The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 2 - The NFL offseason

Episode Date: February 21, 2023

Nick welcomes former coach and current FOX Sports NFL analyst Eric Mangini to the show to discuss quarterback Daniel Jones' pursuit of a new contract, how much of the Philadelphia Eagles' NFC Championship roster will return next season, and more!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule. of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind 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 Heard at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching Heard. Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Welcome back in, Nick writing for Colin Cowherd on the herd.

About 40 minutes from now, we're going to do something that's never been done before in herd history. We're going to do an interview where the two people are sitting at the exact same height. As Eric Mangini joins me in this studio to talk a little football, in about six minutes. You know, I hate to say it. But the only person from my Syracuse graduating class who's more successful than me, Adam Lefco is going to join us. That was like an arrogant thing, but also a compliment to Lefco. He's going to join us.

But first, oh, and Alex Curry's here as well. Alex, how are you? Alex is far younger than me. So, and I also... Far younger. You, Joy Taylor. We're the same same. That's a different, listen, there's two groups of people that I'm constantly competing with.

Who? People in my Syracuse, you know, either graduating class of the year before, year after that area. And left goes the only one I'm striving for. And then everyone in the media younger than me. So that's like you, Acho, Joy, Mina, those folks, I got, I, there's, those are the people. that I'm, you know, I'm always, I'm kind of measuring myself again. So you enjoy or right on my heels. What about Colin? Because you said you thought you finally outdid him when you got, did you get Andy Reid or Patrick Mahomes? And then you got Tom Brady. And then he got Tom Brady on. And then he got

Tom Brady on. Yeah. Yeah. But then I got Caleb. I got Caleb. I'm going to his guy. But Colin is a different thing. We work in sports. Everything is competitive. You got to keep it. You got to keep it. You got to keep it light. A hundred percent. And my, and my best hope with Colin is not so much that I will reach the heights that he has gotten to. It's eventually he'll start slipping and he'll come down. And that's the idea. You just got to keep going. So there's wonderful Alex Curry.

She'll be with us for the entirety of the show. Before we get to Adam Lefcoe, I want to tell you real quick, the five NBA storylines I'm most interested in this for this stretch run of the year. Number five, Eastern Conference Supremacy, which I did not think was actually on the line as recently as 10 months ago. is. So here's the logic behind it. The Bucks won the title two years ago, best player in the world, and it's like, okay, this is their conference. And I know some people fell in love with the Nets. I was not one of them. And then last year, the Bucks I thought were going to run roughshod

over everyone en route to another title. But Middleton gets hurt. Tatum plays, you know, unbelievably up until the finals, and the Celtics get there. So now people are treating it like Boston, Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Boston. But then there's Philly. A Philly team that going into this season was my pick to win the East, a Philly team that right now you feel like some of the moves they made at the deadline should be rounding into form. And if Philly were to win the East, then it's like, oh, okay, this is truly a three-team race moving forward.

One other note on Philly, and I'm actually going to talk to Lefco about this. Joel Embed right now is on a very odd list. It's him, Dominique Wilkins, and Bernard King. As the greatest players in NBA history, forget never to win a championship, forget never to make the finals, to never make a conference finals. Can Philly snap that this year in order to do that, they're either going to have to move up to the one line or going to have to beat at Boston or Milwaukee in round two.

Number four on my list. Luke and Kyrie An all-time sports gamble So the Mavericks I believe that trading for Kyrie is going to be one of the reasons ultimately

Luke assigned somewhere else when he's a free agent three years from now and that's four years from now three years from now and that's somewhere else probably Miami because it always seems to be Miami or the Lakers

and I don't think it'd be the Lakers I don't think long term this has any chance of working It also is possible. Kyrie is a Laker in five months. But short term, can Luca for the first time in his career, playing with another All-Star, share the ball? I think he can.

