The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Straight Fire w/ Jason McIntyre - The Draymond Stomp Game & What Jalen Hurts' Deal Means for Lamar Jackson

Episode Date: April 18, 2023

On today's episode, Jason gets the party started by sharing his thoughts on the Sacramento Kings' Game 2 win over the Golden State Warriors. Sacramento going up 2-0 would've been the headline were in not for Draymond Green's inexplicable chest stomp of Domantas Sabonis. Green should be suspended for Game 3. The Warriors have appeared overmatched through the first two games - both offensively and defensively - and if they don't turn things around back in Golden State they won't make it to the second round. Later, Super Producer Rob G (Robert Guerra) checks in to help break down Jalen Hurts' massive contract extension with the Philadelphia Eagles. The deal is a clear win for Hurts and only time will tell if it's a win for the Eagles, too. With Hurts signing his mega deal, all eyes now focus on Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. It's become abundantly clear that Jackson won't be getting that $250 million fully-guaranteed deal he's been seeking, but maybe he can get $180 million or so in a shorter-term deal from Baltimore; That seems to be the best compromise for all parties involved. Finally, the guys close the show by giving their Best Bets for the Tuesday night NBA postseason action.  Click here to subscribe, rate and review all of the latest Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre podcasts! #Volume #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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This is Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. What is up, Straight Fire, fam? It's your boy, Jason McIntyre, Straight Fire. For Tuesday, April 18th, we are, Officially on Tuesday, I just got finished watching the Sacramento Kings pull away in the fourth quarter, bullying the Warriors. Folks, a stunning development. We're technically recording this at 1 a.m. East Coast time. It's 10 o'clock on the West Coast, and I can't believe what I just saw.

It was one of those moments where I told Rob, G. Rob, I'm just going to record right now. I'm just fired up about the game. This is going to be forever known as the Draymond Green Stomp game. If you went to bed early, you missed some drama. You know, Draymond Green is at the center of it. But the big picture here is the Golden State Warriors down O2 to the Sacramento Kings for the first time in Steph Curry's career. This is his 28th playoff series. Steph Curry is down O2 in a playoff series.

I know a lot of people like the Warriors in this one. People didn't want to give the Kings a chance. Oh, they're too young. They haven't been here. They don't know any better. Folks, this Kings team is tough as nails, fast as hell. And I know it was Malik Munkin, game one coming off the bench with a ton of points. He played okay.

He had 18 points. But Davian Mitchell, off night. The young kid from Baylor had 14 points, a humongous three late in the game. He plus tenacious carding, Steph Curry. Deer and Fox, though, the hero once again, he's unstoppable, folks. He is super clutch. I saw somebody tweet out right after the game that Deere and Fox is better than John Moran, and I think that's obvious.

I would take Deer and Fox any day of the week over John Moran. It's a phenomenal athlete, but give me De Aaron Fox as a leader in the clutch. Like he just delivered big time 24 points. Nine assists, four steals. And, you know, Steph Curry, Clay Thompson, they hit a couple threes late. They got interesting K back in the game. They're getting nothing from Jordan Poole, but I've got to go in on Draymond Green. First of all, I have a feeling he's going to get suspended for game three in Golden State.

That would be my guess. If you haven't seen the video yet, you're just waking up, well, you know, kudos for tuning in to fire before what turning on your uh your news channel preferred for watching sports in the morning fourth quarter heated game sabonis is getting into subon and draymond kind of got into it in game one it these two you know listen subonis is a tough guy he gets pushed around a lot uh they mention it on the broadcast but he's tough man you look at his arms he's all scratched up and so late in the game he goes there was like what four minutes left he's falling down in in a heap of traffic And he's like on his side and Draymond Green lands his foot, like right in,

Sabonis's like body face, like not touching, but like right there close to it. And Sabonis, you know, grabs. You don't want to say it's unintentionally because it looked pretty blatant like it was a grab. He can't really see its Dreymah, but he just grabs the leg. And Dreban struggles to get up. And on the second pull, he stomps down. And the ref sees it. And the replay is really bad.

