The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Patriots’ dynasty had help, players should root for the Rams, Andy Reid needs the win and Brees is better than Rodgers

Episode Date: January 16, 2019

Colin discusses how all dynasties like the New England Patriots have a little help during their run, why people should be cheering for the Los Angeles Rams, why Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid needs to win this weekend, and why people should be more impressed with New Orleans Saints QB Dree Brees than Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers. Guests include Nick Wright, Bob Glauber, Chris Broussard, and Derrick Johnson. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

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

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Life is full of hurdles. So how do you keep going? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we're talking with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness from professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions, about the challenges that shape them and the mindset that keeps them moving forward. At our level, at this scale, being able to fail in front of the entire world. can do anything. I can do anything. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to learn the hard way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It's a

signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening to The HARD 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 Hurt at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the

iHart Radio app by searching Hurd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. This is The Herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. We are live in Los Angeles and packed today, wet Los Angeles, rainy Los Angeles. On IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me as O was on a Wednesday, Nick Wright. Derek Johnson, former Kansas City Chief Star, will be joining us in studio.

How are you today, Joy? I'm great. Good morning. Good morning, good morning. So I am, I read a headline today. Headline today said, Tom Brady has fewer postseason road wins than Mark Sanchez. That is amaze balls.

Of course, Tom Brady never plays on the road in the playoffs. That is pretty much the entire story. I hear this a lot. And I understand. Fan is short for fanatic. People go to games, pay money, love their team, love their city. But I hear this a lot.

Well, I mean, New England has feasted on a lame division. That's a real break. You are absolutely right. You are absolutely right. But do you realize every current dynasty got a huge break, or they would not be a dynasty. Think about Nick Saban. This is a 10-year dynasty. Tennessee football, top 12 program, been a disaster.

LSU can't get an elite coach. Either can rival Auburn until recently Georgia was a mess. And Florida just now got the right coach. If Nick Saban was facing an elite coach at any one of those schools annually for the last 10 years, they're not getting out of the SEC. They're probably still winning 10 and 11 games. But Florida has been a dumpster fire. Tennessee's been a dumpster fire.

LSU, Auburn, can't get a world-class coach. Georgia just got one finally after eight years of Nick kicking their butt. That's not to say Alabama wouldn't be great. You wouldn't have this dynasty. Let's talk about the Golden State dynasty. They got a huge break. Steph Curry got hurt very early in his career. And he signed a skimpy contract, tiny contract, a good player contract.

He instantly, next year, becomes MVP. The contract allows them to fortify their bench, keep Draymond and Clay, and add Kevin Durant. You do realize pre-Durant they lost in the finals. You do not have that dynasty without Steph Curry's injury. The Troy Aikman Jimmy Johnson Cowboy Dynasty. Oh, they don't won games. They'd have been good. But the New York Giants and Bill Parcells, they were good in that division, better than Dallas.

Parcell's left, Ray Handley took over. They became one of the worst coach teams in the league. And Joe Gibbs was making Washington a power in the NFL. He retired. They hired Richie Pettybone to Norve Turner. They've since never recovered. If Bill Parcells and Joe Gibbs are going toe to toe with Jimmy for years, he's not getting out of that division every year. And if he is, he's beat up. He doesn't have home field. He's losing too many games in division. Look at the Spurs dynasty. There was a big break. Shaq and Kobe, Phil Jackson, you had the two best closers in the league, the best coach,

and at the time the Lakers were the number one free agency brand. Tim Duncan and the Spurs do not ever have a dynasty. First three years, they're winning titles. They get along. Del Harris years, they get along. Then they get a divorce. And then the Spurs. dynasty starts with Tim Duncan.

When Kobe and Shaq had won three straight, Kobe still had six prime years left. Shack about four. Those are just the prime years. They still had the best coach. They were the number one brand in the NBA for free agents. Saban,

Cowboys, Spurs. Those dynasty's got huge breaks. Or they're just really, really good teams that win a championship like the Seattle Seahaw. Yes, the Patriots have feasted on the Bill's Jets and the Miami Dolphins dysfunction. And every, every dynasty needs a big break or two. Michael Jordans didn't start until the Pistons got old, until Larry Bird's leg fell apart.

They weren't beating those teams before. I wouldn't consider that a break, but it should be noted. Michael Jordan's legacy and dynasty elevated when. the Pistons and Celtics simply got old. Couldn't beat him before that. Now, I don't classify that as a break like the Spurs got with a Shack Kobe divorce, Saban with the dysfunction in the SEC, or Steph Curry rolling his ankle,

allowing them to build this monster roster. But before you put too much into the Patriots dynasty just curling up and dying, they would be hosting Kansas City this weekend. because they had the tiebreaker, beat them early in the year. They would be hosting Kansas City and be beating Kansas City this weekend. If not for an incredibly bad break, gronk on the field, on a Hail Mary, and a gronk, of course, is the NFL's worst safety.

If not for that implausible, inexplicable finish, the Patriots would be hosting the AFC championship and favored over Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. All right, let's shift gears to this. There are four teams left, New England, Kansas City, Ram Saints. If you are an NFL player, and unless you're in these games, the other 28 teams, there is one team you have to root for. You have to root for the Rams if you're a player.

New England has been bad for players. New England rolls their eyes at stars. New England doesn't pay anybody. Even Tom Brady is not a top eight to ten paid quarterback. New England is winning with depth, underpaying virtually everybody. They're winning with a system.

That's not good for players. For years and years, journalists didn't make anything. You had the CBS News Division. CNN covers the only. world. And then Rupert Murdoch created Fox about outspoken individual political commentators, and they beat CNN. And now people like Rachel Maddow can make over 10 million a year. You should send Rupert Murdoch a thank you. He changed the paradigm. It was no longer about having the beefiest news division. It was about having people with strong opinions left or right

that people became huge fans of, and it made a lot of people rich. But the Rams are different. Something happened last year in the NFL. Philadelphia decided, we're going to go big on free agency. And they beat the system, New England. And what happened? Jay Glazer discusses what happened after Philly, one splurging big in free agency.

Last couple of years, free agency's been a bad game of fantasy football. Guys whose names are big who are getting overpaid and you just don't win that way. You don't build. And a lot of teams realize that. We're like, we're not doing this. We're not going and throwing a boatload of money than Domagans Suz and all those guys. It's not a huge type of market because it just doesn't work that way. It's you got to build through the draft and you got to smartly go get an Andrew Whitworth.

But then all of a sudden, the Philadelphia Eagles happened last year. and the Eagles went out and they got guys like Alshon Jeffrey and the Chris Longs and then they traded for J.I. They almost played this game that has become taboo in free agency. And all of a sudden, Philly had success with it. And that's why I think you see all these teams this year. They have changed their ways. They're like, oh, because it's a whatever have you done for me lately league.

Absolutely. So Philadelphia last year went big into free agency and beat the system. The Rams this year went big into free agency. and in this copycat league, if they beat New Orleans, get to the Super Bowl and win it, great for players. Amari Cooper going to Dallas, winning the division, great for stars. Kalee-Mack going to Chicago, winning a division, great for star defensive players. This is a copycat league.

If you're a player, you are rooting for the Rams. You want to not only sign with a team for four years, but then if you outperform your team, go on the free agent market and the best teams come after you. That's leverage. That drives your price up. NBA's always been about free agency. I've been following the NBA for 40 years. It's always about collecting stars.

The NFL, New England's been the opposite of that. New England has said stars, the silly teams. The teams that aren't prudent, aren't responsible. Miami, Buffalo, Houston, the silly teams. teams go after free agency. Rams win this weekend off the Eagles championship last year. March and April NFL free agency will be absolutely huge. You should root for your own economy.

That's not saying as a player in any sport, you don't want to win championships. You have families, you have legacies, you got bank accounts. Teams will move off you. be ready to move off them. Players this weekend, root for the Rams. All right, coming up next, you know I am a huge fan of Andy Reid, coach of the Chiefs, and you know I believe he's a Hall of Fame coach, and you know I believe he's the last great coach in the NFL currently without a Super Bowl.

But there are two or three people in sports. No more excuses. That coming up next. Catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in.

I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, very real. actions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro.

Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free iHeartRadio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levin this went to a billion dollar fraud.

But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them?

On hurdle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WMBA standout, Kate Martin, and rising hockey star, Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't.

Don't feel on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladecki. The ability to show gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning.

It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Buffalo Sabres Calgary Flames tonight and the Discover card key matchup. Get your free credit score card today. Even if you're not a Discover, customer won't affect your FICA credit score. Discover.com slash credit scoreboard limitations apply. So Kansas City is favored by a field goal at home this weekend against New England.

and I'm reading stories about, you know, Andy Reid's only two and six against Belichick. It should be noted. Belichick has coached 342 games in the NFL, and seven times he's surrendered 40 points. Andy Reid's got three of those. Annie Reid's giving him trouble. In Kansas City, he's two and two blowout wins and two very narrow losses, including a game in New England earlier this year. There were moments you thought they were going to win that football game. So he's two and two against Belichick.

He's outscored New England and Belichick since he arrived in Kansas City. This is not a coaching disparity. Andy Reid's, in my opinion, as good a coach as the NFL's ever had that has not won a Super Bowl. In fact, I think he and Don Corrielle, who coached the Chargers for over a decade, are the two great coaches in the NFL, Marve Levy, perhaps, that don't have a Super Bowl. And the gap between what fans and many media think of Andy Reid and what executives in the league do is the Grand Canyon. He along with Sean McVey and Sean Payton are the three best play designers in the NFL. He's got a tremendous eye for personnel. He's considered the best teacher. Every player

with Andy Reid gets better. Quarterbacks get better. Quarterbacks play their best. His coaching tree is phenomenal. But in sports, if you don't win a Super Bowl, you know, you get dinged. I get it. Marve Levy got dinged. Eric Coriel's not considered a Don Shula because he could not. got close, could not win a Super Bowl, and Andy gets dinged. I will say this, though, and I love Andy. He's got to win this weekend. There's five advantages for Kansas City going in. Number one, they're at home.

Go look the last five years in the NFL. Home matters a ton at this point in the season. Number two, they've got an MVP at quarterback, playing his butt off. He is not at a debit to Tom Brady. Number three, they have a significantly better offensive roster in an offensive League. They had seven players make the Pro Bowl for all pros, which is the real list. The other thing that I think are advantages for Kansas City is number four is the Patriots are coming off virtually a perfect performance. You almost never see it in the NFL. In fact,

one of my rules when I do my Blazing Five is, who was great last weekend? They generally come down to Earth. Who was terrible last weekend? They usually go back to their normal spot. New England played the best football game I've seen them play ever in their dynasty against a talented team. They did everything perfectly. New England was perfect. You don't duplicate that in the NFL.

And number five is they have an extra day of rest and preparation. You don't think buys matter an extra day for Andy reading that staff to find some tells to you throw in a couple more play designs. It's an advantage. Perhaps not huge, but there's five advantages. And here's the thing that, to come full circle.

There are people that I have supported, Jim Harbaugh, for instance. I've supported Jim Harbaugh. And I've said, Ohio State's a better football program historically than Michigan. Michigan's a great university that has football. Ohio State's a great football program that has a university. Ohio State's a better football program. Okay.

Bottom line here is, Jim Harbaugh has to win now because Urban Meyer retired. This year, I'm going to be rough on Jim Harbaugh. He's got to win the Big Ten. You can't have Ryan Day beat you. Yonnes. I've been hearing for six years how great Yonis is. LeBron left the east. You now have to win multiple playoff series and get to the Eastern Conference Finals.

If 60 Minutes is going to do pieces on Yonis being the next great star in the league, LeBron's out of the East. You have to get to the Eastern Conference Finals and you probably need to win it. Sorry if you can't beat Victorola Depot in the Pacers, Al Horford and the Celtics. LeBron did by himself. You have good players in Milwaukee, a legit coach, good GM, win the East. And the third is Andy Reid. At home, MVP quarterback, superior personnel, New England coming off a game you cannot duplicate

in this league. It doesn't happen and you have an extra day. Andy's got to win this weekend. And I've never felt that. I've never been a – I think there's a lot of big games. But this is one, if Andy loses, I can't come on the end. their money and go, I mean, come on. These critics, they'll be like, all right, they looked a little tight.

