wild, have fun. Like you said, impose your will. And that's kind of what we started doing.

It was time. You know, we got this great offense. For the last couple of years, you have Pat Mahomes that's your quarterback. You know, you don't have a great offense, but not a defense that can finish, you know, even before I was there. That was the word, the chiefs, great offense, defense can't finish. I know myself coming into that same situation the year before, you know, when I found that I was going there, I knew I was going there with guys like, you know,

him Hitchens, you know, my lineback. I got a guy like Tyrant coming in as well. Then they put together this great draft class. You know, we got guys like Juan Thorhill, McCaule-Hardman. And, you know, just in particular defense, Juan Thorhiel, we got these guys that just put together a unit that can win. And that can trust and play together. And I feel like that's what they did.

By the way, you took your glasses off. Put your glasses back on because I think they look great on you. You like these. I think they look fantastic. He's a little of time. Virgin made them. I think they look great. I got all of them.

I kind of like you. See, now look into the camera. Oh, I can see your eyes. Yeah. Keep those on. You like these? I think they're cool. Let me turn.

Let me give them some side. They like these. That's a little bit. You got to give them a little bit sometimes. I like it. These champion glasses. Everybody can't wear these. Only champions.

Only champions. Now, I've got to ask you about Russell Wilson, who is my favorite football player in the world, and Patrick Mahomes. Now, they're different players. Yes. But how are they similar? You've had both as a teammate. How are Russell and Patrick similar?

I feel like it's the will to win. They share similarities in just a lot of things, but it's the will to win. You see a lot of things they can do with the throwing styles. I believe it pertains that like this baseball pass that they have. They're both baseball guys. You know, they're baseball players at heart. You know, when you've got guys that can throw the ball, how they can throw it and make the type of throws, they can throw in tight spaces. Arm angles.

Side arms and on the run, how they do. So you felt like they're baseball players. Yeah, you can see the baseball and them on the field. You see Pat Mahon's the way he slides, you know, when he's trying to protect himself, man, it's the baseball slide. It's not a football slide. You didn't have to teach him that. You know what I'm saying?

That's something he developed nationally. Are there personality similar at all? I can say that. I can say that. Russ is, of course, Russ has, you know, kind of been doing this for a longer period of time. Very optimistic. You know, Russ more out there as far as in the world as far as, you know, the social world. But Pat's growing.

You know, he's an MVP who's a young quarterback. It was an MVP of our league and there's a Super MVP now. So I'm sure it's only up enough for Pat. He's one of the faces at the NFL, one of the, you know, I'm sure one of the premiered quarterback face of the NFL. And it's just the only time would tell. So you go to a Super Bowl and you face Jimmy Garapolo. So you watch a bunch of film for two weeks.

This is what Jimmy is. And then you face Jimmy. Jimmy was pretty good for the first three quarters. What did you learn watching film on Jimmy and then playing Jimmy Garapolo? What do you think of him today as a player? I think it's a great quarterback. You know, I just believe. You know, watching a film and watching it then, I just, I hadn't seen him throw the ball enough, you know, in the playoffs.

You know, I didn't see it enough, especially in the last, what, two weeks leading up into that game. Leading up to your game, he didn't throw much at all. Yeah, you didn't throw the ball. So I'm watching, you know, how much he hasn't thrown, and I'm watching how much he's getting paid to play the position. And it didn't add up to me. And me being a football player and a competitor, that's all I seen. And that's why I made some of the statements I made. I'm like, y'all paying this man too much money to not throw the ball.

This is going on in my head before the game. So I'm like, if they're going to throw the ball, or if they think they're going to come out here and run the ball with Mollstart or with, you know, whoever these running backs are in their backfield, I was like that's not going to happen in the championship game where you feel like your offense is better than my defense. And that's kind of how I start taking it during the week. And even before, that's where the smack talk came from

because it's like, yeah, I take it personal when you feel like your offense is better than my defense. When you feel like your quarterback is going to outcompete my defense. Do you have respect for Jimmy or do you think he's kind of marginal average? No, I got respect for every football player playing. in the NFL because this is a hard thing to do. You know, it's hard to make it to this position. It's hard to do these things and day in, day out, the things we go through.

