The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Tom Brady, playoff predictions, copycat league, and Russell Westbrook

Episode Date: January 18, 2019

Colin discusses why New England Patriots QB Tom Brady is best of the best, why teams will be copying the Los Angeles Rams, his NFL playoff predictions for the weekend, and why he feels Oklahoma City Thunder G Russell Westbrook is no longer an All-Star. Guests include Peter King, Dontrelle Inman, Rob Parker, and Jason McIntyre. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to her. He's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Friday. This is The Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we are live in Los Angeles, which isn't currently raining for the first time in a week on IHart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, at FS One. And Joy Taylor is joining me on a Friday. Joy, I don't know if you've heard.

There's been eight playoff games. We've picked all of them right so far. I heard through the great mind that was the case. Good morning. Good morning. We'll pick the next two and one hour from now. We will break down the games. It's very exciting time.

Joy and I, very exciting. She grew up in a football family. I played it poorly. And here we are. We are on the precipice on the day before, the day before the AFC championship and the NFC championship. So Robert Kraft is one of the great owners all time in the NFL. And he was talking about Tom.

Brady, and a Robert Kraft came out, and I'll just play the tape for you from the great Robert Kraft. Here you go. Definitely the greatest player of all time, not just quarterback, in my opinion, because he's such a leader in the locker room. And for someone double the age of some of the players to be able to lead like that and connect like that. And at the same time, so pleasant to be around. It's, you know, I'm really the luckiest guy in the world. I've generally, I'm not really an arguer. I'm not into the greatest arguments much.

I think he is the greatest player of all time. The word I like is impactful. And because you could argue about the greatest in any industry, the greatest stockbroker, the greatest lawyer, the greatest doctor, the greatest teacher. That's hard to quantify. It's just you and I can go back. Impactful isn't just about you.

It's about your entire industry and about others. That's hard to argue. And, you know, I'll give you an example. Let's say you're a little boy or a little girl and you're eight years old and your parents get divorced. And your life's in chaos. Dad's gone. You're eight. Say you're a little boy.

And then your mama. year later remarries and he's your little league coach. And he's into camping and fishing. He teaches you how to do that. And he makes decent money. So over the course of time, he takes you on really interesting, fascinating vacations. Whether he's the greatest dad of all time, who knows. But the impact he had on your life from chaos and divorce to stability. support and learning and growing, you can't argue that. I've said this about NBA stars.

Michael Jordan was a great player, but he also was the only player, the first player, to make the NBA global. Michael Jordan was great and had major impact. Magic and Bird were obviously great players, but they, if not saved, revived a mostly dead NBA. They were impactful. LeBron James changed free agency. You're now thought of is weak if you don't go to a better team. That's impactful.

Steph Curry revolutionized the game and mostly eliminated back to the basket centers. Those are all great players. They're impactful. Kobe Bryant's great. He's not that impactful. Lakers were good before him, during him, and will be great after him. The NBA was fine before him, during, and after him. Kobe's great.

Kobe's amazing. He's like the closest thing to Jordan, but not quite Jordan we've ever seen. Magic, Bird, LeBron, Steph, MJ, they were impactful. That's where Brady separates from the Dan Marinos and the John Elways and the Peyton Mannings and the Brett Farrs. Forget the fact that he holds so many playoff records. And in most instances, he has double and triple the numbers of playoff games played, started, wins, passes thrown, passes completed, passing yards, passing touchdowns.

In many instances, he almost doubles Peyton Manning. That's not the impact. The impact is quarterbacks now eat differently and sleep differently and consume alcohol differently during the season because of Tom Brady. Tom Brady has changed in terms of impactful the way we view age. if Aaron Rogers retired today at 35, his career would be a disappointment because Brady has now made 40 the new standard. Before Tom Brady, if a quarterback, even a good one retired at 35 and 36, that was a long and healthy career. If Aaron Rogers retired tomorrow, he got to 35, he's changed how we view the longevity of the position.

By the way, now, he takes pay cuts, has for a decade. you're seen as greedy, not into winning. Drew Brees took big money, watched Brady, scaled back. Tom has set the standard via agents with veteran quarterbacks. You take pay cuts or you really, really aren't into the team thing. Tom Brady has also altered the meaning of success. It used to be if you got to a Super Bowl. There was an argument for a Hall of Famer.

Two was surpassing any reasonable standard. Tom's now been to eight. Tom shrinks Peyton Manning's career. Makes Farr of look really, really good, but not that level. He's doubled Montana. Forget the stats and the rings. His body, his diet, how he's reshaped his contract, how he doesn't drink during the season. Greatest quarterback, you can argue it all day.

Obviously, I think so. Impactful, nobody's even close. Let me shift to the Rams Saints game. Speaking of impactful, I think we've all watched the recent NFL hirings. Joy and I have reported those. Those are a direct correlation to Sean McVeigh. The jokes now, even Wade Phillips joke this week as the Rams defensive coordinator he had a friend who had a cup of coffee with McBain, got a job interview.

If the Rams win this weekend on several levels, the league will change. Now, people always say the NFL is a copycat business. Everything is a copycat business. I mean, Amazon.com delivered stuff to your door. I can now have every grocery store in my neighborhood and every restaurant deliver food to my door. That's because of Amazon.com. Every business is a copycat business. Facebook was copying MySpace.

Now everybody, social networking, all of them are some derivative of Facebook. But the Rams, this is interesting, are the healthiest team of the four left. No injuries. No injuries. If the Rams win this game this weekend, and it's a field goal game either way, I'll have my pick in 45 minutes, remember the three things the Rams have done to alter the league. They went into free agency, big. And with guys who were viewed as divas, big.

They have lighter practices than every other team. Fewer pad days. Give veterans time off. They also, do you remember this in preseason? Refused as an organization to play any other top players. A play. A play. We already know.

that owners want to get the next Sean McVeigh. And we've seen that with the eight coaching openings. It appears seven are going to try to duplicate Sean McVeigh. But I read a story last night. Todd Gurley practice all week, totally healthy, skip three games. The Rams win this weekend. Watch next year's preseason. Stars will not take a snap.

They won't. The top stars in the league, the Rams have set a precedent. Increasingly, watch NFL practices get lighter and lighter because the Rams, if they win this weekend, have a full complement of players. Their injury report, I kid you not, there's nobody listed. That's unheard of in the NFL. And, and most impressive for the L.A. Rams, skip preseason. lighter practices, they went huge into free agency.

And with Indomac and Sioux and Akeeb Taleb and Marcus Peters, guys that aren't always easy to get along with. So I think if you're talking about tipping points, a Rams win this weekend changes the way a lot of owners and a lot of GMs think. Free agency will be bigger. Practices will get lighter. The preseason will become completely irrelevant. Star running backs will take half.

Half a month to a month off. They just said Todd Gurley, you're not playing. Three weeks, don't take a carry. And it's paid off. This week, completely healthy. So I think impact this weekend, keep your eye on the Rams. In 45 minutes from now, I will pick both games. 8 and 0 straight up.

Very good against the spread. We've been sort of on fire. You know, it is funny when you talk about, you know, the Brady thing. I went and dug up a stat this morning that is. is incredible. And I think sometimes we don't give credit to great companies and great people and great coaches and great players that we often say, well, Sabin hasn't faced good teams. The Eastern Conference was weak with LeBron.

Brady's in a weak division. You'll be amazed what we dug up in regards to Brayton. Brady and his division. It is absolutely kind of mind-blowing. That's coming up next. 45 minutes. Peter King in 15 minutes joining us as well. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m.

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and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet

famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out.

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And I'm CJ Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron Heading and to the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game.

We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night. the night bases on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson,

we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball. Like, you go through a training camp with that, I said. You figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court,

and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Olden Flu season, try Vixinex, nasal spray, couple of sprays, works in seconds, clears you up to 12 hours, use as directed, Vix, Synex, nasal spray. Peter King in 10 minutes. Dontrell Inman of the Colts, who faced that Kansas City defense, we'll be joining us next hour. Jason McIntyre, Rob Parker. So yesterday, Robert Kraft comes out and says, you know, Brady's just, he's the greatest

quarterback of all time. And, you know, it's obvious, right? But there is hesitation. You drive into work this morning. I'm listening to radio and there's, whoa, slow down. What about Jim Brown? What about Jerry Rice? And so if you deconstruct the criticisms or the questions about Brady, not the greatest arm, not the greatest athlete, plays in the system, the weak AFC East, let's deconstruct them. And all of them are fairly obvious. He doesn't have the greatest arm. Cam Newton, Jay Cutler, Aaron Rogers, Joe Flacko, and Stafford have the best arms in the NFL, all including Rogers, have frankly underachieved. Aaron has two.

Arm is a 1988 argument. It's just not that valuable. Tom Brady's arm is simply good enough. It's a good enough arm. Average to slightly above average. Dumb argument. Well, he's not a great athlete. Well, he was drafted by a major league baseball team in a high school.

Peyton Manning wasn't, Joe Montana wasn't, Dan Marino wasn't, Dan Fouts wasn't, Terry Bradshaw wasn't. Troy Aikman wasn't. His athletic ability, again, is historically fine, not an impediment. Well, he's in a great system. You do get that the greatest offensive system ever created was by Bill Walsh in the 70s. It's called the West Coast offense. And that's what Joe Montana had, who was the goat before Tom Brady got to his eighth Super Bowl.

Folks, we're all in systems. Lawyers go to a court. Doctors go to a hospital. We're all in a system. I'm in a broadcasting company with a long history, football-centric. We give lots of strong opinions before our show, after our show, and during our show. I'm also in a system. Nobody's doing it on an island.

Those three arguments are very easy to deconstruct. Here's the argument I've never heard and made. And I see this all the time that, you know, the Eastern Conference, in the NBA. It's just not very good. Well, one of the reasons it lacks stability was LeBron James, who never gets credit for that, because LeBron, by the way, has left the Eastern Conference to the West, and now most people are seeing what we did for years. At the top, the Eastern Conference is every bit or better than the West. There's four legitimate, five legitimate teams. There's more dysfunction in the West than the East. LeBron created that disfutable.

dysfunction. Nick Saban, you know, the SEC has had a lot of dysfunction. LSU has been dysfunctional. No, LSU, if you take out games against Nick Saban, is probably the second or third best program in the country. Nick Saban makes LSU look dysfunctional. The argument against Brady, arm you can poke holes in, athletic ability, obviously, and systems, just a dumb argument.

But so is that his division. is weak. So let's first compare two players who are often compared to Brady, Aaron Rogers and Big Ben. Tom Brady's won his division 16 times and 18 years. Aaron and Ben less than half. Do you consider the NFC North with the historically dysfunctional lions and bears as a great division? Do you consider the NFC North with the historically incompetent Browns and Bengals as great divisions? Here's what's interesting when you consider the AFC East, Jets, Bills, Dolphins.

Do you realize that if you take out the games, the Jets and the Bills and the Dolphins, have played against Brady? They're 500 teams. They're not dysfunctional. They're average. If Tom Brady wasn't in that conference and they could play an inferior quarterback, they would all be over 500. that Brady's never given credit for creating the dysfunction.

Since Tom Brady arrived 18 years ago, the Dolphins and Jets are 500 teams if you take out the Tom Brady games. And even Buffalo, who's considered basically Cleveland with worse weather, is not close to that. They win 45% of their games, which means over 18 years, they go from 8 and 8 to 7 and 9, 8 and 8 to 7 and 9, 8 and 8 to 7 and 9 if you took out Tom Brady. That's not terrible.

You know what that's called the NFL? Average. He's in an average division. So we never, when you talk about greatest, we do this with all the greats. The greats create dysfunction because of the desperation to beat them. The constant firing of coaches in Buffalo and Miami in the Jets. In the Eastern Conference, the constant firing of coaches in Detroit, Indianapolis. Frank Vogel really that bad?