All right, they blew it. For the record, Patriots have 12 draft picks and are in a much weaker division than Kansas City. Okay. So Kansas City is not going 14 and 2 and 13 and 3 the rest of the way. At some point, they've got to pay some of these guys. And secondly, their division's really good. New England's going to win 12 games next year.

You do get that, right? Sam Donald may knock him off once with Adam Gase, Greg Williams, great special teams coach, but they're going to win 13 games, 12 games again next year. And he's got to win this weekend. Here's Joy in the News. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. So it's no secret that Antonio Brown is likely on his way out of Pittsburgh, and there's a number of teams expected to bid for Antonio this offseason. Yeah. According to CBS Sports, one team that the Steelers should expect to get a call from is Seattle. Why? Now Seattle only has four picks in this year's draft.

They have a first, third, fourth, and fifth round pick. Now, if Amari Cooper is demanding a first round pick, I'm imagining a package for Antonio Brown is going to have to be a little bit bigger than that. It's interesting. No, I think he's a first round pick. You give up a first round pick, but I think

it's more than that. With all the bidders for Antonio Brown, I mean, Antonio Brown is arguably, I mean, he's one or two best by receiver in the NFL. Wow, would that be, by the way, they have Doug Baldwin and they have Lockett. It's not, I mean, they're a running team. It would certainly make things interesting with Russell Wilson. My question is, didn't, didn't they just go through this whole transformation of the team with the, the, going to be a more quiet, system-oriented team?

It's a very legitimate point. It would be a very confusing move in that regard. So who's reporting this? Jason Lockham for or CBS Sports. I just want to wait on. I'm not going to say. There's nothing to overreact to, but it's just, it's, it's interesting. If they could put something together for them. I do think personality-wise, it's kind of a steer-off from the direction that they went in.

Seattle's only got four draft picks? Yeah. New England's got 12. Good Lord. But open things up for them. If you're rebuilding, you've got to do better than four draft picks. That's not a good. Seattle needs.

Well, from that regard, that's why I would feel like it would be a risky move. because they need some other pieces. So, all right. So the Jets introduced Adam Gase this week, and now it appears that they have found their defensive coordinator as well. According to reports, the Jets are finalizing a deal with Greg Williams, the former Brown's interim head coach. Wow.

He will be the new defensive coordinator in New York. It's being reported. Hell of a staff. He was the top target for the position from the beginning of the search. He was, the Redskins kind of made a push for him, but he ended up, well, he will be. So the eight coaches hired. Only two of the coaches hired so far, new coaches, have won a playoff game.

That would be Adam Gase and Bruce Ariens. Ariens is not in his prime. He's retired and come back, Gase in his prime. And now you have the best defensive coordinator along with Todd Bowles on the market. You got him. And it should be noted the Jets probably have the Rams have a great special teams coach. The Jets may have the first or second best special teams coach in the league. This is a great staff.

Whether they win a bunch of games, I still don't trust their general manager. but in terms of offensive guy, defensive guy and special teams, they have hit home runs. Well, it's a what have you done for me lately league and I like this move

for the Jets. I don't understand why the Browns didn't keep Greg Williams other than it's pretty obvious that John Dorsey and Greg Williams were not on the same page or at least John Dorsey felt like

Greg Williams was going to give him a little more pushback than he preferred soon with Freddie Kitchens but I think the job that Greg Williams did in Cleveland definitely merits him. I think it merits him a head coaching job, but I like this move for the jet.

So do I. No, listen, this is, you know, when Baker came into this league, I said, Baker's not going to be a bust, but he's going to have to overcome some dysfunction. We've already seen Cleveland throw out their head coach, their OC, and just give the head coaching job to somebody who'd never been hired as a coordinator.

Now, and there's a lot of ego in the organization, if you had told me that Sam Darnold would have come in this league, and by year two, had the best special teams coach in the league, a top five defensive coordinator and kind of a Kyle Shanahan clone. If you look at their resumes, I'd have been like, take it, take it, take it. If you're a Jets fan today, you have got to feel, you are going, you've got to buy more season tickets.

You've got to feel great today as a Jett fan. I don't know how Jets fans are reacting to this, but if I know Jets fans are probably not very optimistic still. So the Green Bay Packers hired Matt LaFlor to be the head coach of the Packers. It'll be challenged with getting the team back on track after a very disappointing 2018 season. Obviously, he has to cement a relationship with Aaron Rogers and in a conversation with Peter King.

The floor said he is ready to get going with his star quarterback. He said he could hear the passion in his voice. I believe him when he says he wants to be coached and coached hard. All I really care about at this point is developing a relationship with him, and I think we're both on the same page. He's a competitor, and I cannot wait to get started with him. Do you buy he wants to be coached hard? Well, a lot of people say they, you know, a lot of people say,

I'm going to work out this year. And by March, they don't go to the gym. And a lot of people say, I'm going to eat right. And by January 15th, yeah, a lot of people also say this. Hey, I can take criticism until you criticize it. People say a lot of things. I look at your actions. And we'll see.

I'm not saying Aaron Rogers is not coachable, but I want to see this. I think that most players want to be coached. Yes. I think that they want input. They want someone who can bounce ideas off of. I think with Aaron Rogers, it's clearly a respect thing. If he feels like you respect him and he respects what you have to say in that regard of the relationship, then he will listen to what you have to say.

That seems to be his personality type. That seems to be what happened with Mike McCarthy. It got to a point where he no longer respected McCarthy's decisions. What happens next year if they're one in three and one in four? Well, you better hope it doesn't start like that. But that's the delicacy of that kind of personality that they don't want to push through those times, they start to doubt it and then rely back on their own genius. Because, I mean, how long has Aaron Rogers been told that he's the best quarterback in the league?

A long time. So, you know, I believe he wants to be coached, but you have to have the right personality to infiltrate that kind of personality. So we'll see. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Live News.

If you're a Patriot fan this morning, I have, of course, am not a fan. I am a judge, impartial. The audience is I am completely impartial. I am completely impartial. But you would have to feel great if you're a New England fan. You're playing with House Money. You're an underdog.

You've been a great cold weather team. If you are a fan of Kansas City or lean emotionally toward the Chiefs, it has to be a nerve-wracking time. And with that, Kansas City resident for a long time, grew up there via the Coward Global Satellite Network. Nick Wright, first thing's first co-host. All right, let me guess. Let me guess.

So I want to hear you. I broke it down brilliantly in the opening segment, which is every dynasty needs a break. Nick Sabin's faced a bunch of powers in the SEC who can't get coach right. Shaq and Kobe get a divorce allowing Duncan to dominate. And Steph signs a tainty contract after he hurts his ankle, which allows them to fortify their bench, get Kevin Durant. And New England, yes, has had a little bit of a break in a dysfunctional division. But you are not by any stretch overconfident this week. Are you with New England?

No, I am not nearly as confident that the Chiefs are going to beat the Pats as I was certain they would beat your beloved Indianapolis cult and your, I mean, wake me when Andrew Luck plays a good playoff game on the road and wake me when he plays a competent playoff game outdoors. But I guess that's neither here nor there. That's a discussion for next year when it's someone's fault other than his. But the Chiefs are the better team. The Chiefs do have the better offense. they do have the better quarterback. They do have a home field advantage. And speaking of the home field advantage, Colin, if I'm not mistaken, Kansas City is the only big city in America you've never been to.

That's true. Yeah, that's actually right. That's the only top 30 city in the country I've not been to. Yeah, I know this. I've done my research, sir. So let me just help you out a little bit. Yeah. Because I heard you yesterday say that evidently the folks in Kansas City,

must be used to some tropical climbs because they're going to be too cold to cheer. Yeah. The only people that found that more absurd than I did, evidently, are the Kansas City Chiefs because about eight minutes ago, they tweeted out a clip of you saying that just with LOL from the official team account. So that makes for the FS1 staff, you and I won a piece. The Eagles tweeting out a clip of me saying they can't win the Super Bowl, right before their parade for winning the Super Bowl.

And the Chiefs tweeting out a clip of you saying, the fans are going to be too cold. Colin, I know you've never been there, man. It gets cold in Kansas City, bruh. It is a, there's a lot of cold weather games. These Chiefs fans have been the two, and they have cheered their way through. So the Chiefs should win.

Now, is it possible the Patriots win? Of course it's, there it is. That right there. There's your beautiful face. Is it possible to Patriots win? of course it is. And are the chiefs, is the line right? Yeah, they should be about a three point favorite. But they are the better team. And one last note, you said you're the impartial judge, right? Yes. Well, well, listen, if I was, if I had any trial involving the New York Jets, I think I'd get it

thrown out on appeal, because I think I just saw the impartial judge fist bump when he heard Greg Williams was the decontor. I just, just, if the court will allow, but go ahead. Okay. Well, I do think the chiefs should be favored. And I do think there, this is a moment for Andy Reid. Like Jim Harbaugh next year, okay, Urban's gone. I'm not defending you. Go win the Big Ten. LeBron's gone, Janus. You got to get to the Eastern Conference finals. There's no excuse. Good coach, good players. I do feel with Andy Reid, who I love, though, you would acknowledge this is one of those Andy has to win. There is a little pressure here on Andy, a little. Oh, 100%. It's the only thing missing from his resume is a Super Bowl, a Super Bowl win, and you're not going to be better positioned than you are right now. You might be

as well positioned, but you are playing, instead of playing a team in the Chargers who has been to that building in one, you're playing a team that's been awful on the road, a team that you have enormous success against as far as scoring points. And Colin, I'm going to throw a stat at you that might blow your mind. The Chiefs have not allowed 30 points at home, this is per the Action Network, in 34 consecutive games. The second longest in the NFL is 16. So you have a defense that has actually been good at home over the last four plus years, and you know the offense is getting to 30. The offense stopped trying after halftime against your overrated cults last week and got to 31. They couldn't do anything in the first half in New England the first time around and got to

40. They have a quarterback who's having one of the five greatest seasons any quarterback has ever had in NFL history. So the Pat's going to have to get to at least 32 points to win this football game. I don't know if they can. I want to segue to the NBA. I said yesterday, The people I trust in the NBA and scouts and executives I've leaned on for years said, hey, there's a lot of talk in the NBA with Luke Walton right now. They couldn't beat the Cavs. Caves are awful. Couldn't beat the Knicks.

Three and seven before last night without LeBron. The offense has plummeted. And, you know, Magic and Rob Polinka didn't hire Luke Walton, although I think they like him. And LeBron can be restless to be diplomatic with coaches. My takeaway is this is a perfect year to be patient if you're a Laker fan or an executive because it's a warrior's title to lose. What say you on Luke Walton, LeBron James, going forward, patience, no patience. Where do you land on that?

Listen, I think the easy conversation that people in L.A. want to have, I'm going to talk about you. I'm talking about the people, fans of the Lakers, is should we fire the coach? firing the coach or keeping the coach is not going to right now fix the major concern with the Lakers. And by the way, LeBron's not going to be back these next two games. He's not going to be back the next three games. When he comes back, the earliest he'll be back is the Timberwolves game. When he comes back, they'll be at best in 10th place. But that is not on Luke Walton. I agree with you, they should be patient.

It's that Brandon Ingram and Lanzo Ball are the exact same players they were last. year. Where has, who isn't, I want to know who with the Lakers is in charge of player development and why do players not develop? Why did DeAngelo Russell not develop until he left? Why did Julius Randall blossom into the best player he's been the moment he left? Why is Brandon Ingram statistically the exact same player just slightly less efficient year two to three? Why is Lonzo Ball, the exact same player, year one to two. The point of blue chips is that they turn it, they evolve. Who is in charge of player development and why is it not occurring? Whomever that person is the person that needs to be held accountable. Maybe that is Luke

Walton. I'll be honest, I'm not certain who it is, but it's not occurring. So either you're drafting players who have no growth potential, I don't believe that's the case, or the team is not developing its talent. That's the concern. By the way, finally, I don't know if you've given your picks yet, you like Kansas City clearly. If you talked to NFC, if I said to you this morning, Super Bowl this year will be Nick Wright? My pick from before the playoffs, Saints Chiefs, and so that's the one that I would go with. And I know you're probably going to hold off on your picks because you're going to be moving lines. America's waiting. You're 8-0 straight up. You're 6-1-1 against the spread. Listen, I'm aware. I already know where this is going.