I think the reason he plays the way he has is because he's never had a great player alongside him. And can Kyrie show you he can be a part of winning basketball without LeBron James alongside him? Number three, and we don't have to belabor this point, But will the NBA MVP award, not the person, the award, regain its stature as the most important individual award in American professional sports, or will it simply be the analytics award, in which case, I guess Yokic will win it every year? Or are we going to let logic, sanity, and history regain some type of precedent when it comes to giving away an award that has been won? three straight times by three people ever, and those three people were the greatest defender

ever, the guy who held the scoring title for the first 40 years of the league's existence, essentially, in Russell and Wilt, and then the legendary Larry Bird, who had a couple championships under his belt already before he was winning multiple league MVP's. Number two, LeBron and AD. Is LeBron going to be able to make good on his promise, which I think was not only a promise, but a challenge to Anthony. Davis. LeBron said these final 23 games are 23 of the most important games of his career. What does that mean? I think it means LeBron and LeBron says he's going to try to play all 23. I don't think that's likely, but I think you play maybe 20 of them, maybe miss the three

back-to-backs they have, the second night of the back-to-backs. But is Anthony Davis going to meet that? And is Anthony Davis going to, for this stretch run, play like he did at the beginning of the season, which was as good as we had seen from Anthony Davis since the year of Lakers won the title. If they do that, then they absolutely can go 14 and 9, which is what they need to do to ensure they're in the play-in. And then number one, Phoenix and Kevin Durant, on paper, they are a juggernaut. Let's assume, if they can't stay healthy, then it's a moot point. If they stay healthy, can KD, Chris Paul, and Devin Booker do what this team on paper absolutely should do, which is

easily win the West and then probably win the title. Those are the five biggest questions. We can show them to you. The five biggest questions for me, for the remainder of the NFL season, is there going to be a top dog, clear cut in the Eastern Conference. There's going to be a three-team race

for years to come. Luke and Kyrie. Is Yokic going to win his third straight MVP, LeBron and A.D., and then of course the Sons? And we are joined now by one of the best dressed people in sports television, a man really single-handedly trying to bring turtlenecks and A6 tennis shoes back to popularity, a man who does hand-to-hand combat literally and figuratively with Shaquille O'Neal on a weekly basis, and a man who I believe the last time you and I did any media together was the 2006 NFL draft

when you and I did a seven-hour radio show from Z89 in Syracuse. He is, of course, T&T's Adam Lefco. Lefco, how are you doing, man? I know not great. I just don't want to be talking to you because I don't think people understand. Like, Nick and I have, we've done a lot of great things together. We've taken a lot of money from sports books. We've made great content together.

Whenever we hang, it's a beautiful moment. but hours before his favorite team was playing my favorite team in the Super Bowl. I mean, I have a good relationship with Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelsey to after the game, they were saying, hey, man, sorry, sorry your team lost. That's friendship. Hours before this Super Bowl, I get a text from him that reads, and again, I'm full tailgate in Arizona. I'm very sorry for what is about to happen to your team. And then one word, massacre.

I didn't respond. I just let it hang there for weeks. And then he doesn't afterwards say, I'm sorry or, you know, hey, man, it was a great game. He just sends me a video of him hugging my friends, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelsey. And he's like, isn't this great? And I had to respond, man, I'm happy for you.

And I just saved it for this moment to let you know you're a bad friend. I am a bad friend. Lefco is a great. Lefco was at Mahomes' wedding in Hawaii. Lefco was, by the way, I'm now, you're going to expose me, I'm going to expose you. Lefco was texting Travis Kelsey in the middle of the night, days before the Super Bowl, trying to mess with, as he put it to me, what did you call it? His rim patterns?

No, his circadian rhythm. He circadian rhythm. I was like, hey, man, super happy for you. Just to, like, wake him up. Just to mess with it. Wake him up. Because Lefco's a die-hard Eagles fan. And of course, listen, there's no shame in blowing a double-digit lead in the Super Bowl to Patrick Mahomes.

I mean, you're not the first team to do it. You won't be the last team to do it. Nor the last. So let's just start there for just a moment. Then we'll get to the NBA. So I, before I brought you on, I showed this graphic of the Eagles potential free agents. Because Matt Bowen had the 50 best free agents in the NFL this coming season. and seven of the 50 are on your team.

That's 14%. And people know you from basketball, but you kind of rose to prominence with a great football podcast with Chris Sims, and you're obviously a huge football guy, and a huge Philly guy. How concerning is this for you as an Eagles fan? Please keep those names on the screen so I can go through it.

