The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd Full Show for Jan 22, 2020

Episode Date: January 22, 2020

Colin explains why the NBA needs Zion Williamson, why the rumor of a random GM prefering Ja Morant over Zion is silly, why people bashing Niners HC Kyle Shanahan need to relax, his thoughts on the Cowboys wanting to get a deal done for Dak Prescott, and why he wouldn't move up in the draft to get Joe Burrow. Guests include Nick Wright, Antonio Cromartie, Andrew Whitworth, and Ric Bucher. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

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

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

This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Oh, here we go in a Wednesday, pack live in Los Angeles. This is the Hurd.

Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1, Rick Bukerl, pop by a couple hours from now to talk about Zion's debut. Tonight, Andrew Whitworth, left tackle, L.A. Rams. Oh, is amazing guest. Former LSU Tiger as well. Probably happy about that.

Nick Wright, Steve Burline, great to have you. Joy Taylor is joining me in a Wednesday. Joy, how are you? I'm doing great. Very excited for tonight. Very excited for next week. So am I. By the way, I just found out today.

Joy is taking, packing three bags to go to Miami, three giant bags, one just for shoes. I am packing one small. carry-on bag for a week in Miami and that's more than enough. I don't believe you. I want you to take a picture at the airport with the bag. I will. I will. I absolutely will. That's my challenge.

I've never packed. I've never checked a bag in my life. No. What? Going to Europe in April, never checked a bag of my life. It's called washing machine. Just wear stuff two and three times. That doesn't work for me. Okay, let's start with this. I could not tell you Zion debuts tonight against San Antonio.

I could not tell you the last time I was in, I mean, really, the last college player that had this effect. on me. I mean, I liked Anthony Davis, but I didn't rush to a TV to watch him in college or pro. I like, maybe it's Blake Griffin. I thought he was kind of fascinating. Zion is a phenom. I'll give you an example of how powerful Zion is. It's very hard to explain why some guys just pop. He was on a college basketball game at Duke last year, Duke against Virginia. Virginia is boring. I mean, they put coffee to sleep. And I'm well coach, great school. Virginia is paint dry.

A bridge rusting. It is boring. But Zion in that game got a better rating that day than the Lakers and the Rockets. James Hardin, Chris Paul, Lakers brand. The college game beat it. What? He is a phenom. The NBA is in a ratings free fall.

It is not disputable. My belief, and there's a lot of different theories on this, me and Mark Cuban, the owner of the Mavs disagree. me and Adam Silver disagree. I think it's because the league this year, it's a bad story year. It lacks urgency. LeBron James, it's a 17th year.

Kauai load management, no personality. A.D., what a shock. Hurt again. Not a big personality. Luca, I didn't watch him in college. I'm just learning who he is. There's Steph hurt. Clay hurt.

KD. hurt. A lot of guys hurt. A lot of guys don't have personality. There is no urgency. tonight, watch the rating. urgency. That's what made the NFL so special this year.

Have you seen Lamar Jackson play? You've got to get to a television. Oh my God. Patrick Mahalms, 28 points in the second quarter. I got to get to a television. Right now the NFL has got so... Baker Mayfield imploding. I was watching every Cleveland game.

There were so many stories. Oh, my God, the Raiders are good again. The Raiders go to London, beat the bears, push them around. There were so many fascinating stories this year in the NFL that you had to get to a television set and watch. The dynasties ending, the Browns are on fire. Oh my God, Lamar, have you seen Patrick Mahomes? Aaron Rogers got a new coach, Dallas Cowboys, week-to-week drama. Leagues are beholden to stories and personalities.

And here's the thing about Zion. You know, everybody's got in our business agents, and PR handlers and Hollywood's got all this. But the reality is you can't explain stars. You can't explain charisma. You know, Zion's got it. I don't know what it is. I just like him.

I like his smile. I like his game. I like his personality. He feels like a good kid. For some weird reason, I feel like he's kind of relatable. He loves sports. He loves Coach Kay. He wanted to come back to Duke.

And everybody's like, no, no, no, no, no. Go pro. He's like, I love him. like Duke. He's got a little old school. He's got new school. He's on social media, but he loves college basketball. And you can't explain it. Every agent's trying to make their guy a star. Howard Stern and Oprah are. I can't explain it. I mean, it's like Tiger Woods. For years and years, all these golfers were like, oh my God, it's going to be Ricky Fowler. And they kept giving me these guys that were going to be stars. And I'm like, no, a star is Tiger Woods. Tiger Woods

literally changed the way I watched television for a decade. I would literally be doing things and hanging out like, oh crap, Tiger Sunday, sit in front of the couch and watch golf. I like Rory McElroy. He doesn't have that. I like Phil Mickelson a lot. But unless it was like the Masters, he doesn't have that. You can't explain stars. Okay, it's just James Hardin is great. but he's not dynamic, he's not super vertical, he shoots kind of a bunch of threes. He doesn't get me to a television set. I know he's great.

Kobe Bryant got me to a television set for big games. Michael Jordan got me to a TV set. Frankly, Charles Barkley got me to a TV set. Mike Tyson got me to a TV set. Larry Holmes was a better fighter than Mike Tyson in his prime. I never like watching Larry Holmes. Connor McGregor gets me to a television set. I don't think he's as good as Habib when they follow.

but I always want to watch Connor McGregor fight. I don't know what it is. I can't explain it. It's not like he's this classic boxer or he's the best UFC guy I've ever seen. Zion is urgent. And in this world now of television,

there's never been more good TV than now. It used to be when I grew up as a kid, ABC, NBC, CBS, and then Fox came along. Now you got your Hulus, you got your Netflix, you got your Paramount, you got your Amazon Prime, Apple TV, got all the sports. If you're not urgent, people are not watching.

There's just too much competition for our eyes. Zion in a league with a lot of stars that are hurt, a lot of stars aren't urgent, a lot of stars don't have big personalities. Three words tonight. I can't wait. And with that, let me segue into this. Speaking of urgency, the Dallas Cowboys Stephen John. Jones. He is the son of Jerry Jones. Speaking of urgency, said we got to get this Dack Prescott

contract done. It's been urgent for us. We want to certainly get that done. And that's our number one priority as we go into the offseason is to get his contract. Hopefully, you know, find some resolution to it and get that done. It's very interesting. Sports is about comparing. Michael LeBron, who you got. Kobe, Michael, who you got? Farr Rogers, the better Packer. Brady Manning, who you got. That's what sports is.

Sports is arguing and it's comparing. But not just for people like me in the media or people like you who are fans. Executives have to compare too. And let me ask you, after watching Lamar Jackson Speed and Josh Allen's, size and Patrick Mahomes' arm and Kyler Murray's

escapeability and Russell Wilson. How does DAC at $37 million a year feel to you? Not great. All the young quarterbacks in this league have a quality that is awe-inspiring. Josh Allen is huge with a massive arm. You just can't watch two throws and not go, damn.

Patrick Mahomes' speed. Kyler Murray's escapability and accuracy Carson Wentz's athleticism and arm Maholm's arm there's just a thing that you go whoa I they don't duplicate that in the conveyor belt much

and then you watch DAC and you're like yeah I mean he's pretty pretty good in stuff he's pretty good at that and he's pretty good at that and I hear a lot of this though he deserves a contract deserves get you fired in the NFL as a GM.

Nobody cares about his rookie season. It's a different league. Oh, he was 13 and 3. He threw for under 4,000 yards. He threw 450 times. Now they need him to throw 650 times. The more he throws, the worst the cowboys get. It's not about deserves.

Nobody cares about his rookie year, which, by the way, statistically, was his best year, his most efficient year. That's like saying Cam's, Newton deserves a big contract because he was an MVP in 2015, deserved gets you fired. I like Dak. I don't love him, but I like him. And I think he has franchise quarterback qualities.

But the NFL has this thing called the franchise tag. It should be used. It should be used on Ryan Tannihill this year. It should be used on Dak Prescott. I like him, but I love football. and I have studied and watched the quarterback position for 40 years. I don't remember a time in my life that over the course of one season, the position changed. Mobility now, Dax okay at it, mobility now is a must.

Offensive line play has regressed. It's not getting better. College football now is running spreads. The offensive lines are worse. And because of seven-on-seven quarterback play in the eighth grade, ninth grade, tenth-grader before, these kids are coming into the league now. The best athletes play quarterback. They're better throwers.

They've got 10,000 hours. They've got more reps. They've got better coaching. Dax's a lot of, I mean, I like some stuff about him. Man, I look around with all these other quarterbacks, and I love stuff about him. I think he's a guy of franchise tag. Urgently, perhaps, but he feels like a Ryan Tannehill. Can I get one more year?

Because for the record, when Tony Romo was a cowboy, that offensive line was garbage until the very end and he got hurt. Kind of sad, actually. Dax had the best offensive line in the league from day one. I want to see him one more year as the offensive line gets older and less effective. That'll tell me if I want to go four years and 200 million

deep on DAC Prescott. All right, good stuff today. Coming up next, I don't like the term fake news. I think most people that are in journalism don't want to make stuff up. I do think people have sometimes sports and political agendas. But there is a story

that it's a story and it's real, but it's starting to veer into fake news. So I'm going to put my stamp on I don't believe this story anymore and I'm going to give you reasons why I don't and maybe I'm wrong but it's starting to veer into I don't believe it anymore

that's coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS1 and the IHeart Radio app. Last night a blown call changed a game. This morning the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending,

opinions are flying and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlics 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 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you

hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing,

growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. What's up guys? This is Clever-Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff,

like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This line's, You know these kids. This linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out.

Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Somebody, please!

But there's so much more to me than that. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian, and recently, I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions.

Sike! I'm a comedian! I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff rant and recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice. One ring is too scary.

Oh, cream a chicken suit. Hey, cream, cream a chicken suit. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrite as part of the Mike Coutura Podcast Network available on the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Computer systems in cars the new normal. Advanced tech's expensive. It breaks. Fix it.

CarShield.com. code heard or call 800 cars 6,000 code heard. I am taking one small suitcase. I will put it on my social media. One small suitcase to the Super Bowl. Joy is taking three large suitcases, one just for shoes. That is the difference.

And by the way, I am proud of it. I may just take a handbag, just to flaunt it. I don't understand. You're going to be there for so long. No one would judge you if you brought a regular bag, even just one regular bag. Nobody would judge me if I took a small bag and wore the same jeans for four days.

No, let me not judge you. I'm just saying like it's not unreasonable for you to have to bring a big bag. You're going to be there for what, nine days? I'll tell you what's unreasonable. Going down to that carousel and waiting for an hour. Not interested whatsoever. It's not my favorite thing to do, but sometimes you've got to do it. All right.

Listen, this story is veering into fake news territory. Nick Wright in less than 10 minutes. Tom Brady, there was something on Instagram yesterday. He's walking around a park or something like that and somebody has, don't leave Tom in New England. And there's a lot of speculation on where he's going. And this story has always been bigger, and greater than I thought it would be. I think he should retire. Now he doesn't want to. Play one more year in New England and retire. Albert Breer came on yesterday and said,

for all those who are naming Indianapolis and Los Angeles, Albert said, you got to consider this. He has a kid who lives in New York, his son Jack, lives in New York City. And I think ultimately because of that, because Giselle likes New York City, that's eventually going to be where they're going to settle. So let's just put this in real life terms for you, right? Say you didn't know where you were going to work over the next year, but you did know where your family is going to be for the next 20 years. What would you do with your family? You'd probably move them to where they were going to be for the next 20 years and say, you know what, I'm going to be the one who's going to move around over the next year or two while I continue to work. I think there are some winning situations out there, but I don't

think he's just going to go somewhere to go somewhere. All right, there's three or four reasons why I think he's staying in New England. Number one, if Tom Brady left the Patriots, it would be a $13.5 million cap hit. Have you followed Bill Belichick's career? Does he like paying for players? No, especially ones he doesn't have. You think Belichick's going to want to incur a almost $14 million cap hit for a guy not on his team? That is so not Belichick. That's like Rob Parker having to pay $2 for a bottled water, not one. Some people are frugal. Belichick's one of them. Number two is they don't have a succession plan. I mean, again, if they had Jimmy Garoppolo in the backyard throwing the football, I'd buy it.

