The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd-HOUR 1-Heat, NFL offense, NBA bubble

Episode Date: September 24, 2020

The Miami Heat have done a great job devolving home grown talentOffense in the NFL is evolving fastYoung players are playing well in the NBA bubbleBeing close to greatness won't necessarily make you great as wellGuest: Ryen Russillo Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

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Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard 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 I'm 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 Clifers Show.

This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but the show. celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast. 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. 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.

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 Herd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go on a Thursday. We're live and we're in Los Angeles. This is The Hurt, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Right here on Fox Sports Radio and right here on FS1. Yes, Joy Taylor was famous last night.

Even the other network cannot deny our dominance. Joy Taylor's all over the NBA playoff game along with Brooks Kepka. They couldn't stop showing. It was a wild game. It was a great game. It was great for you. It was really fun. Yeah, it was a lot of fun.

It was like being on air, but not talking for like three or four hours. Yeah, both these conference finals feel like the other team could lead the series. I want to start with this, though. There's Joy Taylor right there. Let's show a picture of Joy. All right. That is so funny. It was great.

That is so great. Let me start with this. What a shocker. But the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat two really well-run organizations who both have great presidents, GMs and great coaches, are developing all these young stars. Isn't that funny how it works?

You think of player development in college, right? Like you take a high schooler who's talented, but he's a high school kid, and then you get him in college and Nick Sabin polishes him up or Mike Shishchevsky polishes him up. But players are now leaving college early. So player development is now a real responsibility in the pros.

And what a shock. The Miami Heat and the Celtics do it really well. You know who doesn't? The Lakers. No 20-year-olds are dropping 37 for LeBron. As I've said before, of the four teams left, We know the Celtics and the Heat are well-run and developed players. Denver does too, but they don't have a history of it.

The one team that doesn't is the Lakers. And I'll give you an example. Brandon Ingram leaves the Lakers, and an hour later, he pops. DeAngelo Russell leaves the Lakers, becomes an all-star. Kyle Kuzma's getting worse. When's the last, like, good player the Lakers developed? I'm talking homegrown. It's Andrew Bynum.

Remember him? Yeah, not really. He was good very briefly and then fizzled. But the NBA is now a developmental. You think of the G League is developmental. But nobody that's any good in the NBA stays in college generally for four years. So the NBA now on rosters is a developmental league. I mean, that's what it is.

Sometimes you have to play the developmental players. Tyler Hero right now is better in the NBA than it was in college. Did he have a 37-point game at Kentucky? I mean, this is what's happening. It's such an advantage. I'll give you an example with the Celtics. When Marcus Smart came into this league for the Celtics, he was rough. Dude could not shoot.

And I mean, he made Ricky Rubio look like, you know, Jerry West and Steph Curry. Dude couldn't shoot. 18-footer, I'm talking hit the bad parts of the iron if it hit it. Marcus Smart is so valuable for the Celtics. Now, Jalen Brown was just an athlete from Cal, could not shoot. Those guys are so good, so trustable, that's player development. And this has been my knock on the Lakers. It's that they get stars.

And I'm not saying he can't get stars. You've got to go out and get a Campbell Walker. You've got to go out and get a Jimmy Butler. This is the NBA. You're not going to win with seven Tyler Heroes. So everybody goes out and gets a star. What star do you get? Pat Riley's got a history.

He goes and gets Shaq. He goes and gets LeBron. He goes and gets Bosch. He goes and gets Jimmy Butler. You got to choose the right star. The Knicks chose Carmelo Anthony. You know, Houston chooses Westbrook. You choose the wrong star.

So getting a star is valuable. But player development has never been a bigger deal in the NBA because they're not staying with Roy Williams for four years. They're not staying with Coach Kay. They get them for an hour. They're off to the NBA. And because you drafted them in the first round, you're not going to send them to the G League.

You hope you don't. So it's not a shock that Denver, by the way, Denver's whole, mostly homegrown guys, the Celtics. They get Kemba Gordon, homegrown, Miami. I mean, think about Duncan Robinson. First of all, you didn't know who he was a year ago. He's 26 already.

How? He went to college for a long time. He was D3. He was undrafted. The guys like that don't end up in the NBA. Undrafted D3, transfer to Michigan, play forever in college in 2020. That's not an NBA player. He's a valuable NBA player.

