The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 2 - This trend must stop

Episode Date: March 2, 2023

Colin points out a recent trend with young NFL quarterbacks that needs to be stopped NBA veteran & analyst Eddie Johnson joins the show to tell Colin how Durant will fit alongside star Devin Booker as they contend for an NBA championshipSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. Now let's get this party started. listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go. It's hour two. We're ready to roll live in Los Angeles. It's the herd wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. Jason McIntyre is now joining us in a few minutes, Eddie Johnson, broadcaster for the Phoenix Suns, rolled over rugged and loaded Charlotte last night. It's a nice W by the Suns. A lot of doubters out there,

not Uncle Colin love Kevin Durant you could tell early too it was like it's so easy for him just like give me the ball hit a jumper doesn't need the ball a lot either it's like a lot of scores need the ball in their hands he doesn't just give me the ball late in the shot clock

I'll take care of Charlotte also doesn't need to win they're going for victor one bin yama so really nice win for phoenix last thing yes super impressive so j mac this part of our about two weeks away from NFL free agency exploding. We also have the NBA season. Games now matter more.

So it's a very fun time. So we all know you're as good as your quarterback in the league, right? So I went back, I said, let's take a sample size of the last 10 years, first round quarterbacks. There have been 30. 30 quarterbacks, first round quarterbacks. In the history of the NFL, that's where most of your great quarterbacks are, with all apologies to Brock.

30. So first round quarterback's been 30. There have been eight stars. Trevor Lawrence, Burrow, Herbert, Kyler, Murray, Josh Allen, Lamar, Patrick, Deshawn Watson. Those are stars. Some are better than others, but they're stars. I mean, Arizona's a shipwreck as an organization. Kyler got him to the playoffs. I mean, literally, they were just absolutely, and we don't even know if he ever had a good coach. We don't know if he, we think he's a bad owner, bad coach. GM left. He got him to the playoffs. in a very good division. Kyler Marie's a star.

There are 10 starters. There's starters in the NFL. I don't have to love all of them. Kenny Pickett, Justin Fields, Mack Jones, Tua, Daniel Jones, Jared Goff, James, James, James, Winston, Marcus, Marriota, laugh all you want. They won a lot of games. Blake Bortles got to a playoffs. Teddy Bridgewater's borderline because he was hurt a lot.

But they were starters in the NFL. You could win games. Last time Teddy Bridgewater got five straight starts, you went 5-0. And then there are startovers. It just didn't work. never as good as you hoped. I mean, Baker-Mayfield did get to a playoff game, but it's, you know, it's Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Jordan Love hasn't played significant stretch in three years,

probably won't play again this year. If he was great, he'd be playing. Dwayne Haskins, Baker, Sam, Josh, Trubisky. Carson Wentz, I'd love to put on the starter thing, but just too much, he was all over the map. I mean, they paid him a fortune. He was never worth the money. Paxton Lynch, Johnny Mansell, E.J. Manuel. So, eight stars, ten stars.

starters and 12 startovers. So what does that tell you? There's four quarterbacks with the possibility of being drafted in the first round. All four will be drafted in the first round. C.J. Stroud, Will Evans, Bryce Young, and Anthony Richardson from Florida. Statistically, one's going to be a star. One's going to be a starter. And two are going to be startovers.

And this is not considered a great. Maybe there isn't a star in this one. We have had lots of drafts. There was the EJ manual draft. There are drafts with no star quarterback. Next year you're going to have two guaranteed minimum. Drake May at Carolina, Kayla Williams, USC.

Those are stars. Those are big time talents. Right now, they'd both be drafted one and two or if they were available. That is without, I've had every GM I've talked to who said the exact same thing. Caleb Williams is number one, Drake May's two, this draft. So what does that tell you? Who is going to be the hit? And my takeaway is, I don't know,

but I think the most fascinating. The fascinating scenario is whoever Seattle drafts. Seattle has a lot of unique opportunities. Most of these are bad, crappy teams and bad rosters. Seattle isn't. Seattle's the most talented team of all those. Seattle is a Super Bowl winning coach, a star left tackle, a star running back, a star receiver, a star corner, an ascending roster, playoff momentum. And thanks to the Russell Wilson trade, all sorts of draft picks. And you say to yourself, well, Seattle may take a defensive player. Pete Carroll said, slow down.