They don't. Number three is, I don't think there's a massive market. The position is changing. It's getting more mobile. It's getting more athletic. There's not a lot of good offensive lines. Tom's a liability if you don't have a great O line. And the Cowboys, to me, has always been the place I thought, oh, those linemen or the Colts, that would fit.

I still think Indianapolis is the best fit. But here's the other thing. Let's not over-exaggerate New England's fall. They were 12 and 4. They were a dumb loss to Miami from having a playoff by. Three of their four losses were to Baltimore, Kansas City and Houston, division winners. The previous year, they lost five games, ugly games, and won the Super Bowl. The other thing is that Tom needs wide receivers and a tight end.

There's all sorts of guys on the market this year. Hunter Henry's available. He's a free agent. A.J. Green. Robbie Anderson for the Jets. Randall Cobb, Amari Cooper, Eric Ebron, there's Austin Hooper, there's Emmanuel Sanders, there's all sorts of guys available, smart veterans who could fit right in. But I want you to think about this for a second.

This is a big deal. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, Starbucks, the first store, 1971, across from Pike Place Market. Still there. I also grew up in a city, Seattle. It had Amazon that started as an online bookstore. I also lived in Tampa where Outback Steakhouse, the very first one, was right across from WTVT, the TV station for Fox I work for. When you start a business and you want it to be domestic or global, and in Brady's TB12 protein powder shakes, that stuff, he wanted to be domestic. And because his wife is a global star, he'd like to branch it out to be a global empire.

He just got it in to Whole Food Stores in Connecticut. They could take any protein powder. There's hundreds of them on the market. But Tom was able to get his TB12 protein stuff, his brand into Whole Foods. That's a big deal in the New England region. Starbucks had to figure out Seattle before it went domestic and global. Amazon had to win Seattle first.

Outback had to win Seattle first. to win Tampa, Orlando, and Florida first. Tom, because he has an international star as a wife, sees his brand as large, domestic, but potentially global. If Tom whizzes on New England and leaves for $4 million more to go to Indianapolis, that Whole Foods TB12 thing in New England, people won't buy it. Tom's going to make a lot more money potentially, and I'm not joking, if TB12 hits, you're going to make a lot more money there than he's going to make

playing football, and I'm not joking. Jeff Bezos, all these Elon Musk guys make more in an hour than Tom makes in a year. So this is a story. He just got all his stuff into Whole Foods in New England. They want to get it in Whole Foods domestically, and then, you know, make it global.

Why fight over Nichols when you have a global potential TB12 brand that you just started in the New England region? I don't think he bolts. I think he stays for a year. He's got his business, his family's in New York. I think it's a real unspoken truth about this. Tom's about business now. He wasn't.

Then he beat Atlanta in the Super Bowl, and we all watched Tom really then open up and say, hey, listen, I'm in the back nine of my career. He didn't do commercials that much. He did Ugs. He did a Visa commercial. But once he beat Atlanta, Tom started doing documentaries and started talking about his businesses

and did more commercials. Tom now knows he's got a year or two left. This TB12 brand is his baby. He just got it into Connecticut, you know, New England, Massachusetts, Whole Foods. Why whiz on that? Stay in New England a year. You visit the stores.

You spike sales like a Dunkin' Donuts. 25 years later, Dunkin' Donuts is not a New England coffee. It's a national coffee. Joy with the News. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herd Line News. Derek Jeter was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

He received 99.7% of the vote, which left him one vote shy of being unanimously voted in. He would have joined former teammate Mariano Rivera as the only players to receive 100% of the vote. So 396 of 397 votes. Once again, Baseball Hall of Fame voters making it about them. No big deal. This is new. I don't understand, first of all, here's the thing. 11 people didn't vote for Babe Ruth on the first ballot.

Ted Williams only got 94%. Is it really a story? No one, I don't, Derek, okay, so Derek Jeter said on not getting the unanimous election, do you know how hard it is to get that many people to agree on anything? Thank you. It takes a lot of votes to get elected into the Hall of Fame. I'm just extremely excited and honored to be elected, which is the perfect thing to say, because of course, who cares?

And I understand, you know, not getting in year after year and any kind of Hall of Fame is taxing. and it's, you know, you get your hopes up and then you get let down. So when you do get in, that becomes a thing. And being elected on your first year of eligibility is obviously a huge honor. But once you're in, you're in. So, you know, the idea that he had to be unanimous

because Rivera was unanimous is like... Joe DiGioregio, Jared Zeter was not the greatest shortstop ever. Mariano is the greatest closer by a mile ever. Joe DiMaggio didn't get voted in multiple times. Who cares if one person didn't vote for him? The only reason this is a story is because it was a conversation that he should be unanimous. Oh, he's not.

So now he's not unanimous. It's now a story. I love Derek Jeter, but Cal Ripkin hit for more power and lasted longer. Ozzie Smith was a better fielder. I love Derek Jeter, okay? Not the best shortstop ever. Ken Griffey wasn't unanimous. Ted Williams wasn't.

Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth. Of all the great superstars that have ever played this game, there's only ever been one that was unanimous, and it was Mariano Rivera. So I don't, it's not a story. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. But it's just because everyone assumes that he was going to be unanimous, that it's a thing.

And congrats to Larry Walker also who is also selected for the Hall of fans. If 10 Williams doesn't get in, the best hitter of all time, then I don't know. Who cares? I mean, by the way, this is not, I mean, Derek Jeter played for the A's. He'd be probably a Hall of Famer on the ninth ballot. Part of what made Derek Jeter great is when he hit a double, there were guys on base. They were called All Stars because the Yankees had. Remember, in Derek's prime, the Yankees had such a cap.

There was no baseball, has no salary cap. But it wasn't until the last six or seven years with regional networks that other people could spend big money. Derek Dieter's peak years, he was surrounded by nine all-stars. The bases were jammed when he's hitting double. Yeah, if you look at those rosters, it should clear everything up. And that's not taking anything away from Derek Jeter. He is a Hall of Famer. Yes.

He is a first ballot hall of famer. And it's all fine. It's going to be okay. It's not a distant. I mean, like, even Patrick Rahmst tweeted about how is Derek Jeter not unanimous? By the way, is Derek Jeter last four or five years didn't have a bunch of range? You know, there were a lot of people that felt at the end that A-Rod was a more talented player, but A-Rod, they moved him to third. A lot of people think A-Rod was a better, greater, natural talent and shortstop.

So he didn't get every single vote. It's not a big deal. Like I said, it's only because the idea was that he would be because Derek Jeter is beloved. So this year's draft has plenty of elite quarterback prospects and one who decided to attend the Senior Bowl is Justin Herbert. In recent years, some prospects like Carson Wentz, Baker Mayfield and Daniel Jones reversed the trend of skipping that event. And they made impressions that led them to being drafted in the top six. And Herbert says he hopes he can follow in their footsteps and be the next quarterback to improve his stock at the Senior Bowl. Jalen Hertz is also at the Senior Bowl.

He says he has a boulder on his shoulder heading into the NFL. Bell. So Bengals head coach, Zach Taylor is coaching Herbert's team. Oh, well, they're not going to take him. They're going to take Burrow. They're petrified to tick off Ohio. They need to sell season tickets there. Burroughs sell season tickets. No, no. You have at this point. You got to take him. I wouldn't, but in Cincinnati, they will. Cincinnati, I mean, there's a lot of teams that just basically you're going to be passing up on, and I know you're much higher on Zion than Burrow. But the buzz around Burrow is that much. Like, you can't be that team that passes on Burrow. although I'm still kind of hoping.

There's a little story about the dolphins out there that's kind of exciting. Finally, the Jaguars will find their next offensive coordinator. Jacksonville hired former Redskins head coach Jay Gruden to lead the offense in 2020. His last offensive coordinator job was in Cincinnati from 2011 to 2013 before he got the head coaching spot in Washington. They went to the playoffs all three seasons that Gruden was the offensive coordinator, won the AFC North in 2013, lost in the wild card round each year. but that's the thing about Cincinnati. Like you think that Cincinnati is a little dysfunctional, but they're

not the Browns. Okay, time out. Think about this. Washington had Sean McVey let him go. Kyle Shanahan let him go. Matt LaFleur let him go. Jay Gruden, who I think he's a really sharp offensive guy. They're a lot of good play. Washington's let a lot of smart guys leave. That part. Yeah.

I find this to be an interesting hire, though, because he has had some success as an offensive as an offensive coordinator. I think Jay Gruden's a really good play caller. And they have to figure out what's going on with Nick Foles in Gardner, Monshu. They were 6 and 10 this year. But Jacksonville is another one of those teams that is very up and down.

So this is a good hire for them. Good stuff, Joy with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. Let's bring in my buddy all sorts of topics today. Nick Reich host First Things First via the Coward Global Satellite Network brought to you. Mercedes-Benz the best or nothing.

All right, the ratings in the NBA are down this year, and the NFL ratings were up. and my argument is both leagues have really likable players. I love NBA players. There's no bad guys. NFL, mostly good guys. The difference is the NFL created urgency. You got to watch Lamar. You got to watch Mahomes.

The NBA, you know, not a big personality. A lot of guys hurt. LeBron 17th year. I feel like Zion is urgency. I have to watch tonight. I really do feel like the league needs him more than most people think. I think he's absolute TV gold. your thoughts? Oh, I totally agree. And he's one of the few guys who was a legitimate superstar

in modern college basketball. We don't have many of those anymore. Now, you and I have talked about this off the air. I happen to think the NBA ratings decline is a bit exaggerated. The Lakers didn't have any TNT games until recently they were stacking them all for post football season. The lack of Zion, the lack of step, that's kind of just bad luck. I think the NBA is going to be fine, but they do have this problem. There is, LeBron takes up as much oxygen and interest as seemingly the rest of the league combined. Yes. And best case scenario, LeBron's got five years left. That's best case scenario. Maybe only three or four years as a top level player left. So they need these guys to hit. And the league needs to do a good job marketing guys like

John Morant no matter the city that they're in. Now, I think the Zion's going to be instant star. I think if he's healthy, his floor is Blake Griffin, who will be in the Hall of Fame one day, and his ceiling is a couple MVP's. I think he's going to average 20 a game, and what will help the NBA ratings is this, Colin. I think he gets the Pelicans into the playoffs as the eight seed, which you'll be able to go to those games because you live in L.A. Lakers' Pelicans in the first round of the playoffs, even if it's a sweep will be must-watched television. I agree. Let's move to Patrick Mahal. I think I heard you say something yesterday,

and as I almost veered into traffic and crashed, that Patrick Mahomes is already a Hall of Famer, I then at that point, pulled over to the side of the road, tried to get oxygen. There was some, the synapses weren't firing. Did I hear you right on that? Almost, as is very often the case when you and I talk, when I'm halfway through my sentence,

you're already contemplating your counter, and so you miss the very end of it. I said Patrick Mahomes is 12 days away from already being a Hall of Famer. If they win on Sunday, if you have a league MVP and a Super Bowl championship as a starting quarterback, that gets you into the Hall of Fame, except for our friend Joe Thaisman. And with respect to Joe, he ain't Patrick Mahomes. He is on the, and here's the other thing I said that I'm sure made you crash your car again. Luckily, you got, I think, six or seven of them is that he is.

started the exact path you would have to go on if you want to have a chance to be the greatest quarterback ever. Now, I know that questions your guy Brady, who seems to be in a tier by himself and he is. But if you were going to try to chip away at Brady's legacy, what you would do is your first season in the league, you would have the greatest quarterback regular season of any first-time starter

and one of the five greatest regular seasons ever in route to setting records and winning. league MVP, your second season in the league, you would have multiple iconic playoff moments en route to delivering a championship starved franchise, its first championship in a half century. He's one game away from doing that, and you do have to, I think you would acknowledge this, Colin, if it's Madden ratings, he's at 95 or above at every single thing we ask a quarterback to do. we've never seen a quarterback with as complete of a package,

athletically, mentally, armed talent, all of it, as we see with Patrick Mahal. I'd say John Elway, but not a bad argument. I want to move to Brady. I said I'm not a fan of the term fake news, but it'd be a $13.5 million cap hit if he left. If you think Rob Parker's frugal, Belichick's worse. He just doesn't like to pay players that he has. Forget guys that he doesn't. Also, I think the market for Thomas Small, but I was listening to you this morning, and you did make a compelling argument on your show, first things first, about Giselle and the role she plays, and I kind of buy into that. Explain it to our audience.

