The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd-HOUR 1-LeBron James, Cowboys, Tom Brady

Episode Date: October 7, 2020

LeBron James is finally getting the breaksTroy Aikman is right about the CowboysWhy LeBron should win Finals MVPTom Brady is proving he's not a system QBGuest: Nick Wright 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.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 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 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. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere,

but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening to The HARD podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1.

Find your local station for the Hurt at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching Hurd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. It's a Wednesday, and we are absolutely jammed today. Live in Los Angeles, this is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we're on Fox Sports Radio and right here on FS1. Everybody from Chris Collins were stopped by today, Nick Wright, Joel Clatt, Gerald McCoy of the Cowboys,

hurt but has opinions on what we're seeing in Dallas. Joy Taylor is joining me. Joy, it does appear. The NBA season is coming to an end and not a shock. LeBron's going to get more plaques and stuff. Yeah. The heat is off. That was a great game, though, last night.

It was really good. It was really good. It's entertaining. So LeBron's had some bad breaks, and I think in life, you know, I tell my kid, you're going to get good breaks, you're going to get bad breaks. I don't want to hear victimization. Listen, sometimes things go your way. Sometimes they don't.

Head down, fight through it. Nobody wants to hear you whine. LeBron's had some bad breaks in the NBA. Number one, he got drafted by Cleveland. In any sport, that's generally not good news. Number two, he walks into the NBA and about halfway through it, it becomes a three-point shooting league. He's a forward. That's for wings and guards, right?

That's not great for a six, nine and a half freight train. Kevin Durant, after he beats the Warriors, goes to Golden States and creates a dynasty. That's not great. Oh, by the way, he goes to the finals once in Cleveland. and Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love both get hurt, his second and third best player. He goes to the Lakers, and the front office implodes.

He's had some bad breaks he's had to overcome. This year, he got the breaks. The dynasty broke up. The Clippers got knocked out of the playoffs. Anthony Davis is the healthiest for the longest stretch of his entire career. And in the finals, the Miami Heat have kind of fallen apart.

He got a young team. Gorindragetch is out. Bam is playing 75, 80%. Finally, LeBron got some breaks. Now, he took advantage of those breaks. He right now leads the Lakers in points, rebounds, assists, and everything. And it is still absolutely remarkable

that if you take LeBron off this Laker roster, it's the 2017 New Orleans Pelicans. It's a mismash of too old, not good enough, disparate, odd, strange parts that sometimes don't look like they should be in the same town together. But he makes it work. He is the leader of the only, singularly only veteran team that did well in the playoffs.

Milwaukee folded, Houston folded, the Clippers folded. so it is still absolutely remarkable. But he's had a career drafted by Cleveland. Katie goes to the Warriors, becomes a three-point shooting league. Lakers implode when he gets there. Goes to the finals. Kyrie and Kevin Love both get hurt.

He's had bad breaks. He's had really bad breaks. This year he got all of them and he has taken advantage of him. And last night with about six and a half, minutes to go. Rondo, LeBron, and Anthony Davis, the veterans who are all elite defenders when they want to be, clamped down on the kids. This was one of the first playoff games that really looked like a non-bubble playoff game. 83, 83, it's all even. And LeBron says, all right, I'm going to score or assist on every Laker basket going forward. My entire life, last night, seven minutes to go is

what playoffs look like. The young, spunky, athletic, fun, Miami Heat, the young kids face AD and LeBron and Rondo, and the grown-ups, their body language changes, their intensity changes with about six and a half minutes to go, and they are all over the kids. It's like, all right, dad woke up from his nap. All right, here we go, and the Lakers clamp down. LeBron, afterwards, one game away from another championship. When I woke up for my nap this morning after our team meeting, I just felt that, felt that vibe.

I felt that pressure. I felt like for me personally, this was one of the biggest games in my career. And I just wanted to relay that message to my teammates, the type of zone I was in, the type of moment it was, just my mindset, kind of still in it. Obviously, it's my mind kind of working right now. one game to go, one more title, third team, fifth head coach to the finals, the greatest professional basketball career, I didn't say player ever, about to be culminated in the bubble. Then he flies home, out of the bubble.