We are never in this position to draft five. We're not going to be. We don't draft five ever in Seattle. We got to consider a quarterback. Here's Pete Carroll. In the position we're in, we are totally connected to the quarterbacks that are coming out. This is a really huge opportunity for us. It's a rare opportunity.

We've been drafting in the low 20s for such a long time. You just don't get the chance at these guys. So we're deeply involved with all that. Seattle, look at those two 10 teams drafting. Seattle's got all the box stuff. Star running back to help you out. Star left tackle, star wide receiver, star coach. They've got their cornerback.

Don't have to draft that. They need an edge rusher. You could argue they don't even need a quarterback because Gino got them to the playoffs. So they don't have a lot of needs. They have momentum. They're not paying a majority of their really high-end players, and they've got a boatload of draft picks. So you start looking at those top 10 teams.

None of these quarterbacks, in my opinion, are good enough to overcome chaos. Seattle doesn't have any. Seattle's got a playoff roster. I don't know. You start looking at those teams. I don't think any of these quarterbacks can overcome. Now, Philadelphia at 10 is not taking a quarterback. But the other nine teams there, Seattle's the only one you're like, left tackle, star back, star coach, star receiver.

They've got in their D-line, Shelby Harris, an elite defensive lineman. They've got that last year they had a home run in the fifth round at corner. They got a star corner. They like, they got star safeties. They really are ready to win. So you can, by the way, you can bring your quarterback in, wherever it is. And he can sit behind Gino for a year. You don't even have to play him.

So it feels like to me, if Seattle goes quarterback, this will statistically, that will be the greatest potential for a star. I would counter why not Detroit? They've got a better offensive line. They've got a great offensive coordinator. They've got an awesome receiver in St. Brown. They're not taking a quarterback. Why not? Because they have Jared Goff.

If Aaron Rogers retired, Goff's in a short list of the best quarterback in the NFC, of all their defensive meat. Are we overreacting to a really good year with an outstanding offensive coordinator and a tremendous offensive line? If you are Detroit, Colin. He got to a Super Bowl. Yeah, like five years ago with Sean McVeigh, if you're looking at Detroit and you say, wow, Jared Gough,

he's going to eat into the cap, he's like, you know, the 10th or 12th highest cap hit among quarterbacks, what if we got a rookie quarterback in there and we moved on from golf? Yeah, it'd be great if it was Caleb Williams. none of these guys are, first of all, Goff is 6, 4 and a half with a really nice arm, playoff experience, big game experience. You start looking at quarterbacks in this league.

Goff is way higher than anybody wants to acknowledge. I like Derek Carr, Goff's better. Who had a better year last season, Gino Smith or Jared Goff? Jared Goff's a better player. Easily, easily. Jared Goff is easily a better quarterback. So why Sean McVeigh move off of him? because Sean McVeigh standards are way up here.

And it's like to run my, and it worked. I told you yesterday you think I'm crazy. With all these injuries to Stafford and his contract, which is a little bit of a weight to the Rams. The Rams behind the scenes are not in love with Stafford right now because he won't rework his deal. So he is limiting what they can do. The gap between Stafford and Gough is not as big as everybody thinks.

One's got a better contract. One is younger. one never. Jared Goff doesn't miss starts. You know what else, Jerry. He didn't get him at Cal when he was getting the, you know what kicked out of it. You know what else he doesn't do. He doesn't run. He's immobile. He is cement shoes. You upgrade to a Bryce Young, a CJ Stroud. You've now got a mobile quarterback. Ben Johnson adds a totally new element to his quarterback who can move. Gino Smith, by the way, very good with his legs last year. I don't not like golf.

Oh, yeah. Sounds like a love affair here. I just feel like if you reset that quarterback, contract, Colin, with a young quarterback, with that offensive line, the weapons, the offensive coordinator, I think Detroit in a year or two is a Super Bowl contender. Super Bowl, not playoff, Super Bowl contender. Okay. All right. Appreciate you participating today. Former NBA player for almost two decades, one of the great shooters. Eddie Johnson, Suns broadcaster, NBA sixth man of the year. He's listening to us talk about this nonsense,

and Eddie's like, can you just get to me? Can we just get to me? Can we? get stopped this nonsense talk. So I was a believer that Katie was going to work. He was going to work instantly. I think you guys should be favorites or co-favorants because I think he's a catch and shoot. I don't think he takes away from others. I think you can get him the ball late in the clock. I think you have a high functioning team. Were you surprised last night, Eddie, how effortless it kind of looked. No, not at all. Look, Kevin Durant is a hooper, man. He continually takes tells us this. He loves basketball, right? He doesn't like the other stuff around the game. He loves getting between the lines and playing, and he plays the right way. But he can fit into any