All right. So before that, just quickly, on the cap hit part, and I thought your point about Whole Foods and his marketing there was really interesting and it was perfect, Colin Cowherd, because no one else in the world had. ever considered it, and then you brought it up, I was like, damn, that's compelling. But the cap hit, I think you're looking at a little bit different the wrong way, because you've got to look at that as debt. That $13.5 million, the Patriots have to apply that to the cap at some point, whether they spend more money on Tom or not. So if they bring him back and give him 20, then it's not, the 13 and a half doesn't go away. It's just eventually it's 33.5 million.

It's whatever they pay him in the future, plus that 13 and a half million. So that part of it, I think, is relevant. But when people bring up Indianapolis or Tennessee or Chicago, I think Brady's got two options if he's going to keep playing. Stay in New England or go to Los Angeles. He is married to a powerful, successful woman who appears on that television show. He did her Facebook show to be a true partner. She has been public that she has wanted him to retire for a number of years.

I think the only way he can sell at home that not only am I not retiring, but I am going to a new city and a new team, our off-season where we go to Brazil, where we take the kids on trips, I'm going to have to spend it learning a playbook, is if the end of that sentence is, but it's a city you like more than Boston anyway,

it's where we have a home, it's where our kids already have friends, it's Los Angeles. And by the way, for Tom, they have weapons, they have a need at quarterback, they desperately need to sell PSLs. I think all of it aligns. I don't think he can sell her on Nashville, and I do think Giselle and other people in his life have been telling him rightfully that the Patriots showed you such utter disrespect

when they would not give you a contract extension when you were coming off your sixth Super Bowl and one year removed from a league MVP, that why wouldn't you entertain all of your office? By the way, only a couple minutes left. You have been outspoken from day one. You're not a DAC fan. I think the franchise tag was built for Ryan Tannahill, and it was built for Dak Prescott. And I think we always compare in sports, and I can't watch Lamar's speed, Russell Wilson's

escapeability, and Patrick Mahomes' arm in a world of comparisons and go, yeah, I'll pay my guy $38 million. I think I'm veering toward the Knicks side on this. Today, where are you on DAC? Yeah, I'm not anti-Dak. I'm just anti-foolishness. And in no business is paying the guy who is somewhere between the ninth and 12th best in the world something, like he is the best in the world at something, good business.

And so I totally agree with you on the franchise tag. I would offer DAC a contract that comes in around $25 to $27 million a year with a bunch of guarantees for a guy who has never made real. NFL money. And if he turns it down, I would test his medal by saying, we will franchise tag you. And you will, instead of having generational, generational wealth, you'll have 26 million guaranteed under the franchise tag and we'll revisit it again in a year. And what everyone always says is, well, if you don't have a quarterback, you don't have anything. If you have one, you have to keep one. I'm going to use a clumsy analogy here. You live in a city in Los Angeles where you have to have a car. You're basically screwed if you don't have a car.

And if you tried to make it work without a car, you would, you realize you couldn't. And so if you came to me and was like, Nick, got a brand new Accura, I got finally got a car, be like, oh, it's a pretty good car. That's a well above average car. I'm happy for you. And if the second half of the sentence was, I paid $175,000 for it, and say, what the hell are you doing? You're better off walking. Yeah.

And so, listen, DAC is a really nice, mid-sized luxury sedan who is asking. asking for Lamborghini prices. I'd walk away on that, or I'd do the one-year rental as the franchise tag option would be. Good stuff. Nick Wright, first things first crushing it. Listen to you for a good 30 minutes this morning in L.A. traffic. Thanks, buddy. Good talking.

Thank you. See you later, Kyle. By the way, I don't drive Lamborghini. I only drive Mercedes the best or nothing. Thank you. It's a new sponsor. All right. Coming up next, an NBA exec said something.

I want to John Morant over Zion. And I'll address that, which sounds controversial. Next, it's The Hurd. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaders 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 there. 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 that's two different levels of trust I want you to just really be a good person join me Keer games is we have real conversation about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now.

What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to wave at her. What?

Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Help! Somebody! Please! But there's so much more to me than me. I'm an actor.

I'm a comedian, and recently I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice.

one ring is too scary. Oh, cream of chicken suit. Hey, cream, cream a chicken suit. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrat as part of the MyCultura podcast network available on the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Feel better with MDrive.mDrive, MDrive for Men.com. Code her 20% off, more lean muscle, more energy. Good to have you in today. So there's a quote, an NBA general manager.

He is anonymous. Bob Anonymous, an anonymous NBA GM came out yesterday and said, I would have drafted Jah Morant number one over Zion Williamson. Yeah, everybody's tough on Twitter. Everybody's tough anonymously. No, you wouldn't have. But it is not a bold statement to say Jah Morant is better than Zion Williamson. John Morant is a great talent.

Zion's a great talent and a phenom. Zion made basketball and business sense. And you had to draft Zion Williamson. 50% of the scouts I talked to, and I've been covering this league for a long time and have a lot of contacts, 50% preferred John Morant over Zion. It was split. People liked him. But the NBA's not flexing in a lot of John Morant games, are they?

No, they're not really flexing in a lot of John Morant games. They flexed in one, and that was the one they thought Zion was going to play him. Zion Williamson is a phenom. And the other thing is there is a risk with Zion. People knew the risk. I talked to two general managers, two very, very good NBA GMs, guys that get to conference finals and finals. They both used the exact same word that scared them to death about Zion.

And the word is torque. They both said he plays with way too much torque. I don't know if those ligaments and those knees can handle it. and they both said, but you got to draft him number one. Every one of these GMs has an owner. So a GM can say all he wants. What does the owner want? You draft Zion.

There are times that it makes sense for the owner to come down. Joe Burroughs is a great example. I don't think Joe Burroughs is talented as Justin Herbert. I don't think he's nearly as good as Tua. I don't think he's as good as Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields. I don't think he has the skills of Josh Allen. I don't think he's that big, that strong, and that athletic. He ain't Lamar, and he's not Mahomes.

But Cincinnati probably has to take him. He's an Ohio kid, 15 and 0. If you take Justin Herbert and he's so-so, everybody gets fired. If you take Burrow and he's so-so, the owner's happy. You take him. Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James back in, what is it, 2003. Carmelo Anthony went to college and single-handedly won a national title. Carmelo Anthony was a more refined offensive player.

I can remember talking to people in the league saying, LeBron's going to be better, but Carmelo's going to be a better offensive player. Carmelo was much more refined early as an offensive player. LeBron came into the NBA and he was just a freight train. It wasn't until, like, to be honest with you, it wasn't until he went to Miami and he developed a little low post game. He was humiliated in that finals against Dallas, that he really changed his offensive game.

It was limited. He was just so talented. But you had to take LeBron. He was the chosen one. He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He was from Akron. You're in Cleveland. You had to take LeBron.

And most people were like, you know, LeBron's better. But when you're Cincinnati and you got to sell tickets and, you know, Joe Burrow, he's the hometown kid. He was a Buckeye and the story and the owner. You just take him. And Burrow, to me and Justin Herbert are fairly close. So if it's close, take him. Just take him.

It wasn't like Bryce Harper, where Bryce Harper came out. He was so much better than the next prospect, you go number one. But you get into a lot of these where you're like, it could go either way. There's very few Wayne Gretzky's or Mariola Mews when you're like, okay, he's the number one pick. It just doesn't matter. You usually have very big arguments on this. And a lot of people like John Morant. It's not bold saying it.

Everybody like John Morant. Everybody said he's Russell Westbrook, but a better shooter and a better passer. If I told you Westbrook could shoot and was a better teammate, you'd be like, oh, my guy's the top five player in the league. That's what holds him back. So, you know, I don't think it's a bold statement saying it. Now, I do think when a GM says, you know, I would have drafted John Morant. I'm like, oh, that's adorable. Who's your owner?

Because he's going to make the decision on that, not a general manager. Doc Rivers love him. Jerry West love him. But if Steve Ballmer comes in and is like, you know how much money I can make off Zion, then you draft in Zion. That's the way it works. When the owner comes down, Zion is just ticket sales. He is just going to put you on television. I mean, go look at what LeBron did.

Forget the titles and the basketball stuff. Look at what LeBron did to Dan Snyder's net worth. The Cavs were, they've been a joke for 20 years. Dan Gilbert, excuse me. They've been a joke for 20 years. They were a joke before LeBron. He got there. They were great.

He left there a joke. He comes back there great. He leaves there a joke. I mean, so, and I don't have a problem with the owner when you get into these, I could take either guy, Zion or John Morant. I don't have a problem with an owner saying, listen, this guy's good at basketball and he helps business? I'm going to take that guy.

And John Morant's one of those people. Not many of them, by the way. I couldn't tell you the last college basketball player that I literally rushed home to see. Never forget that. Duke against Virginia, boring Virginia that wins like 40. to 40 beat a Laker Houston game. That's incredible. Can you imagine how good you'd have to be in college?

To have Ohio State plays some boring school, right? And it beats the Dallas Cowboys game. Dallas Cowboys brand against anybody. Like, oh my God. Zion is that special. He changed the college ratings. He changed the Summer League ratings. And watch tonight, Zion will move the NBA rating.

ratings. John Morant, great player. It's not moving the numbers. Folks, it's definitely winter and the time. Think about winter. It is freezing outside. Even 40 degrees in Miami last night, but it's cozy inside. If you sleep in a Casper, casper.com. The code is cozy, C-O-Z-Y for 10% off any purchase. With a mattress today, terms and conditions apply.

One small suitcase is all I'm taking as we head to hour number two. Can't wait. Antonio Cromartie, Steve Burline, Andrew Whitworth, Rick Buecker loaded. It's 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. 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 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience

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

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

as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search learn the hard way and listen now.

What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, the Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee.

We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. What?

Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Rhett, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Joe Dono. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Help!

Somebody! But there's so much more to me than me. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian. And recently, I've become quite the... the helper myself. And on my new podcast, hope from a hypocrite,

I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff rant

and recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice. One ring is too scary. Oh, cream of chicken suit.

A cream, cream of chicken soup. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrat as part of the Mike Coulthura podcast network available on the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Ah, here we go. Hour number two, Antonio Cromarty's bringing the hammer today, 15 minutes out. He's going to defend Richard Sherman. He and Dorel Revis are all fighting and stuff. I take the Richard Sherman angle over Dorell Revis, although Dorell was great as well. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio and FS-W. Andrew Whitworth with us today.

Steve Berline with us. Rick Buecker, Zion debuts tonight. Joey Taylor and I, three large suitcases for Miami for Joy, one for shoes. I am taking a small singular suitcase and have absolutely no problem with it. And I'm going to take a picture of it. By the way, I'm one of those people. I roll up socks, jam them in shoes. shoes. I'm a

great packer. I literally every inch I use the density of my... I travel a lot. So I am a great packer. Usually I do everything I can to carry on. I do not like to check a bag. But I'm going to be there for 10 days.

