The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - Tom Brady shouldn't come back to Tampa Bay

Episode Date: December 14, 2022

The overtime thriller between the Lakers and the Celtics and why one of these teams can fix their issues There's not reason for Tom Brady to play for the Buccaneers next season The Cowboys are winning games this year despite the play of their star QB Dak Prescott   Guest: Mark SchlerethSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. We are ready to roll a lot of stories today here in a Wednesday. It's the herd, wherever you may be, however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. J-MAC, I thought that was the best regular season game of the year.

So you had the Celtics, little worn out, heading back east, but they had lost to the Warriors and they'd lost to the Clippers, and they had to beat the Lakers. And all of a sudden, here come the Lakers, who beat Milwaukee about a week ago and were like, oh, this team's kind of interested in starting to play well. That was a fascinating seesaw battle. How good of a day with sports yesterday,

you get Leonel Messi, the potential goat in the morning, then you get LeBron, the goat at night with a phenomenal comeback if Anthony Davis doesn't screw it up. Yeah, well, let's talk about that. Let's go big picture here because, you know, we can talk about free throws, but let's go big picture because it's the NBA, every game doesn't matter, end of the day, Celtics are making the playoffs, Lakers probably aren't unless they make a big trade, but let's go holistic here.

Let's talk big. It was a great game. It was the best NBA game of this season, in my opinion. And it was two flawed teams, and both were on display. So the Lakers lack wing defenders. We told you this, right? So here's Jason Tatum, exhausted end of a trip, back to back. He's unstoppable.

44 points, got any shot he wanted to, shot 50% from the floor. Golden State and the clippers have great. wing defenders. A more rested Jason Tatum shot 7 of 20 against the clips, 6 of 21 against the Warriors, because they can keep throwing wing defenders and bodies at him. Lakers, he's exhausted, 44 points. They don't have a guy to put on him. You can't blame LeBron. You can't blame AD. If it's not for AD, you're not even in that game. Let's get over the free throws. He's the reason you're in that game. You can't blame Westbrook. He played well. We love to blame Westbrook. You can't blame Darwin Ham. hell, this roster, they start three guards.

That's what they are. They start three guards. That was a loss upstairs. LeBron was great. A.D. was great. Westbrook, I mean, he drives me nuts. He's done a remarkable job to embrace his role. And Darvin Ham's having a really, really good early season for a coach.

Everything he's implemented has worked. He's been terrific. This was on the construct of the roster. They're not built to stop eventually a coach. Kawhi or a Jason Tatum. Tatum was gassed at the end of that game. He's still got every shot he wanted to. Now let's talk about the Celtics flaws.

Now, they're more aesthetic, but I don't know if they're solvable. The Lakers are only solvable with a big trade. Celtics may have to make one too if they want to beat Milwaukee Golden State of the Clippers. Think about this. So they don't have an athletic big man. when Robert Williams isn't playing. He wasn't last night. And Robert Williams has heard a lot, often, regularly.

That's why they bring over Blake Griffin. If you're using Blake Griffin as an athletic big at this point, you're not beating Milwaukee. You're not beating Golden State. You're not beating the Clippers. So that's a problem. When Robert Williams is not on the floor, like last night, Anthony Davis could have scored 50.

He gets it. You think Janus, Embed, A.D., if you don't have Robert Williams, on the floor, the guy they have right now, second time around for the Celtics, he's a backup. So that is an issue. You got to cross your fingers on Robert Williams' health. The other thing is that the Lakers came back in this game. They had an 18-0 run.

And part of the 18-0 run is Jason Tatum's not on the floor. And they do not move the ball. It's not as fluid for the Celtics. The ball doesn't move as well when Tatum's off the floor. and he was out for part of that 18-0-0 run. Now, some of it is I think the Celtics were a little tired. Okay, they're a tired team. It's end of the third, back-to-back nights in Los Angeles.

It's very demanding. It was high emotion against the Lakers. But the thing is what you're saying is Colin, that's okay, because Tatum's young and he can play. Ah. Ah. Who led the NBA last year in playoff minutes? Jason Tatum. who broke down in the finals?

You and I both know, Tatum was not 100%. He was not. He is now, and look how great he is. Jason Tatum was not 100%. So the Lakers, if these were houses, the Lakers problems are foundational. Their foundation stinks. That's a much bigger issue.