I think what's important is that how we addressed two of these in recent draft. So Javan Hargrave was a big free agent signing, but they just took Jordan Davis in the first round. You have to imagine that development will keep him on the field. Isaac Sayamalo has had a few great years with the Eagles in terms of that offense of line, but they've drafted Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens in recent years. So there's a lot of young O. Lyman in the pipeline. They pretty much said today, C.J. Gardner Johnson is going to be franchise tags, so they're going to sign them. Bradbury always felt like a one-year play. T.J. Edwards, great, the Eagles do not prioritize linebackers.

What I'm thinking about Nick is, can my team do with our quarterback, what your team did with Patrick Mahomes? Sign them to a long-term deal, not at the max every year like Josh Allen, who's making 50 a year, but can it be more in the 40s and then kind of make a deal with our young quarterback? We want to put talent around you. I'm absolutely worried because last year felt like the perfect storm. We all talked about it leading into it.

it's a bottom-of-the-barrel schedule that they were facing. They took advantage of it with a young team, with a quarterback, not making a lot of money. But if that offensive line stays together and Jason Kelsey comes back, they could do this again because it's the best O line in sports. And with Hertz doing what he did in the Super Bowl, how could your confidence not be on high? All right. And Jason Kelsey coming back to be huge. And here's one other silver lining, and this is what I was going to send you.

after the Super Bowl, but I didn't know how raw the emotions were. If the Chiefs do what I think they're prepared to do, which is probably reel off three, four of these in a row or something, I wonder if the NFL retroactively gives you guys like a smaller trophy if in this Chief's run you guys played them the closest. It's like, hey, you didn't win the Super Bowl, but nobody did. At least you played them within a field goal.

Here's a small Lombardi. Like, do you think that's on the board or no? The only reason. that I am not filled with vitriol and rage is because it's Andy, Pat, and Travis. And I am so happy that Pat and Travis will go down as the best quarterback tight-ed duo of all time. I have been saying, I would honestly say sooner than you did that Patrick Mahomes is going to be the greatest quarterback of our lifetime, and of any lifetime. We were calling him the Brett Farr of when he was coming out of that draft from Texas Tech.

So, like, the only reason I'm okay is because my love for Pat is endless. But the fact that you just don't talk about the hold at the end of that penalty, the fact that... What are you talking about? Just exactly. What do you mean? It's arrogant. It's pure avid that Bradbury admitted to? Are we talking about that hold?

What are you talking about the miscall? We're talking about the Chiefs touchdown after a forced fumble return that got overturned very questionably. I don't even know what we're talking about. That is such nonsense. What? That is such nonsense. What? I caught the ball. He caught the ball. He turned.

The ball was on the ground. My guy was running with Nick Bolton. The referee went like this. Signal touchdown. And then all of a sudden, points are off the board. And I'm told the reps were biased for me. Give me a break. All right.

So we can move on. We can talk some NBA. Yes, I don't want to. I actually, this is kind of a bait and switch. I asked Lefko to come on here to talk All-Star and NBA stuff. And I'm just torturing him about the Eagles. It's T&D's Adam Lefco. All right.

Let's actually stay in Philly, though. So before the year, I picked the Sixers to win the East. I think Yan is the best player alive. I think it's unquestioned, but I was worried about Middleton. Those worries have proven out. I never believed in the Nets. The Nets are now done. The Celtics, I do, listen,

Missoula has done a very good job, but I thought the loss of Udoka could hurt them. This is your team. How do you feel about this Philly team compared to the, let's be fair, the Philly teams of recent years that have been, you know, disappointing come to the post. season? I think this Philly team is deeper and more talented than a lot of NBA casuals realize. I also think that James Hardin for the first time as a Sixer truly looks healthy.