And it's Miami. I don't know what to expect. It's like 40 degrees right now. It could be 40 degrees this week. It could be 85 next week. And in Miami you have to show out. So it's, you know, L.A. I come here and like, you know, some yoga pants and sneaks. It's a little more...

No, not me. No? You're ever going to bring your fancy shoes? Well, the company brings a handful of shoes for the set. Our company does bring some dress shirts. You know what? I'm married. I got nothing to prove.

I got nobody to impress. I'm just going to go out there and wear warm-ups and an old ratty... Warm-ups? NHL T-shirt and I'll be good. You got the old-school breakaways? All right. Let me start with this. I like aggressive people.

I mean, sometimes the media is obsessed over small failures. I like people who swing for the fences. Rupert Murdoch owns our company. He's one of the most brilliant people who's been in American media ever. I mean, he really, it was ABC, NBC, CBS. He rolled the dice on Simpsons, rolled the dice on Fox, rolled the dice on the NFL contract, just ahead of his time. Sold the movie business at the perfect time recently.

but he also went and gambled on MySpace and spent a bunch of money on it and it didn't work out. And it was the kind of the precursor to Facebook. He took big swings. Twitter is littered with people that sit around waiting to jump on people who take risks. You're losers. Losers in life. You have one life. Live it.

You got one life, player. Live it. Take some swings, baby. Roll the dice occasionally. Kyle Shanahan gets crap because he had a 12. 283 lead in the Super Bowl with Atlanta, and everybody's crushing him because he lost a lead and you should have just run the football and you pass the football. He took swings.

First of all, add some context to it. It was very complicated. New England got hot. You know, Dan Quinn was the coach. He was just the coordinator. Then you had veteran Matt Ryan. And, you know, there was a lot of different play calls. But the idea that I've ever thought less of Kyle Shanahan, Pete Carroll,

lost a Super Bowl, and I defended him when he cut a turn and gave the ball to Marshawn Lynch. He lost to Texas, USC, USC, you know I'm a USC guy. All they needed was a couple of yards. They didn't have Reggie Bush in the game. Those are tough losses for Pete Carroll. He's still one of the 10 best football coaches of my life. You can't worry about failure. You've got to take swings.

Kyle Shanahan talks about that 283 Super Bowl loss. Losing a Super Bowl is extremely tough for everybody, especially when you lose when you have a 28 to 3 lead going into the fourth. But the way it came down on me personally, I didn't react to that, I think, the way people would expect. Because there's definitely parts in that Super Bowl that I would love to have back and stuff I was very hard on myself. But, you know, the whole narrative of if I just would have ran that, we would have won.

I know that wasn't the case. This is one of the smartest guys in football. And if he loses the Super Bowl, do you know what his career NFL record is? 25 and 26. It's hard to win in this league. Bill Parcell is one of the best coaches I've ever seen. One of the things I respect about Bill Parcells, he never took easy jobs.

He always took rebuild jobs. That's what I love about Bill Parcells. Phil Jackson kind of went to the places. Phil took some good jobs, and I love Phil. But I mean, when you go to Kobe and Shaq, it's pretty easy. Michael and Scotty, Bill Parcells is like, now I want to take places that don't have any players that are bad,

and I'm going to turn them around. Urban Meyer did that a lot in college football. Utah, Bowling Green, Ohio State, Luke Fickle had a bad year. Florida was kind of a mess, Post Ron Zuck. So Parcells is a risk taker,

and Urban's a risk taker, and they take big swings, and because of it, you have some losing records and bad years, but I think the media just obsesses, Twitter obsesses over failures. Howard Stern got fired. Why? He's a risk taker. He makes $90 million a year now.

Take risks. No growth without risk. Take some swings. Playa, take some swings in life. All right, let me segue to this. Now, I just said an NBA owner, even if you like John Morant a little more, an NBA owner does have a right to say, well, Zion's great too, and he's way better for business. That's where I think, I think it's okay for an owner in the NBA.

If you have two great players, LeBron and Carmelo, the owner can say, well, we're in Ohio, so is LeBron. I'm taking him. I get the Joe Burrough Cincinnati thing. Listen, they're all pretty close. Burrow's a Cincinnati kid. I'm taking him. This is what I don't like when an owner does.

According to a source, the Miami Dolphins would love to land Joe Burrow. Specifically, owner Stephen Ross is the one that wants Burrow. Yeah, Dan Snyder wanted Dwayne Haskins. Jerry Jones wanted Johnny Mansell. Do you know why owners like Stephen Ross like Joe Burrow? This is something I learned years ago from a guy named Mark Workentine. He says, owners don't pour over tape, but owners have rich friends, a wife, and sometimes a mistress or both. If you're in the NBA and there's a great European player and there's a great domestic player, just take the domestic guy.

Because the owner watched him in March Madness and he can tell his rich buddies, I love that guy. I knew this kid would be great. And if he's not, you don't get fired. But if you take the international guy, over the guy that was good in March Madness, who you haven't seen any whiffs, you get fired. So if they're close, European player, domestic player, just take the domestic guy. You won't get fired if it doesn't work. Joe Burrow is what owners love.

He was on TV. He played for a great team. He was 15 and 0. He set records. So the owner can go to his rich friends and go, yeah, I told him, I love Joe Burrow. You know who's hard to draft? Josh Allen who played at Wyoming. You know who's hard to draft?

Carson Wentz, who played somewhere in the Dakotas. Owners don't love drafting those guys because they can't go to their rich buddies and go, yeah, I know football. I told him Joe Burrow. Everybody knows the owner's not sitting watching Lithuanian basketball tape. This is where you get into trouble.

Is that the Miami Dolphins have done a remarkable job so far, it's gone perfect. They accumulated 11 draft picks for this draft. They played their butt off, even though they were kind of tanking. And now they have three elite quarterback prospects, and they don't have to move to get one. If they give up all their picks, which they'd have to do to get to number one, you know it's not Brian Flores and the executives. You know it's the crazy owner. Because Miami's game plan so far has been perfect. They played their butt off.

They accumulated draft picks. And they're perfectly situated at number five to get one of the three quarterbacks. And I don't believe any of these quarterbacks are miles ahead of the other, although I think Tua is better, but because of his medical issues, that lowers, hires the risk and lowers his ceiling a tad. If Tua never gets hurt ever, that's a guy I can move up for. But because of the injuries, those are legitimate concerns.

Getting to it five is great. So you just know that if the dolphins move up to get Burrow, that has been an owner move. And I'll give you an example. Last night, very unique. I went to dinner last night with two people. I did not know the background of one of the people. One of the people, I can't tell you who it is. One of the people I went to dinner with is a former NFL exec three months ago who,

who got let go by a crazy owner. And he likes the owner, but the owner's crazy. It's one of these five or six absurdly dysfunctional NFL teams. He told me stories for 30, 45 minutes last night that it was head spinning. You cannot overcome a crazy town owner. The coach can't, the players can't, the executives can't. They can't. And you don't know, because nobody wants to call out an owner as a

player or a coach because, you know, there's like 32 billionaires and they're all, it's a good old boys network and you don't want to tick them off. And, you know, so nobody's going to call it anybody and you're an executive and all they have to do is make one phone call to another billionaire and say, this guy's a jerk. But Miami has done everything right in this rebuild. They should be so proud of themselves this last year. Their owner likes Joe Burrow. If they move up to get Burrow, just know it's not Brian Flores. there's no need to move up. You've got Tua or Herbert at five.

And their borough is not here as a prospect compared to Tua and Justin Herbert. All right. Antonio Cromarty is going to be joining us next. It was a crazy dinner last night. I was sitting there hearing stories about, I wish I could tell you who it was. I regret not being able to tell you the owner and the team. It was head spinning. It was crazy.

Crazy stories. Antonio Carmardi 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 rapidly. up in the chase, that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still

chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about All healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now.

What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out.

Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Brett. My mama want you to weigh better. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Help! Somebody! But there's so much more to me than me. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian.

and recently I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, hope from a hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian! I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff rant and recommend some of

the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice. One ring is too scary. Oh, cream a chicken suit. Hey, cream. Cream a chicken suit. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know.

Listen to Help from Hypocrite as part of the Mike Coutura Podcast Network available on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We're headed to Miami. Starting Monday, The Herd and all of our FS1 shows will be live at Luma's Park on South Beach as we get ready for Super Bowl 54. We'll have great guests, including Russell Wilson, Michael Strayhan, and Jimmy Johnson. And thanks to our incredible crew, who's putting together our massive set overlooking the beach. FS1 Super Bowl Week live from Miami is only five days away. So Russell Wilson's booked for our show? It's awesome.

Really? It's on the paper. He's going to be there. It's your guy. He likes me. I'm supportive of Russell Wilson. Plus Michael Strayhan, Jimmy Johnson. Antonio Cromarty Pro Bowl for almost half.

the years he played 11 years in the league four-time pro bowler. You know, I was talking about ownership, and, you know, it's interesting. You were in San Diego, and the Spanos family has been a very polarizing family. They're not well-liked in San Diego right now. Los Angeles, not a lot of buzz, even though they have a lot of good players. I am of the belief that you can never overcome in the NFL. Doesn't matter what your roster is or your coach. You can't.

I mean, Belichick got fired in Cleveland. You can't overcome iffy ownership. Did you ever in your 11 years have ownership that you thought got in the way of winning football games? I felt like San Diego did, but it wasn't ownership. And the reason I said that is like it was more so GM. AJ Smith. AJ Smith. So we go 14 and 2, my rookie year, 2006.

He turns around and say, you're not going to fire my mom. Marty and then a week later you fired Marty. Yeah, it was unbelievable. And it was like, what in the world just went on? How did that play in the locker room? It didn't play very well because a lot of people love Marty. Marty treated those, treatise like, man, Marty was

like, hey, you guys, every single day you come here, just come to work, is do what we got to do. And I love them because he actually, like, got to know me. And he got to take me on his, He took me on his wing just to make sure I was okay throughout my whole entire rookie.

You had a human connection. Yes. I mean, I get you a promise of him. I think we played Cincinnati, 2006. We was down 25. We was down by 28 points at halftime. We ended up coming back and winning that game. I gave up two touchdowns that game as a rookie.

And we was flipping in and out. Me and Dredon Florence was going back and forth. He'll go every other series. I'll go every other series. So I never really could. Like, for me, I could never get my rhythm. And after the game, I went to talk to him about it. It's like, look, coach, I can never get my rhythm.

Like, you guys keep taking me out doing this. And he was like, you know what, you're right. He said, but this is what I'm going to do. You didn't have a great game. You didn't have, you know, the game that we're looking for. I was like, I feel like I'm putting a lot of pressure on you. This is what I want to do. I want to just let you play nickel.

And I was like, thank you. And you played every play. And I played every play on nickel. So, like, for him to, like, understand where I was coming from as a player, it made me feel good. When he left, it was just like, okay, I have, now we have new coach and stuff with North Turner. Ted Cottrell was my defense coordinator. I had Bill Bradley as a DB coach and Kevin Ross as the cornerback coach.

So I actually built a great relationship with Kevin Ross, but I felt like it wasn't ownership. I think we just... Your front office, your general manager. Yeah, general manager just got in the way. He was a guy that... Listen, team was never the same. No, but it was just like he never called guys out by their name. Yeah.

He called guys by the number. Yeah. And that was something that was like, what? Why are you calling every guy by the number instead of calling a guy by his name? Now, that stuff matters. I don't think it was more so the ownership part of it. I think it was more so the general manager want to just, and they let them have full control of it. Yeah.

By the way, the chart, AJ Smith, there's no question. There were questions about ego and decision making. I thought that was a horrible decision. Let me ask you about, we got into the Joe Burrow comp, and I get Cincinnati having to draft him. And you can certainly make the argument, because I make the argument with Joe Burrow, that what is he great at?