You've got to make a big trade. But the Celtics issues, though feeling more aesthetic, are issues. Robert Williams gives you about 60 games a year, and you have to cross your fingers on his health in the playoffs if he's facing bigs every night, and he is fundamentally crucial to this defense. This defense is different level when he's on the floor. His length, his athleticism, it's unbelievable. And Jason Tatum, they got to have him on the floor. I love Jalen Brown, having the best year of his career. But when Tatum's not on the floor, they are not the same offense. teams like the Lakers can have an 18-0-0 run.

Well, we'll just keep Tatum on the floor. That was the problem last year. He played, and I mean, he played more playoff minutes than Jimmy Butler. I mean, he was on the, that's more playoff minutes than any warrior. So it's really interesting. We can blame AD for free throws, folks. They're not in that game without AD. So both those teams.

on a great night of NBA basketball are flawed. The Celtics are smaller flaws, but I don't think you can correct it. They got to have Tatum on the floor in big spots, and Robert Williams can struggle to stay healthy. They may need to make a move as well. We just don't think about it. We think the Lakers have to make moves, which they do. They just don't have enough wing defenders.

They need another shooter. Here was Tatum after. Last game of the road trip, we've been going for like 13. days, second night of a back-to-back. Man, what was down? 12 with three minutes left, but we found a way in. We needed that, man. Losing two in a row.

Having been playing the best individually and at the team, but, man, find a way to get back on track. That felt good. By the way, there were a couple of moves late in that game by Jason Tatum. Dude is just fantastic. He's got, you know, Kobe was his favorite player, and late in that game, he got that ball back to the basket, and there was a lot of Kobe.

It looked a lot like Kobe. He's a remarkable talent. But if he's not on the floor, it's not the same offense. It does not move as well. So second story today, we'll talk more about that game because it really, really was an excellent game. LeBron for year 20 had a couple of dunks. I mean, they'd take your breath away. It's unbelievable how good LeBron is in year 20.

Unbelievable. I don't know. One of his dunks looked like he was a rookie. I mean, that dude, whoever his chef is, he needs to share it with the rest of us. I wouldn't have gray hair if I had his chef because he is aging unbelievably well. So here's a story. Albert Breer, one of the reporters here,

that Tom Brady is unlikely to play for the Buccaneers next year. And one of the reasons we've talked about this that it's so obvious. It is hard to leave relationships, right? But when Brady left New England, he left a lot. He left the number one. one academic organization in a sport, maybe the smartest organization in sports. He left the best coach. He left the discipline culture.

He left the great owner who became an incredible friend. He left a lot. He left the best offensive line coach. He left Josh McDaniels. Brady left a lot in New England. It was not an easy decision. What's he leaving in Tampa? We don't know if they have the head coaching situation, right?

The O line's been banged up all year. his receivers are aging, so is the front seven defensively. And as an organization, it's always been a little squirly. I like the Buccaneers, but they've always been squirly. It is much easier to bail on Tampa right now. They're like turning a really cool rental car in after four great days in Vegas. I really appreciated it. You really liked it.

You saw the town, some interesting memories, but you're turning in a rental car. This isn't the first car you've ever owned. So, but what's interesting is Tom's got all the leverage. The Niners are going to kick the tires. The Raiders will probably be interested. He can retire. He can come over to Fox in broadcasting. He has a signed contract.

So Tommy's got all the leverage. But it is a cautionary tale. It's what the Cavs did with LeBron, what the Lakers are doing with LeBron, and what the Bucks are doing with Brady. when you decide to build around an aging star, the Cavs did it late with LeBron, the Lakers certainly did it, what did LeBron want in Los Angeles?

Get rid of the young guys, get me A, D, and veterans. And you can win. They did in the bubble. But if LeBron left tomorrow, what do they have? And when Tom leaves the box, what do they have? They brought in the gronk. They brought in A, B.

They got players he could relate to, veteran players. They overpaid, brought all 22 guys back after the Super Bowl, right? Ideally, you'd like to move off a couple of those big price tags. Now they're getting a little old in the front seven. Receivers can't stay as healthy. O line falling apart. So when you decide, hey, we love this superstar. The Cavs were a losing organization.