And I just look at it. As I watched it last night, I'm looking around and I'm like, this is what LeBron doesn't get. He doesn't get a 20-year-old dropping 30. I think Kyle Kuzmo is a good kid. I think he's getting worse. I remember when he first got to the Lakers, he'd have these 36-point games and these 29-point games kind of regularly.

I think he's lost his total confidence. That's player development. There's a big now. NFL has this as well. The Green Bay Packers, in the last 20 years, two times, have drafted a tackle in the first round. Why do the Packers always have a good offensive line? Because the Packers, somebody in there, the secret sauce of the Green Bay Packers is not

just far of Aaron Rogers. The secret sauce of the Green Bay Packers and the New England Patriots. The Patriots and the Packers. They don't, Nate Solder was the first round pick for the Patriots, but mostly the history the last 20 years is getting guys in the third and the fourth and the fifth round are undrafted guys. and they develop them on the offensive line. The Packers and the Patriots always have good O lines.

They're not a lot of first round draft picks in the last 20 years in the O line. So Jimmy Butler talks about these young guys. It's not going away. This is what Miami and Riley do. This is their history. Did you guys think he was capable of this? Yeah, without a doubt. We know anybody on our roster that they're capable of that.

It was his time. I hope it's his time the next game as well. it could be Duncan. I hope it's dunk. It could be BAM. It could be anybody. But he definitely will just to a victory tonight. All right, let's talk. Lakers, by the way, play Denver tonight. Try to take, like Miami, a pretty insurmountable lead. We'll see. It's a close series like this one.

So I love the NFL. You know that. I'm an NFL guy first. I mean, I love my college football. I love Miami. I like March Madness. Like the World Cup. Baseball playoffs. I love the NFL. And I'm sure you're probably noticing this.

This is the greatest first two weeks for offense in NFL history. Now, that's crazy, right? Wait a minute. We had no preseason. The NFL season is off to its highest scoring start ever with no preseason. Now, some of it you say to yourself, Well, the defenses are running vanilla schemes. Well, I don't know.

I mean, I watch Baltimore first two weeks. That doesn't look very vanilla-ish to me. There are teams in the NFL. I mean, I've watched Tampa for two weeks in a row, especially last week. That's not a vanilla defense. It's very complex. Right now in the NFL, 13 quarterbacks have a passer rating over 100. 19 over 90.

nine guys are completing over 70% of their throws. Last year it was three. Okay. Russell Wilson is completing. I'm not making it up. 83% of his passes. It can't be just vanilla schemes. We've seen Joe Burrell walk in,

who really had two years starting in college, but mostly one year where it all hummed. He's looked unbelievable. Justin Herbert for the Chargers. Got a five-minute heads up. He was starting in the NFL with no reps with the first team all week. Can you imagine that? Forget the butterflies.

They'd be like T-Rex inside. He was excellent. What is going on here? Gardner Minshu is tearing up the league. What it tells you is, and this is not going to slow down, when people a few years ago were talking about concussions in the NFL and I don't know the future of this league I said number one the NFL's always shown an ability to adjust their rules their equipment their safety procedures the NFL's been unlike baseball the NFL has always been

the great developed league adjust league adapt league you know you think of football Neanderthals no no no no no no no no no no football will change their rules, their equipment, their practices, their procedures on a dime, number one. And secondly, let's be honest about this. The quarterback play is so damn good now that without preseason, 19 quarterbacks have over a 90 passer rating. This is the future of the NFL. Did Russell Wilson just suddenly get, no, Russell's been great for years, but the quality

of the coaching, the quality of the schemes, the adjustment to the rules. Anybody that questioned, I remember years ago, I was at the other place and the NFL was getting rid of some hits upstairs. There was a, and I remember there was a radio show before me and it had a former NFL guy. You hear a lot of this. Put a dress on these guys. And I was like, time out. Do you want your stars to be healthy like the Ravens or for them to all be hurt?

currently like the Jets. Don't you want a safer league? I don't understand it. Like, you play fantasy football, right? Do you want guys hobbled on your fantasy team? When you bet real money, do you want the best players out? Nobody watches football for defense. Nobody, years ago, LSU and Bama were the two best teams in college football.