When you start looking at the SEC, Les Miles was winning 11 games a year. Really deserve to be fired? Ed Orgeron's a better choice. Is that we never give the legends credit for creating the dysfunction. We often just say they're facing dysfunction. The Jets, the Bills, and the Dolphins are not awful.

They're average. Tom's made him look utterly dysfunctional. Peter King around the corner, Joy Taylor now with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So, if the Rams want to beat the Saints,

the Super Bowl or Superdome this Sunday, they're going to have to slow down Drew Breeze. In week nine when they played, Breeze torched the Rams, 346 yards, and four touchdowns and a 45-35 Saints win. So LA is going to need to do a little bit better this time around,

but Aaron Donald says that they have a plan. We got a game plan. We're going to stick to it and we're going to get after them. Anytime you play against a great quarterback like that, you know, he's going to do things that, you know, a typical, a normal quarterback ain't going to do. So we know what to expect. You know, we try to do what we got to do to, you know,

try our best to make them uncomfortable and get after them. And, you know, we got to stop the run first before we think about rushing the pairs or so. We got two great backs. We got to slow down and trying to find a way to stop. After we do that, we get out of the way. the quarterback and trying to put some pressure on it. They had no sacks in that game.

They also had zero sacks in the week 15 loss of the Eagles. And they also, it should be noted, if you remember that game, they didn't have Akeeb Talib. And if you look at the Rams' stats with and without Talib, it is a significantly different defense and a very well coached Sean Payton, Drew Brees team, attacked the Rams' lack of Akeb to leave. He is healthy now and ready to play. Well, they definitely are going to have to get after Drew Brie's, but Drew Brie's can make plays on the run.

This is usually the strategy, I mean, obviously you're always trying to get to the quarterback, but the way to make Tom Brady uncomfortable is to push him out of the pocket. He doesn't like to get hit. He doesn't like to have to move off of his spot. But Drew Brie's can make plays on the run and make throws on the run. So you're going to have to get him down more than just put pressure on him. All right. So it's the goat versus the kid, right?

We just talked about the greatness of Tom Brady for quite some time. Yeah. It's the best to ever do it. It's up against the best to do it this season. So there's a lot of chatter about Tom Brady metaphorically passing the torch to Mahomes. Yeah. I'm always going to be. I've seen it, but I mean, there's still a long ways to go. I mean, I'm a young guy. He's done so much in this league, and he's still doing it to this day. And so, I mean, he's going to play for some more years to come. So, I mean, I'm always going to strive to do some of the things that he's done with the Super Bowls that he's won. one. And that's the ultimate goal. And I mean, he's, he's not trying to pass the torch anytime

soon. I mean, he's played at a high level this year. And I expect him to keep playing at this level for at least another couple years. By the way, I would say in the last three weeks, I've seen more erosion with Drew Brees than Brady. I thought Brady was, I thought Brady was unbelievable Sunday against a Chargers defense. I thought Brees was average. I didn't think Drew played well at all. Yeah, it's, it's why I'm going with the Rams this weekend anyway. I didn't like what I saw from the Saints. And I didn't like the first half having to get warmed up. That's especially off of a buy at home.

You should be ready to go. But those are the homes. He just always says the right thing, huh? No, listen, he's a great player, a franchise quarterback, appears to be an incredibly coachable kid. So the good news for Kansas City, they've been, you know, they're one of those organizations. You think Kansas City is kind of weak.

They've been a very solid franchise for a long time. They don't win those playoff games. You think they should. but let's not marginalize Kansas City as a poorly run, poorly owned franchise. They've had great coaches. They've had Andy Reid, Marty Schottenheimer. They have been a viable franchise. But they played in divisions often with great, great, legendary players and quarterbacks.

And so, I mean, Kansas City has always had a pulse. Nobody's ever wanted to go to Kansas City and play. You never looked at your schedule and said, oh, game at Arrowhead. That's a W. Right. So they've been a viable franchise. Now they're going to be for the next decade. an elite relevant big dog.

They're not going anywhere. Andy's got another seven years to coach minimum and Mahomes a stud. Yep. Finally, it's pretty unusual to see a team completely healthy this late in the season, but the Patriots had no one on yesterday's injury report. Rob Bernkowski, not a stranger to the injury report, was asked yesterday how different practice has been when everyone is able to go. Of course it does.

I mean, when you're dealing with that type of stuff and with a lot of guys, you know, you're seeing what you can do and stuff like that. When that's out of the pitcher, I mean, it just makes practice that much easier or that much better. Just go out there and do what we got to do, focus on the job that you got to do and do it at full speed, do it at however you need to do during practice. So you can go out and replicate it on game day on Sunday. Yeah.

Grong's become the best blocking titan in football. You're not going to get much vertically from him, but man, can he block? Can he block? You know, Gronk's had kind of a rough year as far as far as far as. the coverage goes, everyone keeps calling at the end of his career, and, you know, he's deteriorated, and he's not the same player, and he doesn't have impact and stuff. I would watch Gronk, especially this weekend. I mean, he, I do think he's going to be back next year, first of all, and I think he's going to, I mean, he's still demands respect when he's out in the field. And in a game like this where it's cold, he's still hard to get down.

He's going to be a factor this weekend. I know everyone's sold out on Gronk. By the way, the Patriots are healthy, and they're not. Rams are healthy. The 200 dogs this weekend are the healthier teams. So just remember that. By the way, we'll make our pick top of the hour. Joy with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd Live News. Three-time national sports writer of the year. NBCSports.com. Let's bring him in on a Friday. Peter King via the Coward Global Satellite Network. You know, Peter, this weekend you've got legends, breeze, and legends

Brady. And then you have, you know, MVP and the next big star Mahomes and Jared Goff has been marginalized to just a guy. I would make the argument that year three of Tom Brady's career, there were a lot of similarities to golf. California, 6'4, little thin, very coachable, absolute grinder, kind of a legendary growing head coach. You know, I think people forget, Peter, you were around. Brady today isn't Brady 15 years ago.

Go back to Tom when he broke into the league. I'd argue he looked a lot like golf. Well, he certainly didn't have the weaponry that golf has. And yeah, Colin, he was still becoming a really good quarterback. But the gigantic difference is that golf in year one was highly questionable. Brady in year one won a Super Bowl. And so, and Brady in year three won a Super Bowl, if you don't count Brady's rookie year when he didn't play.

but hey look I think the future is very bright for golf he's gone from being a guy who everybody was wondering if he was going to be the B word the bust you know after his first year with the jeff fisher staff but you know from the minute that sean mcvay got in there mcvay was going to mold him and craft him and and i think he's done a great job and hey look golf has as much as in the last say six weeks Golf has had some really shaky moments. His game against the Eagles was ugly. But I will say this.

He's made some throws this year. You go back to the Thursday game against the Minnesota Vikings. He made two throws that Dan Marino would say those are some all-time throws. So I'm bullish on golf. I think he's going to be very good. Listen, the Rams are interesting because, you know, people say it's a copycat league. They did a couple of things that were very unique. they refused to play any of their best players a snap in the preseason.

They've had lighter practices. They arrested Todd Gurley for three weeks. They went late into the season, get a C.J. Anderson. And I have this feeling and they went into big free agency with some guys with reputations that weren't great, Talib and Domic and Sue Marcus Peters, that if it's a copycat league like everybody claims, Peter, if the Rams win, will it, I mean, we've already seen in the coaching hires, people are looking at the Rams in McVeigh to duplicate. that. I kind of feel like between the Eagles and the Rams, Peter, they both went big into

free agency. And if the Rams win this weekend, like the Eagles, that used to be kind of a no-no. People rolled their eyes at a non-prudent spending. I kind of feel like if the Rams win, there's going to be a little change in free agency. Am I reaching there? Well, the last time a team did as much as the Rams did, both in trade and free agency, in an off-season. and, you know, a contending team was the Eagles when they had the dream team. And that obviously was a huge bust. But this team, you know, and clearly when you trade for veteran guys, you know, it has the potential to bust.

But for the most part, it's worked for this team this year. The one interesting thing I think about the Rams is how Todd Gurley has gone from being a top three and maybe top one back. in the NFL to being a little bit hurt. And now he might be, might be. I'm not saying he is. He might be in a job share with a guy who was on the street five weeks ago. Yeah.

You know, and who had been cut this year by three teams with losing records, Denver, Carolina, and Oakland. And now, you know, just wind him up and throw him out there. And he rushes for 125 yards. What guy in history, I'd love to know the answer to this question, has come on to a playoff. team who's going to have a buy in the first round of the playoffs, who's walked into this playoff team from the street, from his couch, and three weeks in a row gained over 125 yards

on the ground. It's unheard of. And finally, in the NFC, your gut feeling tells you who's winning that game, your gut feeling. My gut feeling tells me New Orleans, but I'll tell you, when you lose your best front seat. interior player in Sheldon Rankins. You know, Dennis Allen has got to have a good plan for what has been a really, really good running game of the Rams because the Rams, look, everybody thinks that Sean McVeigh is some master, you know, fill the air with football's guy, but I think he might try to run it down the Saints' throat, in part because the Saints' defense is a less, you know, is a less

defense without Rankins and in part as an attempt to try to take the crowd out of this game. Colin, I've covered the NFL for 35 years. I can't say that I've ever heard a crowd louder than when I was in the stadium in the Superdome last week. They're down 14-0-0 to Philadelphia, and that crowd is still almost at full throat the next time the Eagles touch the ball. So I think that could be an issue for the Rams. That's why the Saints are favored. Let's move over to the AFC, I think Chris Jones, if he becomes a problem to block for the Patriots, we'll know it very early. In all five of the Patriots road losses, they didn't lead any of them in the first quarter.

In fact, trailed in four of five. Generally, they're not out-schemed. There's a physical component they don't match up against. They didn't match up with Tennessee's defensive front. They didn't have Josh Gordon. They struggled against the Steelers. So when they've struggled on the road, you've noticed it very early. It's not like they've blown leads.

So I kind of think Chris Jones will have a major impact. If they have to double him and it stalls the running game, Tom's in trouble. Who do you think plays a crucial role for the Chiefs or Patriots this weekend? Justin Houston. Remember, in week six, when the Patriots and Chiefs played, the Patriots put up 43 points, went up and down the field, 500 yard, total yards, or whatever it was. and what I really remember about that game is that Brady had a lot of time.

And to me, Justin Houston, he wrecked Andrew Luck in the second half of that game last week. So when you've got D. Ford here, Justin Houston here, Chris Jones in the middle, that's really, really tough to handle. And to me, Josh McDaniel's biggest challenge is keeping Tom Brady relatively clean so he's going to have enough time. But just remember this. I say that about those three guys, but I think the chiefs are going to have something up their sleeve

so that James White doesn't wreck the defensive game plan. Because just look, last week 15 catches, James White has been a gigantic force for the Patriots in all their recent playoff games. So the Patriots lean on him when they desperately need you know, an outlet back out of the backfield. By the way, it's hard enough to win in the road. Patrick Mahomes is the league MVP.

I've told he's your MVP choice. Go back to your 30 years covering the NFL. People have compared him to Favv. Do you feel like, remember, before Favre, there was no Fav. I don't know who they were comparing Fav to. But I hear Fav with Mahomes, and I see some of it. Is that the prototype for you? He is Fav.