Draymond gets a technical, gets tossed, and rightfully so. Listen, a technical was assessed as a bonus for the grab as well. I just, you have to wonder, the stomp was the most blatant stomp I've seen in basketball since Christian Leitner versus Kentucky in 1992. Leightner, that was the Leightner game where he hit the turnaround shot to beat Kentucky. Listen, I was a bad stomp by Draymond Green. I don't know how he's going to explain it on his podcast. There's no way around it.

He got grabbed. He was frustrated, but you just simply cannot do that. You can't stomp someone out in the middle of a playoff. There's a billion cameras, Dremont. I don't know what he thought was going to happen. That being said, they didn't lose the game because Dremon was tossed. They lost this game because they had 20 turnovers. I don't know.

I mean, listen, I shouldn't say, I don't know. This is the Warriors' ammo this season. On the road, they play sloppy. They play lackadaisical. They're not focused, and the turnovers are a plenty. and it cost them games. I thought they were fixing to get blown out there in the third quarter. They fell behind, I believe, by about 13.

And it was so dire that Steve Kerr said, I'm going to put Moses Moody in the game. And he went out there, gave some hustle, grabbed a bunch of boards, five boards, two offensive rebounds. I mean, he was going at it on the inside. They needed that. Listen, Jordan Poole, another rough game, one of seven. I don't think he played in the final like six or seven minutes.

Maybe not even the fourth quarter. I missed all his threes. Had a couple good looks. Devencenzo, not as much of a factor as he was in game one, because Wiggins is back, but Wiggins played 39 minutes. He had a good game. It was essentially the Wiggins Curry show until two late Clay 3s made it look like he had a good game, but Clay's struggling in his series.

Once again, they win the Steph Curry minutes plus three, and when he's off the court, they lose and lose badly. Curry, I'm going to say something, this shouldn't be controversial. But Davian Mitchell, without question, harass the hell out of Steph Curry. I thought coming into the series, Keegan Murray might give him a chance, the rookie, because of his length, Murray hasn't played that much. Davian Mitchell is an unbelievable defender. He is a pest. He isn't one of these guys who's like a Pat Bev pest.

He's like, I move my feet, I hustle, you're not getting by me, I'm fighting through every screen. And there was a moment where the Warriors called timeout, Curry brings it up the court, and you'd think, okay, what is Kerr going to dial up outside of the timeout? They had a 24 second violation, and a lot of it was Davy on Mitchell fighting through screens, not letting Curry shoot it. I mean, again, my untrained basketball lie tells me this. They need to move Steph Curry off the ball because he is working way too hard. Curry, 41 minutes, five turnovers, six assists, 28 points on 21 shots, but only 3 of 13 from deep, and they're hounding him all over the place. I think you need to unlock him off the ball.

of course this means Draymond is going to have to play point card but he was getting sloppy with the passes he had five turnovers you'd think Jordan Poole's a potential answer they did unlock something with Gary Payton the Mitten who played pretty well and actually it wasn't just

him offensively but he had some defensive moments when they went to a zone yes Steve Kerr was so befuddled he dusted off Moses Moody the young kid from Arkansas and he went to a zone it looked like a 3-2 I'll have to wait to see the diagnosis when they break it down here shortly.

But it looked like either a 1-2-2 or a 3-2 just to keep Monk and Fox out of the lane. And it worked. They storm back. They got right back in the game, but ultimately couldn't overcome the 20 turnovers. And listen, Sacramento inside again, 12 offensive rebounds. Folks, Golden State is in more than trouble here. Now, you'd think they'd go home, they ride the home crowd, maybe the Kings are a little spooked, on the road in that environment.

Chase Center will be rocking. But if Draymond Green is suspended, we're probably going to have to see a lot more Cuminga. Do they go small? Because I don't think you can go small when you're getting pushed around by subonis. I don't. I mean, if you look at the shot chart in the fourth quarter, guys,

and I put this on the gram. Like, look at where all saccharac... So the kings in the fourth quarter attempted four threes. They made two of them. I think Davian Mitchell hit one and Fox hit the other. The Kings in the fourth quarter attempted. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 3s. They made 4, but 2 of them were by clay when they were down like 10 with like 50 seconds left.

