The Herd with Colin Cowherd - LeBron James, Tom Brady, Dak Prescott, QB list, & the Astros

Episode Date: February 13, 2020

Colin explains why he is enjoying how LeBron James' game is aging over Michael Jordan's later years, why Tom Brady's frustration may lead to him playing elsewhere, why he would franchise tag Dak Prescott, why feels Tua Tagovailoa is the best QB in the draft, and why he is laughing at the Houston Astros. Guests include Rob Parker, Will Blackmon, Cuttino Mobley, and Sam Monson. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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.

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We are packed live in Los Angeles. This is The Herd, wherever you may be, however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS 1, I had a one-day retirement yesterday, ate an omelet, took a nap, played tennis. I had the greatest one-day retirement of all time, a midweek day off, and now I'm back for the next two days. Joy Taylor, how are you? I will be honest. I spent most of yesterday sleeping. Sleeping.

A significant amount, yes. Just chilling out at home and sleeping. Yeah, like how teenagers can sleep, like an obscene amounts. My daughter takes four and a half hour now. Yeah, I can't do that anymore. I used to be able to do that. And yesterday, I achieved it. So you have a lot of energy today.

Yes, I'm very well rested. So this is to me, I cover football, we cover football until about, you know, the Super Bowl, then a week we talk about football. And this is the time I start watching a lot of NBA games. And last night I watched Denver and the Lakers. And I'll get more into the game later. But I want to talk about LeBron James. He was unbelievable last night.

And there's always been this debate with Michael Jordan and LeBron. And I've always said they're just two different people. And as people age, I've noticed something. They become more of who they truly are. Because when you get older and you have money and you don't really need as many things as you get older, you become more of who you are. You don't have to play Kate people and be a yes man and Brown knows the boss and you become as you age more of who you truly are.

And LeBron, I like the way he ages more than Michael Jordan. Now, it should be noted as the Lakers beat Denver in overtime last night in Denver, which is saying something, that both players at 35 years old, MJ and LeBron were great. MJ was the league MVP, 29 points a game. LeBron's averaging 25 points a game, shooting 49%. MJ was the best player in the game. And let's be honest, LeBron's still the best player, most dominant player in the NBA,

and we'll control the league. Hell, he even controls the TV ratings. But here's the stark difference. And again, as you age, you become more of who you are. At 35, Michael Jordan had the fewest assists of his Chicago career. LeBron this year has the most. and that's who they are. Michael Jordan's answer, and he's the best basketball player, I think I've ever seen.

He, Magic, LeBron. Michael Jordan's answer to everything was, I got this. LeBron's answer to everything is, we got this. As Michael became a truer personification of who he was at 35, the fewest assists. LeBron the most. Even their Olympic experiences. Michael went to the Olympics and was battling magic to prove I'm better than you. LeBron goes to the Olympics, knows he's the best player,

and tries to create a community and friendships with other players. If you go, listen, Michael Jordan, at this point at 35, LeBron's got 320 more regular season games. Four full seasons. 60 more playoff games. He should be worn down. He should be beat up. LeBron is fresher.

He's happier. I've never seen him. Last night, he was totally laser-focused. There is no bitterness. Michael Jordan after his 35th birthday quit for a second time. And it really gives you sort of a view on how to age. Listen, Michael's a great basketball player. But even as he's retired, he just disappeared into his own sort of cocoon.

That's not going to be how LeBron retires. He's going to be a global and domestic basketball. basketball ambassador. You'll hear about him all the time, not just through press releases like MJ. But as I looked at Michael Jordan at 35 years old, he was great. But it was in his last year in Chicago, I got this. I'm getting another title. Fellas, get on my shoulders. I got this. And that is seen as bravado and machismo and basketball people love that. But Michael was burnout. He retired for a second time. And he waited a few years and went to Washington and was never the same player. I watched LeBron last night,

320 more games than MJ, 60 more playoff games. He is so fresh and so good and so focused and so easy to play with. Last night he's got the most assist now in his career. He's averaging 11 and a half a game. And by the way, they only have one other real true score. It's not like he's got seven guys he can depend on. Kyle Kuzma's their number three,

and he's averaging 15, 16 a night. So I like the way LeBron is aged. I like his base DNA. LeBron's going to age incredibly well and is aging. He is an incredibly fresh 17th year in the NBA. I see very little wear and tear. I see no bitterness. I see a focused, loving, into it.

We got this DNA guy. And I know you can call Michael the best ever. I get it. But I talk about this with my wife all the time. I don't want to be a crusty old bitter guy when I retire doing, you know, Winnebago commercials on, on. local radio. I want to age well. I want to be happy. I want to be part of a community. I want to make other people better. I look at LeBron last night in Denver, a tough place to play. I'm blown

away by it. This guy has figured out how to do it. Surround yourself, lean on people, ask for some help, pass the ball more. It's not like LeBron couldn't go out and score 33 a night. You watching that game last night? Nobody can stop him. Denver's got no answer for him. Utah's got no answer for him. The only team in the NBA that has an answer for him, Milwaukee with the honest at the rim, and the clippers on the wing with Paul George and Kauai. Nobody else has an answer for LeBron. Utah doesn't have a guy to guard him. Houston doesn't. Portland's got Carmelo in the wing. He can't stop him. LeBron can score. There's a great stat about LeBron James. My favorite LeBron's stat of all time is that LeBron in high school, I think his junior year, John, you can look it up. My numbers aren't

exact. But LeBron as a junior in high school averaged like, you know, 27, 28 a game. You know, like freshman he averaged this, then sophomore, then junior. So you can think LeBron as a junior in high school's averaging like 27 points a game. What did he average? 39 or 40 a senior year. No, he didn't. He didn't. He averaged a point or two more as he was in his massive growth stage because that's who

LeBron is. That's why he's happy. That's why he's not quitting for the second time. That's why he doesn't turn off all his teammates like MJ did when he went to Washington, where nobody could stand playing with him. Last night, they asked Anthony Davis, what do you make of LeBron? And he's like, he's the best player on the team. The players love him. I mean, what did Joy and I say the amazing thing about this Laker team when they added AD? And all these parts, the first thing we said, Joy, and I said the first month was, hell, they're like best friends. Their chemistry is incredible. Michael's last stop, nobody can stand him. And this is not to bash Michael Jordan, but watching

LeBron play with the joy and the focus and the happiness and the sharing and the most assist, that's how I want to age. That's how you do it. That's how you do it. You give a little, you don't, it's not a, I got this. It's a we got this. And it's, it is a pleasure to watch. All right, well, the interweb, for those of you just tuning in, that's the internet. It was Al Gore created it years ago, I think, and it's called the interweb. I'm on it all day. And boy, it went crazy yesterday when my friend, Bucky Brooks, who played in the NFL, that sort of matters, and scouted for the Carolina Panthers.

And now he works for the NFL network. He came out. And, oh, scary times on the interweb. He listed his top five quarterbacks. Oh, oh, Joe Burrell wasn't number one. In fact, Bucky Brooks' top five quarterbacks were the exact order I would put them in. Tua number one, Joe Burrow number two, Justin Herbert, very close two to a three, Jordan Love 4 and Jacobeson, 5.

By the way, until mid-November, you do realize everybody had Tua over Joe Burrow in mid-November. But what happened, and this happens a lot in sports, you get these perfect storms. and Joe Burrow, nobody will admit this. I like the kid, but he had a perfect storm. LSU rolled the dice on a coach from the Saints named Joe Brady. None of us knew who he was. And Joe Brady ended up being a perfect fit.

LSU's offensive line was named the number one offensive line in the country this year. They had a star running back, two star receivers, and a good tied end. They also played Tua when he was about 60 percent. And then they got to play the national championship, you know, as a home game in New Orleans. It was a perfect storm. Perfect storm for Joe Burrow, who it should be noted is a fifth year senior. That's what I said about Baker Mayfield. Be careful about Baker Mayfield.

Baker Mayfield came into the NFL older than Sam Donald, older than Lamar Jackson. So he was closer to his ceiling. I think what you see of Baker is his ceiling. I think what you see at Joe Burrow, this is his fifth year. He's transferred. Last year at LSU, his numbers were average. He's an older quarterback, closer to his athletic ceiling. Tua didn't have to wait until his fifth year to be great.

He was remarkable at 19 as a true freshman called on in the national championship against a great Georgia team and delivered three touchdown passes to win the game. Take a deep breath. Until mid-November, Tool was number one on everybody's board. Then he got banged up, people are freaking out, and they've moved him down. I'll say it again. It happens in sports, and it happens all the time. You get this perfect storm of events.

You play Oklahoma first. You don't have to play Ohio State first in the playoff. You get the championship at home. You bring it an assistant that takes an average Joe Burrow and fits perfectly. You have the best offensive line, a star running back. great LSU wide receivers. You play Tua when he's 60%. I love Tua.

I like Joe Burrow. But loving Tua doesn't mean you hate Joe Burrow. I just think it was a perfect series of events that allowed Ed Orgeron, a guy that lost to Troy at home in his second year at LSU to be named National Coach of the Year. I'm going to bet that never happens again, and I'm happy for Ed, and he'll win a bunch of games.

but he was on his way out by year three if they lost one more game. It was such a perfect year for LSU that Ed Orgeron fired at Old Miss. USC wouldn't give him a shot about to get canned at LSU, when the national coach of the year deserves it, happy for him, good guy, great story. But I think Ed's story at this point is leaped his coaching ability. He's a solid coach. He's not the best college football coach. And Joe Burrough's story and perfect storm has leaped his ability.

Arm, solid, size, okay, athletic ability, solid, good. Tua's accuracy is Drew Brees great. Interweb, take a deep breath. We get these perfect storms all the time, and they elevate coaches and players. I love Tua, I like Burrow, and Bucke Brooks nailed it. Tua, Burrell, Herbert, Love, Jacobeson. Coming up next, uh-oh. We have a former Patriot, now living in Boston, that says,

forget Brady, New England is done with Brady. 100% done with Brady. That's what he said. We'll address that coming up. A new leader in the clubhouse, potentially for Tom Brady's next football operation. 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 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, Tript 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 hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app, Search learn the hard way and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff,

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

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

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

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

of the court licking his fingers why he got the ball like after you go through a training camp with that i said you figure it out real quick get your ass up and down the court and you're going to get the ball so listen to point game on the i heart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts upgrade your wiper blades michelin endurance xt silicone wiper blades last two times longer than other blades available at walmart uh can't believe how much we have today you know in our business Everybody knows, you know, there's football season, then you have the NBA playoffs, and February, March, are kind of considered a downtime. It's amazing to me how much good stuff we have going on. The NBA season, I'm telling you, I watched Denver Lakers last night.

It felt like a playoff game. It really did. These teams now, this is when I start really watching the NBA, watching, you know, more than just quarters and highlights. And I'll get to that Laker Denver game because I thought it said of volumes about what you're going to get from Denver in the playoffs and what you're going to get from the Lakers. But I want to talk about this. We now have, and I noticed this about nine months ago, when Adam Schaefter, a friend of mine and somebody I respect, everybody at Fox respects, NFL reporters, said,

this Brady thing, he's going to look around. Don't kid yourself on this. So this is not Slappy the Blogger. It's Adam Schaefter. Christian Fourier, a former NFL repatriate, now works in Boston Media, came out yesterday and said, Tom's done, and they're done with Tom. New England's done with Tom.

Now, again, I have my beliefs on where he's going to go. But there's three or four things we have to all be honest about here. We now have legitimate reporters who I trust and players that know Tom that are saying, these are not, again, these are not bloggers quoting each other. These are real people. We also know that Brady and Belichick, Jay Glazer reported, Tom's not taken a pay cut. We also know Belichick generally doesn't pay anybody. I mean, outside of Stefan Gilmore, anybody.