offense. Why? Because he is effective off the ball. Just get it to him. I don't care if it's four seconds on the clock. He's going to get a good look because he's seven foot tall. He sees over the defense. He's one of the purest shooters in the history of the game. And he's going to give you numbers. And so I felt like he would fit into any offense, regardless where he is. I'm just happy that he's here and think. So I've always liked Chris Paul a lot. And my takeaway, you know Devin Booker better than me, but he's kind of chill. He doesn't need all. You know, Devin's just a chill young guy. Minds me a little bit of Clay Thompson. He just, he's living his best life. He's having a good time. So, and I think, so I think, I don't see a lot of ego with this team.

Not at all. Okay. So you tell me, because I think, I think sometimes Kevin can be put off by conflict and that kind of stuff. Not a bunch of egos in Phoenix? Not at all. I think it was a good bridge when Ricky Rubio came first as a point guard to help Devin understand that he's not going to win if he's taking all the shots, if he's just searching to score 70 points. And I think Ricky Rubio really was a great transition to Chris Paul.

And when Chris Paul came in, I think Devin understood it right away. He didn't have to really just go aggressively because we know Chris Paul. very aggressive. And I just think they just mixed. And Devin wants to win. I mean, Kobe Bryant obviously was a great mentor and role model for him. And, you know, he had a lot of conversations with him. And Devin knows he can score, but Devin wants to win. And I think he's going to do everything that he can to help KD get acclimated to this team. Now, Colin, you saw last night, Devin took a ton of shots. He had 37. And what I tell people is, is KD is going to make the game so much more easier for Devin because now he's not getting double team. He's going to get that

pristine one-on-one coverage and that's going to take a lot of pressure off to both of these guys. So I expect Devin to be honed in just looking for an opportunity to get a championship. He's not worried about anything else. Here's the concern is that Chris and Kevin are older. They can be brittle that this is a huge roll of the dice by the organization. It will work this year, maybe next year, and then Phoenix could be in trouble. Is that a fair criticism? No, that's a fair criticism. I mean, look, and most players know this.

When they get north of 30, you know you're either going to be at the top or you're going to start to slide down. The great thing about Kevin Durant and Devin Booker is they stay in the gym. Like, they're prepared. Like, they're not going to give in to farther time right away. And I think that's the beautiful part of these two individuals and that you can see it in regards to how quickly Kevin Durant comes back and how effective he is when he does get back from injury. Like, he didn't miss a beat last night, and he's been out over a month. So I think that's the one sign that you look for for guys, Colin, to see when they do come

back, are they effective right away? And last night, we saw Kevin Durant looking like Kevin Durant as he has all year long. Yeah, he is really, he is really so much fun. Very few guys like him that you can give him the ball early in the shot clock. He can score and you don't have to design stuff. You have to play breaks down. You got four seconds on the clock. You give it to Kevin.

He gets a great shot. I want to ask you. What? I'm sorry. But it is interesting because a lot of our best players are ball-centric. I had reservations about Westbrook to the Clippers or Kyrie to Luca. I always said this about James Harden. Generally in basketball, some stars score and they take shots away from other players.

Luke is a fascinating player. My buddy Jemak here loves him, and I'm like, listen, there's a little James Harden here. He's not a great defender, and now we're seeing how good Jalen Brunson is when he leaves him. How do you look? Did you play with guys in your ear that had a little bit of a hardened Luca feel where they're great, they're Hall of Famers,

they'll be all-timers, but they're kind of hard to play with. Yeah, I would throw Christophevskis in there too. I think he's looked pretty good in Washington on the floor. Right. You know, I think the tough part is with Luca and with James Hardin, when he was in Houston, I love the James Hardin that we're seeing today, is that he's giving his teammates Harton is an opportunity to maybe,

if they do get the ball from him, they got more than three seconds to decide what they're going to do. And I think with Luca, you don't get that in Dallas. And now with he and Kyrie, you got two guys that's pretty similar. And now those other guys aren't going to get great looks. case and point, Tim Hardaway the other day, who should be their third score, he only took six shots and he made four. And in 37 minutes. Wow.

