The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd-HOUR-2-NBA Draft Lottery, Lebron James, John Middlekauff

Episode Date: August 21, 2020

Anticlimactic NBA Draft lottery. Doug thinks LeBron James feeling like its been three or four different seasons is really just old age. John Middlekauff joins the show to talk NFL and Alex Smith possibly starting for the Washington Football Team, and Big 10 Conference players parents protest "Not Playing". 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 Clifford 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching Heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. What up? Welcome in. This is the herd. Wherever you may be in. However you may be must be a minute. Maybe making it's part of your day. Thanks so much. I'm Doug Gottlie, filling in for Colin Cowherd, who claims to be doing water activities. Water activities. Yesterday, by the way, was National Radio Day. This is a radio only broadcast. And, you know, one of the reasons Colin and I are such good friends is we, there's kindred spirits and several of the different parts of our lives. We, we love radio. We just do. We love audio.

And it's, when we were at the other place, I would tell people all the time, like, look, I get that Dan and Keith for a long time with the face of the place. And then it became, you know, SVP and whatever. But we were the voice of sports. And we become kind of the voice of sports here. Now, obviously with, you know, Clay to Dan to Colin to me, to the odd couple and straight out of Vegas and all of our shows, that's what we intend to be. But being able to be on the radio every day and talk sports with you and life with you is a pretty cool thing. John Middokoff will join us in 20 minutes. We may get into a little golf.

We may get in a little hoop what the warriors should do. Was there anything as anti-climmonial? as the NBA draft lottery last night. Look, I understand what you've been led to believe. I fully get it. Like, there are just things,

there are things, I almost feel like, man, I, it's interesting. I got a chance to play professional basketball my first year in Russia. Right? I was straight out of college. And

after, playing for a couple of different teams and some craziness stories that you can listen to my all-ball pod and I share with you some of those stories. I could share with you, but I ended up in January of 2001 flying to Perm Russia and playing for a team called Eurograde and we end up winning our European League, Northern, Eastern something basketball league, the Nebel Championship. And we also won the Russian regular season and postseason championship. So I'm not doing that to say a humble brag, but I actually went to Russia.

And I remember there were parts of it which like I had like, I mean, Rocky Four flashbacks and I wanted to grab the microphone to go, if eyes can change, a deuce can change, we all can change, right? Like I did feel like grabbing, you know, wearing some terrible gray sweats and pulling up high socks and some Chuck Taylor's and run in the mountains with a beard and then climb to the top of the mountain and go, yeah, right? Like, it felt like there's a little of that. But like, look, when we were kids, and it's, it's circled back around now, Russia, bad, America good, Russia bad. We were told that, I mean, you guys remember Red Dawn? Wolverines. You can't trust Russians.

You don't like Russians. They don't like you. You don't like them. Like, it's just, ingrained in it. And look, we do the same kind of rivalry with nonviolent way in terms of, you know, if you go to school, if you're an Oklahoma State family, like we don't like OU and vice versa, or SC versus UCLA, or Oregon and Oregon State, or, you know, Washington and Oazu or, you know, Carolina or Duke, whatever. But I remember as a kid, like all these things you were taught about Russia, and some of them are in fact true. Like, they weren't breadlines when I was there because it was after Parastroica. But man, I mean, if you think pure capitalism is the way, I give you Russia, go spend some time there.

You're like, man, wow, this is really, how is it possible that they have diamonds and coal and all these other natural resources? And they're so far behind economically. And the only thing you can say is their government screwed them up. But the people weren't all bad. As a matter of fact, weren't even mostly bad. Many of them were just like you and just like me, only raised different. right? Like they're, you know, we celebrate D-Day and Normandy Beach, right?

That's what turned the war, right? They don't. That's not even like, they don't even think that had anything to do with the war or why it turned. Right? like there's a there's a completely other fight complete other battle that took place that that changed world war two and and it's it's not normandy it's just not and it's fascinating that we kind of go back and we look at it that way you know but there's there's so many different fights that that changed the war but it's all based upon what you've been taught what you've been

trained your entire life. And so I use that and try and point out the things that we have been taught that were all wrong, things that we've been taught that were all wrong. And one of them, I believe, is that players are somehow manipulated or even used, or the common term is exploited, right? That college athletes are exploited for the sole benefit of the school, or maybe the school and the coach. They make all the money, the player gets nothing in return.