And hopefully, although it's been done well, we never have to deal with an NBA bubble again. Well, well, well, let's talk about the Dallas Cowboys if we could for a second. There are certain people, politicians and cult leaders, who are really good at looking you in the eye and lying. I've never myself been able to do it. I've often joked I could never be an actor. Like me or not, here's what I think, how it lands is a you problem. But politicians and cult leaders are just great at it. They're just selling you stuff they know is not true.

Add to that, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys and the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Cowboys, Jerry Jones, and Mike McCarthy, who are trying to convince you, despite what you're seeing, this defense is very close. This is very good. It's just a tweak here. And Troy Aikman yesterday on Dallas Radio would have absolutely none of it. I didn't see one. Probably win the game.

There's almost a certain art to it to be this delusional and try to convince us of what we're seeing is not true. As Troy pointed out, on that reverse to Odell Beckham, there were multiple cowboy players just sort of jogging like it was practice and they weren't in a really good shape in Oxnard yet. It was brutal. It was brutal. There's a delusion to it.

We have an owner, his son, and the head coach, and nobody is buying it. The players aren't buying it. You can tell they're not engaged. You can't fool the athletes. They know who's to believe in. I mean, this is why Belichick makes Cam work. Cam comes in, independent personality, and he buys into everything Belichick's selling because you know it's honest and authentic because it's worked for 20 years.

That's why New England's working. That's why when you see new coaches go to new staffs like Kyle Shanahan to San Francisco, you know, players are asked to do a lot, but they buy in because they can see it's working. You can look at the cowboy players. They're not buying into Mike Nolan, who was kind of a journeyman linebacker coach, landed in New Orleans, nobody given him a D.C. job. And Mike McCarthy got hired by him years ago, so did him a favor.

It is a disaster. Said it yesterday. Hire slowly, fire quickly. Move off it. Okay, we know what's going to happen this weekend. Dallas is going to beat the New York Giants who have scored three offensive touchdowns all year. And Mike McCarthy's going to come out and say, you know, we're a little more buttoned up.

I thought we had a good week of practice. We're buttoned up. Good week of practice. I thought we really showed some growth here. No, you faced the New York Giants here. But you can't keep BSing people. The four quarterbacks that have faced the Dallas Cowboys this year, if you put their statistical averages altogether, it's Patrick Mahomes season averages.

They're making every quarterback Patrick Mahomes. And I like Jared. golf and Matt Ryan. They're not Patrick Mahomes. So they're going to play. The Cowboys are going to play over the next couple of weeks, the New York Giants who can't score offensive touchdowns and Washington that just bench their starting quarterback. And Arizona, which is kind of a mess right now on both sides of the ball, though they have talent. And Dallas is going to convince you they had a good week of practice and they've got it buttoned up and the momentum's on their side. And it will be the same old delusion. They're trying to convince us.

like politicians and cult leaders, something we know is not true is definitively true. Coming up, I've never thought guys like LeBron, Michael Jordan, Brady, Peyton Manning are defined by plaques and awards, but LeBron does deserve the MVP of this finals,

probably won't win it AD will. I'll tell you why LeBron should get the award, though he certainly doesn't need it. to validate his legacy. 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'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 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-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 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 for 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, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different.

bro absolutely and that that's two different levels of trust I want you to just really be a good person join me Keer games is we have real conversations about healing growth fatherhood pressure and purpose on my new podcast learn the hard way open your free iHeart radio app search learn the hard way and listen now Eddie van haelan passed away yesterday sad story my childhood rock and roll band in high school van halen was it he was the coolest guy in the coolest band for the longest time, the late great Eddie Van Halen. Rest in peace. So we're in the finals, and I don't care.