But if you look at the paint, the Warriors got a bunch of dunks and layups. But the Sacramento Kings lived exclusively in the paint. And they got a bunch of buckets. And that is the problem here. Like Looney, I know he's been solid. I mean, he was in foul trouble. Fowl Trouble is a theme in this. Red Velvet.

Herder who I thought played a really good first half. He got in foul trouble and then he just didn't bring him back. Essentially, they're like, who are we going to pull? And Keegan Murray's definitely coming out. And it's Davian Mitchell. And then you've got to have Malik Munk. And Golden State cannot keep Fox and Munk out of the lane until they went to the zone. Folks, they don't have a defender who could stay in front of both of those guys.

Clay tried admirably. I thought Peyton did a pretty solid job on Munk. But Fox is the guy. I mean, 10 of 23, I know that doesn't look. great, 24 points on 23 shots. Jason, where's the efficiency? I'm just telling you, he was the most clutch player in the NBA this season for a reason. When it's the fourth quarter, and it's winning time, it's Deerrin Fox, and he's taken over. And Steve Kerr, after the game, I know people will be surprised by this, but I hope this was the first thing I said,

Davion Mitchell and that defense against Curry. Steve Kerr, they did a great job defensively. We didn't handle it. They do not allow anything at all. And I'm talking from like, Once you cross half court, there's just, you have really no chance against this defense. And I know there are bad defense statistically. But a lot of it is the guard play. When you've got Monk, Fox, and Davian Mitchell chasing around on the perimeter, that is a lot of speed against 35-year-old Curry and 34, whatever you, how old he is, Clay Thompson.

Like, Andrew Wiggins did a capable job, but it is, this is getting. to be like, I don't want to say DefCon 1, but I do also want to point out, now some of the stats are popping up as I'm here on social media. Sacramento Kings in game 1 had 60 points in the paint, Warriors just 44, so plus 16. Game 2,

Sabonis and Bulleyball, and even Harrison Barnes got into it. Fifty-four to 40, King, so plus 14 in the paint. And again, there isn't like something, you know, you think like, okay, maybe they can unlock something offensively. I mean, you know, 47%

shooting, 32% from deep, 83% from the line. Just let this sink in. The Warriors shot, better from the field, better from three, better from the free throw line. But you're going to lose the game when the Kings get 10 more shots because of offensive rebounds and turnovers. The solution is take care of the basketball. Now, that probably happens at home, right? When they go home for game three, we'll see what happens with Draymond. My guess is a one-game suspension, but I'm sure the conspiracy theorists will come out of the war and say, hey, hey, hey, wait a minute, wait a minute. The league wants LeBron Curry

in the second round. They want that. So just be patient. This is not even close to over. It's definitely not over. But this is like, we're approaching DefCon 1, faux show. The other game's not even really worthy of talking about.

The Nets were covering for like 96% of the game. And then in the final, like, two and a half minutes, the Sixers start to pull away. Maybe he's the final four minutes. Sixers pull away and get the win. James Hardin resorted to being terrible. He was 3 of 13, but Tyrese Max, he had a big game and Bede at 20 and 19 and 7 assists, blah, blah, blah. Sixers win in cover.

Nobody cares. It's the most boring series out there. We'll do a best bet for tonight at the end of the podcast. But I think I need to pivot and talk about football for a moment. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsportsradio.com. And within the IHeartRadio app, search FSR to listen live. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app,

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What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

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Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two.

Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The biggest news on Monday wasn't in the NBA. It was in the NFL where Jalen Hertz, the near MVP last season of the Eagles, only 24 years old, got, and I love this funny money. The richest contract in NFL history. Five years, $255 million. He's going to be making 51 mil per year. That's why they called it the richest contract ever.

