The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd-HOUR-1-Clippers, Earl Thomas, Brett Brown

Episode Date: August 24, 2020

Colin explains why the Clippers will be fine, why Earl Thomas should be "buyer beware", and why the 76ers failure isn't HC Brett Brown's fault.Guest: Doug Gottlieb Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians,

and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching Heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go on a loaded Monday.

This is The Hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Thanks for joining us. We are live in Los Angeles. One hour from now. Colin was right. Colin was wrong. Plenty of both.

Howie long today. Doug Gottlieb, Tim Hardaway. We'll check in with Matt Mosley in Dallas. Joy Taylor and I flew on flights all weekend together and didn't know and didn't even know it. We ran into each other twice at the airport and had no idea. That was the strangest. So I had a connecting flight in Salt Lake. Twice. Right. Which you take that flight all the time. And I was literally standing at the gate. Like, I don't, I didn't ask you if you were going to Utah last weekend, but I just assumed you were. I was like, I wonder if I remember running to call him. And I got to meet Ann, which was great.

And then yesterday at the airport, we're both waiting for a car. And I look over and I'm like, Joy Taylor. She goes, you were on that? Yeah, I was, we flew together all weekend, had no idea. It's great to have you in. Good weekend. Fun weekend. You know, it's funny about this. You know, apparently this is the way it works in the NBA.

If you're a favorite and you just don't blow out a really talented underdog team, you're no good. You're just terrible. We tend to forget that the Heedles, this was, LeBron was the best player in the world. Bosch was a top 10 player in the league and Dee Wade was still very, very good on his good night. in their first title, they trailed three different playoff series. The Clippers are now tied after four games and the world's ending. Are you guys, y'all just start watching the NBA? These first round playoff series can get really tough all the time for great teams.

Let's make some assumptions here. We assumed coming into the playoffs that when the Clippers are fully healthy, they're real good. They were 12 and 1 this year when fully stacked. Well, Patrick Beverly hasn't played the last three games. Kauai is still great. That assumption was great. They were good and close games. That's been the story all year.

And when they're healthy, they're good. They're not right now perfectly healthy. Patrick Beverly gives them 26 minutes and night. He's not healthy. But most of the assumptions are true. The assumptions for the Dallas Mavericks are great coach, terrific young player, not very good in close games. all offense, no defense, and would be interesting to watch with no

playoff experience. Those are all true except one exception. Let's explain the whole series. Luca hit a 30-footer at the buzzer. If he doesn't, it's 3-1 Clippers. And they're going to close the series out without Patrick Beverly playing and Paul George playing as bad as I've ever seen him. And they'd still lead 3-1. That's the series of shot.

Everything we assumed is true. I mean, the reality is, first round playoff series are tough. Remember the 08 Celtics? That's one of the last great teams. They had a great year. They won 67 games. They won a title. They were pushed to seven games by the Atlanta Hawks in the first round.

The Hawks were an eight seed. They had Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, potentially four All of Famers, Doc Rivers, one of the best singular year teams we've had in the last 20 years. Pushed to seven by the Hawks. By the way, they had another series that year in the playoffs, went to seven games. The Hedles, last year the Raptors, trailed in three different series, three, and they won.

This stuff's not easy. I mean, LeBron against the East in the first round has historically been a sweep. But the East has been garbage at the bottom. It's been Washington's and Detroit's and Orlando's. You're not sweeping people generally in the first round of the West. The West is better. And there's also two factors that we have to acknowledge here. There's no home court advantage.

It's a bubble. So these games, you know, you'd have started out first two games in L.A. It's not the way it works. So it's an advantage for the underdog team. There's no home court advantage. And Luca hit a 30-footer. Clippers are the better team. Clippers are going to win the series.

But there's no. What are the assumptions? What assumption here? has not, we knew the clippers were very good when they're fully healthy. They're not. Patrick Beverly hasn't played in three games. We know Kauai is still the best get a basket, get a stop guy in the NBA. I still think he is. LeBron may be more valuable.

I think Kauai get a bucket or get a stops better. Hall of Fame head coach, great bench. Lou Williams had 36 last night. What of that is a surprise? What for Dallas is a surprise? We knew they could score. We knew they were great offensively. We knew Rick Carlisle is smart.