And I thought, yes, the entire news cycle yesterday into today proves that to be false, even though everyone will still, there's no connection to him. This is a lot like D-Day versus Stalingrad. Ask any Russian. Like, what changed the World War II? Like, Stalingrad, they lost a million people. In Russia, when you take a drink of cognac, you toast to Stalingrad, to all that died. Right.

But it ended up, that was Germany's first major surrender. There was a standoff there, and the Russian generals shot their own soldiers if they left the front. They just tried to bleed out, and it worked, the Germans, who just, just, like Napoleon, it had a war on two fronts, right? Without getting all the war details, God, I love the history channel. Anyway, we've all been taught our whole lives that D-Day changed the World War II, and it probably had a huge effect on it, but not as big as Stalingrad, which was the first time the German surrendered.

First time. It had nothing to do with us. Nothing. Last night I watched the NBA draft lottery. How many of those guys do you have any sort of knowledge of? And I'm not talking about guys like that. like me. I coached a game and this Pango's All-American

thing against Anthony Edwards and he was going to be a junior at the time and he dunked on a kid named Johnny Jazang. Johnny Jazang played at Kentucky last year. Now he's going to play at UCLA if they have a season this year. Johnny Zazang's a good player. I saw Johnny Jizang's soul leave his body when

Anthony Edwards dunked on him. It's available online on Twitter. Somebody will find it and tweet it out and be like this is the dunk you're talking about. I was coaching that team. I was like, oh my God, that war child! He has a family. But I'm not talking about me, the basketball, me, that can quote chapter and verse. And I saw Mello ball play when he was 13 years old.

And I was like, man, that kid grows. And he has grown. I'm talking about how many do you have any not? Now, part of it is that Mello played in Australia and all you saw was YouTube highlights. And that the Wiseman kid, he played at Memphis for like five minutes. And Anthony Edwards was at Georgia, which is not a household name. But the bigger thing is the reason you don't know. know any of these guys, and you're like, well, it's a weak

draft. It's a weak draft. Why do you know it's a week draft? Well, they said it on ESPN last night, so it must be a weak draft. Now, look, it's not a particularly strong draft. It isn't. But the last week draft like this gave us Victorola Depot and Janice Santacumpo. So if you can evaluate, you can find the right players. But you've been taught your whole, you've been taught probably for the last 30 years. College, bad, coaches, bad,

players good, they get used, they get abused. I'm watching parents of Big Ten college football players have protests go in front of cameras and go after the Big Ten because all they want is their kids to get an opportunity to play. They understand the value of playing for a team, playing for the university,

and showing themselves to maybe get a chance to play in the NFL. We operate in this assumption that all these guys would have made the NFL or made the NBA without college. And that's not the way it works. It's actually the opposite. The smart players exploit their time in college for their post-college success. That's what they do. So Johnny Mansell is going to do the rest of his life.

The rest of his life, he's not going to be Johnny Mansell who didn't do well in the NFL and had personal problems. It's going to be John Manzell, Curville, Texas, Heisman, Trophy, winner beat Alabama at Alabama. Remember that? Yeah. That's the rest of his life. It's basically mailbox money. He'll be able to make appearances, radio shows, gear, whatever you want, all based upon the season and a half, two seasons of relative success at A&M. That's it. He'll actually exploit that time and use Texas A&M and their massive fan base and their massive alumni base to his benefit. Rightfully so. That's what you do. You've been taught the

opposite of what the truth is. The players need the promotion. They need the opportunity that's provided. Right? Like in the Big Ten, no one's, it's not going to cost them a year of eligibility. Not going to cost them their scholarship. Their cost of attendance,

nothing. Everything remains. The only thing is like, hey, now you have a job, you don't even have to go to. Or you can just go to practice. You don't have to play in games.