Only we know what we go through. Only we know the challenges we face. And so I have respect for everyone, you know, but it's on that field, it's something that has to be earned, play in and play out. By the way, you acknowledge that, you know, you would come and you had some, you know, situations in your life that weren't ideal. I think it was last April you signed $105 million contract. So it's very easy.

think I would have had the maturity in my 20s to get $105 million and know exactly what to do with it. When you were given this $105 million deal, take me to the day. Take me to the day your agent calls you. And he says, Frank Clark, your world's going to change. You're going to get $105 million. Did you cry? Did you call friends? Did you call family?

Take me to the day that your life changed forever, financially. It was a good day. It was a good day. I bet it was. It was a wonderful day. Where were you? I was in L.A., actually, at my summer house. I'm sitting there in the hills.

I'm just relaxing. I hadn't been on the media a lot. You know, I was trying to stay off the media. Sure. That was one of those times. Yeah. You know, I was just trying to stay out the media, try to hurry if it can get done.

Because I didn't know if a deal was going to get done. I just, you know, you heard the talking stuff. But my agent told me like, man, you told me the night before, like it might happen this thing. It could happen tomorrow, man, with the Chiefs. We just got to see if it happened. You know, I'm going to wait for the car. And he told me, like, I call you at 9 in the morning or something like that.

And I told myself, like, I ain't going to answer the phone. I don't want to hear it. I just wanted to be done. I want to sit on the Internet. Right. It was too stressful. You know, he gave me that call. I mean, I got that call.

I never forget. I got that car. And what do you say? He's like, man. He's like, hey, baby, we did it. We did it. You know, you're going to be a rich man. And that was the best news I had heard in a long, long time.

You know, I had been through so much, man. And you play so much football. And you go through so much on the field for the interview. goals, you know, to be able to accomplish one of my individual goals, let alone a year later, win the Super Bowl, you know, with the same team that I just signed with, man, just a blessing. You know, it was just a blessing. By the way, you bought a big old house on the Kansas side, and you are, you got dogs and you got spaced and you got, you're a Kansas City Chief now. If you finish your career there, you're all good with that? I'm all good with that if I

finish my career. Now, Andy Reid's an offensive guy. He texts us all the time during the show if we say something he doesn't like. He's an offensive guy. Do you deal a lot with Andy Reed? I deal with coach all the time. You do? I just text coach, actually. We talk all the time.

Man, you got to understand. Man, coach from L.A. You know, we're L.A. guys. So at the end of the day, you know, coach are always checking on me. Coach just told me to come out to the pad, man. You know, coach got a beach house out the way. I can't speak on the location. That's right, course.

You know, I'm a secret location. I mean, Andy Reed like this. Can't let that go for nothing. But he texts you all the time. Man, coach texts me all the time, checking on me. Coach, you know about my past. man, they know what I've been through. So, you know, coach keep his foot on me, you know,

make sure I'm in the right direction still, you know, rather or not. You know, he looks at all of us like his kids, man, like his son. So, you know, you're always trying to stand contact with me. You're always telling me to come out, visit the house, you know, the family house. That's a, that must feel great. That's a great, man. Like I said, I, man, I struck, I struck a look. You know, I had Pete Carroll first great coach, you know.

Anybody who's ever, you know, played for him and said he is in his life, you know. Andy Reid, great coach. You know, I'm just, hey, coach, I'm thankful. I was just able to be a part of the team that gave you a first Super Bowl, you know, even better, even better person, you know. Don't you like him better with glasses? Those are fresh. Yeah, they are fresh. Everybody can't pull those off.

No, they can't. I'm trying. I'm working. I did it. You know, today I put a Band-Aid on because that's my style. We should get you some of those glasses and then everyone will stop looking at. Yes, you can. You want me to?