Size, okay, arm, okay, athletic ability, okay. There's no great. Now you can make the argument, what's Tom Brady great at? But Tom wasn't the number one pick. That's why he dropped. If I said to you today, Justin Herbert, Tua, Joe Burrow, who would you pick and why?

Tua. And the reason I say The reason I'm going to take tour Is he's been the more consistent quarterback Out of all three Since high school, yeah Since high school And he's the guy that's

Went out and proven himself Week in a week in a week out I think with Joe Burrow Couldn't win He couldn't win the starting job in Ohio State He comes down to LSU He has the best year ever As a college player

Goes out, his one year I can't focus on On a one year thing The quarterback was saying Hibert at Oregon. Yeah. Inconsistent. You don't know what you're going to get from weekend and week out.

That's fair. Tua is the guy that was the more consistent guy in his college career besides the injury with him having this injury. But I'm taking Tula all day. I want to talk about Richard Sherman and Dorel Revis got into a spat. I mean, Dorel Revis is a Hall of Fame level corner. Richard Sherman's a Hall of Fame level corner. And both great.

Revis had a lot of holdouts. You know, Dorell manipulative. I think, you know, got a little bit more money than his prime because he was a guy that just wouldn't show up to camp. He's a great player, though, nothing against him. He declined kind of quickly. Richard Sherman, I think at his best, is as good as any corner. We've had it a long, long time. He was long.

He was smart. He had great instincts. He had great hands. He had great feel for the game. And he had great closing speed. So they were going back and forth on Twitter. Who do you defend here? Revis, because didn't one of them go after you?

Reeve said something I mean but this is this is my thing like I'm not I'm not here to defend neither nobody like I always my stand's always been that Reeves has always been the best Revis is the best and that's my stance has never

changed on that I mean I've said that multiple times even when he came at me I was like Lou you're in your feelings look I don't really care but I can't sit here and downplay another corner that's going to be on the future that's a future Hall of Famer

when his time is up to say, well, if he doesn't travel, he doesn't do this. He's not great at this. So you defended Richard Sherman. And I'm just like, you know, it's the scheme. It's the scheme that he plays in. And the scheme that he plays in doesn't ask him to follow. Even though he did follow Devante Adams this weekend in the first quarter.

If you watch the game closely, he was playing left and right, following Devante Adams in the first quarter, which I think Kyle Shahan came out and said they just wanted to give them something different to look at. But my thing was, I can't, Revis is the best at what he did. He can play zone. He can play, man, he can travel, he can do this. Sherman's at the best way of what he does. He plays in the zone.

He's his own corner. He knows his abilities. He knows his attributes and what he's good at. And he's a very smart corner. He has a very high IQ and understands what he needs to do and be in the right places. So I'm not sitting here picking the side at all because you got two future Hall of Famers. That's in her arguing about who's the best when both on going to be wearing

gold jackets at the end of their career anyway. Yeah. You know, Richard, one of the things I like about Richard, Richard's a big personality. Yeah, he is. And I will say this. It took me a while to come around on Richard. But the reality is, you know, you look at the NBA right now. They have a lot of great players, but Kauai didn't have much of a personality.

Chris Paul's not a big personality guy. AD is not a big personality guy. The NFL right now has some guys who want to talk. They have OBJ. They have Levian Bell will talk. Richard Sherman will talk. And let's be honest about it. It's good for sports.

It is. But, I mean, just like you said, what I'm going to? I didn't like him either. Because, I mean, you want to card yourself the best. And he called us up the best. I think he called Reeves out in 2012 when he was towards ACL. Right. And they had that spat back and forth then.

And, I mean, I think I got into the spat in like 2012, 2014. and I'm just like, you know, at the end of the day, and I've told Sherman this too, it's like I just, I felt like I was better. I'm better than you too at my prime, you know? But, you know, but everyone has their own opinion about themselves. But only person to me that's been tagged as the best corner to play the game is Dion Sanders.

Yeah. That's the only person that's been tagged the greatest corner of all time. I mean, you have some great ones. You have Willie Brown. You have Darryl Green. Dowell Green. You have Lester Hayes. You got Mike Hayes, Rod Woodson, Charles Wilson, Champ Bailey.

I mean, and the list can go on, Mel Blunt. You know, and you have those guys that's, I mean, you got a guy named Mel Blunt that changed the whole entire game. With the five-yard rule, we're putting your hands on the receiver. So, I mean, it's just understanding, like, there's different generations and then different years. Every year we're going to have a different corner. that's supposed to be the best. You know, Patrick Peterson, I felt like had a couple years in his book where he was the best corner.

So it's just depends on what's the hot tea right now. Yeah. Let me finally with this. If you were Tom Brady, you have $300 million in the bank. You got all the rings and stuff, and you want to play one more year. But you do feel a little disrespected by New England. Why not just stay for one more year, just be a Patriot Forever? What is the point?

Couldn't you just suck it up and stay? like would you really want to go to the chargers and then there's pictures of you forever in a charger. Like the Michael Jordan Wizards uniform, you're like, I just want to erase those from my memory. Do you think he stays or leaves? Could you leave?

If there's friction, yeah, I will leave. I think there is friction. I think there's been friction for like probably the past couple years in the organization with him and Belichick. They may not show it or say it, but I believe there's friction there. And everyone wants to prove they can win without each other.

So what's the best way to do is to leave and show who can win and who cannot win. Because if Brady leave, they haven't prepared for having a quarterback. Yeah, that's true. You know, that's the biggest thing. And you trade away Garapolo, who's supposed to be the guy that's next in line, and you don't have anybody else. And now you don't have anybody. So honestly, I would love to see him in a charge of uniform.

If that happens, I don't know what's going to happen with Full of Rivers. But I would see him... I'll tell you what, it wouldn't be terrible for the league. It would not be... It wouldn't be terrible for the Chargers. I just put it that way. No, I mean, if you had Tom Brady in a Chargers uniform, that again feels like urgent.

Oh my God, I got to watch this. But are we going back to the Johnny United States? Well, I mean, I just... Sometimes from my perspective, Joy and Iowa say this, we just root for interesting. I mean, seriously, I mean, I don't want guys to get hurt, but if Brady with the Chargers is captivated. It may not work, but it gets me to a television.

I would watch every Chargers game. And in the end, in my business, I'm rooting for that stuff. What if you had Brady Chargers, Rivers, New England? That's not going to happen. Because Phillips mistake prone and Belichick's nothing to that. I mean, you never know. Belichick can fix it. All right.

Good seeing you, bud. Good seeing you. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herd Line News. by Mercedes-Bets, the best or nothing. Well, one particular group of people are hoping that he does not go to the Chargers

or Patriots fans, they're desperate. And someone even wrote Stay Tom in a snow-covered field, and Brady posted a picture of its Instagram with a caption, Love You All. Now, I will say, if I was, you know, trying to contemplate where I was going to go, looking at an endless field of snow and dead trees, Probably not the way I wanted to do it. But I feel like he's leaving for multiple reasons. Okay, give me him.

Well, first of all, the most important reason is, and we've discussed this before, I think that ego is an important thing to certain people. And the entire narrative, since they began winning championships, is are you on Belichick side or on your, are you on Brady side? who is more responsible for this dynasty. Now, in reality, they're both obviously responsible for the dynasty. But if one of them can go on and win another Super Bowl, even if Tom can go somewhere else,

because we're going to assume Belichick's going to coach for a little while longer. He may have, he's going to have a longer amount of time to win a Super Bowl. If Tom can go somewhere else and win another Super Bowl, that's going to, I think, is going to play a bigger role in, you know, looking at back on this dynasty. who mattered more. Now, it's silly, because who cares, really? Like, they had an incredible run.

It will never happen again in the history of the NFL and whatever. But I think that's one part of it. And, too, I think that, you know, what happened in New England with the money and not getting him the players and the pieces that he needed, especially, you know, we talk about windows all the time. Where did, he's left so much money on the table for them to not have pieces around him that he needs, knowing that Gronkowski is going to retire, knowing that, you know, knowing that your pieces are getting older, like knowing that he left money on the table, that lack of

aggression to bring in free agents. People want to play there. They want to play for Belichick. They want to play with Tom Brady. So I think that's, there's a little bit of tension there. Yeah, it is weird when you look at Brady's taking all these pay cuts and then you look at it and you're like, well, where's the money going? They don't pay a tight end anymore.

They pay Stefan Gilmore. They don't pay any of their pass rushers big money. They don't pay any of their offensive linemen big money. It's almost like it's, you know, sometimes you see these businesses, they're, they these, you know, and you're like, you ever, you ever seen a business and wondered, like, where the money is going? Like, New England's a classic. Where's the money going?

Like, did they paying everybody like B level? They don't have any D contracts. But outside of Gilmore, they don't have a single player that's highest paid or near highest paid. They don't have a tie-down. They pay any money to them pay their quarterback any money. They don't pay any of these backs any money. They don't pay anybody in their offensive line anymore. Who are they paying?

I don't know. And it's not that they're a poorly run organization. No. Obviously not. But how do you think Tom Fields looking at Patrick Mahomes and what he has to work with? Well, let's take somebody else. Or he didn't Phillip Rivers because we're talking about him going to the charges. How about Kirk Cousins?

Kirk Cousins makes $7 million more a year. I don't think it's the Patrick Mahomes. Like I understand him looking at Patrick and saying he's new, he's hot, his contracts up. But I think he looks at Kirk Cousins and thinks, all right, time out. Come on. That's the guys that drive you crazy. It's not the superstar at the top. You're like, everybody gets, you know, it's time, your contract's up, and you're great.

I think Tom gets the Aaron Rogers, Russell Wilson. I think the middle guys, that's what irritates him. Right. And so to me, I think those two factors, him wanting to win a Super Bowl outside of Belichick and just being fed up with not having the pieces around him and him having to carry the team while leaving all that money on the table is going to play a role in him leaving. So the Cowboys still haven't locked Dak Prescott into a long-term deal. And Stephen Jones says that's the first thing on their to-do list this off season.

It's been urgent for us. We want to certainly get that done. And that's our number one priority as we go into the offseason is to get his contract, hopefully find some resolution to it and get that done. He also said resigning Amari Cooper is the number two priority. Again, I've said this forever with Doc Prescott. I don't get it. I don't know what their long-term plan is.

If they don't keep Dak Prescott, do they have somebody else? Are they going to draft someone? You've got the guy, figure it out. You've got Mike McCarthy. He did wonders for Aaron Rogers. Everyone forgets. We just have amnesia about the beginning of Aaron Rogers' career. They forgets they completely changed his throwing motion.

He's the first bout Hall of Fame. Yeah, people go to YouTube and look at Aaron Rogers throwing motion at Cal and look at it under McCarthy. I remember Aaron Rogers at Cal. I can remember this joy. I remember watching a game against USC. He was so mechanical. Aaron was one of those guys. He kept the ball right here all the time.

and McCarthy loosened him up. Now Aaron's made several changes to his mechanics, his feet, his hips. But it also should be noted that Aaron's Rogers came down slightly without McCarthy for all the McCarthy bashers. Right. And I'm not saying that Mike McCarthy is solely responsible for Aaron Rogers' success. Obviously, he's an incredible talent. But I just, what's the plan? So you franchise him this year.

Then what? Then you draft a quarterback. With what? Are you planning on being terrible next year? They're not going to be bad next year. Goulet, what is your, what, you just gave me a thumbs up on that? Draft a quarterback. You have a year for him to develop.

If he's good, then you can say goodbye to Dack. And if he doesn't develop, then you can franchise him again or do a long-term deal. Sweating. I hate this plan for the Cowboys. I actually almost hope they do it because I know it's going to backfire so badly that, and that's not what I want. Like, I want the Cowboys to be competitive because they're great for us. They're great for business.