You want to consider a job, fine. I've never said that athletes aren't compensated. They are. They're compensated at or above anybody's reasonable value with the exception of one or two guys, and those guys go to the pros anyway. It doesn't really matter. But I watch these parents' protest

because they're smart. They know their kids just want an opportunity to play. They've worked hard. They know there's risks involved, but they're playing football. There's risks involved anyway. And I actually agree with the idea that you are safer playing collegiate sports.

I've had people ask, well, they'd have to be in a bubble. Newsflash, college athletes are already in a bubble. That's why they build these fantastic facilities so that you never have to leave so that you don't get into the rigmarrow or you don't get into a bar fight or you don't go to a party you can just come hang out the facility watch football lift weights eat protein shakes play video games hang out dude this is your hangout spot college athletes don't have time or the wherewithal or the desire to be in a fraternity so you create kind of a half fraternity

house half locker room that's what you do you know you already in a bubble. People are taking classes online. Guess what? Athletes already take their classes online. All this stuff has already occurred. But again, you've been told something completely different. Well, it makes them professional if you isolate them. No, it doesn't. They've already been isolated. They're treated better like royalty, better than anybody else. And they're promoted and they're given opportunities, which their parents are rightfully fighting for right now. I don't think anything comes of it, but they want their voices to be heard. You know? And the reason that last night, when you're seeing these names, you're like,

honey, did I not watch basketball this year? I don't know anybody on that big board. I don't know. I haven't seen a single one of those guys play. What happened? Where are they? Why are they? I don't know these people.

Maybe it's because Carolina stunk this year. You know? Maybe it's because UCLA doesn't have those top line guys. I don't know. Maybe. Maybe it's because Kansas doesn't have a top. top five, top 10 pick, but most likely it's because there was no NCAA tournament, which is the only thing the NCAA makes money off of, and the NCAA, as much as they make money

off it, so do all of the players. Because that's how you build your reputation. That's how you build your name recognition. That's how you build for your first job. And when that's taken away, you start to understand the value in the promotion and the opportunity that's provided, which we just seem people in my profession seem to gloss over like it doesn't happen like it doesn't happen. All right. Coming up next. LeBron said something about how hard this season has been.

Why it's LeBron telling us sadly what we suspected. Men, are you okay feeling older? Neither am I. If you're not ready to give up, you want to feel more energized and lean, try m drive. Check it out at MDrive for men.com. That's MDrive for men dot com. Why LeBron

is telling us something we should have known next in the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS1 and the IHard Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal

but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put

on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me.

Clipper 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 a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we picket here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you're just so you're not. y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed correct. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. 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 Hardway with me, your host, and your Facebook. favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month,

I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it,

and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Doug Ghalyman for Colin, this is The Herd. Whether you not you work from home, working on your fitness, you want to hear your music, not your roommates, and Raycon's wireless earbuds are the way to go. Get 15% off your Raycon order by Raycon.com slash heard.

I heard LeBron say something, which I understand that he's just trying to give us some context to how difficult the season. is, but man, it sounds like every person in denial of being old ever. Take a listen. It's been three or four seasons at one. I mean, it started from training camp to preseason, you know, traveling abroad to entering the new year with the tragic death, obviously, of Kobe and those victims on that helicopter. To the stop of the season, to the players getting injured, Rondo going down for a big piece of the year, you know, to the restart, not having our brother, Avery Bradley here, and so on and so on. I don't even know.

It feels like it's just been like three or four different seasons. I mean, yeah. I mean, look, everything he said is accurate. They did have to go. They had to go overseas because they're the Lakers, right? They'd have training camp. He's got a new teammates. It's a huge trade, a new coach.

Like all of that stuff can be maybe a little bit tedious and tiring. And then the Kobe crash and all the emotion there. And then they were finally the best team in the NBA. Then they shut it down. You know, there is another way to look at it, right? Like you got more time at home than you ever get, ever as a professional athlete. But, okay. It's been a long year.

Like, man, there's still, we're in August. They can be playing basketball in September and October from last year. He's not wrong. But the fatigue in his voice sounds like a guy in his mid-30s. That's like, there's a long one, you know? I just need a break. Just so we're aware, the reality of it is, LeBron, for the first time in 15 years,

wasn't in the playoffs last year. He had the longest off-season like, well, you know, I had to shoot Space Jam. All right, dude, that's your choice. That was your off-season. You didn't have to do anything. You could have gone to a beach and been gone for months, and no one known, no one had heard from you.

