The Herd with Colin Cowherd - NFL Championship Sunday, Tom Brady, and where Colin was right and wrong

Episode Date: January 21, 2019

Colin talks about NFL Championship Sunday, the era of New England Patriots QB Tom Brady, and where he was right and wrong over the weekend. Guests include Michael Vick, Eric Dickerson, Trent Dilfer, and Josh Norman. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

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What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season, and I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was harmed. you just understood. That's how personal it got.

Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to her. He's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday. From 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the Heard at Fox Sports Radio. com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go. Patriot Rams Super Bowl

to Monday. This is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we are live in sunny now again, Los Angeles on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio. And right here on FS1, Joy Taylor is joining me, Colin Wright. Colin wrong one hour from now. I am not overly religious, but I will say somebody upstairs is taking care of me. Patriots, Rams.

The local team. When I was in Connecticut for 10 years, I watched every snap. The local team in Los Angeles, I watch. You're the one who's responsible for this. Wow. I see. I'm not going to lie. This is an amazing Monday. Thank you so much for stopping by.

We are packed today. Trent Dillfer, Josh Norman, Michael Vick. Eric Dickerson. Let me start with this. Football is complicated in its design. But when a game unfolds, it's rather simple. You prepare for seven days if you get a buy 14 and it's about imposing your will. I'm going to plan for seven days to do things and impose my will on you. And if I plan to do things and I can do more things than you can do, Also preparing to impose your will, I win. It usually in a close football game, I could do some things, you could do some things.

I couldn't do some things. So let's in review look at Kansas City. Here's what Kansas City likes to do and prepared to do. We're going to get the ball to Tyreek Hill, fastest guy in the league. He had one catch. One catch. We're going to get the ball to the best tied in football. Travis Kelsey.

He had 23 total yards. We are going to pressure Tom Brady. We led the NFL in sacks. D. Ford. Chris Jones. Justin Houston. They almost didn't even pressure Tom. There were no sacks.

We're going to get the ball to Patrick Mahomes. The key to this game is keep the ball in his hand and away from Brady. Oh, he had the ball for eight minutes in the first half. Oh, by the way, no mental. errors, no mental errors, no Kansas City had the biggest mental error of the NFL season. D. Ford lined up off sides. Does it sound like to you that Kansas City was able to do what they planned for a week? Hell folks, they couldn't do anything they planned to do. Tyreek Hill, one catch, Travis Kelsey, 23 yards, D. Ford, Chris Jones, Houston, no pressures. The mental error.

Mahomes never had the ball for the first two hours. So now let's look at what New England prepared to do all week, what New England wanted to do. New England said a week ago, we want to get the ball to Edelman. He had seven catches for almost 100 yards. We want to make sure Gronk plays a role. Six catches, biggest play of the game, arguably. We want to run the ball against Kansas City, take it away from Mahomes. He had over 100 yards.

We want to be great on third down to keep it away from a Holmes. 13 for 19. We want to protect Tom Brady. He was rarely touched. And we want to make sure it's a ball control time of possession game. It was the most lobsided in league history. Everything Kansas City prepared to do, they could do none of it. And everything New England planned to do, they did virtually all of it.

The only surprising thing is this game went to overtime. Look at the box score. If I handed you a box score in Kansas City this morning and said, before the game, New England will have 36 first down, you'll have 18. They'll have 500, 25 yards. You'll have less than 300. They'll have the ball for 44 minutes. You'll have it for 20.

That's the most lob-sided overtime game of my life. Folks, football is complicated in its design. I could give you a playbook and you couldn't figure out a play in it. But how a game unfolds is always very simple. I prepare to do several things. So do you. It's usually split right down the middle in an overtime game. This was never close.

Last week I said something on Friday, and I got a lot of pushback on this, I said the bills, the jets, and the dolphins aren't dysfunctional. If you take away their games against the Patriots for 18 years, they're 500 teams. New England simply makes them twice a year look dysfunctional. Let me ask you, what did the Chargers look like last week against New England? New England with an extra week to prepare? Dysfunctional. What did the Chiefs look like when the Patriots got a second shot this year, Adam? Offensively dysfunctional.

That's what great teams do, and it's what the Patriots do better than any. anybody in league history. Try being the Jets, Bills, and Dolphins, Kansas City, and facing them two times a year for 18 years. They take stuff away. Travis Kelsey, Tyreek Hill, Patrick Mahomes. They take stuff away. Chargers look unprepared.

Kansas City looked like offensively they didn't practice. The entire NFL has gone to the vertical passing game, mobile quarterbacks and star receivers. New England. has never, ever run the ball more. In fact, their wide receivers become backs. Their backs become wide receivers. Let's just be honest.

They're sharper, smarter, and cagier than your team. Perfect? No, Brady had a bad red zone pick. Nobody's perfect. The NFL's too fast. There's too many good athletes. But they continue to be one step ahead of the league. Ask yourself,

would you rather be great in September or now? And I want everybody to just think about this. What is the day that you thought this year, New England was the best team in the AFC? This year started in 2018. What was the day? The day is today, mid to late January, 2019. Let me add this about New England because, you know, this is the way the world works. When you lose, you got to blame somebody.

The pass played at Gronkowski, which gave the Patriots a first down at the Chiefs 15 in overtime, was not in the game plan. Peter King reported this morning, the Patriots put in eight new plays in the hotel lobby before the game, unheard of. Eight new plays. They use five. All five worked. That is unheard of. In the West and Crown Center in Kansas City, the offensive play. players for the Patriots were greeted at 11 in the morning. Eight new plays. That is unheard of in any game. They use five.

They all worked. Blame who you want. They're sharper, craftier, smarter than everybody else. Let's shift to the Rams exciting when in overtime to over the Saints. This morning I see a lot of blame, and that is America, right, when you're not successful. Blame your ex-wife, blame your kids, blame the president, blame your boss. This became the blame the refs game. New Orleans had 50 yards rushing at home, that's it.

They settled for two field goals early when the Rams after two possessions had more turnovers won than first downs. The Saints averaged 4.5 yards of play, easily the lowest and weakest of the four. final four teams. Todd Gurley got benched, the best offensive player for the Rams, and Sean Peyton inexplicably passed the ball instead of running it late to eat the clock. I still don't know what he was thinking. But hey, it's the refs. Yes, it's the refs. You do realize why I picked the Rams, Drew Breeze in his first 11 games, had 29 touchdowns and two picks and a passer rating of 127. But Drew Breeze's last six games, he's had seven touchdowns. He's had seven touchdowns, five picks and a passer rating of 88.

The Saints during and after the Cowboy games were never the same offense. They've been dink and dunk since. Fans demand perfect officiating, but Sean Payton got out coached late, and Drew Breeze, and it's true, got out played by Jared Gough late. But Colin, what about that penalty? Well, I'm so glad you brought that up. Let's actually run tape and sound of that egregious penalty. Fake it to Anderson.

Out to the left, golf. Going to dive. You know, I don't think that running the ball was what he wanted to do. There's a facemask. Once he got outside the pocket here, he could have just gone after it. Oh, oh, you didn't mean that one, because that one actually took points off the board. That would have been a first and goal for the Rams at the one. and the refs whiffed.

But Colin, you could barely see that. Since when in pro football do you get bonus points for an egregious whiff? A whiff is a whiff. That was a whiff call. And that took four points away from the Rams who settled for a field goal. They would have a first and goal at the one. But it's called recency bias. That's what psychologists call it.

It's always the last blown call, the most recent that is outrageous and cost us the game. So let's talk about this blown call, which got everybody worked up. Quick snap, breeze. Passes, incomplete, no flag for Tommy Lee Lewis. Nekyll Roby Coleman delivered a hit, and the two officials talked to each other. Crowds going crazy as there's no flag right on the Saints sideline. That should have been a penalty. And John Payton is justifiably, upset. Yes, he should be. That was a blown call too. And the one America's freaking out about. But the Rams previous to that would have taken a 2420 lead. Instead, they settled for a tie, which probably actually changes this drive. Again, in psychology, it's called recency bias.

That last blown call, that's what lost it for us. Wasn't the fact that the Saints peaked in November, that Breeze was outplayed and he was by Jared Goff. that Sean Payton, in one of the strangest moves ever, even questioned by Buck and Ainkman, passed the ball on first down. Sean, at that point in the game, you're not facing the Rams. You're facing the clock. Sean Payton was out coach. Drew Brees was outplayed.

By the way, it should be noted after that egregious call, and for some reason, fans thinks egregious calls matter more than just previously with calls. You had the ball. and threw a pick and got it first in overtime and couldn't score. You had multiple opportunities in that game, but you go ahead, you blame the refs on that final call. But those settling for field goals early, 50 yards rushing, outplayed, out coach late, the better team won.

The Rams traveled 3,000 miles, couldn't hear themselves think for the first hour, was completely discombobulated. but as we said Friday over time the team peaking now and not in November not against the Cowboys

would win this football game for the record coming up next the overtime rule and how cool was that both games went into overtime has got people worked up and I've got some thoughts on that coming up hi it's the herd one of the things I love about dollar shave club

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Simply save 24-7 home security, no contracts, hidden fees or catches, PC magazine named SimplySafe, Editor's Choice, Reader's Choice. SimplySafeColins.com, simply safe, collins, COLLIN.com. By the way, overtime rules in the NFL suddenly because yesterday, both games went to overtime and a lot of fans didn't like New England winning an overtime. Suddenly the overtime rules are terrible. It would be interesting if Tom Brady lost an overtime and never got the ball back if everybody would be so outraged by it. I'm guessing no.

Football, it should be noted. is built for home teams. The Rams equipment didn't work early. The Rams had the travel 3,000 miles. The Rams could not audible, huge disadvantage for an offensive-minded team. The Rams couldn't hear themselves. You watched the game.

They were discombobulated for the first hour and a half. So if the home team, with all the advantages, after 12 or 13 possessions, doesn't win the game, I'm not really interested in your sob story. I'm not going to tiger-proof football, patriot haters. I'm not going to tiger-proof the course. New England's smarter, won again.

Sorry, New England's the team that always defers the kickoff, right? But in overtime, they take it because they know what overtime is going in, and they don't have the ninth worst defense in NFL history. D. Ford lined up off sides. Is that overtime's fault? Patrick Mahomes had the ball for eight minutes in regulation. Is that overtime's fault? The Patriots had 36 first downs.

Is that overtime's fault? The reason Kansas City was so gassed at the end, they had the ball 21 minutes. Patriots had it over double that. I'm not tiger-proofing the course. Win. Be better defensively. Score, I don't know, a point in the first half at home, Kansas City. Complaining about overtime rules.

is like complaining about you don't have enough for retirement. Maybe you should not have a second sports car, Chief. Maybe you should have a 401k and a Sep IRA. Stop complaining you don't have enough for retirement. You knew it for 50 years and spent money you should have. Should not have. You know the overtime rule. The overtime rule is very simple.

It's always been created with one thing in mind. get this puppy over with fast. Why? Because players are tired. Brady said he was tired after the game. He's just a quarterback. And tired players statistically get hurt more. You don't want another quarter. You don't want those guys out there for another 35 minutes, stacking up injuries.

So one team goes into the Super Bowl with five starters missing. The second thing, you create overtime that you want to end quickly. So the following week during the playoffs or regular season, you didn't play an extra quarter a football. That would be an unfair disadvantage for any team. You won an overtime game, had to play an extra 30 minutes, and you're exhausted and beat up. The overtime is created to not look like the regular season, not, excuse me, not look like regulation. It is created to be urgent and final. Coin flip, make a stop, get it back, go. The rules are completely different. and everybody knows it going in, it is created urgency and finality.

And that's what it gives you. The Patriots always give the ball up when they win a coin toss. Not here. They'll take it and be hyper-aggressive, knowing they couldn't stop Mahomes late either. So everybody's outraged this morning. But what you're really outraged about is New England won. You know what overtime does in football? it's a lot like money.