It is a little funny money. The key number, as we all know now, we're all more educated, we've got more information, is 179.3 mil guaranteed for Jalen Hertz. That is not quite what Kyler Murray, got last year guaranteed, 189 mil. And Deshawn Watson, obviously, with the 230-mill deal from the Browns. There are a lot of takeaways from this.

And it's weird. I was going at it with Colin on the show Monday. Like, I think we're, listen, I like Jalen Hertz. Let me preface it. I love everything about his grit, his resolve. The guy got benched at the halftime of the national championship game, right? Tua comes in. Then, you know, it's Tua versus Jalen Hertz at Alabama.

Then Hertz transfers to Oklahoma. I mean, he could have easily packed it up and called it a career and been like, you know what, I'm angry, I'm walking away. There's a lot of quitters out there. And Jalen Hurts ain't no quitter. Jalen Hurts says, I'm going to stick it out. He becomes a leader at Alabama. He goes to the NFL, second round pick, gets drafted to a franchise that traded up at the time.

I think they traded up for Carson Wentz. And he's like, okay, great. I'm going to be a proper soldier, fall in line. And then when it's my turn, boom, I'm going to shine. He ultimately has like an okay season for them. They get to the playoffs, heavily behind the running game. And then last year, I mean, really, if you look at the numbers, Jalen Hertz got this contract off one year.

He had a really, really good year last year. And let's keep it 100, right? Best offensive line in the NFL? Eagles are in the discussion. We'll give him top three offensive line in the NFL, but you could argue the best. He had A.J. Brown, they traded for a top five wide receiver. Top five, if you don't want to give him top five, fine.

top seven. But A.J. Brown was, I mean, a massive, massive upgrade for that offense. Also, he was throwing, Jalen Hertz was throwing to Devontas Smith. Top 10 pick. A little undersized from Alabama, but again, a top 10 pick. They had a top tier tight end in Dallas Goddard. I don't know where you want to put him among the tight ends. He's not Kelsey and Kittle, but he's certainly not far behind those guys, right? Eagles were absolutely loaded. Think about this. Their offensive coordinator last year, Shane Steichen, just got a head coaching job. in the NFL. He had been an offensive coordinator for three years.

That's it. The Eagles were loaded in. Oh, by the way, they beat up on a very, very, very favorable schedule. The stars aligned for Jalen Hertz last year. That is undeniable. Can he duplicate the season? I mean, he only had like 22 touchdown passes. Now, on the ground is where he's really, really impressive.

And I also think there is some value in this. if you looked at the Super Bowl, I know he didn't win MVP, but I remember coming out the Monday morning after the Super Bowl saying the best player on the field in that game was Jalen Hertz. Okay, 374 total yards, four total touchdowns, the gritty two-point conversion run in the fourth quarter, unbelievable run.

That, for me, is one of the great quarterback runs. You know, it's on the short list of the last few years. years. Like that run, when you slow it down, you're like, where is he going? Where's he? Oh my gosh, you just carried a dude into the end zone. Like, there is a lot to like about Jalen Hertz. But again, he's done it for one year. So the big, I think the bigger play here, and you know we always like to look forward, try to project what's going to happen in the future. It's difficult. But I think in this instance, it's kind of clear. Lamar Jackson just saw Jalen Hertz. After one good season, Again, two years ago, he was okay, they were a mostly running team.

After one good season, Jalen Hertz got paid in the escalate. Does anybody say that anymore? I don't know. Lamar Jackson can come to the table with his agent, which I wish I could say with his agent. He should probably call Jalen Hertz's agent, who, by the way, there was a big hubbub on social media yesterday about how Jalen Hertz got his agent. It was a woman who was like an agent or whatever slid into his DMs and was like, Hey, do you have representation? Hertz meets with her.

Boom. She's his agent. Next thing you know, she's at clutch sports and negotiates an incredible deal for Hertz. If I'm Lamar Jackson, and I know he's not going to do this because everybody says he should. Obviously, when people are told to do something, they do the opposite. I think my gut tells me he won't. But Lamar, if he were to call her, hey, can you get me a deal similar to that? If I'm Lamar, I have to, again, new information should make you adjust what you.