We've seen tension in this relationship. We know that I can tell you I have one thing sourced. Brady is privately grumbling to those close to him about the lack of weapons and New England's inability over the last five or six years post-Randy Moss to get weapons and keep weapons and draft and develop weapons. These are all things you can't dispute. So I've been thinking a lot about this. this morning.

And on our show, we love pies. We love a good delicious pie. And I was going to do a Brady pie this morning. Because I think it's, at least optically, it's the easiest thing to put your arms around. 70% of the pie, I think Tom's going back to New England, not because he's totally happy, but moving at his age, learning a new offense is a pain in the rear. I'll give 1% to retirement. He just throws his hands up in the air.

4% a surprise team. I just don't buy the chargers. I don't. I have connections to the franchise. I don't buy them. I don't buy Oakland. I don't care that he bought a house there. I don't buy that.

I don't buy Miami. A team I'm going to throw out there, and the more I think about this, I think they're the favorite in the clubhouse beyond New England. It's the Tennessee Titans. And I'll tell you why I think this. I've moved four times in my career across the country, and I was comfortable and making a lot of money in all the places.

But when you move, you always move for the same reasons. you choose a place that is solving a current headache. Every place I left, there was an obstacle or a headache, and I wanted to solve it, and I didn't believe I could solve it, sort of like Brady. What are Brady's two annoyances in New England that he can't solve? Number one, Belichick will not spend money on weapons. he doesn't. He wouldn't spend it on his buddy Welker.

He doesn't. And Tom can't overcome that because Tom can't control acquisitions and trades. So Tom can't control that. So he wants better weapons. Secondly is he wants to have more fun. He wants to have fun. He's got the money in the titles. Bill's not fun.

Bill's uncomfortable. They don't have a relationship really. So just think of the one place that solves both of those. The two annoyances Tom can't fix. Fun. Mike Vrable's one of his best friends. He coaches Tennessee. He'd have fun with Mike Vrable.

Number two is they have excellent weapons. Arguably the best running back in the league. They've got two excellent receivers. A rookie last year from Ole Miss crushed it. They've got a slot receiver, Adam Humphreys, and a lot of draft picks, they solve the annoyances that are currently unsolvable. He would have a lot more fun, and they've got weapons. Nashville is also a cool city.

I don't think that's the be-all end-all. But if you said Indianapolis or Nashville, most people with money and options would choose Nashville as a place to live. I certainly would. Joy, if given an option, probably would. I think Tom Brady would. I don't think that's the be-all end-all. But I do think Nashville is a fun, cool, hip city where, you know, it's still close to the eastern time zone. I think Nashville, to me, kind of gained steam.

And the other thing that matters here, you know, they've said before it's easier for a child's brain to learn a new language than an older person. That it's my daughter can speak French. At 12 and 13 and 14 years old, she picked up French like that. If you're trying to get me to figure out how to speak French, good luck. Picking up a new language later in life is hard. Tennessee speaks Tom's language. Mike Vrable knows his culture and his language. The GM's a former patriot.

There are patriots all through the building. They're not all through the building in Indy or Miami or Oakland or the Chargers. They're not. There's a couple in Miami, a couple. So between solving the two annoyances, he'd have more fun and he'd have more weapons and the reality that in an incredibly winnable division, and that you talk about a place he could go tomorrow, A Jacksonville dysfunctional Houston.

Indianapolis doesn't have a quarterback. He walks in, can win a division. They speak my language. I'd have fun and I'd have weapons. Here's my Tom Brady, my official final Tom Brady delicious pie. 70% New England, 25% Titans, 4% Shocker, 1% I give up. I'm quitting. Joy with the news.

No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. I'm looking that little skinny 4% slice. I don't believe it true. But I mean, we get shocked all the time. Yeah. So that is a, I didn't see Kevin Durant going to the Warriors.

I didn't see it. I whiffed. I was wrong. I acknowledge it. Sometimes I get shocked. My thing is with all this noise, why we need to stay in New England's? That's why I have it at 70%. I don't know.

I think my big, look at Tom in the middle of that pie. He looks like he wants a piece of pie. Well, time is ticking for the Cowboys to get a deal done with Dak Prescott, which is one of the teams that we've talked about possibly being in that pie. And in an interview with Kimberly Martin of Yahoo Sports, he sidestepped a question of how much he thinks that contract should be worth. Are you a $40 million quarter to act? You tell me. I'm asking you. It's your project.

If it's my caller to write it, yeah, no telling. I mean, let's be honest, right? I mean, like I said before, though, I mean, I trust my agents. I trust the Cowboys. will get done. We're not going to sit here and put a number on it. Something will happen. When are we going to see you get paid? That's what everybody wants to know. Yeah, I mean, I'm wondering the same thing. Y'all know just as much as me. Love when that day comes. But I have confidence in my agency. My age is my team. I've got confidence in the Cowboys.

Something don't get done. I'm very interested to see what we hear about the, what was actually going on here once the contract is done. Because I think we're all assuming that they are going to get a contract done. I do think it's... I don't think it's... I don't think they franchise tag him. Yeah, I mean, I think I would consider it, but I don't think they'll consider it. Well, when you look at what the highest paid quarterbacks are, because the report was that he had turned down $33 million. Right. So Russell Wilson, this is the annual average value in 2020. Russell Wilson is the highest with 35 million,

Ben Rathesberger, $34 million. And then you get into the range that they reportedly offered DAC, which was be Jared Goff and Aaron Rogers at 33.5. And Carson Wentz is kind of, to me, the comp to DAC. Now, obviously, a lot of... of people feel that Carson Wentz is more talented than Dak. Yeah. But in my opinion, availability is a skill and Carson Wentz has been injured a lot. That's fair. And they came in same year, obviously not the same rounds, but their records are similar.

Dak Prescott has won a playoff game. Obviously Carson Wentz has not, but he was obviously a part of that season where they won the Super Bowl and he was not the quarterback of it because he got injured. But to me, they're just like, okay, you can put this here and this here and this year and this year and this year with Dak and Carson and he's making 32 million. I don't see them paying him an astronomical amount higher than $33 million. So maybe they settle like $35. And as the cap goes up, $33 will feel like $29 now.

Well, that's my argument with this. We know that Patrick Mahomes is going to get a ridiculous contract, as he should and he deserves it. And that makes sense. And anyone would pay Patrick Mahomes whatever it is that he wanted. But the cap goes up. All of these contracts, when they were first signed, seemed unbelievable, even at the highest level of talent.

It changes. And then eventually you're not the highest pay. and then another guy gets paid, and this is how it goes. I know Cowboys fans don't want this to happen, but he's been playing on a fourth-round rookie contract. He's not made any money. The thing you don't want in the NFL joy is chaos at quarterback. So if you have DAC, you won't have chaos.

Well, that's my question. What's the option? Okay, so you franchise tag him, and then next year you franchise tag him? He's going to be more expensive next year. Yeah, I mean, I think I would franchise tag him, draft a quarterback perhaps, but I have, but I don't think that's going to happen.

I think Dallas is too big of a brand to be chaotic, at quarterback. I think they're just, the brand is worth too much money. If the Cowboys go 8 and 8, 8, and 8, they're on every network and the value of the franchise goes up. And life is good in Dallas if you go 8 and 8. You got a bunch of people on sports radio like me and you ripping them. But 8 and 8 for Dallas is way better than, oh, hell, we don't have a quarterback. And so I think that alone gets DAC a six, five-year deal. The only time the Cowboys are not relevant is if they're completely awful, which is when they don't have a quarterback. Yeah, it's the year they had chaos at quarterback. Right. It's not worth the risk to me.

So Cam Newton is still recovering from a foot injury that ended his 2019 season. And Panthers owner, David Tepper, wants to know Cam's final health status before making a decision on his future with the team. Where do you stand? Do you think he'll be back? Listen, I'm not a doctor. You know, and I said it a million times. Is he healthy? And how does, I mean, he's not a doctor. So, you know, there's a lot of different things can happen.

But first is, is he healthy? Tell me that, and then we can talk. Very valid. The question of how healthy is foot. otherwise and that's still the number one overwhelming thing to see how healthy is and how we can figure out when he's healthy or not. Well, Camus said he absolutely expects to be with the Panthers next season and they do have to find out what happened and how he's recovering from his surgery that he had in September. In December it was a successful Liz Frank surgery. Remember

he was trying to rehab it and eventually they just had the surgery and that was against the Patriots during the third preseason game that he had that injury and missed 14 games this season with that injury. and then he had a shoulder injury in 2018. So obviously, Cam, we know Cam plays hurt. That's the book on Cam. He's very tough. He plays through injuries, which to me can sometimes be a detriment

because then you're obviously making it worse. But, you know, as David Deppar said, none of us are doctors. Yeah. I expect to see him there next year, though. Yeah. I think I'd move on. If what I would do if I was Carolina,

I'd move on and I'd move up in the draft and I'd go get a quarterback because I know if I started a show, which I've done before. I like a clean slate mostly. I like the clean slate. Like when a football coach, Mel Tucker left Colorado, goes to Michigan State,

he's going to get rid of even some really good coaches at Michigan State because he wants his own guys. I think if I was a new owner and a new coach, I just want my own guy and none of the other stuff. Unless my guy was Aaron Rogers or Russell Wilson or Mahomes,

then I inherited a superstar. But how I would do it is just, hey, appreciate your service. We're going to let you move on. We're moving up in the draft. And that's what I would do. Well, he's in the final year of his contract. has a $21.1 million cap hit.

Yeah, cheap. If they trade him or decide to cut him, they could save $19 million. Yes. So, I mean, I do think there's a value if you're going to take a young quarterback to have a veteran guy in that place. But Cam Newton may be too much of a star to be in that role. That's what I think. So finally, a report surfaced yesterday that Detroit could look to move on from Matthew Stafford and draft their next quarterback with a third overall pick this year.

But according to GM Bob Quinn, trading Stafford. is not part of the team's plan. He told the Detroit free press that the rumors the lions are shopping, Matthew Stafford, are 100% false. Okay. Now, he missed eight games last season with a back injury. And then Stafford's wife fueled some rumors by posting on her Instagram story that if Detroit is done with us, I could stay in Cali in reference to the Chargers.

However, his cap hit is $21.3 million. Yes. It moves up to $32 million if he's traded. And he's traded before his 2020 option. bonus exercise. It would transfer to his new team and it would go the hit would be 24.8 million. Yeah, that's probably what they would work. Again, Matt Stafford's fine. He has value on the market. The chargers would take him today if they could. I really believe that. I just, I think I've seen 11 years in Detroit and no division titles. I'm, I'm about, listen,

I'm ready to move off James Winston. Somebody will get him. I'm ready to move off Matt Stafford. Somebody will get him. It's not that I don't like these guys. I'm, I'm not that I don't like these guys. I just think the franchise needs juice. I think Detroit's boring, bad, going nowhere. I think it needs a reboot as a franchise. Again, we're not talking about these guys on a personal level. Yes. So it's never about this guy's nice.

Stanford's a great kid. Or that guy's nice. They're all great people. It's not about that. What are you doing on the field? To me, Matthew Stafford has just been a guy. Like, what has happened? And he's not been a guy that makes big plays late in games, which is increasingly.

What do you always say? The NFL is about winning. He doesn't win enough. It's like Andy Dalton. He doesn't win enough. What do you want for me? Joy with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Line News. Rob Parker, brought to you by Mercedes-Benz, the best or nothing. We don't bring Rob Parker on for just any automobile company. It's got to be Mercedes. Oh, yeah, Mercedes. The best or nothing. Let's just segue into this.