We knew they had a bunch of shooters. We knew they didn't play any defense. they still don't. And we knew Luca was good, really good. But, I mean, there's no big shocks here. Paul George is really playing poorly. Paul George will be fine. Paul George, here's my promise, he'll play really well one of the next two games.

He'll look like an all-star. But this idea that everybody just runs through the playoffs, Raptors trailed in three of their series last year. The Celtics went eight games with the eight-seated Atlanta Hawks. the heatles struggled often. I mean, if you go to the Miami Heat games, first year they lost the title, second year they were wonderful,

third year they were lucky to win it. Ray Allen shot in fourth year, they got whacked. This is hard for the great teams. Maybe it's because we're coming off the Warriors dynasty where we just think that is the way it is. They got one team has all the good players. Do you remember the Warriors lost last year in the final? And the year before, Houston led them.

and then Chris Paul got hurt. Remember that? The first year for Golden State, they flew through it. Everything after that was a struggle. Last year, didn't the Warriors with KD. Stefan Clay last year struggle in the first round against the Clippers? They go like six games.

This stuff's hard. This is the West. Luca's great. Carlisle Smart. Owner Cuban, this is a real good team. So, you know, we're freaking out. I mean, I just thought, you know, sometimes stuff happens.

Luca hits a 30-footer. Here's Doc Rivers. Honestly, I thought we were very emotionally weak tonight. Why do you think that is? If I knew that, I would be Sigmund Freud. But at the end of the day, you know, we're up 20 and we're getting technical files. You know, things like that, just give the team juice, you know. We just throughout, I've been saying this for three games now.

We're just, we're so much better than what we're playing. They'll figure it out. They'll win the series. They'll be okay. The assumptions are right. But these first round Western series and sometimes first couple of rounds, Eastern series, have never been easy for the favorites. It's a lot of work.

It was work for the Warriors after their first year with KD. Steff and Clay. They couldn't stay healthy. In fighting. It's tough. It's always been tough. All right. Let's shift gears to this. Earl Thomas voted off the team by Raven Players is looking for a job somewhere.

I'm sure he'll get it. There's always a team looking for talent. He's got it. But I tell my kids this all the time. There are real victims in America. You may have a bad day. You may have a bad boss. You may not like dad for a day.

We are not victims. Millionaire football players are not victims. Always been the thing about Earl Thomas that drives me nuts. He flipped off Pete Carroll in Seattle because he wasn't treated fairly. Let's revisit the Seattle years where Pete Carroll drafted him over Taylor. Mays, the more hype safety out of USC, and people couldn't believe it. Then Pete built a defense around him for nine years. And then Pete, halfway through it, pushed for a contract extension that made him the highest paid safety at the time in the NFL. He flipped him off out the door.

Then he goes to Baltimore, where last year, in his first year, after they beat Seattle, he called it the sweetest victory of all time. The following week, he no-showed, didn't show a up for the team playing home, no showed on Monday and Tuesday meetings. This guy has been drafted by Pete Carroll, maybe the most player-friendly coach ever, then goes to John Harbaugh. Should be noted, they wrestled him away from Andy Reed. So the three teams that he either has been on or almost been on are Pete Carroll, Andy Reed, and John Harbaugh.

John Harbaugh also, one of the most player-friendly coaches of all time, and both kick. him out. Both didn't want him in the end. He had a personal issue. Wife, gun, orgy, blah, blah, blah, don't want to go into it. He said it was nobody's business. But when you're a star in the NFL and paid what you're paid, organizations do worry about your chaos and stability at home. It's something, not everything, but it is sort of their business, just like my bosses would like to know if, you know, I was falling apart at home, like a little heads up. But what's driven me crazy about Earl Thomas Forever is he thought he was

treated poorly by Seattle. Are you kidding me? Pete Carroll chose you over Taylor Mays. The contract extension made you the highest paid safety. They gave you free reign, marketed you, promoted you, supported you, and you flipped them off. And then Baltimore has

done nothing but surround you in that secondary. They brought over Jalen Ramsey. They got more pass rushers. They ask you to figure out their system, which is reportedly more complex than the Seahawks defense, whatever. But there's no victim here. He was voted off by players.