I've never kept track of Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, LeBron, Magic Johnson MVP's. You know, it's like, who cares? They're legends. That matters to Russell Westbrook. An MVP matters to Matt Ryan. It doesn't have anything to do with the greats, the legends. They're iconic, right? Who knows how many Grammys, you know, certain performers have.

But if, you know, you win one in a lifetime, it's everything. So the finals MVP, it's going to come down to LeBron and AD. The argument for AD Anthony Davis is this. Well, he's the deciding factor. I mean, when he plays well, they win and when he plays poorly, they lose. We have a presidential election coming up on November 4th, so let me frame it this. sway. Anthony Davis, AD is Florida. LeBron is California. AD could go either way. I mean, there's been times he's hurt. One game he had minus 26.

He had a 15, 5, and 3 game in the finals. I mean, you don't really know in the fourth quarter with Anthony Davis if he disappears or not. He could go either way. LeBron is California. You could call it today for Joe Biden. It's 55 electoral. votes. Florida's 29. Democrats' Party would be an absolute chaos if you couldn't bank on California every

year. And the Lakers are the 2017 Pelicans without LeBron James. You know what you're getting. You know what you don't see discussed when you watch election coverage is California. It's been decided. You have to have it.

You have to have. A.D. is a swing state. I mean, he is important. Nobody would question that. He's very important, but he's less dependable. It can go either way. LeBron is California. He leads the Lakers in points. He leads the Lakers in rebounds.

He leads the Lakers in assists. And without him, they're not here. And without California, we're not even discussing Florida. We're not even discussing A-D without LeBron. Swing states are important. They can be deciding, But that does not make them the most valuable and the most reliable and the most important.

AD's a swing state. LeBron is California. Not even worth talking about. His bad game in the finals was 25, 8, and 10. AD's bad game was 15, 5, and 3. That's a half for LeBron. Joy Taylor with the news. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. Aaron Rogers led the Packers to a 13 and 3 record in the NFC championship appearance last season, but it was still viewed as a down year for his personal performance. Green Bay drafting a quarterback in the first round this year opened the door to talk about future with his team. But Rogers is not concerned about what others consider a down year for him. I sometimes laugh when people talk about down years for me, because a lot of times down years from me are career years for most courts.

Hey, it's just the facts, bro. Not wrong. The reaction is amazing. Pat McAfee loves Red Bull. Well, you like a good Red Bull every once in a while. Absolutely. I got you sneaking him over there. No, he's not wrong.

No, he's not wrong. But this is why, like, honestly, I fell for it this year. I thought that with all of the draft type and the talk about the floor and, you know, all of that, that this wouldn't be the year for the backers. And I was completely wrong about that. I loved the Packers last year. Right. But it's clear that Aaron Rogers has taken all of that conversation

and turned it into a, well, everyone relax here. When the Jordan Love draft crushed by San Francisco, Mike McCarthy gets the cowboy job, he's won the divorce, people have a right to be authentic. Aaron can be a tad cocky. He's being totally honest with us. And I'm in the media. I've said this before.

I will never criticize athletes, especially great ones when they're honest. Yeah. I remember about five years ago, LeBron said this got heat for it. And people were banging on him. He goes, I got a better life than you. Remember that? He came out and he said, I got a great life. If you don't, that's your problem.

He was accurate. The only people that struggle with that are the ones that struggle acknowledging he's right. Like, it's okay if you're a legend to occasionally go, I'm good here. Well, LeBron's saying he has a better life than most people shouldn't be a revolutionary news to most people. But it offended a lot of people. What are you saying? There's very short list of people walking this planet who have a better life than LeBron James. So him saying that shouldn't be revealing anything to anyone.

The thing about when athletes say things like this, there is a reaction of like, oh, well, you should be humble or you're talking down about people and, you know, remember where you came from. and also like, how do you think that the greatest, at anything that they do, get there? Do you think it's because when someone tells them that they're bad, they go back in their little cave and like, oh, okay, you're right, you're right. No, like they do the opposite, whatever that is, they do the exact opposite of that.