I am going to present you an offer, though. Okay. Okay? And I think it's totally fair. The chiefs are three-point favorites, right? Yeah. I'm going to give you a half point. So I'm going to tilt it way in your favor.

I'll take Kansas City minus three and a half. And I feel like this is a totally even bet. We'll just go one of my paychecks against one of your paychecks. Listen, let's not get into. I think betting is, really, if you really dig deep, it's immoral. I don't believe in betting. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

Weren't you wearing literally an all-money suit this weekend? It was a prop. Of course, that's not how I truly believe or dress. Uh-huh. And didn't you tweet to me on Sunday when I tweeted you about this game that you've already made your wager with a money bag emoji? Didn't that happen? Yes.

I actually, this weekend I am breaking some personal rules and morals and values. I am betting both these games this weekend. All right. Well, listen, like I said, I feel like it's totally fair. I can't imagine there's a major I mean, I don't know what you make, but I assume it's the same as me. So let's just go paycheck to paycheck, brother.

You appear to be breaking up. We're losing Nick Wright. The satellite is breaking up. Great talking to you, buddy. Nick Wright, first things first. I will have my picks, by the way, on Friday, and I've already made, I feel strongly about both.

We are 8-0 straight up. We haven't done that before. I've never gone 10-0. I've never gone 8-0. So you get some breaks in this stuff. So I do feel very strongly about both. For the record, last year, our final four was Philly, Minnesota, New England, Jacksonville. Two of those four went into the tank. Last three years, the 12 teams, three final fours, half have gone into the tank. There's four teams left.

Two, I know, are not eroding. One, I don't think is eroding. But one of these four teams next year, keep your eye on. That's coming up next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Cold and flu season. Try Vic Sinai's nasal spray. A couple of sprays works in seconds. Clears your nose. Last up for 12 hours.

users directed. Vic Synex nasal spray. Good to have you in a Wednesday. Bob Glober in New York Newsday NFL columnist has a new book out, his thoughts on the Jets hire, and a lot of the coaching moves in the NFL. Derek Johnson, former Kansas City Chief, will be joining us in studio today.

Great guy, great player, Chris Broussard as well. All right, so let's go back one year ago to today. Jacksonville was getting ready to face New England. and Minnesota was getting ready to face Philadelphia. Two of those four teams imploded this year, disappeared, eroded significantly. Jacksonville badly, Minnesota, clearly. This is not strange. The NFC has not had one team that has made the playoffs three straight years.

The NFC will not be the same next year. and outside of New England, chances are either will the AFC. Success outside of the Patriots is not guaranteed. In fact, listen to this. The last three final fours, 12 teams total, right? Or 12 teams. Six didn't make the playoffs. Half didn't make the playoffs the following year.

But it goes more than 50% because New England was obviously in that final four every year. You lose your best court. coordinators, Philadelphia. You lose free agents. Case Keenham left the Vikings. You lose top assistance. You have a tougher schedule following year. You have a worse draft pick.

And frankly, egos. Teams get this far. Guys want to get paid. It is really hard. It is 50% on average of the teams that get here disappear. And there are four teams this year. two of them, I know, will still be good next year. New England's got the best coach in football.

That won't change. It is still mostly a dysfunctional division. That won't change. And they have 12 draft picks. Also, they're getting their top pick last year back. He got hurt. So it's like 13. New England's going to be fine.

Brady, say what you want on almost every Sunday goes into a game and is the best quarterback. Almost every Sunday. New England's going to be fine. Kansas City, they're going to be fine too. Now, their division's tougher. But they have one of the best coaches in football. That's not going to change. Patrick Mahomes may not be MVP, but he's a real deal.

And they've got like seven-star players. They're going to franchise D Ford. They're all coming back. They're all coming back. Kansas City and New England aren't going to be good next year. Now, I'm not saying they're going to get to here, but they're going to be real good. no drop-off, no chance of that.

They're going to be really good teams. Kansas City's division is harder, still the best team. You know, coach, quarterback, owner, all that stuff. All right, let's go to now New Orleans. Their division is a little flakier than we think. Tampa Bay is kind of flaky. Cam Newton, I think we've seen the best of him. Atlanta is a good organization, but year to year, a little bit of a coin flip.

Well-run, yes, successful every year. I think New Orleans, Drew Breeze, Peyton, a lot of young players, still on rookie deals, a tremendous defensive line talent, underrated offensive line, tremendous home field advantage. Again, kind of a flaky division. I think me real good. Keep your eye on the Rams. Keep your eye on the Rams. A lot of things in Los Angeles.

Think about this. They only have five draft picks. Five. They gave up a second rounder. They gave up a third rounder because this was about winning this year. They're building the stadium, getting PSLs, wanted to sell tickets.

I only have five draft picks. Number two, their offensive line, they need five picks for that. It's old. Andrew Whitworth's 37. If they won a Super Bowl, how do you know he just doesn't retire? Got a lot of money, good dude, big family. John Sullivan's the center.

Old, little creaky, 33. That offensive line's getting old and they only have one really high-end offensive linemen, young guy they love. Number three is they keep losing really good assistants. This is what happens when you become the hot team. Atlanta, a couple years ago, dealt with this. Your assistants start getting head coaching jobs.

That's just the reality of Sean McVeigh. The Sean McVeigh effect. People are going to poach this staff. They already have. Number four is, I think we saw it this year about November. Todd Gurley, man, you can only pitch a guy 250 innings so many times. You can only give Todd Gurley so many carries. We're starting to see some wear and tear on Todd Gurley.

Number five is this division's not getting worse. Kyle Shanahan's getting Jimmy Garoppolo back. They got a lot of money to spend in San Francisco, and they got a lot of draft picks. San Francisco is going to be a pain in the butt. And by the way, as long as Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson are together, Seattle's a tough out. That division's getting better, not worse. it's not dysfunctional, though Arizona has proven it can be. And finally, they're a year away from paying Jared Gough.

So they're thin now. They're top-heavy now. What happens in 12 months when they pay Jared Gough? The Rams are a very interesting team. Now, they'll still have Sean McVeigh, and I like not love Jared Gough, but I see wearing tear with Gurley they got five draft picks they could do worse than taking two of those on the

offensive line and we got a Sean McVeigh effect this staff's getting poached like crazy they just had their quarterback coach hired you'll find this out in a couple of weeks to coach an NFL team Cincinnati the quarterback coach

forget coordinator forget play caller their quarterback coach Bob Glover, Chris Broussard, Derek Johnson. And why breeze? Why breeze? It's not a hot take. We'll elevate far beyond Aaron Rogers by perhaps Sunday night.

The Herd. One more Herd? The Herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Ah, here we go. Hour 2. This is

The herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, I am live in rainy and wet Los Angeles on Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Joy Taylor is joining me. It is great to be here today. Good morning. It's great to be here today.

So I said something yesterday on the show, and I'm America's media icon, so I say stuff and everybody reacts to it. So I said yesterday on the show, I said, you know, it's going to be not just cold in Kansas City. Arctic blast. They're calling it an Arctic blast.

Minus 15 wind chill. I've been in minus, in college, I was in minus four. It's just different. It's different that I skied a couple of weeks ago in 11 degrees. There's no big deal. It's going to be 25 degrees colder than that. Okay, so I've skied in cold. I'm in cold.

Wrap up. You're fine. And by the way, when I skied and it was 11 degrees, it was really cold. The rest of my family wouldn't ski. Everybody's like, I'm not going outside. And that's with hot chocolate, ski mat. I'm not going outside. So I said this yesterday on the show, and the Kansas City Chiefs are trolling me.

Go ahead and play. Arrowheads considered one of the loudest stadiums in America. College or pro. It'll be nine below. Everybody's going to be wearing a ski mask. People aren't going to be standing and cheering. they're going to be huddled, wearing wool, trying to stay warm, wearing something over their mouths, home field advantage via the crowd, done.

Now, I will say people will stand. I mean, it's, for no other reason they've heard that and they'll stand. I wouldn't, but they will. But if I'm crazy, you do realize at minus 15 degrees, nobody should have their face uncovered. Like it's you, this is dangerous. So let me ask you how crazy I am with my talk. I brought out on this set, it's actually Chicago Cubs, a muffler. This is, this is what people will be wearing.

It's a scarf. It's a scarf. It's the same exact fabric of a ski mask, a scarf, and people are going to be all wrapped up. You tell me if this sounds the same. MVP, MVP. Mv. It's not going to be in their mouth. Okay. Yeah. Tom Brady. You don't think volumes change? I'm not sticking this in my mouth. I'm simply putting it over my mouth.

I understand the concept of what you're saying. You think I'm crazy. No, I don't. I think if it was very cold, but it wasn't an Arctic blast. Instead of an Arctic blast. The volume of the fans. You and I have been in four degrees. You and I was in Kansas City with Earl for Thanksgiving when there was a blizzard there. And it was like, very, very cold. It was like seven degrees. I don't know how cold it was, but it was a legitimate blizzard. It's going to be minus 15. The airport was shut down.

So however cold it needs to do that. So just tell me, you don't think there's a change in volume because what a crowd does is it takes away the audible system. Right. But there's also people that go out there with no shirts on. That's not going to happen. You don't think there'll be one maniac with no shirt on. Well, there's always a drunk. Yeah, that's by eight of them.

Kansas City likes its beer. Just, just, just, what does this sound like? Yeah. You are a maniac. I think I'm right. Very scientific experiment. Yes, it really was. Listen, the environment there is going to be as loud.

Oh, you think so. As pumped up and ruckus as it can possibly be in that weather. However much the weather is going to affect the fans yelling and screaming, people are going to be yelling and screaming. I'm not saying it's a library. You're almost going to have to stand because sitting is really actually a bad idea when it's that cold. I'm not saying it's a library. I'm not saying it's going to be like a home game.

I'm just saying minus 15. Some people are going to have some things over their face, yes. Some people, any of them with an IQ higher than ranch dressing will cover their face. I wouldn't let my kids go to a game and not cover their face. But I mean, when something's going in the middle of a drive, you know, you take your ski mask down. and you take your thermal cover down, you yell. It's actually better when it's cold to stay up and stay moving. Yeah, this is what you do.

You take it down for like a second and you're like, what am I doing? I'm telling you. I'm telling you, anyone from Kansas City watching this right now is very upset with you. And they're going to make it a point because you're saying this to try and be as loud as possible. As America's media icon, this is the... You look at very sensitive about what you say. I know. And you didn't fire back at a...

at Nick there. He said that you guys were equal, you know. Let's have fun. All right, four or five years, we were on this big thing. For four or five years, I kept hearing this argument. Aaron Rogers, Goat, Brady second. Or Brady won, Rogers, Two, greatest all time. Apparently, Joe Montana, John Elway never existed. Payton Manning never existed. I always said, you do get that like Tom Brady's got a ruminous house full of trophies. They're not, that's a stupid argument. And then I had something, I said something during the middle of this year. And I said the, and it was perceived as a hot take.

I said, the eight best quarterbacks I've ever seen in my life. It's not just about Super Bowls. This is about talent, playoffs. records, your impact to the league, your impact in the city. What did you overcome? What did you play with? The eight best quarterbacks I've seen. And again, there's a lot of different.

It's Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, John Elway, Dan Marino, Aikman, and Breeze. Now people said, well, you're just saying Troy Aikman. No, no, no, no. Leadership, playing hurt, toughness, dominating a great division when Washington, Giant and Dallas for power. Those are eight best quarterbacks. But the one that got people worked up is Drew Brees.

It was a hot take. Was Aaron Rogers. And I said, he's right on the outside, right next to Brett Farv and Steve Young. And maybe Dan Fouts. And isn't it interesting? I'm crazy hot take, right? I was, whoa, you're just, and I said, no. Let's talk about impact to a city.