And they were the two best teams in college. Easily. They had like 30 NFL players. And they played a game and then very close, but it was ugly and low scoring. And nobody wanted to see them play again. Because the first time they played it was like six to three. Okay. A couple years earlier, Michigan, Ohio State, who were good but not great teams played.

And it was a shootout. And everybody's like, I can't believe they don't get a play for the national championship. But you didn't want to see LSU and Bama play again because the game wasn't going to be as artistic and fun. Nobody's watching for defense in this league. We're watching for offense. It helps our fantasy. It helps our betting. It helps the over.

It's more fun to watch on television. What you're watching in the NFL now is amazing. No preseason. What side of the ball is the more sophisticated? What side of the ball has a bigger playbook? What side of the ball is all choreography? It's offense. No preseason, no problem.

It is shattering every offensive record. I think it's the future of the NFL. I think when you can throw Justin Herbert into a a game with five minutes against the Super Bowl champs with no first team reps and he lights it up. Or you could ask Joe Burrow in his second pro start on the road with no line and a so-so running game. Throw 61 times and he mostly lights it up. This is the future of the NFL. Sports going nowhere.

Sport is going nowhere. All right. Coming up next. Bubbellicious. It's not just the NBA bubble. It's the kids bubble, bubble-licious. And a thought on Tyler Hero who did something, I don't know, I've never seen before last night. That is 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 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 I-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 I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball. 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. 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 Podcasts, 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-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 a little kill? 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 y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed cracks. I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross. 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, Keer Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose. On my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, our Heart Radio app.

Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. When it comes to reaching your health goals, it's about changing your mindset and habits. It's about Noom. Go to Noom.com slash her. Nume.com slash her. So can I give you, of course I can. Joy, I have this theory with my kids. Okay.

Okay. Doesn't mean it's right. It's my theory. And I tell my daughter all the time. You're not competing against 50-year-olds when you get out of college. You're not going to get paid like a 50-year-old. You're not going to get paid like a 30-year-old. You're competing against all the idiots in college at 20 that are looking for jobs because

they're not going to pay you much. And most college kids, I mean, I went to college. 99% of the guys I went to college with didn't know what the hell they were doing. I was totally focused and had no life, didn't date, total loser. But I tell my kids all the time, rare happens, unique happens, once in a lifetime happens. It is your responsibility to be ready. I tell my daughter all the time, I want to get my backpack and go to Amsterdam. Do that in college.

Okay, grow up in college because the minute you get your degree, nobody wants to hear you want a backpack to head to Ireland. Be ready to play because I'm ready to hire 20-year-olds. You're cheap. Rare happens. I always take my running shoes on the road, even if I go in the winter to Seattle. Why? I may get three straight days of sun in Seattle. Rare happens. Be prepared for it. I tell my daughter, you could be 21, Amazon.com offers you a job. They give you stock options. It is the only time in your life. A great company offers you stock options.

You're never cheaper than when you get out of college. You're never more attractive to employers. They can mold you, they can teach you, they can pay you nothing. Be ready for rare. Be ready for unique. Be ready for once in a lifetime. Because you don't get many of those in your life. Be ready for it.

Put your backpack down. If you didn't go to Amsterdam and college during your summer break, that's your problem. This is why I like Miami. The bubble is never going to happen again. The bubble has obviously, duh, been very good for young players. Old guys, they don't want a new adventure. Young guys play in the NBA, go home and play video games. That's what the bubble is.

It's an AAU tournament. and it's never going to happen again. LeBron is not looking in year 17th for a new adventure in the playoffs. Dude wants to see his wife in the morning, his kids in the afternoon, get a day off, do a yoga, game tomorrow. He's over new experiences in the playoffs. He wants to win and sweep series and go into the next series. We saw all these veteran players, all of them, even LeBron admitted early.

This is tough. It's not as tough for young people. But credit to the Miami Heat because rare happened and because they do a great job finding talent and developing it quickly, Tyler Hero rewards them. You just, bubble's not going to happen again, but it's not a shock that Pat Riley's team has taken advantage of it. Go to Amsterdam and somebody else's dime. My kids aren't doing it outside of college. I'm not paying for it. I'll pay for it when you're in college.