I mean, if you want to look at it, realistically, he had four months off last off season. Then they had, what, two and a half, three months off during the middle of this season? Like, he actually had a lot of time off. It's only tiring because it spanned a long time. And you're old. And you're old. Yeah. Yeah.

Everything seems to, everything seems more tedious and longer. The older, you're like, oh, yeah, you do we, give me, speed this thing up. Let's go. All right. Let's get to John Meadowcough. Let's bring him in a little bit early here. John Middokoff, three and out is, in fact, the podcast. Look, let me start with this, because I do think it relates to the NFL. The best defensive teams still win championships even in the NBA. When the Warriors were great, they were, analytically, the best defensive team in the NBA.

And then it wasn't until the second championship where that started to falter. And they just outscored you. just better and they survived that 0 of 27, you know, from Houston. But the same is true in football, right? Like, you're not winning without a top 10 defense.

And I thought the Lakers, they couldn't shoot all year, but they've been able to defend and the last two games have been really actually impressive defensively. Yeah, I mean, to me, it's pretty clear they're a physical team, right? I mean, they have a lot of size. And, you know, I mean, at the end of the day,

in basketball, we love talks talking about scoring and like you bring up the Warriors. I mean, they got Steph, Clay, and even Durant. But they really hung their hat on. Even that 73 win team before Kevin showed up, when they wanted to, they could really defend. They had length. I mean, Clay, Harrison Barnes is a good defender.

They had Festuszele back then. Obviously, when Kevin Durant got here, he really committed a defense. And when LeBron wants to try a defense, he's good, right? I mean, listen, I would love for the trailblazers to upset him. But at the end of the day, they're playing Dame Lillard and Carmelo. and CJ a lot, right? So, dude, just... That of gas.

It's just only so much you can do. But, God, I would love to see that upset. I really would. Yeah, they just, they don't have a real good matchup for Anthony Davis. I think that was made obvious last night. And then they don't have a good matchup for LeBron. And so, you know, when he takes his time, and I thought in the second quarter, he went down in the post

and showed some of that mismatch. They didn't really go back to it, but didn't have to. I just, I think the matchups, fatigue, all of it leads you to think that the Lakers win this thing five, maybe six games. But it is interesting on how we're so attracted to offense and offensive stats, much like football. We don't pay attention to the defense, which is actually the reason most of these teams actually win.

One last thing in terms of basketball. Last night was the draft lottery. And I feel like in addition to the fact that a couple of the guys played overseas and, you know, and James Wiseman barely played in college basketball, not having an NCAA tournament. gives us so what most people have never seen any of these kids play. They don't know anything about them, right? Nothing.

Because that's what the NCAA tournament does. I actually am one of these people that believe that the value of promotion, the value of opportunity, just getting into college, but playing collegiate sports is incredible, way more valuable than any dollar amount that people think that they can get. And last night's draft lottery is a perfect example. Why? Well, think about this.

and you know this, Zion Williamson would not have been the number one overall pick if there was no college season last year, correct? He was not the number one recruit. He was not the most high player coming. He wasn't even the most hype player on his own team. So the impact of college basketball and especially the tournament and the conference tournaments are huge. I mean, Bob Myers said they have the number two overall pick. He's like, there is a decent chance. I will draft a player that I have never seen play live or never met in person.

So this year is going to be just a total crapshoot. And, you know, you can say historically it always kind of is. But at the top, I mean, I think we have an idea of the clear-cut guys. And, you know, just reading a bunch of stuff, hearing anonymous sources, you know, in the NBA, it sure feels like there is not a consensus on any of these players. And, you know, to me it's pretty fascinating, the Golden State Warriors who, you know, tank this year, once Steph broke his hand. But they got Steph, Clay, and Draymond coming back.

they have the number two overall pick, and they have Minnesota's pick in next year, and Minnesota just got the number one overall pick. Minnesota is going to stink this year. I mean, D.Lo and Carl Anthony Towns, you talk about defense. Those guys have never heard of defense. And then the number one overall pick, whoever they pick, whether it's the Edwards kids from Georgia, how is he going to help them win in a Western conference that is clearly pretty stacked, right? I mean, Memphis is on the come.