Whereas Aaron Rogers, was given a championship roster, a championship level head coach, and championship momentum in front office, Drew Breeze was given the Cleveland Browns with a port, Katrina, Bounty Gate. One guy was given the laughing stock of the league that had one playoff win in the history of their franchise. The other player was given, arguably,

the most iconic franchise in the NFL, with championship level players, great momentum, terrific front office, very good head coach. So that's not close. Also, let's go through four or five things. If Drew Breeze wins this weekend and goes to the Super Bowl, and they are favored and, you know, most people like the Saints. If Drew Breeze gets to the Super Bowl and if he does against Kansas City or New England,

that again's going to be a field goal game. if Drew Breeze wins the Super Bowl and again, they're favored at home this weekend to get there. Super Bowl titles against Aaron? Check Breeze. NFL records? Not close. Check Breeze.

Impact on a franchise. Drew Breeze, folks, is the Saints. Aaron Rogers is arguably not the Packers' best quarterback ever. Impact on a franchise is not close. leadership qualities. I don't know. One guy has former teammates constantly calling him out.

One guy is revered where 300-pound offensive linemen literally, do we have the piece of tape? This is what happened when an offensive lineman. Zach Streif retired recently. For the past eight years, I've played in front of the most prolific

passer in NFL history. Drew Brees has been the single greatest motivation for me as a player. My greatest drive is a player was not to let you down. You're the greatest leader I've ever been around. And I admire you so much as a player, but more as a person. I will miss being around you on a daily basis. Thank you for everything that you've done and continue to do. Leadership, check breeze. By the way, I'll just throw this one out here. On his way to a Super Bowl, do you remember that year?

Breeze beat Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, Hall of Famer Brett Favre, and Peyton Manning. Roger Super Bowl run beat Michael Vic, Matt Ryan, and Caleb Haney before beating Big Ben. You thought six, eight, ten weeks ago that was a hot take. The hot take today, if Breeze gets to another Super Bowl is Aaron Rogers is all time better than Drew Breeze. Does impact to a franchise matter? Does leadership matter? Does Super Bowl titles matter?

To regular season? Records matter? Gang, it ain't close. It ain't close. It is a hot take to say the opposite of Drew Breeze will elevate above Aaron Rogers. Slam dunk. I will have my picks Friday.

We are 8-0 straight up. It's a very good feeling. I'm not going to lie. So you're feeling confident because you're 8-0? MVP. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Oh, wait.

Time out. Oh, wait. Time out. We got an update. John, we have breaking news. Breaking news. Okay, what's the breaking news? I don't think the Arctic blast will be as Arctic as originally anticipated.

What are they saying? What are they saying? It's like probably going to be in the teens. at game time. Oh, well, hell, that the whole thing doesn't matter. There's some wind, so maybe a little lower than that. It's going to be in the teens? It's not going to be negative 15. So they went from Arctic Blast to La Hoya

in a week. But with the wind chill, is it going to be lower? No, I don't think it'll be that. It'll still be cold, but it won't be that bad. That's really what it is. It's cold, and then the wind chill is what drops it. There's a high of 21 that day and a low of 16. It's a night game, so it'll be. I mean, that's like basically paradise. This is why meteor all

should be seen and not heard. One day they go from worse weather in the world to bring Bermuda shorts. That's kind of their job to make sure that they keep it updated. That's why when the weather comes... They'd be bad meteorologists as if they were like, yeah, that's the prediction. We'll see what happens. You want to know the sound you hear at my house

when the weather guy comes on? Click. We live in California. This is like the longest it's rained ever in the history of the world in California. One day in the weather changed. Yes, that's what weather does. Can you imagine being a sports guy going on and giving all the scores. is wrong. A weather guy locally goes on Arctic Blast hour later. That's not how it works.

We should be appreciative that they've updated it. This is this should change how we feel about the outcome of the game. I followed seven weather guys on Twitter. I'm unfollowing all of them. So you, that was an overreaction. They're making crap up. Oh, coldest day ever. I just kidding. I'll admit it was a drastic swing, but maybe that, that weather front is moving out. From Arctic Blast to wear a polo shirt. You're all good. I mean, it's not that much. It's still to be cold. Teen's 18's nothing. 18's nothing. It's kind of reasonable. All right. Bob Globert, NFL columnist for Newsday in New York,

jet stuff, all sorts of new higher stuff. He's got a new book out called Gutson Genius. That's coming up next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed the game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking.

Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses.

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

Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey.

I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levin this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? the largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness. professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WNBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards.

If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel like you don't feel like. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ledecki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light.

up and smile. That means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can, like, I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Sunday, Todd Gurley and the Rams take on Drew Brees and the Saints in the NFC Championship game presented by Induit. TurboTax Live. Coverage begins at 1 Eastern 10 a.m. Pacific on Fox in the Fox Sports app.

It's great to have you in today. Our next guest is the president of the pro football writers of America. He has been covering the NFL for almost, well, over 25 years. One of the more respected guys that does this for a living, an NFL columnist in New York at Newsday. and he is joining us via the Coward Global Satellite Network. Bob Globber, who's got a new book, Guts and Genius, how three football coaching legends, Bill Walsh, Joe Gibbs and Bill Parcells, won eight Super Bowls during the 80s and really changed football forever.

First of all, Bob, what's interesting is Belichick and Sean Payton are Bill Parcell's protégés, so the coaching trees are still working, and Andy Reed and McVeigh are Bill Walsh protégés. So let's start with this. how did let's just start with Bill Walsh the offensive genius and Parcell's the gruff New York legend. Are all three of these guys very similar? Are they, were there distinct differences between how Walsh and Parcells saw the world of football?

I think they were markedly different, maybe diametrically opposed because, you know, Walsh was the offensive guru, the offensive genius. And Parcells was able to, you know, his mission was to stop a guy like Bill Walsh. And he did it a number of times in playoff situations, in regular season situations. It was a great battle. But they were totally different. And I think that it was therefore a really special interesting rivalry because they were so different. It was like Parcells punch you in the face kind of guy versus Walsh, the wine drinking, erudite, smart, genius. It was really great battles.

And their bloodlines continue today and in these playoffs. It's fascinating. You know, both matchups feature Walsh and Parcell's disciples against one another. Belichick and Parcells have had their ups and downs. I saw 30 for 30. They're comfortable but not really together. If I said to you, what did Belichick truly take from Parcells? What is the gift that he took from Bill Parcells?

You know, it's a good question. And I asked Belichick that for the book, and he was very clear in that, you know, Parcells was a great big picture guy. And he was able to share that with Belichick when they were together with the Giants. And Belichick took that and really cultivated that when he went to Cleveland and then, of course, in New England. And I think that Belichick appreciated that in Parcells much more than people realized. You know, Parcells was really tough on him when they were head coach and assistant. I mean, Parcells would really come down hard on Belichick, but that's the way he was. and Belichick, I think, appreciated that.

And toward the end of Belichick's run in New York, Parcells took him aside. He realized that Belichick was on this track to become a head coach eventually, and he shared with him some of his secrets, some of the things that he did to get the most out of players, to get the most out of game plans, to bring out the special in those. You talk about those special players.

There are a lot of special players in the 80s, and a guy like Parcells and Belichick, to some degree, were able to bring it out of them. them. When you look at Sean McVeigh as the boy genius and Andy Reed, they both come from the Walsh school of football where offense reigns supreme. When I think of Andy Reed, I don't think of defense. When I think of McVeigh, I don't think of defense, but yet Bill Walsh's defenses were very good. What did McVeigh and Reed, what do you see coming from Bill Walsh from those two? Well, Reed, I think, you know, just as offensive philosophy. So Reed, you know, just go back on

the tree. Reed worked for Andy Reed, for Mike Holmgren, who worked for Bill Walsh. So it's a fairly direct route there. And I think a lot of Reed's concepts reflect what Bill Walsh was all about. West Coast offense. Now, that offense was created in 1970s by Bill Walsh in Cincinnati, and it's still the predominant offense in football today. And Reed has kind of perfected it, taking it to a different level. McVeigh is, I think a lot like Walsh. By the way, McVeigh's grandfather, John McVeigh, was Bill Walsh's general manager for all those years in San Francisco. So there's really a direct connection there.

And McVe, when I watched the Rams, not so much in the last couple of weeks because they've kind of gone more ground and pound. But when you watch the Rams offense at its best, it is wide open spaces, yawning gaps in the defense that Sean McVe creates in his mind the way Bill Walsh did. And, you know, Ronnie Lott told me for the book, he says, Bill Walsh would always talk to me about angles. You create angles and you create these open spaces. And it's almost like geometry with these guys. And McVeigh has that. He has that unique gift that Walsh had. He can look at something and say, all right, here's how I attack this and this is the way I'll do it. He can tell

his players what's going to happen. It will happen. And that's the magic of a great coach. And Walsh had that and certainly McVeigh has it. We don't want to shirt change Joe Gibbs, who is also a legend. So I've always kind of had a theory in every business I've been in smart wins. And I think between Reed and McVeigh and Sean Payton and Belichick, I mean, Belichick's mom spoke seven languages, his dad ostensibly created scouting. I think there's a certain IQ with all four of these coaches. They're simply smarter than the average football coach. When you go back and look at Gibbs Walsh Parcells, was a lot of it, they were simply smarter men? There's no question.

And, you know, people ask, well, why? Why didn't you include Mike Dicka in that book? He won a Super Bowl. But, you know, Dicka lost a lot of playoff games to those guys. And he didn't really transcend. He didn't. Walsh Gibbs and Parsells transcended. I mean, they were transcendent personalities.

They were transcendent coaches. And I think with Gibbs in particular, he doesn't have the tree that Walsh and Parcells created. But I think you can make a case that he was the greatest football coach of all time in terms of tactician. because the one thing that separates Joe Gibbs from everybody is that he won three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks, none of whom was close to the Hall of Fame. And that was special. That was extremely special, and no one else could do it. And Joe Gibbs's mind was tremendous. I would argue today, I think what makes any great CEO the ability to not only dominate one field,

but multiple fields, I would argue that is great, and I think Jimmy Johnson's in all times, coach, college and pro. I would argue Belichick's the greatest coach of all time. I believe that. Now, I do think he is feasted on the dysfunction of the AFC East, but I think Belichick from capology to personnel to game planning, I think his gift is every week you get a different team and a different scheme. He reinvents himself. Could I make the argument that Belichick has now surpassed Gibbs, Parcells, and Walsh? Yes. Yes, I think you can. I think that, The thing with Gibbs that I would like, you know, to think is that if you give him a certain team, he can do the most with it.

Now, Belichick, you never know that because he's had the greatest quarterback of all time to work with. And that's a big deal. He didn't have that in Cleveland and he failed. But Belichick, I think, the surviving element of it, the brilliance element of it, the ability to get the most out of whoever he's coaching. Yes, I mean, I would say if you're ranking head coaches just in terms of body of work and everything, you've got to take a lot into account, it's Belichick. Belichick is on the Mount Rushmore, Walsh is on the Mount Rushmore, Lombardi. Gibbs, I think, is on the Mount Rushmore because just winning in this league without

quarterbacks, without Hall of Fame quarterbacks, you look at all the great coaches. They all have someone who has basically been to Hall of Fame except Gibbs and Parsecretel. else. He won with two non-hallfamers. Bob Glob, the president, pro football writers of America's got a new book. I'm going to read it. Guts and genius, how Bill Walsh, Joe Gibbs, and Bill Parcells won eight Super Bowls during the 80s and changed football forever. By the way, gut feeling, gut feeling this morning. Who ends up in the Super Bowl? I'm going to go with the Chiefs and the Saints. I think the Chiefs have something special. Andy Reid has not gotten it done in big situations, but he's never had Patrick Mahomes.

I'm taking Mahomes to win the Super Bowl. Good stuff. Bob, absolute pleasure. Continued success. Keep following him on Twitter. Read the book as well. Thanks, Bob. Thank you, Colin. You bet. By the way, here's a story. Do you have the Cam Newton story in your update? Not this update, no. Not this one. By the way, I just saw this. The Panthers new owner is suggesting that it's not a terrible thing to have Cam Newton sit out next year and get that shoulder healthy like they did with Andrew Luck. You know, it's funny. I was just thinking about this. I think we've seen the best of Cam Newton. And I, and it's not, you know, I've always been critical of Cam Newton.