So I suggested a couple days ago. I said, I like Matt Stafford, but there's about, I know that Indianapolis, and the Chargers would take him tomorrow if they could. There's no doubt in my mind. I know both GMs. I haven't talked to him, but I know how they think. Stafford's got a good four to five years left, probably at least two to three prime.

I think it's time for a reboot in Detroit. That was met with resistance all over the Internet. You covered him. Am I nuts? No, you're not. And if I was still in Detroit, I'd drive him to the airport. I mean, come on with the Matthew Stafford. 11 years, no playoff wins.

He was the first overall pick. It's not that hard. The Lions have won one playoff game, Colin, since 1957. I mean, let's be honest. And if you're not winning, he hasn't done it. He just hasn't done it. They haven't won enough. What about this, though?

I hear Lion fans crush me yesterday because I said I take Tua. If since he goes Burrow, I take two at three, he's juice. I think he's a better talent. I don't care about the medical stuff. Carson Wentz has medical issues in college and the pros. I pay him whatever I have to pay him. People said this, though. Stafford is the only thing that's redeemable about Detroit.

Totally wrong, and the fans there in Detroit are delusional. They're still beat down. They haven't won anything that they think that he's something special because he allows them to be seven and nine every year or stay in the mix. Seriously. And it's ridiculous. I'm with you.

The Lions won't do it because they've never gone out and taken a chance on a special talent. I'm 100% with you. Go get to a move on. Other teams that need a quarterback. When you were doing radio in Detroit, what would your callers say on Stafford? Because you were very, you called him Stappaphafford because of him patting his numbers.

So what did your caller say to that? And they would always say, oh, you're just a hater. Look at his numbers. He's got Hall of Fame numbers. But he doesn't have the wins. It's about win. I always say sports has a short menu. wins and losses, that's what it comes down to.

You can't look at, football is not that hard where the Lions have it. You know what? They've had so much trouble with making even first-round picks. You probably have a better chance, Colin, of picking out a good peach at the supermarket than they have, picking out a number one player that has been an impactful player to their organization. Well, their brand at this point is a franchise is our Hall of Famers quit early. They've had two of great players walk out on them,

and you don't even mention Indomacin Su didn't quit, but walked out on them as well. They had three great players walk out on them. And that's why when you look at Bob Quinn, who's the GM, he can't keep doing the same old thing. They ran Jim Carwell out of there. Remember they said 9 and 7 wasn't good enough? And now Matt Patricia is the coach.

He's won nine games in his first two years. Is that good enough? It's amazing because Cleveland's bad, but we talk about him. Oakland's dysfunctional, but we talk about him. The Giants are a mess, but we talk about him. They have brands. Detroit has no brand. And they don't win.

This idea, you would have thought I suggested that, you know, the Chiefs trade Patrick Mahomes. It's incredible. Can I give you a fun fact on the lines? And I used to go to all the games when I was a columnist at the Detroit News. Yeah, those were the days, by the way. Those were the days. And you ready for this?

They lost under Matt Millen when he was the GM. 24 straight road games twice. 24 straight road games twice. can you imagine that in this NFL with all the parody? I mean, that's how bad it's been in Detroit. And people need to wake up and move away from the same-old, same-old. They'd rather be, like, win a few games. Well, but that's who you are.

You moved out of Detroit to move to Bristol and now Los Angeles. So you are not, my wife's from Michigan. People that grow up in Michigan like to stay in Michigan. That's not your M.O. You're from the Queens. You're from Queens. You worked in Michigan, but you always been a world traveler. So it's easy for you to say, move on.

You are a mover honor. That's who you are in your life. A lot of people in Michigan, he's their guy. He's better than the other guys we've had. But I just don't understand. Seriously, with football, when you see, it used to be a joke about, you remember the a Ains, right? When people wore bags over their head.

It was the Ains, the Cardinals, and the Lions. All of them couldn't win. The Saints won a Super Bowl. The Cardinals went to a Super Bowl and it took San Antonio Holmes to have that great catch to take that Super Bowl away from them, do you remember? And the Lions still haven't been there. They haven't even sniffed it. Think about that. They haven't even won a division

title in the NFC North. And yet they are outraged. That I suggested, you know, there's two kids good. I'd roll the dice and move off. I would roll the dice. 100%. Okay. Stick around. We've asked a lot from you today as a company. You did that show. You're doing this show. Stick around because I'm going to

get you to admit, LeBron does one thing greater than MJ. And you're going to have to admit it because I'm going to you're going to. You're going to pay me into a corner. I've got to see this. Rob Parker 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 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 Slices 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,

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, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free. iHeartRadio app search learn the hard way and listen now what's up guys this is clivert taylor

the fourth and on my podcast the clivert show i'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff like being an internet famous referee we're in the middle of a game this linebacker you know these kids 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 rep my mama want you to wave at her what Where's he at? 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 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 Reed. I got to manipulate the game.

We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson,

we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball like, after you go through a training camp with that Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Oh, yeah.

Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You know, I think Rob Parker, you're a happy guy, and you're fun and you're playful. I would say you have aged well. We all know Joy is aging beautifully.

She's still young, but we're old. But you have aged well. You're not bitter. You're happy. You're fun. You laugh a lot. I've never been happier in life. I feel the exact same way.

I feel like I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I was telling my son yesterday, the gratitude I have. I told my daughter last week, I said, if you can be, if you can work for a company that treat you like I'm treated, you hit it out of the park. Blah, blah, blah, sucking up for the bosses. Now, so I tend to surround myself with people who age similarly. They're happy. They're into their kids.

They're into their wife. They're into their... I don't like bitter people. at 35 having played 360 more games and 60 more playoff games, LeBron James is the happiest, the most focused. His assists have never been higher. He's playing to elevate others. Michael Jordan at 35 was just about to quit for a second time and disappear.

His assists at 35 with the lowest of his career. He stopped passing. I'll do it myself. that MJ's got a I got this DNA. LeBron's got a we got this DNA. And I'm watching LeBron last night against Denver. He is so joyful. He is sharing.

I've never seen him pass this much. We view that as a weakness in sports. You can't carry your team, but what makes Patrick Mahomes great. He loves sharing in the joy. It's not all about Patrick. Sometimes with Aaron Rogers, you and I think it's all about Aaron. Michael didn't age as well as LeBron. Look at what he did last night.

It's 32, 14, 11 rebounds. Anthony Davis is like, I've never had more fun. Danny Green is like, it's incredible how good our chemistry is. You say that now until they lose to the clippers and the playoffs, and let's see how happy everybody is. I mean, Colin, I hear you. I still would take Michael Jordan at 35. You would come in off a championship.

And maybe, you know, when we talk about Michael is all about him, he was the ultimate competitor, always wanted to win, and he took on the brunt of everything that came his way. I mean, was he tough on teammates? Yes. But there were other guys who made big shots where he went to them and said, be ready. I'm going to pass you the ball, Steve Kerr. Be ready, it's coming.

And he was a part of that. He shared, it wasn't always. He had to be talked out of being a ball hog by Phil Jackson. Phil Jackson said, listen, do you want to score? 60 or do you want to be a winner? Because right now you're just a guy that nobody wants to play with, even though you're great. LeBron's never had to be talked out of sharing the ball. But here's the other problem, though.

How come guys didn't want to play with LeBron other than AD was a part of the management team? Just think about this. Other than AD? That's all I care about. No, no, no. But Kauai Leonard could have easily been here. How easy would his life have been with A.D., LeBron, him. He's still in L.A., his hometown.

still in L.A., playing in the same building, load management, and then they would be winning the next three or four championship. And you know what he said? No, thank you. Paul George is from here. He had two chances to come here. Remember the first time? Yeah, yeah.

Wouldn't even talk to Magic Johnson, wouldn't even give him a meeting, wanted no part of it. So I hear what you're saying about LeBron, but let's be honest. He's had a hard time attracting people. Okay. No? Kyrie Irving, the Earth is flat.

Got tired of him. Kauai Leonard love him, but odd and unique as a personality. So I'm okay if I land Anthony Davis, but quirky Kauai wants something different. He doesn't even have an agent. And Kairi Irving, who doesn't like anybody, who, who, I mean, let's be honest about Karee. Okay. His teammates don't like him. His coaches don't like him.

If you land A-D, it eliminates the argument that, Nobody wants to play with him. The first or second best free agent chose him. If AD wasn't a part of the management team, I would buy into that argument. But he was a part of the LeBron brand and Rich Paul. That's all I'm saying. So sharing, creating a brand. No, no, no.

He won with Rich Paul first and then LeBron got there. It's the other way around. He joined in and then, oh, yeah, well, he should play with LeBron. I get it. I'm not mad at AD if he wanted to come to L.A. Or whatnot. He hasn't committed yet. Did Dee Wade and Chris Bosch, two super smart guys want to play with LeBron?

No, right. LeBron wanted to play with them. Remember, he went to Miami. Let me tell you so. Did he not go to Miami or did they come to Cleveland to play with LeBron? Which one was it? Well, LeBron decided I want to be part of something special. They got on the phone and conjoined and we're all on board.

It wasn't like, you beat me by nine seconds. Your flight landed sooner on the tarmac. In the end, I always hear this nobody wants to play with LeBron. So D. Wade, one of the most beloved players in league history wanted to. Chris Bosch, about as smart a player as the league, I mean, is Chris Bosch could run a team. Anthony Davis is at least the first or second best free agent available outside of LeBron in the last five years. They don't want to play with LeBron. Kooky Kiree does it?

And Kauai, who's- But what about Paul George, who's from here, Palmdale, not that far? I'm just asking, he had a chance to come. Everybody thought all the Laker fans wanted. of them, right? He wanted to come home. He talked about it for two years. He was traded. LeBron came. When he was traded. Right, but LeBron came. Yeah. And then all of a sudden, he didn't want to, he didn't want to come. And then

then all of a sudden, he wanted to come back to L.A., but to play with Kauai. That's all I'm saying is that there are guys who looked like they didn't want to play. By the way, not it had an easier road with LeBron. And all I'm saying is, who wanted to play with MJ at the end? Not even his own teammates like him. No, I get it. At the end, it wasn't pretty. And sometime when you have guys,

who are like that, who are driven, who just winning means everything to him, wasn't friendly about people. I could see that where he wasn't friendly. But you never said to yourself, he doesn't work hard, he's not a leader, he's not all that. Fun is good. Winning is better than fun.

Well, remember this. Michael Jordan didn't win anything between James Worthy at North Carolina and Scotty Pippen. He went eight years. It didn't win anything. And then Phil Jackson and Scottie Pippen arrived and suddenly Michael just teased it just a one. winner. He wasn't a winner for

eight out of ten years in a decade. All right. And so how many times did Scottie Pippen win the MVP of the finals? How many times did he win on those six championships? Michael was a score. Scotty is a slasher. LeBron is a giver. Michael was a taker. But you're almost out of words here. No, I'm just, you know that you were good on that

Stafford thing. Now I got your cornered. You said you were going to pay me into a corner. And I'm just trying to think about it. Can you at least acknowledge? LeBron is aged incredibly well. I'll give you that. I'll give you that. God, he is playing with such joy

and he shares the ball. It's a joy to watch. No, he's playing, he's playing great. I know he's averaging 25 points, his second lowest total ever. You know he could average. I got the assist up. You know he could average 30. You and I know that.

And last year he played really well, despite them not making the playoffs, right? His numbers were good. So I get the part about that. LeBron is that kind of guy. Oh, that's pretty good for you. That's good for me to even give up that. You didn't come around.