Phoenix, you know, should be just better. The Warriors are going to be back in the playoffs. Dallas, I mean, could be really good next year and all the teams that are good, Denver, Utah, the Lakers, the Clippers, they're not going anywhere. So, I mean, there's a chance the Warriors are going to have back-to-back years now. Could they package? I know, listen, it gets talked about a lot around here and it'll be up to him. If he makes a statement like Anthony Davis that he wants to come, he can't control his destiny if he wants in Yanis, the Warriors do have some picks, which, you know, they never would have had these last couple of years to just get involved in some big game hunting. which you know their owner who kind of is, you know, views himself as kind of like a Steinbrenner type.

It's going to try to take a big swing. All right. Let's get to some football stuff, shall we? Okay. I want to start with Alex Smith. A miraculous comeback. And now, I mean, like, look, there's a – Ron Rivera's got a lot on his plate.

Like, he was helping decide if they can have a nickname. He got to pick his GM. He's got to make player personnel moves. moves, like he's kind of got complete autonomy. You've got cancer? He's got cancer that he's fighting, like, it's unbelievable kind of series of events. But now he's got Alex Smith who, look, was he captain checked down? Sure.

But he was solid. And he makes a bunch of money. And then you have a returning kid who didn't impress a lot of people. And if there's one thing he's not, it's an athlete. and Alex Smith was a really good athlete. What do you think happens at the quarterback position in D.C.? Well, listen, I haven't been around him, but just watching on Twitter, it doesn't feel like he moves that well, Alex, with the thing on his leg and just, you know,

the reconstruction of the calf. But if he is, quote, unquote, healthy, and I don't think they would clear him for practice if they thought he was in harm's way. He's not going to be as good of an athlete as he once was, and he was a really good athlete. but he was a really, really accurate passer. So I just don't see how Dwayne Haskins, now he's been off football for a long time. I think the injury happened in November in 2018.

So that's a long period of time to be away, especially when you have been battling an injury. It's not like he was playing football over that period of time. Even I saw Gronk say that the first couple practices in Tampa, he was swimming just because the speed of the game, when you take a year off, you know, iron sharpens iron. So now can Alex, like accuracy, if you're an accurate quarterback, I don't think you're going to lose that. To me, I just wonder, like, one of the things he hung his hat on, especially with Coach Reed, was movement stuff, was the zone read stuff.

But I'd say if Alex is anything above 80% of what he was, from a football standpoint, I don't see how Dwayne Haskins would be a better option. Yeah, and I guess we'll see because Dwayne Haskins was the pick of the owner, and the owner supposedly has no say in what's taking place. but again, we will see. Is there any chance that a platoon actually happens in New England? No. I mean, I can't see that. I mean, Belichick, name me a platoon situation in recent memory that has ever worked, even in college.

You'd have to go back to, like, Tebow's first year? Well, I mean, I was thinking slash, back when Slash was Slash before he took over as the start. Yeah, I mean, you're talking a long time ago then, right? Well, I mean, like, look, they did it a little with Lamar Jackson before he took over in Baltimore. You know, I mean, I'm not a wide receiver, and then they lined him up at wide receiver. They didn't throw to him, but they did. They used him kind of over the field and used him in early on. People forget that that's what they used him as.

He was a change of pace while he kind of learned the offense. Then eventually they're just like pull the plug with Joe Flacko and let's go. Let's roll with Lamar. Well, to me, if you're going to platoon then, it would be Stidham and Cam. Hoyer, I mean, just is Brian Hoyer. Sidham's hurt. So, you know, Cam, these next couple weeks, like is going to get the,

you just have the ability to kind of just grab the job and run with it. Now, who knows? And obviously Belichick, the standards they are out of control. But to me, Stidham kind of in his first really heavy workload, you know, got banged up. And let's face it, like, you know, football is a physical game. You see some of these highlights at training camp,

not for quarterbacks. I mean, they do not get touched. You know, I mean, literally, you were not allowed to touch them. So I'd say that's pretty concerning. But also, if you're cam, Like they're kind of, if you are truly healthy, there aren't really any excuses. You should be a lock starter week one, right?