Kind of desperate. We'll go all in to get a title. Buccaneers, Squirley, kind of desperate. desperate. James Winston, not worry. We'll be not working. We'll build around the aging star. The star, LeBron moves off and gets rich in L.A. and wins another title. Brady could move off to San Francisco and win another title. It's a cautionary tale. Really good organizations rarely get desperate, right? But Tampa's always been a little sideways, a little goofy. And the Cavaliers, I mean, let's be honest, without LeBron in the last 20 years, not been great. So that's

That's where we stand today. Brady probably not returning. He's turning in the rental car. There's not a lot of emotional connections here, right? Albert Beer yesterday on the familiarity, why familiarity elsewhere might help Brady leave Tampa. I think there are certain things he appreciates more now about the New England experience, whether it's the discipline in the program, it's how tight everything was wound, how the game was called, the offensive coaching he had. And it sort of takes me back to, you know, when Josh McDaniels left New England the first time and went to Denver, and Billy O'Brien got promoted in 2009, got promoted to become the offensive play caller. And almost right away, Bill O'Brien got a text from Tom Brady with four words,

I want to be coached. You know, I think if he's going to continue playing after this year, you're right to think that that could be a factor. And the two most obvious places where I think, you know, he'd have places he could, he'd have coaches he could really respect on that side of the ball would be San Francisco and Vegas. Keep your eyes on both. All right, good show today. A lot going on on a Wednesday, a ton going on. 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 which I'm 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 what 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 with Little Kim's? 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 a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so 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 this. 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. Good to have you in a Wednesday. A lot of stuff going on in sports. Great NBA game last night. We just broke it down Lakers Celtics. More about that in a bit.

So, interesting article from Jory Epstein. She's been a cowboy insider for a while. And Jerry Jones has been talking about this, that what Jory points out here is very, very interesting with Dak Prescott. And it's a real thing. And it's something I think for those of us who have always viewed DAC as basically Kirk Cousins with a bigger brand. Can win a lot of games, can win the division, limitations.

Then there's those that believe DAC is an A. Top 10, they're offended if you don't discuss it. But as Jory points out, Prescott's 1.7 past interception ratio ranked 13th among 97 quarterbacks, okay, with at least 100 passes. Okay, that's different. That's last year, right? Okay, so he's always kind of average. This year, his rate is third worst in the league.

Why is that? He's throwing more interceptions. Why he's making more mistakes? because Dak Prescott has always been. When was he at his best? Cowboys had the best line. Zeke was the best running back in the league. He went 13 and 3.

They didn't ask a lot. Think of it like years ago when they used to have typewriters, right? And somebody could brag, I type 80 words a minute. If I made you type 130 words a minute, you'd make more mistakes. So Dallas this year is asking Dak to do. more. Why? The offensive line. Tyron Smith hasn't played. Michael Gallup wasn't there when the year started. They traded Amari Cooper. Shultz, the tight end, Dalton Schultz, very good tied in. Hasn't been 100% many games this year. So they've asked DAC to elevate and fill in the gaps.

Dak has always been Kirk Cousins. He has always been Jared Gough. I think he's more talented, but similar to Jimmy Garoppolo. He is not capable of filling the gap going to 120 words a minute without more mistakes. If you look, as this team has had some limitations offensively due to Gallup's injury, Schultz injury, no Amari Cooper, no Tyron Smith. In the last five games, you look at it and think Dallas is rolling, but look at Dax's numbers. He lost to Green Bay with a passer rating of 78, and that's not even a good defense.

He beat the Giants but had two picks. He beat the Colts but had two picks. And he beat Indianapolis, but the defense basically led the day and blew it open in the fourth quarter. First two and a half quarters, we were all asking, why is this game close? The Colts are terrible. So Dak needs the team to be whole and then they can pull him along, like a Kirk Cousins, he can make big throws like a Jared Goff. But when Jared Goff would have an injury,

Guard, center, guard wasn't the same. Was not the same quarterback. That's why McVeigh went and got Matt Stafford, Kirk Cousins. If Justin Jefferson goes down, uh-oh, put him in prime time with a pass rush, uh-oh. The interesting thing here is, is Dallas becoming a team that is winning despite DAC? Now, that sounds harsh, but right now Dallas has a top three scoring defense. 32 teams, they're top three. This is an elite defense.