You moved the meter about 10%. It's Rob Parker. He's on a great radio show, the odd couple with Chris Broussard, who threw up today and had to go home sick. I'm hoping that Chris is not going to be working tonight on the show. He'll be all right. You got sick.

Still better. Feel better, Chris. You know what? I thought it was something I said, but I think it's a flu. I've almost thrown up on some of your tapes, but this was influenza. Get better, Chris. Our tune next.

One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the I-Hart Radio app. Search heard 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 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, 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. SportsClyce 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 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.

Care 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 Raw, 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 Clifford Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Clifford Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio. app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm CJ 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 exactly. exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He run up the court, licking his fingers while 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 balls. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Oh, hour two, we are absolutely loaded. Will Blackman Catino Mobley both stop by? In L.A., this is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening.

We're on IR. Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Everybody tells me this is the slow time of the year. We have a ton to talk about today. We have a million things to talk about. Joy Taylor is joining me. I have never watched the ton of NBA in October. November, December, January. I don't think the teams care much. You get into mid-February, late February, and then you start watching these NBA games, and the players are into it. You can

tell. The good teams start to dial stuff in. The trading deadline's over, so you're stuck with what you got. You know, you can't go to the social media and demand this or demand this. At this point, the teams are what they are. This is what they are. And I watched the Lakers and the Nuggets last night in Denver. It was a great game. And it was a great game. And it felt like a playoff game. It felt like a playoff game. It was intense. Yeah, yeah. You could see this. You can now, Janus took the night off from Milwaukee and they couldn't score. So you can do that way as well. But last night I watched Denver and at home, a very good team. And then I watched the Lakers. And I have said about Denver. After Yokic and then I like Jamal Murray, they don't have a third guy.

You just can't go into and they're really, really young. Last night's a great example of why Denver is not going to get out of the West yet and why the Lakers have a chance to get out of the West and win it all, although I don't think the Lakers should be favorite. Last night showed you all the limitations of Denver, and it showed you why the Lakers are going to end up at minimum in the Western Conference finals. And I said this two days ago.

So I watched the game last night, and it was classic. Second quarter, Yokic, a great player gets cold. It doesn't do anything. He's just, they get outscored 18 to 2. Jamal Murray disappears and they don't have a third score. That's Denver's problem. You can't rely on Yokic to be dominant for 48 minutes. Players have dry spells.

Players get fatigued. Players, he did. He kind of disappears and there's nobody else in the building for Denver. Nobody. Jamal Murray shot three times, missed all of them. They don't have a third score. Gary Harris is not going to get you to the neck. You can't depend on him.

It showed all the limitation to Denver. Denver's at home. It's high altitude. It's the day before. the all-star game. It's Denver's game to win. They got the home crowd. They're standing as they tip it off.

And they have a dry spell in the first half. And then late in the game, Denver has 24-year-old Yokets, 22-year-old Jamal Murray, 25-year-old Gary Harris, one starter over 30 years old, over 25, excuse me, one starter over 25 years old. Late in the game and overtime, they just couldn't make the play. Of course they couldn't because they're kids. And the Lakers who have Rondo,

Dwight Howard was once carrying a team to the finals. You got Javelle McGee, Avery Bradley, LeBron James. You have all this playoff experience. The Lakers go to Denver, high altitude. Game goes to overtime. They should be gassed with their old roster, and the Lakers made all the big plays late. And that's what the playoffs are.

For an old team, day before the All-Star game, to go into high-altitude Denver and to be able to go to overtime. I mean, that place, it's a different altitude. folks, you're not playing at sea level. You're playing up in the mountains. It buries teams. Even average Denver teams are good at home. The Lakers made all the crucial steel, a couple threes by AD, they tie up, create a jump ball,

all the crucial plays late by all the veteran Laker players. And that young team in Denver doesn't make them. And that's the playoffs. This is why Denver can win a playoff series, potentially could win a second, but they'll never, to me, never win the way. Western Conference Finals. Last night's a great example. It was a playoff game in February. That's what a playoff game feels like. And it was a classic game. The Lakers will end up winning those in the playoffs because they have all these sage veterans. I mean, Dwight Howard's coming

off the bench. And this is a guy who's been to NBA finals. This is a guy who was a leader of a franchise. He's not what he used to be. He's been a hell of a player for the Lakers this year off the bench. And I'm not a Rondo fan, but Avery, Rondo, Javale. That game, told you exactly what you're going to see in April. Young, talented Denver team that needs a third guy and count on anybody when Yokic is a little off or has a dry spell for six minutes and a Laker team that's going to get outplayed certain nights

and figure out a way to win because they have all these cagey veterans. LeBron talked about the game last night, which you could tell clearly he felt like this is a big one because we may end up playing in Denver in the playoffs and we want to let them know these are the games will win. Every opportunity that we get to play in the close game versus a tough opponent, you know, it's a learning experience for all of us.

It prepares us, you know, for a postseason game where it's going to be back and forth, back and forth. I thought tonight was a playoff atmosphere, both teams, being number one and number two in the West Conference, you know, jocke in for position. So, you know, just trying to make plays, whatever it takes, you know, on the offensive end, on the defensive end, and, you know, and 80 was there, you know, knocking down big threes. Getting a block, getting some stops.

You know, it was just, it was, got the, got the jump ball as well. Just big time. All the big plays. Spectrum Sportsnet. Thanks for the video there. All the big plays late. The old team that should be tired in OT, getting ready for a nice all-star break, made all the big plays late.

The young guys did not. Welcome to what the playoffs looked like in April, May, and June. All right, let's shift to this. Dack Prescott was asked a couple days ago. Is he worth $40 million? dollars and at Dax shot back what do you think to the reporter people tend to use um they they tend to use words like deserve let's just talk about what contract negotiations are here's the word leverage it's not about deserving i've never been paid because i deserve something i've been

paid a lot of money if i have some leverage the company needs me uh at least a little bit and and maybe i have other offers it's called leverage it's not called deserve or earn DAC has some leverage here because the Cowboys don't have anybody behind him that can play, and it's the world's, well, it's America's biggest sports brand. That's leverage. Forget deserve and earn. Dax got some leverage. Cowboys have some leverage.

On the open market, Dax's not getting a lot of offers for $37 million. Let's start with zero and work our way down. So they both have leverage, different kinds of leverage, and because of that, a deal will get done. Now, it just comes down to a certain number, but the deal. will get done because DAC needs them. On the open market, he's not getting this money. Cowboys need him. They don't want to go into chaos mode at quarterback. That's a nightmare. The one time they did, networks took Cowboy games off and Jerry loves the publicity. Now the concern is, we have a quarterback in DAC that is going to get paid a lot of money,

$35, $36 million. If you look at the current quarterbacks that are making that kind of money, Russell Wilson won a Super Bowl, Ben won two. Jared Goff got to one. Aaron got to one and one. Carson once was having an MVP year when he got hurt, clearly shown the ability to carry a team, and Matt Ryan got to, should have, but didn't win a Super Bowl. Dak, with the best O line, with the best running back, has a playoff win. That's a concern. Here's the reality with Dak. He doesn't miss starts. He got excellent leadership qualities, and he keeps in most NFL games. That and his leverage is going to get him probably 35 million bucks. cap goes up, it won't hurt nearly as much.

Here's my biggest problem with DAC and why I would probably franchise tag him. Here's my problem. When I say the word Apple, Google, Amazon, those are massive brands. They are imperfect and flawed, but they don't really have a ceiling. If I say Real Madrid, Manchester United, international sports teams, they are imperfect and have bad seasons, but they never have low ceilings. They can go get and pay for who they want. When I say Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Lakers and New York Yankees,

I'm not asking for perfect, but I would never want to be trapped and feel like I have a low ceiling. When the brand is universal, Google, Apple, Amazon, Real Madrid, Lakers, I can deal with imperfection. I don't like the term low ceiling. That's what worries me with Dak. You pay him 35. You're not going to be able to re-sign some guys defensively.

And I think Dak's good. He's not special. I don't love that. It's why I would franchise him. I'd like to see him play again without Zeke for a couple weeks. Maybe with a beat-up offensive line, prove he can carry it like Wentz has to meet so far. But a deal is going to get done. It's not about deserving or earning.

It's about leverage. And Dak has enough. And Dallas has enough that a deal will get done. All right, coming up next, Will Blackman. He DM me last night and asked me about my favorite wines. No other football player outside of Drew Bledsoe ever does that. I got two football guys that DM me about wines, Drew Bledso and Will Blackman, the former giant, funny guy coming up next.

Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, weekdays in noon Eastern, 9-8-8-8-8-8. AM 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. SportsClyce 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 Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast. Learn the hard way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking.

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, or 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 Clever 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 of 42. A rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast, Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed.

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

give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get to fly. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the bar. Like, you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah. You figure you, it out real quick. Oh, yeah. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcasts. After a huge debut weekend, the sports world is buzzing about the XFL, and this week should be even better when Tampa Bay takes on Seattle, Saturday at 5 Eastern on Fox, followed by St. Louis versus Houston, Sunday at 6 Eastern on FS1 or Catch It All on the Fox Sports app. And don't forget before the XFL games kick off this weekend. Make sure you download the Fox Sports Super Six app and play for free for a chance to win up to $10,000. I think the L.A. franchise is kind of a mess.

I want to just say that right now. I don't think they're going to win any games. Already. Yeah. You can tell. There's a couple teams I like. L.A. teams, I don't think it's going to be very good. XFL's good football, though.

I like it. D.C. is pretty good. Yeah, L.A. fired their defensive coordinator. Pepper Johnson. One name. Too much pepper, maybe, for the rest of the staff. I don't know. It's L.A.

that likes spice, right? But for the record on the XFL, there's guys can play. Yeah, it's really good football. Yeah, Will Blackman is joining me. Ten NFL seasons, a Super Bowl champ with the Giants. And now he's in the wine business. I screwed up last night. You slid into my DMs and asked me about...

I didn't slide. I asked you a question. You asked me a question, which was... I said, what kind of wine do you like? And I thought I put Pino Noir and I put pink noir. So I said, Rose. You said, no, Oregon Pino's. Like, duh.

And then I'm like, I just read five minutes ago. and I'm like, oh, I did put pink noir. My problem is I'd had a couple of glasses of Pino noir, so I couldn't see straight. Yeah, I was at the shop. I was going to shop for you, and then you took too long. You were a what shop? At the wine shop, yeah. Do you drink rosé?

No. Why not? I've had rosé. But why not, though? Because I like Pinoes. Okay. I'm a guy that goes back to the same thing over and over. I'm not like a, I find what I like in life at a restaurant and I order one or two things at the same,

I go to the same restaurants, and I order the same two things. I'm not going to take big. chances in my life now. Why not? You don't bungee jump at 70. Why not? My grandpa went skiing at 73. Well, skiing's not a risk for me. I'm an excellent skier. I'm not going to jump out of a plane at 80. If I die at 84, it'll say cowher dies of old age. It won't say, jumped off a cliff just to have a good time. Coward dies. So I'm not moving on to wines that I haven't tasted and haven't grown an affinity with. That's very extreme, though. Jump by going to plan on trying rosé. That's very extreme, bro. Will Blackman is joining me. So let me

ask you this. When you take over a new business, I've done this a few times. I start a new show. I generally want to start from scratch. I went out and found John Goulet because I'd had John Goulet before. So I said, I've got to get somebody that's familiar with me. I buy the Carolina Panthers. I got a new coach. I've changed the front office. I think I would move off Cam. I think I would move off him. By the way, I'm already picking seven. I can get to the number two spot. You moved off of a really good coach. So that's not far-fetched. So what would you do if you ran the franchise in Carolina with Cam? Well, based off what Temper said, he said, I handle the business side. Now I need to go down

and handle the football side. And he is truly going through every single little piece of what's going on there. Yes. And his last interview, he said, okay, is Cam healthy? Because if he's not healthy, we can't do anything yet. So I'm sure he's truly waiting to see if he's healthy. Because He can't be a guy that owns a dealership. And he's like, man, I got this 2011 Bentley that is ready to go. We got a couple flat tires. So you have to wait until we repair it, you know. So I think that's truly what it is.