Grow up then. But once you're done with college and you're competing against 21-year-olds, let them be the slackers. Let them go hitchhiking across Europe. You've got to be ready because this bubble's never happening again. And not a shock, Pat Riley's team is ready for it.

The Miami Heat are ready for it. Eric Spolster is ready for it. That scouting department, excellent, is ready for it. because rare happens about twice in your life. Take the backpack off. Be ready to play. Miami was, unique, gets thrown right in their face. And, oh, God, if I'd have told you, yeah, there's this weird NBA thing that happens.

It's a once in a lifetime. It happens right during the playoffs. And you're like, oh, who, you know, who ended up figuring it out and be like, if I told you, yeah, Pat Riley. You're like, yeah, of course. 40 years of figuring it out. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. So as we know, your guy, Russell Wilson, has never received an MVP vote. Yeah, it's outrageous. Looks like this could be the year that it finally changes. Oh, week two, we've already got voters. Week two. According to Fox Bet, Wilson has passed Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson as the favorite to win the MVP. He is favored at plus 310 with the 4th.

Former winners, Mahomes, and Lamar tied for second at plus 500. Aaron Rogers plus 900 and Kyla Murray is a plus 1,300. We talked about this. When it comes to the Heisman and it comes to MVP's, it really helps to get momentum in the first month of a season. Because then the story builds and everybody plays catch up. And I could be wrong on this, but the last time somebody won a Heisman, it felt like they just stole it at the end was Carson Palmer. because they started real choppy that year. They lost to Kansas State.

USC did. For some reason, it feels like he stole it at the end. But generally, somebody in September, like this kid, this Oklahoma quarterback, somebody lights it up, everybody starts talking. We all turn in and nobody can catch up to the guy that gets the early narrative. It generally matters how you start, not necessarily how you finish. Because if you have a great end of the season, but you've been relatively quiet throughout the season, then voters can come.

to hold that against you because like you said, they've already kind of build up their dedication and attention to someone that started off fast. You're excited to have football back and he's on fire. Westbrook won the MVP. We were talking about it in like January. We're like, oh my God, he's getting triple doubles. Like by January, it was the story in the NBA. And by that point, it didn't matter he'd won it.

It's not that, look, it obviously is something where we wouldn't constantly talk about how Russell Wilson never received an MVP vote. winning a league MVP is a prestigious thing to win. Now, obviously, everything we're saying is also true. There is a narrative to it because there's human beings that vote on this. And human beings have biases and loyalties. And that's just the way that it goes. There's no computer system that's going to decide who the MVP is.

Otherwise, just the best statistical player every single year would win. But Russell Wilson does deserve, I mean, obviously he deserved to have had MVP votes at this point. But it does feel like the momentum is going that way. although it obviously matters as well if you stay healthy for most of the season. Because remember Carson Wentz was cruising to an MVP and then got injured. And now that's like that's a thing everyone refers to. You're like, well, we were having MVP conversations. Derek Carrow.

They were having MVP conversations. Like you have to stay healthy as well. So Dak Prescott led the Cowboys to a comeback on Sunday against the Falcons. And Rob Ryan compared him to one of the NBA's best or the NBA's best after getting the Cowboys to win. He said he looked like Michael Jordan did late in games. He was intense, ready for the moment. The guy has been putting up great numbers and all of that for the last few years. People just don't give him the respect he deserves.

Maybe after this game, they will start doing it. Oh, boy. Isn't 30 million a year respect? Isn't he's, people think, I would argue there's more DAC defenders than DAC critics at this point. I think, yeah, probably, probably. I mean, he is on the franchise tag. So I would argue that it's not, if, if, if DAC didn't get the call. contract he feels he deserves, then it's not fully respect, which obviously he didn't because

he didn't sign the long-term contract. So you could argue that if you're fully on Dax side, which, look, I'm Dax supporter. I think he deserves a long-term contract. They did offer him a long-term contract. It just wasn't the numbers that he necessarily wanted. And I also didn't think it was a disrespectful number, but I'm not Dack Crescott or Dack Prescott's people. He's betting on himself this year entirely, which I think is risky in the NFL to do. But I also think that this, I'm not, I'm not getting suckered into how this game ended. I won't do it. I'm not going to do it.