You know, right? We do this all the time with the NBA legacy debate, right? Well, Jason, you didn't say LeBron was the best ever. Yeah, I said he was going to be the best ever if he got a title with the Lakers. That was not really going to happen. He got it. Yeah, I got him as the best ever. When you get new information, you should be able to come off old positions, right?

That's what smart people do. A lot of people, though, of course, it's 2023. People are dug into their positions. I'm not coming off X topic, no matter what you say. because they think they're right. They want to be right. But in reality, you've got to get new information and adjust what you do. Remember the Caitlin Clark video in the national title game where the girl on LSU did the I can't see you, right?

You see her do it and you're like, oh, no big deal. Caitlin Clark did it to the other girl. Then a couple days later, you see the video. Oh, wait a minute. This girl was following her around doing it. It's a weird thing. It's just bizarre. like literally following her around on the court

in a deadball situation and doing it and you're like, wait a minute, that's a little weird. And so you adjust how you feel on a topic based on new information. So if I'm Lamar Jackson, I go to the Ravens, I say, hey, guys, this hurts deal is awesome. I'm not looking for five, what, $255. I don't need all that.

Here's what I would like. And let's work with this. I'm not even looking for $179 guarantee. How's this? If I'm Lamar Jackson, my move to Baltimore is, give me a three-year fully guaranteed deal. Just three years, right? You know, whatever the number, at 150, whatever it is.

So if you want to do 51 times three, that's fine. 153 mil, three for 153. And then you can't make me a free, you can't tag me with the franchise tag after that. And I can do what I want. If I'm happy and we're rolling, whatever. If I want to go get another bite at the apple, okay. Would you be into that idea? I stay here.

It's a win-win for everybody. You guys get your franchise quarterback. Oh, by the way, did you see guys that the last two years going in late in the season? We were like 8 and 4, 9 and 4, 8 and 3. And then, you know, I got hurt in the pocket. And then this past season I didn't want to come back because I was unhappy with you guys. I'm healthy. I don't have an injury history.

I don't. You know, we get Odell. I got the best wide receiver room I've had in Baltimore, wide receiver specific. Maybe we up. Maybe we do some things in the draft. How about it? Three years, fully guaranteed, and you can't franchise tag me at the end of it. How does that sound? And Rob G, you are playing the role of the Baltimore Ravens front office.

Is this a win-win for you, Rob? Absolutely. And it's kind of funny that it's gotten to this point, considering that by almost every metric, pick whatever your favorite one is, passerating, QBR, you know, net yards per pass, whatever, total touchdowns, Lamar Jackson's unanimous MVP season was better than Jalen Hertz's season last year.

Yeah. And for whatever reason, Baltimore didn't decide that wasn't enough. They didn't show, he didn't show enough in that one season to get a big contract offer. Even though, as you pointed out a few minutes ago, the Baltimore Ravens offensive roster at least is nowhere close to what

Philadelphia has right now. Jalen Hertz is great. I think he deserves every penny that he's gotten, but they got a great offensive line. The receivers are good. The running back core is deep. It's a very well-constructed offense. In Baltimore, you mentioned a few weeks ago,

I think that they hadn't have a 1,000-yard receiver on their roster until they signed O'Dowd Beckham Jr. And he's been, you know, missing an ACL for two seasons, allegedly. So I don't understand why there's a big difference between what Jalen Hertz got and what. and what Lamar Jackson, I guess, didn't get offered. Because last we heard, according to Adam Schefter, the big offer that they've been trying to push out from the Baltimore side is,

we offered him $133 million guaranteed fully, goes up to $175 for injury, and there's an additional $25 million guaranteed if he's on the roster at a certain point in 2026. So they're like, oh, we offered him $200 million guaranteed. No, you didn't. You offered him $133 million. Now, is this the Schifter report?

That is the Adam Schefter report. back in September. They're trying to spin it as we offered him 200 million guaranteed. And so you actually peel back the end. You're like, oh, no, it's actually 133. And there's these other provisions that can bump the guarantees up. Yeah.