I think that's the reason though all Sixers fans in the end, we can be confident, but we have Doc Rivers and James Harden in the playoffs. And I don't say this to insult them. I say this as just looking at track records. Because in a seven game series, when it comes down to adjustments and the ability to go a full seven game series. Yannis Drew Holiday and Middleton or Tatum Brown and the nine guys that they have on their bench just seemed too overwhelming. But the fact that the nets are gone, that was my fear. Are they even going to get to the second round? Who are they going to face? Because the Sixers can handle the Cavaliers and every team that happens after that. I'm truly not worried about that. Look, I had a chance this weekend at All Star to see a lot of these guys and

talking to guys like Brogden and Grant Williams and even Tatum, they really believe that that game against the Bucks, where they were missing Tatum, Brown, Smart, Horford, and took that Bucks team to overtime, that was a statement game for them. They were telling me, in their locker room, I think to the rest of the NBA, like, listen, the Sam Housers of the world, like how deep they can go on their roster and how close they are as a team. The Celtics are locked in right now. But I just don't know if the Sixers can handle a seven-game series against Janus. And the fact that this wrist injury is not a big deal, that's where I believe that the road will likely come to an end.

And I think we get a rematch of the semi-final game in the Eastern Conference Finals last year. Hopefully with both teams fully healthy. I'm still of, you know, listen, I'm still of the strong belief that if Chris Middleton's healthy, it's not just the Bucks win that series. The Bucks win the championship. I'm not trying to disrespect the Warriors. and I know Draymond and those guys already don't like me, that's fine.

But I just don't think that Warriors team had any answer for what Janus could have done. Let's go out west for a moment. Do you look at this the way the odds makers do and seemingly the way the entire media does, which is it is Phoenix now and then everybody else or any trepidation there? I think so because every time I sat on the Tuesday night desk with Shaq and Candace and Jamal and we would talk about the Western Conference, it was like a Baskin-Robbins, pick your favorite flavor. Oh, I kind of like Memphis.

Oh, I kind of like Denver. If Nicola Yokic performed in recent playoffs to the point where we didn't question his MVP's every year, then it would be the Denver Nuggets without question. But every playoffs, we get to a point where the other team targets them defensively, and we sit here and we go, is he just a regular season guy? I'm going to give you another anecdote because I think it's my job as a more famous media member than you. I was at a party during All-Star weekend with Chris Paul.

Yes. And I'm sitting there. We're having a great time. He calls over KD. And we're having a drink. And you know what Chris Paul said to me on seven different occasions? He whispered it to me because that's the respect that we have for each other. As a prominent media member, you'll get there one day.

He would lean into me and he would go, there is such a joy and such an elation right now. And I could tell from the way that other players were interact. You know when like they come over and they kind of push you? And like almost saying this isn't fair. That is the sense right now in the NBA. And I think the other thing is there everyone is expecting a very short adjustment period because of the IQs that are on this team.

It's not going to be hard for Chris Paul, Booker and Kevin Durant to figure out where they need to be to space this out. And everyone's saying that they're not deep enough. Just look up their too deep depth chart. And everyone, like, Choshakogi is not a scrub. You know what I mean? Like, they got three guys. No, if they stay healthy, they're, they're, fine. If they stay healthy, their concern is that Chris Paul is a huge injury risk five years ago, much less now. KD, post-Aquilles, it's a tragic, but has turned into an injury risk. and Booker, who's not an injury risk, was actually already hurt this year. Their concern is not depth to me, and it's about will they have enough time to kind of get everyone together,

but Katie can fit with everyone. All right, they said we only have time for one. Go ahead. Go ahead, Adam. I was just going to say, when we're getting ready for draft season, when you hear people saying that, oh, he's a good leader, it often means he doesn't have armed talent for a quarterback. When the only issue with a team is injuries, it means they have no, issues, and that's where we are with the Suns.

All right, they said I only have time for one question. I'm actually going to ask you two. The first one's yes or no. Do the Lakers make the play in? Yes, because I think they have to. All right, I agree. And then last one is this. Kyrie Irving, game one of next season, is wearing what uniform?