They are a top seven rushing team. 32 teams, top seven. Yet DAC is one of three quarterbacks that has more picks than game started. The other two are Matt Ryan and Davis Mills. Dak is not a top 10 quarterback. The more words you demanded, somebody type in the 80s in that. 90s on a typewriter. If they're 80 words a minute and you ask for 130, you're going to get more mistakes.

The Lions have done a very good job. Drafting offense, golf is mostly protected. Garoppolo and San Francisco, mostly protected. Justin Jefferson to Minnesota, when Dalvin Cook is healthy in a run game. Kirk Cousins mostly protected. Dack similarly needs that. And this year, Amari's gone. tight ends hurt. Gallup came in late. O lines not good. Now, now, you know, they add T.Y. Hilton.

Tyron Smith should come back. Looks like Tony Pollard is emerging as a star. Let's hope Dalton Schultz now stays healthy the rest of the year. That is not to say they wouldn't win multiple playoff games. They are getting healthier. But Jerry Jones talked about this. We know Jerry loves Dak. He talked about this on his radio show about the interceptions going up this year. Those interceptions can neutralize great execution and effort in other parts of the game. But I will tell you now, the definition of aggressiveness doesn't have to include turnovers. It does not have to include that. Aggressive does not.

And I do like aggressiveness without the turnovers. Let's be fair now. Mahomes is aggressive and doesn't historically have a lot of turnovers. That's not Mahomes. Aaron Rogers been pretty aggressive. Doesn't have a lot of turnovers. Dak's not Aaron Rogers. And Aaron Rogers in recent years has even pulled back.

Played safe too often. So it's easy to say you can be aggressive without the turnovers. Not if you're Kirk Cousins, Garoppolo, Goff, or Dak. That's for an elite class, all-time talent, top six. Joe Burroughs aggressive. Even he, early in his career, had more turnovers. You know what Burrow is now? As a top three quarterback, aggressive without the turnovers.

He's different. There's very few. I was thinking about this this morning driving in. It's the class in my lifetime, and I'm talking like 70s when I start. I remember the first NFL game I ever watched that I can remember. It's the 72 Super Bowl. It's Washington, Miami, Garoia Premium. Dolphins won like 14 to 6.

Billy Kilmer, George Allen against Don Shula, I think were the coaches. From that point forward, there's always been like three or four different quarterbacks than a bunch of guys that can win your games. And right now, Mahomes is different. Allen's different. Burroughs different. In my opinion, Burroughs different. Aaron Rogers is declining.

Tom Brady has declined. Jalen Hertz is ascending. but it's a very, very tiny class. Like any other business, 5% are elite. I don't care if it's real estate. I don't care if it's pilots or quarterbacks. And then there's that group of about 12 guys. DAC is part of that.

You can win your division with them. You can win a playoff game with them. But Jerry's saying, hey, we can be aggressive and not have the turnovers. That's not fair. Mahomes can do that. There's one Patrick Mahomes on the planet and a kid at USC that kind of plays. like him. That's it on the planet. J. Mack with the news.

No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. You know who he's going to miss this week, Dak, is Terrence Steele, his right tackle. Underplayed in the media because there's all the Zodal stuff. That's a big loss. You know who they're facing? The Jags and Josh Allen coming off the edge. It's not ideal

for Dak. Jags and Trevor Lawrence, you mean? Well, Josh Allen is an edge rusher coming up against the backup. Apparently ball is going to be the backup. I will see. That's a cause for concern for... I like the fact that you know the edge rusher for the Jags. Come on, man. That's why you're a betting Maven. All right, let's go to the first story. Jalen Hertz, currently the favorite to take home

the MVP award, leading the league and passerating in a slew of other stats. But don't tell that to Micah Parsons. He's questioning whether Hertz is truly deserving of the NFL honor. Here's what Micah Parsons had to say. We look at the Eagles as it Hertz or the team. I think it's a little bit of bone, man. I think it's a system and team. I think it's a little bit of both, man,

because they got a great deep. They got a great offensive line, which helps Hertz. Hertz has A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith. They got a good running game. I mean, Maher Sanders. They scheme that they have. O-Line.