And Seattle finally had enough. Somebody will pick him up. But racing to Instagram, which is what he did to say, hey, this wasn't me. I was trying to be. The book has been written on Earl Thomas. Not saying he doesn't deserve another job. But when your first two employers are John Harbaugh and Pete Carroll and the Ravens in Seattle, two of the best owned, run, supportive franchises in the league, and they're both done with you?

You're not the victim of this one. That is a player's dream in the NFL. I get Pete Carroll, potentially Andy Reid, and then John Harbaugh wrestles him away from Andy Reed and free agency. That's a player's dream. Pete Carroll and John Harbaugh are a players, maybe Mike. Tomlin would be the only other coach as a defensive player. You'd be like, I want to end up with Mike Tomlin. So the book's been written completely on Earl Thomas.

He'll get picked up. There's always a desperate team, a lousy team, a team that thinks they're a championship team that isn't that'll overpay. Coming up next. So Philadelphia, the Sixers, you know, it's all been nonsense. The marketing, the process, it's all been. nonsense and they're going to fire their coach. I'll be the only person that will offer a little support for Brett Brown because I think it's an NBA issue that nobody ever addresses. 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. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grow. Tess, others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. Yep, that's me. Clever Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, personal health, personal health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross

double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down,

and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you're just so you. y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. So, oh. Thank you for finishing that sentence. And yes, I don't think there's a more

important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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.

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Learn the Hardway. Open your free, I Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Lowe's made it easy for me to finish my do-it-yourself project at home, a bar cart. Get inspired, do-it-yourself. Go to Lowe's.com. They've been great to work with. So Brett Brown's going to get fired.

Philadelphia's 76ers coach. Sixers got sweat with the Celtics. It was ugly. I'm kind of over the whole Sixer thing. I never bought into it. It's hard when you have two stars. Their games don't work and their personalities don't work. But Brett Brown will pay the price and be fired.

Did Brett Brown, let me ask you, did he trade away every shot? shooter on the roster? Did Brett Brown demand they move up to get Markell Fultz? Did Brett Brown say, you know what I think we should do? Pay Tobias Harris a B player, 180 million. Did Brett Brown in a shooters league said, you know what, we need more size, Al Horford? What do you do with Ben Simmons? He can't shoot. Doesn't appear to be interested. Maybe you could bench him. Good luck in the NBA doing that. Stars run this league and they always have. It's not a coach's league.

That's college basketball. That's the NFL. Baseball's a GM sport. Hockey's a goalie sport. NBA's a star-driven league. Mike Dan Tony is told when James Hardin will be at practice. Last year, you all told me Billy Donovan was a bum. Maybe it was Westbrook.

Kyrie Irving said the world is flat. Last year, the Celtic struggled. The immediate reaction from the NBA media, Brad Stevens can't coach stars. You ever going to blame Kyrie for anything? Westbrook for anything? The players for anything? This is a hard league to coach. Brad Stevens is considered the smartest coach in the league.

The minute he had problems with Kyrie Irving, he's a bum, get him out, can't coach stars, just he's a college guy. What? Billy Donovan last year, you were all crushing him. This year, you can make a strong argument. He's the coach of the. year. The Lakers are a five-star franchise, right? I mean, we would, we would acknowledge, kind of the Yankees of their sport. They've had four coaches in six years. The Knicks have

had six coaches in six years. The Cavs have had four coaches in two years. Blame the coach. I don't care. People say Brett Brown's too easy on guys. Maybe he is. I'm not to say situationally he did something the other night drove me crazy. I don't know if he's situationally as good as Brad Stevens. Maybe he is a little easy on the player. Let me tell you something, folks. If you're not, you're out of work. I mean, Greg Popovich gets Tim Duncan and wins titles. There are no Belichicks in the NBA.

I mean, let's be honest. It will work with Popovich because he had Duncan. The minute Duncan gets out of his prime, Spurs don't win, and Kauai says, see ya, this is a hard league star. And I'm not saying Brett Brown's a world-class coach. I don't know. I don't sit and watch game tape. I know Nick Nurse in Toronto, my sources love him and they love Brad Stevens.

But, I mean, this, he didn't trade away the shooters. He didn't sign Al Horford and Tobias Harris the bad contracts. He didn't move up for Markell Fultz. I don't know what you do with Ben Simmons. They can't shoot. But this whole thing, it's the coach. The NBA, the solution is always, get rid of the dumb coach. And sometimes you're right.