Now, obviously, they have to have this talent to do it as well, but there's plenty of people who are extremely talented. Every one of us knows someone who squanders their talents because they either listen to critics too much or they don't have the dedication, Like the greatest of the greats have all of that. What do you think they say to themselves? You don't think Aaron Rogers literally laughs when someone's like,

yeah, Aaron Rogers is having a down year. He's rolling his eyes. And he's looking at what's going on in Cleveland or Jacksonville or a half dozen other teams. Like, are you guys, are you joking? You get measured off of your own greatness. LeBron is a victim at this all the time. LeBron takes a tiny half step back and we're like, oh, he's losing it. Like losing it according to who?

Yeah. Him? Yeah. According to LeBron, maybe he's not as great as LeBron was in year 10. He's being measured against LeBron. I'm no longer defending humble people. I am for icons occasionally once a year saying, I'm the man. I am on their side.

It's okay. The average loser on Twitter brags all day. All day. It's okay if LeBron or Aaron Rogers say, bro, I'm pretty good. I got their back this point forward. There's a time and a place to be humble, certainly. Not in that moment for Aaron Rogers. So Washington is moving on from Dwayne Haskins in just four games into the season.

That was quick. He'll be benched this week for the matchup against the Rams. Kyle Allen will get the start and Alex Smith will serve as the backup. So he got moved from the starter to number three. That's pretty quick. In the depth chart. Pretty quick, yes. When Kyle Allen takes the field Sunday, he will be the 30th Washington quarterback to start a game since the beginning of the 1993 season.

Oh, boy. Yeah, they're a little Cleveland. Cleveland in the nation's capital. Yeah, it's quick. I don't have the number in front of me, but it's got to be very close. They might have, it might be more. 30 is a lot. We live in an NFL world now, Joy.

You just don't get many stars. I mean, Daniel Jones right now, I think the Giants would bail on him. I mean, that's just the new world we live in. Nobody gets time. I don't, look, Dwayne Haskins has not been great. He looked okay in game one. He's not been great since then. Big and strong.

Against, did play Baltimore this week. coming off of an embarrassing loss to the Chiefs, so we knew what Baltimore was going to do. He was 32 of 45, 314 yards, one rushing touchdown. But I don't really understand this move other than I think Rivera just this isn't Rivera's guy. Because what are we looking for in Kyle Allen? When you're making a move like this, what is the play? You don't have to win games this year, right, if you're Washington. Now, obviously, everyone wants to win.

I understand that. Players and coaches don't tank. But it's not like Ron Rivera's in the hot seats. like he's got to try and find a way to make it to next season, right? So what are you doing as far as the long play goes? Like you really believe Kyle Allen in his third year now is going to take you to the next level? I mean, obviously that division is a disaster, so perhaps that's the thinking. It tells me Ron Rivera in this division actually thinks,

if Kyle Allen doesn't make mistakes I've had him before, our defense can get us to eight and eight. I think it's telling me that Ron Rivera believes I can coach us defensively, to 500, and that may win the division. And I don't think Haskins at this point can just avoid mistakes. So, I mean, bailing on Haskins means you're done with him. It feels like it to me. Because they're going to have, unless Kyle Allen does what he's assuming they're going to do

and what you're talking about, then you're going to be drafting again near the top of the draft. So you're going to be looking for another quarterback next year. Or, you know, looking for a free agent quarterback. Because certainly this year, we've seen lots of movements at that position. I think it just tells me that Ron Rivera, thinks this team in this crappy division that Ron thinks, I'm looking around at the cowboys, I'm looking around at the Eagles and the Giants,

we can sneak into the playoffs here. I think if he was in the NFC West, you'd be like, what's the point? But I think he thinks, based on his defense, is we're in these games against more talented teams. We just can't stop making mistakes. And Kyle Allen, totally limited, won't make as many mistakes. That's my guess of what he's thinking.