The Falcons lost that game. Now, that's not to say that the Cowboys didn't keep it together. They could have fallen apart. So morally or chemistry-wise, like, that was a good showing by the Cowboys. Because they could have fallen apart and said, we're down, we're fumbling everything, and just let it get out of control. And they didn't. That says something about them as a team.

But you also started terribly. And the Falcons are really good at losing big leads. So I'm not going to get crazy. I don't believe that happens if you're playing the Packers. I don't believe that happens if you're playing the Seahawks. Get down 20 points to a team like that. You're not just crawling back into it. They should be 0 and 2.

They're incredibly fortunate to be one in one. Right. So I don't think there's an over. And listen, I like Dak Prescott, but I'm not taking anything dramatic away from that game other than chemistry. They play the Seahawks this week. In Seattle. It's going to be very good. Then they have the Browns and the Giants and then the Cardinals.

So the NBA has found a lot of success with the Orlando bubble this year. But Kevin Garnett does not think it would have worked back when he was playing. And to be honest, we could never play in the bubble. You know how much I'd have to scream it for in your show? Get this shit out of here?

You'd have heard me in here, bro. Man, they'd have had a bunch of senses. Couldn't have all these cameras, you know. That's a different league. We were men, yo. It'd have been barbaric. We could have never been in a situation like this.

It'd have been chaotic. I actually tend to agree with them. I think it would not have worked. I mean, think about it. even just like imagine Jordan's Bulls. Imagine Dennis Rodman in the bubble. Imagine, you know, like there's some, there are some technological advances that we have now

that old school basketball did not have. I mean, virtual fans. You have a lot of these guys are setting up these, you know, ridiculous video game setups in their rooms. You have FaceTime. Like, it's a different world. I don't know if this would have worked in the 90s in the early 2000s.

I actually have to agree with them. basketball is different. It was much more physical, as we know. Yeah. There are beefs that are still standing lasting today. Yeah. You see someone in the bubble. It might not have been so comfortable. It's just a friendlier league, which I don't have a problem with. I like it. I'm blown away. I know players make a lot of money and nobody wants to hear this. But to ask a veteran player to be in a bubble for three months? Yes, it's a lot. I said this yesterday, Joy. You give me five days at a great resort in Hawaii. And by the end of it, I've had a good time. I've said, seen the sea turtles, I've snorkeled, I'm ready to come home. About six days in a nice resort. And I'm like, and that's not even working. That's just getting sun and cocktails.

About six days in a resort, I'm done. I mean, while everyone's sitting here talking all about how, you know, they need to suck it up, all of us have been quarantined, okay, for months at a time this year. And all anyone could talk about was how they wanted to get away from their family and get out of the house and why everyone's demanding that everything be open. So yes, you don't have to imagine what it would be like, you've been in your own bubble. And we've had more freedom than NBA players, actually. I can go to restaurants. Yes, they can't leave that, they cannot leave that space.

So yes, if you're wondering what it's like, you've already lived it. Yeah, joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd Lie News. Yeah, I thought the game last night was, you know, you never want to say this, but I feel like the series could be 3-1 Boston. As I say that, Miami fans would, and I think it could be literally 2-1 Denver.

I mean, these series are, they come down to replays. They come down to like one shot. These games are so close. Ryan Rissillo, my buddy, host of the Ryan Rissillo podcast on the ringer. It's good. You should listen. Joining us via Mercedes-Benz the Bester, nothing. All right, so let me, you just explain to me.

I'm done talking. Tyler Hero, he's 20. He's better now that he was in college. Explain it to me because I'm watching it going, what is going on? What do you make of it? Okay, now I have receipts for this. this, but I remember watching him, and I cover the draft and do a lot of the draft stuff. And the thing that I loved about him is that he would reposition himself a lot like Clay Thompson.

So he kept playing in the offense when the offense was away from him. And NBA players have a really hard time doing that and staying engaged. And it's something he was terrific with. I was like, man, it reminds me kind of like a poor man's Clay Thompson. But Clay couldn't dribble. Clay didn't pass. Clay didn't have the all-around game that Hero has. I mean, the rebounding and assist numbers are incredible.