I'm going to say Phoenix Suns. That's with no intent. Yeah. Oh, I didn't even have that on the board. Oh. Kyrie Irving? Wow, I thought you might say, Lakers might say Mavs, Phoenix Suns. Wow, listen, and this is a guy who... You gotta mix it up. Wow. Chris Ball's whispering in your ear and now you're giving

his job to Kyrie Irving. Some friend you are. Good job. Wow, Adam Lefco. I'm not going to get invited to that party again. There's T&T's Adam Lefco. My dear friend, appreciate you, brother. Love you guys. And shout out to 790 in Louisville. This is the first time they've been on since I've left. I love you. I miss you, Nick. You're the man. All right. Thank you. There's the great. Got them left, go watch them on TNT. Take a quick break. Come right back. Nick right in for Colin the Hurd.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard 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 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, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

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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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, 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. Nick right in for Colin on the herd, new year, new wireless plan, switch to consumer cellular and save up to half on your wireless bill. Plus, for a limited time, get an additional 25,000. dollars off your bill at consumer cellular.com slash the herd.

Promocode the herd. Before we get to Alex with the news, listen, the franchise tag window opens today, and we've talked today about how I think that the Raven's best option, since they're not going to give Lamar the deal that he wants, is to trade him because his value is the closer he gets to actual free agency, the lower the value and the return is going to be. and a lot of people's response, media and viewers otherwise, is just kick the can down the road essentially. Just franchise tag him for $45 million and see if he's healthy this year, see if he's grown as a passer, and then maybe you will give him the guaranteed deal.

I am very surprised how many people are confident that if Lamar Jackson is franchise tagged, he will sign it and he will play. Lamar seems strident, understandably in his belief of what he deserves. I think he also understands that the way he plays quarterback and the offense the Ravens have run has put him at a greater risk than most quarterbacks, more wear and tear. He knows he's one of only two ever unanimous MVP's in league history, and he knows what other players who have accomplished far less have gotten. And we have seen that Lamar is going to be cautious about his long-term health

by how he has handled his injuries, the end of the last two seasons last year in particular, when he has no guaranteed money later in his contract as each of the last two years. He had no guaranteed money. This year, I should say, no guaranteed money. and he would have no guaranteed money at the end of this coming season if he were to play under the franchise tag. I am not at all

as convinced as everyone else seems to be that if they tag Lamar Jackson, he's simply going to sign it. I think it is absolutely in play he would say, I'm not signing it. And then all of a sudden, by the way, their ability to... Then it becomes a game of chicken,

a staring contest, and Lamar Jackson will strike me as the blinking type. Here's Alex Curry with the news. No. No. No. No. No. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, Nick, when Mac Jones was injured last season,

Bailey Dabby stepped in and played well enough that some were calling for him to keep the starting job. Now, Jones eventually came back to finish out the season and is not in any trade rumors right now, but Albert Breer speculated that the Patriots may not see a huge difference between the two young quarterbacks. Internally, I don't know if they see like this just massive gap between Mac Jones and Bailey's Appie.

I'm not saying they think that Bailey's as good as Mac, but there was some element of Bailey doing what he was being coached to do last year that I think gave Bailey the edge to some degree for a little while there. And so I think it's going to be interesting to see what, I think it would happen if a real offer came along. I don't think that a real offer is going to come along, you know, but it'd be interesting to see what would happen if a real offer did come along. Now, Zappy looked pretty good in the two games that he started for Mac Jones.

He was two and oh in those games, and let me give you some other numbers. He had a 74 and a half completion percentage. He threw for 497 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception, and had 112.5 passer rating. So if a team came to you with an amazing offer for Mack Jones, do you flirt with the idea of taking it? 100%. I wouldn't need an amazing offer.

They spent, what, the 15th, 16th pick on him? if someone offered me a mid-first rounder, just what I spent on him, I'd trade him in a heartbeat. Listen, the Mac, the two highest scoring games of the Patriots last year where Bailey Zappy starts. Now, I don't think Bailey Zappy is the answer for them, but I don't think Mac Jones is either. And what you saw was the, and this is,

and I'm going to talk to Coach Manjini about this in 10 minutes, one of the limitations of when you put training wheels on a quarterback, like they did with Mac his rookie year is sometimes when you take him off, he rides the bicycle right into oncoming traffic. So they had a very conservative offense his rookie season.