So, you know, between those two guys, they got to learn to understand and trust other guys longer than the two or three seconds and thinking they have to set them up. And I think that's where Dallas is going to run into it. And Kyrie's going to get the blame, obviously. That's going to follow him. But I honestly believe that he is trying. I mean, he is trying to do it the right way. It's going to be difficult with Luca, though.

So I didn't love last night, AD didn't play, and he was 100% pain free. And baseball's got their analytic people. And they're, you know, they're telling managers what to do. And managers are always saying, listen, there's momentum. And analytics don't tell you about momentum. And I thought last night was a great example. AD's had a reputation as soft. And so pain free, LeBron out, on the road, huge game, and he sits.

And I'm like, I don't like, I don't, you got to go to that medical. department and say, fellas, I'm playing. I know what I make. I know what you make. I'm playing. I didn't like it at all. Where do you fall on this whole health science momentum in the league that just takes stars out regularly? I never missed a game that I was not injured. Okay. I was hurt a lot. It's just funny to me that players today tend to think that they need to get close to 100% to play. And I'm quick to remind players, the moment that you put an NBA uniform on, you'll never be 100%. Never. Like you will never, this marathon of 82 games, traveling, practicing, you don't have a chance to be 100%.

You try to build back to 100%. It's like filling up your gas tank. Yeah, okay, you get down low, fill it up. Guess what? You're still going to run out of gas. Okay. And so I think they don't understand that. And I think it gets them in trouble.

and they're listening to people that think from a science technology part that it's going to be better for them. But I think mentally it hurts them because then they tend to not play when they're nicked up. And I think that's the biggest problem with these players today. They don't practice a ton and they step back when they're nicked up. I actually agree with the Lakers calling last night and sitting Anthony Davis because of this reason. They didn't know how long LeBron possibly could be out. and if they lose Anthony Davis, right? If he aggravated to a level where he can't play for two weeks,

then they're definitely out of the playoffs. With Shea Gill just not playing last night, they rolled the dice, but they rolled the dice well. Yeah, Schroeder played well. Finally, championship teams don't worry about seeding much. Warriors have proven they can go into Boston and win a game in the finals. They don't worry about that stuff. It's about getting the guys healthy.

And I look at them now, and I think they've figured their bench out. pool's going to give him scoring off the bench. Cominga gives him athletic ability. Jamichael Green gives him a little size. DeFincenzo gives them leadership, toughness can hit a jumper. I kind of feel like Clay's having a year, Eddie. I kind of feel like they found it. It took them a while, but it looks like they figured the bench out.

You buy that or not? I don't think they ever lost it. I just think that far the time, as you noted with other guys, it's catching up to them. The marathon last year, I thought, took a lot out of them because I don't even know if they thought mid-season that they could win the title. And all of a sudden, they fell into it and they won one. And like Curry right now, maybe it was good for him to have the injury, so to speak, because it gave him a chance to rest. And he'll be, he'll come back and he'll be just as good.

He's one of those guys, too, that when he gets back on the court, he's going to be productive. I just think that they're going to be there and they're going to be a problem. them. But for me, I just think that marathon, man, that marathon year after year after year, and I've heard Draymond talk about it, it just gets laborious. And I just want to see if they're able to overcome that. I just don't know. But I'm not going to go against them because I've been Greg Popovich shut me up after thinking San Antonio would fall away for years and years and they were right there in your face. And I'm not going to do that with Golden State either. Eddie Johnson, former NBA player, watched him for years. He was an automatic bucket.

He could still hit a jumper today. Don't challenge him to a game of horse. You'll end up losing that one. As always, Valley Sports, Arizona, my friend, it's great seeing you again. Thank you so much. Thanks, Colin. Appreciate it. Okay.

Eddie could get a bucket. Anytime. Off the bench, Eddie was a bucket. Yeah, the big difference between Eddie Johnson and I is he could create and get his own shot. I'm more of a catch-and-shoot guy. That's how you're labeled in the industry. Want more herd?

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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,

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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. They're finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

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No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herd Line News. So, Dak Prescott led the NFL and Interceptions with 15 last season. Tied for the lead, despite missing five games with the thumb injury. Mike McCarthy taking over as Dak's offensive play caller this year. Kellamore, of course, headed to the Chargers. So McCarcy said he thinks Dak will benefit from the new voice in his head this upcoming season.