And he's not afraid of anyone. So it was almost like he had to be invited to this moment to show you what a great player was. Now, yes, I liked him, but no one thought that this was possible. I mean, we haven't behind Magic Johnson now as youngest, like top scores in playoff history, which is just incredible. And he's just on top of the talent, Colin, to see a guy who's not afraid of 20 years old is just impossible. The bubble is, you know, I just said this. The bubble's very unique.

I don't think it's like a coincidence that young players and young teams are flourishing. And outside of the Lakers, a lot of the old. teams not only lost, they were awful. I mean, Houston was awful. Milwaukee was bad. You have as many NBA sources as anybody I know. I, Ryan, my guess is it's not been easy for a lot of these veteran teams with wives and families. No, it really looked like the clippers, but then again, like if the clippers, you know, it's kind of funny, this Milwaukee clipper thing, if the clippers are frauds, what are the Milwaukee bucks? You know, at least the clippers got a three-one. Right. So I do think we play the results on this stuff a lot where it's a

like, oh, the clippers roll, the clippers were over it, they don't get along. Okay, well, how do they ever get up 3-1 then? Like, how are they ever in a position to find a way to close out that series? Well, Denver got better. Denver understood some things. You know, the clippers ended up getting a little stale. And then they had a lot of guys in that seventh game besides Kauai, who was terrible, but I trust, they have a lot of other guys that I don't trust in that spot.

So I don't know if it's age, because I still think Milwaukee's are generally young team. They have some older players, but their main guys are still young. Boston was a team that we knew was younger, but they hadn't really played together. I think the biggest thing with Miami, Colin, because if you look at their winning percentage, they projected to be about a 49-50 win team. That's not what, you don't, you don't see that number and go, oh, the NBA champion, but they are so deep in a good way. Dept can be a bad thing in the playoffs, but depth for them has been incredible because they're just showing you a million different looks here, and it's been one of the biggest reasons for the Boston Celtics

in the Eastern Commerce Finals. Yeah. So LeBron James, I haven't commented on this, I'll give you the first shot. The Lakers went out and said, you know, LeBron's not getting to the free throw line. This is egregious. And so they complain to the NBA. And your take on that is it's been happening all year. If you look at his free throw numbers, he's like five and a half per game throughout the regular season. This became a big thing back in January. I think after he had a game with zero free throw attempts. And Vogel was essentially giving the same exact quotes back then, the beginning of the year, that he was now. recently after game three and only taking a couple free throws. So look, you could say he's not driving, but the driving numbers back up that he's still driving.

His usage rate is still about the same. So for whatever reason, he's not getting that number of calls that he's used to getting in previous seasons. And I don't blame the Lakers for saying, hey, we need to do this. It's the old Phil Jackson thing, depending on who he was going against. He would plant that seed mentally as you're getting ready for the rest of the series. But this is going to sound crazy because we know that LeBron has always a bit theatrical when it comes to emphasize in contact. but he's not actually a flopper. And I'm wondering, like, when you look at guys like,

Hardin, who doesn't really flop, he's just a genius initiating contact, or a Luca, who I'm worried about his long-term neck health with the head bobbing back every single drive. But some of these guys sell it so much every single time that, again, because I'm not saying that LeBron, it's not that he's flopped in the past, it's just that we know that he's exaggerating. He did it the other day on the elbow when you were like, oh, no, is he dead? And you're like, oh, no, he came back to life.

I think the point is that he actually doesn't really flop on some of these drives. And it's just a theory. I'm not sure if it's true or not, but he's still playing basically the same way, but he isn't getting the calls. By the way, my entire career is based on theories that I'm not sure, true or not. So you always get... I know.

I'm trying to think of a lot of stuff I didn't feel great about today. Okay. So I can admit when I whiffed, it's really funny. If Jacksonville wins tonight, if you go look at their schedule, they have Detroit coming up. Jacksonville's out of the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes, potentially in three weeks. The Jets and Giants are far worse. And I thought New England was rebooting. And then I watched Cam and I'm like, oh my God, if they had just a deep threat,

they would be a nightmare to face. I am shocked by Cam. I mean, he literally was sharing snaps with Jared Stidham a month ago. You're a Boston guy. Like, are you a little surprised by it? Because I'm kind of floored by what I'm seeing with Cam. Okay, I never bought into the Stidham thing because I watched a lot of Stidham. And, you know, whenever I would see people in Boston talk about it,

first of all, the most overrated position in sports in the last 10-plus years has been the backup quarterback in New England. Because they get everybody like, Ryan Mallet is insane. We do a first and second for him. I don't know. That might not be enough. And you're like, okay, fine. We watched him in college. So with Stidham, you know, they bring up his bailer numbers.