To just give DAC his contract, which I actually believe they're going to do. Finally, Zion Williamson is. Finally making his NBA debut tonight. Yes. Very exciting. Congrats Zion and your recovery. Suffered a knee injury in the preseason. And he said the road to recovery was a difficult one.

The rehab workouts, they're long and strenuous. It was a lot of times when I just wanted to punch a wall or kick chairs because it's frustrating. But not be able to move your body the way you want to, not to make any athletic movements. I mean, it's tough, especially since I'm 19 and having to play in my first NBA game. So it was tough, but I battled with it. Feel for Zion, because recovery is incredibly frustrating. And when you're coming into your first NBA season and with the buzz that Zion came into the league with to then get an injury that you have to work through to, you know, miss this amount of time of the season is incredibly frustrating.

I mean, you've had some minor injuries before. Like when your body is not responding the way that you want it to. Especially at his age. You know, once you get older, you know, you kind of start like, oh, okay, this hurts a little bit. Like, I'm going to have to work on that. But, I mean, it's 19 years old. Like, this is not how things are supposed to be going. Working out and seeing results.

Like, I worked out today and then I threw a touchdown pass tomorrow. Right. Is rewarding. I'm working out today and I can't play is frustrating. It's nice to work out. Like, I work out, and it allows me to go have a big fat steak. So I'm like, oh, I worked out. So that's rewarding.

That I work out so I can eat. Right. No, I'm with you. That's the only reason that I work out. But rehab is awful. So I'm sure he was very frustrated. We're very excited to see him tonight. And they are going to watch his minutes. He's not going to be on a hard minutes restriction, but they are going to, you know, pay attention to how many minutes he plays. All right. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. Super Bowl champ, former NFL quarterback, Steve Burline. Some thoughts on Jimmy Garapolo. I think one of the guys said this morning in the last, what is he's thrown? 14 passes in the last, what, like six quarters? Is it frustrating when you are on a run dominant team? That's coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters, to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who

live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer 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 hard way and listen now. What's up, guys?

This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Time out. Quarterback on office, Blue, 42. A rep, mom. I'm going to want you to weigh better. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Help! Somebody! Please! But there's so much more to me than me.

I'm an actor. I'm a comedian. And recently, I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hippocrat, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff rant and recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice. One ring is too scary.

Oh, cream of chicken suit. Hey, cream. Cream of chicken soup. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrite as part of the Mike Cultura podcast network available on the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 14 seasons, a Pro Bowl and a Super Bowl. Steve Berline is joining us, and it's interesting. We were talking during the break.

Let's really hone in on this and zero in on this. You played for Mike Shanahan, dad of Kyle, and he is still remains Mike Shanahan. Sanahan, one of your very best friends. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And first off, 17 years. We've talked about this board, but I had three years on injured reserve. Damn.

But they still count. So I get 17 years. But, but yeah, Mike Shanahan is still one of my very best friends. Heck, when he was the coach of the Raiders back in the 88, 89, he was there for 20 games. I was the L.A. Raiders. I was the young up-and-coming quarterback, supposedly. And Kyle was a five or six-year-old ball. boy for us. So I've known Kyle since he was, you know, kindergarten and just have seen his

development through the years and really, really happy for what's going on right now for him. I know Mike is extremely proud. I was texting Mike during the game the other day, Mike and his wife Peggy. And just you could see the pride in his face for what his son is accomplishing. And he's just done a great job all the way through. Yeah, Kyle definitely deserves the credit. But Mike has had influence. Mike was very intense. He's been very intense. He's been very very successful in real estate post football. Mike's a very successful, smart guy. Kyle is super bright. Do you know, do you see a little of Mike and Kyle's coaching? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I think the whole coaching philosophy comes from Mike. It starts with Mike. And then you go through

the different other people that have had influence on him. And, you know, Gary Kubiak, who he was the coordinator for in Atlanta, or I mean, in Houston, excuse me. And then they, you know, Kyle's kind of branched off on his way in Atlanta and kind of developed his own system, so to speak. But it's all based off the philosophies that Mike instilled in guys like Gary Kubiak and that whole tree of coaches that has come from there. And Kyle has just taken it to the next level. So in the last, what is it, 14 passes for Garoppolo in the last six quarters. Right. Did you ever play on a team with a powerful running game and you knew.

you had to make very few throws, but you had to be ready for it. At one point, Garoppolo, I think Joe Buck and Troy Eggman said he hasn't thrown a pass in over an hour. It was amazing. I mean, we were doing the match. I was sitting with Trent Green in New York watching that game. And it had been, I think his last pass in the first half was with two or three minutes left. And I don't know if he threw a pass in the third quarter. And then he threw one or two that completion he had to Kittle at the crossing route.

beginning of the fourth quarter, I think, was his next pass. That's not always easy, though, Steve. No, it's not easy. You know, it's like asking somebody, you know, in the NBA, like Kobe Bryant liked to be, shooters like to be, shooters shoot, give me in a rhythm. To ask a quarterback, okay, we need a huge third down throw. Did you ever plan a team like that? Well, I played with Emmett Smith of the Dallas Cowboys, so we fed it to Emmett pretty regularly,

without a doubt. But never that kind of a period of time, I don't think in a big game like that. But I don't think Kyle planned it that way. I think Kyle said, we're going to come out, we're going to run the football. He always plans on running first, and all the big plays come off of the play action, those bootlegs and the semi-boot legs where they set up and throw it back across the field. Jimmy's made all those throws all year. I'm sure that was a big part of the game plan.

They didn't expect Moster to go untouched into the end zone four times, I don't think. It was a lot easier running the football against that team, Green Bay Packers the other night, than they expected it to be. but everything definitely, you can mark my words, it started with getting that run game established because it always does. When you, we were talking about bad ownership, and I had dinner last night with an executive

that just got let go from a wildly dysfunctional organization. And he didn't have any resentment toward the former owner, but it was crazy town, just not well run. And I've been saying this, is that Joe Burroughs talented, but I don't think he's talented enough, and I said this about Baker Mayfield, to overcome dysfunction.

I think Trevor Lawrence is, you know, I think there's guys like Russell Wilson, Mahomes. There are trans, you know, Andrew Luck overcame a lot of dysfunction. Sure. Those guys are once a decade, okay, Marino. Did you ever have a situation? You were in Oakland. There was some dysfunction with L Davis.

Heck yeah. Tell me about it. Well, it was, you can argue either side of that. I mean, he ran that organization, built that organization. They had tremendous success through the 70s. But then, you know, as the game evolved, he was kind of stuck in his Rader way. And that we all paid the price for that. I got caught up in that myself. And Mike Shanahan was brought in to be the coach to kind of catch the Raiders up offensively

and kind of take it to the new philosophical level where the offensive game was going. at that time. The problem was Al Davis couldn't back out. He had to keep his hand in the game and wanted to be involved and still wanted to have his handprints on that football team. And it actually kind of magnified when they

made the trade for Jay Schrader. Mike Shanahan had committed to me to be the starting quarterback in 1988. Al Davis made the trade for Jay Schrader after we beat the San Diego Chargers on opening day in the 1988 season. Mike Shanahan knew nothing about it.

The trade was made for Jay Schrader. And then it became a battle of Al Davis wanted Jay Schrader. Mike Shanahan wanted me. And you're in the middle of it. It lasted 20 games. Oh, Lord. The owner won. The owner won.

That is insane. And could you sense that Mike Shanahan was struggling with Al? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean, there's no doubt. The whole team knew what was going on. It was Mike Shannon's first job as a head coach. How frustrating would that be?

Yeah. And he was brought in to. catch the Raiders up to the new wave of offensive football. But he wasn't given that opportunity. And it worked out great for Mike. I mean, he came out of it okay,

I think, when you look back on the whole thing. But it was a very difficult start for him. And all of us that lived through, that was right when Marcus Allen was going through all of his stuff with Al Davis as well. That was nonsense. No one could ever question the motivation for Al Davis. He wanted to win. Oh, no, there's no question. Commitment to excellence and all that

stuff. It was real. You know, it's one of the things, I see this a lot. I always say if you don't evolve in marriage, business, life, like you've got to constantly adapt. And it is hard, Steve, when you've been super successful in life. Jerry's got $8 billion in the bank, right? And then all of a sudden, people are like, no, you've got to change. And Jerry's like, excuse me? I quadrupled the value of this franchise. And I think Al Davis felt like he'd been called a pioneer. Right. He was at one point, at the end, he was one of the poorest owners, but for a long time, he was celebrated as a maverick by the media.

Right. And I think that he was probably the model that if you were to ask Jerry Jones, who was the most impactful owner or owners, that he dealt with in his early days. I'm sure Al Davis would have been one of the first names that would come out. By the way, you dealt with Jerry, didn't you? I did. Yeah, I went from the Raiders to Dallas.

And what was he like? What was the young Jerry like? Well, I loved playing for the Cowboys at that time. And, you know, Jimmy Johnson, I didn't. think I would like Jimmy Johnson because of the Notre Dame Miami history. Yeah. And I was really deep caught up in that. And Jimmy won me over right away, though.

And he was really the guy, no matter what anybody says, he was the guy that was really molding those teams and shaping those teams and the brains behind what was going on there. And we all knew it. We all played very hard for Jimmy. Jerry ran a first class operation and was involved, I'm sure, in a lot of the stuff. but he was learning how to be an owner at that point. Jimmy wasn't learning how to be a coach. Jimmy already knew how to be a coach, yeah.

And knew how to build a team. Yeah, by the way, when Jimmy got elected live on TV to the Hall of Fame, I said this, I do a Sunday show, NFL kickoff. I do it so I can come in and talk to Howie and Jimmy and Strayhan and all these guys, right, about football and Terry Bradshaw. I've never learned more football from anybody in my life than Jimmy. So I just could not be happier. Steve Burline, 17 years.

years in the NFL. I was ripping him off is what I was doing, hour three 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. We're headed to Miami. Starting Monday, The Herd and all of our FS1 shows will be live at Lumas Park on South Beach as we get ready for Super Bowl 54.

We'll have great guests, including Russell Wilson, Michael Strayan, and Jimmy Johnson, FS1 Super Bowl Week, live from Miami. is only five days away. I love Super Bowl Week. Andrew Whitworth, 14 years in the NFL, four-time Pro Bowler, and just had ankle surgery, but you're walking around, you look great. By the way, Super Bowl Week can be a little bit of a circus, so what would be your advice,

having done it? There's two weeks. What's the first week like? I think the first week is the most important week to really lock into football. I mean, when you get there to the Super Bowl site, all the things getting pulled, you know, you're getting pulled a million directions. And, you know, it's going to be an opportunity that you're really not going to have a ton of time to just focus football. So this week right here is the key week for game plans, for studying, for getting the body prepared to really get prepared next week.

That's just going to be kind of a different week. And you're just going to have to endure the week a little bit. There's going to be media in the mornings or media in the afternoons and practice. It's just not going to be the week you're used to. Now, can you install things? Did Sean install things a day out and say, I found one more thing? Yeah, I think really this week, you know, leading up to next week, there's going to be more of like the general game plan.

Like, hey, we'll kind of have no, what we want to do. We'll study the opponent, understand what they do really well and what we're going to need to do in this football game to be successful. But then next week, there's still going to be, hey, as we watch through the week, there's a play here or a play there that we might need to put in because we kind of like it now. The more we've thought about it or the more we've watched how this defense operates or offense, you know, how they do things. We may want to put in this blitz package.

And so I think there'll still be tinkers. There'll be things you'll adjust next week. But that's really all you have time for next week. This week is the key week to get the basis of everything in that you really need to be able to do. Andrew, you played in a lot of big games. You played in big Steeler games and Raven games that were on TV, obviously the Rams. Bill Romanowski told me, he goes, my first Super Bowl, I don't remember the first quarter because I was so nervous. Is there, even for a veteran, is it different?