I'm not trying to make no enemies. I just, like, I just love the game so much, and I understand it so much that, like, I can't, like, when things are off, I just can't hold it in. Like, I almost got to say something. Well, first of all, everybody is part of a collective. Brady won the Super Bowl in Tampa when his O-line was healthy,

and he beat Mahomes who lost both tackles. Yeah. And it was a blowout. So even Patrick Mahomes needs help. This idea that Jalen Hertz has great players around him, every Super Bowl team does. I mean, Eli Manning needed the catch of Mario. Manningham and David Tyrese career to win. Those guys are okay. I mean, Manningham was pretty good.

Do you find that it's where we always do this with guys who are not first round picks, who are not top 10 picks, always going to be doubting them. I mean, they have one loss to season. Hertz is crushing it. Nick Siriani's calling a great, I mean, they lead the league in fourth. Patrick Mahomes, best quarterback in the world, got blown out in the Super Bowl because he was missing both tackles. This idea that, well, Jaylon's got a lot of help. When Josh Allen didn't have a run game earlier in the year, remember all the mistakes he was making in the red zone? Josh Allen, why? Because in the red zone, running the football becomes it's a very congested area. It is hard to throw a football at the eight-yard line in that space.

So when Josh didn't have a run game earlier this year, he was making a ton of mistakes in the red zone. So let me defend Jalen Hertz. All Super Bowl winning teams have a collection of really great players. they don't have to be great everywhere, but it is really hard to win a Super Bowl, as Mahomes will attest, if you're terrible anywhere, and Mahomes' team was terrible at tackle in that Super Bowl.

Yeah, very weird for Michael Parsons to do this. You know all the Eagles offensive line, which is one of the best in the league. It probably is the best. He's going to hear this, and they're going to be taking it out on Michael Parsons in a couple weeks. This is fascinating time for Michael Parsons

to pipe up and say this. You're bashing a guy who's the MVP favorite at every sports book in the country? What do you? I don't know what he's doing. This is crazy. All right, moving on. Hey, let's get to the New York Jets.

We don't really talk about them often enough. But there is an update. Zach Wilson has been elevated. He is now the backup quarterback. Oh, active for the first time in three weeks. Oh, good. As a number two pick, right?

I guess Robert Sala saw Joe Flacco in very limited time. Did you see him against Buffalo? I mean, he... No, no, he made a play. He wasn't ready, or he didn't want it. He didn't want to go in there. He saw Mike White getting killed, and Flacco's just like, I think he had a fumble, and it just, he looked.

bad ready for it yeah at any rate robert sala here is him talking about zach wilson doing all the right things in the last three weeks we're moving up uh zach to the number two spot uh and make joe the third why is that zach's been doing a great job um he he has he's been deliberate in his approach over the last three weeks um he's been holding himself accountable with regards to how he wants to attack practice uh how he has he's been he's been doing himself accountable with regards to how he wants to attack practice uh how he's been performing in practice, going against our defense, which I think is a pretty good defense to go against, and working on all the different things that we've been asking him to accomplish.

Interesting matchup. Lyons' defense, I was looking at him. Listen, Aidan Hutchison's got some really strong numbers this season. This can be a nasty front for Detroit, but the secondary leaves a little to be desired. Well, they're not going to be terribly vulnerable there. We'll see. Garrett Wilson's looking good.

Corey Davis, I don't know if he's going to go, But the big one for me is Quinn and Williams on the defensive line. I think right now. Are you leading lions? I think the Jets picked a wrong time to be injured. There's never a right time. Well, but I mean, this is a week. They need to win.

And they're facing a Detroit team that's about as healthy. They've been in the month. And all of a sudden, the Jets who need, they're not the same defense without Quinn and Williams. And Corey Davis has made some big plays for them. This is not a good spot to be banged up. say, I wrote about this for Fox Sports.com. The lines of 1-5 of 6. Have you seen the defenses they faced in that time?

All right. It seems like your head. A couple outdoor defenses, Chicago and the Giants. Come on. Jets are top of the league there. All right, let's move on. Final story. I see when you get tired with the Jets chatter.