I mean, that's what he's going to play like. And look, I think the one difference between him is that Farrv was a wild and uncontrollable cult in his first two or three years to the point where I think it was year three that Mike Holmgren, Steve Mariucci, Andy Reed, the entire offensive staff in Green Bay, sat in a meeting one Monday after a desultory Packers loss that Farrv played. relatively out of control. And Mike Holmgren took a vote as to who should be the starting quarterback. I think it was either Farrv or Ty Detmer. Now, Fav won, but it wasn't unanimous. They don't have the same issue with Patrick Mahomes. He does what Andy Reid tells him to do,

you know, as opposed to Fav necessarily all the time doing what Holmgren told him to do. But they do play a lot alike. And I think he's, I mean, he's only. played 18 games. We're already fitting him for a gold jacket. But the only guy who reminds me this early in his career of a guy you say, man, this guy looks like he's going to be an incredible superstar for a long time. I mean, I got to go back to Dan Marino. And that's the one who Mahomes just his impact incredibly early reminds me of. By the way, it sounds like

you're leaning Kansas City. Now, I'm leaning New England. But believe me, if I were a gambler, I would take a leash and I would tie it around my belt and I'd put a lock on it. And I would forbid myself from going to the local wherever you go to gamble. Or I'd put a lock on my phone so I couldn't call my bookie because that's an un, you know, potentially in my opinion, I think it is ridiculous to bet on the Patriots and Chiefs. I wouldn't bet the over, wouldn't bet the under, wouldn't bet the Chiefs, wouldn't bet New England. I just think it's a totally unpredictable game. Peter King, three-time sports writer of the year, NBCSports.com.

Read his stuff. We will. Have a fun weekend, Peter. Thank you, Colin. Great stuff. Dantrell Inman. Peter doesn't think it's a lock. Yeah, I mean, how do you feel about that?

You've already bet the games, haven't you? Well, no, one of them, I feel, is the lock of the year. By the way, did they move the Patriot Kansas City game? No. Because I'm reading the weather forecast. It's 33 degrees. You know what? On behalf of all the weather people in Kansas City, all of the meteorologists, I apologize.

On behalf of all the meteorologists in Kansas City, thank you for giving us the accurate weather forecast. As opposed to sticking with, I said it's going to be an Arctic blast and I'm sticking to it. 50 degree swing in two days. That's what the weather does, Colin. And it changes. That's what meteorologists do. They follow the weather change and then inform us. Couldn't see those clouds coming a couple days ago?

Brady is the great manipulator and so is Belichick. That next blazing two top of the hour. It's the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Yeah, this morning when I got up, I thought they had moved the AFC championship because the weather forecast was 32 degrees on. Monday, the weather people in Kansas City were saying it was going to be an Arctic blast. So we've had a 50-degree swing in four days in Kansas City.

That's what happens. Well, first of all, local TV, I used to work in local TV, and these stations spend millions of dollars on radar and technology and a mega-doppler 7,000 to get it right. And what they should have is just a dartboard. I mean, you might as well play, pin the tail on the weatherman, because, you might as well. they're just making crap up and they don't know anything. And Bill Belichick, by the way, is I love Bill Belichick. And Bill Belichick, three years ago, I dug this up yesterday. This is why I love Bill.

Of the many reasons he's the greatest coach ever, this surpasses and eclipses all of them. Here's Belichick a few years ago. Based on the forecast we've gotten so far this year, you know, none of them been very close to what the game conditions were. You know, it was 100% chance of rain last week. and the only water I saw was on the Gatorade table. I mean, my experience of going with the forecast two days before the game, I mean, I bet a lot that they're wrong.

You know, we played down in Miami two years ago, and there was a zero percent chance of rain, zero, and it rained. So, I mean, I'm just telling you. I'm not saying I could do it better than them. I'm just saying they're wrong a lot. If I did my job the way they do theirs, I mean, I'd be here about a week. Okay, first of all, Bill. It's the tropics.

There's no such thing as zero percent chance of rain. That's what the local weather. It literally rains every day in Miami, every single day. You can drive out of it. One of those weather goofballs in Miami said zero chance of rain and it was, you know, rainforest. First of all, I don't believe that for one second. That is fake news that someone said a zero percent chance of rain in Miami. That is a lie.

At the point of being a meteorologist is to follow the weather. If the weather changes, then they let you know. That's why you have to check the weather update. You would think the radar's a little more accurate than, holy crap, 50 degrees. Why do we have a graphic of this guy doing the Bird Box Challenge over the weather map? He's a big goofy weather nerd. All right, let me shift to this. So New England does a, in the NBA, even a great coach with power titles and leverage in hardware, Steve Kerr,

is constantly telling you how great Steph is and how great Durant is and how great Clayton. is and how valuable Draymond is. In the NBA, a players league, even a coach with power who doesn't need to kiss butt is always telling you how great the players are. The NFL is the opposite. You're constantly suppressing individuality. In the 18 years of the Patriots dynasty, they've had one real crisis this offseason when Grunk and Malcolm Butler and Amandola and Dionne Lewis started being individuals

talking about how great they were and Tom Brady pushed back. and we had a full-fledged crisis. Tom Brady, though, is back to being a good patriot, saying things like this after winning a game by 30 points. You know, I know, you know, everyone thinks we suck and, you know, can't win any game, so we'll see. It'll be fun. The key to the NFL is suppressing individuality.

The biggest disappointment in the league this year was the Pittsburgh Steelers. Individuality. Aaron Rogers. Coachability issues. individuality. Cam Newton, super talent, hard to coach, individuality. The NFL tries to suppress it, and the easiest way to suppress it is to say the world's against us, us.

That's the easiest way. I used to cover Jerry Tarkhanian, and Tarko has talked about this, and they had a bunch of great players. He goes, but the way to make the players less about themselves and more about the team is to say the world is against us. And he goes, then stars and bench players join as one. It's all psychology. James Harrison was a steeler late in his career played for the Patriots.

And he said, oh, it's a real thing in Foxborough. I was like you. I'm, you know, like this is phony. Everybody against New England, all that, this. But it's real. Like, I have no problem with this. You know, they really believe that they feel that. I felt that I was only there.

for six weeks and I'm like yeah it's New England versus everybody. Everybody hate us. Nobody loves us but New England. And when you buy into that, like he said, you get those 10 guys that really to buy into that, you go out there and you give everything you got. Like you really believe that it's New England, it's us versus everybody. And it's an old Jerry Tarkanian trick. They were favored by 20 and 30. And Tark always felt that if you sold to the players, nobody

believes in us, then the star players and the marginal players became a collective. It became one. That was the easiest way to take great teams and make them a unit. Hey, everybody's against us. Star Bridges Gap with marginal player. You know, Nick Saban, Nick Saban's favored by 20 points in virtually every game. And he is constantly trying to suppress the individuality. Here's Sabin. I'm trying to get our players listen to me instead of listening to you guys. You know, all that stuff you write about how good we are and all that stuff they hear on ESPN, it's like poison. You know what I mean?

It's like taking poison, like rat poison. All right, so I'm asking them, are you going to listen to me or are you going to listen to these guys about how good you are? That Brady quote after that game you all think we suck is this is what they do. It is the collective. The world's against us. All right, I'll make my picks. Eight in O and eight games.

The world waits for America's media icon. Enjoy Taylor. We're giving to the goods next. One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Ah, here we go.

It is Friday. It is time. Hour number two. This is the herd. wherever you may be and however you may be listening live in dry increasingly sunny los angeles iHeart radio fox sports radio and here on fs one joy taylor is joining me what a football season it has been it is been incredible unbelievable and here we are we are left with uh the four best coaches in football and the four best offenses in football. The first you can argue, but I think

it's true. The second you can argue. The NFL has changed. Now, we have seen, before I get to my picks, we have seen over the last couple of weeks that when you get into January and the weather is colder, the offenses come down a little. I will say in both games this weekend, I do not see wild shootouts. I don't think Drew Breeze played particularly sharp last week. A golf, has never been quite as good on the road. I think that game will be played within the 20s. I think New England's running game is a real issue to control the clock and keep the score down.

And it should be noted, Patrick Mahomes, the five coldest games he has played in, temperature-wise, are his five lowest QBRs. I think we're going to have competitive games. I think we're going to have, if you were a better, under the over and under number, the total. I think these games will mostly be played inside the 20s. I think the crowd in New Orleans will have a negative effect on the Rams. I think the cold, choppy weather and wind in Kansas City will have a negative effect on both offenses.

I have always had sort of theories on football, if you've listened to this show. I think it's very hard, though not impossible, to duplicate a great performance. New England played the best game I've seen them play in a decade against the good team. I'm not joking. Hard to duplicate. The Rams were literally flawless against the Dallas Cowboys, even got a few officiating breaks. Very hard to duplicate. That in no way is giving away my picks.

But I'm just telling you how I see the world. I think we're going to have games played in between the 20s, the four best offenses, the four best coaches, but they will not be firework shows. These will be smartly schemed, well-played, health could matter. You know, a Travis Kelsey goes down or a James White early, the Chiefs Patriots game is different.

You know, an Andrew Whitworth, a Robert Woods goes down. That is not good for the Rams. I think if you look at the playoffs over the last, month home field teams have gotten the majority of the breaks from officials. Ram certainly got big breaks from the officials last week. So all that plays into it. And with no further, if I told you, Joy, there's been eight games I'm eight and no. Yes. All right. Let's get to it. Our blazing five. That's a hot one. Let's blaze it up. It's Collins blazing five.

Rams at Saints. Rams, the number is the Rams are getting more than a field goal plus three and a half. The Saints are actually now more of a defensive story than an offensive story. They've held seven of their last nine opponents under 20 points. Since week 10, they lead the NFL in takeaways and sacks. Yes, they are a defensive story. Drew Breeze was not as great. He was not last week.

Yards per play of the four remaining teams, the Saints are easily last. This is a defensive story, and they'll have that whole. home crowd behind him and the veteran quarterback. The Rams, though, have become a very good under Sean McBay Road team, 13 and 3 the last two years. Now, Jared Goff is never as good on the road, and that has to be considered, though I think he's the more youthful, stronger armed quarterback in this game. With better receiving targets, he will not play like he does at home. But the Rams are averaging 232 yards since they rebooted with C.J. Anderson. That leads the league, including the playoffs, since they rebooted.

And there are a completely different defense with Akib Talib. It's not Aaron Donald or Indomacan Su or Marcus Peters. Without Talib this year, they've allowed 31 points a game. And with him, they've allowed 18. He was missing in the first game. The Rams are the health. team up front offensively with right now momentum with their running game. It will be close.

I think a call could swing it, but I would strongly suggest you take the points in the Rams at three and a half. I have them winning 27 to 26 in a nail biter in one of the best NFL games of the year. Breeze probably outplays Goff, but the better roster, the healthier roster, and the better running game prevails. Let's go. Patriots at Chiefs. The Patriots are at Kansas City.

We know that Tom Brady is 13 and 2 under 40 degrees. And did you know that Patrick Mahomes, five coldest games, are his five lowest quarterback ratings? But here's something to remember about the Patriots, and we could all agree on this. This team has the least dynamic playmakers. I'm not saying they're a bad offense. but they're not a dynamic vertical team passing the ball. Why does that matter?

Well, look at their road record this year. 9 and 0 at home, 3 and 5 on the road. Your efficiency automatically drops when you leave your home stadium, even with New England. That's why it's valuable to have playmakers on the road. The teams that were good on the road this year were the Chargers and the Saints and the Rams in Kansas City and Houston. They have playmakers, quarterback, wide receiver, and backs.

Because as all five of those teams' efficiency drops on the road, you need special players to make special plays. And New England does not have dynamic vertical players to make those plays. The coaching, it's mostly a push, slight edge to Belichick, home field Kansas City, defensive line and pass rush Kansas City, and weapons edge Kansas City. The Patriots' lack of success on the road, is directly correlated to what hurts all teams on the road.

Efficiency drops. I would strongly suggest this is one of the safest NFL playoff picks this year, and my favorite so far. Swallow the points. Kansas City wins, 28 to 23. Mahomes is good, not great, but without the pass rush the Chiefs have, the weapons home field.

it's a coaching push. The lack of playmakers will undo the less efficient patriots away from home. The dynasty is not over. They've got 12 draft picks and they'll have cap space.