This is a new challenge for him. These are his words. He's very excited about it. And, you know, I just think like anything, he's had a chance to go from the different variations of the offense that was in place. We're going to build it off of what, you know, he has established. We obviously as an organization, myself included, feel very strongly about him as our future. And we will definitely build this thing around him. Don't like it.

No, that's a pullback team. We both think you and I. Last year agreed with a lot of what happened. When we agreed on a pick or a change, we were right. And early on, I think we nailed the Eagles as a team to watch. Okay. We both think Denver's going to double their wins. I pick a team every year to double their wins.

It was last year I said, Minnesota, I didn't think, you know, they'd won like seven or eight. I said they're going to be significantly better they were. Denver's going to be that team. We'd agree on that. You were early on Jacksonville last year. The Giants were one of my best calls. I bet their alt wins. I thought they'd win way more.

They won nine games. Would you buy into this? Dallas is a pullback team. Dallas is not a player. Let's see what happens to free agency. You know, there's a lot of talk about Pollard being gone. If they lose Pollard, they have to draft their running back. Well, they've got to tag somebody.

I think Pollard will probably be tagged. What about their tight end? That's more replaceable than Tony Pollard. Tony Pollard is great out of the backfield, good blocking back. So it's going to be CD Lamb and no other release. elite players on the firm. Do you have a draft picks? Rookie tight ends don't crush.

Does what McCarthy's saying sound a little bit like Pete Carroll versus Russell Wilson? No, it sounds like Kellyn Moore got too much credit. I think this is what it sounds like to me. Callen Moore got too much credit for Mike McCarthy's liking. And we've seen this before where a head coach gets a little insecure about a coordinator getting a lot of love. The great coaches don't. Andy Reid never does. But Andy Reid's different.

But you've seen head coaches get a little insecure about the coordinator, the hot coordinator getting attention. I hear stuff like, we want to run the football more, win with our defense. The Bears led the NFL in rushing. It's just, I don't know. Cowboys, there's going to be a long season for Cowboys fans. Next up, now this is spicy. So Lamar Jackson has this contract situation.

It's been the big story for the Ravens all offseason. Injuries have ended his season each of the last two years. I know. But the Ravens have had a lot of events. injury issues. Here is GM Eric DeCosta talking at the combine about the challenges they've had at wide receiver. If I had an answer, that means I would probably have some better receivers, I guess. We're going to keep swinging. There have been some guys that, you know, have been successful players for us that were draft picks. We've never really hit on that all-pro type of guy,

which is disappointing, I would say, but it's not for lack of effort. It's one of those anomalies that I really can't explain other than to say we're not going to stop trying. We're going to keep trying. I think we've drafted, I don't know. Chad would probably know, but probably at least five or six receivers in the last four years, maybe.

We're going to just keep swinging. And hopefully at one of these points we'll hit the ball out of the park. He clearly misspoke there. You don't lead with we would probably have some better receivers. So this prompted one of his receivers, Rashad Vatman, who was her first round pick. who was very heated on social media.

He posted this. He deleted it after about 30 minutes. But I don't think, I don't need to read it. You guys can see it on the screen there. But basically, he's saying, how about you play to your player's strengths? Stop pointing the figure at us and number eight. Colin, the culture in Baltimore has been really strong for a long time.

I know. You got a lot of chatter. Remember the comments a running back had. The kid out of Ohio State, I'm spacing on his name. But he was unhappy earlier this year. Dobbins, thank you. J.K. Dobbins had some problems. Hollywood Brown.

remember previously was like, get me the ball. This has become a rarely noisy organization. Noise is trouble. Noise is trouble. The easiest way is to make a decision on Lamar Jackson, and they can't come to any solution here. So, you know, then this player's rating the organization review that we talked about earlier, their strength and conditioning coach has been lit up by like half a dozen

players on the team on social media today. They got an F-minus in that category. So it's getting ugly. and Baltimore. I don't know that there's a quick fix here because, Colin, without Lamar Jackson, this is like a five-win team. Oh, no, especially now that Deshawn Watson back with reps, Burrow,

Kenny Pickett's more than capable of winning games. I like Pittsburgh next year, and you love Joe Burrow. We'll see Cleveland and Deshawn Watson will be better. Baltimore has to figure this out. They don't have a lot of time either. Final story. Jason Tatum and the Celtics. Nice win win against Donovan Mitchell last. Look at my guy. Yeah, Tatum was great.