I think he can get a second for Cam. You can get a second rounder. Yeah. So I can draft my future quarterback. I've got a transitional piece, Kyle Allen, that's not my future, but I can compete with him. And he's someone you can hold on to because he gets it. He's a backup quarterback. You can win with backups for a while.

They did. Oh, absolutely. Now let's go to Matt Stafford. Now, at least Cam's gotten to a Super Bowl. I like Matt. He's a good kid. He's got talent. 11 years no division titles.

Now he's a little broken down. He's still young enough. I could send him out to the trade market for Indy or the Chargers, and I think both potentially would bite. I would move off him, take the cap hit for a year. We're not winning the Super Bowl anyway, because I'm going to draft Tua with a number three pick. I'm not worried about the Super Bowl for a year.

What I need to do is add juice energy and start over. Is that crazy or would you keep Stafford? If Stafford went to Indy, they're instantly going to the playoffs because he's not going to get hit. So he has value on the market. He has tons of value because just based on his skill set alone, I think the most underrated things people realize what Stafford is his armstring. Yes, no question. I still have a ligament that is partially torn because I try to pick off one of his passes and it just weren't right through my hands.

Like he has a strong, and he's able to lead his team back. But Will I've always said this. When the Colts moved off Peyton, when you get a divorce, you have to realize as a man, I'll speak as a man. When you get a divorce, my ex-wife is going to find happiness elsewhere. I've got to come to terms with that and not worry about it. Denver, Indianapolis had to realize. Peyton's going to leave us, and he's going to win for a while,

but we're going to move on to luck. Green Bay moves off Farve. Brett's going to be able to beat us for the next couple of years as we go to Rogers. Right. When you move off somebody, the only way to move off a player with value is he's going to win somewhere else.

You've got to come to terms. But you also better have a plan. And Tua's my plan because Tua is not going one. So I love Tua as a plan. I'm just saying. I like that too. If I could take Tua and say, listen, I'm going to move Stafford.

I'm going to trade him. But there's so many parts with Detroit where it's like they're not far off. Oh, you really think that? I think, yeah. In the NFC? In the NFC, I don't think they're far off because, one, when's the last time they had a 2000, I mean, a thousand-yard-russia, Reggie Bush? Was it like 13?

Was it like that? You got to get something like that. You got to get something there that's going to, once again, he has enough talent where, it's plenty of talent where he needs something complimenting around him. You know, when Marvin Jones came back, they will lighten it up until Marvin Jones got injured. You know, they still have Kenny Gallaudy, a great receiver. They got to get just more pieces and offense around him. to protect him. They have a franchise quarterback, like you said, he's still young and he's still able to do all

these things. He can throw for 4,000 yards in his sleep. I guess my take on Cam and Stafford is they have market value. They will win elsewhere. I don't deny it with the right fit. But I need to start over. I need new juice. I'm 11 years in with Matt Stafford and I don't have a division title and I don't have a

playoff win. Yeah, Detroit is an interesting and yet confusing organization because you don't know. At least with TEPA that he's speak, he's telling you what we're doing. Oh, I know. Listen, Teper's going to win games. I think he's going to offend some people, but he's going to win games. Because he's honest. He's brutal.

He's cutthroat, bottom line, super bright. He's running his football team like he ran his hedge fund. He's going to make a decision. Give me another quarterback. Dack, what do you do? You pay him. All right. How much?

35. That's fair. 36. Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't pay him that much. Why can't I franchise tag him for one year? Because he, I believe he deserves the contract. Oh, deserves?

Yeah. Deserves gets a lot of GMs fired. Is he special? He's a franchise quarterback. All right. So is, is he better than Andy Dalton? He's better than Andy Dalton. Is he better than Matt Ryan?

He's not better than Matt Ryan. Is he better than Kirk Cousins? That's debatable. Okay. So 35 million for Kirk Cousins. And you'd be comfortable with that. if I had a like a turnkey situation like Minnesota and like Dallas does, yeah, DAC is good.

Kirk Cousins is good for that. All right. Just come in here and don't mess it up. Well, that's not very willful and aspiration. It's not willful and aspirations, but that's why I look at. Don't mess it up? For example. You don't win in Super Bowls on don't mess it up.

Well, for example, Minnesota thought they were one quarterback away. So they go get Kirk. as in coming here and get us to where we need to be because we have everything in place. Dallas, they felt like they have things in place and they need someone to come here and as a head coach to get us to where we need to go because we have a lot of the pieces here.

So you think McCarthy and Dak is capable of getting to a conference championship? I believe so. All right, then by the way, you should pay him if you believe that. Yeah. Because if you think about, forget the Super Bowl, if you believe your quarterback,

this is every quarterback in the league, Do you believe your quarterback can get to the conference championship? I didn't say win it. Yeah. If your quarterback can get to- I 100% believe that. Okay. To be the quarterback to get Dallas there.

Yeah. Because once you get to the conference championship, you're facing Brady's and Rogers, you're facing Russell, Wilson, Mahalms. You know, that really is the baseline to all this. It is. If you believe your quarterback with the current construct of your coaching staff can get to a conference championship.

Yeah. Division title is not enough now. No, no, it's not enough. Deshawn Watson now. He's going to win this off pretty much, ever since Andrew Luck left. He's going to win the South a lot. So, Dak and McCarthy to you can get, then pay him. Yeah.

That's fair. What do you make of, I can't believe this is a story. So years ago, when Will Blackman's joining us, so years ago when Tim Tebow got hot, and I was at the other place. And I think I was the only on-air person of note in America during a seven-game winning street. I didn't like it. I just said this is not, he's winning, but I'm not building around him.

He's a good football player. He is a good football player. It's not sustainable. There's a difference between can he win Sunday and are you going to build around him? So all of a sudden, I never even thought of Tasem Hill as a starting quarterback. I mean, he's a good kid. I think he's a more athletic Tim Tebow. He ran a 4-4-5.

Tebow ran a 4-7. He's a more athletic Tebow with a better throwing motion. I think he can win on Sunday. Tase him Hill can win on Sunday. But in all the years he's been in New Orleans, he's attempted 15 passes. Pretty much sums up what they think of is throwing. He's blocking punts. He is a great athlete.

I never thought of them really as a franchise quarterback. I think of him as a more athletic T-bow. And I always said about T-bo. Love to have him on my roster. I'm just not building around him. So there's this belief that if Breeze retired, I would go with Teddy Bridgewater. I wouldn't even think twice about it. Right.

There's a lot of people out there saying, you know, the special teams coach said, throws a better ball than Lamar Jackson. Do you as a football player see Taysam Hill as a franchise quarterback? No. Neither do I. I never seen anything that will let me believe that. That's exactly what I think. He's a guy who's going to play 10 years because he has value.

And I would pay him. By the way, I would love to have him on my roster. I give him some kind of like a Matt Slater type of deal. Even more. Because I think he can score touchdowns. Matt can block a punt. Right. You know, there are guys in this league.

I think the mistake we make, Will, is we confuse. He could win a game Sunday. with I'm building around him. The infrastructure for Tassum Hill would have to have this quirky off. It just wouldn't work. So he's not as hyper-athletic as Lamar and he can't throw nearly as well as the top 12

quarterbacks in the league. I don't get the story here. Yeah, because you know, he wasn't healthy in college. I think he got a medical redshirt in order to, you know, keep playing. And then I don't, I haven't seen any full preseason games of him. By the way, he's going to have to go

somewhere and win a job. I could be wrong here. Let me look this up real quick. Hold on. One second. Troy, what's up? He's going to turn 30. He's going to turn 30. So ask yourself, in the history of comedy, one stand-up comedian was a late bloomer. One, Rodney Dangerfield. Everybody else by 16, 18, 22. Who lost in bed? No, he was good and young. Was he young? Okay. Dangerfield's the only. Generally, if you look at most in tech, nobody's a late bloomer in tech. The people that are grade at 12, 18, Bill Gates, 16. You can't be 30, and nobody has said, let's make him a franchise

quarterback. It's not a position you can be, quarterbacks don't be, aren't late bloomers. I just don't see it. Finally, Tom Brady, your Tom today. What do you do? I am staying with New England. And we look at Tom Brady and you're like, okay, what's the incentive, right? He's done everything. Right, right. If I'm, if I look at, if there's one thing that would motivate Tom is because there are only two organizations that have six Super Bowls, right, Patriots and Steelers. Maybe he wants seven. You stay and get seven. Otherwise, you go home.

Here's my Brady pie. 70% New England, 25% in Nashville because he would have fun and he has struggled having fun. Retirement, surprise team. One percent retirement? Yeah, I mean, one percent. He just says, I don't. I'm done with this, guys. I don't trust New England.

I've taken a beating. He's in Costa Rica with his wife and kids and is like, you know what? I don't miss it. I'm out. What do you think retirement's at? I think it's higher than that. Higher as in. I think like 25.

You think? Yeah, I think it's 75, 25. 75, New England, 25 retirement. I can see him going to Costa Rica and just saying, you know what? I don't, we don't show any indication. We're going to draft a tight end or wide receivers, and I'm out. I can see it, but I just have it a smaller percentage. Yeah.

If I'm, I'm waiting to see. what happens during preseason. Do I get weapons? He just needs offensive weapons. Well, all you have to wait for is the draft. You don't have to wait for preseason. But by that time, listen, New England's got to thread the needle here. Because bottom line, in order if they want him, they have to pay him by March 18th

or to much bigger cap hit. So they have to thread the needle on this, and I don't think it's going to happen. It's funny here. Tom can really screw over the Patriots. Tom can basically... Why would he? Well, I'm not saying he would, but Tom's got a lot of leverage here. They don't have anybody in house who can win a lot of games.

It's very true. You know? Will Blackman, good seeing you. Yeah, always. A pleasure. Yeah. It's a rosé in your life. Yeah.

Among other things. David Bruce, Pino-N-N-War. Fantastic. What is that? David Bruce. Pino-N-Nois. Yeah. Where's that from?

Santa Cruz Mountains. Oh, yo. He was his wine. His wine was in the 1976 Judgment of Paris. Ooh. Finished top 10 out of the 20. It's a sleeper. It's not a sleeper draft pick.

legit, dude. A joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Picture, Colin, like, sitting on the porch, sipping a rosé. It's not really my thing.

Yeah. No, cold beer, goose rocks, maybe a pinot noir. I love rosé, but. Probably iced tea at some point. Ice tea? Arnold Palmer? Not really, just, yeah. Unsweetened iced tea.

So James Winston has had vision issues for years. and has been seen squinting over to the sidelines during games. Bruce Ariens even joked at the end of last season that James couldn't read the scoreboard when he's on the field. Wow. But now he has gotten LASIC eye surgery to repair his near-sightedness. Yeah. So that means he can, it's always weird to me.

It's called near-sightedness, but it means he can now see further away. He can see better further away. Yeah, so I can see a long way away. I can read a billboard sign on a freeway a mile out, but I can't read half the step. opposite. Like I wear glasses. Sometimes I just don't feel like dealing with them. But I can see fine right here, but you are blurry. I can, on the freeway, I can see stuff. I'm not joking. I can see stuff almost a mile out. No, I can't.