Just for one second. Because they're so stylish. This is a Louis. Those are good. Oh, my God. This is not going to be great. Put them on slow. Yeah, don't break them. Yeah.

I got to be honest with you. I look like an agent. I'm not lying. You look very Hollywood, calling. You're going to like them. Look, yeah. I might let you keep them, actually. I need to represent you.

Yeah, you might need to keep them right there. I love these glasses. Them Louis Vuitton by Virgil. I'm not going to lie. Hey, tell them to get my man some of them. Fox, y'all got to get my man some of them. Where they are? But you have to wear your, you have to wear your expensive sneaks with

though. You can't wear the... Frank, I'm in my 50s. I'm not cool. She's cooling me up. They told me once you get the 50, you tap into the whole other side of yourself. Come on. You're in the whole other side. The side that falls down and cracks your head open side. It's all right, man. You know, Nelly wore a bandana. I mean, you know, Nelly wore a band-day for a long time. Did Nellie? Yeah. Of course I know. I didn't hear. Come on. He wore the bandana under the eye. All right. It's great meeting you. Happy for your story. Happy for your successes.

Thank you, brother. All right. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Yeah, let's make sure nothing happens to those. Those are good glasses. You do. As soon as you put them on,

honestly. Like, you look so ready. I felt like firing my bosses. I felt like I had more power than anybody in the building. Those are some power glasses. I was going to go upstairs and change budgets. That's what I felt like. All right.

Well, the Chargers could be a landing spot for Tom Brady if he hits free agency next week. And running back, Austin Echler is making his pitch to get Brady to L.A. I bet he is. He said, I think it would be a good fit. We just lost a lot of leadership in Philip Rivers. It's an opportunity for people to step up. But if you bring a guy like Tom Brady in the room, he's been there, done that, he's already got the leadership qualities, and he's already proven that he's a winner. So, hey, let's build something around that too. Austin Echler may be the best receiving back. They have Mike Williams, Keenan Allen, Patrick, Hunter Henry, the tight end. If you're asking,

going to be Joy and you're not, but just in terms of where Tom would go and have an all-star cast, it is the Chargers. It is. The offensive line is being addressed. Concerning, yes. But I do think the Chargers is the most ready-made place. Oh, God, yeah. Step in and deliver, you know, Tom's a distributor.

I think it's a way better situation than Tennessee, even considering Tennessee's year last year. Yes, I totally agree. Now, obviously, Derek Henry is a different otherworldly talent. So, of course, we know that. But I just think for all things considered, San Diego, or, sorry, L.A. Chargers is the best place for it. There's not a doubt in my mind that Tom would go to the Chargers. This, I don't doubt, and they would win.

They would be a winning football team for two years. Now, to the level with Patrick Mahomes, and I do think Denver's... Well, that's the thing, like the Chargers and the Raiders, you still got to deal with Patrick Walms and the Chiefs. You do, but you can, listen, win it or not, if you win 10 games, you get in in a sport, and there's no doubt in my mind that if Tom went to the Chargers,

they would score a bunch. Do you know, with Philip Rivers last year, Joy, they were 10th in the NFL and offense. With all those mistakes, they were still a top 10. No, because they're the Chargers. They're always that team that's just right there. They beat themselves. They beat themselves every time, which

Tom Brady doesn't do. Well, if he does end up leaving New England this year, Nate Burleson has an idea of who the Patriots should bring in to take his place. I got a guy that makes perfect sense. On top of that, he might be a little bit more inexpensive than Tom Brady. How about Ryan Tannahill? Okay. Do you know how, who has more victories against Tom Brady? Only Peyton Manning. That's the only other quarterback. Ryan Tanniel is fearless.

But Ryan Tanyl right now, with what he did in Miami and how he reinvented himself with Tennessee, this could be an individual that can go anywhere. He has proven this past season. He can go anywhere and win. I don't know. Listen, he did throw for 100 yards, you know, I think we have to be very careful about being prisoners of the moment. Ryan Tannihals is a 500 NFL quarterback. Would you like Ryan Tannihill in New England more than Andy Dalton? Yes. Well, you know, that's not.