In fact, instead of... Given all the love to Boston, Cleveland once again against the Celtic. I think it's the third time they've played him this year tight. Cleveland matches up with Boston. They had won the last two, but they couldn't stop Tatum. He had 41 and 11. And eight assists. 20th career game with 40 plus points.

Excuse me, Mr. Cowherd. I need to ask you, when will you finally come around on Jason Tatum as an elite superstar top five guy in this league? He's not, but he's really good. I will say this, though. Isn't the story of this game? They have played three times. the finals, two games from winning the title Celtics.

And this pesky young calves team is given Boston fits. They were in that game last, but this Cleveland team is going to knock somebody off. They're going to knock somebody off. I like Cleveland a lot. This is at Boston, well-rested. You talk a veteran team and a bunch of kids. Cleveland's good.

Cleveland's going to knock somebody off. You don't want to face them in the first round. It's probably going to be the Knicks Cavs in the first round. Not great for our guys. No, no, they'll, they're, they're, The Knicks can't keep up with their offense. No, this Cleveland team, that game last night is the kind of game you feel like a little bit of a hornet's nest because they went to New York. Boston goes to New York and is totally flat and gets blown out.

So coming back home, they got chewed by the staff. You thought Boston was going to be a game. And they were and they went to the end. Cleveland's a real team. So we have this stat just because I need to pump a lot of NBA this year. Most 40-point games with the Boston. Celtics. Obviously, Larry Bird had a billion. Yeah, it's not close. But he played in a lot of games. Look at Tatum.

I know people love Paul Pierce for some irrational reason. I never thought he was awesome. Jason Tatum is going to pass Paul Pierce in 40-point games with the Celtics. Look at how few times. Four hundred twenty-four games. Tatum is... Well, it's also... I know. It's an offensive league now. I get that. I like him. I mean, I don't want to say stuff, but like... You asked me who would I take as a better player, Pierce or Tatum? No question, Jason Tatum. He is an...

unbelievable. Well, Pierce was an elite defensive player. He was a clutch player. Paul Pierce was very good. Paul Pierce could not do anything until they fixed that team and got better players. Paul Pierce took over a finals. Jason Tatum shrunk. Well, so was Boston.

No, I mean, he needed Kevin Garnett. They needed Ray Allen. Like, they needed the full team. Well, everybody needs somebody. He needed Marcus Smart and Jalen Brown. I think Jason Tatum's been to five Eastern Conference Finals already. I like him. You're not giving him enough love.

Not for me, Colin. Come on. I like this game where I throw players at you and you tell me who you would rather have. I think Jason Tatum is a top 10 player in the league. Absolutely. Absolutely. I don't think he quite sometimes is quite grabs the moment by the throat sometimes for me. I'm trying to think of a small forward to would say Tatum or I can't say Kevin Durant.

I like him a lot. He's durable. He's smart. He works hard. I like him. You're marginalizing it like I don't like him. I like him a lot. You probably have him fourth best player in the league.

I have him. I think fifth. Okay. I probably have him eight, seven. I like him. I think there are times I wish he was a little more aggressive in moments, but he's a very good player. It's just because he's quiet.

He's not one of these Kevin Durant guys always causing drama. You love the drama king. So let's admit it. You like the guys who are in the headlines, popping off. You like that. I like tire fires. There you go. I'm more of a quiet, understated, low-key, chill guy.

Yeah. Yeah, if you said pick five guys in the end. Let's pick five. guys in the NBA for the next five years. So you've got to get fairly younger in your prime. So he's one of them for sure. He's close. I mean, Yonis is number one. Luca's number one. Janus two, Tatum three. I think Yokic is going to win his third MVP. He's up there. He moves the ball. By the way, Yokic has given the clippers fits. The warriors don't know how to defend him. Okay, slightly different position. Would you rather have Jama Rant as your centerpiece

or Jason Tatum. Tatum's a much better defensive player. Glad we're aligned. Much better player. Yeah. I like John Moran. Maybe we'll talk about John Morant tomorrow. Okay. You can put him in today's show. I wanted to talk about him today, but I got a little pushback. Well, but from who? Not me. I don't care. Talk about what you want. That's an interesting. It's a fiery story.