I mean, Brian Hoyer, under no circumstance, I don't care how well he knows this offense is just mediocre at best at this point. Yes, but at least you can, I mean, I don't know what kind of team they have with all the losses that they've sustained due to COVID. Well, to me, they're just going to run the ball. I mean, Damien Harris, I know Sony Michelle's banged up, but I would view them as to be a run-heavy defensive-oriented team, you know? And, I mean, you could say that they've kind of been like that anyway.

When Grunk left, it was just dink and dunk and run the ball and play defense with Tom last year. So I would imagine they just kind of roll that back and probably implement with Cam, you know, some running, you know, some RPO-type stuff, some of the quarterback power. Now, whether Cam, you know, wants to do that, get banged up again is another question. I would imagine they will be a run-heavy squad. Any idea about Ben Rathesberger? Like their defense on paper looks outstanding, and they, with the expanded playoffs,

would have made the playoffs, had the new playoff format been intact, I understand. And they did that with, I mean, just some of the worst quarterback play they've had in a long time there, right? Terrible. I mean, it was just, it was not good. So Ben doesn't have to be peak Ben in order for the Steelers to compete for the division or get into the playoffs.

But we have, I mean, he's suffered an injury that no one else in the NFL has suffered at quarterback. And he's in his late 30s. Any idea what he actually looks like? Well, I'd be concerned, but reading that he had felt pain in that elbow for a couple years, and I think sometimes you hear this with Achilles, I remember Richard Sherman. You know, he would have Achilles strains, and they would say, well, listen, it's going to rip eventually. and it does, and then he hasn't had an issue since it got restructured. Same thing with this.

He's lost weight. If it truly can just hold up, you know, now he's battled injuries in the past just because of his style. So can he, you know, you remember Peyton Manning was king of just hitting the ground, and he avoided hits for so long. Now, Rathesberger, kind of like Cam, always thought, well, I can toss off the defensive end. Well, eventually, I don't care how strong you are, how big you are, and he is a massive human being. You can only take so many hits from the Miles Garrett's, from the Gino

Atkins, from the Kille-Mack, from the Aaron Donalds, before your body just taps out. Peyton Manning's eventually did, and he didn't even get hit that often. So to me, if he can just avoid, if he can change his style. Now, can an old dog change, you know, can you teach an old dog new tricks? Typically no. So I wouldn't be bullish on him changing his style, but if he somehow can, and he can just be, you know, the 15th best quarterback in the league, to me, they'd be a lock playoff team. Because like you said, their quarterback position, I think QBR and efficiency-wise,

they were last in the league with Duck and Mason Rudolph. And even Robertsburg, that first game, if you remember, I think against New England was terrible, and then his elbow ripped. So if they can just get mediocre quarterback play, their defense and just offensive skill guys are so good, I think they'd be okay. But it's just all dependent on Big Ben,

which, you know, I think history would show us usually typically bet on older guys that have been hurt a lot to stay hurt. Okay, I know people that are really bullish on the Arizona Cardinals. Now, look, I'm way more in on the quarterback than on Kyler Murray than maybe I was on Baker Mayfield. I just think he's, he is what people wanted Baker Mayfield to be, right? Like, he's legit athlete. He's got a better arm. They both have a high football IQ from having done it for a long time.

But he's just, he's slightly smaller, but better in every aspect. and then obviously they have tremendous skill position guys, but are they a good enough football team in a division where, again, if playoff expanded playoffs, much of it were down the Rams, Rams would have made it, you know what the Seahawks are and they're going to be competitive. And then the Niners are as talented as team as there is in the Nashville. They've had injuries at wide receiver,

but are you as big a buyer into Arizona as others are? No, I'm not. I got two major red flags. My first is on defense, and they're terrible. and Vance Joseph, the defensive coordinator, his recent resume as a defensive coordinator there last year, even at Denver when they got dramatically worse when he became the head coach, is not good. And their personnel just stinks.