You ever heard that saying and it's true, that money exposes the real you. Wonderful people become more philanthropic and jerks are bigger jerks. Money makes you more of who you are. And overtime and football similarly exposes who you are. The chiefs were the worst defense of the final four, the ninth worst defense in NFL history.

And by the end of the game and in overtime, Kansas City is not worthy of the Super Bowl. If you can't even get marginal pressure at home on Tom Brady, I'm not asking for Lawrence Taylor. I'm not asking for Calio Mack. I'm asking for marginal pressure on Tom Brady. He sat back, 2001, 1002, 1003, what that? Sorry.

Money exposes the truth about people and overtime exposes the truth about teams. The more money and the more football you play, you find out who people really are at their core. And the chiefs are horrific defensively and did not deserve a game against the Rams in Atlanta. Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So there was no on-field meeting for Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady following the

NFC championship game yesterday. But Brady spoke to the media. After Brady spoke to the media, he headed to Kansas City's locker room. Jeff Darlington of ESPN tweeted, Tom Brady just quietly approached a security guard waiting outside the chief's locker room and asked if he could see Patrick Mahomes. Brady was escorted into a room where he briefly spoke to him, a very clear display of respect from one incredible quarterback to another. Classy.

This is very interesting to me. Why? Because I don't, I mean, I don't know if Tom Brady often does this, but this seems like something that is not normal, like to go out of your way after finding out you're going to your ninth Super Bowl to go and congratulate or, you know, maybe not congratulate, but, you know, give some words of advice or have a moment with Patrick Mahomes, who, I mean, as far as we all know, they don't have a relationship.

So it's just very interesting. It's, it's, I feel like this is more of how Brady is, approaching things as he gets older. Oh, I think you nailed it. I think as we all age in our businesses, we consider A, our legacy and B, how we're remembered. And Mahomes will tell this story 10 years from now. That you, you know, when you're in your 20s, it's about you. And 30s. It's mostly about you. And then you get to be 40 as a quarterback. And you're like, my legacy matters. My reputation matters. And you know what? That kid right now is hurting. Yeah. It seems like a very genuine moment out of Tom Brady. And look, Patrick,

Homeless didn't play his best game of the season yesterday. So, you know, it's not like it's not like it was a situation where he was about to embarrass on. Yeah, I mean, in fairness to Patrick Mahomes, when you sit and watch an entire half, it's really tough. I thought he played very well late. Oh, yeah, he was incredible. Yeah.

I mean, I just, the poor kid sat there and basically like the rest of us at home, watch the first half. Yes, not the way you wanted to start it. So the officiating decision at the end of the Saints Rams game, of course, is anything anyone can talk about on a third down. tied game fourth quarter. Nickell Roby Coleman tackled Tommy Lee Lewis instead of allowing him to make the catch, obviously pass interference and Roby Coleman agrees. I mean I thought it was for a split second but you know, uh, DeRelle got up. You know, when I got up, he said incomplete. So, you know,

I just was like, thank you. I didn't look back at the ball. I ain't look at, I ain't played a ball. If I would have played the ball, then it would have been a different story. But since I just went straight to him and when I seen his hands go up and I hit him, I just heard the crowd go crazy and I was like, oh, this is a flag. And then I got up, he said incomplete. I was like, oh, hey, Saints fans, I'm sorry, but it is what it is. You heard what the refs said. The ref said it was incomplete. Respect the call. Yes. I, I, you know it's funny, Joy, in this entire season, we've all, we used to complain about the catch rule. Right. This year, what we complained about was too many flags. I mean, there was a lot of flags this year.

If you really look at both games yesterday, Joy, the refs swallowed the whistles for most of the I thought there were a lot of really bad missed calls yesterday. I don't think they called anything. Everyone is focusing on this call because it's so blatant and the ref is right there. I mean, obviously we have the luxury of slowing things down and reviewing it in instant replay and they don't. But I mean, I understand everyone's focusing on this one because it's the last play. And, you know, there was a phantom passing or roughing the passer call in the Patriots game or Tom Brady. game where Tom Brady was not even touched, where Patrick Mahomes was actually hit.

And you know what I mean? There's a million plays that you could pick out where the roughs missed it. For me, though, like, this is rough. Like, it's really hard to make an excuse for this. And the problem and the bigger issue is that because it's going to get highlighted over and over and over and over and over again in the biggest moment, this is something that the league is going to have to say something about. Well, again, all year, it was over-officiated.

I think the league clearly had a conversation with both crews and said, let them play. I thought there were, I mean, I noticed it very early in the Rams Saints game. I'm like, oh my God, they're not calling PI on anything. Yeah, no, I agree with let them play. Both teams, they just let them play all day. That's fine. I don't like things coming down to a penalty. But this was just, this was so agree.

If it's back and forth and there's hands and that's different, like he tackled him. So they're going to have to do something about it. Finally, Drew Brees will have to do something about it. a bitter taste in his mouth about yesterday for a very long time, I'm sure. Tough 26, 23 overtime loss. But Bree says that he plans to return next year. This is all still pretty fresh, but just going to, you know, take a few days to kind of let it all settle in and talk with my teammates and my coaches.

But, I mean, I plan on being here next year and making another run at it. By the way, last year the Saints lost, this year the Saints lost. How about that back-to-back? Like heart-breaking losses. The worst possible way you can lose back-to-back years. I mean, they've just gotten a series. Listen, man, and it's funny because New England tends to win those close ones. The Saints tend to lose them.

But I will say this. Of the four teams that were left, yards per play, the Saints were last going into the weekend. And the Saints were last after the weekend. This offense for the Saints, Pete. Yeah, it was not the same as it was early in the regular season. The cowboy game changed everything. Either it gave everybody a blueprint, the Saints offense was never the same after that Cowboys game.

Well, that's why I picked the Rams this weekend. I did not like what I was seeing from them towards the end of the season, especially the week before. But this still is a rough way to lose. It is. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News.

He was a four-time pro bowler in 13 NFL seasons, a wild weekend. He's been in this situation before. Michael Vick. Let's bring him on, Mike. Number one overall pick. NFL comeback player of the year. Most rushing yards ever by a quarterback. So let's start with Brady and let's start with Patrick Mahomes.

You know, I said football is kind of complicated when you look at the playbook. Yeah. But basically football, Michael, is pretty simple. You plan for a week to do several things, an imposure will. Right. They plan to do several things against you. New England pretty much did everything they wanted to. Sony Michelle ran. Edelman was great. Brady never got touched. They kept the ball away from Mahomes. They ran the football.

Kansas City, meanwhile, couldn't do anything they prepared for. Travis Kelsey, no pressure on Brady. Couldn't run the football. Like, I felt like I was shocked it went to overtime. New England all week prepared to do five things. They did all of them. They did everything. In the beginning, it looked like it was going to be a blowout. Yes. I mean, the way they came out, they didn't do anything like that was outside of the number. on. They lined up in two receivers, two backs, a full back, tight end, and they just pounded the ball, zoned gaps schemes. Everything that they wanted to do.

Control the clock, kept Patrick Mahomes off the field, and I can tell that that was the goal coming in, and they did it well, and they did it to perfection. Yeah, I mean, if it wasn't for Brady's Red Zone pick and everybody makes mistakes, I mean, and Tom, by the way, has had a lot of big picks and a lot of big games against Atlanta, the pick six. Yeah. Tom's never perfect in these games and often makes a big mistake early in big games. against Seattle, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Kansas City.

What Tom does is late, he wears a defense out. It's death by a thousand cuts. I mean, it's the way that he orchestrates the offense. So, you know, the run game was a big part of the game playing yesterday, and you can tell. It was all about controlling the time of possession and letting guys make plays when they lined up in four-wise, quick-outs, quick slants, get drunk involved.

It was a game playing that was prototypical for their style of offense. and it don't require for them to have dynamic players on the field. You know, these guys are guys who probably averaging anybody else's offense. And Tom Brady just make them look like, you know, they're pro bowlers. You know, Andy Reid, you know him well. Was there anything about the game plan for Kansas City you didn't love? I thought they had a great game plan. I thought they started slow.

And that was due to the fact that it was cold and they wasn't on the field. Right. You know, getting into a rhythm. But at the end of the day, I just felt the defense, you know, didn't play up the par. As we talked about all year. And I don't know what this means for Coach Sutton. You know, I know him personally.

But this is a second year in a row that, you know, this defense underachieve. Second year in a row, the chiefs, by the way, the chiefs have big-name players. D. Ford's going to get franchise. Justin Houston. Chris Jones. Eric Barry. Kendall Fuller. second year in a row

couldn't get people off the field in the second half Right and you can't win football games that way Especially in the championship games When it counts the most That's when you got to be at your best So yes there were calls that should have been made There were stops that should have happened on third down It just didn't happen

And the better team made the better plays You know at the right times during the game Let me talk about the Saints and Rams Okay everybody is glomming on to the bad call And it was missed Yeah As a former player, how do you look at bad calls? I look at it like this.

As long as I played, if I had had a couple calls that wasn't made or was made, I may have one ring. And those are things that you can't pout about. You can't be upset about because the refs aren't perfect. You can't go into a game expecting to get calls. You got to play to win. And when it happened, I said, look, that should have been a pass interference. Call, no call. It didn't happen.

it should have never gotten to that point. I feel like the Saints should have ran the clock out. You know, once they got in field go range. They didn't. They didn't play the clock correctly. You know what they did? They were, when you get late in the games, Michael, you're not playing an opponent. You're playing the clock.

Right, you're playing the clock. They played the Rams, not the clock. Right. They could have given the ball back, kick the field go, giving the ball back to the Rams with about 50, 55 seconds left. Game over. And your percentages go up as far as winning. That's your Super Bowl right there.

So that call to me should have been made, but at the end of the day, I feel like it's irrelevant to the game and everything that transpired. They were up early. The Rams wasn't, you know, the Rams in the beginning, in the first half. And they found a way to win. So, you know, my hat goes off to them as far as, you know, what they had to accomplish and the adversity they had to face

and overcome throughout that game. Yeah, there's the, we just showed an FS1. I thought, you know, sometimes coaches get aggressive, and most fans like aggressive coaches. I thought Sean Payton got too aggressive, and I'll say it again, when you get late in games, the great coaches realize you're no longer playing an opponent. The opponent is the clock.

And New Orleans should have just bled the clock, kick a field goal, but an incomplete. By the way, even Troy Aitman and Joe Bach were baffled by it. Troy, I mean, both of those guys were like in disbelief. I was too because I thought I knew what the scenario was about to be. What was kind of a simple scenario? Yeah, it was simple. I mean, it sort of reminded me of what the Seattle Seahawks did in the Super Bowl a couple years ago and what Atlanta.

They overthought it. Yeah, they overthought it. And I understand the aggression. You know, that's all good in football, but it's a time to be aggressive and there's a time to be passing. Let's talk quarterbacks. Tom Brady. If Tom Brady and their slight favorites over the Rams wins the Super Bowl, what do you think transpires. I think Tom retires after watching this postgame interview, and this is not, you know,

this is just my observation. I just thought he was, he was so elated. He was so excited. You know, he shouted out his wife, his family. I could just tell it was a big relief. And if he goes in and wins another Super Bowl, that's six. Now that would be six wins in nine Super Bowls. Yeah, I mean, you, what else is this is the off? I mean, it's the, You know, Patrick M. Holmes, I feel like is a guy that's going to win one. Jared Gough is definitely going to win one in his tenure, you know, with the Rams. If he stays with Sean McVeigh, you know,

I think Brady steps aside and give these other guys an opportunity to win some. Because if not, he'll be 45 still playing in this game. By the way, Patriots have 12 draft picks, Gronk, and I don't have insight information, but I have talked to people who believe Gronk will retire, going to wrestling acting. So the team will lose a big contract. They'll have 12 draft picks.

By the way, two from last year had great camps, became starters, and got hurt. So it's like 14 new draft picks. Their best players outside of Gronk are mostly, and Devin McCordy, in their mid to late 20s. So if Brady decides not to retire, they're going to be incredibly young and formidable going forward. Now let's go to Jared Goff. Overwhelmed early. What was your takeaway on him late? I thought Jared Gough won the game.