We could change it to Jamman news. I don't want us to get in trouble. I don't want us to get in trouble for. It's just the story hasn't been. There's a lot of opinions now and there's some pushback on the accurate. of the opinions. We are journalists. I mean, I consider myself one of America's great journalism. We are journalists. Well, I'm not. Okay. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. 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 I-Hard Radio app. This is Steve Kavino. And Rich Davis. And together, we are Kavino and Rich. Kvino and Rich. Thanks, buddy. That's right.

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Give me your hell, yeah. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions,

my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clivert Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast,

you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode, with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack.

I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. 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 IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So one of the things that I've written about this, and I've talked about this before, is there's two stories out there, the one you're fed, and then the truth. And so a lot of people say things, but they're not really true, but they don't want to be controversial, they don't want to step in it. And so there's PR people everywhere. here's who I never deal with with teams. PR people, ever.

I just call the executives because I want a straight skinny. I don't always report it. It's often informational. I have to protect some sources like everybody else, but I use information, cobble it together, have a stronger opinion, blah, blah, blah. You know that. But sometimes I hope everybody in Miami gets the concussion thing. So Chris Greer don't know him, capable GM.

They've had on some draft picks, said health issues don't make him afraid of a long-term deal with Tua. Here he is. I mean, I can't lie and say no, you know, but it's not something that we're, it's going to be, make us afraid to do something long-term with him. So, you know, the one thing he's had, he's been banged up, but he always comes back and bounces back and plays hard and perform. So, excited for his future. I would be terrified to sign Tua. if he gets one more concussion, there will be an avalanche of voices saying it's over, including maybe medical professionals.

So NFL concussions went up 18% last year, not because there were more concussions. That's not it. It's because they broadened the standard of concussions. So they're now admitting, yeah, that's a concussion. Those were all happening before, but the standard now has been raised appropriately. So we are now, the trajectory going forward is significantly more concussions. Again, they were happening for years. They've done safety measures to curtail them, but they just wouldn't admit what was a concussion.

You'd see a guy wobble off the field. And let's stop calling to his injuries, quote, health issues. They're not health issues. They're concussion issues. Jimmy Garoppolo's got health issues, but he doesn't look like when he gets up and wobbles off the field, he's got a scrambled brain. Mahomes played well in the Super Bowl. He was injured.

Jalen Hertz was brilliant in the Super Bowl. He was injured. Those are health issues. Concussions are not a health issue. They're a concussion issue. It's the only injury in the NFL that if you play through it, it feels like a lawsuit is pending. Two is small.

He's had several. There are people in this space that believe once you have concussions, you're more likely to have concussions again. Some players just never get them. John Lynch, GM for the 49ers. That guy led with his head on most of his tackles, never had a concussion. Quarterbacks who were rarely hit have multiple.

It does feel like now, Tua is more prone to get them. The league, according to stats, is more prone to call them concussions. You can't sign them to a long-term deal. You're giving away money. You can't do it. So, I mean, and this is a quarterback. It's not a Mike linebacker. a number three corner. The quarterback is the core of the franchise. Your owner's tied to him.

Your GM, your coach, your receivers, your tight ends, your left tackles. Everything's tied to him. So this feels like a little tone deaf. This is not a health issue. Jimmy Garoppolo's got injury issues and health issues. Those guys, we played 55 quarterbacks last year. Fifty-five quarterbacks played in the league. Tell me of all the injuries, what was the one that freaked you out? remember his hands fencing? What was the one that freaked you out for quarterback injuries? Obviously, DeMarie Hanlon thing scared all of us. But I'm talking to quarterback injury.

The one you really remember, it's Tua. So I feel bad. But if Tua, let's say in September, coming off this year in September, third week of September, Tua gets a serious concussion, you can't play them until Thanksgiving. So you've got to consider this stuff. That's why I've said before, Bryce Young, Johnny Mandel, Kyler Murray, size matters. It's, you know, your bigger, stronger athletes, your big Ben's,

your Cam Newton's, your Josh Allen's, at least for the first part of their career, can just take more shots, can get beat up more. It's the reality of this game. We have a regulated level of violence. So I don't, I don't, I feel like I'm being fed a company line there, but I don't know how you can commit. even for a couple of years to two. I think you play them.

You do your best. But I would draft a quarterback in this draft if I was Miami. Absolutely. I would go get a quarterback. Now, probably not with my first pick, but there's that Max Duggan, TCU. I would absolutely make plans. And by the way, even when Brady was the best quarterback in the world, every other year, they were drafting quarterbacks.