So if I'm... I remember seeing that, yeah. Yeah. So if I'm Lamar Jackson, it's clear that the bridges have been burned at least partly. Like, I don't think they're ever going to be totally on the same page. So maybe the best compromises short-term deal. We give you a lot of money.

And it allows Baltimore to either prepare for life after Lamar Jackson, if they don't want to give him, you know, 60 plus million a year, guaranteed, whatever it is after that. And it gives Lamar a chance to decide, do I want to stay here in Baltimore, knowing what our history is, or do I take my talents elsewhere, where maybe it's not built exactly around me the way it is in Baltimore,

but at least I'll be given an opportunity to show that I'm worth X amount of money. So now, I guess the counter, and I'm sure people listening are like, why would the Ravens do that? And it feels like a win-win to me. Now, you would say, well, why doesn't every team do that? Well, you know, you want your quarterback locked up. You want five years. You don't want three years.

You want the longer deal. Lamar clearly does not want that. Lamar either wants all the money or a short-term deal. And there's always a middle ground. You guys know this. You've seen enough negotiations. There always can be a middle ground where both a, sides win. In my opinion, Rob, I think the Hertz deal is kind of a middle ground, right? He has a

no trade clause. Now, I don't know if that's worth the 10 million less guaranteed, but again, and Rob, I know you're going to have a smartest answer for this, but let's just remember 179 million guaranteed versus 189 million guaranteed. Is that really that big of a difference? The taxes, I mean, it's tough for you and I to say, but it's not like the taxes in Philly versus Maryland. I don't know this. It's not like one of those Florida versus California deals. But again, the ability to have a no trade clause in there for me for Jalen Hertz is a win.

And that's probably worth some money, right? That probably cost him some guaranteed money. I'm sure that more stuff will come out on the contract as it goes out. But like as of this morning when we record, I don't see the spot track update on the Jalen Hertz contract. So we don't have all the numbers. there's like an interesting out after a couple of years. If you really dig into like Josh Allen, not the Patrick Mahomes, but like Josh Allen and

some of these other contracts, it feels like everybody has a bit of an out at some point. And you would not have that out with Lamar on a three-year deal. I think if you're Lamar, Rob, this is the second layer after the, you know, Jalen Hertz, how does it impact Lamar's deal? Well, what's going to happen if Joe Burrow or Justin Herbert get their deals. You know, I know that people don't think as highly of Herbert as I do. Herbert has, let me check the notes here, zero playoff wins.

Is that accurate? Yes, they lost to the Jags. But, I mean, by just about any metric, I think Joe Burrow clearly is better than Lamar Jackson. Herbert's the interesting one. Like, we know Burroughs going to get paid. He's been to a Super Bowl. He's been to a conference championship game. you know, Herbert's going to be interesting.

Like, does Lamar say, that's what they gave Justin Herbert? Well, what are you going to give me? I got an MVP. I got two more playoff wins than him. What's the big deal? But then you get into the, well, Herbert's a big strapping dude. He's six, five. You know, he's never been hurt.

He plays every snout. Well, he had the rib issue. I'm sorry. He did, I think he had some ribs busted up and he missed a game or whatever. But I'm not paying Lamar, but I'm paying Herbert and Burrow. I think you'd agree with that, right? No, not necessarily. I think it depends on how your roster is constructed.

Like, I think the Chargers top to bottom, their roster is probably top three in the entire NFL. Just position by position all the way across the board, they are absolutely loaded. And Eagles would be in there too, right? The Eagles absolutely would be up there too. And then the other team, I'm assuming, Niners. Yeah, I mean, the quarterback is kind of a big deal.

So I don't know if it depends on how you feel about the Tray Lance Brock Purdy show, but if they have even like with jimmy g i thought they were at worst top five like because their rosters just dacked everywhere um baltimore is nowhere close to that like their defense is pretty good i like a lot of the players they got on on their back end and their pass rushers are good but if you look at that offense it's like mark andrews and a bunch of dudes like the Orlando brown was their best offensive linemen for a couple of years and they lost him you know right so Ronnie Stanley comes back from injury. And I want to say he got hurt again.