But this team from Foxborough is done by Sunday night. That's our blazing five. Wow. I will say this one more time. I feel very strongly about my Kansas City pick.

The Chargers, Saints, Rams, Kansas City, and Houston and Chicago had the best road records. Now, Chicago has mostly defensive playmakers. Playmakers went on the road because no team and no quarterback overtime is better on the road than at home because you can't hear on the road. So New England

has been able to win road playoff games, before when Gronk was in his prime, the late Aaron Hernandez, Randy Moss, Wes Welker. They are now an efficiency offense. That's why there is such a disparity between New England's home performances and road. And they're going to need somebody to make a play. And they simply do not have that this year. I do believe with 12 draft picks and free agency, they will acquire that going forward. Rob Parker is going to tell us why come Sunday, independent Day is moving from July to January. And that is coming up next.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio app. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice. On the Iheart radio app, Apple or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast,

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is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts

Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue 42.

Hey, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam?

It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves,

I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense.

And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers while he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick.

Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This Sunday, tune in to Fox to see the new trailer for John Witt Chapter 3, Parabella. and the way we go. Don't miss the new trailer.

John Wick, Chapter 3, Parabellum, in the two-minute warning of Sunday's football game on Fox. And look at now. Rob Parker, the FS1 instigator on a Friday. Rob, it is great to have you in teaching sports commentary at USC, former sports columnist, Detroit News, Daily News in New York. Rob, I know that the Patriots have been a thorn in your side and your arch nemesis, and here we go this weekend. That's right, the big game.

And you know what, Colin, this is not about Andy Reid. It's not about Patrick Mahomes. It's not about Kansas City hosting its first AFC championship game ever. This is about Independence Day for NFL America. The reign of terror will finally be. over. This is what we're all talking about. Kansas City has to do this for every football fan in America outside of New England. We need this to end. The end of Tom Brady, the end of Bill Belichick, the end of cheating scandals. This sorted history, part of history in the NFL will come to an end.

It's all set up and we can't wait to finally move on where we can have other football teams that play by the rules and can give some variety when it comes to going to the Super Bowl and seeing some new teams there. This is it. I've been calling for it for years, but finally, this is a year where I'm going to be right. Do you think Kansas City wins in a blowout? Not a blowout. I want it to be 48 to 20, but I think it'll be 28 to 20. I think that Kansas City will finally make it happen.

they're the better team. If it wasn't for the Patriots history and you would just strip down the names off and look at the rosters and look at what's been done this year, no one would give the Patriots a chance to win this game. But because of their history and how lucky they've been in games, they're going to get a benefit of the doubt from other people. And I get that, but I still believe the Chiefs are the better team.

Well, they said that about the Chargers last week. Yeah, and the Chargers didn't show up. Let's just be honest. They didn't show up, but here's the difference. difference. When people talk about the Patriots, their road has all, everybody gives Tom Brady all the credit, right? Oh, well, they're unbelievable. But since 1990, look at this. Since 1990, 44 of the 56 teams that have gone to the Super Bowl have had the first round by. So it's not just about Tom Brady and the Patriots. It's the system and the way it's set up. If you only have

to win two home games. You know what I mean? To get to the Super Bowl, two games, it's way easier than having to go on the road and having to win three games to get there. Well, they also have been the number one seed many times because they beat everybody in the regular season. And here's the other part. It's by far the weakest, the AFC East or Least, whatever you want to call, by far.

Since 19, I think 1990, all the other divisions have had at least three different champions during the same run that the Patriots have had. But they've won 14 out of 15 divisions. So they've taken advantage of a very weak division. You could try to, you know, talk up the Jets and talk up Buffalo and talk up Miami. But they've been dog food. Let's just be honest. Since 2001, if you take out the games against the Patriots, the Dolphins and Jets have been

500 teams. But that they haven't been. But the Patriots are involved there. Well, and the Patriots are great. It's not just that. It's that these teams, when you say that, they haven't won anything. These teams, they've lost 14 out of 15 divisions. Come on, Colin, I'm not going to buy those phony numbers.

What math are you doing? Well, I don't know, the kind that you add and divide and subtract. So you like Kansas City to win this weekend. You put a lot of stock on winning the big game. I would argue this game is a big game for Andy Reid. I think Andy Reid's a great coach. I think he's the best coach without a Super Bowl win. No, he has to.

I agree with you. And that's always been the knock. No, no, let me ask you this. But let me give you this number with Brady. Okay. In 15 years, he hasn't won a road AFC championship game. They've lost their last three dating back to 2006. So he hasn't won on the road and history is against Tom Brady in that fashion.

Just let me throw this at you. What if they do win? I think I'm moving to Mexico. Do they have a job down there on? Well, if you like soccer, you could be a sports radio. There's what's got out there. Me and Chris Bussar will move our radio show to Mexico. All right.

Let's shift so you like Kansas City. Let's go over to the NFC where there's some things we know. New Orleans offensively for the last month, yards per play, their fourth of the four remaining teams. They've actually become more of a defensive story in the last month than an offensive story. We also know with the Rams, they were good early, kind of a mess for two months in the middle. And now with C.J. Anderson, bizarrely, He may get more carriers than Gurley, who had a great week of practice.

They become really a run first, past second offense. So that's what we have. Can the Rams overcome the loudest road environment Superdome in the NFL? I think they can. This is the thing that's true. I never, once I make a pick, and originally I picked Kansas City and the Saints in the Super Bowl, once the playoffs started. That was my pick.

And I never changed my picks. I don't believe in that. Like going with somebody wins. or the hot team or whatever. But after I watched the Rams against Dallas, I just picked the Rams. I thought the Rams were trending down, like you talked about in December.

They were two and two, and they didn't look that great. But watching the Saints lately, I'm not that impressed. I don't feel good. I think that they would have lost had they not gotten that interception late against the Eagles. Off the Alshan Jeffrey drop.

I mean, it went through his hands. I went through his hands. He catches that ball. They're in business. They probably win that game. and ever since that Dallas game, too, with Drew Breeze, the offense isn't what it was. They were steamrolling over people.

Don't forget when they won those nine or ten games in a row. They were. No, I think it's, in New Orleans, listen, the initial reaction by any fan is to take New Orleans, and I would not be shocked if they won. Three and a half points to me, the half point makes Rams the better bet for people who were into that. My only concern is this. The Rams are actually under McVeigh, 13. and three on the road. They've actually been a great routine. That's impressive number in the NFL.

It really is. By any standards, including Steelers, Patriots, whatever. Goff is not as efficient on the road. Like Dak Prescott, you know, Drew Breeze may not be as great on the road. Matt Ryan may not be as great on the road or Big Ben. They don't get overwhelmed. There are times Dak looks overwhelmed on the road. There are times Deshaun Watson, a young quarterback. Andrew Luck last week looked overwhelmed on the road. Goff can sometimes get a little over his skis and dramatically home in a way he's a different quarterback. I do worry about that. Do you like golf?

I like golf. I think early on he looked like he was going to some other level and I think he's come down from that. You know, where I thought at one point it's off the charts. He didn't look anything like the quarterback we saw with Jeff Fisher. Right. You know, and this would be like two years now. but what he did last week I like.

And sometimes to win on the road when you have running backs like that is don't turn the ball over, which he didn't do. And also he ran for the biggest play of the game when they needed that first down. Good call. Right? I mean, so if he does that with the running, and you know every once in a while you have to make that throw that you need to win games, I think that's all. He doesn't have to throw for three touchdowns for them to win the Saints if they're getting the running that

they got against Dallas. Yeah, I mean, I said this. Maybe not 273 yards, but wonderful. The reality is both the Rams and the Patriots were virtually perfect last weekend. And a big component of that is it's easier to be efficient at home. The Patriots and the Rams will not be as efficient on the road. The key is don't turn it over. Don't go man overboard.

And if you look at Goff and Brady, they win road games, but they don't win road games when they have turnovers. And that's the undoing. Tom has looked bad before in Denver. Well, and this is the other thing this year, let's be honest. Patriots lost five games on the road. You ready? All against non-playoff teams.

They lost to the Lions. Jags. The Jags. Steelers. Steelers. Detroit. Yep. I mean, it was some bad teams that they lost to.

So it tells you about that the Patriots can lose. I don't expect high-scoring games this weekend. I don't. I think the Rams Saints, Chiefs Patriots will be, you know, mid-20s, they'll be just good games. And I also think they've seen each other before. So there is an element, the element of surprise is gone. There's no trickery here.

These teams know what they do and know what they do well. I will say this. Rams Chief Super Bowl, Rob? I like that. Oh, that's good. That's good. Well, the best game we saw this year, arguably Rams' Chiefs. And people looked at it.

Remember when people were saying that might be a preview to the Super Bowl? So we might actually get that. He teaches sports commentary at USC. When's your next big class? Not, I'm going to be back there teaching. I'm going to be like a sports coach for their TV show, sports TV show. And then next semester, I'll teach again. All right.

By the way, I watched the Lakers last night, a big road win. That was a big win. Lanzo ball. Lanzo ball. I won't give you credit when you play well, but there's also those other nights. Yeah, Westbrook can't shoot. Westbrook can't shoot. It's unbelievable how bad.

In your life and my life, we're NBA fans. Have you ever seen an MVP player two years later can't shoot? And he can't make free throws. I know he made the three to tie the game, which was huge. He's shooting 64% in the year. But that's crazy. I've never seen in my, now I've seen baseball, you know, you're a Hall of Fame voter. I've seen batters going to prolong slumps.

I've never seen Kobe, Michael, Bird Magic. Westbrook can't shoot. Not for a guy who was as good as he was. It has to be mental. It's a mental thing because he's struggling, shooting the basketball. He missed a layup last night late in the game, right two of them. Yeah.

Rob Parker, good stuff. Have a great weekend. You too. A couple with Chris Brousard. Great listen, Fox Sports Radio. Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. All right, Colin, we have some breaking news. We do. We do. The Cowboys have fired Scott Lenehan. Their offensive coordinator. John, I saw a fist pump back there. He fits pumped?

Well, John, the well... I mean, I feel bad for him and all that's crap, but yeah, that's good news. Well, Linan's a very well-traveled college and pro-coordinate. He's been around forever, but the feeling is with... I'm always suspicious of this. If you're a 20-year coordinator and you're not getting head coaching offers, what does that tell me? I mean, Cliff Kingsbury's in the Big 12 for an hour, losing record, got an NFL job. Why isn't he even interviewing for head coaching jobs?

He's been around football for 30 years. That tells you, people don't seem as a dynamic play caller. Well, they have regressed tremendously on their offensive side. They finished 22nd in total offense and scoring offense this year, and they averaged 21.2 points per game. That's with Amari Cooper. Yes, and their final tally of 339 points this season was their second lowest in 13 years. Wow, it was?

Wow. The lowest was 2015 when Tony Romo missed most of the season with collarbone injuries. So with Amari Cooper, but above average O' line, Zeeke, DAC was 13 and 3 as rookie years, so we can win games. I mean, they need it tied in, but they also have a great defense at Front 7, so that gives you the ball back generally in better-than-average field goal position. It's not creative. It's just not.

Hand the ball to Zeke, which anybody can call, and it's Amari Cooper's just good at getting open. By the way, the two people, Linnehan just got fired, and Mike McCarthy couldn't get job interviews. Those are seen as competent guys who have not evolved. This goes back to something Joy, we talk about. In any business, you've got to evolve. Now, Lenehan was a coach for the Rams, but he got run out very fast. And since, I was like, over a decade ago, has he ever been up for a job since?

He would just think, I mean, he was, he was a disaster with the Rams. It was 11 and 25, yeah. Well, his days are up in Dallas. All right. So someone else who may be leaving Dallas, or at least talked about leaving Dallas, is Sean Lee. The Cowboys lost in the Rams in the divisional round of the playoffs. Obviously, he's 32 years old.