Okay. Argentina with the big 3-0 victory yesterday against Croatia. This is great. Beat down. They're back to the World Cup final for the second time in the last three tournaments. The big story obviously was Messi, scored a penalty kick goal, and had a ridiculous assist. I mean, just an unbelievable run. Messi is passing Gabriel Battistuta as Argentina's all-time leader, and he confirmed the final will be his final World Cup match.

That will be, I believe, Sunday, 10 a.m.? Most regard him and Pele is the greatest players to ever play the sport. Rinaldo in his prime was really good with size, so he was great, too. Tough one for Ronaldo to get benched and then not score against Morocco. He's like 37 years old. Messi's no spring chicken. He's getting up there in age as well. Isn't it amazing to watch?

I mean, right now we're watching LeBron, Brady, Messi, the greatest ever to do it. Yeah. We're all getting this. They're all in there. And by the way, Brady just won a Super Bowl. LeBron last night was unbelievable. One in the bubble and Messi could win the World Cup. I know we want to shove everybody out the door, but there is wisdom.

and it's not that older players, like LeBron can't be great. Last night, he had a couple of dunks that looked like he was 23 years old. You just can't ask LeBron after playing 43 minutes last night to play 40 minutes tonight. I was talking to Alex on our staff earlier today. If let's say the Celtics played the Lakers in a series, or the Warriors, it's the Western Conference Finals or second round, whatever. And the Lakers, LeBron is a great game and you, the Warriors in the first game of the series.

I would not play him in the second game. I know, no, it sounds crazy. But it's like I'd rather have LeBron play 44 minutes in game three, and I'm playing with House Money after I beat the Warriors in game one. It's not that Brady, Messi, and LeBron can't be great, but they just can't do it as often generally. They need more rest. I'd have to see the schedule.

I mean, is it two days off? Is it one for LeBron? But Messi gets several days off here before he likely will face France. France plays Morocco today, but we've talked about it, the entire World Cup. This is setting up as a coronation of Messi as the greatest of all time. I know, like, your parents probably watched soccer and spoke of Pele in reverence. Oh, this guy was amazing. You didn't get a chance to see him.

We're going to be telling our kids and our grandkids. You should have seen Messi at the 2020 World Cup. My parents didn't like sports. At all? Nobody made out. I thought you said your mom was British. Every Brit on the planet like soccer. My mom didn't.

No. Her twin brother did. Peter. He loved soccer. He bought me a little soccer thing when I was like six, seven years old. Do you remember his favorite player or no? I know Johann Kroif of the Netherlands. He was the best player in the world when I was like seven years old.

I was in England with my mom. I got lost, by the way. Long story. You got lost in England? Oh, yeah. Audience doesn't need to know that. Oh, wow. A harrowing story.

I don't think I've ever seen a picture of you before the age of like, you know, 18 or 12. Oh, you don't want to. There's no winners there. Why not? Come on. Just not good. to turn back the clock day here on the herd. The hair was worse than it is now.

J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. You know, I've never shared that story with the odd. I've told you almost every story. I should share that someday. On a really slow August Wednesday, I'll give you the I got lost in England as a seven-year-old kid story. I remember it.

It's amazing what I can remember in my head from that story. I can literally remember the color of the sheets. they had these British pillow cases thing. I can remember the wall and the... How long were you missing for? We had just landed in England on a prop plane. By the way, we flew to Iceland, then England, from Seattle. So Seattle, seven hours, Iceland, Rikovic, then you go to Heathrow.

And I don't have time to tell the story too long, but I land there and I had a fever. A really, really, I was a kid that had a lot of fevers. And so I went upstairs as I had a fever and the sheets were cold. It's always cold in Great Britain. Right. So I put my head on the cold sheets and my parents, my mom and my sister could not find me in England. They called the police. They couldn't find me.

And so, and I went up there just as a little kid, just sweating. And I remember my sister, I'm telling the story now, my sister walking into the, the room screaming, I found him, I found him, I found him. And they put a cold compress on my head and I was, if my sister's watching, which he doesn't much, she's probably laughing at this. But it was, it was a, I mean, they, you know, they called the Bobby's. That's what they call the cops. Wow. The whole Lancashire, the whole town's looking for little calling. I'm upstairs in my, my mom's twin brother's house, Peter, in this house upstairs, sweating on these cold sheets.