It has to be a short play, because there's no way he believes Kyle Allen It was like the future of the franchise. So finally, the Seattle Storm swept the Las Vegas Aces in three games to become the WNBA champions last night. Brianna Stewart was incredible, the unanimous choice for finals MVP, becoming the only the fifth player in WNBA history to win the award twice. Obviously, Sue Byrd won her fourth title and became the first player in WMBA history

to win titles in three different decades. Is Sue Bird top five player history, WNBA? For sure. absolutely so it'd be sue bird absolutely brianna stewart who else well subert has four titles four Olympic gold medals she's an 11 time all-star the all-time WMBA assist leader

okay she and has a finals assist record at age 39 so yes Sue bird is up there for sure brianna stewart was remarkable Cynthia cooper Lisa Leslie Deanna tarasie and sylvia fowles are the only other players to win to wmba

finals MVP awards. But the Seattle Storm have won their second championship in the last three years. They have a very young team, so they're going to be around for a very long time. And shout out to Jordan, Canada as well. Where to go. Nice job. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. Rec Tech more than a grilla lifestyle, smart grilling

technology made by grillers. Four grillers. Go to recTech withacu.com. R-E-C-E-Q-C-E-C-E-Q.com. So Nick right now joining me. Host First Things First. Brought to you by Mercedes Ben's the best or nothing. You know, I said to start the show today, LeBron's had a bunch of bad breaks in his career. This year, I do feel like in the last eight, nine months, I do feel he's had a series of breaks.

KD. leaves the Warriors. Clippers get knocked out. A.D.'s finally healthy. Miami's young. Kind of a good matchup for the Lakers. Is it fair to say, things have finally kind of worked out in a nine-month period for LeBron? Yeah, I totally disagree with you. So here's the thing.

So the Lakers were the only team of the contenders to have a player opt out of the bubble that was a rotation player. That was Avery Bradley. That's the first thing. Second thing is they earned the one seed and it was useless. They got no home games because they're all neutral sight. But you made a point a lot of people have made. They were very lucky to avoid the clippers. They were very lucky to avoid the bucks.

I would buy that if the clippers or bucks had been derailed by injury. But they weren't. They were beat by better teams. Those exact teams, the Lakers then dispatched in five games, the Nuggets, and they're about to the heat. Folks want to hold on to this idea that the clippers would have been really good. They never were. So I think it is certainly true that for the first time in nearly a decade,

LeBron is in the finals, not up against a super team. That is a good break. With the Spurs, they had four Hall of Famers. The Warriors had four and then five Hall of Famers. And that's who we played year after year. Hell, the Thunder had Katie, Russ, and Hardin. So that part, I would agree, is a bit of a break. But the rest of it, I think this has actually been a harder path than it would have been under regular circumstance.

So I say LeBron's the MVP. And the analogy I used is in an election. year, LeBron's California, Democrats aren't even discussing Florida if you don't get the 55 electoral votes from California. That's why nobody talks about it. You can call it today for Biden. Whereas AD, we talk about it a lot. It's a swing state, but it's not as dependable. He had a 15-point game in these finals. I mean, let's be honest. He's healthy. I mean, you know, Florida and AD, we're never quite sure what we get. So to me, LeBron is absolutely the end. MVP of this finals, I would imagine we agree on that. Yeah, and by the way, if you think,

even though LeBron should win it, if you think AD is going to win it, you could make a lot of money. I mean, AD is, I think, plus 600 at Fox Bet, so you can make a lot of money betting him to win finals MVP, but there's a reason he's plus 600, because it would be insane, barring a massive game five to give this award to anyone but LeBron. Folks are, we are numb to what LeBron does. We feel like he's having a down finals. He is averaging 28, 11, and 9 on 54%. And while AD has been brilliant defensively, in these finals,