He did. Yeah. So it's like it's Lamar Jackson and friends. So what you're asking Lamar to do is a heck of a lot more than you're asking a Justin Herbert, a Joe Burrow, who are both fantastic. It's just they're not asked to carry the same weight of an entire team the way that Lamar Jackson is. I'm looking at Jalen Hertz's stats. Rob, 22 touchdown passes last season. 22.

And I know he had 13 rushing touchdowns, which is a bigger deal. And again, that's counting stats. They don't mean a lot. Herbert's passing touchdowns his first three years, 31, 38, 25. I mean, Herbert's passing numbers are ridiculous. Now, the Chargers often are playing from behind because, you know, the coach Anthony Lynn was not very good. The coach's past year, I don't think was great.

meanwhile the egos last year were absolutely dump trucking everybody and Hertz is rarely throwing in the fourth quarter right this is a tough one what happens when Herbert says I want more money than Jalen Hertz like can you really argue with the guy I hope he does ask for that but I hope he does ask for it I think all of these guys should try to one up each other

because like there's this I don't want to get down this rabbit hole again but there's this you know argument which is a myth that says that you cannot pay the quarterback big money and expect to win. Patrick Mahomes has shattered that idea last season. Patrick Mahomes. Who else? Look, Matthew Stafford was getting paid a lot of money when you want with the...

They had like four guys making 60% of the cap with the ramps. So you can do it. You just got to make sure you pay the right guys. And the problem that people are getting into is you're paying Dak Prescott, who's an average to slightly above average, quarterback, top quarterback money, and that's why your team is successful. Apologies to my guy, Derek Carr. Derrick Carr was making $40, $35 million a year, right?

And Derek Carr is good. I think he's somewhere around the 10, 12 range, but that's not enough to overcome the rest of the roster. If I'm going to pay the guy that kind of money, he better be the reason why our team is winning, which Patrick Mahomes is. So on Stafford, it's interesting. He wasn't a, I don't think he was a top five guaranteed. I think he was like in the seven range.

but if you look at their offensive line last year, that year they won the Super Bowl, the continuity was incredible. Nobody was hurt. Everybody was awesome. Then this past year, when they go from Super Bowl to dumpster fire, Whitworth had left, and I think they were down to like their third string guard, and it was just really ugly on the offensive line, and you can't overcome that when you just don't have any talent around.

So I don't know, Rob, do you think the Rams bounced back this year? I don't see it. Well, I mean, probably not, but I think they'll be better than we. You think they'll their way. Yeah. Yeah. I think that they'll be better than what people are expecting. Given how bad they looked last year, I wouldn't be surprised if they're right there in the

playoff mix like in December, that they're just one of two or three teams that are fighting for a five seed or something like that. Nine days away from the draft, there aren't many big free agents left. It's tough for me to envision the Rams popping up from where they were, like unwatchable drek. I looked at their defensive depth chart. Holy hell, like three names are recognizable. And Aaron Donald is one of them.

Like, I don't know, man. That Rams team looks ghastly. That being said, if Aaron Rogers leaves the Packers, it's like, well, Aaron Rogers is leaving the Packers, according to everybody. If Aaron Rogers lands with the Jets before the draft after the draft, whenever, the NFC is like real.

There's a humongous drop-off after like the top three. I mean, I think the Vikings will come back a little bit. I think the Cowboys will come back. can still make the playoffs. I don't think the Giants will be as good. But somebody's got to get in. Bears. You know, I'm joking, but no, the bears, it feels, make a leap. It's not unheard of. I do think the Eagles come back to the pack a little. I am happy for Jalen Hertz. If this comes off as I'm a hurt hater, that's not true at all. I like them a lot. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.

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Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,

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Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode, with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so you all know.

I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so... Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes, I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away,

such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of, of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The only thing better than sitting on your couch watching the game is making money while you do it. Here's your best bet. All right, let's get to a best bet now. Three NBA games tonight should be a good night in the association. I think the big one I got to start with is Sun's Clippers. I know this is a big number, Rob. I don't see any way at all.