He said he was going to take some time off. to figure out whether he's going to continue his pro football career. Well, Stephen Jones, his executive vice president, was on the radio Friday to say that Sean Lee will always have a home in Dallas and should continue his career. No one we'd love to have back more than Sean Lee. I mean, what a special player is. And being the Wiley better than he is, you know, he probably played the best in that game. He had about 24 plays.

I would say he played better, you know, probably played the position better than anybody in that particular game. You know, we want it back. I think he's a leader on this football team. I do think that, Sean Lee, is a leader. I think his body has mostly betrayed him. Yes. He's played in seven games this year.

And a $10 million cap hit, if they cut him, they'll only have $3 million in dead money, and it'll free up $7 million in base salary money for them. And they have Van der Esh and they have Jalen Smith. I do think he is an important part of the piece as far as being a veteran and being a leader, but I mean It's a salary camp league

He's too much of a hit Not for somebody who's not available Yeah I mean again I would love to have him If I was a rebuilding team and I'm like Can I get a grown up in the room? He's a great play You know I wouldn't be surprised frankly If like New England came in and said

We'll take Sean Lee for eight games next year And wrested him September October Like he's a classic patriot You know remember they did that with the late junior Sayow they brought him in and they're like We'll have you in big spots. If his body is in the shape it needs to be to make that happen. All right.

So finally, the Saints backup quarterback, Taysam Hill, is a very interesting player, probably the most interesting backup in the game besides Nick Foles, obviously. But playing behind you, Breeze, he isn't going to get much time throwing the ball, but he is getting a lot of time as a rusher and a punt returner, a very interesting player they have there. And Sean Payton raved about him yesterday to reporters, and he had a pretty interesting comparison for the do it all rookie. Last week he threw a ball to Camara that was I mean perfect. What else can he do?

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't a guy that couldn't play a safety. He's extremely athletic. He runs fast, but a little bit like Fred Flintstone. His arms don't bend. I feel like that's how like babies run. They just move their feet real fast. It was cool to see him out there though. I do think he's going to be a bit of an X factor in this game because they can do some creative things with him. You know what I think, you know what he is? I think John, you've heard me say this. He's what I thought Tebow would be in the NFL.

Is that you keep him on a roster. He's a backup quarterback. You have a couple of, you know, he's never going to be a franchise guy. You put him on special teams. This is what I thought Tim Tebow could be. Now, I would have never drafted Tim Tebow in the first round, but I always said Tebow's

work ethic in a locker room, his leadership skills, I would always have Tebow in my This is what I think he should be. Yeah, if you can use him in a creative way. If he's not being a backup and attracting all this attention to the backup position and putting pressure on your starting quarterback. Listen, the Patriots have made a living joy of situational players.

I mean, Matt Slater has been on that team forever. You know, he played at UCLA 15 years ago, special teams guy. They got one rugby player on the team. By the way, Belichick pays his kicker, Stephen Gossack. like he's the seventh highest paid player on the team. Like, Belichick's a big believer in these situational guys. Well, because that's usually what it comes down to. Yes, situational football.

That's new. Joy Taylor with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lide News. It is interesting this week when you think of, you know, I mean, we know Mahomes is going to be the MVP and Brady's a legend. And we know, you know, Breeze is a legend.

And it's funny because we've marginalized Jared Goff as just. a guy, jag, just a guy. But, you know, it's funny, when it comes to quarterbacks, I look at traits. DNA, work ethic. I'm more into qualities and traits than I am your stats. If I was to say to you

of all these young quarterbacks, Jared Goff will end up being the most decorated. You'd be like, well, what about Mahomes and what about Baker and what about to me, Jared Goff has the most Brady-like qualities.

I think we're potentially looking at a Tom Brady. He's a California kid like Brady, six four and a half like Brady, truly a pocket passer like Brady, very limited mobility, making him a pocket passer like Brady. He has a revered, quote, genius as a head coach early in his career to latch on to, like Tom Brady, very coachable, grinder in the offseason, never makes headlines. He's incredibly low-key personality and a precision thrower. And I always said when he broke into this league, I said he's somewhere between Brady and Matt Ryan. He has a better armed talent than Matt Ryan, better deep ball thrower than Matt, and he looks like Brady.

And it's funny because Mahomes is flashy and Baker's got a big personality. And Deshawn Watson and Carson Wentz are the great athletes. And Lamar Jackson is, you know, getting to the playoffs. Goff is being kind of reduced to just a guy this weekend. He's 13 and 3 on the road the last two years. And much like Brady that we say, well, it's Belichick, it's the division. Goff, of all these young quarterbacks, shares the most similarities to Tom Brady. Size, arm, style, personality, work ethic.

And what has made Brady to a large degree is hooking on to a genius. early. Who's the young coaching genius? Sean McVeigh. I think Goff's going to have, and I understand why Lamar and Mahalms and Baker and Wents and Deshaun, I understand why they're getting the headlines, much greater highlight players. To me, when I look at golf, I see a younger Brady. That's what I see. And maybe this, Brady got to a Super Bowl early, maybe this changes sort of the narrative on Jared Goff. And by the way, Greg Coasell was on yesterday, and he likes Goff too. I think Goff is very much a programmed player.

I think that when their offense works functionally and effectively in all its dimensions, and he drops back and is relatively secure in the pocket that he throws a beautiful ball, he's an easy thrower, he's a comfortable thrower, he has a good arm. For the most part, he's an accurate thrower. He lost some of his accuracy down the stretch. But when he's a comfortable player within the context of a multi-dimensional offense, he's very pretty to watch. The ball comes out really well.

That's basically talking about Tom Brady. When Tom Brady is comfortable within the structure of New England's offense, Tom Brady is beautiful to watch. When Tom Brady's not comfortable and Tom Brady's getting pressure, he can be very erratic. And Tom Brady's not as much fun to watch. He is Brady and Goff. They have very smart head coaches.

When they're comfortable in the pocket, they are beautiful throwers of the football. CoSell just described Brady. And don't forget Brady in his first couple of years in this league, don't forget this, had a great defense. Goff has a great running game. They relied on great coaching and a great element beyond themselves. Coming up next, Don Trail Inman, wide receiver, boy, do the Colts find a good one?

He was in that game last week against Kansas City. Things went sideways for the Colts. What do you face when you face the Chiefs? He was in Arrowhead. We'll bring him on NextIn Studio. 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. Sunday, Todd Gurley and the Rams take on two days and the NFC Championship Games, presented by Induit TurboTax Live.

Coverage begins at 1 Eastern 10 a.m. Pacific on Fox and the Fox Sports app. Look at this well-dressed man, Don Trell Inman. He started his career. First of all, he was outing, Gray Cup chant with Tram. Toronto. Then he went to the Chargers and Phillip Rivers. And then quickly bears now with the Colts this year. You were a great pickup for them. You're a free agent. My feeling is they want you back. Hopefully. Yeah. Frank Reich and Andrew Luck are good guys to play with. They are phenomenal. You know, Andrew told me this weekend that, hey, I got to stop stroking

Don Trails ego. Everybody knows now that I love him. So Andrew's a great guy. Coach Frank Wright is phenomenal. He's one of those coaches that are. that is a player coach. He was your coordinator in San Diego and got a head coaching job in Indianapolis. Let's talk about last weekend. The offense, you could tell instantly. A little pass rush on Andrew.

Andrew was off. So what did the Chief's defense present, Dantrell, that was problematic for you guys? So the Chief's defense, people think that that defense isn't that good because of the ratings. Right. They were ranked this, this, that, and the lower part of the leagues, but they came out with, you know, different things that we haven't seen.

You know, they came with man to man. They came with a lot of pressure. They forced us to use half of the field at times. And it got tricky for us a little bit. And, you know, at times they got the best of us. When you look at Kansas City playing at Arrowhead at to Loud Stadium, was that ever an issue? Was the sound, the field, the weather ever an issue? That wasn't an issue because we just came from the Texans from Houston.

So that was louder because it was the dome. I will say that first series, we could not hear Andrew. We had to actually be this close to. If this was Andrew, we had to be this close to him to hear. So it wasn't the noise that was an issue. We've been on the road for, what, three, four games. We knew that every game was going to be a road game. So we prepared ourselves mentally for that.

If you face the Patriots defense in your career with the Chargers Colt. Have you ever faced a Belichick defense? I faced the Belichick defense. Okay. Don Trellisle. Okay, Don Trello. Tell me what they create or the challenges they provide. So if you've watched Belichick for this whole tenure, you know that he's going to take the best player out the game.

That's just his mantra. That's how he does it. So he's going to take your best pass. out or he's going to take your best running back and he's going to make you beat us with someone else. So I think when I played them, Keenan Allen was, and still is, you know, the best receiver that we had. I don't think Keenan had two catches during that game. So he does a good job of game planning, taking the best player out of the game. Yeah, and by the way, they took Travis Kelsey, Belichick took Travis Kelsey out the first game. Now, Cheetah went out there and lit it up. In terms of

talent. I contend your Colts team is you got nine draft picks and 100 million bucks. I thought, and I picked you guys when you were under 500. I said on the air, I said they're going to be a playoff team because they're protecting Andrew. But I still think your best years are ahead of you. I thought this year was you overachieved. I took win a playoff game with a young roster. Kansas City's overall talent when you are looking at film all week, I contend Kansas City's got better players than New England this year. Just give me the overall sense. if I say Patriots Chiefs, where does your gut tell you who's going to win

the better players, the better overall personnel? The Chiefs, personnel-wise. My gut is telling me the Patriots. I talked to my son earlier this morning, I said, hey, Bub, I'm going on TV. I'm going on the herd, and I'm going to talk about the Patriots. Who do you think is going to win? The Patriots. He's six years old.

I said, why? Because they beat the Falcons. I said, what is it? You got to give me more than that. He said, that's all you need to know is the Patriots. And they beat the Falcons. So that's my gut. And the Falcons were perceived as being the Chiefs.

Yeah. The great receiving corps. Absolutely. The MVP quarterback that year. Absolutely. The red hot, yeah. And the two backs. The two backs.

So it's almost the same. There's so many weapons on that KC offense. But at the end of the day, it's the Patriots. They prepare well. They play different in the. playoffs. Dontrell Inman, free agent-wide receiver, fifth season in the NFL. You obviously don't on a regular basis play the Saints and Drew Brees or the L.A. Rams. As a player, though, when you look at the Rams and Sean McVeigh and kind of their whole vibe, you're in Los Angeles, by the way,

Cooper Cup got hurt, they could have used you. How to players, I made this argument yesterday. If you're a player, you have to root for the Rams to win the Super Bowl. New England's not good for players because they suppress talent and they don't pay talent. They even make ready to take a pay cut. But if the Rams win, Taleb, Sue, Donald, Gurley, they're pro player. If I said to you all the teams this weekend, who do you want to win the Super Bowl? I actually want Drew Brees to win the Super Bowl. I would say the Rams because they, you know, they're up-and-they moved to L.A.

They definitely change, you know, cities. They change, you know, the way you play football in a sense. Yes. You know, all that talent they have over there and everybody's playing together. When you have that many all-stars, it's hard to bring. Is it? It's hard to bring all those all-stars together. All the names that you just named, that's tough. Those guys are all, most of them worth $40, $50 million.

All of them have had a big contract before. All of them have had a big contract before. So for you, the chiefs are a little interesting because, whereas the Rams have some stars and the Patriots have some rich guys. You know, Kansas City is kind of a roster full of guys who are just now making their names. Like you've been in a veteran locker room, a young locker room. You know, you think to yourself, it's the NFL, there's a lot of unity. But did you think that the Bears, the Colts, Chargers, locker rooms were all different?

Every locker room is different. Every locker room has the same. Okay, so let's go to the Chargers. Okay, let's go to the Chargers. What was it like? So that locker room was phenomenal. Everyone got along. Everyone wanted to at least do something in the locker room together.