I would say that it's really one of those things when I walked away from it, and obviously New England won the game and did a great job and won the Super Bowl and beat us. But when I walked away from it, I said, man, I can see why these guys, because they continue to get themselves back there, have had the success they have, because it's really such a different week that it's nothing like anything you've ever been a part of in football. Wow. There's no, you know, it's not a, hey, you know what, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, it's all football. Not even bowl games in college.

No, I mean, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, even in college, you feel like it's a normal day outside of maybe at night you have some obligations to go to a dinner or do some media stuff once your full day's over at the Super Bowl it's really hey half our day guys is going to be all media and the other half the day we're going to fit in what we can for practice and meetings and all that type stuff so you really like the whole week goes by and you're like wait a minute what day's the game because it's it doesn't even you can't tell what day it is and NFL football you know I joke with the rookies if we're playing on Thursday night then you know what Wednesday is Saturday. Tuesday is Friday and Monday is all the days, you know, of the week put together. Right. Because in NFL football, you know the day of the week based off of what we're doing that day on our schedule. When you get to the Super Bowl, that's not the case. It's, you know what, guys, the schedule is going to be crazy. Half our day is this, half our day is that. We're going to fit these things in when we can to work on certain situations. It's just a wild week. And then that game is, it's something else. I can understand. I kind of remember the first quarter, but I don't remember

much of it. San Francisco's a team you face twice. You guys were a little overwhelmed the first time, then got your bearings played them better the second time. So let's talk about their defensive front. It's good and it's young. Are they clever? Are they trying to masquerade things?

Or are they just lining up saying, we got better Joe's than you? I think really their style defensively with their front four is just to come after you. There's not really any tricks of the trade. There's nothing they're going to do different. They're coming after the quarterback. and, you know, one of the things that you give them their respect, the way they really hustle, come out of the stack on screens and on plays that get down the field, you know,

those are the plays that show you really the impressive part of this defense because anybody can rush on a pass play and get after the quarterback. The way these guys hustle, even when the ball's not somewhere near them and it's thrown out on the edge or it's thrown down the field, you watch D-Limon be a part of the tackles or a screen play and they're outside all of a sudden getting on the edge making a tackle. I mean, it's impressive to watch and to see how, well they're operating together. Their front four is as good as it gets. Nick Bosa,

give me some thoughts. Is there a way to play him? I think obviously you got to play him with some power. He's a power player. He doesn't use a lot of pass rush moves. You're not going to see many moves out of him, like a spin or really kind of an arm over moves or anything. You're going to see more power rushes. He's going to get off the football and try to knock you back into the quarterback or kind of beat you late with something where he pulls himself underneath you or around you. But he's a tremendous young player and one of the best put together athletes I've ever seen as a rookie in the NFL, that's for sure. Yeah, I covered Warren Sapp's first year in Tampa, and it took him a while to get his sea legs. He was terrific by year two. I mean, Bose had just

walked on and could play. Yeah, I mean, it's what usually as a tackle, I look around what team just drafted a rookie player. And I go, oh, good, that's a game that's going to be kind of easy because most rookie rushers just don't quite understand the NFL game how to get to the quarterback. He has the intangibles and really the work ethic and the power and speed that is rare. And he's able to make it happen at a young age. He's going to be a special one. By the way, we talked about Tom Brady and you're a veteran player. And we've said there's been a lot of speculation.

And I've said, you know, I still got 10, 15 years legs on my career. But if I was down to the last year, I think it would be hard to move my family. I'm into routine. I mean, I do the same. I eat oatmeal every morning. I'm so boring. I take naps at the same time. I have my double espresso driving home.

The idea that I'd have to find new ways. I know that sounds like I sound 100 years old. But for you, you move Cincinnati to L.A. And that first six months, wasn't it a little stressful? It's crazy. I mean, just everything you don't think about in making that move is that you're, you know, I can remember the very first time I walked in their locker room and changed clothes. I was like, what am I?

why am I putting workout gear on in this building right now? Because for 11 years, every time I wanted to work out, do rehab, train, do anything, I walked in the Cincinnati Bengals Stadium and changed clothes in there. And that was my locker room. You know, that's like your home bathroom, basically. And all of a sudden, you walk in a new building and you're like, wait a minute, I don't, I don't even, who did I say hey to today? I don't know if I know any of these people here.

I mean, who have I met? Who have I not met? I mean, the people that you're used to every single day in Cincinnati, when I walked in the building, I waved at, said hello, you know, good morning. how you doing the parking spot. I parked in every day. All those things have changed. So you almost feel like you don't belong there. A little bit, yeah.

But you also are going to have to reprove yourself in some ways because. So did it invigorate you coming to L.A.? Well, see, I think it can do either one. I think that for veteran players, it can either invigorate you to where you're wired to like, hey, I want to prove to all these people who I am. That's far of in Minnesota. Exactly. And I think that, but or I think for a veteran player, it can go, you know what,

This is just, I don't feel like doing, like, I don't want to reteach people who I am. I don't want to develop all these relationships again with young guys, young players, trying to mentor, trying to be a leader, trying to find relationships in the building of people that, you know, I need to know. And those kind of, I mean, you can either get there and feel like, wow, this is going to be more exhausting than I thought, or you can be invigorated and say, you know what, I'm excited for this challenge. And I think it can really go one or two ways for a veteran player. By the way, what was interesting, Tennessee's success this year, was illuminating.

Because as you watch their offensive line take a former teammate of you, Stafford, he was great. So you're watching Tennessee bulldoze people and you're like, oh, that's why the Rams offensive line on the interior this year

wasn't quite as good. Is it reasonable for me to just say your struggles this year really came down to you lost two excellent interior offensive linemen and it was never the same. I mean, I think it really is. Because there's also an expectation that a young player,

yeah, they can come in and do their jobs, they can come in and try and be effective in the game, but they're never going to be as effective as somebody like a Roger Saffold, who's an elite interior player in the league. There's still a massive difference in that. And so I think that John Sullivan, who'd played center in this league for a long time. Super smart.

Been a part of the Minnesota Vikings and Agent Peterson and those guys when they were leading the league in rushing. I mean, he's been a part of great rushing football teams. And he comes and Roger comes and we're all together. And so obviously those were really good football players. And it's not fair for these young guys to even have the expectation that they're going to play like that yet. Yes. I mean, in their career, sure.

But those guys were as good as they get inside. And so you watch what Roger's done in the playoffs. I mean, I was a beast. I routinely text Taylor-Wan and tell him how mad I am at him. But you know what? It's great. I'm happy for him. But you know what?

He's shown what a great football player he is. So I couldn't be more happy for him to have success he was having. Andrew Whitworth, the Rams left tackle, going to get a lot of Hall of Fame vote. So Joe Burrow comes out. And, you know, here's the funny thing about LSU. It's a football factory. But for years and year, if you had told, I was so wrong on this. If you'd have told me, listen, Ed Orgeron's going to win an addie.

LSU is going to be an offensive firepower. Juggernaut. Like, LSU. I mean, they win like games, you know, 133. It's all defense. I'm sitting there and watching them. I'm like, this is so off brand. It would be like Wisconsin leading the nation and scoring.

What do you know about Burrow? What do you hear about him? I mean, you've got a lot of connections there on the program. I just, I didn't know who he was until I saw him as junior year. He was okay. And, you know, I watch SEC football. What are you hearing about Burrow, the kid, the player, the guy, everything? I mean, you know, honestly, everything that everyone says.

I mean, that he's special and that a lot of guys, they just buy into him, that the players around him, want him to be successful. They're excited through opportunity to play for him and with him. Just that he has that infectious personality and mentality of the game. And you know what? He seemed to show it all year. I mean,

it's kind of the impression I got watching him from afar, but talking to people there and realizing how much guys want to play with him and they want to play for him. I mean, I think it's cool to see. I mean, obviously, LSU quarterback to play at that level and an offense to operate that level.

I would have probably lost the bet with you. So I wouldn't have voted on it either. I don't think it would have happened, but it did. And they were a special football team this year. Okay, you just had ankle surgery. So I got to ask you, how many more years? You know, I'm going to give you the same answer. I always give you.

I'm going to get through the next year and then we'll see. But you know what? I look forward to, you know, hopefully having the opportunity to play this season. And you know what? We'll see where we go from there. Now, you're off-season. Don't you go like in the hills of Colorado and lift trucks or something? In the summers, I do that.

I spend my summers. As soon as we break from OTAs, I spend about six weeks until training camp starts up in the mountains and do some altitude training and play some golf and hang out with the family. Wow. And a beautiful little Colorado, something like that? Yeah, Walcott, Colorado, right outside of Beaver Creek Vale area.

How did Louisiana boy find that place? I actually had some Louisiana guys that took me, the Davidson family. They took me up there to play some golf one summer, and I fell in love with it. It was so remote and quiet. And I loved being up in the mountains that I talked the wife and the family into let's do a family adventure one year and rent a place up there and enjoy the summer together. And we loved it. We hike together.

We play golf together. We just, it's our time to get away from everything and just, you know, be us, be the Whitworth. So we've enjoyed it. It's been a lot of fun. You're an absolute pleasure to talk to. Congrats on all your success. Hope you stick around for a year. Not a lot of great left tackles in the game.

You're on one of those positions, a position of need. There's the draft gives us about three good ones a year. You're going to get my Hall of Fame vote. Great having you on the show. Thank you so much, Colin. All right, Andrew Whitworth, Joy with the News. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the Herdline News. So after Chris Paul was traded to the Thunder, there were some rumors swirling that he could be on the move again, kind of right away. Remember that? Yeah, like get traded or something? Mm-hmm.

Well, nothing came to fruition because CP3 has a player option next season of just over $44 million, and he says there is, quote, no chance he declines that option even if it would facilitate a trade to a title contender. So the trade deadline is February 6th. That's not going to happen. I believe it was there was a lot of conversations about him going to the heat.

By the way, is it possible he's having a blast? Well, I mean, he's not going to make $44 million somewhere else. Why would he decline that? By the way, Russell Westbrook like playing there. Players like playing there. Now, I will say Kevin Durant, maybe not. But Cal, Kevin Durant didn't like plan for. the Warriors. That wasn't an O.K.C. problem.

I mean, I think there's a lot of things that go into being happy somewhere. It's not like they have a bad organization. Yeah, he's got another elite player. They got I mean, I don't know. Yeah, like, I think they have a chance. How far are they out of the playoff? They're in the seventh

spot. They're in the seventh spot right now. I don't think if I was him, I'd want to, this is, by the way, in L.A., he was fighting the Blake Griffin stuff and the Andre Jordan, then he goes to Houston. Now he gets to kind of run the show. And he's having a lot more relaxed for him there. There are a lot of trade rumors circulating right now around the

NBA, obviously, because the trade deadline is coming up on the 6th. Give me one. Well, the Lakers, you know, there was a conversation about the Lakers and the 76ers being interested in Derek Rose. That's one report. Kyle Kuzma's been out there, as rumored as an option to trade. The heat are, well, he's just been

some, like a name that's been circulating as a possible trade item for the Lakers. The heat are reported as a possible destination for Lamarcus Aldridge and Damar de Rosens. The Bucks would, quote, definitely consider trading Eric Bledso. They would trade him? Who would they want back?

I mean, I don't. There's going to be some moves made, obviously. The trade deadline is coming up. I like trades. I'm very, I love the idea of the heat getting Lamarcus soldiers as to Martin Rosen. You're going to have to give a few pieces up, obviously. But, you know, that's not going to be a... We traded to get Tui.

We traded a couple draft picks and a copy editor to be named later. That's how we got Tui on the show. We traded for him. High pick. We had to get up some high picks to get you, buddy. Got to give Derek Rose a lot of credit, though. I'm over him. You're over, Derek Rose?