I'm like, I would have a thousand yards after four weeks at Baylor. Okay. So I never thought that Cam was going to lose the job to him. It was really about health and Cam and the buy-in and making sure that you're not asking Cam to do things that he can. do in two weeks in i mean i thought week two was so much more impressive than week one i think they beat the dolphins people are like oh wow he's great well he ran it a lot but we didn't have to see him throw and the way he just unleashed it against seattle again their past defense is off the chart atrocious but it's only been two weeks so we'll see what happens i mean they're so bad colin

so i'm i'm not look i've never been the big i always felt like the MVP year was a bit fluky but this marriage where new england is all about football i never thought they were tanking even with all the defensive opt-outs. I didn't know how good they were going to be, but Cam has saved the idea that they can still be competitive in a division other than maybe Buffalo that looks like it's still a mess. Yeah, it is interesting. So I was told this years ago by an agent guy.

He said, listen, companies decide a year before they dump you to dump you. Like they decide well before you know. And I know I've been rough on Baker Mayfield, but I want to throw this at you, Ryan. Oh, God. I'm glad I came in. I wasn't prep for this. So, you know, he's called out the medical staff, blah, blah, blah. Now he's got a new coach and a new GM. No loyalty. So he plays Joe Burrow, who has no line and can't run, throw 61 times, and you're like, the hell. Burrough is better than him despite losing.

This week, with 10 days to prep, he plays Washington. then a bad pass defense in Dallas, then an old quarterback with a Colt. You start looking at this schedule. And I believe this is my theory, the next two to three weeks inside the building privately, he can save his career there or lose it. If he can't beat Duane Haskins or at least be good, because all cowboy games get talked about all week, they're going to make decisions in that room in two to three weeks on Baker. Nuts or not?

No, I don't think it's nuts. because you have to start making some real financial decisions here, especially on those options. But we saw for the first time what was Mariotta and Winston, they ended up not having that bigger option picked up. We're like, wow, that's crazy. But that's the reality of this position is that, you know, I never really love the old Parcell's quote that if you screw up with that pick, you doom the franchise for 10 years. That's your fault if your franchise is doomed for 10 years because you took a quarterback too high.

So look, I probably like him more. Well, I know I like bigger more than you. you, but I don't think it's crazy. I don't think it's crazy because the other thing that you brought up is really important too. Because now this starts turning into a team success thing where we can even be blind to the actual progression of the player and at quarterback. Like even Haskins in that first week, he wasn't great when they beat the Eagles. But afterwards, it was like, look at Haskins. He's coming along. Hey, look at year two. Like we kind of just ignore what we actually saw in front of us and look at the result. And if they keep losing, even if he's progressing, I do think it's going to get weirder around the conversation with. baker. So I don't think it's crazy. All right. Ryan Rucillo. By the way, he's obviously compensated well. It's a beautiful kitchen with all new appliances, a very well-appointed kitchen for Ryan Rissillo. I know how much you love this kitchen. Yeah. Well, you can return my-

I can't believe we need to the Russell Wilson thing. Well, I'm, you know, first of all, we've got to go out and have beers. We'll do that privately. We can save some of our stuff for private conversations. You know, you and I. Yeah. All right. That's fine. That's fair. Don't give it all to them. Yeah. Return my calls once in a while. That'd be great. Ryan Rosillo. Thanks, buddy. The Ringer. Listen to his podcast is very good. Coming up next, another Belichick disciple is dust. Why? That's next.

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 I-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. 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 Podcasts, 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-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 Boyd got to do a little kill?

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 y'all 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. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross. you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth?