I mean, I take no credit away from the other guys. I think Dama Kusul was worth every penny, even though he showed up late in the season. I think the parent earned Donald paid dividends. Getting to lead back was a great asset. Marcus Peters came and played his game. Dante Fowler was a big part of, you know, the success yesterday. Look at that throw. But Jared Gough won this game.

The play that he made on the naked to the right at the end of the game with pressure in his face. And he was able to escape. it. He was able to escape it. He showed a ton of guts. He showed a heart. Ability to stay focused in a hostile environment. And that's what you want out of your franchise quarterback. It was

beautiful to watch. And they deserved everything that they have coming right now. That to me was the play of the game. We think that Goff is a pocket passer, and he overwhelmingly is. But both those plays, including this one, the sidearm, by the way, very Mahomes-like. And then the other one,

that's all script stuff. Yeah. And those were great. And I'll say this. As great as Drew Breeze is, in overtime and late fourth, Goff outplayed him. He outplayed him.

And it wasn't to, you know, anyone's surprise, I don't think. He's a number one pick. He's the number one pick. He's tough. You know, he has the statue. He's strong. And, you know, he has a coach that believes in him. And, you know, he just did everything right.

You know, it wasn't perfect in the first half. and games are going to be that way as a quarterback. You find out a lot about yourself at the quarterback position, and this is only going to make him a better player moving forward. Yeah, Brady did not play great early. Remember the pick six. Golf struggled early, but both road winning quarterbacks, went in at half, made adjustments,

and didn't let bad moments overwhelm them. Life's often about how you react, not the action, the reaction. And to your point, you find a lot out about yourself in football. I thought Goff was overwhelmed and done an hour in. And at the end of the game, I'm like, God, this kid is resilient. I got much more respect for Jared Goff than I did yesterday. Yeah, no, I did.

Yeah, Michael, great seeing you. Top of the hour where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. Another reason actually all of us in America should be happy for what happened yesterday. In L.A., it's The Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. I was just looking at this list. AFC quarterbacks in the Super Bowl since 2001.

Brady, Gannon, Brady, Brady, Brady, Ben Manning, Brady, Brady, Blacko Manning, Brady, Brady, Brady, Brady, Brady. And they're nine times in 18 years. It's just unheard of. We're literally going to have something called a Tom Brady era. Well, for 20 years, because he'll probably play next year, I imagine. I disagree with Michael Vic. My gut feeling is New England.

It's a good matchup against the Rams. And Eric Dickerson will talk about that next hour, Trent Dilfer. But I think a lot of things work in the matchup for the Patriots over the Rams. But New England is what sports should be. Do they have the most money? No. It's kind of irrelevant in the NFL. Is their market size the most glamorous?

You want to live in Boston? Do you ever vacation in Boston? Do they have the most superstars in free agency? No, they don't. In baseball, money wins titles. Kansas City Royals are a complete outlier. It's the Yankees and the Red Sox and the Cubs and the Dodgers. In the NBA, there are just simply glamour markets.

You rarely hear about free agents being fascinated with Memphis or Milwaukee. With New England, brains win, efficiency wins, doing your job wins. Don't get mad at New England. Be upset with the Pittsburgh Steelers' utter dysfunction. Be upset that the Chargers collapsed, or that the Ravens can't throw a football, or the Texans couldn't block me, that the Colts showed up outside of a dome and vanished, that Kansas City had the inability to do anything for the first hour and a half. what New England does is all things we're capable of doing.

In America today, if you're born rich and I'm born poor, there is a great chance I'll never overcome that disparity. If you're born in a great family and I'm born in chaos, there's a great chance I'll never overcome that. But the things the Patriots do, we can all do. They work hard. They're strategic. They ask players to simply do their job.

They're smart. And we can all be smarter, myself certainly included. America, life is better if the things that win are things we are all capable of. The Patriots aren't the most glamorous team. How many people do you know outside of Boston that dream of retiring in Boston? It's not the most glamorous. It's not the richest. They don't have the most money.

It's one of the hardest stadiums to get to and out of. They don't pay players the most. This isn't the Yankee salary cap advantage or lack of salary cap and baseball advantage. This isn't the Lakers, you know, the number one brand, sunny weather in the NBA, Silicon Valley in the NBA. Kevin Durant loves tech. Let's go there and join a. It doesn't work that way.

Don't be mad at New England. Be mad at the collapse of the Chargers. And the Texans can't block. And the Ravens can't throw. And the divas in Pittsburgh. And the Colts outside of a dome vanishing. That's the problem. It's not New England.

Let me say this. In the last two weeks, Now I want you to think about this. Tom Brady has dropped back 90 times. No sacks. He's faced Joey Bosa, D. Ford, Melvin Ingram, Chris Jones, Justin Houston. Almost no pressures. 90 dropbacks, hit three times, hurried once, no sacks.

Tom Brady has played without great offensive talent and without great defenses. But he has never played in 18 years without a formidable offensive line. His name is Dante Scarnaccia. You couldn't pick him out of a crowd. He's 70. What they did yesterday to D. Ford, Chris Jones, and Justin Houston, is what they did to Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa.

It should be noted that J.J. Watt has played the Patriots seven times. He's 0.7 with half a sack. Kaleel Mack had his worst game of the year against the Patriots. This is trouble for the Rams who have, as their linebacking corps, the weakest linebacking unit in this Super Bowl. They have a weaker secondary than New England. When teams come into a game against the Patriots and their stars are up front defensively, Aaron Donald and Domican Sue, oh, that's not good news.

The Rams linebackers, oh, they'll draft a couple. couple more of those. Their secondary, incredibly, as Joey and I have talked about, hot and cold. Their defensive line is formidable. Oh, stop me if you've seen this before. 90 dropbacks, three pressures, one hurry, no sacks. The one thing New England does, better than anybody in football ever, reduce your great defensive front. and they've gotten better at it over the years. His name is Dante Scarnaccia. Tom Brady, W-E-E-E-I talks about him.

Dante is the greatest offensive line coach in the history of the NFL. He gets those guys playing so well, so well together, their communication. To go through yesterday's game without a penalty without a false start, and that crowd noise last night was, I mean, it was almost deafening on every play. The Rams were completely rattled for most of the first half. The Patriots at Arrowhead, not a penalty. Edge New England in Atlanta. Cold season, Trivix Sanex nasal spray.

Sinex nasal spray works up to 12 hours used as directed. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Ah, hour two. Here we go. This is The Heard. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we're live in Los Angeles. It's sunny again. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me. Good morning. What a weekend, huh? What? Two overtime games never happened before on championship weekend. So now we take a couple of weeks off and we get to a Super Bowl, New England. It just started as pick-um. Now they're a slight favorite over the rain. I tend to guess lines. I guessed New England minus three.

It started pick them. And immediately all the sharps and the wise guys started betting New England. The Rams are a very good football team. But you talk about, I mean, this just feels like another game for New England. Seriously. They've been in nine of these things. They've got me a little jitters for the Rams. They got the young quarterback.

Can't wait for the game. Going to be great. We'll break it down over the next couple of weeks. where every Monday at this time, and we do this for a reason, I sit up here and I have strong opinions. I don't take phone calls. And so the audience, you know, they want me to come out and say, hey, I whiffed on that. I was wrong.

So we created a segment that we do every Monday where I come out and say, yeah, I was right on this, and I was wrong on this. And it's a lot of fun. That's our highest rated segment usually of the week where I come out and just admit, man, I whiffed on that. So here we go, Monday, Colin right, calling wrong. Where Colin was right? Best year I've ever had predicting playoff games.

There were 10. I got 9 out of 10 right. In fact, the Patriot win yesterday was my only loss, and you'd think I'd pick the Patriots. But we also went 7-2-1 against the spread. I think playoff games are harder to pick in the regular season because it's the best coaches, the best home field advantages. But they're very hard to predict.

Yesterday, the home field advantage meant nothing. Previously, it meant everything. So in the end, we were well over 60 percent. Best year handicapping in my career and easily the best playoff run in my career. Where Colin was wrong. I've been an Andy Reid supporter, the Chiefs Head Coach, all the way back to Philadelphia. But to be great, you first got to get better. And Belichick and his staff really won the chess match yesterday.

I'm not blaming Andy Reid for everything, but New England took away. Tyree Kill took away Travis Kelsey. took away the pressure, took Mahomes off the field for an entire first half. And he's one in five in conference championship games. And again, he's faced great teams that often go on to win the Super Bowl. But boy, it felt like in that first half that the preparation of New England, they basically, New England basically did everything they planned on doing all week. They ran it, Edelman, Gromk, Brady never got pressure.

That was a chess match. And that chess match felt like it was over, about 45 minutes into it. Where Colin was right? Well, New England was the only team in the playoffs this weekend that scored more than their season average. We kept saying not to be a wet blanket, but let's stop with all the belly aching about too much offense in the NFL. Scoring came down all playoffs, as predicted. I mean, Ram Saints' first game was 45-35. This game, even with overtime, was only 26, 23.

We said it would be played mostly in between the 20s. And the first time New England faced Kansas City, it was big play, big play, big play, firework show. And this one was a lot of field goals early and one offense not showing up. Defense, the weather gets cold, players get hurt, defense always rises late. This is why sports leagues like the NBA and the NFL and hockey are right to make rules very pro offense. Because the longer a season goes on, the more guys get hurt, the harder it is to score. where Colin was wrong. I have been banging on New England's weapons the entire season,

and I said coming into the playoffs, they have the worst weapons. But you know what? Route running matters, catching the ball matters, not making mental errors matters. Gronk was huge. Edelman was huge. Can anybody take a hit like Edelman? Hogan was huge.

Sony Michelle's a tremendous young running back. He's a tiny guy with a low center of gravity. It's hard to get a shot on him. James White is the best pass catching running back in the NFL, and their offensive line is tremendous. I can say all I want that they're not dynamic, and they're generally not, and they don't have a deep threat. But when you watch New England play,

how big were the Chargers deep threats? How much did Pittsburgh's deep threats matter? In the end, football's about picking up first downs. New England's guys pick up first downs. 36 yesterday, and only one or two of those plays were dynamic. Where Colin was right? Brady's not only the best quarterback ever, I've said, judge somebody on their impact.

Michael Jordan had impact, magic had impact, LeBron's got impact. You do realize that Tom Brady's impact is so huge in the NFL that we're going to have a Tom Brady era. He's going to keep guys like Philip Rivers out of the Hall of Fame. You do realize that Dan Marino and Brett Farve are legends, and they look almost insignificant. when you now add a ninth Super Bowl appearance.

We're going to have a 20-year run in the NFL that will be known as the Tom Brady era. And the minute he retires, we'll talk about, yeah, he would have won more except Tom Brady. It's not just about winning when you're a legend. It's also about who you keep from winning. Those Utah Jazz teams were great. Jordan never let him win. The Knicks were good. The Pacers were good.

and Jordan never let him won. Brady is easily the most impactful football player on the planet ever. Where Colin was wrong. I said on, I don't know what show it was last week, I thought Chris Jones, the defensive tackle for Kansas City was the football game. That if he could be disruptive to New England, Chiefs were going to win the football game. He was a complete non-factor.

D. Ford, a negative factor. Kansas City led the NFL in Sacks. I thought this is what I did. This is what I thought would happen in the game. Brady would be just uncomfortable enough that New England would be off offensively. It was the opposite. It was Brady was completely comfortable from the opening series to overtime. In fact, in overtime, Brady, I mean, it looked like a seven-on-seven drill.

I was absolutely shocked by that. You know, New England won. That's not shocking. It surprised me. But the fact that the defensive line for the chiefs put, virtually no pressure at home on Brady was jaw-dropping. Where Colin was right? Two years ago, Twitter and the Internet proclaimed the NFL is dying.