LeBron is averaging more points, more rebounds, more assists. There isn't an argument for anyone to win this finals MVP other than LeBron. Yes, he had a bad game three with the eight turnovers, but his bad game three was 25, 10, and 8. AD's bad game three was 15 points, five rebounds with five turnovers himself. So listen, if game five, if AD goes for 45 and LeBron has a bad game, AD could steal it. But right now, it is much like, to use your analogy, California is not going to be close in the election. right now it's not close. Right now, LeBron is clearly the finals MVP,

and I think you really have to stretch logic to argue for anybody else. You know, I've always laughed at, you know, who's clutch and who's not. LeBron didn't shoot particularly well for a while. He had a little stretch in the fourth where he was a little off, but, I mean, this is, you know, he's never been, I think, a brilliant three-point shooter. He has worked his tail off to become a pretty good clutch shooter. But what do you make of the argument for those who say, because last night, LeBron, game tied 83, he scores or assists on every Laker basket at that point forward?

What do you make of the arguments that LeBron, you know, the late Kobe was more clutch, Michael is more clutch, KD is more clutch. But, you know, LeBron's talented but not real clutch. Well, though, there's a word for those arguments, idiotic is the word. Listen, all these are, these can, things can be measured. We know what guy's field goal percentage is in clutch situations. We can narrow it down to final five minutes, final three minutes, final one minute, or if you even want the buzzer beaters.

And LeBron, amongst every player ever, has the best numbers ever. The late great Kobe Bryant took a lot of these shots and had the guts for it, but he shot a terrible percentage. Jordan took a lot of these shots and shot a good percentage. LeBron has taken more, made more than Jordan, and at a slightly higher percentage. and Jordan is the guy we hold up as the clutches player of all time. But that's just buzzer-beaters are in the final minute. I want to expand it because the Lakers did something last night,

and it is a continuation of a trend that I think is the biggest story of this season, which is the Lakers this year have turned fourth quarters into what ninth innings were for the Yankees when they had Mariano Rivera. 56 times this year, regular season. and playoffs. The Lakers have led going into the fourth quarter. They are 56 and 0, Colin. It's never been done in NBA history. LeBron with his ability to control games, because remember, AD rests at the beginning of fourth quarters typically. They haven't lost a fourth quarter lead all year. And you might say, well, is that an outlier? Well, let's look at the four best in NBA history.

Number one is this year's Lakers. Number two is the 72 win Bulls. Number three, is the 68 Celtics with Russell, Jones, Honda, an all-time great team. Number four on that list, the fourth best team record-wise, leading after three quarters. The 2018 Cavs, 50 and 1, that was post-Kiree,

that was with love in and out of the lineup. So in LeBron James, Colin, in his last two healthy seasons, his teams have led entering the fourth quarter, 107 times. They are 106. and 1. There is no

precedent for it. There is no comparison to it. It is mind blowing. And that is the definition of clutch. Whether you're up by 1 or 10 going into the 4th, do we close it out? Yeah. And over the last two healthy years, 106 and

1 in that situation. It's unbelievable. Well, that was always Tiger Woods. If he led on Sunday, he won the tournament. Like that, that was always to me. That, you know, great golfers. Phil Mickelson lose leads. Tiger led for 10 years. Tournament was over.

You just watched to see him hoist a trophy. So we live in a world on social media where the ants defend each other and hate icons and hate legends and bang on LeBron and bang on Howard Stern and he got a big new contract, I guess. And Aaron Rogers did something yesterday where he went out and he said, you know, my bad years or career years for guys. and I thought to myself, I am now going to support legends when once a year they go, I'm pretty good. I am going to support Aaron Rogers. You? Thank you.

Yeah. So I've never understood this about some fans and a lot of media. They prefer false humility to honest arrogance. We know these guys know they're awesome. We know that behind closed doors, or when they look themselves in the mirror, or when they're with friends and family, you're like, my God, I'm great. Of course you are. But we want them to pretend they don't feel that way.