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Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. All right, Greg CoSell in 15 minutes, NFL, Meat, Sandwich. we do it every Thursday. If you bet football, if you have fantasy football, or you just love football in 15 minutes, Greg CoSell, our NFL meat sandwich every Thursday for the next 16 to 17 Thursdays. I love bringing him on the show. Really breaks it down, really cuts through the clutter

of a lot of football talk in America. So Peter King says basically in his column this week what a lot of people are thinking that Matt Patricia is done as coach of the Detroit Lions. He's 9, 24 and 1. He's supposed to be a defensive specialist. He talks about a pass rush. Detroit never has one.

He didn't get along with Darius Slay. Traded him, which is rare because he's a great corner. It's a really important position. And Patricia's a defensive coach. Quadri Diggs and another safety was really good. He let him go. So he can't even keep the defensive players who are stars. It's bad news.

It's not working. Now, I've said this before. And I think it's something I don't say a lot, but I think it's so valuable. Andy Reed is a teacher. So all of Andy Reed's assistants flourish. All of them, like all of them are good. Belichick's a genius.

None of his assistants do well. And that's a real thing. Proximity to genius does not make you smarter. But proximity to a teacher does. The best high school and college teachers I ever had were not the smartest. They were often the most compassionate. They took time with me. They dealt with me.

My smartest teachers were never my best teachers. Were they patient? Did they listen? Could they pick up on my insecurities, my flaws? You know, I was ADD before that was a term. Matt Patricia stood next to a genius. And yet Charlie Weiss did and he didn't work. And Matt Patricia didn't.

He's not working. And Josh McDaniels tried head coaching. And what are you saying? It's not working. And often the issue with Belichick assistance is they bring the ego of the dynasty without really the results. Belichick and Brady are 95% of the reason that puppy worked. And there are assistance to get one or two percent or one or two. But Josh McDaniels is just coaching to score.

Belichick, I've been told multiple times, has to step in and go, it's about winning the game, not about scoring. Take a knee, run, eat the clock, stay in bounds. That's not to say that Brian Flores, who I do think Brian Flores appears to be rare. I get the football intellect with the seriousness with some humility. So far in the five or six times Brian Flores has been interviewed, I've seen no ego. Josh McDaniels was all ego. I like Charlie Weiss.

A lot of ego. Remember at Notre Dame? I've got a schematic advantage over these coaches. Matt Patricia had another incident this week. Watch the ego during this question. Is there something in your coaching that maybe isn't happening enough in the fourth quarter for you to close out games? Yeah, I don't think so, Mike. I think I got probably one of the biggest plays in the fourth quarter in the history of the NFL where I think I did a pretty good job. So I don't think it's that. Oh, God, you don't work at Barstool Sports. That's a great answer for Barstool Sports. That's a great answer for a talk show host. You can be glib and funny and a smart, like, that's not what you say at a podium if you're like a $3 million your NFL head coach representing a city and stuff.

Now, I think I had one of the great plays of all time. Belichick made that decision. You do get that. Like, that's a bad answer. Adam Gase does that. People I like Charlie Weiss would sometimes do that. What you're seeing with the Belichick, way too often as you get all the arrogance that comes from a dynasty.

I mean, let's be honest about dynasties. When the Lakers had their dynasty, it was egos that broke it up. It was Phil Jackson's ego and Shaq and Kobe and Jerry West and Pat Riley. Egos are okay. And guys have bigger ones than women, like we have egos and stuff. But when you leave the dynasty, okay, what worked for Pat Riley in New York and Miami wasn't the ego. It was the work and it was the humility to know, oh, my God, I'm bringing And none of the glamour of the Lakers.

I've got to build this thing up. And I just think Patricia feels a lot like Josh McDaniels, whereas you're getting all the arrogance. And what's funny about Andy Reid's guys, Matt Nagy, I don't see the arrogance. John Harbaugh, I don't see the arrogance. Doug Peterson, I see vulnerability. I don't see the arrogance. And maybe it's because Andy doesn't have seven Super Bowl trophies or whatever.

But once again, I see the answers. And it's like, this is Josh McDaniels. This is, that's a bad answer. Like, dude, you're 9 and 24. You can't even keep your defensive stars. You should be curing favor with the media. You should be humble. So you get an extra week or two to save your job, not being difficult and tough guy and glib.

And let us do that. Let us be the dopes. Let us be glib. Greg CoSell is a maven of football. Hour two, he's joining us next. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.

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

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 I'm 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 Cliford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clivert Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you, you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.