But sometimes maybe it's beyond just Brett Brown. It's front office stuff too or ownership stuff too. Or, oh my God, I'm going to say it. Sometimes stars are hard. This is a league where stars have power. They know it and they often use it. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, Chris Middleton. Oh, boy. He's not been great through the first three games in the playoffs. Thank God you're the buffer to me. You're so much kinder than I am. I don't know about that.

But he's only averaging 11 points per game and shooting just over 32% from the field. But Janus stood up for his teammate after the Bucks game three win. He said in the previous game he had two points, but he played an unbelievable game. Sometimes the game is not only about points scoring and getting yours, he was making the right pass. That's what a leader does. Well, when you're the number two guy, though, like Paul George, we need your points to. Points matter. Yeah, I mean, 100%.

I understand what Janice is saying. And in theory, it does sound nice. maybe during the regular season, you don't have to do that every single, you know, night in and night out. You can have a night where you have two points and 17 rebounds. Postseason, that's not going to work. It might work against the magic in round one,

but moving forward, you're going to need a whole lot more from Chris. Well, you're not paying him max money for rebounds. You're paying him in the playoffs to get you 24 points. That's what, because we know Janus is going to deliver mostly the same game every time. Great defense, 28 points. You know what's really interesting, Joy.

How many number two guys in this bubble? how many are struggling well you know this this could also work the way that the NBA was set up a few years ago where everyone was looking for a big three yes right but now that the NBA is sort of neutralized

itself and everyone just has two stars for the most part that's not going to be enough you know when it was the heatles and you know Chris Bosch at an off night or that's right knees reacting up or whatever you could balance it out but you can't have one of your two stars

getting two points. It's just not going to work. Game one, he had 14, game two, obviously two points, and then game three, had 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, which is a nice game.

But again, you're just going to need more from Chris Milton. And I understand Yonis should say that. Of course, he's saying the right thing, but you have to see through that. They need more from him. So the Cowboys haven't played in a Super Bowl since the 1995 season.

And that's a streak, Mike McCarthy, who's also facing a 10-year Super Bowl drought would like to end. If you're not trying to win a Super Bowl, I don't know what you're even doing in this business. I think that's what every team starts their offseason with. The ones that don't want to talk about it,

they're just probably trying to, you know, what's it, under promise overachieve. We're in this to win a championship, make no bones about it. I actually like that he said that. Yeah, they're over under is, to me, shockingly high. It's nine and a half. So Vegas and Fox Bet think this is a 10 win. football team. I don't, but I think

they're not far from it, but it's if you're a 10-win football team in most years, you're in a Super Bowl bubble because not many teams are double-digit win teams. Well, I mean, when you look at the talent that the Cowboys have, they should be certainly better than they were last year, but also consider the division that

they're in. We have no idea what the Giants are going to be this year, but we certainly don't have any, I certainly don't have any expectations for the Giants this year. And that's not a knock on the Giants. It's just a lot of change, a lot going on. Not expecting much from Washington. So, depending on how if Philadelphia can stay healthy, like that's the division right there is Philadelphia and Dallas. So they should be playing to win a Super Bowl. I agree with him. If you are a team

that is that is supposed to be competitive, your goal should be the Super Bowl. It should not be under promise overachieved. Not when you're the Dallas Cowboys and not when you have the talent that the Cowboys have. Now, do I think that their Super Bowl team? No, but I like that he says that. I don't like when coaches come out and just kind of, you know, put a little buffer on things like this, you guys are in this to win. Like that's what, that's what you're doing. You know, a team like the Bengals or the Giants or Washington or, you know, the dolphins. Like, put reasonable expectations on your team, but that's not what the Cowboys should be talking about.

They're not rebuilding. So Cam Newton has been impressing the Patriots since the start of training camp. Quarterback coach, Dead Fish. Yeah, my buddy. Has been, is he? He beats me in tennis, yeah. Jetfish, not Cam. Yeah.