You know, kids do what they do. They didn't think to go upstairs and look for you, huh? They thought I was in the streets. Canvas the streets. They'd canvas the whole town was looking for me. So I was causing chaos. You think I caused chaos now? I was causing mayhem at seven years old in England.

And there's a story nobody needed to hear. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, what's up everybody? It's me. Three-time Pro Bowl. of LeVar Arrington and I couldn't be more excited to announce a new podcast called Up on Game. What is Up on Game, you ask? Along with my fellow Pro Bowler, T.J. Hushman Zada and Super Bowl champion.

Yep, that's right. Plexico Burris. You can only name a show with that type of talent on it. Up on Game. We're going to be sharing our real life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen to Up on Game with me, LaVar Arrington, T.J. Hushman Zada and Plexington. Coop Burris on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast from.

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 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,

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 with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode 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, so. 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. So last week, nobody really mentioned it. It should be noted that Sam Darnold is 2-0 starting for the Panthers this year. Baker was 1 in 5 starting for the same team. Do you watch Darnold last week? Out duel Gino Smith, one of the loudest stadiums? Oh, you roll your eyes. Go ahead, America.

Sad that you can't acknowledge how good Sam Darnold is. All right, let's go to Mark Schler, three Super Bowl rings, Fox Sports. So, let's not talk, Donald, even though I just have the time of my life. I'm such a jerk. I'm such an antagonist. You know what? You're very much like me, Colin. I am a really gracious loser, but I'm a bad winner.

And when I'm winning, you're going to know about it. I am a horrible winner. I admit it. It's a fatal flaw. Yes, same. All right. That's why we get along right there. So it is interesting.

I tend to look at precedent. And I want to talk about two of them. Let's start with Gino Smith. There is no precedent that I ever remember where a bust and a backup goes out and leads the NFL in passer rating. It doesn't exist. So my thing is, sometimes. players, NBA, baseball. I remember a guy named Brady Anderson.

You know Major League Baseball because your son played. Brady Anderson played for the Orioles for years. He had like a 50 jack season out of the blue. Never duplicated it. He was a fine player. He wasn't that. It happens. Gino's having an total outlier year.

I don't think he's going to duplicate it. Things have worked out well. And you did the game this weekend. And he didn't have his running game. And what did you see with Gino? Yeah, well, I mean, obviously they could slough off. They played some coverages. They intercepted a couple of balls.

And, you know, when I think one of the things you have to understand is the balance with a quarterback. You know, you're not asking Gino to go out win games. You just ask him not to go out and lose games. And ultimately, he's been able to win games. He's been able to do a lot of great things this year. Guy, there's no question the guy really understands football. He's got an unbelievable arm.

He's got great arm talent. Yeah, he does. But you've got to have some balance and you've got to have an ability to do both things. And, you know, the Seattle offense is really pretty simplistic under Shane Waldron in what they do, you know, the what they attack. It's, you know, a lot of day one installation stuff that Gino has done an exceptional job with. And then, you know, you want to be able to create big plays in your passing game off the play action stuff. And Gino has executed that stuff exceptionally well. Now, you know, the Carolina Panthers, I'm just going to tell you, they shorten the game.

They make you take chances with the football. They ran it 42 times the other day. I mean, they totally control. They shrink the game to the point where you go from, hey, 12, 13 possessions to, hey, we got seven or eight possessions. And now it forces you into doing things that you don't do well. And that's not how Gino has put these numbers up. So I still think Gino's been exceptional. and I think in the right circumstance,

very much like the way the San Francisco 49ers are built. They're not asking their quarterback, any of their quarterbacks to go win. They're just saying don't lose it. Because we've got a good enough team. Seattle is not built that way. They are not good enough in the trenches right now to play that style of football.

So Gino has a little bit more on his shoulders than the quarterbacks, like I said, in San Francisco. I think he's having an exceptional season. Could this be an outlier season? The only guy I can think of, Colin, that was a journeyman throughout his entire career and all of a sudden found it and was an MVP is Rich Gannon. Right.

Like Rich Gannon had that kind of research. Maybe even at Jim Plunkett, you know, when he went from New England and came back over to the Raiders, had that kind of, you know, two-time Super Bowl champion and all that kind of stuff. But it doesn't happen very often, that's for sure. All right. So the other thing I want you to talk about is we go back to precedent. There is no precedent for a quarterback having a hundred plus pass around.

rating for four straight years, and then suddenly awful, with no injury. He's not even late 30s. I don't even know. He's not even mid-30s yet. It's like 33. 34. Okay, 34. 34.