But to me, the biggest red flag, and you know this being a big 12 guy, is listen, Texas Tech is not Oklahoma. So I'm not holding you to a standard of winning 11, 12 games. But Mike Lee showed that if you're a really good coach, like you can win 8, 9, 10, and Cliff Kingsbury never won more than 7. And one piece of information we have now, he has a pretty good quarterback's coming through there.

And a big reason was his defense was atrocious. And he has no, like, he can't help Vance Joseph at all because he knows nothing about defense. So regardless how potent his offense is, like he plays in a division with Russell Wilson, Sean McVey, and Kyle Shanahan. So they're not going to stop anybody. And the other thing is Seattle, they're going to be better on defense. The Niners are good on defense. And the Rams do have Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey.

So you're not just, this is not the Big 12 where you can just consistently throw up 35 points. And even when he was doing that, he couldn't really win games in the Big 12. So how's he going to do it in the NFL? I just, people are acting like they're going to be a fringe playoff team. To me, it would be a fringe playoff team. You've got to win nine games. He's going to win nine games in the NFL when he never won seven games in college or more than seven games. I just, I have a hard time seeing that, man.

I really do. And I love the quarterback. The quarterback to me is just, he is a remarkable talent. He really is. But I just, he had remarkable talents in college and it didn't make a difference. What is Derek Carr missing? I'd say the last couple years, the ability to sit in the pocket and make plays. You know, he gets skittish when he gets hit.

And the best quarterbacks when they're, you know, they play well when things aren't on, right? Any guy, once you get to the NFL and you're a top 20 talent, when things are going well, like Kirk Cousin can throw five touchdowns. It's when you start getting hit. It's when you need to start, you know, manipulating the defense. It's when the other defensive coordinator knows what your strength and knows exactly what you want to do. Can you pivot?

And the last couple of years, the thing you hear out of Oakland is like, listen, and I see it again right now. He looks awesome in practice. Well, of course, he's got a big arm. He knows the offense. He can look great when he can't get touched. Listen, I'm rooting for Derek Carr. But what he did in 2016 when he was in the MVP mix,

part of it was he didn't get touched. His offensive line was awesome. but he was awesome against the blitz. He made you pay when you came after him. In the last couple years, he just, he has to me, hasn't been a playmaker. You can say the numbers on paper look good,

but I watched basically every snap last year, especially the games that were, you know, big games against Kansas City, in games they had to win the game against the Jets. And he just, he didn't play well. And they need him to play well when the games matter.

It's easy when kind of no one's paying attention and you're playing Denver, you know, on a one o'clock game. But what about when you're playing? in Kansas City when you're basically, you know, you have the same record and you could be first place. Because the last couple of years, definitely last year, they were in that position when they went to Kansas City and he was terrible. And here's the other thing. He's not very good in cold weather. And in that division, while they play in a very hot place, they typically

go to Denver and Kansas City, you know, in the winter. And here's the other thing about the AFC is the good teams also play outside. So if you ever make it to the playoffs, more than likely he's going to have to go to New England. He's going to have to go to Pittsburgh. He's going to have to go to these cold weather places, Kansas City, and it's just, it's not warm, and it's really, it's been an issue for him. Awesome stuff. John Minnokoff, the podcast is called Three and Out on the Heard Podcast Network. Golf this weekend? Playing today. What course?

A little track in Davis, California. Avoid the cows in Davis, California. Thank you much for joining us. I will see. John Middokoff. Let's get to Vince with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, Doug, good morning to you.

Start off in the NBA. The Utah Jazz received some good news ahead of their game three matchup against the Denver Nuggets. Point guard Mike Connolly Jr. is scheduled to clear quarantine this morning and is expected to be in the starting line. Connolly left the bubble and missed games one and two of the series for the birth of his son, Elijah Michael, in Ohio on Monday. and Connolly has been playing some great basketball while he's been in the bubble. He's averaging 18 points, five assists, and three rebats. Well, I mean, the big thing is that Donovan Mitchell has been phenomenal, 57 in the first game. And I thought he did a much better job of getting everybody involved in the second game of the series in which they actually won against the Denver Nuggets.

But they do need by Conley. He hasn't had a great year. He is a little bit long in the tooth. But maybe the rest and even the quarantine actually helps him. I can't think this hurts the jazz because I don't see him play in 35 minutes. Donna Mitchell still be able to dominate and be the lead ball handler at times, but this gives them a change of pace. So I think that's going to be a really competitive criteria.

