May 10, 2021 • 39 mins
Colin is ready to welcome the Knicks back into relevancy and why it finally feels different for the first time in years. With all of the rumors about where Aaron Rodgers could end up, he explains why 1 destination is a bad fit and another makes a lot of sense. He also tells you why he was wrong about LeBron James and right about Kirk Cousins. Plus, Colin talks to Packers WR Davante Adams to find out what he knows about Rodgers’ unhappiness in Green Bay.
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of Herd podcast. Be
sure to catch us live every weekday from twelve to
three eastern, nine to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
and FS one. Find your local station for the Herd
at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us live
every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. This
is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowhern on
Fox Sports Radio. AH. Here we go on a Monday,
(00:29):
live in Los Angeles. It's the Herd wherever you may
be and however you may be listening iHeartRadio, Fox Sports
Radio FS one. One hour from now, Where Colin was right,
Where Colin was wrong? Little over an hour from now.
Davante Adams Superstar wide receiver. He is an all timer
for the Green Bay Packer. Stops by Joy Taylor's out
(00:51):
today and Alex Curry stepping in again after a while.
Angel Dodger weekend series in which the Angels got the
better of the Dodgers these days, who doesn't I think
everyone does, but I mean it's not often you see
thirty six runs in two games. It was wild. It
was a wild first two games and then an easy
two one win Yesterday, Big fight in the stands on Friday.
(01:13):
That was not the only fight. There was a fight
at our pre and post game set behind me after
the game. I mean, you say one thing, those fans
are going at it. Well, let's start here on a Monday.
So yesterday afternoon, on Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to
everybody out there. I made it a point. I wanted
to watch the Knicks versus the Clippers. And I've said
this before. You know, most NBA regular season games, most
(01:35):
Major League Baseball regular season games, most NHL regular season
games that don't matter a ton, but you do get
the occasional late season series or late season game that matters.
And there's a handful of NBA regular season games at all,
you know, circle and go. I want to watch that one.
And this was an interesting one. The New York Knicks
kind of a direction list mess forever have a basketball
(01:57):
team everybody now likes. It's a band of overachievers. And
that they were on a West coast road swing, fifth
West Coast game, so it kind of weary and tired,
and you had the well rested Clippers. Everybody was planned
that mattered. Kawhi and Paul George, they had two days off.
So my feeling was going into the game is you're
gonna have a Clippers team rested with a bunch of energy,
(02:18):
National TV game, and but I think you know the
Knicks will fight for a while, but they're tired. Nope,
that's not what happened. Nope. The Knicks fell behind ten one,
were often behind, and just kept fighting and fighting and
outworked and outplayed and out defended the Clippers in Los
Angeles and one and Julius Randall didn't play particularly great.
(02:42):
This was about Reggie Bullock, this was about defense, this
was about Derrick Rose. And I gotta tell you two
things jumped out to me first time in twenty five years.
The Knicks have a future because they have a direction. Okay,
it's not just hey we got a bunch of cap space.
Hey we're gonna land this glamorous free age. Yeah, that
never happens. This is actually a real team, a band
(03:04):
of overachievers. They play real defense, they play really hard.
There's about seven guys that can give them somewhere between
twelve and eighteen points tonight. They have an excellent head coach.
And that's the second thing is that they are not
a championship team. This year and maybe not next year.
They're not expectations, be realistic. This is what hurts organizations
that aren't winning for a long time. They get unrealist.
(03:26):
Cleveland Brown fans are like super Bowl or bust. Cleveland's
probably not gonna win a super Bowl. In fact, the
I'm gonna go with they're not. But they're a playoff team.
They can win playoff games. The Knicks are a playoff team.
They can win a playoff series, but they don't have
enough offense, not a nightly basis to be a championship team. Also,
one of the great advantages of the Knicks is they
(03:47):
play their ass off. They play hard. That wins a
lot of games in the regular season. But everybody in
a playoff plays hard, and so that equals out and
you need town. Brooklyn's gonna play hard in the playoffs.
Lakers gonna play hard in playoffs. These star studded teams
they take nights off. They're not energized. I mean they
call it ra gen rondo, playoff rondo. He plays hard
when the lights are on. But it doesn't matter to me.
(04:09):
Because the Knicks now have a direction, it's so much
easier in life to get somewhere when you actually point
to something and you're going somewhere. And it's not just
that the Knicks have been bad. They've never stood for
anything in recent years. What are they They're not good
at really anything in particular, what is the foundation of
(04:33):
the house. What is it? The Knicks have it? Play
real defense, They're very coachable. You get maximum effort every night.
That is not a championship team, but it's a forty
five win team in the regular season, and that in
the East can get you four or five seed. And
they are absolutely good enough to win a playoff series.