Just turned 34, yeah. Is it possible? I'm totally wrong. You've watched every snap that he has just washed. You bought a lemon. No, I've thought about that, though. I thought about it. What are the lemon laws in the NFL?

Are there? Can we return him? Is there a return? Yeah. Now, listen, I think what you end up ultimately looking back at is saying Pete Carroll had a formula. And Pete Carroll had an ability to say, no, this is not what we're going to do. You know, when all the let Russ cook stuff, you know, that campaign was a couple of years long. And during the course of that campaign, Pete Carroll said, hey, listen, this is what you do well.

This is how we're going to orchestrate our offense. Think about this. they had gone through three offensive coordinators in Seattle. Having, I mean, you dump an offensive coordinator after the 2020 season in which Russ throws 40 touchdowns versus what, 12 or 13 interceptions. And you decide that that guy is not your guy? Really? And you win 12 games?

So, you know, obviously that whole Russ let Russ Cook thing, you know, Pete was in charge and Pete said, no, we're not going to do that. We're going to play to your strengths. We're not going to expose your weaknesses. And I think part of what has happened in today with the Broncos is that Russ essentially has played to his weaknesses. Or Russ has allowed himself to say, hey, I want to do this. I want to be more. I want to be, you know, Drew Breeze.

And he's been exposed. And if you go back to last week, there was a lot more individual routes, throw the individual route, the one route read. And if not, go make a play with your feet. and I think that's where Russ has always excelled throughout his career. I think that's what he does best. And I think Pete Carroll, you know, now hindsight being 2020, I think Pete Carroll took a lot of slings and arrows, basically saying this is what we're going to do because this is what I know you can do.

And I think you got to give Pete Carroll a lot of credit for being able to just kind of let those slings and arrows come his way and staying true to what he knew was going to win. By the way, nice sweatshirt. It's stinking good chili. you can show that right there. I want you pull it up there, a little Mark Slareth, give your company a little love there.

It's very good, very delicious. Great with eggs in the morning. Yeah. Yeah, there you go. Excellent stuff. Thank you, Colin. All right.

It matches your eyes. How about that? It looks so nice. That nice stuff. There you go. There you go, buddy. Mark Slareth. The Seattle thing's fascinating to me.

So let's just play the game. So Seattle has a very good roster. But as Mark pointed out, they need a nose tackle, a defensive tackle. If they draft in the top three, which they are now, Georgia's got one. He would start day one next to Shelby Harris. So that's one of Seattle's very, very, I think they need to be better at center.

First pick in the second round, Minnesota Golden Gophers, Georgia both have elite start, plug and play centers. So if you're Seattle, you have one really urgent defensive need for a defensive coach. And there's a great Georgia interior lineman. Do you take that or Bryce Young? because then you don't answer your defense, which, you know, that's pizza defensive-sided guy. That's why I keep saying it's not crazy. Jordan Love is not currently, he's more talented that his current value. I'm Seattle. I could take the nose tackle to start.

They need an outside linebacker second pick. Center, receiver. Third round, you go to Jordan Love. He'll be 25 next year. Jordan Love is better tomorrow than any quarterback in this draft except Bryce Young. I'm talking tomorrow. Tomorrow. Hold on one second.

You know what else tomorrow is, right? Gino Smith against the 49ers defense. I'm sure you remember what happened in the first meeting. He did nothing. Gino Smith, the last three weeks, has thrown four interceptions. They've lost two of the games. And we're talking about against the Rams defense and the Raiders, not good defenses. Are you 100% sure?

You don't take Bryce Young at three in the draft. Bryce Young's going to be gone with the first pick. You think he's going number one to Houston? I thought we had Houston taking Will Anderson and taking Caleb Williams. Well, who had him doing that? We. You and I. I'm not sold on Gino Smith. I'll just say that.

Well, I'm not either. But I don't think Bryce Young's available. The rest of them are projects. Hour 2 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 podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.

It's the enhanced. games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars and so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away,

such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith Rule of Two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.