But the new owner said, quote, if you told me he took a year off, could recover, be fully recovered, everything else, and that's what it would take an extra year. Why wouldn't you do that? Now, again, he was really banged up at the end of the year is, I've always had this feeling that athletes based on their sport, some age poorly, some age well. I don't think John Wall and Russell Westbrook are aging particularly well because they can't shoot. they're hyper-athletic. And when your athleticism goes, you can't rely on shooting.

Yes. It's why James Hardin and Steph Curry will age very well. James Hardin can do that step-back move in his 40s. Steph Curry can shoot in his 40s. By the way, Ray Allen aged very well he could shoot. Dirk Novitsky aged very well he could shoot. Jason Terry. Steve Kerr played 15 years. Couldn't guard this cup of coffee.

Cam Newton, now that his running ability is deteriorating, I don't think he's going to age particularly well. I think you've seen the best of Cam Newton. He'll come back. He'll win games. But there's a reason that Brady and Breeze are aging better than quarterback in the history of the NFL. Nobody's been this good at 3940, 41 that Breeze and Brady. Because they're pre-snap experts, pocket quarterbacks, deliver an accurate, precise football.

Cam Newton, this year, early in the year, allowed to run around 6 and 0. then he got hurt. They tapered back to running. They were six and two when he could move, oh and six when he couldn't. The reality is he'll never be a precise pocket precision throat. That's not what he is. It's like Westbrook.

Westbrook's never going to be an elite shooter. Been in the league 10 years. This is his worst shooting year. So once you, you know he's not going to be a shooter. Once you take away the hyper-athletic ability, Westbrook's not going to age well, like a Hardinwood, like a Curry would, like a Jason Terry did, like a Dirk did, like Ray Allen did.

And I do think with Cam Newton, not that he's going to fall off a cliff, but you say, well, what about Andrew Luck? Andrew Luck ran, but is really all about pre-snap and his pocket presence. That's what he is. It's, I cam injury is worse than we thought. And by the way, if you went in, think about this. Now that the words out on Cam's injury, now as a defensive coordinator, I know they don't want to run Cam.

So now I don't have to worry about that threat. Because I know post-surgery, they're not going to have him running. Makes Cam Newton much easier to defend. Now that that's public and that's out, and it's like, okay, he's got to stay in the pocket. Cam's easier to defend. The threat, even when he didn't run,

the threat of him running changed everything. The threat of him keeping the ball. Changes everything in the red zone. Now, if it's not a threat, much easier to defend. Joy with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So there's a lot of speculation about where Antonio Brown will play next season.

One team that he likely won't be with is the Tampa Bay Bucks. The Bucks recently hired Bruce Ariens as their next head coach. He was on the podcast with Adam Schaefter. And Arian says he hasn't liked what he's heard out of Pittsburgh regarding Antonio Brown. Yeah, it's just too much miscommunication, too much diva. You know, I just don't heard so many stories. And like Antonio, he plays as hard as anybody on Sunday. And he practices hard.

They just got to make better decisions off the field, be on time, do some of those little things. I'll still go back to this. Joy, there's one team that seems so obvious. There's two things with Antonio Brown. Number one, Pittsburgh doesn't want to send him somewhere where he comes back and burns him. Right. So take out New England, the AFC North, and most of the AFC. you want to send him somewhere NFC.

Who in the NFC is in a tough division that needs to make a pop? 49ers. Arizona. In Arizona, yeah. Okay, so Seattle's got Russell and Pete. They're going to be formidable. San Francisco's got Kyle Shanahan, Garoppolo comes back, and the Rams have McVeigh, Gurley, Aaron, Donald, and golf. Arizona's got a big 12 coach who got whacked.

Larry Fitzgerald's about to retire, if he hasn't already. and to me, Arizona, Pittsburgh can send him there and maybe have to face him once in eight years. Because I don't think Arizona's getting out of the NFC West for the next four to five years, and by that time, Antonio Brown's out of his prime. Arizona seems to me like an obvious fit.

If they don't roll the dice in Arizona and, like, change, kind of shift the paradigm. That GM's out of work. I just, as a football fan, I would not like to see him in Arizona. I just don't think, everything is you just, described is just not, that doesn't enthuse me. I'd rather see him in San Francisco with Jimmy G. You know, make a splash. Let it be interesting. I still maintain that they're going to try and

make it work in Pittsburgh. They're going to try and get everybody in a room and sort it out, but it may just be too far down the road to fix things. So Kyler Murray's made a name for himself in both football and baseball. He was drafted in the first round of MLB dropped by the Oakland A's, won the Heisman Trophy. And he committed to the Oakland A's last summer. However, he just entered his name in the 2019 NFL draft, keeping his option open. Well, Dion Sanders, who played in the NFL and MLB, was asked if Kyla Murray would be able to pull off playing to professional sports, and this was his response. Quarterbacks, you don't have that luxury. You're the leader.

You got to have chemistry with your receivers. You've got to be there 100% of the time in season and out. So it's a little tougher for a quarterback to try to do so. If I was in his shoes, I'm picking up the baseball bat, and I'm not looking back. Interesting advice from Dionne there. He is suggesting that he just goes all in on baseball. Now, if he does go to the combine, if Kyle and Mary does go to the combine, he has to return about $4.5 million, a little over $4.5 million, a little over $4.5 million

in the signing bonus back to the A's. And they're considering him letting him do the combine as well. I mean, to me at this point, it's whatever's in his heart. He should just do whatever is going to make him the happiness. He's going to make money in either sport. Yeah, he's going to make, I mean, the bottom line, what matters? Like, if you want to be famous, go play football. You're going to disappear in baseball.

If you go to the A's, nobody cares. You don't even be the most popular. You're not even on the best team in the Bay Area. So if you want to disappear, go play baseball, let's say you love each equally and they can both play. And if both can pay you and you love both equally. Well, that's kind of where it is. Okay, so what matters?

Football matters in America. Regular season matters. the draft matters, the playoffs matter, the Super Bowl matters. Like if you want to be part of the national narrative, like guys like me talking about you every week, then you play football. If the money's the same and the passion's the same, then I think it comes down to where can I make more in endorsements,

where can I be a bigger deal, where can I impact a city, then it's football. If the passion tips in either direction, go with what you enjoy more. And just as a note, while we're on this topic, Jalen Hertz, just put out a announcement in the Players Tribune. he will be playing at Oklahoma next season. Oh, Jalen Hurts, the Alabama kid.

To my Alabama family is the title. And, yeah, so Jalen Hertz will be. And he can play right away. In Oklahoma next season. Oh, that'll be fine. Good for him. Good for him. Yep, so that's happening.

So finally, LeBron James has been out since he suffered a left groin injury. Christmas Day against the Warriors. He's missed 11 games. Lakers have gone 4 and 7 in his absence. They did win last night over the Bulls. 107, 100. But they're going to have to wait for LeBron to return. LeBron's agent, Rich Paul, told ESPN.

that LeBron will miss at least the next two games, and he will not travel with the team to Oklahoma or Houston. He's never missed more than eight straight games with an injury in his last 15 seasons in the league. That makes this the longest absence of his career. They've slipped from fourth place in the West, and they're falling quickly. When do we panic?

Is it panic time yet? No. It feels like we're on the trail to Panicville. I don't think we're in panic. It's like we're at the crossroads, and it's like Panicville. and we're trying to decide which way to go. I don't think we're there.

That's kind of how it feels. Let's talk about Luke Walton getting fired. Well, that that's what I... They're losing to some of the worst teams in the league. For the record, you and I don't think Luke should be fired. We're just saying he may get fired. I don't think he should be fired. Either do I.

I think he's fine. I don't think Luke Wald's the issue. I think the issue is they need another star. Yes. Just like every other team in the league that is in contention, has multiple stars. Think about this. Think about the Utah Jazz are in L.A. tonight.

They have Donovan Mitch. Gortad, the big center. Rudy Gaubert, best defensive player in the league. Joe Ingalls is a great shooting forward. They have a tremendous coach. They're struggling. It's hard to win in this league

if you don't have transcendent stars. Utah's got good, good players. They're in a solid team. But if we're talking about competing for a championship, and not even that. Like, Brandon Ingram is supposed to be that for the Lakers. Kuzma had a jump where he felt like he could be that guy. They need a guy.

They need the guy. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Line News. Chris Brousard's going to join us next. Some thoughts on Luke Walton. The rumors coming out that he could be in trouble.

That's next in L.A. It's The Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. By the way, report out. Gronk considering retirement. Look it up. Chris Broussard's joining us. New York Times. The voice of the NBA on this network.

All right, so I'm going to throw this out, Chris. I heard two days ago from an executive I trust. There are rumors about Luke Walton being in trouble. Buy it, don't buy it. I do buy it. I spoke with an executive yesterday who told me the same thing. There's a feeling that if this thing continues to spiral south, magic can get emotional and that that could lead to Luke being in trouble.

Now, the thing, of course, is that Jeannie Bust, the owner, is solidly in Luke's corner. So I believe Luke will make it through this season. But is he the coach next year? I would bet against it. How do you feel, I mean, LeBron can be restless. David Black got canned and they were in first place in the east. What's the LeBron impact on Luke?

The relationship, the feeling behind the scenes? Well, LeBron is totally about, can I? a championship with this guy. That's it. Like, it's not can we be good? Because I think they should feel like, hey, we could get to the Western Conference Finals if we avoid Golden State in the earlier rounds. But that's not, LeBron's not satisfied with that. So if he doesn't feel like the coach or the players are championship caliber,

that's when he's going to get restless, as you said. Now, I don't know that he doesn't like Luke or anything like that. So I'm not, you know, I don't know how much, how LeBron feels. about Luke. I think Luke should be safe. Like, at least for now. Yeah. Whether or not he's a coach going forward next season, that remains to be seen.

But I don't think he should be in trouble. They don't have LeBron. They don't have Reijon Rondo. And what I put this losing streak, and they've really blown it without LeBron. Because even without those guys, you should beat Cleveland. You should beat New York at home. Okay. So they've blown it.

but I put that more on the players than Luke. There are times you look at the coach and you say, oh, it's him. I'm looking at Lanzo ball and Brandon Ingram, and I'm wondering why they can't bring fire and intensity every night. When you are on the team in any sport, you play sports in high school, when your star is hurt, you don't want him to be hurt, but when he's hurt, you feel like, hey, more shots for me.

This is my turn. I can handle the ball now. This is my turn to shine, and I just don't see it in those guys. I think Kuzma and Hart have heart. They bring intensity. Sometimes they're just not good, but I like their approach every night. Ingram and Lanzo, I don't see leadership and I don't see intensity. If you're going to talk promoted and demoted, I think the most substantial thing that's happened to the Lakers this year is Kuzma has separated from Brandon Ingram.

No question. And that the Lakers, I've been told, have made a decision that Ingram simply not. great at anything, where they think Kuzma is becoming very good at several things. That, to me, has been the story this year, is that Kuzma and Ingram went in and Kuzma separated. I agree. And what this season, one thing it was about was seeing who LeBron has around him. And I thought this stretch, if LeBron had to be hurt, this was the best stretch for it to happen,

because you had a lot of winnable games. And now you found out what you have outside of LeBron, which is very little. You know, so there was this narrative growing like, man, we certainly won Anthony Davis, but do we want to part with Coosma? Like if it's going to cost us coos? And again, I like Coos, but you know what? Yeah, if I have to give him up, I'm going to try to keep him. But if giving him up is necessary for me to get Anthony Davis, then so be. All these guys can go.

Now you see these guys are okay. Now, LeBron and them are still good enough. I'm looking at the West. Denver doesn't scare me. Houston doesn't scare me. Portland doesn't scare me. The Clippers, like, outside of Golden State, if you get the right matchups in the playoffs,

the Lakers should be thinking, hey, that's what we're shooting for. And who knows, maybe an injury at the Golden State or whatever. I want to throw, there is this presumption that, like, Anthony Davis will be a Laker. But let me just throw this out there. Kauai Leonard, I believe, is coming west. And Jimmy Butler in Philadelphia, there already is rattling going on. Jimmy Butler's in L.A. constantly.