You're giving me no. That's the option. Yeah, we've had serious conversations about Andy Dalton going to the Patriots. No, I would take Ryan Tanyhill over Andy Dalton. I wouldn't take Ryan Tanyl over Teddy Bridgewater. I think Teddy's a more accurate thrower of the football. I think he is. I think Ryan's the.

bigger, stronger athlete. He's more mobile. I like Teddy Bridgewater more right now, but I think Teddy Bridgewater is going to the bus. So two years ago, I was on the Jimmy Garoppolo thing. This year I've been on the Teddy Bridgewater thing. Teddy Bridgewater is a playoff franchise quarterback. He is never going to be a top 7, 8 guy. He didn't have

the arm strength. But if you, by the way, I think if I was the Chargers, why wouldn't I go for Teddy Bridgewater? No, again, I don't think there's anywhere that Teddy Bridgewater wouldn't work. I truly don't. Yeah. I think Teddy Bridgewater to the bucks, this was probably going to end up happening, which is why I guess I'm not considering

that. But if I'm Bill Belichick and I have a choice between Tannahill or Bridgewater, I would take Bridgewater. But this is kind of interesting, though. No, yeah. Because they're going to have to get somebody and they're not going with Stidham. In the history of the NFL, the quarterback that led the team in passer rating is generally not moved off of. So, I mean, if the Titans, you know, there's a story today, the Titans want Tannihil more than they're saying and they want him more than Brady. Right. Which I do think he's a perfect franchise tag quarterback. And they're comfortable with him there. He was the locker room.

He's supposed to be a great guy. No, he is. He is. He's very well liked. So we'll talk more about this story on Joy Chat this afternoon. 3.30 Eastern on caffeine, free app. Go download it now. Subscribe to the Fox Sports channel and we'll be live at 3.30 Eastern on caffeine.

Finally, the Cowboys want to lock in Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper to long-term deals. And that leaves cornerback Byron Jones out in the cold. Dallas is likely to let him hit the open market next week. and the Cowboys reportedly seem resigned to losing Jones because they're so focused on DAC and Amari. He's also expected to become the highest paid defensive back in NFL history this offseason. Tom Pelliserra is saying that he could command 16 to 8 million a year. Xavier Howard of the Dolphins is the highest paid right now. He signed a five-year 72.25 million dollars.

Why do I have to pay him that much? Well. I like him. I don't like him that much. He's pretty much the – I mean, he's one of the NFL's best defensive backs. if this is something that you need. He's long. I like him.

Now, Goulet over here has never been a fan, but I don't think you can go into a season. If the Cowboys let him go, I don't think you can go into a season. They don't have another cornerback in that roster I like. You can have all the defensive ends you want. I don't like the Cowboys secondary. This is the only guy I like on their back end.

Because I think Clayboard at this point has been a whiff. A Woozier and Goodwin is also a free agent. But the issue is they just can't pay him. This is what he's demanding on. He's likely going to demand on the open market that can't pay everybody. Salary caps screw everything up. There's so many guys in the league I like. I just don't want to pay him $14 million a year.

But someone is going to. Yes. So, you know, they have to go get their money. Good stuff, Joy, with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. Former Pro Bowler Antonio Cromarty will be joining us.

Free agency really starts in earnest next week. And he's been around the league. He knows the personnel. Where would you go? who would you sign Antonio Cromartie is joining us live coming up next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeartRadio app. Computer systems and cars are the new normal. Go to Carsheel.com code her to call 800 car 6,000 code herd. If something breaks, it's expensive.

They can fix it. Antonio Cromarty played in the NFL for 11 years, almost half. He was a pro bowler. he opened up with the San Diego at the time Chargers who are now in Los Angeles. I do think if Tom Brady was just simply about what's the best roster I could land on, I think it's the Chargers. They went and got Trey Turner, which to me was a signal, Antonio, hey, Tom, our weaknesses guards, we're addressing it. They didn't have to do that a week ago. That was a Tom, we know, you know personnel, we're fixing our left guard spot.