But you give me a prescription bottle? But you kind of need good vision if you're going to be a quarterback. And obviously there's a bunch of jokes that you can have here considering the amount of interceptions that he throws. So this was probably a good idea. I mean, they can't get them like some rec specs or, you know, some contacts. I'm kind of over, James I will say this though. He is still an entertaining watch. He is. And look, he threw 33 touchdowns this year. I was through 30 interceptions. He's just a lot of activity.

Yes. Homerunner strikeout. But never mistake activity for achievement. It's a great John Wooden. I don't, I'm, I've never been in on DAC or Marriota, for that matter. I didn't see it. Or James or Mariotta. Yeah. Or DAC, let's this meet. Yeah. James or Marriota. Very in on

I was kind of into sort of liked them both, didn't love either. I just didn't, I didn't feel like they had the ability to be consistent. And with me, with Marriota, I didn't feel like he had the it factor. Yeah. So with James, I feel like this year was a good test year. Yeah. He had Brouserians, who was a very great coach, smart. You felt like he could come in and establish a culture and do whatever he could do with

James. I just don't see, I don't see how you're going to get anything different from James at this point in his career. He is a free agent. He's going to end up somewhere, if not back. with the bucks because I don't know what their plan is moving forward without James but at least he just took a step to try and improve at least his vision so that's good so the Bengals are in line to draft a quarterback with the first overall pick we're all assuming they're going to take Joe Burrow so that leaves Andy Dalton's future up in

the air the team is said that they will be in constant communication with Dalton this off season and one option could be a trade in Rap report is reporting the Bengals are willing to work with Dalton to facilitate a trade when the time is right so they are going to do right Andy Dalton. Good kid. That's the way to do it. And it's time to move on. That's a perfect way to do it.

Yeah, he's set to make $17.5 million in 2020. So that's not terrible. He obviously got benched after week eight for Ryan Finley and missed three games to return in week 13. Again, Andy Dalton is just, I think it's part Andy Dalton part the fact that it's just the Bengals as well, which is kind of all of our fear with Joe Burrow going there. You can get a fourth rounder for him. Go get a fourth rounder for him. He's a maybe a year starter.

you know, your Jacksonville. Not Jacksonville. Jacksonville's suck. They're stuck with the Foles. And they have Gardner Minshu. So that's what I'm saying. I don't know where does he end up is the question. If Tom Brady bolts, they're going to give him and they give, if Stafford's not on the market.

Andy Dalton's getting a call. I guarantee you he gets a call by New England if Brady Bales, which he won't. But if he did, that's who you call. I will be checking on all of my Patriots friends if that happens. Finally, you were just talking about this with Will. Taysam Hill wants to be a franchise quarterback, and his former special teams coordinator, Mike Westoff, seems to think that he could be one with the Saints

on the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. He even went so far as to compare Hill skills to Lamar Jackson. Take a look at Baltimore. It's the same kind of guy. Tason Hill does those same things. I think he throws better, and I think you'll see an offense that's similar to Baltimore that can do a lot of different things.

And Sean Payton is an extremely qualified. coach and he's very, very creative. Sean Pate's a good coach. Okay. I think if he's going to be a franchise quarterback anywhere, it will be with the Saints. Yes. However, we went through this all last year. It's enough already, all right?

Lamar Jackson can throw the football. He's a unanimous MVP. And as you relax with the comparing other people to Lamar Jackson, Tayson Hillstone 15 passes in his career. And he's 30, and he has an injury track record that would scare you. So, like, beyond that, it's a, he's a 30-year-old guy. He couldn't stay healthy at BYU, and he's older, and he's really not. Listen, there's guys I want on my football team.

I want him on my football team. He's a great athlete. He's been wonderful for the Saints this year. He may be, but Drew Brees went down for five games, and they didn't give it to him. They gave it to Teddy Bridgewater. Yeah, you can say you love somebody. What do you do? They gave it to Teddy B.

I don't even want to read Lamar's stats. It's embarrassing, but they're stuck comparing, like, Lamar Jackson can throw the ball. Just relax on the whole, you know, he, he, he, he, he, He doesn't throw the ball that well. We know what Lamar Jackson is at this point. And this is why this narrative about doubting Lamar Jackson continues. It's silliness. He threw the ball 15 times in his career.

Listen, we all like Taysam Hill, and I do think he would end up being in a great position with the Saints. But other than with the Saints, I don't know if he ends up being a franchise quarterback somewhere. There's too much talent coming into the league. Way too much. Too much talent that are athletic coming into the league. And they're 23, not 30. Yeah. Joy of the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line. Former NBAer, Catino Mobley. It's serious, folks. Utah buried Miami. The Lakers beat Denver. In Denver, Catino stops by 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 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 All healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. 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, Wreck.

My mama want you to weigh better. 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,

and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs.

I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too.

Steve Nash will get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball, like, after you go through a training camp with that, I said, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball.

So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. One of my favorite guys, over a decade in the NBA, the well-appointed, well-dressed man, Catino Mobley is stopping by, sports NBA analyst. So an anonymous executive, Ketino said Lakers

are not beating the Clippers in a series. It's not happening. Agree or disagree. I don't think the Lakers, as much as I love LeBron, A.D. Dwight, that whole squad, I don't think the Lakers can beat the Clippers if the Clippers are healthy

in the seven game series. And the reason why I say that is because you got to think about how the game is today, right? You have LeBron 6-8. 6, 9 can do everything. Then you have Dwight Howard, who's amazing. You have Anthony Davis and Javelle McGeece.

You have Biggs. But the game is not so much about the Biggs. It's about versatility. So when you have Paul George and Kauai Leonard and all these different guys. Those are two of the most versatile guys in the league. And Morris, who's a dog and can play. When you have the Philadelphia guy, I love it. When you have those type of guys on one team, like the Golden State Warriors,

is you can have success because you can switch everything. You can shoot. You can stretch fours and fives. It's harder for the defenses of the White Howards and the Javelle McGee's and, you know, not so much Anthony Davis to be able to go out there in guard. So, I mean, that's what I think when it comes to a seven-game series. Clippers have the versatility. They have the versatility.

It's a really good point because the NBA really is now a versatility league. It used to be when I was a kid growing up, it was a size league. Yes. Then it was a Michael Jordan League. He kind of broke all the barriers. And now it really is a versatility league. Can you get fours that can guard three, can guard two? LeBron can guard everybody outside of a fast point guard now.

He can even guard a big. Kauai Leonard now can guard Janus. He did last year in the playoffs. So I watched Denver Lakers last night, and Denver's really young and really talented. But when I watch the game, I'm like, because it was a playoff-feeling game. In the NBA, we've got 27 games, 28 games left regular season. You were in the league for over a decade. Teams start buttoning it up.

The games feel like play. You'll pick a game a week and it'll be a playoff game. That was a playoff game last night. And I look at Denver and I'm like, they can't win that game. They can't win that game. And they should. I just don't buy Denver big picture. Do you?

I don't. And it's not a knock on Denver. There's two things that's blocking Denver. There's one, it's the mental, right? When Portland came in, they beat them. And Portland shot bad and still beat them last year. That's one. mentally.

And two is there's, they have a lot of Robbins, no Batman. As great as Joker is, is really good as Murray is. If one of them are struggling. Last night in the second quarter. It's really hard because to me Murray's not a true point guard.

He's an amazing score, right? He's, you know, bringing the ball up. Okay, cool. But to me, if he's not scoring, can he get everybody in the game? I don't see that. That's not his, that's not his nature. That's not his nature. It's not his nature.

And then Joker's more of a passive dominant player where it's not, he won't give you 45, 20 and whatever. He will give you 11 assists. He will give you that, but it's more of a European thing, right? It's like Sabonis when he was with Portland back in the day, right, where he's passing the ball and it looks all great and everything like that. But when I need you to dominate Shaquille O'Neal, right? It's not going to happen. I don't see that. Yeah, you know, Denver's one of those teams that's going to be really good for a long time because they have two really good.

players and a really good coach, and it looks like their front office knows what they're doing. But you do hit ceilings. I think with Denver, I think this. I think you need the Incadalas of the world. I think you need the Dremont Greens of the world. I think you need that showing Libby's things of the world where they're point guards, but defensively they can switch everything. So you keep the Murrays, you keep even Harris, because I like him defensively, you know,

and Joker, and then you build around that, right? Or you keep Millsap. but you build around that type because their IQ is so high, the equal dollars and the Sean Livingstins and the Jermont Greens of the world, that Stefan Curry can exist in a system, right, as great as he is, because he has so many other guys knowing how to play the game. That's right.

Small ball in Houston, I do not buy it. I haven't bought Houston all year. I don't think they can win a playoff series. I haven't bought Houston all year. I don't buy them. I don't think they can win a playoff series. I think they're an interesting mess. I mean, okay, psychologically.

My major is psychology, communication. It was. You majored in psychology. And communications, yeah. Okay. So for me, I'm thinking this, right? You are who you are, right? You're not going to change anything.

You know, my therapist said that. He goes, change is hard. Change is very hard. For people who want to change. Yeah. Most people don't want to. Westbrook is what he is. There you go.

And I love Russell Westbrook. But again, we spoke about this last year. Did we not? When Paul George was up in the top three in MVPs? And it was what? December. I don't know, January when we spoke about this? Yep.

And we said, well, give it time, and Westbrook's mentality will kick in, and then he will become that type A personality again. And he did. And he did. And what it does is now because Paul George defers, right? He kind of deferred. It breaks your rhythm. Basketball is about rhythm.

So it breaks your rhythm. So with James having struggles of one for 17 in the last, well, actually, in one game, he was one for 17 from three, you know. And then Russell, you never know what you're going to give. You know you're going to get hard work, but you never know if you're going to get the consistency of efficiency, right? You don't know you're going to get that. So now when it comes to my opinion, when it comes to May, June, Westbrook's such a competitor. Will that personality get in the way of how this small ball will work?

It has the last six years. Yeah, yeah. This is who he is. Yeah. You know, it's like if you hire an employee and he has a track record of being difficult, he can fool you for a couple years. Exactly. But by year of three, you're like, it's really difficult. People show you what they are.

They show you what they are. Believe them. And that's what it is. Listen, Russell, I use one of my favorite players. I've known him since his freshman year, actually going into his freshman year of college. He's streaky. He is what he is. He plays super hard, but he's what he is, and he takes it personal.

And you're supposed to do that. You're supposed to do that. But there's a time where you have to compartmentalize. Thank you. Right. You have to be self-aware. Exactly. I'm hurting my team.

Where is the best word. And he doesn't have that. He doesn't. It's not that he doesn't have it. It's just that your ego tricks you to say, now it's the time for me to do it. Where, I mean, if it wasn't working all those other times, but yet I'm being successful during the season,

but this is not the season. This is the second season. Yeah. Right. By the way, we know this in the post season. You don't get to the free throw line. The refs don't get you the calls. Westbrook drives, not a great shooter.

Looks for the foul call. James too. Doesn't get it. James, same. way. Doesn't get it and therefore they get frustrated. That's why James and Russell have struggled. You do not get the whistle in the postseason. Well, James is more

so for me, James is more so his energy. It dies in the playoffs, right? So you can't keep searching for fouls and things like that and then when the second round comes around you may not have that energy you had during the season because during the season things are

more spaced out. You're not playing the same team for the next two weeks. So the scheme is not the same. And it's not the same. so you can get 35 on this team and fishing and then you get 40 on this team. But it's like a lot of free throws and it's a lot of stopping. It's a lot of bumping your body. And this is different. Playoffs are different, right?