And I said, oh, God, agenda from the media, NFL will be king the rest of my life. It's the sport we watch, the sport we drink beer to, have pizza to, where neighbors watch together. It's the sport we play fantasy. It's the sport we bet on, by the way, more and more. Folks, more people watch the Pro Bowl than watch NBA playoff games, not counting the conference finals. All right, this sport is rock solid and its ability to be deft and nimble and change rules year to year, which baseball can't,

is one of its great strengths. Businesses die when they get arrogant. Give the NFL credit. They're not perfect, especially with some of their, off the field rulings. But in terms of their product, they address their problems quickly and solve them.

And this is the best NFL season I ever remember. Where Colin was wrong. Finally, when CBS hired Tony Romo, I said, he'll be fine, but he just played. He's never going to be a, you know, he's never been a broadcaster. I've never heard him do her podcast.

He'll be fine. Romo's been terrific. Better than I ever thought. funny, energetic, full of juice. Yesterday, he was like a wizard calling plays before they happened. Gronk is out wide. Watch the top of your screen. Watch this safety.

If he comes down, there's a good chance he's throwing out there. It's Grom for the first down. Oh, no, no. That wasn't like the only time he did it. Here's another. Kansas City's owned this so far in this game. They've got to go back to the Brady sneak. or something, don't they? Oh, they're killing it. Usually means a motion and a runout wide to the right.

Here's the handoff and to the end zone. The Sony Michelle and the Patriots are back in front. Listen, Romo's always been a likable guy and a relatable guy, and the people I know that no, Tony, said he's a really good guy. He's been a terrific broadcaster. He's fun. He's given Jim Nance kind of a second life. I thought that, you know, I like to give credit, not just to people at Fox, because I think Buck and Aikman and our guys,

Pereira and our sideline people are the best in the business. But boy, the CBS crew did a nice job yesterday. Their analysis with all the controversial calls late was spectacular in Romo has been an absolute home run for them. Good for the people at CBS. It's so, I got to tell you, it's just, you know, Joy's brother was a Hall of Fame football player. Joy knows a ton about football and loves football like I do.

And I'd say we're both kind of NFL NBA people. Those are our favorite two sports. I mean, I'm just sitting there watching this yesterday. And my wife turns to me at one time and she's like, so you're going to get the Patriots and the Rams in the Super Bowl? I think this is your fault. America should blame you. You are the media icon of this country.

No, I picked Kansas City to win. But if you're asking, listen, I lived in Connecticut for 10 years. I watched every, that's the one I really fell in love with Brex. I watched every preseason game, every piece of, I read every story, I watched every snap. And I'm like everybody else, you start to kind of fall in love or fall in strong like with what you watch. Well, I had to suffer under the hand of Brady for many, many years. But after that Falcon Super Bowl, I just conceded that I'm just not going to live in that space where I just hate everything about the Patriots anymore because it's just exhausting. And they're not done.

And I said that this year, everyone was declaring that the Patriots were over. and I said it's just it's too soon to do that. It's silly. When it ends, then I will say, oh, that's when it's over. It's over now. And that will probably be when Tom Brady decides to stop punishing all of us for doubting him and picking him in the six-round or whatever it is that he's so bothered about that he decides to just curse the entire sports world. Those chips on the shoulder, they never leave.

Kobe Bryant, last game he ever played had a chip on his shoulder. I mean, you say what you want about Brady, man. He literally went out and got his quarter. back coach, Tom House, in the by week and said, I don't like my throwing motion. And he paid for him to fly cross country, stayed at his place. Three days, Tom House and Tom, by week, that's rest week. Tom worked on his throwing motion and you watch them against the chargers. And you and I said, I don't think I've ever seen Brady throw that accurately.

He made a pass yesterday to Devlin, the fullback. And you got to give, I mean, it was just like, oh, Tom's dialed it. Fullbacks, they're not going to bail you out. They're fullbacks. You can feel it. Once he starts getting in that zone, everyone knows. It's just, we've seen it too much. And as hard as I was rooting for the chiefs yesterday.

I mean, I have a lot of respect for Brady, obviously. He's the greatest to ever do it. But I'm going to speak for America and let you speak for Brady and Patriots fans. Everyone was rooting for the chiefs yesterday. Everyone. Everyone outside of the Patriots fans and you were rooting for the Chiefs. I'm sure you were kind of room for the Chiefs because you were rooting. I like getting read.

No, I wouldn't have been heartbroken. Coming up next, Eric Dickerson. Oh, my Lord, is Eric Dickerson happy? And the genius of Sean McVeigh, and he's not getting credit for it today. Did a little, little genius thing, and he's getting no credit. I thought it was very smart. Whether he wanted to do or not, that's coming up. One more herd?

The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the I-Hard Radio app. Search her 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, 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 SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo SlicLife 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 a ball. 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, is we have real conversations about healing, growth,

fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, IHartRadio 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.

A rep. My mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clippers 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 Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the bar.

Like, you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah. 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. Saturday, it's a huge welterweight title fight as undefeated Keith Thurman defends his belt against Joseito Lopez, live from Barclay Center. Saturday at 8 Eastern 5 Pacific only on Fox and the Fox Sports app. I watch some fighting this weekend.

Well, Saturday night. Holy molly. Listen, I got to be honest, Eric. Today I'm not usually a prop guy I said I want you to wear your hat You have Yeah I am the Rambassiter I'm here everybody

Just in case you missed it this morning I'm back You know let me let me just say this There you know everybody's going to talk about The call Here's what's not being discussed Drew Breeze no longer throws the ball down the field He averaged 6.2 yards per attempt in the playoffs his worst of his career.

When I watched that game yesterday, Jared Goff threw the ball down the field. Breeze no longer, his last six games, he's got seven TDs, five picks. He doesn't have the arm strength anymore. He doesn't. He doesn't. You know, I heard that, you know, you hear it, you know, through the Graveman, through players that played for the Saints, that they wanted Mahomes. The Saints wanted him.

Sean Payton wanted him very bad. He moved up to try to get him, but the Chief grabbed him before him. so because he wanted to actually have him. Look, when people talk about this football game, they talk about the play, you know, the past interference, you know, that's why we were in the Super Bowl. Look, football is a game of inches.

It's a game of unknown calls. And this game, to me, was not just for the Saints losing because of this play. It was some bad calls in that game by Sean Payton. And one was, when they got down there by the goal, again, it caught the ball, I think, on the 18-yard line. And they decided to,

throw the ball. I think it was like a minute and 48 seconds. Right here. I jumped up. I'm like, oh yes, great. Then I had to call the time out. Throw it. Throw it. That was a huge break for the ram. That was, that was, and he's a smart coach. Sean Payton is one of smartest coaches, but sometimes these smart coaches outsmart themselves. And he outsmarted himself by doing that. No, Eric, and this is one of the knocks on McVeigh has been these glamour.

Lane Kiffin used to get this. that, you know, every man wants to show off something. If you got big muscles, you wear a tight shirt. If you're funny, you tell jokes. If you're smart, you're clever in social settings. When you're this gifted offensive play caller, you become a show-off. You become a show-off. You want to throw the ball and show everybody how smart you are.

I thought Sean Payton, that was a major gaffe. That was a major blunder. And I got to give our defense and Wade Phillips a big way to go. shutting down Michael Thomas. Mike Thomas had two hundred, non-factor in that football game. That pass was to him. It was like, we're going to show you. We're going to get him in the end zone.

And he was a non-factor that game. And Talib was a big factor in shutting him down. By the way, I want you to talk about Jared Goff because, listen, when he did hard knocks, you know, he was this skinny kid, didn't know north from southeast from west. But I always said he does share some qualities with Brady, who came in skin. skinny, who people kind of rolled their eyes and laughed at. California kids, incredibly coachable, very like no ego considering their stardom. And by the way, they both have a legend coach.

Belichick is so great that we look at Brady and go, well, he's got Belichick. And McVeigh is so clever, we look at golf and go, well, it's Sean's team. golf made huge throws late, Eric. He made a throw. He avoided the rush on the, I think he rolled out. This one right here to Brandon Cooks was a on the money throw. On the money throw down the side. My wife said it's like he just handed it to him.

It's like he's laid it right in the breadbasket. That was a perfect. That was a big play. That was a big play. And then the other two where we don't think of him as a great athlete is, Dad was a Major League Baseball player, so the kids... That play right there. That play, and it was one other one.

If they sack him, if they sack him, I think he rolled out. It's right here. Watch. This one right, right there. If they say, games over. Games over. Games over. But you got to give him as an athletic quarterback can throw the football falling back

and make a target throw like that. Hey, he played a great game. He played a great game. In a hostile environment where you can't hear. I want you to talk about that. you played in the Superdome. Now, even when they were crappy, you were there yesterday. It's loud. It is so loud, Colin. I'm serious. It brought back memories.

I saw Vince Farragama before the game. I said, Vince, I said, this could come down like when we played 1983, a field goal win. He said, you think I said, I'm telling you. I think it's going to be like that. In 1983, we go up to play the Saints, and whoever wins goes to the playoffs. Last game of the season. And John Robinson said, look, it's going to be loud. You're going to be able to hear. So we're going to do cadence. We're going to do hand signals. I'm like, I can't be that loud. I mean, I hadn't been in a stadium like that.

So sure enough, it is so loud. I'm talking about, where you can't hear, you know, I'm walking up to Vince to hear what he's saying. I get back in my stands, you know, and this, the, we say everything is off motion. Never on like on two, everything is off motion. Just got to watch the quarterback. And yesterday, it was the same way. You cannot hear in that stadium. That was the perfect storm for New Orleans to win that football.

That's why our offense is kind of off cue because you can't hear. You saw the lineman kind of talk, kind of what they were doing. and they were passing the signals down, okay, we're going to zone block all the way down. This is what the call is because you can't hear. I mean, the people, if you're not on the field, you just don't know. Yeah, it's a, so a Rams Patriots. Now, I will say this. These teams that come in with star defensive linemen against New England,

J.J. Watt, seven games, half a sack. Kalee Mack, worst game of the year. D. Ford, Chris Jones, irrelevant. Joey Bosa, Ingram, non-factor. if you think Aaron Donald and Dominion Sue are going to dominate the game, Eric, I've seen what New England does to those guys. They eliminate your pass rush, don't they? Well, you know, Tom Brady gets the ball out very fast.

I think that's one of the things. If you got a quarterback then get the ball out that fast and knows where it's going, you know, it's tough to get to him. It really is. But the big thing is here is that, you know, the Patriots, when you think of the New England Patriots, you think of a team that runs the football. I mean, I'm sorry, throws the football with Tom Brady.

Now they have Sonny Michelle that's running the football. Now they have a two-headed snake. The last two playoffs, the last two games, they'll be able to run the football. I really believe that if we stick to our game plan, we run the football, keep Tom Brady on the sideline and play good defense. We didn't play great deal, good defense. Don't let Tom Brady just sit back there and go, oh, this is zone? Oh, okay.

Oh, another four seconds, okay. You can't do that with Tom Brady. You saw it yesterday. You saw it the week before with the, sorry, the L.A. charges. Ladies and gentlemen, the Rambassiter. At your service. I've never seen you. At your service.

That's the best you've ever looked. Thanks, Colin. Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson, Joy Taylor with the news. No. No. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So Patrick Mahomes was a story of the NFL regular season.

He threw 10 touchdowns in his first two games, led the league with 50 passing touchdowns who likely be the MVP. And a season has come to an end. because of a coin flip and some bad Kansas City defense that prevented him from getting on the field at all. Here is Mahomes after the game talking about overtime. It's just how the coin tosses, I guess you would say. I mean, it's a thing where he had a great drive, had a lot of third down conversions, and big moments.

Guys made big catches for him. But it's a thing where all you can do is support your teammates, trusting your teammates. And then when you get your opportunity, you go out there and try to make fun. place. It kind of is how the coin tosses when it comes to the Patriots. I mean, it felt over once they got the ball. You also notice this. There were three replays, and they got some breaks on the challenges.