Like, that's the reality of the position. Outside of a Herbert Mahalms borough, you're drafting quarterbacks. That's, you know, that's just the reality of the space. what do you make it to him I saw a story that Tua they announced at the combine he's doing some jiu jitsu

to help him learn how to fall or take a hit or you know tumble or whatever I've never done jiu jitsu I don't have you no I have not no and it's like it's the kind of thing where they're doing

everything they can to try to keep him on the field because when healthy pretty damn good quarterback well in this in this offense Brock Purdy was wildly successful this is a very quarterback friendly offense and I, too, is a great kid. But we've got to be honest here about all this stuff.

This is not just a health issue. Concussion issues are totally different. So the league wrote a $900 million check for the CTE stuff. So this is a whole day. This is not a show. They didn't write a $900 million check for shoulder injuries. Yeah. You know, or hip pointers.

It's interesting. Let me ask you, if Tua didn't have these moments last season with the concussion, would some of this Bryce Young talk be a little less? Well, you can't take him. No, there's no question. I think there's a direct correlation. So then the question is, are we overreacting to Bryce Young's size simply because of what happened at two of his passes? No, no. I mean, the Sean Payton bite that we view, we probably have it back there.

We've used it several times. When you have a top 15 pick, you don't go small. That's why all, when guys drafted like a Paxton Lynch or a Josh Allen and you're like, I don't know, well, they're 6.6.2.40, you'll roll the dice on that. going small at any position is a high-risk proposition when you're talking to top 15 pick. Can't go a short inside linebacker. There's been a lot of linebacker, Zach Taylor may be undersized, Gary Brackett. They're not a top 12 pick, generally. Okay, so D'Amico Ryans comes into Houston.

They have this second pick. There's a lot of talk about Bryce Young and Houston. And I'm D'Amico Ryan's and I say, listen to the owner and the GM, we've got two options. We can take Bryce Young second, right? We like them a lot. Our scouting staff loves them. I can punt on a quarterback early and just say, hey, there's better quarterbacks next year. We'll take our lumps.

We'll assess the roster and come back next year. And if we have three-win team, we'll get. I said this yesterday. I think I said it yesterday. I get the argument that if you're terrible at quarterback, you're like, let's just take Bryce Young. And for two years, he'll be better than what we have. I get it. Totally get that.

I don't think he works in Chicago without weather and wind. But I could get a Houston doing it and just saying, listen, we're a disaster. in our division, we just want to be capable. We don't see them as a... I said this. Some you date, some you marry. Not everything's a 12-year plan. Some stuff's a three-year plan.

I get that. Sean Payton, though, talks about this. You're talking about early in the draft. The history can be cruel. Don't go small. Let's do this. Let's not draft small players in the first 15 picks of the draft anymore in the first round. Let's not get away from prototype.

And I talk with Bill Parcells about this, Ron Wolfe, and those early picks have to be prototype players. You have to pay attention to typing and when you're looking at the health of players and you're looking at the size of players. Yeah, I mean, it's never been a more physical game. And they've modified it at practice, equipment, rules. They've modified it. And there's no hitting at practice anymore. And we still played 55 quarterbacks last year. Think about that.

That's almost to a team. It's weird because the Houston fans, they don't want to hear, you're going to stink again and win three games. I get it. I don't think they can understand how good the kid from USC is. You know him well, you know his family. This guy's going to be a superstar. And nobody wants to tank, Colin, right?

You don't want to openly say that. But if you can fill other needs, get other great players, and then find the quarterback later? No, listen, it's, I think, Both are legitimate. I do get a team just saying, listen, Bryce is not going to last 10 years, but he's fun. He's the best. Our scouting department says he's the guy.

He's a little small. Let's roll the dice. I get that. I mean, there's a lot of coaches out there. They need to win now. Demico Ryan's has a three-year runway, but Houston fires guys, the last two guys after a year. They're not going to fire a third coach after one year. I wouldn't think you'd do after a second coach.

The organization's a mess. So I get both. But this whole idea that size doesn't matter for quarterbacks. Stop, six two and ups all your legends. Like, that's the reality of it. Aaron Rogers is actually historically a little small. Not, you know, half, you know, he's six one and a half instead of six two. All right, hour three next.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer. or Street or Sidell, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which 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 IHeard 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. On the Look Back at a 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. 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. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.