That'd be a fun. That'd be a fun tennis. match. I would watch that. He was Cam Newton and Dennis. He's been extremely consistent so far, Jedd said, and his ability to run the offense after such a short amount of time is a reflection of his strong work ethic. Julian Edelman is still building a relationship

with his new quarterback, but said Cam works his tail off and is extremely dynamic, has a charming personality, and is a former MVP for a reason. Look how big he is. He's a quarterback. Look at the size of him next to tight ends. Yeah, it's a very athletic man. That's that, he won an MVP.

Yes. Well, Jared Stidham's also having a little bit of an injury situation with his hip. Not a good camp for Jim. But no, not a good camp for Jared Stim. But they did say that Cam has had an incredible grasp of the offense very quickly. He's able to go out there and run it. Like for only being really with the team for four weeks, he's really put in the work. Stidham's injury is actually a huge bonus because they can get Cam more snaps.

It's actually a big bonus for him because he's going to need it because they don't have a functional pro tight end. No deep threat. I mean, this offense is meager. I think it's kind of, I think it's significant news, though, that Cam picked up the offense so quickly. Because that was a big consideration of him going there and, like, you know, the quarterback battle with Hoyer instead of them, they've been in the room longer. Like, Cam's been doing this for a few years now. Like, I understand that the offense is different and it's a lot and it's very complicated,

but, like, it's not the first time he's done this. That doesn't, that's not my biggest concern. My bigger concern with him is there are. hard on players. And he came from, is that his personality going to adapt to that? That was my bigger issue. Like, not the commitment. I know Cam works hard. And I know he's tough. I have friends in that locker room in Carolina said, dude, that guy plays hurt every week. That's never been an issue. Cam can figure out the offense. Because be honest with you, when you have somebody as talented as Cam, you don't want to have a rigid offense. You want to let him make, you know, Erin Roger.

But not all teams do that, though. I know. My question is, after Belichick barks at you publicly after a bad lost, what's the reaction? Because a lot of guys, I don't think Aaron Rogers likes that. A lot of guys don't like that. Yeah. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. Top of the hour, right, Colin, Colin wrong, my buddy, Doug Gottlie, brought to you by Mercedes-Benz, the best or nothing, joining us on a Monday. So, okay, listen, we both live in L.A. It's a Laker town, but this was going to be the Clippers season. Um, you know, my takeaway is, when the Clippers are healthy, they're good. They're not totally healthy. And Lucas unbelievable and hit a 30-footer at the buzzer or it's 3-1.

I don't, I'm not freaking out, but should Clipper fans think this is not good at all and we're in real danger here? Is that fair? Yes, I think you should. Keep in mind, Colin, Christophezzas did not play. So if all these things were true and that was the best the Mavericks could do, okay, it's a once-in-a-lifetime game, considering the trash talk to Montrez-Harael the game before and how Luca shut him up in game four.

But if we look honestly at this series, and I would agree with you, the Clippers are the better team, and their defense, the metrics tell you they should be dominant over the Mavericks. The fact is that game one had Prasengis not gotten thrown out. We don't know what the conclusion would have been, but you would assume it would have been nip and tuck. And then without him, Luca almost single-handedly, you know, with some help from friends like Trey Burke, ends up taking down the Clippers. and then you listen to Doc afterwards, and he's like, we should be better than this. Playoff Paul George has been the ultimate ironic nickname because he's no-showed in several of these games. Yeah, he's been bad. There's something there.

And for a franchise that's never been past the second round, and for a group that outside of Kauai Leonard, where is the kind of championship pedigree? It doesn't exist. It's different when you're the hunter as opposed to the hunted. and I think all of these things should make you very concerned if you're a Clippers fan. Does that mean they're going to lose? No, but this is going, this is likely going to be a seven game series. And that wears you out and tires you out.

And they haven't fixed the chemistry issues that don't have them performing at their optimum level. Well, Paul George may be struggling. I thought Anthony Davis was sensational the other night. And he was really good in the fourth quarter. You know, it's amazing, Doug. You start looking at all the number twos. Westbrook is hurt. Paul George has been bad.