If it's 50-50, it's going to go the Patriots way. I mean, that's just, that's a fact. It's not an opinion. It's a fact. That sounds like somebody from Miami. I mean, it's just a fact. Like, I think we can all admit that the Patriots have gotten colossal breaks in big moments. Well, that seems like a little bias.

I mean, do with the tuck rule? Like, I mean, come on. Like, the Patriots get those calls. We know that. But you would. And Patriots fans would argue that, you know, they've gotten some issues from the league office over the years as well. Would you acknowledge, though, that I thought the real killer in this game was that the Kansas City defense was on the field for the entire first half. So my takeaway was, oh, my God.

Brady's generally struggles early against an aggressive defense. But he always wears him down. I went into halftime thinking, this could be a blowout. Kansas City's guys have to be gassed. I actually thought it was a miracle that they weren't up by more. So did I. I don't think you can blame this really on Kansas City's defense at all. I don't, I mean, Brady is surgical in those moments.

We know that. What kind of defense is going to stop him? Did everyone forget what Kansas City's defense was all year long? Terrible. They had an amazing week last week, which gave you some hope that they had gotten it together. I thought that they really actually played. well considering. I mean, they could have been up by a whole lot more.

If it wasn't for Cincinnati's defense this year, which is the worst in NFL history, Kansas cities would have been like, you know, one of the, it already was one of the worst. Yes, and I thought they played amazing last week, and they held their own. I mean, they gave him way too much time. We all know that the trick to getting to, you have

to get to Brady. That's the thing. If you're going to beat him, you have to get hands on him, and they just couldn't. So I don't think you can blame that on Kansas City's defense even in the overtime. It would nice to get a stop, but Brady's the best. ever at that. So, you know, I don't know which more you can ask for. So the Rams failed to acquire a single first down on their first two drives, which allowed the Saints to quickly jump to a 13 zip lead. But facing another fourth down, they decided to roll the dice. Got risky and punter

Johnny Hecker pulled off the fake field goal for the first down. And Sean McVeigh spoke after the game about that decision and how he saw it. It goes back to the confidence in the players. And I know your next question is going to be, why didn't you go for it on the fourth down then? But I think more than anything, it was that we needed a little bit of momentum. And we felt like if the look presented itself, Gary, we were going to take it. Sam Shields did an excellent job running a good route. Johnny delivered a ball right on the money. And even though that didn't end in a touchdown, we ended up getting some points.

And I thought that just kind of gave us a little bit of life with the way that things were going. I thought it was so aggressive and risky, but it was the perfect call in that spot. They needed something to change, the momentum, the way that the game was going. and it felt like a shot of life. So Sean McVeigh was aggressive early, and I thought it was great. He was people were criticizing him for being passive late and settling for a field goal. I'll get to that in a couple of minutes. I thought that had some hidden genius.

I liked that, actually. So did I. I did not want them to go for it. Anyway, so we'll talk about that in a minute. Finally, the Superdome was apparently louder yesterday than the Rams anticipated. We talked about their sloppy first half, but it also had some communication issues. Saints fans brought the kind of noise that shook water bottles and collapsed ceilings. Yeah.

And after the game, Goffs spoke about how it affected the game at first. The first two drives were tough. The first three-in-outs, when I didn't have my helmet and then the second drive, going three-out again. And I think whichever one ended with the interception, those were tough. I mean, there was disorientingly loud. But we fought through it. It wasn't loud enough, I guess. Yeah.

Very monotone jab there at the end, because they did. it ended up coming out with the wind. But that place was insanely loud. Everyone was complaining about the whistle monster. Oh, Jesus. So irritating. As a viewer, it was just irritating. I mean, what are you going to do?

That's what it is. There actually was parts of the building that were coming down because of how loud it was. You could sense it. And they looked complete. There you go. We have pictures of it. That's the Superdome coming apart. You could sense how this oriented and what, like, it was just madness for them.

What does it tell you? The Rams could go on the road. play like crap for an hour, not have Todd Gurley and still win. Tells you the Rams of the better team. To go on the road in that environment, so loud, the stadium is falling apart. Gurley's a no-show, and you still win. I'll go back to this. I don't think New Orleans' offense by the end of the year, it's a pop-gun offense.

They don't throw the ball down the field at all. They definitely peaked towards the-and-a-season. And it happens all the time. Teams peak all the time. Enjoy the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Her Lie News.

Let me defend Sean Payton. People were on him because he had a fourth and goal, and he decided to kick a field goal. But this was later in the game, and everybody said, go for it. But there's a genius behind this. You just got to hear me out on this. So Sean Payton instead, instead, this decides, Sean McVeigh, excuse me, Sean McVeigh,

Sean McVe decides, I'm going to take the field goal because that's guaranteed points. Okay. So guaranteed points still matter in this league. hate to break it to you, but games are still always 26, 23. That's the league average. So a field goal with that kicker is guaranteed, and it gives us momentum. But there's also an advantage. A, you could go for it fail and lose all momentum and apply the game.

But if you score a touchdown there, you think because you have a lead, it's a great thing. But it also tells the Saints you're in four-down territory the rest of the game. Good luck stopping Drew Brees on four downs. When you kick a field goal, it just ties the game. Meaning if Drew Brees and Sean Payton get the ball, they are less willing to go for it on fourth. They don't have to. They don't trail.

And they are more willing to punt it. Now, they did drive down the field. But in that instance, he went for the guaranteed points and the tie. Because if you don't get the points, you have really created chaos for your team and lost momentum. But the other thing is, when that game's tied, Drew Breeze and Sean Payton have the ball, tie game, there's a high probability that I can stop them over the next four, five, six, seven, eight plays, get them out on third down and get the ball back.

What you don't want is to never get the ball back. And if you take a lead, the chances are you'll never get it back. So you always think that the feeling in football is always, go for it. field goals still matter. Go look at the games this week. This idea that every game is 45. When you get to the playoffs, I'll take guaranteed points almost every time. And he took guaranteed points, which creates a tie, creates momentum,

and then you just put the game into your defense's hands to make one stop and get the ball back. But if you scored there, which, by the way, is no guarantee to score down there in the end zone in the Sudberdome where you can't hear a darn thing. So that's a much harder play than a neutral field or a home one-yard line play. On the road in the end zone, Superdome, that is a tough place to have absolute efficiency. So this idea that, you know, if you take the lead, if you take the lead, they're going to go four downs. They're never punning it to you in New Orleans. And I think Breeze is hard enough to stop at the Superdome.

I mean, they have been great this year on these 11 play, 11-minute drives. If it's just about, I get four downs and Drew Brees, four yards, four yards, four yards. It's hard enough to stop on three and out. Forget four and out. So this idea that you have to score touchdowns is a bunch of baloney. It's a bunch of baloney. The average NFL score this year was 26, 23. It wasn't 4643.

This idea that field goals don't matter is dumped. Anytime I can take points, that was a rule in the 60s in football, the 70s, 80s, 90s. Don't tell me it doesn't matter anymore. Take the guaranteed points, get a game tied, rely on your defense. It makes the other team less willing to go for it. So there's a – he may not have thought about that, but there is a subtle genius to, in that instance, taking the guaranteed tie instead of rolling the dice on the lead.

Blah, blah, blah. I took a long time to say nothing. All right, Trent Delper is around the corner. I'm not going to waste any time. Let's get to him. I want him to break down these two games yesterday. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific.

All right, welcome back. Let's not waste any time. Decade and a half in the NFL, a pro bowler and a Super Bowl ring as well. He's my friend and makes me smarter Trent Dillfer via the coward global satellite network. All right, let's talk about Tom Brady on the road. I mean, he brought in his pitching coach, his throwing coach, Tom House, apparently, in his by week. I thought the last two weeks the guy was as accurate as I've ever seen him. That throw to his fullback Devlin.

It's a lot harder than you think it is. What did you make of his performance yesterday, Trent? I mean, it was a typical great Tom Brady performance. It was a clinic he put on, especially with the cold weather. I don't think people talk enough about a California kid going to play at the University of Michigan and now they're New England Patriots playing literally hundreds of games in brutally cold weather and the ability to pierce the ball in those conditions through the wind. I thought Tony did a great job of explaining how hard those conditions are,

especially going in certain directions on the field and how it affects throws. The whole Tom House thing doesn't surprise me. I've known Tom Brady and Tom House forever, and I know their dedication to the craft. I do think it's funny that we still have archaic humans out there say, well, throwing mechanics don't matter, and it's just a matter of making plays and all that stuff. I mean, quarterbacking is a craft.

Tom really was the pioneer of making quarterback training mainstream. most quarterbacks, both in the pros and the college level, now have personal quarterback coaches for this exact reason. I think it's a testament to always trying to get better. And that's Tom Brady's mantra. He's already the goat, and he still is trying to find that extra 1% any time he can to step not only on the chief's throats, but everybody that's ever played football's throats.

That's his mentality, and that's why I love him so much. How about Mahalms? What about him? You know, I thought Patrick was a victim of having to watch the game in the first half, and that's really hard to do, especially in those conditions. It's cold, it's bitter, you get stiff on the sidelines. I thought the Patriots getting the ball first and having another one of these epic methodical drives is genius because it keeps that other team sitting over there, not just watching it happen, but their body's stiff enough, and you end up playing slower when you don't have that momentum for pregame.

I think people forget that you go through a 50-minute pregame and you get your body. body primed to play. The NFL does a nice job of not making you wait too long from the end of pregame to the kickoff. But yet when you're when you don't get the ball first and you're on the sidelines for an eight minute drive, that's like 30 minutes. And that's 30 minutes on top of the 20 minutes that you had to wait before. And so you've gone 50 minutes from the time that you've really warmed up and primed yourself physically and mentally to play to your first series out on the football field. So I thought he was a little bit of a victim to that. I thought he was great the second half. I thought he is what we're going to see for the next 10, 15 years.

Once in a generation type talent, creatively, incredibly intuitive, a guy that has no quitting him, a guy that can make something out of nothing. So I know we're showing some of the bad stuff early on, but I thought the second half he was phenomenal. Yeah, it got into a rhythm. Let's go to the NFC. I said, when Jared Goff came out of college, I said his low end is Matt Ryan, his high end is Brady. And I actually think I've seen a lot of Brady. And people are like, oh, give me a break, but I'm like, I think you're forgetting what Brady was his first two years in league. You saw Jared Goff at a high school or in high school, didn't you? Yeah, I think you nailed it. And when he was in high school at the Elite 11, we as a staff

really made a lot of Brady comparables to him. A guy that has tremendous competitiveness, competitive fire, a guy has great mental toughness, is very precise in the intermediate type throws, the piercing type throws, is a commanding leader. But most importantly, that grit that he has. And that's something that not everybody understands. They don't get it, and they may think it's esoteric, but it's probably the most important part of playing quarterback. And I think he represented all of that yesterday.

Overcoming what they overcame early and weathering the storm takes incredible resilience, incredible mental toughness, what their challenges were with communication and getting, having no flow offensively and giving the St. Short Fields, it had been really easy. And most people, most people would have sat over there on the sideline and said, oh, here we go again. You know, we're on the road. We didn't start fast. We didn't execute our game plan. This isn't going to be our day and said they chose to make it their day.

And that's kind of who Jared got his. He's had a lot of doubters, both in high school. He was too skinny. He wasn't strong enough. Only Cal recruited him. And then he's busted his first year at the Rams. And he is not flinched through any of that, very much like Tom Brady. and then you see the physical traits obviously they have the same stature, same type of arm talent,

same type of precision in their game. I think it's a great comparable. And if I think you want to be compared to somebody, I'd want to be compared to Tom Brady. I don't think Drew Breeze has played well in a month. What did you see? No, I don't think. I didn't think he played very well yesterday. Now, again, he's one of the greatest quarterbacks that's ever played the game.

So we're not making an indictment on him, the player, just on how he played yesterday. He threw the short stuff well. He made good decisions in the short intermediate stuff. He really capitalized on the linebacker, running back matchups, which were in his favor. But when the Rams adjusted and started playing more zone and took away those tied-end running back matchups on linebackers and forced him to throw the ball into the zones, he wasn't very good. He missed some big third down opportunities.