This year they tried to open it up a bit and he started turning the ball over every game. And then when he came back after he got hurt and once Zappi was done and he stopped turning the ball over, they went back to that super conservative offense. You add to that, he's, I don't, I didn't think he conducted himself great with the way he was screaming at the coaches and kind of like doing a lot of, it's not my fault, temper tantrum stuff.

So yeah, listen, I don't think anyone's offering you a first round pick for Mack Jones. But if they were to, I would 100% trade him. I'd have no problem with that. Patriots need to mix something up this season, whatever it is, they got to figure it out. Yeah. But let's talk some equals because A.J. Brown had career highs in catches and receiving yards and tied his career high in receiving touchdowns with Jalen Hertz and Philly last season. Now, Hertz is eligible for contract extension,

and Brown is making it clear to the Eagles organization that he wants them to lock in their quarterback. He said, listen, I love Philly. If you do not pay this man, just shit me off wherever he's going to go. So you talk about pressure, Howie, get it done. So. Yeah, well, this is, go ahead. Sorry, Alex.

Go ahead. No, no, I have a belief that if you have your guy, you pay him. He just got you to the Super Bowl. He was in the MVP conversation the entire season and ended up being the runner-up to Patrick Mahomes. He's only going to get more expensive. What else are you going to do? You're going to have to pay him eventually. Just pay.

Just pay the man. Yeah, and I think the Eagles are planning to pay him, even though they got bit by paying Wins early. But Wince didn't have any, you know, Wins hadn't played in the playoffs at all when they paid him. And they paid him anyway. Listen, I will admit, I was not fully bought in on Jalen as a franchise quarterback. Until about that moment right there in the Super Bowl. It took all the way to the Super Bowl? You were one of those.

Yeah, it did because I was one of those. Listen, I will admit it. I will absolutely admit it. That my question was, if you are stifling the Eagles in the run game and he has to pass, can he do it? And then in the damn Super Bowl, he was dropping dimes. Yes, he was killing the Chiefs with his legs, but he also was dropping dimes, and he was terrifying to be going against. And so, AJ Brown is advocating for his guy, which I respect, but I don't think he needs to.

I think Jalen's going to get a very good long-term contract, and he's earned it. Because I didn't think he was great post-shoulder injury even in the play to playoff. games, but then he was so good in the Super Bowl, there's no doubt you got to pay him. There's no doubt whatsoever. He's your guy. Well, let's switch gears to the NBA because the Lakers have 23 games to make a push for the playoffs this season. There's just two games out of the playing tournament right now.

And Pat Riley thinks the Lakers have a real shot not only to get to the postseason, but win the title thanks to LeBron James. Now, Riley said he wants to win titles. That's what drives him. And so for him to continue to play at this level with the hope that this team is going to come together out there and Anthony Davis gets back. I think they've got a shot. I really do.

And I believe he does too. Now, the bottom line is with this Lakers revamped roster, you still have LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Now, we just heard LeBron James say the other day that these are the most important 23 regular season games of his career. So you know he's going to come out and absolutely kill it. It's going to come down to if Anthony Davis can show up in these tours. 23 games. That's what it's going to come down to. He was averaging 22 and a half points in the 10

games after he returned from his foot injury. And before that, he was averaging 27 and a half points before. So he's got some room. He's got to get back to that level. He's got to get back there. And he and LeBron, so 23 games left, that's 46 games between the two of them. They've got to play in 41 of them. Like, but combined. They both have to play and I don't expect either one to play in all of them, but they each need to play in around 20 of them if the Lakers are going to have any chance of salvaging something from this season.

Listen, I believe in LeBron. A.D., I'm not as convinced in. AD, I love him, but the health stuff concerns me. There's Alex Curry with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News.

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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

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All right. Welcome back in. Nick Wright in for Colin Coward on the herd. And look at what we're doing. Doing like an old school television show here on the herd. And I asked him, when I do an interview on the herd, if I'm supposed to have my seat up about six feet higher than it is, My dear friend, Coach Eric Mangini, with us. I'm not going to make coach congratulate me on my hard-fought Super Bowl victory. He doubt it all year. You did so much work for that. I did.