So, you know, hopefully. Doesn't sound like you buy into Houston either. I don't, I don't buy into it. And you live there. I love Houston. But you don't buy them. I love these are two of my favorite guys. But you have the objectivity to not buy them.

Well, yeah, it's not so much as them, but I just think it's the system. where it's like, it used, offensively uses so much energy. Right? When I was with Rick Adam and Sacramento, I scored 18 points a game and literally like, I didn't even have to do anything. I really dribble the ball.

But when I was with the Rockets, I was like this star and Steve Francis and I was like, dunking and passing it's like, but after the game, I was like, oh, my God, I'm so tired. And I only had like 25. That's why I hire Joy. I barely work here. I bring on you, well-dressed man, and joy.

I sit here and just, I'm going to go. Love it. Going to go do sit-ups after work, take a nap. Play some tennis. Ketino Mobley, who has never once in his life, walked out of his house and not been dressed elegantly. You are the well-appointed man. Love it.

All right. Hour 3 is coming up next. Make 20-20-year-year-year, start a new life as an IT pro in as little as four months. Go to My Computer Career.edu. Hour 3 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 IHard Radio app.

Would True Car shoppers save an average of over $3,500 off MSRP? I certainly did. Buy smarter, drive happier. Try the new True car. So we've been talking. Pro Football Focus is a site that I kind of got turned on to. Chris Collinsworth was one of the founders. I got turned on to it about four years ago. And they do college stuff.

They do pro stuff. And, you know, like offensive line play, I have to rely on them. Other things, my eyes can tell me certain things. But I think they do a very good job. They like Baker-Mayfield more than everybody else. I did not. So I get the last laugh this morning. But who knows, Baker may rebound and have a huge year.

But they'll lay it out there. They'll tell you what they think. And joining us via the Coward Global Satellite Network is Sam Monson, NFL analyst, PFF, NFL show as well. So let's go to the college thing. I think to be a number one pick, Sam, I like special. I look at Tua, freshman, called on in the national championship game. This kid's made a steal. He's had injuries, but Carson Wentz was hurt.

I'm okay with it. I look at him and I see Drew Bree's accuracy. I think the kid's a remarkable talent. Joe Burrow, I say, good, not special but good. What's the tape say? What's PFF say when you graded those two? I mean, I think the tape says it's with you on Tua. I think Tua is a fantastic prospect, and really the only concern with him was the devastating injury.

So if he checks out medically, I think he's absolutely a guy that deserves to go at the top of his draft. Where we differ a little bit is that the tape also says that Joe Burrow is special. He has the highest single-season grade we've ever given a college prospect since we've been grading. That goes back to 2014. The only concern we really have with Burrow is we've only really seen it for one year. And of course, you can sort of look at the fact that he had some help. He did it. You know, the good receiving core.

Offensive coordinator was a big thing in his favor. But his accuracy was special as well. If you look at his, you know, adjust to completion percentage. You take out throwaways, take out drops by receivers, try and sort of dial it down a little bit more to just the quarterback. His adjusted completion percentage last year was over 80%. That's a Drew Breeze level number. And it's a few percentage points higher than Tua.

So I think that Joe Burrow has the chance to be a special prospect. And, you know, maybe the best prospect we've ever seen. But I think Tua's right up there with him. I think those two guys should go one and two in this draft. By the way, is there any other – quickly, is there any other college prospect like Justin Herbert do you like? That grades out pretty well? Yeah, I mean, there's a few guys that grade out pretty well, but none of them are in that same category. I think it's a clear one and two in this draft, and then people like Herbert are further down the list.

There's much more question marks about them. These are the two clear prospects that, A, I think everybody likes and B, the grading likes as well. Now, I want to shift to NFL guys. So there is a question in New England. I picked up on it about four years ago where I started noticing that in December, Tom Brady's efficiency was declining as he aged. We see this with Drew Breeze.

He can be great September, October, but Drew declined a couple years ago later in the season. When you looked at New England's issues, was it a Brady issue or a lack of weapons issue? What did PFF see? Yeah, I think almost all of the problems are the lack of weapons. I think you're right. Brady is definitely declining at this point. The guy's 42 years old.

You know, of course he's declining. I was kind of out a few years ago saying he was declining, and then he reversed it, had a few of the best seasons of his career. But I think right now it's not crazy to suggest that he doesn't have quite what he used to. But when you look at his numbers and you start looking at the problems in New England this past season, it really is just that nobody was able to get open. You had Julian Edelman, who was still doing a good job. But once teams figured out, they could just bracket-cover Edelman, nobody else was able to get open on a consistent basis. You look at the PFF grades,

the only guys with a decent receiving grade were Antonio Brown, who lasted one game, were James White, who's a running back, and Alandon Roberts had the next best grade, and he's a linebacker that moonlighted as a fullback and had one catch. Everybody else was Julian Edelman in the 70s, and nobody else had a good grade.

So, you know, Brady couldn't get it done on his own. his numbers under pressure were bad because nobody was getting open. And, you know, really, that's every single bad number for Brady this season just traces back to the fact that nobody was able to get open on a consistent basis and give him somewhere to go with the football. There are a few years ago, you know, people around this set as I witness, I had said about Jimmy Garapolo. I don't see any college guys as good as Garapolo. I'd go get him. The Niners did. Now, I do think Tua and Burrow are more.

special than Teddy Bridgewater. But I do think Teddy is a starter for a Carolina or an Indianapolis. What is the tape say? What now, again, with Sean Payton, with Michael Thomas, with Alvin Kamara, he can fit right in. If you put Teddy around a good offensive line and good weapons, perhaps not special, what is the tape say about him as a potential franchise player? Yeah, it's interesting. his grading at PFF was always, I think, a little bit better than the general perception. But after he had that devastating knee injury, he never quite got back to that point until we saw him start a few games this season. And even at the start of that run, his grading wasn't that good. I know they were winning all those games.

But it took him a few games to get back to that level. But then we started to see him kind of get back into his groove. He started to push the ball down the field a little bit more. his grade went back to where it was, you know, pre-injury with the Vikings. And I agree with you. I think Teddy Bridgewater can legitimately start for a team again. I think he put himself back in that conversation and earned himself some money with that run of games. He does look like a viable starter, albeit one that's probably never going to be, you know, a top five, top 10 quarterback.

He'd be in that top half of guys kind of in that Jimmy Garapolo, you know, level of quarterbacks in the NFL. You know, some of the grading for our audience, you know, DAC has never played without a great running back. Zique. He came into the league with Zique. He's never played without this offensive line, which has largely been understood as the best or second best O line in the last decade. So when you look at Dack, we know there are certain limitations. How do you grade him, though? How do you take into consideration the greatness of the people around him? What does he do that concerns you at PFF? What does he do that you like? Yeah, you're right.

It's very hard to isolate the effects of every other player on a specific individual. And sometimes you have to look at it and say, okay, he has this grade, but let's start bearing in mind what is around him in terms of offensive line and receivers. And that kind of goes back to the Brady thing we talked about. You know, his grade is influenced by the fact that these receivers just weren't getting open, as are the grades of the offensive linemen, because he has to hold the ball long. So you're right. Dak has definitely benefited from the fact that that offensive line has been great, and they have added receiving weapons and a run game to him. So I think the Cowboys have to bear all

that in mind and understand that he isn't in this level of a top five NFL quarterback, even if sometimes his statistics suggest that he can get there. He is helped by everybody else, and they also know that anybody else they bring into that situation will also be helped by all those additional talented players on this offense as well. So, you know, Dak does grade extremely well. He has been pretty good at, you know, most facets of the game, but they have to understand that this is being aided and at least start looking at the possibility of somebody else being able to do a similar job, if not quite as well. By the way, how do you grade a guy like Tassam Hill? What is he to you guys?

Well, so far, he's basically been a gimmick in that offense, right? The intriguing thing is that Sean Payton has been the best hype man I've ever seen for Taysam Hill. That guy needs to be working for the UFC selling things because the way he has talked up Taysam Hill since he's been there has been incredible. He's been comparing him to Steve Young midway through the season with seemingly no reason to do it. I wrote an article about what a Taysen Hill offense could look like. And I'm kind of fascinated by it because of what we saw in Baltimore this year with Lamar Jackson.

I think teams make me more ready now. to start crafting these custom-bespoke offenses around talented athletes and talented playmakers. And I think a Taysen Hill offense, you know, could potentially work. I just don't know why you would go to such hassle to do that without having seen, you know, him run a conventional offense. It would be a massive projection. And I think if anyone's going to do it, Sean Payton could do a good job.

I'm just not sure why you would go to that trouble. Yeah, Sam, Munson, Pro Football Focus. Good stuff. Sam, on a Thursday. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. By the way, Valentine's Day is here. It's tomorrow. Thank you. 1-800 Flowers.com.

Amazing offers. Bockeys, roses, 1-800flowers.com. The code is H-E-R-D. Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So despite only playing in nine games so far,

Zion Williamson is already having a huge impact. Let's hear it for Zion, a Zion of the Times. Yeah. Where's God leave? Echo cricket. Can't hear him. Well, even he is surprised by how quickly he's been able to make a statement. Oh, I love this.

No, I wasn't. I expect to make an impact, but I don't expect to do nothing like this. It's kind of look to come in. It's kind of fit in and just not trying to mess up. But my teammates and coach are always pushing me and say no, like be outside the box. Why can't we just like these seven of his nine games? He's got 20 or more points. He's 19.

Who's being critical? Everybody. Duke, everybody's like, how many media people talk show hosts, he's too heavy, he can't shoot a jumper, Gottlieb's screaming at me, I'm like, folks, he is a unique body in a thin cardio league. Nobody's taking a charge. He's going to over, look at him.

These are grown men that have no way to match up with him down low. He's just simply too big. He's Sean Kemp. He had a career high 31 points in the win over the trailblazers on Tuesday. Look, I don't understand the critiques of him. Obviously, everyone is talking about his weight and as if we're all doctors or something. But New Orleans has said that they're working with him on his body, which we'd all expected. He is a rookie.

He's not into his man body yet. Like, he's still incredibly young. Look at how beautiful his touch is around the basket. He's got a beautiful. He's magnificent to watch. He's full of energy. He's powerful. He's fun.

He plays the game with just like a. happiness and ferociousness, weirdly at the same time. If you are great at anything at 19, the chances are you're going to get better. I saw Andre Agassi play tennis at 17 years old. It's like, oh, he's not perfect.

He's a little short. But if you're that good at 17 at tennis, you're like, good God, what are you going to be at 27? Of course he's going to get better. He's, of course, going to get better. The concerns about his body were validated for anyone who had a critique of him coming into the league, obviously because he had that injury.

He looks in shape. No, when I watched him the other night, now he looks in shape. Well, yeah, he had a lower body injury. Of course you're not going to be in perfect shape. You can't run and work out the way that everyone else is in the mid-season. I love being right. Oh, you.

That was an extreme take by us that Zion was going to be great. No, but everybody's out, no, I can't shoot. He's this and that. It's like, look at his body. The guy upstairs does not deliver that body off a conveyor. belt. That is a unique. I don't think we've seen. I don't really even think there's a fair comparison of him to anyone

we've ever seen. You know what I watch him play now? Forget everybody else. There's a lot of Sean Kemp. And as a former Sonic fan, Sean was just the power, the butt, the size. You're like, Zion can roll out of bed. Nobody's, none of these European centers want to take the charge. He's going to give you 20

because he's just physically so well, he's physically imposing in a league that is mostly finesse. But he has an incredible touch. Oh, beautiful touch. That lets him fit into today's style of play. I should be a scout. So speaking of scouting, Bucky Brooks released his top draft prospects by position.