You know, we played me, Dwight Freeny, Philip Rivers, and Antonio Gates. Every day we played Spades. Every single day we played Spades. On Saturdays, Spades. Bed check would be at 11. We'll be finishing our last hand at 1101, playing Spades. Then you go to Chicago.

Then you go to Chicago. Chicago was a little different. It was a losing season. Everybody's trying to figure out, okay, we know coaches are about to be fired. Right. I need to solidify me. You know, so that's the locker room you get when you're in that losing atmosphere. A little more selfish.

A little more selfish. Survival. Survival. The Colts locker room is different. It's different. Not a lot of stars. Not a lot of stars. Most humble quarterback in the league.

Most humble quarterback in the league. There's not much to do in the city. The quarterback takes all the blame no matter what it is. you know, he looks at it's my fault. I need to do better. Even if he just had over 100 pass rating, I need to do better. And if you have that leadership at the head, it flows into the locker room. And that's exactly what happened this year.

That's why I don't think they're going to go out and get a Lavian Bell or an Antonio Brown. They have the money to. They're one of like four teams. I don't think they'll do it. I don't think those guys fit within your locker room. I just don't. And, you know, some teams are like, whatever it takes just to get the players in here.

Some teams are like, I need to build a culture. The Patriots, culture. The cult, culture. No, I really feel that. Sounds like you like playing there. Oh, I love playing there. I love playing there. I know I had a visit back in, was it April when I became a free agent last year,

and I sat down with Chris. Ballard. Chris Ballard, the GM, and he says, you know, you're getting a little older. I said, I'm almost 30. I'm not 30 yet, though. Yeah. I'm not 30 yet. So he said, well, I'm going to see what these young guys are about, and I'm going to keep in touch with you.

I'm going to figure out because I know Frank loves you. And he did. And he did. Yeah, he did. He definitely did. And I appreciate him for that. Yeah. Well, I hope you get resigned by them.

Absolute pleasure to have you on the show. Whether or not you sign, always welcome on our show. Oh, definitely. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. The pride of academic juggernaut, Virginia, a former Toronto Argonaut. Now that we haven't had on the show much. Hour three coming up.

Thanks, Don Trell. Thank you. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. This, as I eat rice checks, is The Herd, wherever you may be, hour three live in Los Angeles. We're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, right here on FS1. So last night, Joy Taylor, is joining me, Hour 3. My wife and I watched the comedy special on Netflix. Which one?

I forget his name. He's an Italian funny kid. Very, like, flexible, funny face. I love him. He does a great job. Manicado or something. What's his name? Very funny guy.

Sebastian Manacoucisco. Oh, that's not it. Sebastian. So anyway, we... I know who you're talking about. Manascalco. Sebastian Manascalco. So we watched the special last night in our little theater.

And then after we watched it, my wife said, hey, I got to, let's watch another show together. And I was like, I kind of just spent an hour laughing. I'm pretty much done. And I knew the Lakers OKC was on. So I told my wife, I said, hey, I'm going to go upstairs and just a little hungry. And I never came back down. And like an hour later, she came up.

She goes, you're such a jerk. You just wanted to watch the Lakers play. She waited an hour to come and get you? Well, she just got into a show. And it was like, when you're with your wife and you want to watch a Laker game, I was like, I'm going to go up and get something to eat. That's so nice of her. Earl always yells at me because I just follow him around the house. You follow him around the house?

Yeah, he has no free time. I can be honest with you. My wife has said to me repeatedly, I don't know what's going to happen when you quit doing your job because I have no interest you chasing me around the house. I'm the opposite. Well, you plan on working until you're 90. Oh, no, I'll die on the air. Yeah, I'll be on the air. have whooping cough, die, boom, and it's go to a commercial.

Go to a Geico commercial. I literally will die on stage. These people are talking about retirement all the time. I'm always like, retire to what? I don't golf or play bridge. Well, what am I? You can travel. I play tennis, but it takes an hour and a half a day.

You like the ski? Yeah, but again, that's in the winter. I live in L.A. You can't do that much. Retire to what? I'm going to go retire to watch murder, she wrote. Well, in all fairness, I mean, while what we do takes a lot of preparation and talent. And some talent.

But I'm saying it's not rigorous work. Right. I'm sitting here with a heated blanket on. We have hair and makeup come and touch us up, you know. That's not a lug nut factory. We don't get our own coffee. So, you know, you can work, you know, into your very late age. I mean, literally, Goulet's eating.

I was eating rice checks. Our producer, Ashley, just brought me beet chips. Beat chips? I've been eating a lot of beet salads lately. Why? I don't know. I just, I got into them with the cheese and the nuts. And so she thought it would be funny to bring me beet chips.

And it's, it was, I've never tasted anything more disgusting in my life. Everybody that I know that eats beats hates themselves. So I don't know. I don't hate myself. Beats are yummy, but beet chips are not. All right. Well, uh, all right. Well, that sounds good.

All right. And 45 minutes from now, um, Jason McIntyre comes on. Best for Last. That's one of my favorite segments of the week. We do a 15 minute segments. It's called Monday's headlines today. He is shockingly accurate and often very funny. But here, Robert Kraft was made headlines yesterday because of his effusive praise for his quarterback, Tom Brady.

Here it is. Definitely the greatest player of all time, not just quarterback, in my opinion, because he's such a leader in the locker room. And for someone double the age of some of the players to be able to lead like that and connect like that. And at the same time, so pleasant to be around. It's, you know, I'm really the luckest guy in the world. I've generally, I'm not really an arguer. I'm not into the greatest arguments much. I think he is the greatest player of all time.

the word I like is impactful. And because you could argue about the greatest in any industry, the greatest stockbroker, the greatest lawyer, the greatest doctor, the greatest teacher. That's hard to quantify. It's just you and I can go back. Impactful isn't just about you. It's about your entire industry and about others. That's hard to argue.

And, you know, I'll give you an example. Let's say you're a little boy or a little girl. and you're eight years old and your parents get divorced. And your life's in chaos. Dad's gone. You're eight. Say you're a little boy. And then your mom a year later remarries.

And he's your little league coach. And he's into camping and fishing. He teaches you how to do that. And he makes decent money. So over the course of time, he takes you on really interesting, fascinating vacations. Whether he's the greatest dad, of all time. Who knows?

But the impact he had on your life from chaos and divorce to stability, support, and learning, and growing, you can't argue that. I've said this about NBA stars. Michael Jordan was a great player, but he also was the only player,

the first player, to make the NBA global. Michael Jordan was great and had major impact. Magic and Bird were obviously great players, but they, if not saved, revived a mostly dead NBA. They were impactful. LeBron James changed free agency. You're now thought of is weak if you don't go to a better team. That's impactful. Steph Curry revolutionized the game and mostly eliminated back to the basket centers. Those are all great players. They're impactful. Kobe Bryant's great. He's not that impactful. Lakers were good before him, during him, and will be great after him. The NBA was fine before him, during, and after him.

Kobe's great. Kobe's amazing. He's like the closest thing to Jordan, but not quite Jordan we've ever seen. Magic, Bird, LeBron, Steph, MJ, they were impactful. That's where Brady separates from the Dan Marinos and the John Elway's and the Peyton Manning. And the Peyton Manning. and the Brett Farrs. Forget the fact that he holds so many playoff records, and in most instances, he has double and triple the numbers of playoff games played, started, wins, passes thrown, passes completed,

passing yards, passing touchdowns. In many instances, he almost doubles Peyton Manning. That's not the impact. The impact is quarterbacks now eat differently and sleep differently and consume alcohol differently during the season because of Tom Brady. Tom Brady has changed in terms of impactful the way we view age. If Aaron Rogers retired today at 35, his career would be a disappointment

because Brady has now made 40 the new standard. Before Tom Brady, if a quarterback, even a good one retired at 35 and 36, that was a long and healthy career. If Aaron Rogers retire tomorrow, he got to 35, he's changed how we view the longevity of the position. By the way, now, he takes pay cuts, has for a decade.

You're seen as greedy, not into winning. Drew Breeze took big money, watched Brady, scaled back. Tom has set the standard via agents with veteran quarterbacks. You take pay cuts, or you really, really aren't into the team thing.

Tom Brady has also altered the meaning of success. It used to be if you got to a Super Bowl. There was an argument for a Hall of Famer. Two was surpassing any reasonable standard. Tom's now been to eight. Tom shrinks Peyton Manning's career. Makes Farr look really, really good, but not that level. He's doubled Montana.

Forget the stats and the rings. His body, his diet, how he's reshaped his contract, how he doesn't drink during the season. Greatest quarterback, you can argue it all day. Obviously, I think so. Impactful, nobody's even close. Let me shift to the Rams Saints game. Speaking of impactful, I think we've all watched. The recent NFL hirings, Joy and I have reported those.

Those are a direct correlation to Sean McVeigh. The jokes now, even Wade Phillips joke this week as the Rams defensive coordinator, he had a friend who had a cup of coffee with McVey and got a job interview. If the Rams win this weekend on several levels, the league will change. Now, people always say the NFL is a copycat business. Everything is a copycat business. I mean, Amazon.com delivered stuff to your door. I can now have every grocery store in my neighborhood and every restaurant deliver food to my door.

That's because of Amazon.com. Every business is a copycat business. Facebook was copying MySpace. Now everybody, social networking, all of them are some derivative of Facebook. But the Rams, this is interesting, are the healthiest team of the four left. No injuries. no injuries. If the Rams win this game this weekend,

and it's a field goal game either way, I'll have my pick in 45 minutes, remember the three things the Rams have done to alter the league. They went into free agency, big. And with guys who are viewed as divas, big. They have lighter practices than every other team. Fewer pad days.

Give veterans time off. They also, do you remember this in preseason? Refused as an organization to play any other top players. A play. A play. We already know that owners want to get the next Sean McVeigh, and we've seen that with the eight coaching openings, it appears seven are going to try to duplicate Sean McVe. But I read a story last night.

Todd Gurley practice all week. healthy, skip three games. The Rams win this weekend. Watch next year's preseason. Stars will not take a snap. They won't. The top stars in the league, the Rams have set a precedent. Increasingly, watch NFL practices get lighter and lighter.

Because the Rams, if they win this weekend, have a full complement of players. Their injury report, I kid you not, there's nobody listed. That's unheard of in the NFL. And most impressive for the L.A. Rams, skip preseason, lighter practices, they went huge into free agency. And with Indomacan Su and Akeb and Alib and Marcus Peters, guys that aren't always easy to get along with. So I think if you're talking about tipping points, a Rams win this weekend changes the way a lot of owners and a lot of GMs think. Free agency will be bigger. Practices will get lighter.

The preseason will become completely irrelevant. Star running backs will take half a month to a month off. They just said Todd Gurley, you're not playing. Three weeks. Don't take a carry. And it's paid off. This week, completely healthy. So I think impact this weekend, keep your eye on the Rams.

By the way, as I said earlier today, I have picked Kansas City to beat New England and cover the spread. I think Patriots efficiency on the road drops like all teams, and they don't have the dynamic playmakers to overcome that. I will take the Rams close over the Saints. I think the Saints have become a much better defensive team than an offensive team. I think the game will be played within the 20s mostly. low scoring, but I'm going to take the Rams because I think they're significantly healthier. And now with Akeeb to leave back, the Rams defense, the most valuable player is not Aaron Donald. It's Akeb to leave statistically.

And he is back and he was not there for the first game in New Orleans. So I think the Rams are playing as well as they have all year. I do not believe that is the case with the Saints. I'll take the Saints to lose to the Rams. We'll have a Rams, Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl. Now, you and I have talked about this before. What is best for us? Well, content

Monday show. Monday show best for us. I actually think it's the Chiefs Rams. I was thinking about it yesterday, and I think that there's a little bit of Patriots fatigue. You know, there is Patriots hate. We know that. But sometimes that can be a good thing.