Porzingis is. hurt. Middleton's been awful. I thought Anthony Davis the other night was sensational, and I thought he was the thing. Portland just had no answer for him. So when you watch the Lakers, if they give us what they give us the other night, which is defense, AD, and LeBron, what is the end game? How, because that's how they're designed. You know, like, you hear so many people, and we'll fall into this trap. Like, why don't you play J.R. Smith? Why don't you play, you know, why don't you go out and get shooters. Like, look, it is not a perfect basketball team. It's not. They were not given a blank canvas. But in reality, even though the selections were bad by Magic Johnson, the guys that

that he picked, his idea of how they could compete, how they could win is how the Lakers are winning. You got LeBron. He can score 25 a night. You got AD. He should score 25 to 30 a night. And then if you can get 20 out of Kuzma, like there's your offense. You just get enough offense from the rest of the team. And then you become the best defensive team in the playoffs. And that's how they're winning. We may want them to reconstruct themselves on the fly and throw out shooter here and shooter there.

And maybe for a possession, you know, out of a timeout, you can do that. But this is how they were designed. And by the way, this is why I think both you and I thought this would not be a great series. Portland's on fumes. They have no good matchup for LeBron. They have no good matchup for Anthony Davis. And while Damien Lillard has at times been absolutely spectacular in the playoffs, he's a non-defensive player who has been at times marginalized by the Lakers' overall team defense.

So while people want the Lakers to be something they're not, this is who they are. They're going to hold you to fewer points and you're comfortable with. And at the end of the day, they have LeBron. You don't. And as you pointed out, if Anthony Davis is their number two, and I'm good with that. He's better than any other number two right now going. Now, LeBron may not be optimum number one top level, top five in the game, LeBron,

but when you factor in the two of them together and how this team is constructed, if they're going to win an NBA title, this is how. You know, listen, I'm Brett Brown isn't perfect. And Jason Richardson came out and said he doesn't hold guys accountable. But I said, listen, man, this league is rough on coaches, is that if you don't get along with your star, you're out. There is no Belichick. You can't call out your star player every day at practice.

It doesn't work that way. So I always kind of defend the coach who gets ripped for, you know, he's soft on players. Well, you better get along with your best players or you're done. So who is accountable for what has been an underachieving mess the last two years in Philadelphia? Well, there's a lot that goes into it, you know. And if we're honest about Philadelphia, you know, you had one GM start the process. then Brian Colangelo comes in and tries to fix the process, and then he gets fired for social media nonsense and other things that are done.

And then you hire Elton Brand, who's in completely over his head, not in terms of he doesn't know basketball, but this is a very complex thing he took over. So it's like hiring your third contractor to do a job where some other contractor kind of laid the foundation and had all the plans and like, yeah, I don't really agree with that. Meanwhile, they kept Brett Brown, who Brett Brown was a developmental coach. He wasn't brought in to be a playoff coach.

Those are two, it's the same job, but it's a completely different job, right? Coaching the Sixers now is totally different than when he took over in the first three years where they were just trying to develop guys, find out who could play, find out who couldn't play, keep everybody up, keep everybody happy and keep it moving. Now it's different. And he hasn't held people accountable. Most notably, Ben Simmons hasn't been held accountable in terms of does he keep himself in optimal shape and will he shoot the basketball?

Like, he should have, if Ben Simmons turned down open, jump shots take him out of the game. It's the only way to get him to shoot. But he had a relationship with Ben Simmons going back to when he was just a baby because he coached his, coached his dad in Australia, right? So there's a lot of ties there. So I don't solely blame Brett Brown, but I do think he's in over his head, in for a job that he wasn't hired for. And by the way, he's coaching for a group who didn't hire him. So you know what's coming later today is he's going to be fired. It's not solely his fault, though. This is more a fault of all these different voices coming in. We should do this. We should do that. We should do this. We should do that. Let's go out and

get Al Horford, who fits you in terms of being a great culture guy. But where does he fit on the floor? Like that signing is terrible considering what they actually need. I think it's a very complex tale. But if you think it's because the process doesn't work, that that tanking doesn't work, I give you the Houston Astros, the San Diego Padres, the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks. And yes, the Philadelphia 76ers who are out of the playoffs. They got swept. But they still have M.B. they still have Simmons. And though they missed on Julio O'Kifour and Markle Fultz, they still have assets and are a playoff team.