Right. Well, the Clippers don't have that much interest in Jimmy Butler. Okay. Okay, just because his attitude issues are, they're the same thing in Philadelphia. Chicago, Minnesota, Philly. And haven't won any of the place. Now, I will say they're playing well with Butler.

in Philly. They are winning. But I'm told that he is driving some people batty. In Philly. Yeah. Just because of the same things as it was in the other two places. So there are some around the league that believe the Sixers may trade

him before the deadline. Wow. Now again, they're winning with him so I don't know that they'll do it. But here's the thing. They don't want that attitude. You don't want that attitude around your young stars, Ben Simmons, and Joel Limby.

There's already a little tension between them just because both of them want to be the man. And do you want to give five years to a guy that's already, what, 30 years old that has a bad attitude and have him be the example for your other guys? He's got a bad attitude and he's going to be a free agent. So what's he going to be like? When you pay him. Right. And so if you're not going to keep him, and I'm not saying it's definite they won't, but this is scuttled but around the league.

If they're not going to keep him, then you might want to trade him before the deadline and try to get something for him. So there's that. I do think Kawhi Leonard's coming to the Clippers. Yeah, I've been told that. Anthony Davis, the Lakers, yeah, obviously they're one of the front runners, but Boston is going to have a ton of offer, as we all know. And if I'm Boston, I'm using my young pieces to get Anthony Davis

and build around Kyrie and Anthony Davis. Now, the Knicks, don't rule out the Knicks, I'm telling you. People are looking at New York just as it'd be a great place to be. If you can go there and win, it's good for you. And Anthony Davis is 25. If he goes to New York, the pressure's not going to be win right away. You will have time to grow with Porzingis, with that coaching staff, Dave Fisdale, and add some pieces.

And maybe by the time he's 27 or 28, you'll be ready to try. to win a championship. By the way, what do you make of this nonsense that James Hardens the best offensive player of all time? I just read the Wall Street Journal and Daryl Morey's tweeting me and all this nonsense. What do you make about the guy who travels all the time? Look, I love James Harding. I like his game too.

You know what I really like about him is that he reminds us that basketball is a game of skill. You know, Larry Bird was not athletic compared to NBA players. Magic Johnson wasn't wildly athletic, but they were the best players in the world at that time. Post- Michael Jordan, everybody began feeling like you had to be this super freak athlete to be the best player in the world. That's not how basketball has typically worked. And Hardin shows us that, man, if you have skills, Steph Curry shows us too. If you have skills, then you can excel in this game. So I love that about it. But no. Best player, I mean,

his usage rate is through the roof. Yeah, I mean, he's got the ball in his hands the whole game. Right. And by the way, when Chris Paul, I mean, is everybody acknowledging now, when If Chris Paul gets back, big minutes, the usage rate goes down. He's not scoring 50. No, no. And that's going to be interesting. I was talking to a scout yesterday, and he was wondering how that was going to work. First of all, Chris Paul was not playing all that well before he got hurt.

15 points a game, shooting percentage down, which is unusual for him. Is he going to, like, he's going to obviously play a lot when Hardin's on the bench. But when he's in, when he's playing with Hardin, that's going to be, because right now, it is all James Hardin. Again, his usage rate is, I mean, he has the ball the whole possession. It's unbelievable. Let me say something about the usage rate. 10 seconds.

I'll skip it. But hard, no, not the best in the world. You got to do it in vain. He is your MVP right now. Yes, no question. I don't have a big argument with that. He's lightning. All right.

Hour three next. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Ah, here we go. We are live in Los Angeles. This is the herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1.

By the way, earlier today, major, major weather, breaking news. Breaking news. The Arctic blast in Kansas City is not happening. So earlier this week, Arctic Blast is going to be minus 15. I went on the record saying that's a major negative for Kansas City who's got all the speed guys and the deep throwing and your crowd's going to be wearing like ski masks and mufflers and all headed out. And then John came out today and said, now the new weather forecast is going to be like 19 degrees. Well, that's a big nothing burger.

That doesn't mean anything. Well, it's the Midwest. The weather can change in a day. I mean, in Pittsburgh, it can be 60 degrees. And the next day, it's 20. But if it's 20 degrees or 19 degrees, then it doesn't mean anything. No, I mean, that's not, that's what we expected it to be January in Kansas City. Well, who's the weather goofball that said it was going to be?

That's what the weather said it was going to be. Everyone was reporting it. Now it's changed. That's what weather does. I'd like to walk up to a weather guy punch him right in a forehead. They're just making junk up. I think that goes badly for you. You said you've been in one fight in your life.

My whole show Tuesday was on the Arctic blast, the whole show. What the time that was at? accurate. What do you always say? You update, right? You base your opinions on new information. The weather people, the meteorologists have the computers. Yes. Okay, yes. Yes, they do. They have radars? That's why it's different. Or is this what they're doing? Ah, they had clouds over there. Arctic blast. There was an Arctic blast coming and now it's not. That's good news. This is good news for everyone. I'd fire the whole meteorologist staff. I'd fire. You fire them if they said the Arctic blast isn't coming. And then all of a sudden it is.

We got a guy in L.A., Dallas rains. Okay, he says sunny, it's sunny every time. Guy hasn't missed in 40 years. Guy in Kansas City, we care about the weather once in Kansas City ever, he butchers it. I'm looking at weather.com right now. It says it's a low of 18 on Sunday. That's nothing. That means nothing to me.

18, that's like saying it's 70 in L.A. It means nothing because that's what we expected it to be in Kansas City in January. Dallas Rain said it's sunny, it's sunny. A hundred years in a row. It's... Guy in Kansas City, first time ever we care, he's like, literally there'll be birds coming from the sky. Arctic blast. Hour later.

It's like, that's 20. Wasn't it an hour later? That's a big jerk out there. Jesus. That's why the weather channel is not based in Kansas City. You're only upset because the Chiefs took it personally that you said that the fans weren't going to be able to yell because of their scarves over their faces.

Anyway, not in a good mood. 15 minutes, Derek Johnson, all time great for the Kansas City Chiefs, going to be joining us right in the studio. So that's going to be unbelievable. Later, best for last, the most underrated person in NFL history. But I'm reading this headline this morning. Oh, Lord, Tom Brady has fewer postseason road wins than Mark Sanchez, which is obvious because

New England plays so few road games in the playoffs. So let me start there. I hear this a lot. And I understand fan is short for fanatic. People go to games, pay money, love their team, love their city. But I hear this a lot. Well, I mean, New England has feasted on a lame division. That's a real break.

You are absolutely right. You are absolutely right. But do you realize every current dynasty got a huge break, or they would not be a dynasty? Think about Nick Saban. This is a 10-year dynasty. Tennessee football, top 12 program, been a disaster. LSU can't get an elite coach. either can rival Auburn until recently Georgia was a mess and Florida just now got the right coach.

If Nick Saban was facing an elite coach at any one of those schools annually for the last 10 years, they're not getting out of the SEC. They're probably still winning 10 and 11 games, but Florida has been a dumpster fire. Tennessee's been a dumpster fire. LSU, Auburn can't get a world-class coach. Georgia just got one finally after eight years of Nick kicking their bot. That's not to say Alabama wouldn't be great. You wouldn't have this dynasty.

Let's talk about the Golden State dynasty. They got a huge break. Steph Curry got hurt very early in his career. And he signed a skimpy contract, tiny contract, a good player contract. He instantly, next year, becomes MVP. The contract allows them to fortify their bench, keep Draymond and Clay, and add Kevin Durant. You do realize pre-Durant they lost in the finals. You do not have that dynasty without Steph Curry's injury.

The Troy Aikman Jimmy Johnson Cowboy Dynasty. Oh, they don't won games. They'd have been good. But the New York Giants and Bill Parcells, they were good in that division, better than Dallas. Bill Parcell's left. Ray Handley took over. they became one of the worst coach teams in the league. And Joe Gibbs was making Washington a power in the NFL.

He retired. They hired Richie Pettybone to Norv Turner. They've since never recovered. If Bill Parcells and Joe Gibbs are going toe-to-toe with Jimmy for years, he's not getting out of that division every year. And if he is, he's beat up. He doesn't have home field. He's losing too many games in division.

Look at the Spurs Dynasty. break. Shaq and Kobe, Phil Jackson, you had the two best closers in the league, the best coach, and at the time the Lakers were the number one free agency brand. Tim Duncan and the Spurs do not ever have a dynasty. First three years, they're winning titles. They get along. Del Harris years, they get along. Then they get a divorce. And then the Spurs dynasty starts with Tim Duncan. When Kobe and Shaq had won three straight, Kobe still had six prime years left. Shack about four. Those are just the prime years. They still had the best coach. They were the number one brand in the NBA for free agents. Saban, Cowboys, Spurs. Those dynasties got huge breaks. Or they're

just really, really good teams that win a championship like the Seattle Seahawks. Yes. the Patriots have feasted on the Bills, Jets, and the Miami Dolphins dysfunction. And every, every dynasty needs a big break or two. All right, let's shift gears to this. There are four teams left, New England, Kansas City, Ramsains. If you are an NFL player, and unless you're in these games, the other 28 teams, there is one team you have to root for. You have to root for the Rams if you're a player.

New England has been bad for players. New England rolls their eyes at stars. New England doesn't pay anybody. Even Tom Brady is not a top 8 to 10 paid quarterback. New England is winning with depth, underpaying virtually everybody. They're winning with a system. That's not good for players. For years and years, journalists didn't make anything.

You had the CBS News Division. CNN covers the world. And then Rupert Murdoch created Fox about outspoken individual political commentators. And they beat CNN. And now people like Rachel Maddow can make over 10 million a year. You should send Rupert Murdoch a thank you. He changed the paradigm. It was no longer about having the beefiest news division.

It was about having people with strong opinions left or right that people became huge fans of, and it made a lot of people rich. But the Rams are different. Something happened last year in the NFL. Philadelphia decided, we're going to go big on free agency. and they beat the system, New England. And what happened? Jay Glazer discusses what happened after Philly won splurging big in free agency.

Last couple of years, free agency's been a bad game of fantasy football. Guys whose names are big who are getting overpaid and you just don't win that way. You don't build. And a lot of teams realize that. We're like, we're not doing this. We're not going and throwing a boatload of money than Domagin's, and all those guys. It's not a huge type of market because it just doesn't work that way.

It's you got to build through the draft and you got to, you got to smartly go get an Andrew Whitworth. But then all of a sudden, the Philadelphia Eagles happened last year. And the Eagles went out and they got guys like Alshan Jeffrey and the Chris Longs. And then they traded for J.I. They almost played this game that has become taboo in free agents. And all of a sudden, Philly had success with it.

And that's why I think you see all these teams this year. They have changed their ways. They're like, oh, because it's a whatever you've done for me lately league. Absolutely. So Philadelphia last year went big into free agency and beat the system. The Rams this year went big into free agency. And in this copycat league, if they beat New Orleans, get to the Super Bowl and win it, great for players.

Amari Cooper going to Dallas, winning the division, great for stars. Kalee Mack going to Chicago, winning a division, great for star. great for star defensive players. This is a copycat league. If you're a player, you are rooting for the Rams. You want to not only sign with a team for four years, but then if you outperform your team, go on the free agent market and the best teams come after you.

That's leverage. That drives your price up. NBA's always been about free agency. I've been following the NBA for 40 years. It's always about collecting stars. The NFL, New England's been, the opposite of that. New England has said stars the silly teams. The teams that aren't prudent, aren't responsible. Miami, Buffalo, Houston, the silly teams go after free agency.

Rams win this weekend off the Eagles championship last year. March and April, NFL free agency will be absolutely huge. You should root for your own economy. That's not saying as a player in any sport, you don't want to win championships. You have families, you have legacies, you got bank accounts. Teams will move off you. Be ready to move off them. Players this weekend, root for the Rams. Former Kansas City Chief Great Derek Johnson has played in the Kansas City Cold. He is going to be joining us in studio. All excited for that coming up next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon

Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports

slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field

and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses.

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

as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app, Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness.