People watch to see the other team take them down. But I think it's gotten to the point where it's just like, all right, enough with the Patriots. Let's get excited about some other teams and not have to root for hate as opposed to just watching a good game. which if you're a football fan, you're not a fan of whatever teams are in the Super Bowl, that's what you're watching for. So I actually think that the Saints and the Rams is the most interesting.

It's two young quarterbacks, the future of the league. You've got Andy Reid, who a lot of people like, who people would like to see him get a Super Bowl. You got Sean McVeigh. There's a lot going on there. And I think it would be a really good game. By the way, the Rams would be favored in that. Vegas has the Rams favored over the Chiefs.

Yeah, I can see that. And I think I would like the Rams over the Chiefs. I would pick the Chiefs in that game. Well, I would pick the Rams in that game. You would pick Beats and I would pick cashews. It would be just a crazy week. We just see the world. Beats and cashews have been at odds lately.

On this show. Coming up next, Russell Westbrook is no longer an all-star, and I'm not joking. Plus Jason McIntyre. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Last night, a blown call changed the game.

This morning, the internet lost the time. mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, context and ask the questions everybody wants answered.

Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier 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. many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the

pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Keer Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game.

This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about Define the Off. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves,

I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us a lot. everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense.

And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get to fly. He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball. Like, you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah. You figure it out real quick.

Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Oh, it's rage, beach you. MDrive.com, buy MDrive.com. Refind your prime. Code heard. Buy MDrive.com. So I watched the Lakers OKC last night. Russell Westbrook is a complete headcase. He can't shoot. Russell Westbrook last night was seven for 30. Lanzo Ball was begging him to shoot, was guarding him. At the end of the game, Luke Walton was yelling foul Westbrook. He was an MVP two years ago. He can't shoot. Take away three pointers last night. He was two of 18. And he was overtime. He was, he was. He was, over time. He was, he, he was, he, he was, he, he was, he, he, he was, he, he, he, he was afraid to shoot in overtime, passed up a three and passed up a mid-range jumper. He is a shot fighter mentally.

Can he reboot it? I have no idea. But he has gone headcase. When I watched the game last night, layups, his range, his shooting range now is dunking, and that's the end of his range. He hit three straight free throws at the end of regulation. So this is a guy that clearly is hard to play with. This is a guy now that can't shoot.

Post-surgery, he's not quite as hyper-athletic. and after the game, I mean, again, if you entered this league and you had no history on Russell Westbrook, and this is what he was, and you didn't know anything about Russell Westbrook, you would say, who's the ball hog who can't shoot? He is not an all-star player anymore. That is not even arguable. He's not an all-star in the West. He is not.

He would not start at point guard for Golden State. He would not start for Portland. Where would you put him on Chris Paul's healthy on Houston? He's not a starter on many of the elite teams. You're not going to start him over Kyrie Irving. Man, if you can't start on a half dozen teams, you're not an All-Star. And last night, now he won't even answer questions. So he's petulant with the media.

They asked him about his free throws late. What were you thinking in that situation, considering your free throw percentage of the season? I think 64. 64 points two times. Next question. It's too tough a question. You have struggled with the line, but in touch time it seemed like you're pretty confident. Was your confidence level high?

Next question. I mean, he has, I've never seen anything like it. I have never seen an MVP, and I would have never given him the MVP. I think he's a stat hoarder. But I've never seen an MVP literally fall off a cliff. And he's just, you know, he's not in the prime of his career, but he's not very far from it. He was an MVP two years ago. He's not an All-Star anymore.

And now, Paul George wasn't great last night, but it is very clear on this basketball team, George is the best player and Stephen Adams is a more reliable player to show you the worthlessness of the triple double. He almost had one last night and he was seven for 30. And people say, oh, you hit those free throws late. I'm watching the game sitting there and nobody in that arena thought he was going to go three for three with free throws. Nobody in the arena, including Westbrook, you could tell.

He's taking these deep breaths. So Lonzo Ball outplayed him last night in overtime and he, He is, this is all mental. You can't, you can tell when it's mental. So he used to shoot 80% free throws, then 75, now he's at 64. That's not physical. That's just a mental, you know, we've had golfers that get the yips. We've had baseball, second baseman that can't throw to first.

This is all mental for him. But it is, it is absolutely remarkable to watch. Yeah, two for 18, seven for 30. 23 miss field goals. Yeah, and that's the other thing. Can't shoot, still took 30 shots. Canadians take on the Columbus Blue Jacket, 730 Eastern Tonight's Discover card key matchup.

Get your free credit score card today, even if you're not a Discover customer. Learn more at Discover.com slash credit scoreboard. Limitations apply. Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So the Rams are going to need to slow down Drew Breeze this Sunday.

Back in week nine, Breeze torched the Rams, 346 yards, four touchdowns, they won 45 to 35. So they're going to need to do a little bit of a better job. LA is this time around. And Aaron Donald says that they have a plan. We got a game plan. We're going to stick to it and we're going to get after them. Anytime you play against a great quarterback like that, you know,

he's going to do things that, you know, a typical, a normal quarterback ain't going to do. So we know what they expect. You know, we try to do what we got to do to, you know, try our best to make them uncomfortable and get after them. And, you know, but we got to stop the run first before we think, about rushing the pairs or so. We got two great backs.

We got to slow down and trying to find a way to stop. After we do that, we get after the quarterback and trying to put some pressure on us. I don't have any problem with him saying you've got to get after the quarterback. That is what he's supposed to do. But he is right about stopping the run as well because the Saints do have two very reliable running backs and they're going to do what they've done all season. That games on Fox. I think that has a chance.

I don't think New England, Kansas City is going to be one for the ages. I think Kansas City wins and feels like the better team. I think Saints Rams is going to be an all-time game. Hopefully. But Drew Brees can make plays on the run, so it's more about getting him down. They're going to need to sack him. They had zero sacks in this game,

and obviously lost badly. And they had zero sacks in the game. They lost to Philadelphia Week 15. First game, Rams were defensively, they were an undisciplined mess. Marcus Peters was a mess. And Iquite was out that game as well. All right.

So, speaking of that Chief's Patriots game, it is the goat versus the kid. Yeah. Best to ever do it against the best to do it this season. And there's a lot of chatter from people like us talking about Tom Brady metaphorically passing the torch to Mahomes. And Mahomes says that's not the case. I've seen it, but I mean, there's still a long ways to go.

I mean, I'm a young guy. He's done so much in this league and he's still doing it to this day. And so, I mean, he's going to play for some more years to come. So, I mean, I'm always going to strive to do some of the things that he's done with the Super Bowls that he's won. I mean, that's the ultimate goal. And, I mean, he's not trying to pass the torch anytime soon. I mean, he's played at a high level this year, and I expect him to keep playing at this level for at least another couple of years.

What are you going to do tomorrow? Because the games are Sunday. What do you and Earl have planned for tomorrow? I don't know what we have planned for tomorrow. We like to not make plans. We live on the edge. Oh, you live on the edge. Beat salads and living on the edge.

Why are you still against beats? Well, you and your sweatpants and your beat salad. I do wear sweatpants and I eat beat. Oh, I might not anymore because this beach chips kind of ruined it for me. I may just rest. I'm so excited for Sunday. I may just rest all day tomorrow. I see some resting in my future this weekend.

I'm so excited for Sunday. Although it's finally stopped raining, which is nice. No one anywhere else in the country cares about that. And finally, it's pretty unusual to see a team completely healthy this late in the season. The Patriots had no one on yesterday's injury report. Nobody. And Gronk is not a stranger to the injury report. He was asked yesterday how different practice has been with everyone able to.

to go. Of course it does. I mean when you're dealing with that type of stuff and with a lot of guys, you know, you're seeing what you can do and stuff like that. When that's out of the picture, I mean, it just makes practice that much easier, that much better. Just go out there, do what we got to do, focus on the job that you got to do and do it at full speed, do it at however you need to do during practice. So you can go out and replicate it on game day on Sunday. I'm glad that everyone is going to be healthy and that the chiefs. for the most part are really healthy. And I'm glad that the weather is looking like it's going to be better

because that means that hopefully it will be a better game. And the field conditions will be better as well. A couple years ago, we just got so PC and we were criticizing football. It's just too violent and you can't play Thursday games. Rams are totally healthy. Patriots totally healthy. And the Chiefs and the Saints are mostly healthy. The Saints just lost a really good defensive linemen.

But that was last week. He was healthy and to that point. by and large, the practices have never been lighter in the NFL. They've made strides to make it easier on players and more safe. These teams are all healthy. Just pushing right over the line and do lifetime healthcare and we'll be good. That's right. I mean, give them lifetime insurance.

But this idea that football is, you know, it's just these guys are coming out of football and they just can't. They're mumbling for the rest of their lives. It's like, charges have nobody hurt. Patriots have nobody hurt. Well, I mean, it is a violent game. You're almost guaranteed some type of major injury because it's a violent contact sport. The great player out of this series had to do more with off the field stuff, Kareem Hunt.

But even the Chargers, by the way, the Chargers last week were totally healthy. Philadelphia was the only team left and they got hurt. They came into the season beat up. But outside of that, and Philadelphia was the only team in the final eight, you were like, oh, they're missing. The Colts were healthy coming into their game. So, you know, we're at the right spot now. We've got healthy players, four great offenses, four best coaches this weekend.

Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly news. By the way, I woke up this morning and again, I thought the game, the AFC game had been moved because the weather forecast is 32 degrees. On Monday, it was minus 15 wind chill. So there was a 50-degree swing in the game.

temperature because the meteorologist in Kansas City apparently are blindfolded, playing pin the tail on the meteorologist. So this game is going to be, the weather is a complete non-factor. It's going to be 32 degrees, which in Kansas City in January is darn route balmy. Yeah. I mean, that's just, that's normal expected weather for. How about when the local, the local weather, I always see this, the local weather people, you know, when they do like a seven-day forecast, I mean, when you, when you.

get to about day four, that's just a bunch of crap. Well, that's on you. If I was... That's your fault if you just, if you just go off of it like it's the Bible. Weather changes to check it every day. I would be a revolutionary weather guy. Because if I was a weather guy, I would create a set where I would literally go, hi, I'm calling Coward, here's the weather.

And I'd have a window. And I would just open it. And I'd say, look outside. This is today's weather. And then I would throw to sports. I mean, anyone can go outside and see what the weather is right now. And how come they don't do it? It's about what it's going to be later in the day or what it's going to be tomorrow.

I told you, when I listen to Fritz Coleman and Dallas rains, they say it's 72 and the next day it's 72. Yeah, because it's California. These guys in Kansas City, maybe that's not why they're not in the big city. No, it's because weather changes. Johnny Mountain here tells me snow, it's snow. Guys in Kansas City just don't even know what they're doing. And by the way, Belichick a couple years ago, railed on local weather nerds. Remember this.

based on a forecast we've gotten so far this year none of them been very close to what the game conditions were it was 100% chance of rain last week and the only water I saw was on the gatorade table I mean my experience of going with the forecast two days before the game I mean I bet a lot that they're wrong you know we played down in Miami two years ago and it was a zero percent chance of rain zero and it rained so I mean, I'm just telling you.

I'm not saying I could do it better than them. I'm just saying they're wrong a lot. If I did my job the way they do theirs, I mean, I'd be here about a week. He's not wrong. He just thinks he's doing a stand-up set, huh? I think it's hysterical. He opened for carrot top in Vegas a couple weekends ago. It is.

For years and years, I did local sports, right? And when you're doing local sports, they're always coming to you constantly. You have, like, four minutes, and they cut it down to three and two and a half. They're always given more time to weather. And I was like, I live in Portland. It's going to be wet. You don't know what the game's going to be like. Give me more time.