You know the culture of the Chargers. Yes. Would Tom fix it? Yes, I think he definitely would fix it. I don't, and when you look at it, I don't think there was too much wrong with the culture. I just think when you look at the whole season from last year, the guards were terrible.

I mean, as soon as Philip catch the ball, he was getting hit in the face. He didn't have time to set his feet, throw the ball. So he looked like he was losing, you know, like he was not himself. He was like he was really 40 years old. When knowing, realistically, this guy can still play. and you saw spurts of it.

But I think for Tom, I think this is an ideal place just for the simple fact. He can come in and put his own offense in. He can add his offense in. I think if he go anywhere else, you can't do that. I think he comes into, I think he comes into L.A. He changed the culture of getting them back to where they need to be back into the playoffs. Winning the close games, not losing. Not losing.

Because they've lost so many games in the last four minutes of the other game last year. You know what well. It's crazy. Listen, it's the craziest franchise in the NFL. They've had great players. everywhere. It's almost like this enigma within the franchise. Oh, man, too many games being lost either by refs or us losing in the last minute. Field goals missed.

Ed Hockley missing up on a call in Denver, 2008. I mean, it can go on and on, but it's just that culture needs a shock to it. And I think Tom Brady would come in and make that shock to that culture. It is interesting. Go to the last year of your career. I've heard Brett Farve said this. I don't want to start over again. like a lot now it's different for a defensive player but when you're calling the shots and you're the quarterback I have heard people make the argument Tom just doesn't want to you know you doesn't want to write another book yeah did you get very comfortable at the end of your career

I mean you caught you could have played more in the NFL was it about I just don't want to I don't want to lower my standards I don't want to sacrifice stuff well for me it was when I looked at it it was for a standpoint of looking at it where I was mentally I wasn't into the game the last maybe year or so of my career. Just wasn't in study habits wasn't the same. The excitement of the game wasn't there for me

anymore. I think for me it just got too much political for me on that side rather than and join the game. So I think when you're looking at Tom I think when he's coming into it, he's still, he wants to play so he's 45. He loves the game. You see the excitement that he

has every single week. The preparation that he does. He doesn't even watch the game from the Sunday that he played. He starts studying the other team right after the Sunday night's game. So you lost some passionate. I lost passionate in it. You don't see that from time. You see he still has the

passion. He still has the thrive to go out and go out and want to win games. When he makes a mistake, you see him harping on himself to make sure that he doesn't make that same mistake again. It's just little things like that that you see him that he still has that feel and wants to go out and go be that champion of any football

team that he goes to. So we just had the combine. The draft is in late April. Free agency is coming up here next week. Yes. There's a lot of different moves that are going to happen. In your 11 years in the NFL, you were a college all-American, kind of a

can't-miss corner. Ohio State's got a Jeff Okuda's a kid. They say as a can't-miss guy. How much should I take out of the combine? Are there guys that blow up at the combine that you look at and think, that's just the guy that's a wait room dude? Like, did you

know when you were in the NFL, could you tell instantly when you saw draft picks come into the team? Can't play, can play. You saw that from Game Film. If you watch the real game film, you can know the guys that can't play and cannot play that can translate

things that they do in the combine and what they can't do on the field. So, like, I think I think Coach Bruce Aaron said it the best. Bruce Ariens, yeah. I think he said the best at a combine just because you're running 4-3 and your film shows you run 4-6. You may run 4-6, but your film shows that you run 4-4.

It's all about the film. The eye on the sky doesn't lie. So you are who you are when you put on that film. I think Jeff Akul is somebody that you can't miss. That's somebody you do not want to miss. So as a corner, is a corner? He's a home run. Why? What does he do? Everything. I mean, he does a technician.