I want to know who guys are. And guess what Aaron Rogers should feel like. I am bleeping awesome. I'm Aaron bleeping Rogers. So I appreciate that in a moment of honesty, he revealed that to us. I've never gotten when folks want athletes to lie to us, to what, to make us other people to make us feel better that we're not as excellent as what we do as they are at what they do? It's never made sense to me. I do think Rogers, while he had some tough moments over the

last few years, he was a victim of his own success, much like to bring it back to LeBron. We think LeBron's having a down finals because he's averaging 28, 11, and 9. That's only in comparison to the 35 point triple double he averaged a few years ago. Rogers had a four-year stretch where he had a passer rate combined over four years of 112. So then we as a three-year stretch where he has a passer rating of 98, you're like, oh, I think Aaron Rogers has lost it. And it's like, okay, maybe he's not what he once was, but it's still pretty damn good. And this year, he is proving, at least for the time being, he can be what he once was,

which is in the discussion for the most talented quarterback ever, or at least until Patrick Mahomes in the league. Finally, politicians and cult leaders are great at telling us something they know isn't true that look right into their followers, right into their voters, and tell us stuff that's not true, and they know it. I want to add to that Jerry Jones and Mike McCarthy because they're looking at the camera saying this defense is very close. It is precipice of the 85 bears.

And Troy Aikman finally yesterday said, this is embarrassing. I would be embarrassed to see it on film. What do you make of the cowboy insistence that this is just, we're just inches away from being great? They do everything bad. There's not a thing they do well on defense. It's go line by line. Defensive line, DeMarcus Lawrence hasn't had a sack in over 450 snaps.

Wow. That dates back to midpoint of last season. Since he signed his contract, he's played 20 games, he's got five sacks. And I know sacks aren't everything, but it's pretty telling. I don't think he has a single quarterback hit this season. He's played four games. Brian Westbrook was on the TV show today, talked about how their linebackers can't fill run lanes,

that it is the exact type of team you want to run against. And pass-wise, I said this on the show this morning, put up Patrick Mahomes numbers on the year, put up the numbers every quarterback against the Cowboys has put up. They're turning every quarterback they play into Mahomes. You're going to have a bad record if you've got to play Mahomes every week, and if you're turning a guy into Mahomes every week, week. That's what they've done. So I don't, and a lot, Brandon Marshall in the show has talked about

that Mike Nolan, the D coordinator there, he's known for a very complex scheme. And I understand that. But the idea behind complexity on defense is, yeah, listen, we might occasionally give up the big play, but we're going to get it back by making the big play. They're getting all of the risk with none of the reward. They've given up more big plays than any defense in football, but they've only forced two turnovers. They're not getting to the quarterback. They're not forcing turnovers. They're bad at everything.

And so I don't, I can't fix it. And yeah, I agree with you. It is seeing Mike McCarthy and Jerry Jones look into the camera and say they're this close. It's, it is as ridiculous of a statement I've heard in 2020 since I heard one of my favorite talk to host look into the camera and say the clippers were better than the Lakers. It's just, I mean, it's just as ridiculous. I put it right neck and neck. I don't know who's dressing you, but boy, you look good today.

Doesn't he look sharp? Look at all those. I know who's dressing him. You know. Yeah, I know who's dressing him too. His beautiful wife. Nick Wright, first things first. Good seeing you, buddy.

Absolutely. Thanks, you guys. You bet. Coming up next, uh-oh. Tom Brady no longer has an arm. Waiting to you hear these numbers. Bad day to listen to this show if you're a Brady or a LeBron hater. That's coming up.

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 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, 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,

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Carsheel.com code her deductible may apply. Car shield. So, you know, there's been this, I kind of believe Tom Brady's had a 20-year NFL career, and I think about the first 15 or 16, he was the same quarterback. Early in his career, he was a little raw, and then he had about 13 years of amazing. And then the last four years, I feel like I see the same guy.