And they can use one of those assets to get more players and better players that fit whichever one of the two stars they keep. So Earl Thomas is just, listen, I said earlier, if you can't get along with Pete Carroll and John Harbaugh, those are player coaches. And there's about half the league is not. But they'll listen to you. They'll mold and market you. And I look at Earl Thomas and I'm like, bro, you're.

talented, but this is kind of an on-you thing. And by the way, I'm not saying players don't get job by coaches. There are coaches that are rough. But I'm kind of, Earl, this is on you. That's how it feels to me. Yes. I mean, look, the players voted him off the island. When does that happen? You know, and the players support his backup. You know, he wasn't on time. He wasn't in shape. He wasn't mentally engaged.

He's making a ton of money. He's living on a past reputation. And I do believe, and if you go back, you can check this. tape. You saw some of this coming. You know, his complaints about Seattle and his contract. He was paid every penny on his contract. Four-year deal got every penny. And what did he do when he got hurt because they wouldn't trade him to the, to a to the NFC rival, the Dallas Cowboys, he gave him the finger. So now his own teammates in Baltimore gave him the finger. This is a buyer beware. This, if I'm the Dallas Cowboys, you may think you want or need a safety like, nah, I'm good here because he's, He's the type of guy that can, you know, one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch.

And I think when the players come out and vociferously defend the backups and the franchise to get rid of a guy who has a great reputation as a football player previously, it tells you all you need to know that Earl Thomas is not engaged. And the tribe has spoken. His flame was extinguished. Good stuff, Doug Gottlie, Dougger, Fox Sports Radio after our show. Good seeing you, buddy. Great to see you. By the way, we have spent, I have a theory on this. this. We've spent a lot of time in the last two months talking

safeties. Jamal Adams, Earl Thomas. I have a theory on the position why Jamal Adams and Earl Thomas wake up in the morning ticked off. And it's not just pay. It's a fascinating position in the NFL. And I get why some of the best players at it sometimes feel like you don't have my back. Talk about that plus Colin right, Colin wrong, top of the hour.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

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

or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast.

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and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett.

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

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

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way 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 or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different

intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway.

Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. Howie Long Later today, good to have you in. Right now, GEICO offering 15% off. You got to sign up by October 7th, Geico.com, 15% on top of what you already save, Geico. So we've been talking a lot about safeties

for the last couple of weeks, months on this show. Jamal Adams, Earl Thomas, a little honey badger. But let's talk about Jamal Adams, and Earl Thomas. Earl Thomas just got booted off the Ravens. So safeties are the second lowest paid unit in the NFL. Players don't like to be underpaid. Tight ends are the lowest paid,

but that's changing because we have some great tight ends and the culture of football now values tight ends more than they used to. But I understand safety sometimes wake up in a bad mood. A, they're often the most athletic guys on defense. I mean, they're bigger, stronger, and can hit better than corners. They're faster and more athletic than linebackers. So they're often the most athletic guys, strength speed combo on the defense.

Secondly is they're asked to cover more field than everybody else. You don't ask your defensive tackle to be a sideline-to-sideline guy. A corner finds one guy, stays on him. Safeties are asked to cover more of the field. And then see, again, they're underpaid in their eyes. The problem is safety is a vantage. position. They get the big hits. They get interceptions. It took us five minutes to find highlights of Jamal Adams when he was traded. Try to find highlights of Stefan Gilmore of the Patriots. Nobody throws

to his side of the field. It's a vanity position. You become very popular. It's a highlight position. You get big hits and you get pick sixes. And you don't have the responsibility of just guarding a really fast receiver where you're often humiliated even if you are Stefan Gilmore. You can cherry pick. I mean, Jamal Adams played more linebacker snaps than he did safety snaps. You're a freelancer. It's vanity. It's highlights.

You become popular. And the media asks you questions. But there's a massive difference between popular and valuable. A lot of things are popular. Toilet paper is valuable. Transportation, even if it's a beater, is valuable. It's not always flashy. And that is the problem with the safety position,

that Earl Thomas and Jamal Adams, I can't pay them big money. And I especially can't pay them big money if they're punching teammates. All right. I thought this was interesting. It's an article by the ringer. So that means I've read the first 26 pages. I'm halfway through it.

Anywho, it's kidding, Bill. So they have an article on Aaron Rogers. and it's very interesting. So I'll just give you the headline and you can figure out what they talk about. This is not me. This is the ringer. Excellent journalist.