He has great footwork, his eyes, understands what the offense is trying to give him, understand is the release. And he's a willing tackler. You know, I think that's something that you got to put into a perspective. You have great cover corners, but most of the cover corners don't like to tackle. This guy does everything. He's physical.

He's physical. He loves the game. And I think bringing him into the locker room, the way that he care himself that I've seen so far, his attitude, his confidence. I think that carries on into a locker room and also into that DB room. By the way, I want your opinion. Liam Simmons is a tremendous, Isaiah Simmons, excuse me, is a. tremendous athlete at Clemson. Some people think safety,

Derwin James, he's got that kind of body type. Some people think linebacker. What am I supposed to make of a guy that literally blows the combine up? 4-39, but he's built like a linebacker, but he doesn't have a position. Does that worry you? No. Why not?

Because I could put him at a lineback or a safety. You don't care? I don't care. You want the athlete. I just want the athlete. Because if you let him do what he do, he's going to perform the way he needs to. Just give him a job to do and let him go. And I think that's what as coaches, like we try to harp on what we just, well, we need this from this player.

No, just let him do what he do. Let the ball player be the ball player, put him in the defense and let him just go and let them build a defense around that guy. I think you can build a defense around Azelle Simmons. Just because of the fact, he can play outside lineback and he can play middle lineback and go back and go play free state. We're watching him here on film. When I look at him, I just think, not that he's Jamal Adams, he's just around the ball all the time. Well, you know, he reminds me of the late great Sean Taylor, just always around the ball.

When you look at him, when you look at him, he reminds me that the body type, how big he is, he's 6-263, 235, 239, he ran a 4-3-940. He reminds me of the late-grade Sean Taylor. I want to ask you, when you watch college quarterbacks, people love Joe Burrow.

And my takeaway is, well, man, LSU may have the best college personnel ever. That may have been the best college team ever. When you look at Joe Burroughs College tape as a guy that may half of your career, you're a pro bowler. Do you see a star or do you see a good college quarterback at a loaded college team?

No, I see a good quarterback. I mean, I see a guy that can make all the right decisions. I think he's a guy that understands the game, understands where he needs to go to ball, where he wants to throw the ball. Because football is all about throwing to or to say mismatch. so he knows the mismatches

and once he finds it, he goes to it. A lot of stuff that Tom Brady does. He finds the mismatch, he goes to the mismatch, and he finds it and has success with it. And I think that's what he does well. I think, you know, I only got to see Joe Joe Burrow play for one year. That's the only thing. He was great for one year.

He was great for one year. I mean, he has numbers out of the roof better than any other quarterback in that one year. But that's the only thing that scares me about him. It's just a one year. He doesn't have a lot of reps at the quarterback position. And he wasn't very good as junior year. And that's my thing.

He doesn't have a lot of reps. It wasn't that greatest junior year. Had a great senior year, won a national championship, and broke all kinds of records also. Yeah. Finally, Philip Rivers, you're a former charger.

Is it over? No, I don't think it's over. I can see Philip playing for the coach. I can see Philip playing somewhere where he can actually have a chance to go out and go win a Super Bowl. I think that's, I think that's the biggest deal

for Philip right now. I think he still has the excitement and enjoy that he he loves the game. He loves the game and that's never going to leave him. And I think he still can go out and go play another two or three years at a very high level. You ever play with a guy that loves football as much as Philip? No. 100% no. I mean, from the trash talkings and practice to talking trash in the game, just having fun. I mean, like, I think Philip said it the best when I was there with him in San Diego. It was like, dude, it's just like playing backyard football. You know, I'm just

just having fun. That's the way it's supposed to be. That's the way it's supposed to be and meant to be played. Yes, it's a business, but it's still a child sport. Good seeing you, Antonio Cromari. Good seeing you. Good seeing you. Thanks for having me on. 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 the 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 SportsSlice on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman helped make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clever-Taylor-Fourth. 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 walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out of my quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What?

Hey, Ms. 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. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk

ever again, I was finally. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in too, he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

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