The Phoenix Suns don't smash. I mean, this is a must win for them. I know Durant played 45 minutes, and you only get one day off, but the line's seven and a half for a reason. You know, Kauai, I saw a stat, he only missed two minutes in the second half. This is a guy who, you know,

doesn't love to play a ton of minutes. I think I would not be shocked if this was getting out of hand. All of a sudden, next thing you notice, Oh, look, the clippers are resting their guys in the fourth because they're down 10 and they're not going to make a comeback and they're saving it for Thursday night at the crypt. So I would go Suns, seven and a half. Cavs, Nicks, it sounds like Josh Hart is not going to play for New York. I know that Josh Hart does not impact a line.

How can a role player bench guy impact the line? You remember last week our guest from the Cameron Salerno covers the Kings? he said, Rob, that Malik Monk was the heartbeat of the team. And I was like, wait, whoa, wow, wow. Would not be surprised if the heartbeat of the Knicks is the Villanova connection, Jalen Brunson, and Josh Hart. I know people like Randall. I like Randall.

We know it's not R.J. Barrett. But Josh Hart's instrumental, guys. He, anywhere he goes, like, the team just wins. He's one of those glue guys. I'm going to take the calves here, you know, the zigzag theory in the NBA playoffs, right? one team wins and covers, then you take the dog in the next one. So I would go calves.

Now, the other game I'm not sure of that I would stay away from the Celtics Hawks. Yes, there's a world where the Celtics just open up another can on Atlanta, which Atlanta, who just, it's not a good matchup. But for whatever reason, I wonder if the Celtics take their foot off the gas just a little.

Remember, you look around the east and Janus goes down. Oh, my goodness. What's happening? there. And then Cavs, Knicks looks like it's going to go on for a little bit. Sixers do look good. So maybe there's a thought that, hey, Boston wants to get in, get out, wrap this up in four games and get some rest. But still, I'm Leary. I like the Hawks, but I'm not betting that game. Anything for you, Rob? Yeah, I was with, I hate that I'm agreeing with you almost down the line, exactly. I think this is a big Kevin Durant game. I think that he got out to a slow start in game one. KD is going to come out firing. I expect him to have like 12 to 15 in the

first quarter. It's really set the tone. I think Phoenix ends up winning going away. That Josh Hart injury is huge. Like we almost all of yesterday's podcast, we talked about the role players, you know, for the Lakers was Rhee and Reeves. And then we talked about Harrison Barnes and Tray Lott. Like, you know, role guys are what wins playoff games because you pretty much know what you're going to get from your stars on night to night basis. Josh Hart is an incredible glue guy for the New York.

Knicks. When they made that trade, I was texting a few friends who are a few friends who are Knicks fans and I was saying, look, he is instantly going to be your favorite player on that team. As soon as you get him. The way he plays, he's scrappy, he's tough. He comes up big in crunch time moments, which he did in game one. So in that sense, that's why I like Cleveland to bounce back and cover the five and a half. Unlike you, though, I think Boston's just going to roll. This is probably the worst matchup for that Lannick could have gotten because where all their strengths are is exactly where Boston strengths are

but it's just bigger. It's a bigger version of it. Who did you like more with the Lakers? Josh Hart? Or Austin Reeves? That's tough because Reaves in the moment now everybody's just like on the Austin Rees bandwagon. I'll tell you what.

Alex Caruso above both of them. No! I loved Alex Caruso when he was the Lakers show. Caruso. Above, I would go Reeves Heart Caruso. And that's not a slight on Caruso. I liked him a lot.

But you would have Caruso? Just because he was always good for like one out of nowhere jam on somebody. Yeah. Out of nowhere. Because even though you knew he could dunk, just seeing him do it still was kind of shocking. Like look at this white bald Almer Fudd looking dude is yamming on everybody. So big fat Alex Caruso. All right.

That's it for today. Talk to you tomorrow. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast. or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app,

Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it'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 signals to the world that you're 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 AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot,

or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.