He missed the Gimmie touchdown to Thomas and ended up becoming a field goal. He throws the interception. People are going to say, well, what about the Ginn play? the Ginn play, he gets tricked on coverage. That ball should be picked 50% of the time. And when that left his hand, I guarantee you he thought it was picked because he got fooled on the coverage and safety makes a terrible play. Ginn makes a play, gets him down there.

I did not think Drew played his best football. I also didn't think they adjusted as well as the Rams. I think this, at the end of the day, I think this was the biggest thing that happened in the Rams Saints game, that Sean McVeigh and the Rams offensively. And it was because their defense kept them in it, but offensively, they made adjustment. They went away from their game plan and went into a go play calling mode. I mean, you have go plays. You don't need to communicate the line of scrimmage.

You're not going to audible. You're not going to make any adjustments. You're basically going to snap the ball and go against whatever look is there and play to high tempo. The Rams went to that with the run game and with the run action movement game. And that's what got them back into the game because they were able to make the adjustment. The Saints didn't make as good adjustments. They were expecting a heavy dose of man, a heavy dose of five-man.

pressure one-on-one coverage and they dominated against those looks. But when Wade Phillips, one of the first times I've seen in Wade Phillips' career, adjusted and started playing softer passive zones and really add a character for what they do as a football team, the Saints weren't able to adjust their play calling or their execution at the same level the Rams were when the Rams had to make adjustments. Finally, I like overtime in the NFL because I don't want my players exhausted or hurt. And statistically, the longer you play, the more tired you are, the more tired you are, the more you get hurt. I like overtime because it creates urgency. Do you like NFL overtime? I love it.

I think it creates urgency and it puts a premium on execution within urgent moments. And you see most often the better team, the team that has a higher level of sophistication, a higher level of intellect, a higher level of poise win these overtime games, especially the one drive overtime games. And anybody that's whining, about Kansas City not getting the chance, then what you missed was the level of excellence that the Patriots displayed in that drive. Look at drive percentage,

touchdown percentage on drives in the NFL. You don't get a touchdown on a high majority of your drives. So to be able to get it when you have one opportunity to do it, emphasizes excellence. And that's what overtime should do. It shouldn't be fair. It should emphasize excellence. It should put you,

in a position to where if you are excellent, you have a chance to drop the mic and walk off. And that's what the Patriots did. And that's what any team that gets the ball first does. If you are that good, if you are that excellent, if you are that precise, if you're that poised, if you can handle that type of pressure, that's what greatness is about in sports. And that's what the Patriots did. Always one of my favorite segments of the week, Trent Dilfer, a decade and a half. Nobody breaks it down as well.

And yet he simplifies it. So I always feel smarter. my friend, congrats on your new gig. We'll talk about that at a later date. And keep doing what you do, buddy. Thanks, brother. Appreciate it. Yeah, I love having Trent on.

I just get smarter. You know, Trent's feeling on overtime is mine. And I cannot believe. I understand fans are emotional. Media people. It's not designed to look like regulation. You want it over with fast. And so they flip a coin and they're like,

All right. Whoever gets it, be aggressive. That's over time is built to be hyper aggressive. Reward the fans who have been there four hours. Get the players out of a stadium. Don't get more guys hurt. The longer players play when they're tired, the statistics are overwhelmingly telling you more players get hurt.

You play another quarter. Kansas City wins and loses four starters because they're now in their fifth quarter. All right, we got to get out of here. Third hour coming up with Josh Norman. Shave Club products delivered right to your door. Dollar Shaveclub.com slash Colin for a special offer. Handsome discount. More you buy, more you save.

Hour 3 next. Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Ah, hour number three, live in Los Angeles. This is The Hurt, wherever you may be. And however you may be listening, IHeart Radio, we're on Fox Sports Radio, right here, FS1.

Joy Taylor is joining me. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. That's so much fun. It was an incredible weekend, yes. Apparently New Orleans is going to file a class action law suit against the NFL because the officiating. Oh, so. I'm just reading stuff. I mean, just you law.

You haven't played well in a month. Get over it. God, people. That seems a bit excessive. You think, maybe? You know, these local smaller markets, they get so, you know, the world's against us. I mean, they care. So, yes.

And it was a very, it was an all-time badly missed call. Call. Yeah, but by the way, there was a bunch of missed calls. There were other calls missed throughout the day. Rests didn't call anything in the two games yesterday. I mean, if you watched the games, they didn't call anything. The refs, remember last year, Super Bowl joy, where the catch rule was really flummoxing the league and the NFL in the Super Bowl

decided to change the catch rule for the Super Bowl. And it was the right thing. It was the right thing. All year we've complained. I mean, go to Twitter. League flags, officiating terrible. Yesterday the officials said, okay, you win. We're going to call nothing.

There were pass interference calls all day, none called. So there was a face-mat, two face-mas penalties against the Saints weren't called. that's the reality of it. They swallowed their whistles for seven and a half hours, one game on CBS, one game on Fox, and that's what they did. So coming up in 15 minutes, Josh Norman, Pro Bowler,

Washington Redskins will stop by Best for Last today. The three-word game with all the teams this weekend and the Super Bowl going forward. And a shout out to Baker Mayfield. Well, the Chiefs and the Patriots, it did go to overtime. But it really wasn't that close.

So let me start with this. Football is complicated in its design. But when a game unfolds, it's rather simple. You prepare for seven days if you get a buy 14, and it's about imposing your will. I'm going to plan for seven days to do things and impose my will on you. And if I plan to do things and I can do more, things than you can do, also preparing to impose your will, I win.

It usually, in a close football game, I can do some things, you could do some things, I couldn't do some things, you couldn't do some things. So let's in review look at Kansas City. Here's what Kansas City likes to do and prepared to do. We're going to get the ball to Tyreek Hill, fastest guy in the league. He had one catch. One catch. We're going to get the ball to the best tied in football.

Travis Kelsey. He had 23 total yards. We are going to pressure Tom Brady. We led the NFL in sacks. D. Ford, Chris Jones, Justin Houston. They almost didn't even pressure Tom. There were no sacks. We're going to get the ball to Patrick Mahomes.

The key to this game is keep the ball in his hand and away from Brady. Oh, he had the ball for eight minutes in the first half. Oh, by the way, no mental. errors, no mental errors, no Kansas City had the biggest mental error of the NFL season, D. Ford lined up off sides. Does it sound like to you that Kansas City was able to do what they planned for a week? Hell folks, they couldn't do anything they planned to do. So now let's look at what New England prepared to do all week, what New England wanted to do. New England said a week ago, we want to get the ball to Edelman. He had seven catches for almost a hundred

hundred yards. We want to make sure Gronk plays a role. Six catches, biggest play of the game, arguably. We want to run the ball against Kansas City, take it away from Mahomes. He had over 100 yards. We want to be great on third down to keep it away from Mahomes. 13 for 19. We want to protect Tom Brady. He was rarely touched. And we want to make sure it's a ball control time of possession game. It was the most lob-sided in league history. Everything Kansas City prepared to do,

they could do none of it. And everything New England planned to do, they did virtually all of it. The only surprising thing is this game went to overtime. Look at the box score. If I handed you a box score in Kansas City this morning

and said, before the game, New England will have 36 first down you'll have 18. They'll have five 125 yards, you'll have less than 300. They'll have the ball for 44 minutes. You'll have it for 20. That's the most lob-sided overtime game of my life. Let's just be honest.

They're sharper, smarter, and cagier than your team. Perfect? No. Brady had a bad red zone pick. Nobody's perfect. The NFL's too fast. There's too many good athletes. But they continue to be one step ahead of the league.

Ask yourself. Would you rather be great in September or now? And I want everybody to just think about this. What is the day that you thought this year, New England was the best team in the AFC? This year started in 2018. What was the day? The day is today, mid to late January, 2019. Let me add this about New England because, you know, this.

This is the way the world works. When you lose, you got to blame somebody. The pass played at Gronkowski, which gave the Patriots a first down at the Chiefs 15 in overtime, was not in the game plan. Peter King reported this morning, the Patriots put in eight new plays in the hotel lobby before the game, unheard of. Eight new plays. They use five. All five worked. That is unheard of.

in the Weston Crown Center in Kansas City. The offensive players for the Patriots were greeted at 11 in the morning. Eight new plays. That is unheard of in any game. They use five. They all worked. Blame who you want. They're sharper, craftier, smarter than everybody else.

Let's shift to the Rams exciting winning. overtime two over the Saints. This morning I see a lot of blame, and that is America, right, when you're not successful. Blame your ex-wife, blame your kids, blame the president, blame your boss. This became the blame the refs game. New Orleans had 50 yards rushing at home. That's it. They settled for two field goals early when the Rams after two possessions had more

turnovers won than first downs. The Saints averaged 4.5 yards of play. easily the lowest and weakest of the final four teams. Todd Gurley got benched, the best offensive player for the Rams, and Sean Payton inexplicably passed the ball instead of running it late to eat the clock. I still don't know what he was thinking. But hey, it's the refs. Yes, it's the refs.

You do realize why I picked the Rams, Drew Brees in his first 11 games, had 29 touchdowns and two picks and a passer rating of 127. But Drew Brees' last six games, he's had seven touchdown, five picks, and a passer rating of 88. The Saints during and after the Cowboy games were never the same offense. They've been dink and dunk since. Fans demand perfect officiating, but Sean Payton got out coached late, and Drew Brees, and it's true, got out played by Jared Gough late.

But, Colin, what about that penalty? Well, I'm so glad you brought that up. Let's actually run tape and sound of that egregious penalty. Take it to Anderson. Out to the left, golf. Going to dive. You know, I don't think that running the ball was what he wanted to do. There's a face mask.

Once he got outside the pocket here, he could have just gone after it. Oh, oh, you didn't mean that one, because that one actually took points off the board. that would have been a first and goal for the Rams at the one and the refs whiffed it. But Colin, you could barely see that. Since when in pro football do you get bonus points for an egregious whiff? A whiff is a whiff. That was a whiffed call.

And that took four points away from the Rams who settled for a field goal. They would have a first and goal at the one. But it's called recency bias. That's what psychologists call it. It's always the last blown call, the most recent that is outrageous and cost us the game. So let's talk about this blown call, which got everybody worked up. Quick snap, breeze. Passes, incomplete, no flag for Tommy Lee Lewis.

Nikkel Roby Coleman delivered a hit, and the two officials talked to each other. Crowd's going crazy as there's no flag right on the Saints sideline. That should have been a penalty. And John Payton is justifiably upset. Yes, he should be. That was a blown call, too. And the one America is freaking out about. But the Rams, previous to that, would have taken a 24-20 lead.

Instead, they settled for a tie, which probably actually changes this drive. Again, in psychology, it's called recency bias. That last blown call, that's what lost it for us. wasn't the fact that the Saints peaked in November, that Breeze was outplayed and he was by Jared Goff, that Sean Payton in one of the strangest moves ever, even questioned by Buck and Inkman, passed the ball on first down.

Sean, at that point in the game, you're not facing the Rams. You're facing the clock. Sean Payton was out coach. Drew Breeze was outplayed. By the way, it should be noted after that egregious. call and for some reason fans thinks egregious calls matter more than just previously with calls. You had the ball and threw a pick and got it first in overtime and couldn't score. You had multiple opportunities in that game, but you go ahead, you blame the refs on that final

call. But those settling for field goals early, 50 yards rushing, outplayed, out coach late, the better team won. Coming up next, Josh Norman, the ball. pro bowl corner for Washington used to be, yes, he used to be in Washington with Sean McVey, the young, brilliant assistant, who is now the young, brilliant head coach of the Rams. Storytime with Josh when he first met Sean McVeigh and what blew him away. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Don't be the guy in the room with the long, sloppy looking on tuck shirt on tucket.com.