So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies, I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levan this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history.

You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you get your podcast. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them?

On hurdle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WNBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star, Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like.

you, but don't ever feel like you don't belong. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. We are now talking to a guy that's going to be a first ballot Hall of Famer. A decade and a half in the NFL, 13 of those years were the Kansas City Chiefs, all-time leading tackler for the Kansas City Chiefs, which when you look at their history of the Willie Lanier's and the great players in Kansas City, that in itself is remarkable. A multiple-time All-Pro and a Pro bowler. And somebody who, his last memory of Kansas City is a difficult loss, Derek Johnson, free agent linebacker, 36 would play, not looking for money, looking for a smart team where he can win

playoff games. Let's, let's, and I've said this, there are organizations where you can kind of feel that pressure hanging over you. So you combine Andy Reid, who's been a great coach, struggled in some big games, and in Kansas City last year, your last, you know, big game there, they lose, they blow that huge lead against Tennessee. It almost feel like, it feels like Kansas City historically

has been a little jinxed. Can you sense that? You know what? I wouldn't say jinx. There's just some things that happened that was out of our control. But at the same time, man, we've had some great years in Kansas City since Andy Reid stepped in that organization,

especially the five years I was with them. We won every year. We won every year. We had a winning record. Yeah. Went to went to the playoffs. Some things happened if you want to go down a list. Well, you face Peyton Manning, Brady, Ben. You guys were in a era when you faced three of the best AFC quarterbacks of all time.

Exactly, exactly. And some things happen where it's out of control. But at the same time, Andy Reid is a proven coach in this lead. So I think anybody would take Andy Reid as a head coach. And you can win with Andy Reid. I mean, especially now you have this quarterback, this is this Pat Mahomes quarterback. man, you can do the sky's the limit. Okay, let's talk about Mahomes.

So your last year in Kansas City, he's a baby. Patrick Mahomes comes in. Kansas City moves up in the draft to get him. Take me to the first time you're at a practice, you're CNM, and you thought to yourself, whoa, this is all different. It really would. Every day, every day, he would just mess up the defense. I mean, he would throw the ball, no look passes here and there.

And I've always thought, like, man, I would get mad at. I'm like, hey, stop messing around. Like, you know, throw the ball, look us off a little bit and throw the ball. But this is what he does. Like, he looks off and his eye control, his eye manipulation is crazy. He will be looking this way and throw the ball this way.

And I'm like, Coach, he's messing around. That's why, you know, they'll fuss at you. Like, hey, don't let him throw the ball in there. I'm like, hey, he looked this way and threw the ball this way. So it was one of those things where it was some special things going on. And we would just look back and be marveled at him.

at his ability to throw the ball, side on. I mean, he did all this in practice. Like he was working on what he does in the game throughout the whole year being a scout team quarterback. And I see it like firsthand right now. I'm like, oh, I've seen that throw all the time. So you were with Andy for five years. Andy's known as a great teacher and mentor,

not only to players, but coaches. If I said to you, give me one thing you learn from Andy Reed that maybe other coaches didn't teach you or you thought separated Andy from other coaches. what would that be? I would say his confidence level and the way he goes about things. He's a guy that's always harps on the little things. Like he's all about, I mean, showing up to meetings on time,

just doing the little things right. So when you get on the big stage, you can make big things happen. But I still remember, I don't know if it was 2015 or something like that. We went one in five. And he came in. Usually coaches, they come in. And it's time for a chewing session. We was one in five.

He walked in and said, hey, guys, we're not far off. Keep working. Keep doing this. He's very calm. And I'm looking around like, wow. Like, okay, like, okay, we can do this. Let's do it. We went on a 9-10 game winning streak, make the playoffs.

I mean, this is coming from Andy Reed. He's a type of coach that can get all his guys playing on the high level. You face Belichick four or five times in your career. Andy Reid's had some success, two and two against Bill with a couple of blowout wins. Belichick is more of a defensive guy. So you're a defensive player. You wouldn't face his offensive genius. But when you would prepare to face Belichick, what was that week of practice like?

You know what? It's all about making sure your mindset is right when you play the Patriots. You've got to make sure your mindset is right. They're battle tested. Patriots are bad. battle tested regardless of their record, regardless of what they do good, what they do bad, they're battle tested. So even though they're going on the road to Kansas City, Kansas City has to start fast. You have to start fast.

You have to put that doubt in their mind like, hey, this is going to be a long day for you. This is a different chief's team. We've got a different quarterback. This is different mentality. And going against, I mean, being on defense, it's all about going against Tom Brady. Let's segue into that. Tom is known as very good pre-snap. I think he and Peyton Manning in my lifetime

are probably the best pre-snap quarterbacks, not the biggest arm, not the greatest athlete. Were there tricks to Tom? Were there little things when you face him that you as a veteran would get that maybe a younger player wouldn't? Give me your experience against Tom. Well, being the inside backer of the Kansas City Chief,

especially the last five years with Andy Reid, when we go against Tom Brady, I'm like the quarterback of the defense. So when you're in the middle, that eye-controlled, hearing what he's saying, getting his checks, making sure the defense is on the same page, disguising different things. Because one thing about Tom Brady, he knows his job, but he knows your job just as well as you do. I mean, that's how well he is on the field.

And that's why he's so quick at getting the ball out to his players. And you can't really touch him. I mean, it's one thing to say, man, go blitz them, go put everybody on them. You ain't going to be able to touch them if you blitz them like that because you put less people in the coverage and the ball comes out so fast. So you didn't blitz Tom? Not really. That really wasn't the plan at the time. I don't know the plan that's going to be on this Sunday.

But you as the leader. For what I've had in the past, you want to rush four or three at a time. But at the same time, you want to put more people in the coverage. You want them to hold a ball. You want to try to get him the hold of ball. maybe get Justin Houston or D. Ford to beat their one-on-one pass rush. And at times you want to put, and Chiefs do this now, at times you want to put those fast guys on the guards.

Because the guards, they can't dance like Ford and Houston do, so they can sit them down and go right around them, and they can't handle that speed. So, I mean, it's a lot of things you can do, mixing up the pass rush without just rushing. and four at a time traditionally, you can put two of the guys on the same side, like four in Houston. That's what Chargers tried to put Ingram, Bosa, same side, move him inside. That's great.

Essentially, Brady is the opposite of most quarterbacks. You don't blitz. There's no real value in it. He's seen everything. He'll get rid of the ball. I mean, like Chargers last week, it was touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown. They looked lost.

They look frustrated. Like they didn't have a second gear against Tom. Yeah. And not that you, you do want to change us from things, show blitz at times, but maybe overload aside and then drop guys still rush three or four, but you can sometimes overload a side and they can say, hey, we're going to molly this way or molly that way. And if they molly the wrong way, because it happens at time, you can get a couple free rushers and you're only rushing three or four guys at a time.

So there's ways to manipulate the system as the linemen blocking, but it's not going to happen much because, man, Tom Brady's so good, man. He's so good. He's a guy that's well-respected in the league, and he's going to go to Kansas City. He's going to play well, but I don't think he's going to play well enough to overtake what the Kansas City Chiefs defense is doing right now at home. At home, they are a totally different team. I mean, when you, if everybody talks about, they throw out doubts about the Chief's defense at times. Those doubts, are on a way, on a way, on a way, yeah, road games because on shoot at home, there are there are number 11, number 12, defense in the league.

And if you want to count this postseason, postseason stat with the coats, they're probably top 10 defense in league. I mean, you can win with a top 10 defense at home in Kansas City because a road to Super Bowl goes through Kansas City with Pat Mahomes on your side. Man, it's a percentage wise. That's a good look. James Harrison. was on the show yesterday, he said he played in a game in Cleveland where it was so cold,

it really hurt tackling. You know, they said Arctic blast, now the updated weather forecast, it'll be in the teens, it'll be 16, 17. As a defensive player, does the weather really matter to you? And I understand, you know, as an offensive player, the ball slips. As a defensive player, does cold make you a little less efficient as a tackler? You know what? It does.

You've got to use your arms more. because at times you just want to block tackle down. You don't want to get as your hands involved just because it's so cold and your hands are so stiff. But I think it's harder on the offense side of the ball because you can't you're not going to get 40 and 50 points like a fair weather game. But at the same time

I mean it's going to be a great game. It's not going to be 40 to 43 like last time. It'll be more of a 24 27 game. But it's whoever gets the ball last man. And it's just, it's always going to be that way, especially with these two teams the way they are and they're playing at a high level. Yeah, you got two great quarterbacks, two legendary coaches, and God, I can't wait for it. By the way, you played 13 years with the Chiefs, and you played one year with the Raiders. You're 36. You're going to be a Hall of Fame. Half of a year. Half of a year.

Half of a year. Half of a year. But it is interesting about the functionality. You know, the Raiders were kind of a mess. The Chiefs for most of your career was really formidable. Sometimes I don't think fans understand this. An organization, Cleveland's issues are upstairs. The Browns are the Browns because of upstairs. The Chiefs generally have had really good ownership, the Hunt family. Oh, man. They've had really, really good front office people.

They've had really, really good coaches. Just your half year in Oakland. Was it a mess? You know what? We didn't see the mess. We didn't see the mess. They did a good job. I'm sure there's a lot of things going on upstairs that we were.

we didn't know about. They did a great job by making that separation, making it all about football, especially with the players. And I really like the locker room. I really like the locker room. Derek Carr, I mean, he's well respected in that locker room. Kimmerst D.U.I.'s on Sundays, we just couldn't get it done at the time. And I think that's when the back pelting started with John Gruden by saying, okay, we've got to cut this. I got this guy. Let's get some young players in there because things aren't going the way we planned. And I get it. So, It's no ill will towards that. But you did like the locker room.

I really did. I really did like the locker room. And you know what? Being a chief for all those years, you talk about the Raiders. That's like enemy territory. Right. But at the same time, man, those guys, especially being a guy that's been in a lead for 13, 14 years, I think they really respected me for that just off, even if they didn't know my name.

When you say, oh, man, this is my 14th year. It's a total respect. respecting. So I actually enjoy being in Oakland at the time. But Ken City is home. Yeah. Great seeing you, Derek. Hey, appreciate it. Thanks for having. Derek Johnson, 14 seasons, multiple pro bowls, all-time leading tackler with almost 1,200, a former first rounder who was the best high school linebacker in the country, the best college linebacker in the country, and one of the great NFL linebackers. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line.

news. So Matt LaFleure is the next head coach of Green Bay. Yeah. To bring the team back from a very disappointing 2018 season and create a relationship with Aaron Rogers. We'll get in a conversation with Peter King. And the floor said he's ready to get going with his star quarterback. He said he could hear the passion in his voice. I believe him when he says he wants to be coached and coached hard. All I really care about at this point is developing a relationship with him. I think we're both on the same page. He's a competitor and I cannot wait to get started with him.

Well, see. A lot of people say they want to. want to be coached hard. I think he does, actually. All right. I think that when you are on the level that Aaron Rogers is, you do want feedback. You do want someone that you can bounce ideas off of. I just think that you have to have a level of respect for the person that you're getting that feedback and ideas from.

I think the relationship with Mike McCarthy clearly deteriorated. And once you lose respect for someone and what their input is, you're not going to apply that. Most, it's interesting. Most years in the NFL, I love the NFL. And you and I will cover it from basically like August 1st, training camps, August 1st to like February 5th. This is a rare year. There have been so many interesting stories and there are so many great young quarterbacks. If the season ended, you gave me two weeks off.

I can't wait for the following year. Like I think Green Bay is going to be fascinating. Well, this year particularly, there's an unusually interesting free agent class with a couple of Super Bowl winning quarterbacks. minute. Garoppolo comes back. Wenz comes back. Rogers with a new coach. Like next year's storyline. Nick Foles, Joe Flacco, Levy on Bell, Antonio Brown. This Green Bay thing is going to be really interesting. Plus the draft, it will be very interesting. All right. So speaking of Foles, the Eagles have a tough decision this offseason between Nick Foles and Carson Wens. Most people are assuming Nick Foles is going to move on and they are going to stick with Carson Wence. And

Doug Peterson has already said his team is committed to Wence going forward. But Brett Fawkes said he would stick with the Super Bowl MVP instead. No disrespect at all of Carson West. I think he's already proven that he is a great quarterback, totally different than Nick Foles. Nick Foles to me is more of a Brady-esque type quarterback. Very limited in what he can do, but very, very good in what he does.