He can't make that deep outthrow. That's where the pick six has come from. But he can make any throw down the seam, any throw deep. He's still great at the line of scrimmage. There's like a one throw, unless he really gets planted, and the weather's perfect. He's got a little jet stream behind him. He doesn't make that deep out throw.

quite as good as he once did. The ball floats. It gets picked and return. Outside of that, again, his career is sort of like raw first three years, won a Super Bowl, but raw. Great for about 11, 12, 13. And then the last four, I feel like I get the same guy. He does kind of get tired later in years. December. He doesn't quite have the velocity. But can we stop with the arm thing with Tom Brady? It's still better than a big chunk of NFL quarterbacks. PFF, pro football focus, came out. Tom has 16, what they grade is big time throws right now. Most in the NFL. I thought it was a system quarterback. I thought his arm was shot. This arm was shot thing. His arm gets tired in December.

Drew Breeze, his arm is shot. Philip Rivers. Tom Brady, he can't make the deep outthrow like he did about five years ago. Outside of that, and think about this. He's just scratching the service. Mike Evans receiver, bad hamstring, ankle issues. Chris Godwin misstarts. Leonard Fernette just got there now he's hurt. Gronk learning the offense and a rookie right tackle. They are just scratching the surface with this offense.

They're taking baby steps. I've bet them every single weekend. They do have moments offensively where they're just not in sync. But when they get in sync in every game I've watched him, and on national TV, we watched them the first week and we just bailed on them. but they had no preseason. Since then, they've gotten better every week and nobody's watching because they go up against cowboy games or they go up against sexier games.

So tomorrow they take on the bears and we're all going to watch them and you're going to see what I believe is a team that has a Super Bowl shot with a Super Bowl winning quarterback. And here's another thing. Here's another number to throw out there. Bruce Ariens, a lot of people are like, well, Tom's arm is fading and Bruce Ariens demands always has you throw the ball down the field. So pro football focus went and looked this up. This is fascinating.

The most turnover worthy plays in a single season in the last 15 years. James Winston, Carson, Palmer, and Andrew Luck all had 40 tied for the most. It was all in their first year under Bruce Ariens. What does that tell you? Bruce is rough on quarterbacks for the first year because he demands Winston, Carson, Palmer, Andrew Luck. Two of those three are going to get Hall of Fame boats, right? Like Bruce Ariens demands, throw the ball down the field.

Tom Brady had no OTA with this team, no preseason. Mike Evans has been hurt. Chris Godwin's been out. Leonard Fernette just got there, a rookie right tackle. Now, by the way, O.J. Howard out for the year. Gronk's still learning the offense. And it's not like they've had an easy schedule. You know, they had to go to Denver.

That's an above average defense. They had to open with the Saints. Like, it's not been that easy for them. And then they have the Bears, by the way. a top 10 defense, top eight defense tomorrow night. But, you know, these, I just don't buy into a lot of these narratives that start. It's like, like, it was the old Russell Westbrook was valuable. And I was like, no, no, no, he's everything except valuable.

He's the only thing he's not as valuable. Great, athletic, fun, worth the price of admission, a sensational. But valuable? No, every team he leaves gets better. And every player that leaves him gets better. Russell Westbrook is everything. He checks every box. He's not valuable.

That's not what a year. Houston would get rid of his contract today. Tom Brady, you can criticize a lot, lot, like, you know, not very athletic. You can't move the pocket a ton with him. You know, he can be a little prickly if you're a young receiver and he doesn't trust you. He'll just, he'll ghost you. He won't throw to you. But the arm thing.

The other thing is Brady and Peyton Manning are brilliant. They chose at the end of their careers the places to go to. Where does a golf ball travel further? Where does a punt travel further? Denver. One of the reasons Peyton Manning chose it. Easier to throw a football in high altitude. Why did Tom Brady choose Florida? Because when you get old, that's where old people go.

The warm weather makes you feel good. You can stay limber. You don't have Foxborough winners. Brady has chosen very smartly. He chose the city, the coach, the weapons, and they're getting better, and they're on with the Chicago Bears tomorrow night. Joel Clatt, hour two 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 I-Heart 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clivert 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, 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 Clivert Show on the I-Hard 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. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere,

but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, Listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human.