The perception of Aaron Rogers no longer matches the reality. And so Ben Baldwin is an NFL writer very much into analytics, not opinion for the athletic. And he argues, Rogers started declining five years ago. I started talking about it two years ago.

There's a football stat called expected points added EPA. Rogers used to be the best in the world. Last couple of years, massive drop-off. The peak is over. He is merely a slightly above-average quarterback for the last five years, analytically. Now, I've been on this for two years.

Ben Baldwin said, no, it's been happening for four and five years. His adjusted completion percentage in his peak years was number one, number one, number two, number one. It's now 26th. So here's the issue. everybody in Green Bay bristles. But I've long believed that Green Bay is not only the smallest NFL city, it'd be a small college town. It's like a high school city.

But it has a football team, an NFL team grandfathered in. So heroes mean a lot to small towns. The high school football coach is a hero. The one famous person that graduated and went on to run forward in big cities, has a lot of money, a lot of stars, a lot of big shots and politics and business, could be agriculture, could be manufacturing. In L.A. you're a star for an hour. Then we

push you to the side and there's somebody else who can sing and hit a better note. But in small towns, oh, they hold on to their stars. People forget how average Brett Fav was his last three years in Green Bay. And if you criticize Brett Favre, oh, my Lord, they went nuts. When you live in a big city, Joyce, but in Miami, We live in Los Angeles. I grew up in Seattle.

New York, Philadelphia, Dallas. When you're in a big city, like the minute a player, I mean, God, in Philadelphia, they got Carson Wentz, and they want to bum rush him out of town for Nick Foles. It's a more hyper critical media. The fans have other sport teams to lean on if you don't deliver. I mean, if the Clippers lose, we got the Dodgers and the Lakers and USC, and if they lose, we got, but in Green Bay, this is their team. Last three years, Brett Farben, Green Bay.

You won't even believe this. His last three years, he was a 500 quarterback, 66 TDs, 62 picks, completed 61% of his throws in a pass rating in the 70s. He was bad. He went very good. But if you criticized him, oh, my God, people went nuts. I've been saying this about Aaron Rogers. The last two years, his touchdown numbers have fallen off a cliff.

He gives you 25 touchdowns a year. That's like Thanksgiving for Mahomes. The last three years, he wins 40% of his games on the road. But if you criticize Aaron, oh, it's the offensive line. No, actually, they're top four in the NFL. Well, his defensive line, no, that's top 10 in the NFL. His receiving court, Devonthe Adams, a top young receiver. His running back, no, Aaron Jones is a star.

Their defense is no longer awful. They've drafted well. They've acquired free agents. It's not that Aaron isn't good. He still is a top five or six guy. But the passer rating is dropping. He can't win big games on the road. He gets nicked up more.

His touchdowns are falling. He's still good, but it's a lot of Aaron Rogers. That's a lot of Brett Farve that in Green Bay, this is all they have. They hold on to their heroes. Just go back and look at Brett Farve's last three years. John Madden was telling you how great he was. He wasn't that great. He wasn't.

I mean, Rogers was better. Peyton Manning was way better. Brady was way better. Big Ben was better. Drew Brees was becoming better. But if you said that to anybody in Green Bay, they went nuts. This is the small town clinging to their star, gets hyper defensive. If you ever criticize them.

And you should go read this article. The ringer. Now, you're going to need about four hours. This is the ringer. They don't do pithy. It is not part of their brands. It's going to take a while. Bill likes his long-form stuff,

but the perception of Aaron no longer matches the reality. And there you go. Very good. Colin right, Colin wrong, top of the hour. Good stuff. So I'll tell you what, it is so nice. We've got a lot of NFL stuff, a lot of stories coming out. So we're going to keep you updated.

They did have a breakout of COVID cases. So if you didn't hear this yesterday, it's the summer. It turns out a New Jersey testing facility had false positives. So I've been warning you. The media is going to freak out if we get any positives. The NFL is not telling you we're not going to have positive tests. There's no bubble here. But yesterday was the classic, the media started freaking out.

They were all false positives. Hour two, Colin wrong, calling right next in L.A. The Hurt. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman helped make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer

Streeter Seidel, help an acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

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