Listen, man, O-T-A's. You get fan of the year. I mean, all of it. Did you say fan of the year? A fan of the year. How dare you? All right. I want to start with a guy you know really well, Brian Dable.

Okay. So there's reporting Daniel Jones wants $45 million. I actually think that might just be trying to like prime the ball. pump for no, no, no. 37 million be fine to make that seem more reasonable. I think they're going to franchise tag him for 32 million. Here's my coaching question there. I think your guy Dable did a brilliant job in trying to coach around some of Daniel Jones's

limitations, lean into his strengths. But if you're going to franchise tag a guy with the hopes of finding out, can he be out, do we want to give him a long-term deal, can you as a coach, make the decision. All right, we're now going to ask him to do things. We don't really know if they're his strengths so we can determine if he can be our guy for five years, even if, you know, week one of the year,

it doesn't give us the best chance to win that game. Or do you have to always simply think about as the head coach just the right now or can you have the broader view of it? Well, you have to have the broader view. When you start getting into this volume of money, you've got to go bigger picture. And Daniel Jones made progress with his completion percentage, did a much better job with turnover in terms of fumbles, his interception of quarterback race. There was a lot of positives.

But can he really win games? Like, win games on a consistent level. And can he give you a chance to compete for at least the playoffs and ideally a championship every year? And that's what you've got to find out. So this first year, you're really happy with the progress that he made. But he's got to take another jump. and that's why you'd franchise them as opposed to sign them to a long-term deal. If last year was an aberration and you sign him a long-term deal, you're sunk.

You're sunk. Yeah, so if you spend this amount of money now, take another look at him, see if he progresses, and to your point, take some more chances with him, figuring that he's going to be further along in the system, further developed as a play caller, seeing the coverages, running the offense, all those things, that should improve significantly in year two in the system. I actually think, and I understand everyone kills understandably the Patriots coaching staff situation this year. But I do think that's kind of what they tried to do this year with Mack Jones. Mac Jones rookie year was very much, to lack of better term, a paint-by-numbers offense.

And he was very efficient, successful in it. And it felt to me like this year they tried to remove some of those constraints, maybe unintentionally, maybe intentionally. And he didn't show, he went backwards instead of going forwards. now there's reports. I know you're skeptical of any reports coming out of New England that they would... Because they always let information out of New England.

That's what we know. Right. So Albert Rear says they would consider moving off him. Do you buy... Let me ask you this. What do you think the Patriots right now think of their quarterback situation as a whole? I would imagine they feel like it's inconclusive because he has a success that he has his rookie year

and then you make the non-traditional move that they make. from an offensive coordinator standpoint, he takes a step back. Now look, this could just be a step back that a lot of second-year quarterbacks make. This may not just be tied into who they had at an offensive coordinator, and you've got to go into year three and say, okay, is the first year the guy that we have, and now he's improved from that, and last year was a mistake that we made, or is last year more indicative of who he is when we do ask him to do more, when we do expect more from him, because the expectation's changing.

from year one to year two, and that skews the evaluation as well. So I want to go all the way back to the very first year. I was doing first things first. It was on in the mornings. You were there a lot. And my partner at the time, Chris Carter, when we would talk about the Cowboys, he constantly would say the 13 and 3 year, Dax rookie year, that might end up being the best chance they had.

And they didn't realize it at the time. It was the best chance they had. Perfect storm of a lot of things. And as it turns out, he was right. They haven't had a better regular season. They haven't had a better postseason since then. So for the Eagles, I think Jalen proved a ton to me in the Super Bowl.

I was a bit of a skeptic. I thought he was awesome. Roseman's really good. They have extra draftics. I understand all of that. They also have ESPN did a list of the 50 best free agents this offseason. Seven of them are Eagles. Their future Hall of Fame center, Jason Kelsey, might retire.

A lot of moving parts here. do you think for Philadelphia it's on the board that they look three years, four years from now, look back on this season as, man, that was the best chance we had to win the Super Bowl, and we were this close and just didn't quite get there? Well, I would have thought that. And when you look at it, it's 11 starters, too, that are free agents. So it's not just the top 50, but there's 11 guys. But the thing that the Eagles have is they've got continuity in the front office.