The weather, we all know what it's going to be like. It's January in Portland. It will be wet. We have a live picture of a Kansas City weather meteorologist. He's doing the Bird Box Challenge. Have you seen Bird Box yet? No. I watched Sebastian Manakowsko's stand-up last night.

It was very funny. You got to get with the culture, Colin. You got to watch Bird Box. That's Sandra Bullock, right? It's kind of past now. You kind of miss your window, but. She's on a boat, blindfolded or something? The boat is not the center of the movie.

What is? The blindfold? The blindfold is an important part, yes. And why is everybody talking about it? I mean, it's just a create, it's based on a book that I didn't read, but. Is it creative? It is creative? It left me, I have some questions.

About life? No. About Sandra Bullock? No, about the storyline. There's some things in the story that don't add up to me, but it's creative. So you watch the movie and now you're confused. Because I watched the comedian. I wasn't confused at all.

He told jokes and I laughed. Well, that's generally the motivation there for watching comedy special. I like to watch TV and have an answer like sports. You watch it and when you go to bed, you have an answer. You watch a comedian. He tells jokes you laugh. You watch stuff and you go to bed and you're like, I don't know how the meaning of life. I can't wait for Game of Thrones season to kick in.

Oh, I've never seen it. I know. I know you have lots of strong opinions about Game of Thrones. I don't like escapism. Like the Game of Thrones is like as sorcerers and dragons and I like real stuff. I'm not. Totally. Because Tom Cruise hanging off the side of a mountain saving the world from nuclear disasters, very realistic.

Second best movie ever made. Mission Impossible 9. I'm not joking when I say that. No, he means it. If you have not seen Mission Impossible, the latest one with Tom Cruise, there are scenes in that movie. And you know he shot them. I cannot believe Tom Cruise. No, you can't believe it.

There are two scenes in that movie. He got hurt. He broke his foot on one. That's not even the scary one. There is a scene on a cliff that they couldn't have faked. Oh, they couldn't have faked it? When you see the video... So Tom Cruise literally risked his very life to fake save the world from a fake nuclear disaster. You cannot believe the stunt he does in this movie. You don't feel like there was a net or something.

New net. Maybe a hair net. But there wasn't a net. You just have to see Mission Impossible Nine or whatever it is. It's so good. All right, coming up next, Monday's headlines today with Jason McIntyre. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app.

Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. If you own a sports team, got to be informed, make smart decisions. No different when it comes to buying or selling a car. Go to Truecar.com. Check out it. Not available in all areas. You can save three grand off MSRP. Look at Jason McIntyre.

We were just talking about something off air. You know, we're both in the media. And when I was a kid growing up, you know, I wanted to be a sports writer, sportscaster. And the media, by and large, were critical. I mean, they could be complimentary, but they called it as they saw it, Howard CoSell. The media now, there's so many bloggers, and the media is like in survival mode. Nobody will criticize their sport except NFL people. Like NFL reporters will bang on the NFL.

NBA writers have become pom-pom waivers. Has anybody in the NBA that covers the league acknowledged the rating? are way down and it's really become a one-team, one-man league that if LeBron left the Eastern conference, the ratings on TNT are in the toilet. Yeah, they're down 22%. We actually wrote it today on the big lead.

Down 22%. ESPN was down 5%. And as you said, the LeBron thing is a major issue. Listen, LeBron's got what? A couple years left? Who's the next guy that's going to carry the Eastern Conference? I mean, don't tell me it's going to be Joel and B. But it is remarkable. The NFL,

the ratings went down 3%. and it was, you go to social media. The sky is falling. And NBA ratings were in the toilet. Find a single NBA rider that acknowledges it. NBA media and baseball did this, and I think a lot of it is when football, the NFL started really lessening the impact of baseball. Baseball got very defensive about it, and baseball writers became like defenders of their sport.

NBA writers now have become baseball writers. They're not really interested. I mean, they'll take shots at every league. The NBA ratings are in the tank. You can't find any credit to talk about it. You can't just be honest about it. Be up front. So it's Jason McIntyre, founder of the big lead, the big lead.com.

We do a segment called Monday's headlines today. And so we guess what the headlines are going to be in American newspapers. So let's start. Cowboys fire Scott Linnehan. Monday's headline today will be. Oh boy, this is going to get ugly. Monday's headline is. one step forward, two steps, Dack.

Colin, and you see Dack Prescott on the front, this is all about Dack Prescott. Three straight years, continuity matters. We talk about that a lot. He's had three solid seasons under Scott Lenehan. And if you remember, after they lost to the Rams, Jason Garrett came out and said, we don't anticipate any major changes on the staff. Five days later, what happens? Jerry Jones fires the offensive coordinator.

This is really bad. If you're a Cowboys fan, not only will Dack have to learn an entire new system, right? But all the best coordinators are off the market. Because the coaches were gobbled up last week and this week. Remember, the Jets announced, the Browns announced, Cliff Kingsbury went to Arizona. Who's out

there? Who are you going to get? That's a very good point. Jerry Jones really botched this. If you're going to make that move, do it on Monday. Open the floodgates before everybody else is gone. Packers got their guy. I just don't know what Jerry Jones is thinking here. I think it's just not a good move. I'm worried

about Dak Prescott. Because remember, He's in line for that big contract. Fair enough. All right. Rams at Saints, Monday's headlines. Today. The battle, Sean McVeigh versus Sean Payton. And Monday's headline will be Sean Oewe.

A little nervous about this one. And I like McVeigh. I love the Rams a lot. I text, you know, with some gamblers. I started the gambling podcast. Yeah. And somebody I texted said, I wouldn't trust Jared Goff to mow my lawn.

You know, in the last five games, three of them. He has zero TD passes. He has not looked good since he lost Cooper Cup. Cooper Cup was instrumental in the earlier meeting against the Saints. It was his best friend on the team. Yeah, I'm just a little concerned about McVeigh. Plus, the vibe of, oh, we beat the Cowboys. You know, we've got that first playoff win off our backs.

And now you go into this game. I mean, the Saints haven't lost a home playoff game. I don't know if Joy was even born yet. It's been like over 25, 30 years since they've lost it home in the playoffs. Yeah, certainly. I did turn 21. Yeah, you did. But hey, fun stat of the week for this Rams Saints game.

So the referee is Bill Venevich. You probably don't know him. The Rams are 0 and 8 when he referees games. Bill Venevich, keep an eye on that and the flags. Obviously, listen, Rams fans are so angry they started like a lame online petition to get a different referee. Is he an old cranky ref who doesn't like young coaches? Is there anyone else? not in the NFL.

So I'm rooting for the Rams. I got a lot of Rams friends who are season ticket holders. I think McVeigh has a tough one here. I like the Saints. All right, AFC Championship. Patriots at Chiefs, Monday's headlines today.

Colin, I've been getting tweets from people about this game. They were writing the headline starting Monday. People love this segment. I believe the headline Monday will be team other than the Patriots makes the Super Bowl. Finally.

It's done. Finally, the chiefs break through. Now, Colin, I think we have some disagreement here. I know we beat up the Patriots last week thinking, oh, the Chargers have it, at least especially me. But are you confident in the Chiefs this weekend at all? Because I know I certainly am. I like them a lot, but I haven't heard a real reason why people don't like the Chiefs. If you look at the Patriot's disparity between home this year, 9 and 0, and Road 3 and 5, they've never done that. that's because this is their weakest year of playmakers. And to win on the road, Chargers, Rams, Saints, Texans, you have to have a playmaker

because your efficiency dips on the road. So you need guys to go out and just make plays. The teams that were good on the road, Houston has the Sean Watson, the Andre Hopkins. They have playmakers. And New England has a lot of assets this year. James White, baby. They do not have a playmaker. And I like Kansas City to win this game by about a touchdown.

One stat that I heard this week that I love, Andy Reid in in-season rematches, played the team once, plays them again, 14 and 3 in the last four years. He is great at making adjustments. And if you think back to the earlier meeting, they were down 24-9 at the half in New England, stormed back in the second half and took the lead. You know, Andy Reid gets beat up a lot for the clock management and the timeouts. I think this game, he really shows up. And I feel pretty confident in the Chiefs here. I mean, I love the Chiefs. And it's not just for the Patriots fans watching.

so the dynasty ends. But all the signs here point to the Kansas City Chiefs. Okay, so that means Super Bowl beat Chiefs and Saints. Monday's headline will be... Well, this is a tough one because I would preaching ravens and bears and defenses coming around, but Monday's headline will be offense wins championships. Colin, the trend in the league, you know, we try to spot trends before they happen. Right now, it's all offense in the league.

You know, we got some scoring numbers here. the high-octane offenses get to the Super Bowl more frequently the last few years. I mean, look at this. If you're scoring a lot, you're getting to the Super Bowl. It used to be offense sells tickets, defense wins championships. But right now, even the trend to hiring coaches, Colin, if you've shaken hands with Sean McVeigh, we want to interview you. We want offensive guys.

That's why Kingsbury, he didn't deserve the job, but he's an offensive, innovative guy, and he might be a good fit in Arizona. Yeah, he's kind of assembling a staff of guys. he doesn't really know, so that'll be interesting. For two weeks, we're going to hear a lot of offense, offense, offense, offense, and that's why, you know, to go back to last week, I love Adam Gaze and Sam Darnold with the Jets. Well, what a good accountant does for a business is spot, holes, and new tax laws. What you have in football is new rules benefiting offense, so therefore higher offense.

This is the trend of the league. Finally, Lakers Rockets play Saturday, no NFL games. Lakers Rock. Monday's headlines today. You might watch this game and be like, why is James Hardin? taking all the shots. Why does he have the ball? Here's what the headline will be on Monday. Hardin continues push

to first round playoff loss. James Hardin, his usage rate is off the charts. You know what it is? It's Kobe Bryant a little over a decade ago when he averaged like 35. Do you remember what happened in the first round? He lost. Look at these staggering usage rates. NBA fans need to look at this.

The players who are handling the ball, taking all the shots, ball hogging, historically, and that includes Michael Jordan. They get bounced, Colin, in the first round, or don't even make the playoffs. By the way, Westbrook, the last two years, I think it's very reasonable to, I would suggest he ran out of the gas. I mean, Restbrook was in his prime four years ago, and he was a shot fighter by the end of the first round. Westbrook's, his numbers have been incredible this year, but again, Westbrook, we know he can't shoot. He's averaging a triple double, but it doesn't matter.

James Harden, I think Mike Dantone has to seriously. look at do we need to rest him, sacrifice some games just so he can win in the postseason, because this is too much, man. He's been great, but he's going to run out of gas. And if I'm the Lakers and LeBron, by the way, LeBron should be back Monday against the Warriors. I will be in attendance. How do you know that? There's some chatter that LeBron wants to come back. It's a, I believe, a national TV game Monday, and it's the Warriors.

He beat him last time on Christmas Day. There's chatter he should return for that game on Monday. Are you going to be there? No. Come on, man, I'll bring you. No, I just went to the Clippers Jazz game the other night. That was fun. I went for a half, then I wanted to go get a cocktail.

You know who I saw last night? I went to a restaurant with the family. Bobon was walking around, and my son is like, oh, my gosh, is that a character from Star Wars? I mean, Bobon, you know, the seven-foot, seven guy. He's in, see, when normal people are around in a restaurant, he looks like a guy out of a circus. On the NBA court, he looks tall. Yeah. But when he's just walking in front of you, it's like, what?

Is he 7-7? I think he's 7-6. Oh, my Lord. He's gigantic. People are staring like, oh, my, it's just strange. Seven, seven. Enjoy football. I've got the Chiefs winning and covering the spread,

and the Rams upsetting the Saints. See you Monday. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. And every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headlines. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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.

What's up, guys? This is Cliver Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42.

Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast Point Game.

the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was funny. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in too, he's like, you know I love you, dog.

You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.