Yeah, he's just an athletic guy who can't shoot much. I mean, he's completely, I mean, rehabilitated his career. Like, there was a time where he just wasn't even playing basketball. I'm into the Chris Paul story. I think it's great. Yeah, you do love the Chris Paul story. I think it's awesome. I think he's happy.

He's like, he doesn't have to deal. He gets to run the show. He can shoot his mid-range jumpers. He's got big Stephen Adams. By the way, Billy Donovan, for years and years, he can't coach. Billy Donovan's fine. He can coach. I'm going to wait and see what's going on with this team at the end of the season,

but they are playing well right now. So Derek Jeter was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility yesterday. He received 99.7% of the vote, which left him one vote shy of being unanimously voted in. He would have joined former teammate Mariano Rivera as the only players to receive 100% of the votes. He's not the best shortstop ever. Come on, stop it. He's not. He's not that he couldn't feel.

field like Ozzie Smith and he couldn't hit like Ripkin for power like stop it already. He got 396 of 397 votes. Also Larry Walker was elected for the Hall of Fame. This was his last year on the ballot, former Expos and Rockies outfielder. Baseball writers are, this is a non-story. Ken Griffey didn't get unanimous. Barry Bond still can't get in. I only think this is a story because it was assumed he was going to be unanimous because it's Derek Jeter. So you're going to tell me the only unanimous player of all time would be Derek, it was Tom Seaver, who was unanimous? No, only, Mariano Rivera.

Yeah, only Mariano Rivera. So you're going to tell me, Mariano was easily the best closer ever. Yes. You're going to tell me that you really think Derek Jeter is more unanimous than Babe Ruth and DiMaggio. No, but it's Derek Cheater. Like, Oh, God.

Mariano was the greatest ever, but Derek Cheater is, and not that, you know, he's not beloved, but Derek Cheater is Derek Cheater. Like, yeah, but that shouldn't matter. He's not the best shortstop ever. I mean, obviously it doesn't. One voter does. Baseball writers, God, get a life.

It's not even a story. It's every year. I mocked it. There is some kind of controversy with the baseball wife. And I'm not even mad at the one voter who didn't. Who cares? He's in like one. Okay, so what?

One vote. It's not, it's going to be all right. Get Barry Bonds in, please. Finally, this year's draft is a lot of quarterback prospects, and one of them has decided to attend the senior bowl, Justin Herbert. Carson Wentz, Baker Mayfield, Daniel Jones reversed the trend of skipping the senior bowl and they made impressions that led them to being drafted in the top six

and Herbert hopes he can make same kind of impression following in their footsteps and be the next quarterback to improve his draft stock at the senior bowl. Jalen Hertz is also at the senior bowl. He didn't have a good practice yesterday. Well, he says he has a boulder on his shoulder heading into the NFL. I think Jalen Hertz is kind of an interesting prospect.

I like Jalen Hertz more at the beginning of the season than I did at the end. But I, so the senior bowl is this weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing what. I like, I love it. I love this stuff. If I didn't have this job and I could, I've thought about this before. Like when I retire and stuff in like 20 years, I'm just going to go to the senior bowl.

It's going to hang out of the senior bowl. I was going to, I just want to go. I just call some NFL buddy. You're such a draft nerd. Oh, I would just go in there and I would be all over it. I would sit and hang out at the senior bowl, drink beer at night. I do think it's fun to watch workouts, though. I do too.

Even though I prefer, obviously, game, you know, game actions to do your assessment. I think at this point, if you're one of those prospects that can, you know, just to show a little extra, you know, go to the Senior Bowl, have a good performance at the Combine. You know, if you're one of those guys, it's like Herbert, you know, you're right on the edge there. It's good for you.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. Very excited. Rick Buecker stops by. Good 10, 12 minutes with Rick Buechers. Zion debuts tonight. Very excited about that. That's coming up.

Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd. days in noon eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS1 and the I Heart Radio app. Tommy John believes in fabric fit and function. Tommy John.com lightweight code heard 20% off your first order. Rick Buecker's been covering the NBA for

a long time since 1992. Senior writer Bleacher Report, Fox Sports NBA analyst. So Zion debuts tonight. I'll watch him with excitement and fear. I was just going to say trepidation. Because one more injury. Yes. And it feels different.

Yes. One more. And I'm like, okay, it's not going to work, right? It already feels different. People are talking about him jumping into the rookie of the year race. I'm looking at it saying, I want to see him play 30 games. I want to see whether guy with the kind of game that he has and the kind of body that he has and the dependence that he has on being explosive, can that actually work in today's NBA?

There are some doubts about that. His game is not to the point where he can facilitate and he can do things where he plays at a different pace. He has to play explosively. And so far, he's demonstrated that physically he can't hold up to that. I do think, though, there are times in sports. John Morant was great. Zion was great. But Zion's just better business.

I can make a lot more money because, I mean, listen, summer leagues move the needle. Nobody's flexing Memphis games in. He is a superstar. LeBron and Carmello were both good. Carmela was more refined offensively, LeBron was the chosen one. He was from Ohio. You pick him. I get the John Morant fans, but didn't you have to pick Zion?

Depends on what you're, if you're talking about the spectacle of Zion and the box office draw of Zion. And he was also a good prospect. Very good prospect. But if I'm, and again, New Orleans for where they were with Drew Holiday, you're not going to take another point. Football City. I get all that. That said, I've been on the John Moran. You talked about John Moran fans?

You're talking to one. Because from the very beginning, he would have been my number one pick. He would have been, because he demonstrated that he can not only get his own, but he can make other guys better. That's no quite, he did that in college, by the way. Terrific, great court vision.

Right. And it's such a great fit. Guy from Murray State, a mid-major guy. I mean, this is really the Damian Lillard story in Portland all over again. It really is. The Weber State kid, you didn't watch them in college, had to stay for a couple years. By the way, Damian Lillard got hurt, developed a left hand. You know, John Morant's one of these kids.

He was a little bit of a late developer, if I recall. Yep. Well, that's why he was at Murray State. I mean, ultimately, and there's an appeal to the guys. And this is the beauty of Zion, is that he's not for all of the YouTube sensation and all of the pizzazz and everything that people have made him out to be, there's still a humility about him. He seems to be a relatively humble kid.

But by and large, if you're going to give me a guy who's had to earn his stripes who wasn't a McDonald's All-American, who wasn't, like, giving the keys to the kingdom right off the start. That's the NFL quarterback model. And if he's supposed to be the leader of my team, See, that's the other distinction here. Zion's not going to be the leader of your team by the function of the position that he plays and the team that he's on.

And so it's a little more difficult for him to shine. But as of right now, I'm not looking for him to join the rookie of the year. First of all, it's over. Everybody's like, well, if John Morant falters, what about John Morant suggests that he's going to falter? No, he's going to win rookie of the year. It's over. It's fine. Exactly.

So can I see Zion health? for 30 games. Can I see him just like I'm nervous about tonight not only from the the injury standpoint, but he's never played at regular season speed. That's right. And everybody else is 50 games in to regular season speed. This is going to be a shock to the system for him. All right. You know, you talked about he's not going to create shots for others with Zion. He's a young kid. The other night, LeBron did not play well and the Lakers can't do anything. Right. And I was saying there's about nine guys in this league, maybe seven, Dame, Kauai, LeBron, that really can at any point in any game get their own shot and get a good shot. Don't need to screen, don't need

a timeout. Are the Lakers too dependent on LeBron creating for others? Is he the only shot creator on the entire roster? Pretty much. Yeah. And I mean, it's it's the fatal flaw because he is, They are, but they don't have any other choice. They can't get the idea of playing through Anthony Davis. We saw that in the very first game against the Clippers. That's not who he is. He's good individually. He's not going to create shots for anybody else.

Rajan Rondo is around the bend. You hope that he could still give you something. That doesn't appear to be the case. So, yeah, ultimately, that's what they're missing. And I would say that's why the enticement of an Andre Iguidala joining them. I know that Darren Collison's also been out there. Byron Scott was on the other day and was saying that Darren Collison is the guy. I'm not so sure.

My feeling is that Darren Collison would be a great addition to the Clippers. And Andre Aguadala is the guy that you want with the Lakers because he can defend. He can defend threes and fours. And he's a playmaker. He's going to create things for other guys. Coming off the bench, to me, he would be the ideal. So I was not a big fan of Westbrook to the Rockets. I think he's a, you use the word spectacle.

I think Westbrook's a lot of, his game is a spectacle. It's fascinating. You know, you buy his shoes. He's one of the few guys I'd pay to watch. He's crazy. Yeah. But now they're in trouble. There are numbers that suggest they're both excellent,

but he and Hardin, when they're on the court together, it's not great. And now they've got a losing streak. Dan Tony is not a confrontational coach. What happens here? It's not going in the right direction, and I don't see how it's necessarily going to turn around. This is hard for me because I've always been a Westbrook fan, but he's not an efficient player. And I used to think that he was centric in his game because physically he could just dominate people. He wasn't going to wait for anybody.

But he has tried the last year or two to be more of a facilitator. He's trying. He's trying. and it's still not working. And that's the most depressing part for me because I thought it was just a matter of want, not ability. And I'm slowly coming to the point where maybe it's just because he's played one way for so long

that he can't change that gear or maybe it's just not within his makeup to play that efficient, understanding when he should go get his and when he can create it for others. The guys that I've seen who are just so athletically, dominant that they can go and they make their decision at the last second because they're just

overwhelming people and again we bring Lillard like Lillard can't do that that's right that's why he understands what he is exactly and he has to think ahead and the second that he realizes oh that's open that's the better option he's going to take advantage of that russ is going to go i'm going a hundred miles an hour and i'm either going to get to the rim i'm at the rim oh okay now what am i That doesn't work if you're trying to get to a championship. I've always had a theory about the NBA. If you're 6-4 under and not a natural shooter, John Wall, Derek Rose, Westbrook, I'm out. Yeah.

There is no history in this league that the hyper-athletic guard who's not a natural shooter wins titles. Now, Steph is a great shooter. Nash didn't win a title, but was a great shooter. The shorter you are in this league, the more efficient you have to be as a shooter. You can have flaws in your game as you get to 6-8, 6-8. Westbrook and John Wallen Rose, Derek's, the ball comes out of his hand. And so what happens is you have to go to the basket to score, more collisions with big bodies. And I, you know, Derek, D. Wade worried me early in his career with this, but D.

developed a nice angled jumper. Chris Paul's not a great three-shooter, but a good mid-range jumper. I always think it comes down to this with Westbrook. If he was a natural shooter, he's a smart guy. He would shoot more and hit more. he drives because he has to. His game is what he he knows deep down his game. He's got to score close to the rim. This is the problem though. If you look at Westbrook's form, there's nothing wrong with his form. The problem is he's an emotional shooter. I just went through this with my daughter yesterday.

She's a great shooter. She played against her old high school yesterday. She airballed a three. She's going to hate that I'm bringing this up. But it was just because she was so geeked up. up. Russ is always geeked up. He wants to hit the three, not only that gets you the lead by one or cuts the lead in half, the other team's lead in half, he wants it that it's a dagger and it defeats you in the moment. And it's like, there's no shot in basketball that does that when you're playing against a good team. And that's the opposite of Steph Curry, who's a completely unemotional shooter. I mean, Steph is just like, boom, boom, boom, boom. And he's going to give you a little dance afterward, but it's not

like I'm trying to defeat you with this one shot. That's a really good point. Some people are emotional eaters. Westbrook's an emotional shooter. You've heard about that before. Rick Buecker, good stuff. Discover matches all the cash back you earn into your first year. Go to discover.com slash cashback

match. Millions of people are getting their cash back matched. Jets, Blue Jackets, Blue Jackets, Discover card key matchup. We are done for today. We'll see tomorrow. Watch Zion tonight in Los Angeles. It's the hurt. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

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