And they've done a really good job. And this is what all teams with continuity. to have an advantage over the rest of league with is you take advantage of other people's chaos. So they go out and they get Bradbury in a trade. They get A.J. Brown in a trade. And both those organizations had transition. They picked up, they picked up. Chauncey Gardner Johnson.

Chauncey Gardner Johnson. Hassan Riddick, where it was a free agent. Free agent, got him on a good deal too. And there's another organization that was in chaos. They made some trades. They made a trade right before the deadline, too, and picked up Robert Quinn right from the Bears. And he didn't even do much for him, but it was here. He didn't do much for him, but it's that ability to take advantage of coaching staffs and organizations that may throw guys out because they don't fit their system and you get them at a discount.

And to me, that ability will give them a chance each year to compete. And I was the same way with Hertz. I was a skeptic, but now I give them a lot of credit for having the courage to move on from Wentz. I mean, they took a huge salary cap hit there. They pushed forward a guy that a lot of people didn't believe in, and Hertz has proven them to be right. So their window is different because of the way that they've been able to navigate through and take advantage of a lot of teams in the league. Okay. Since you brought up the Super Bowl, let's talk about the other team in it for a moment. So we talk about windows, and I know a lot of people, you gave, to your credit, you gave Mahomes credit a few years ago for taking the contract.

that he did, where it's not going to be the, right now, he's on average the fifth highest paid quarterback in football, and when Herbert, Burrow, hurts, maybe Lamar, get new deals, it's only going to go down. He could be the 10th highest paid guy at his position at the start of next year. But it wasn't, the other part of that is it's a 10-year commitment from Kansas City that the guaranteed money is misleading. I don't want to get into it. It's way more than it seems because his full salary and bonuses for the next year. Activate is guaranteed a year early. So in order to ever cut him, he would kill him.

So it was risked on both sides, but it obviously has worked out really well for everybody involved. They ostensibly take a step back and trade Tyree Kill. They play all these rookies. They win the Super Bowl anyway. Are the Chiefs now in a position, in your opinion, where they become the team that has the added, benefit of older player, he's made his money, got a couple good years left, and he's like,

you know what, all I want to do is win a championship, I'll play there for a discount. You guys in New England became that at some point. Do you think that Kansas City is now in that position? Absolutely. Kansas City has so many advantages. And the reason I respect what Patrick Mahomes so much, and look, I was slow to come around, and I am slow on all these quarterbacks because it takes time. but when you've got a guy that has success and says, I don't need every single cent that I can get.

I want other guys on my team to get that. One, it's a great message for the locker room. Two, it shows vision. It shows leader. It shows all these great characteristics. And then by the way, Kelsey did the same thing. Yeah. His contract was up and he was the best tied in.

One of them ever, I think the best ever. It's tremendous because they see a much bigger picture. And that resonates with the guys in the locker room. That resonates with guys in the league. And if you're in that phase of your career where you've made a lot of money and now you want to go get a ring, you're thinking this is where I want to go play. Not only do I have a great quarterback and a great locker room and a great situation and there's young players emerging, but you've got a place that looks like it's pretty fun to play as well.

It's not like you're just, New England can be a terrible grind, and you pay the price to win there. And I'm not saying that they don't work as hard in Kansas. but it's a different feel to it. Playing around the Rosie. Yeah, I mean, that's pretty fun. So from a marketing standpoint, yeah, if I'm a veteran guy, especially if I'm a defensive guy, if I can go make that defense better and potentially win a ring or multiple rings, it's a great place.

Back to back, coach. Nobody's done it since you guys. I mean, it's been a long time. How many years have been? It's been, I mean, 0304, so it's been almost 20 years. But, you know, things, everything great comes to an end. The Patriots being the premier franchise. That comes to an end.

The Chief's replacing it. Brady's tenure is the goat. That eventually will come to an end. It'll be great. And you know what? Everything you just said, you know what it sounded like to me? What's happened? Otto Beckham to the Chiefs.

A few million bucks. Why not, Odell? Come get a second ring. 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, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel

help an a cappella band with their between-song, 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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, 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.