And for quarterbacks, he listed two ahead of Joe Burrow at number one, which I know you love. Everybody named. Where is Joe Burrow? Isn't he supposed to come on the show? Where is Joe Burrow? Who's booking Joe Burrow? Joe Burrow, by the way.

Joe, come on the show. I think you should go number one overall. Colin doesn't. Patrick Holmes came on the show. Look what happened. Super Bowl. Super Bowl winner. Boom.

So Bucky has Burroughs second, followed by Justin Herbert, Jordan Love from Utah State, and Jacob Easton from Washington. I think they will all go within the top 20. You know, Isan, by the way, has got the best arm. In 1994, he would go number one. There's no, he's 6'5. He has a, I watched every snap of him this year in a big game. He's got a rocket arm, but the world's changed.

He's not real mobile. He makes some bad decisions. He's not going to make plays with his feet. but 10 years ago, Easton, you could, by the way, 10 years ago

reversed this. Everybody would say two is too small. Well, of course. Yeah, yeah. 10 years in football. And I even be in the first round. So two and now is one.

Easton is five, and that's how the game. And by the way, we have a nice job, guys. We got video of Easton. I watched all his snaps. He didn't have any, he didn't have any speed at receiver.

So we had to jam balls in a tight windows. He has got an absolute, he'll be a top five arm in the league. Like Josh, Alan, the minute he steps in. You think they all go in the first round? Uh, I think.

think Eason will be 31, 32, top of the second round. I think we're going to get... They may. I just don't know who late... By the way, who are the last four teams drafting? Well, I'm trying to think who the last four. San Francisco doesn't need a quarterback. Kansas City doesn't need a quarterback.

Titans need a quarterback. Plus it's going to be some trades. I see, I've seen... Listen, I watched Herbert. I'm a Pac-12 guy, so, you know, everybody saw two in Burrow because they play in the most popular conference. Isan is going to get drafted probably top second. He has a...

Now, you got to remember with Isan, he was well coached and threw some bad picks, but they didn't have any speed at receiver, so he had the jam balls in the spot. But for those guys, I want to see what their upside is. Like, what is their base? Because you know that it's going to be taken to the next level, depending on obviously where they go in the league.

So, I mean, we talk about guys all the time. Dak, Russell, Wilson, and Rogers. Heardt. Heard reminds me of flacco. Okay. That's not a bad comparison. Well, in 2020, in 2006, that was great. In 2020, that drops you to the second round.

Yeah, yeah. So finally, Tom Brady's future is still up in the air, his free agency approaches, and his former teammate Christian Fourier thinks that Brady and the Patriots are going to go their separate ways. I believe the Patriots are 100% done. I think the Patriots are okay and ready to move on. They know Brady's not coming back.

There is going to be this, it's not our fault. fans. They know Brady's not coming back. What's the plan? If Brady doesn't come back, is their plan? Jared Stidham. That's the plan? Andy Dalton. That's the plan? Yeah, I think they'd go out and get, I could say with some certainty, Andy Dalton will get a phone call. Look, it's the same position I am in with Dak. Like, you can say all you want about, like,

we're not sure if we want to pay Brady that money or we don't want to pay Dak that money. What is the plan? Here's the thing, if Belichick told Tom privately today, I'm going, because the Cowboys are going to franchise Tagamari Cooper, if today Belichick said, I'm going to go pay for A.J. Green. Tom would be there. Tom Brady would resign this morning if he had a shirt, and there's no question of my, if he said today,

I'm going to sign Greg Olson tomorrow, and I'm going to go get A.J. Green. Brady would sign. Brady's concern is. Is there like, is it, is it, is it, thing in New England where we're just trying to like prove we don't have to win with superstars? Is that what it is? Well, they don't draft particularly well at wide receivers.

So they've tried. But like free agents. Like what is what is the thing that everyone's trying to prove there? I don't get it. Like don't you want talent? Well, they did brought it. They did they rolled the dice on A, B and it went backwards. So let's give them credit.

They did have the guy and the guy went crazy. Okay. I mean, I think some of us could have seen that coming. Yeah. Well, I mean, but they rolled the dice. So what New England's telling Brady is. We went and got two guys for you. We went and got your Flash Gordon.

We went and got your AB. Don't tell us we don't get your guys. Okay, but I mean, what, what is that? Like, what do you mean? Greg Olson is not Antonio Brown and Josh Gordon. But they have no. AJ Green is not that. AJ Green, no, but he's, I think he's pretty good.

I don't know. AJ Green is great. He's a great pro. Shows up on time. There's not even a comparison to those situations. Those were high-risk situations. And obviously we were rooting for both of them. But, like, that's not the same situation.

I don't understand what is it, what is the deal with not wanting to bring in high profile talent? It's just trying to prove that you can win Super Bowls without it? I don't think, I mean, they've done well without it. So when you do something, they don't pay anybody anything. Didn't work out well this year. Well, this year, first time in 15 years, but Edelman, then I pay nothing to. So Belichick's going, Tom, I don't spend more than $5 million a receiver and I keep winning Super Bowls. But you don't, but you may lose Tom Brady and be left without a backup situation.

and you know, like, if we are hearing this, then they are hearing that this is the issue. You listen, the whole thing is, if A.B. didn't go turn into a circus, Dom would already be resigned. If A.B. just would have not been a mess. Tom would be back. Well, I'm not saying that they could have predicted that,

but that was a high-risk situation. It was. A.J. Green has got some injuries. It's not a high-risk situation. It's a low risk because he does have two injuries recently, doesn't he? I think AJ's had two injuries. injuries in two years and he's older and he's got a lot of wear and tear on that body they've leaned on him

for about eight years I don't know all right are we done I got sidetracked there joy with the news talking Brady and thanks for stopping by the herd line news oh by the way I love comedians I love

whenever I go to Vegas magicians and comedians I love new fresh comedians there is a new comedian he is funny His name is Jim Crane, and he owns the Houston Astros, and he says, yeah, all the cheating stuff, you know what, I'm not even going to, I'm just going to let you hear this new comedian. He is funny. Our opinion is, you know, that this didn't impact the game. We had a good team. We won the World Series, and we'll leave it at that.

Did you say you feel like this didn't impact the game? And what do you mean by that? I didn't say it didn't impact the game. He is going to be at Giggles in Toledo, Ohio on Tuesday, and the laugh factory in Sheboygan on Thursday. Yeah, none of those wires on the players or the bang in the drum and the garbage cans. Even though I have players acknowledging it happened, it had nothing to do. Players hitting 400 at home, 130 on the road. It had nothing to do.

I didn't say it had nothing to do. Jim Crane is at the Hermosa Beach Chuckle Hut coming up next weekend. He is hysterically funny. Coming up next, quarterback Tinder. Who am I swiping left? Who am I swiping right? That's coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific.

Stars Maple Leafs Discover Card Key matchup today. They mash all the cash back you earn into your first year. 95% of places take the card. Discover.com slash yes limitations apply. Well, Valentine's Day, of course, is tomorrow. And there's a lot of different sites. There was eHarmony.

There was a match.com. Farmers only. I love to hang out there. And we have Tinder. And with Tinder, as you know, you get pictures of people. And you swipe. If you like somebody, you swipe right. And if you don't like somebody, you swipe left.

So are we, Joy, are we ready to do our quarterback Tinder? Yes, let's play quarterback Tinder. We'll decide if these teams should commit to these quarterbacks. Right, okay. Let's start with Tom Brady. You're going to swipe left or swipe right on Tom Brady. There is Tom.

Look at his Tinder profile. Strong. Yeah. Well, a down year was 12 and 4. And the backup currently is Jarrett Stidham. So I'm going to like him. I'm going to swipe right. Okay.

All right. So let's swipe right. All right. Oh, up. Ryan Tannahill. Oh, yeah. Looks active. Prior to last year, he had one winning season.

He's a 500 starter. And in the first two big playoff games this year, he had a combined 160 passing yards. I'm going to swipe left. Nope, I'm going to pass on this one. Pass on my tanahill. Okay. Derek Carr. First of all, look at that Tinder picture with a dog.

Handsome guy with a dog. All right. Somebody explained to me how. people don't like a quarterback that had a pass rating over 100 and completed 70% of his throws. I will say it again. The Raiders have all sorts of issues, almost all of them not connected to Derek Carr. I'm swiping right. I like him.

He's 28. I got eight more years with him. Can't turn it on the dog either. Matthew Stafford. That's not the best picture. Yeah, I'm going on with that. Looks puffy. Cool.

I mean, he's eating a donut. I think that's a donut. And he's 10 games under 500. Last year missed, I think, 14 games. I'm swiping left on that. Yeah. No like. Plus you can't see his eyes.

Can't trust him. Oh, good. A woman's perspective on that. Taste him hell. It looks very healthy, powerful, handsome. I would like actually to dig deeper into his Tinder profile. Oh, wait. He had four different seasons.

ending injuries in college. Like, how do you overlook that? That's like coming off four bad relationships. I got to swipe left on this, no likey. Okay. Cam Newton. Big smile. Looks fun.

He has been fun. What he hasn't been is a winner. Never had back-to-back winning seasons. His career completion percentage, I can't go here. It's under 60%. I can't get past that. All these years in the leagues,

I mean, he's a fun guy. He has glasses on, but you can't see his eyes through the glasses. But do you trust him to lead you? Do you trust him? Never had back-to-back winning seasons, despite having all that talent. I'm swiping left, no likey. Okay, not a lot of likes here. James Winston.

He has a dog. And LASIC surgery. Mm-hmm. I always feel this happens a lot. You ever get to this point in life, like, I've seen enough? Yes. Way under 500. productive, often for the secondary of the other team.

There's so many things. The arms there, the size is there, and he's mobile. There's a million things to like, and there's, I get people who say he gets one more year. Maybe you wait on the LASIC eye surgery, but I'm swiping left on this. No, likes here. I only got two. All right, Jimmy Garoppolo. First of all, that picture, it's hard to, he could have a lot of flaws.

By the way, Goulet. There's a lot of stuff you're going to overlook there. Yeah, I mean, if... You could have a red flag parked right behind him. Where'd you get this music, Goulet? I know. It's very... It's very 70s. It's very something, yes.

Yeah. So here's the best thing. Do we all think Kyle Shanahan is a great coach? Yes. Kyle Shanahan is 4 and 20 in San Francisco without Jimmy Garoppolo, and he's had most of the pieces at his disposal, except Jimmy Garapolo, he gets to a Super Bowl with him. People can say what they want.

Jimmy Garoppolo wins almost all the games he starts. New England, San Francisco, and his Tinder profile is pretty strong. So you're swiping right? I'm swiping right on Jimmy G. All right, finally. Doc Prescott. Again, looks like he'd be fun. He's got a paddle board or something in his hands.

He did have career high. in yards this year. But a lot of... Which I think Goulet would say is garbage stats. He got a lot of garbage stats. He is over 500. You know what? I'm sensing some problems with Tinder here.

Oh, something went wrong on Tinder here. The app crashed. The app just crashed. It's Valentine's Day. So there's so many people trying to... Get to DAC. Yeah. So I don't have to make a decision on DAC yet.

Like the Cowboys... You always want to skip DAC. Like the Cowboys, I'm going to not make a decision, Tinder decision on DAC. press got yet. Good to have you in today. I'd tell you, I don't talk a lot of baseball, but whoever it runs the PR department for the Houston Astros, you have had a bad year. Greg Tooey is from Houston. He loves the Astros. He watches regular season baseball games. They butchered that Jim Crane press conference today. Yeah, I mean, it was disgusting. Humility is probably the way you want to

go in that spot. It was embarrassingly bad. God, it was just awful for a, for a billionaire. Congratulations, Houston Astros. 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 SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports

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