Code Hurd, perfection. GQ calls it perfection. H-E-R-D, 20% off. Untucket.com code hurt. A pro-bowler, Josh Norman. Yeah, it's funny. People are oh, he's controversial. We'll get to that later. I don't think you're controversial.

I think you're outspoken. You're a fifth rounder. You went to a non-college football power. You're all feisty. I like feisty guys. All right, so now we got a Super Bowl. You got to a Super Bowl with Carolina. So let's just talk about Super Bowls. I remember that Carolina team. There was a lot of momentum. A Cam had a big year. Defense

played their butts off. In all the big games you've played, is the Super Bowl a little different? Absolutely. Oh, man, it's everything. It's what you worked on. It's what you, your whole entire life, send down as a little kid in your living room. You got your TV set on, and everybody and their grandmother watches the Super Bowl. And you, inspiring to play that sport watching it as a kid and you want to be there.

You mimicking those players in your living room as you go down after the game is already playing and won. You mimicking those people. They become now living legends to you. And then when you get older, you start to go up in the ranks. And then now you finally see yourself as a kid in the game. That's big. Were you nervous? Was I nervous?

Absolutely. I mean, it just, it wasn't so much of nerves than it was just butterflies and just a sense of like the tingling. feeling that you have on your arm just, oh my gosh, it's so electrifying, man. And also, Josh, it is different. You have a buy. You have much more media. I mean, it is a different pregame show.

It is a different game, right? Like, I mean, it's, how does it not get in your head a little? I mean, you go from probably, you know, 15 reporters at your locker on a weekly basis to 50. in your locker room that afternoon. And then even when you get to the big show and get inside the whole media bubble, you got like thousands. Right.

Like they come down and descend upon you and you send up here to the set and you're talking to all kind of reporters, not even from, you know, the states, but from international. Sure. So you think about that. Everybody wants to know, everybody wants to hear

what you have to say, you know, in this big game. So do you think, it's an advantage for the Patriots because if you would be in your ninth I mean let's be honest if you your first Super Bowl is different if you'd have been in three or four or five is it perhaps an advantage of the Patriots they've been in this thing a bunch

yeah they've been there before so for them I think they're just going to go through the whole you know later land pretty much as they always have been doing and I feel like when you get in that position you have that advantage because you've been there before and you've done those things so you know what that looks like

so the game's not that much bigger to you. Exactly. It's a game. It's a game. But like I said, it's the Super Bowl, so everyone probably is different for them, you know? It has a different take, but at the same time, you do everything, you try to keep it all the same, your routine. Let's talk about the Rams and the Saints first. When you were in Washington, not long ago, a couple years ago, Sean McVeigh was this, you know, 29-year-old coach, and he was an offensive coach, and you're the star corner. And I mean, Washington had a good staff. Kyle Shanahan, I think, was there.

So it's Jay Gruden. You had a lot of good coaches. When did you first notice him? I noticed him off the bat. I noticed him out of the bad because he would challenge me in a way that other guys wouldn't. I wouldn't be challenged as that. You know, his mindset about the game is so much, you know, so advanced than you would think a guy of that age would be. But then again, he's like an anomaly.

He really is an anomaly. And the reason why I say that is because you have a coach now that also wants to be a player. I've heard he talks a little bit like a player. Exactly. He wants to be a player. He gets along with the player. He talks to play. He understands where you're coming from.

So he put all that into his game. And his game being by an offensive coordinator. he tries to see what you see as a defensive perspective because that's his opponents, that's who he going against. So he would go as a young coach, he would come to you and yearning for information, sitting down with you. I mean, by the way, aggressively in practice going after you. Oh, sure.

I mean, my practice would be harder than the games. It really would be because we're going against him. And it's like, okay, you got Deshaun Jackson up here. And did he sell that? Did he sell that to you normally? Because it was a double move. like, no, not really. You know what I'm saying?

But the next one, he came in, and he sold the crap out of it, and he got me. So it was like the flea thicker play, and it was just a coming down, crashing hard on, you know, one of those, well, the running back, and he sucked me up. I took the cheese, and it was just a big play,

and it was just an ordinary, regular practice, and I don't like to give anything up still at practice. But that right there just had me scratching my head. Like, I just talked about that, and he ran it. I mean, and I didn't want to give it up, but I did because of how he sold it so much so. And that's just, you know, that's him, man, and credit to him and what he's able to accomplish on that feat.

So when he went somewhere else and when he went to the rest, that was a no-brainer. I mean, I was not, you know. Everybody thought it would work. Everybody knew you. I mean, I knew it because, like I said, he's an anomaly. Like, you don't find him. He's really, like, messing up the whole league and how you find coaches now. Yeah.

He's disturbing the whole piece of it. They call him disruptors in business. He's a disruptor. Oh, for sure. He's literally gone into the lease. As you see, like, everybody is looking for those guys. The next guy. What's the been made?

Okay, let's go to Brady in Kansas City. And you've been in this league long enough that you face Tom a couple of times. And what's funny about Tom, you know, he's not mobile. He doesn't have a home run arm. But he will, and I've heard this from defensive players, Joey Bosa a couple of weeks ago on film, he'll drive you crazy. So when you face Brady, what does he do? that most guys don't. What's his great asset? He wants to beat the snot out of you in every kind of way.

And he sees that. It's almost like a, how would I say, you see a guy that's primed and charged up and you see that and you want to take that away from him? No, he's not going to give it to you at all. He's going to try to destroy the living mess out of you in every kind of way. And for me, I love that. Super competitive. Absolutely. Without a doubt, like he's probably one of the, well, he's not, probably he is the most

competitive guy I've ever faced. The most competitive guy you've faced. Yeah. His accuracy is great. Like yesterday, that's one of the things I noticed. I saw it against the Chargers. And we all know he throws a good ball. I mean, he is so accurate.

Like, within two minutes, you can probably want to say two, maybe lead quarterbacks. But he's definitely number one. Two minutes, you get a ball bat at him games over. Yeah, I kind of felt that yesterday. You know, Gronk didn't have a huge year. Gronk's mulling retirement, most think, you know, Gronk saved all his money. You know, he's put it away,

scurl it away, so he's going to retire. I thought it was interesting. When you face Tom Brady, and I've heard players say this, he audibles more than most guys at the line. Like he'll go up, see stuff, eye contact, watch you. And when you faced Brady, did you feel like he was doing it differently? audible. Some quarterbacks don't audible much. No, no, he sees

threats. He picks his matchups now. Oh my gosh, he picks his matches like none other. And when you see it, it's almost like, dang, okay. Well, he saw that when he tried to disguise and hide it, but dang it, man. You try to cover it up, but no,

he's going to reveal your hand. He's just like paying poker. He's going to, you know, bluff you enough, and then he's going to make a play. And when he makes that play, it's like, oh, see? told you shouldn't have been in that. Yeah. Josh Norman joining us

seven years in the NFL, a pro-Boulder. When you look at New England and the Rams Super Bowl, listen, these are really good teams. They both won on the road in overtime. It's hard enough to win on the road. It's hard enough to win in the playoffs on the road. It's even harder to win in overtime on the road.

Is your initial thought, if I say Rams, Patriots, neutral sight, your initial thought is what? Who I'm taking? Yeah. I mean, I see you got. I'm going to have to go at the Rams. But you can never

TB 12, man, you can never go against me. I don't like, I got to be honest with you. My initial gut reaction is usually pretty close to right. I have this feeling. I don't like the Rams linebackers. And though they're talented, I don't love their secondary. I have this feeling.

It's going to be death by a thousand cuts. James White. James White, 15 catches. Edelman 9. It's going to be... You think that. I think the Rams linebackers are their weakness. I think they can be confused in the secondary,

though they're really talented. And I think Tom gets rid of the ball too quick to get to it. The Chargers had great pass rushers. Couldn't touch him. JJ Watts 0 and 7 against New England. Pass rushers get eliminated. So you think Aaron Donald and Domican, Sue, is going to get eliminated? Do you know JJ Watts played them seven times?

He has half a sap. Okay. Kaleo Mac had his worst game. Who else was beside him, though? Who else was beside him? Jadavian Clowny? Okay, but I'm saying, was they interior guys because you know Tom Brady

when you get up in his face and he get him off the spot. Can you? But I'm saying those guys? They got Drew Brees off his spot last night. Okay, but Khalil Mack, worst game this year, New England. J.J. Watch worst game. It's Kalil Mack. Like, you can isolate certain players, but it's like two big guys interior.

You know they're going to move that pocket. And if they move the pocket enough up front, Tom, what he does best, step up in the pocket. He wants that. But if you get them off this spot, I mean, now it's a 50-50 game from where it's 100% of a game. You know what I'm saying? If you have a golden gate that surrounded them, of course.

So, okay, so let me ask you this. Think about time. So Brady gets rid of the ball in about two and a half seconds. Yes. Okay. Go ahead. Okay, so the ball is high. Just think about this.

1001, 1002, fall out. Great. Can Aaron Donald get in his face that quickly? Okay, so what you do today is you play press on the outside. You put your hands on people. disrupt that timing and if you can interrupt that timing by 1.5 to maybe two seconds guess what that 2.3 or 4 seconds you said then you have that extra point four so if my D lineman can get there before that you got to play so you like the Rams I like the Rams I mean but like I said to bet against him you'll be

a fool yeah by the way what we have a piece of video from you you have to explain this so this was at the end of the year. You play Tennessee. Is it Josh Lewin the, he's a left tackle, isn't he? And what's, that's nonsense? Why are you so upset? What is it? Taylor,

who is it? Taylor LeWan, my bet. I don't even know. Why are you so upset with it? Because the fact of the matter we're playing that game, okay? And these are playoff hopes and it rise on what we do here. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, we did. But the fact of the matter, like the whole

entire game, it was a bunch of BS that he was putting into it. So, okay, I get it. You know what I'm saying? We lose. I'm going to respect that and take my L as a man, you know? And I'm going to go sit on the sideline and see my hopes and my dreams of us going

to the playoffs just diminished. Okay, I'm going to take that. But when you come over to another opponent's sideline and you taunt them and you touch like just crap, like, okay, you got a problem. Now, now you like entering a domain. You know he weighs

100 pounds more than you. But that's what I'm saying. He's a big. He's a bully. You know, he's trying to be a bully, but you can't bully a bully that's on a block like that. You can't do that. What did you tell him right there? What did I tell him, I mean, pretty much I was just trying to see if he was going to do something back. But it wasn't.

He just really wanted to come over there and think that I wasn't going to do anything because I was such smaller than him. But, I mean, you got a heart of a lion. That I don't pump no Kool-A. That's for sure. And I don't think he really thought I was going to do that. That's why he's just walking away like that. but I literally wanted him to do something and so it was just me on top of him

literally going at him but that didn't happen and so for instance they took us back off the field I was really distraught man did you get fined? Did I get fine? Oh my gosh fine for everything but it was out of the game so it was just like come on guys but yeah he's 6-7309

yeah you're 2 11 yeah 212 I was like actually small and I was like 200 yeah that's right watch out They had a whole foot and some change on me, but you think he was going to get hurt. Well, he was 100 pounds more than you. And he was almost a foot taller than me. I know.

So guess what? What did that mean? That means you should just say, Mr. Offensive Tackle. I'm going to go to my life. Yeah, I'm sorry. You're right. You're going to come in my domain. You're going to come right here and you're going to sniff the grass.

You're going to eat all my food. And I'm going to give it to you all quietly. And I'm going to be, you're right. You're right. I'm sorry. That's what I would do. Get the heck out of it. Exactly.

you what you would do, Colin, what I would do because I'm a gladiator, and my mindset still hadn't changed from that time. I'm going to go at him. I want to see what, it's six, eight, or whatever, 300-some pounds. You are. You are a gladiator. Look, care, man. Don't give you started, Colin.

I'll tell you right now. That's funny. All right, Josh Norman. He'll be on speak for yourself after our show. Good seeing you, bud. Thank you, man. All right. Joy over the news.

No, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, Colin, there was no on-field meeting for Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady after the AFC championship game yesterday. But after Brady spoke to the media, he went to Kansas City's locker room. And according to Jeff Darlington of ESPN, he said Tom Brady just quietly approached a security guard waiting outside the Chief's locker room and asked if he could see Patrick Mahomes. Brady was escorted into a room where he briefly spoke with him, a very clear display of respect from one incredible quarterback to another. Why are people being so cynical about this?

People are cynical about everything. Nobody believes anything is genuine or anyone is like nice for just to be nice. Robert Kraft said last week, he said, Tom Brady's the best guy I've ever met. Like, why can't people just, is it like, you know, I don't know if women are like this. Guys are jealous of other guys. They don't want to admit it. But, you know, Tom's good looking. Tom's successful. Tom's the man. Like, at some point, let's just acknowledge. He's a really great player and a really good dude. I mean, I don't think it's necessarily like a gender thing. I think it's just everyone is a little bit skeptical about the genuine nature of anyone's actions anymore, which is pretty fair to be a little bit skeptical.

And when it comes to Tom Brady, people already have their biases and just build in hate for that. And we know, like, people hate sustained success. They do. You know, I'm not, I'm hating more just because I'm tired of it. Well, you're from Miami. I'm from Miami. I respect Tom Brady, obviously, he's being the best quarterback ever, but like enough already. I want to see something else.

You know what? I will defend you because you're from the two places that should be crazy. Miami where you play them twice a year and Pittsburgh where you can't get over them. You have every right. The only thing that would be different if you were related to Peyton Manning. So that would be like the Troika. That would be the trifecta. And listen, like I do.

I'm tired of seeing it, but I respect the greatness of it. I don't have to enjoy it, but I do respect it. But I think that people are just for all those reasons. There's fatigue. Yeah, there's fatigue. and Bill and Patriots hate because people think they get breaks and all of that. But I do think this was a nice thing.

And I do think he meant it. I think he's getting to the point in his career. But like we talked about earlier, he's thinking about his legacy long term. Patrick Mahomes is obviously the future. The game didn't go the way that they wanted it to, but he did play an amazing fourth quarter. And had they gotten the ball in overtime,

the rules were different. Maybe we would be having a different conversation today. But either way, I think Tom Brady was being genuine in that spot. So the officiating, the non-call that changed the end of the Saints Rams game on third down side game, fourth quarter, Nickell Robie Coleman,

tackle Tommy Lee Lewis. He's all seen it a million times. It was obviously past interference. Well, now the Washington Post is reporting that coaches may be allowed to throw challenge flags for past interference penalties. Good luck. Next season. It's been discussed before, and it's been

successfully implemented in the Canadian Football League, but it's never received support from the required three-fourths of the owners to change the rule. Would you want to see that No, I mean, I think, again, what's happening? Sports gambling has been by the Supreme Court okayed in America. So people are going to start, most people will not win sports gambling. And so the people who lost this weekend are even more caustic, acerbic, and outrage by it.

The reality, the downside of sports gambling is calls that used to drive us crazy. Now drive us crazy and we lose money. And so let's have a petition, let's have a lawsuit. folks, the referees decided this weekend, if you watch the games, to not call anything. Kansas City, New England until the end, they didn't call anything. Well, there's also, you know, fans are fanatics, as we know. So there's the conspiracy theorists out there that say that, you know, the NFL really wanted L.A. to be in the Super Bowl over the Saints.

So, you know, there's like a... For the record, in the Kansas City, New England game, there were multiple reviews, and either the refs or the replay got it right. every time. And I mean, there was like, at the end of that Kansas City of England game, catch, no catch, punt, Edelman. And every single time, despite what Arrowhead Stadium, the noisiest place on earth felt the refs got it right or the review got it right. So the league, let's not hyperventilate here because somebody lost some money on a bat. I just, I understand the frustration of Saints fans. I don't want to, I don't think I want to see past interference reviewed. There's, the reviews already just exhausting. Exactly.

It just goes on forever. Don't we want the best two teams in the Super Bowl? Kansas City's defense stinks, and New Orleans' offense in the last month stinks. We're getting the two best teams. We're getting New England that's balanced and does everything pretty well, and we're getting a Rams team that went into the loudest place in the world, and one, we got the best two teams. People hate L.A., which is understandable.

I get it. And people are tired of seeing the Patriots, which is understandable. So, I mean, if you're a fan of either of those teams or you're in those cities, you might be like, why don't you want to see this? It's understandable why? Finally, Drew Breeze will have a little while to get over what happened yesterday after the gut-wrenching 26-23 overtime loss. But he did say that he will be planning to return next year. This is all still pretty fresh, but just going to, you know, take a few days to kind of let it all settle in and talk with my teammates and my coaches.

I mean, I plan on being here next year and making another run at it. That is seething disappointment coming from Jubries. It would have been cool to see Drew Brees in the Super Bowl. I mean, I picked the Rams just because I felt like I liked what I saw from them as of late as opposed to the Saints. But, I mean, it looked like it was going to be a disaster for the Rams at the beginning of that game. I still contend to go on the road, to be lost for an hour, to have no Todd Gurley, and to win. I mean, don't kid yourself. The O line, better protection, Rams.

The D line, more pressure Rams. To go in and not, if I'd have said to you, Saints Alvin Kamara literally won't play before the game, you'd be like, we're in big trouble. Todd Gurley essentially didn't play, and they won in the row. And that's very bizarre. Yes. The whole Todd Gurley situation.

I still think he's hurt. I think he's hurt. He has to be. Something's not right with Todd Gurley. There's something going on there. You can't go up in the second best back in the NFL to literally. We're going to play CJ Anderson. and let you watch on a bike.

I don't get it. I think it's an, I mean, I get it. It has to be an injury, right? I think it is. And when players get injured, they lose their confidence. They don't feel, I think Todd's just not right. Again, I'm not, this is no inside information. If you take an athlete who's an elite athlete and he's injured, he's not the same guy either

physically or mentally. I think Todd, he missed blocks. He couldn't catch the ball. I think he needs a great nine days of rehab. Well, he's going to get a great nine days of rehab rest and plenty of questions. And Sean McVeyas, too. Good stuff. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. It's the three-word game. We talk about every team in the upcoming Super Bowl and a tip of the cap to Banker Mayfield. That's all 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 the game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the 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 content. 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, 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. 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're here on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth.

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

What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? This Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano and our podcast.

The cast 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 Reed. He has to guard you. Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing.

That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. A college hoops doubleheader is coming your way tonight on FS1. It all starts with a huge Big Ten matchup as Maryland takes on Michigan State. Then in the Big East, Creighton faces off with Georgetown,

catch all the actions starting at 6 p.m. Eastern on FS1 and the Fox Sports app. Michigan State's 11 straight. I watched a ton of college basketball on Saturday. I watched Duke play. I watch Kentucky Auburn play. Zion Williamson's really fun for Duke. He's going to be the number one pick. Hopefully over time he can develop a jumper.

But I watched a lot. This time of the year, I start. watching some college basketball. Well, we do it on Mondays. We go through all the games, and we call it the three-word game. So let's look back at every team that played this weekend. Here we go.

Rams. Better team won. They had more total yards. They had more yards per play. They had longer time of possession, which is remarkable considering the disadvantage they had playing on the road

in the whistle dome. Listen, the Rams had the number two defense by the end of the year, and the Saints had the eighth. And don't kid yourself. Drew Brees through the first 11 weeks was one quarterback. In the last six games, he's got seven touchdowns and five interceptions. The Saints would not have beaten the Patriots or the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. They don't have an offense. It's nothing against Sean Payton, but Sean Payton got out-coached, and Drew Reeves got outplayed.

The better team won. Los Angeles was better on the lines. To be honest with you, the Rams threw it deep. They ran it short. They threw it mid-range. Rams did more. Rams had better personnel. I will say this.

Week 8, I like the Saints. Now there's a reason Joy and I pick the Rams, better team one. Saints wasn't the refs. Folks, New Orleans butchered their first two red zone possessions. they weren't efficient, 50 yards rushing. They had a bad, an egregiously bad play call by Sean Payton. As I just noted, the aforementioned Drew Breeze issues. You can blame the refs all you want.

There was a previous face mask against the Saints, which would have, should have given the Rams a first and goal, and they didn't get the call. But this is called recency bias, the last blown calls, always the one you're absolutely sure. sure cost you the game. The refs weren't the issue. New Orleans should have lost, frankly, last week to a completely beleaguered,

injury-laden Philadelphia Eagle team had them on the ropes. Patriots, zero sacks allowed. Do you realize they haven't allowed a sack? They've only been hurried once in 90 dropbacks by Tom Brady. No sacks, one hurried. hurry, three pressures. And that's what the two best pass rushes in the AFC. Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram, D. Ford, Justin Houston, Chris Jones, nothing. And the other problem, not only no sacks allowed, but it got worse because when you dominate time of possession, the big uglies,

the 300-pound guys up front are worn out. So by the time he got to Brady's last drive into overtime, what energy Kansas City had up front had evaporated, had disintegrated. Zero sacks allowed. How about Chiefs? 31st ranked defense. Listen, they gave up over 400 yards a game. That's the second most in the NFL. And when you put them in the group of the Browns and the Bengals and the Dolphins, you see the problem.

Listen, the NFL's never been about being the best at stuff. the key in a salary cap league, you can't be awful at anything. New England's not the best at very much in this league. People would even argue Brady had an off year. But New England's not terrible at it. They can catch. They can run. Special teams.

Good second. They have enough pressure. The chiefs are atrocious defensively. When you're at home, you have the advantage of the crowd, meaning it's tougher offensively. meaning it's tougher offensively to hear, yet the Patriots had the ball for all but eight minutes of the first half. Super Bowl matchup, Rams Patriots, Patriots Edge? Absolutely. Listen, it started as a pickum and the sharps all poured in on New England, who now is a two-to-a-three-point favorite. Listen, the Rams defense has a 72-year-old defensive coordinator, a much maligned secondary.

and a linebacker core that Drew Breeze picked on. This is a Rams defense that's got two great interior linemen. One in Domen Sioux plays well when he feels like it. There's no doubt in my mind, New England should be favored in this game. Peter King on the show tomorrow, Tony Gonzalez, Sean Merriman, too. You know, I've been critical of Baker Mayfield. You know that. You've had a few things to say about Baker, yes.

Baker, though, did a piece yesterday on Fox NFL kickoff with our own Cooper Manning. They created a fake TV show baking with Cooper and I thought Baker Mayfield and Cooper were out of this world. Hello everyone and welcome to the season finale of the Manning hour. Today's guest is one of the biggest stars in the NFL. Biggest? Baker Mayfield and he's right where every star wants to be during championship weekend. Not playing but on my show. Thanks, Coop. Remember everything the Manning brothers touch turns to gold. Maybe the other brothers. Look, if you're not a fan of kitchens, it's okay. No, I love kitchens. Yeah, kitchens are great. They're better than Jackson's. Anything's better than you. Oh, you.

Grab the nuts. NFL doesn't really like it when I do that. No, the nuts. Oh, sorry, I have a history of that. I just want to congratulate you on a great rookie year. I mean, finishing second in Ricky the Year honors is impressive. What do you mean second? They haven't announced it yet. Well, I mean, I just assume you're going to lose to Lamar Jackson again. Open up. Eat it. Eat it. You know what?

He did a great job there. He's a funny kid. He's always welcome back on the couch. You know, I have friends who are like, you guys not get a lot. And I'm like, it's no biggie. He gets the game. I'm critical. He gets it.

Yeah. He's very funny. It's good for both of you. And I will say this. The kid is wildly entertaining. The one thing he figured out very quickly is, be polled. and people care what you say, he's been great. Don't let your age beat you. Learn more. BuyMDrive.com. Refine your prime. Have more energy,

more vitality. Speak for yourselves around the corner. Thanks so much for watching. It's the herd. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports slice comes in. I'm Timbo. And every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment,

and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends.

Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman. help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Cliver Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff.

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

What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season.

And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was part of you. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come until he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs.

This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human