All right. Moving on to the NCAA, the SEC has made an announcement today that they're expanding its coronavirus management requirements. The SEC is one of three conferences along with the ACC and Big 12. that are trying to play football as well as other fall sports. The conference originally announced a minimum of two PCR tests. The SCC returned activity and medical guidance task force has now recommended a third rapid diagnostic test

each week for close contact sports. Conference were also enhanced screaming for myocarditis and other heart ailments. Greg Sankey said in the statement, we remain vigilant in monitoring the trends and effects of COVID-19 as we learn about the virus. and the cardiac evaluation enhances the effectiveness of the protocols

already in place. Well, the only thing difference is they're not going to do the heart MRI, the Big 12 is doing, but they're trying to have a plan in place for the myocarditis, which is frankly what scared the hell out of the Big Ten, which I don't blame it, scared, but

that's the reason the Big Ten shut it down. And finally, the NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver, said the league is likely to delay it's previously planned December 1st start for the 2020-21 season. Silver told ESPN's Rachel Nichols before the draft lottery on Thursday, I'd say December 1st, now that we're working through this season is feeling a little bit early to me. I think our number one goal is to get fans back in our arenas. So my sense is in working with the Players Association, if we could push back even a little

longer and increase the likelihood of having fans in arenas, that's what we would be targeting. The draft is scheduled for the 16th, and free agency is expected to be delayed from its scheduled October 18th start date. Yeah, I mean, look, look, I don't think it's just about fans, to be totally honest. I think it's partially about fans, but also partially about, at least partially, also about whether or not they can get everybody back and healthy. Like these guys, they are beaten up a little bit by it. And you don't want to punish whoever your champions are and exhaust them. Remember, there's also the Olympics next summer. So that's tricky.

Like, the whole thing is tricky. That's Vince with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news. All right. Coming up next in The Herd, what's all the noise about in Chicago? Big Ten parents protesting.

Do they have a point we discuss next in The Herd? Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHard radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. 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 you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clever Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, 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 Jette. 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. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah.

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark, Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing

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Ellie, Rockets Legend, will join us Look, I thought, I think this is super interesting to me. The Big Ten had some parents. Apparently 30 parents showed up in Chicago outside of the Big Ten's offices. And they want their kids to play, right? And they had chance, you know, Sean Wade, who's, Sean Wade's dad, Randy Wade, whose son, Sean is a star defensive back at Ohio State.

started chanting let them play, let them, we want to play. And look, I think in many ways what he said is echoed by football parents nationwide. Like, look, our kids have already, they understand the dangers. We already understand the danger of the sport. If this is just another danger, we're willing, you know, we're willing to try, willing to play. The problem is that the Big Ten has already made their decision and the Big Ten's brand new commissioner has Kevin Warren has come out and said like, look, decisions been made. We're moving on.

We're going to try and play football at some different time. So I don't. Do I think their voices should be heard? Absolutely. Absolutely. And I love the fact that here's parents who respect and understand how valuable playing this season would be, how important it is. And there's no real discussion about money. Look, money is not an evil word.

You cannot have collegian sports without money. You definitely can't have all those Olympic sports without the money from the revenue generating sport, really. One big one that makes money, and that's football. But the Big Ten is actually doing the right thing, maybe for the wrong reason, if you think, in an abundance of being overly cautious, and maybe they're doing it to CYA so they can't get sued.

But, you know, like, look, if you think a parent wouldn't sue because the kid gets COVID and maybe something happens, you know, they have decreased lung capacity, God forbid a heart issue or even worse yet, somebody dies. Like, look, they're already talking about suing for the public disclosure of who voted and what they voted for as far as playing. Do you think for one second they're not going to sue the second somebody gets sick? Of course they are.

Of course they are. So in other words, while the protest should be heard and it does signify that most everybody wants to play, it also signifies the likelihood of a lawsuit if you do play, considering you're going to have a lawsuit for not play. I'm Doug Gottlieb. This is the hurt. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends.

Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. 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.

with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. It was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford 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 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. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.