And he's proven that he can win the big games. I would go with Nick Foles. I really would. I really like what I really like what I. I've seen from both guys, but in particular, Nick Foles, especially considering the circumstances in which he's come in. Did you, did Brett Farr have watched the last hour of that game in New Orleans? Did Nick Foles look like, didn't you think to your, does everybody understand?

They didn't score a point after the first quarter. And I, and I, Philadelphia had a great year, tip of the cap, but we're going a little cray on Nick Foles. Are we? I think we are. God, it started. When I used to be on with Whitlock, it was like a year it was. relentless. I just, I can't, I can't.

I don't know. I just, I don't feel like the guy gets enough respect. I know you didn't like how that game ended. I think he's getting more respect. Yeah? You do? Yeah, I think we're giving him way more love than he, can we give the credit? We may be forgetting about how good Carson Wentz was when he was not injured, but he's been

injured. Do you believe? And the Eagles were not doing well when he wasn't injured. Doesn't everybody, isn't it reasonable to say that this team is so well run, so well coached, such a good roster, that if you put him on Miami, if you put Carson Wentz on a bad team and Nick

Foles on a bad team, which guy can carry you to wins when he has garbage around him? Isn't it obvious it's Wence? I think it's obvious that it's Wence, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Carson Wence is going, I mean, how do you explain how much better the Eagles are with Nicole?

Listen, listen, sometimes, how do you explain when it rains, like in Norway once a year, it rains fish? I don't think anybody can explain that. Why would people smoke? I can't explain that. Why does New Hampshire say you don't have to wear a helmet during a motorcycle ride? I can't explain everything.

I can't explain the Nick Foles thing. I can't explain why it rains fish in Norway. You're comparing Nick Foles to raining fish. Yeah, it's just you can't explain. It's ridiculous. Makes no sense. I think scientists have probably figured it out. Finally, the two-seed warriors traveled to Denver.

It's taken on one-seed nuggets last night, and they decided to put on a little show. They dropped 51 points in the first quarter, setting an NBA record for the most points in a quarter in the shot clock era. That included 10 three-pointers, which is a franchise record. By the way, it wasn't Denver the number one seed in the West? Yes. Look at that. That's embarrassing.

It is embarrassing. They beat the Nuggets, 142, 111, and they took over the top seed in the West. They're really just toying with people at this point. This is the thing. Does everybody understand that Golden State is the greatest offensive team ever? We don't even have a second place. They've got three of the greatest shooters in league history. So the whole season, they haven't played a lick of defense.

So last night they go to Denver, to Denver, altitude issue, number one seat, and they drop 50 in the first quarter. Fifty one. They cared. So last night, the Warriors, for the first time all season, cared for like an hour and just crushed people. They're on a five-game winning street, and they're of a 30-14 record overall. And if they hadn't annoyed you enough already, Boogie Cousins is supposed to be coming back on Friday. It's done. By the way, if I said this to you, Westbrook, Clay Thompson, who would you take today? Clay Thompson.

Thank you. I had this discussion yesterday with a drunk guy. He had to be because he said Westbrook. I mean, I like Westbrook. Obviously, I've told you that many times, but I think Clay Thompson is, I think Clay Thompson is very undervalued. Okay, so who plays actual defense? Clay. I mean, Clay is one of the top five two-way players in the league. Who's a better shooter in a shooter's league? I mean, so how question is Clay. Who's better physically right now and who's had knee surgeries? it's Clay Thompson. By the way, who's got no ego? I mean, literally no ego. Gulae, am I crazy on this? I think Clay Thompson's the most underrated player in the league. We had this argument in the meeting once. I'm not sure if you were there. It was that Clay could join any team in the league tomorrow and make them better.

There's a bunch of teams Westbrook wouldn't fit on, as great as he is. Every GM in the league. If LeBron right now could have Clay or Westbrook, he wouldn't want Westbrook on his team? I want Clay on his team. I mean, that's not a fit, though. That's not a fit. Clay has shown that he can play along multiple superstars and not only contribute but be the piece that puts them over the edge in many occasions. Clay Thompson, if anybody tracked this, Clay Thompson will be the NBA's greatest score who dribbled the least. It doesn't count for anything? He's the best just catch and shoot guy in the league. Ever.

That speeds up your offense an incredible amount. He never, super efficient. He can sit in a corner. He's not a ball hog. He doesn't need a huge usage rate. He moves around the floor, get him a shot, boom, cat shoot. Clay Thompson's so underrated. I agree.

I don't know for sure if that guy was drunk, but I assumed he was. It was like noon. And he said, I think Westbrook's better than Clay, and I'm like, oh, you've been drinking. I mean, it's five o'clock somewhere, right? Yeah, that's right. Tokyo, the guy was happy out. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. Coming up, most underrated person in NFL history, that is next in best for last. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Sunday, Todd Gurley and the Rams take on Drew Brees and the Saints in the NFC championship game, presented by Induit TurboTax Live. Coverage begins at 1 Eastern 10 a.m. Pacific on Fox and the Fox Sports Act. I actually think that's the better game. It's the early game Sunday, but networks go.

The way the NFL does it, they go back and forth every year. So next year, the NFC championship game will be the late one. This year, the AFC championship game is the late one. They just go, the NFL changes. They don't want to be unfair to the networks because the second game always gets the higher rating. Rams Saints to me, and I talked a lot about Kansas City, New England today, and just because of the topics, I think Rams Saints on Fox is going to be the best playoff game so far. And we've had some good ones.

I think it's going to be unbelievable. I think it's going to be the bet because if you really look at some of the playoff games, like this past weekend, like Kansas City controlled Indy. And I mean, the Rams controlled. The best game was really, you know, it was the Eagles and the Saints. I don't think the Saints are good enough to blow out the Rams, but I think the home field advantage ensures the Saints won't get blown out. I think Rams Saints, we'll talk more about this tomorrow.

I think that's the game. I think it'll be the best playoff game so far. I really do. You're talking about two great coaches, Hall of Fame quarterback against a very good quarterback. You have star running backs. You have big time star receivers. You have two of the best old lines in football.

You have a Rams defense where Marcus Peters at corner against Thomas for the Saints could be a classic matchup. I do think the Rams are the better team right now. They've rebooted. They got rest. They're healthy. I just think there's a reason the Saints are favored. I think the Superdome is a whole different deal.

It is. I'm glad it's a dome. So we'll be able to see the best from each of these offenses without the weather inhibiting them, but the Rams were just so impressive this weekend. But it goes back to, I don't think New England can duplicate that performance. And I don't think the Rams can duplicate that performance. I mean, basically, when I do sports pick Blazing Five. I always look for a team that played poorly.

They'll bounce back. And I look for a team that was brilliant. They won't play as well. I remember taking Indianapolis Colts to beat the Cowboys. And the Colts had just played the Jacksonville recently. that were terrible. And the coach, Colboys had played like three straight great games. And I'm like, you can't keep these. Nobody plays like New England every week. That was the best I've ever seen New England playing. By the way, that's as good as the Rams have played in like eight weeks.

It might have been the best New England's played all year. All year. I'm like, you're not going to go in nine degrees and play like that again. So I'm not saying Kansas City's going to win. I'm saying New England's going to be flawed. They're going to drop passes. They're going to have more penalties. Rams were unbelievable. The question is, Rams won't play that well. Can they play their B-plus game and go to New Orleans and win? And I think you can make an argument they can't. I think Rams Saints will be the playoff game in the NFL this year.

I think it could be better than the Super Bowl. I think it'll be that good. By the way, everybody knows I love Andy Reid and a big Andy Reid supporter and the Fox Sports Marketing Department. You know, they came to me and said, listen, you've been, you know, we would like to help you kind of promote Andy Reid because, you know, we support you. And so they made a series of promos supporting Andy Reid. And I think it's very thoughtful of the Fox marketing department.

Here's their first one. Sunday, Andy Reid will become one of only five head coaches ever to appear in six conference championships. If you didn't know that, you better learn to read. I think that's pretty classy. And by the way, we're not making that stuff up. That's actually true. So here's the second one. Sunday, Andy Reid.

heads into action with 12 playoff wins already under his belt. That's more than lame coaches like John Madden, Bill Walsh, and Bill Parcells ever had. Think this list is misleading? Read it and we. That's fairly awful. That was not... Listen, we do a lot of good work here. That wasn't part of it.

Kind of a jab at some legends there. It was kind of a shot at Parcells, who I love. We have one more. Go ahead, run it. Sunday, you'll see the ultimate lock for MVP Patrick Mahomes continue his record-shattering season. Think he did it on his own? No, he had the need for read.

My bad. I think we topped the, that wasn't. That was not. I think the first one was the strongest. First one was what we would do. John, yay or nay, we have one more. Yay or nay, what? All right, let's roll the last one. Sunday, the Chiefs will roll into action behind a coach

who has the all-time best winning percentage in franchise history. And if you think that coach stinks, then you must be smoking read. Now that has a very Colorado feel to it. I kind of like that one. It's California too. Now I like that one.

Smoke and read, you know, the play on. Yes, yeah. Weed? Yes, I got it, Colin. Maybe those weren't our best. Fox would like to apologize for the following marketing. Fox Sports would like to formally apologize for the subpar quality of the previous promotional announcements.

It is clear our marketing department got carried away. Yeah, we're taking it to a new level today. I like it. When are you going to announce your big picks? I'm all announcing with you. I don't, are we just going to pick the games too? Are you just going to do? No, I'm doing Blazing.

Do you know the highest rated segment last week? One of our highest was the Blazing Four. We weren't even going to do it. As America's media icon, I am now, shifting game lines. And I'm just moving. Does that make you nervous that people No, actually, I never

Listen, so I pick games straight up. And so far there's been eight playoff games. I got all of them right. Six one and one against the spread. One of the games this week I feel really strongly about and one of the games I'm trying to convince myself not to do something which my heart is telling me. So you're going against your gut.

Here's my, here's the way when I make pick. what is my initial reaction? What is my initial reaction? And then I try to guess the line. And if my guess is close, then it's generally not a blazing five pick. In one of the games, my guess on the line was not close, telling me Vegas knows something. And so I tend to lean toward, if I can guess it close, it's a pass. If I'm off on something, Vegas knows something I don't.

And so I... So you have a bit of a process to it. There's no question I have a bit of a process to it. I will say this, and I said this earlier, if you're a player, you should really root for the L.A. Rams. Because the Eagles last year and the Rams this year went way into free agency, and it has been great for them. And not only free agency, just player-friendly environment and culture.

And you and I love the NBA. NBA has always been a free agency league. Right. The NFL's been always very kind of standoffish on free agency, and that was doubled down because the Patriots are almost anti-free agency. So in a copycat league, New England made free agency almost silly. Like you're not prudent with your money. And then Philadelphia came out and said, no, we're going to spend it.

And they beat New England. And now the Rams come out. So if New England loses Rams win, the message to copycat GMs is, go spend money in March. And it's funny because they're not a. ton of great free agents joy this year. There's a lot of good players. There's not a ton, you know, Antonio Brown is going to get traded. He's a great player. But most of the free agents this year are good, solid players. And my take is it's going to be a very lively free agent year.

By the way, tomorrow Greg Kosell, NFL meat sandwich, and Plaxico Burris, who's always a fun guest. He'll be joining us on the show tomorrow. Upgrade to Casper, MLK, weekend sale. Get $100 off when you spend a thousand or more today. Plus I'll give you another 25 bucks for later. All the details, casper.com. Terms and conditions apply. Additional fees may apply for Hawaii and the beautiful people and the beautiful land in Alaska. We'll see you tomorrow. 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 SportsSlic. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Life is full of hurdles, so how do you keep going?

On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we're talking with the most. inspiring women in sports and wellness from professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions about the challenges that shape them and the mindset that keeps them moving forward. At our level, at this scale, being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports.

I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on, a Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multimillion dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Thank you.