(04:54):
They just lack offensive firepower. But you know, it's funny
for all the glamour and the wealth and the stars
of New York if you really go back to the
history of New York Knicks basketball, and when I was
a kid, the first time I started watching sports was
like nineteen seventy one, nineteen seventy two. The two championships
(05:16):
for the Knicks came in nineteen seventy and seventy three,
both against the Lakers with Jerry West. The Lakers were
known as flashy and offensive. The Knicks were all about defense.
Walt Frazier, still a broadcaster, was a seven time All
NBA defender. They were about defense. And everybody always thinks
New York is flashy. That's not about it. That's not
(05:37):
what it's about. Even Syracuse Basketball, the most popular college
team in New York now, is about that zone defense
that Beheim plays. New Yorkers like their team's tough. The
New York Giants super Bowls, everly never been about offense.
They've been about defense. Joe Namath is one of the
only like offensive driven New York championship teams. And when
(06:00):
you really look, I mean Mariano Rivera, the Closer. They
don't win any of those World Series under Tory without
Mariano Rivera the Closer. And so you New York's all flashy,
but the Knicks won with defense over the flash year Lakers.
Pat Riley's teams were all about defense, and this team
is all about defense and effort. It just fits New York.
(06:21):
I've said this before. It's not a coincidence that every
great Laker team starts with offense. Wilt, Jerry West, Gail Goodrich.
Those teams won like thirty three straight in the seventies.
At one point, Magic and Kareem Shack and Kobe. That's
really what they're about. Last year was weird. It was
(06:43):
kind of about defense and a D and Dwight Howard
and JaVale McGee and size. It was such a weird
Laker championship. But again, it was a pandemic year. It
was a weird year the Detroit Pistons. Every time they've won,
it's been about defense. You kind of mirror your city,
and if you go back and look at Knicks basketball,
it's always been defense and tough and effort Nanthony Mason
(07:06):
and Charles Oakley and Walt Frazier, and that's what this
team is. They're not that gifted. Derrick Rose is kind
of reinventing himself. He played great yesterday. Julius Randall is
a max effort guy, not flashy shoots. Three is better
than he used to but in a mathematical driven league
now where threes beat two's, Lakers bailed on him. Nick said, okay,
(07:27):
what else? And we're not landing the stars we want.
He's been great. They have RJ. Barrett, Reggie Bullocks, a
defender of plays hard. This is a classic Knicks team.
They stand for something, they are something, they're good at something.
What a joy to watch them play. Not a championship team.
Don't go nuts, don't reach and overpay Randall, don't reach
for a injury. Riddles star, That's not what Jar. You're
(07:52):
not Brooklyn. Offensively, you're not that's not what Jar. Don't
get silly, don't be the Browns. Don't make a big
reach and overpay. Your foundation is excellent. You play defense,
you're well coached, you play hard. You're overachievers. And that has,
frankly in New York, been the recipe for winning championships.
It's Willis Reid hobbling on the court. It's the Knicks
(08:15):
tackling Michael Jordan. It's a fun watch. They're not pretty,
they're not glamorous, they're not that vertical. But it's a
great watch. All Right. I saw this yesterday. Cleveland Browns
will not be trying to trade for Aaron Rodgers. We
love Baker. Okay, whether or not I agree with that,
(08:38):
there is a point here is that Aaron Rodgers, as
great as he is, is not for everybody. And he's
not and that's important to think about. I don't think
he fits with the culture of the Colds very much.
A team. I think he would actually be a step
(08:59):
back for Andy Reid. I think Mahomes is more coachable.
There's this thing about Aaron Rodgers. It's always been the
stat that all the cheese hats can't really argue with.
Aaron's a Baylor. He's not a foxhole guy. He's just gifted.
(09:19):
One of the things about Russell Wilson and Tom Brady
they're optimistic to the point of being corny. Tom Brady
trails a Super Bowl twenty eight to three and wins.
He trails that Seahawk team by ten in the fourth
quarter and wins. Tom Brady has thirty nine fourth quarter
(09:40):
comeback wins in his career. And what makes that number
amazing is how often did he even trail in the
fourth quarter. They average twelve thirteen games a year. Aaron
has seventeen fourth quarter wins. Oh Colin, that's because they
don't trail much either. It is Russell Wilson, and he's
got five percent more than Arin. Joe Flacco has more
(10:04):
than Arin. Andy Dalton has more than Arin. Derek Carr
has more than Arin. Matt Stafford has more than Narin.
Matt Ryan has more than Aaron. Aaron is not a
foxhole guy. He sours very quickly. One of the amazing
things about being sort of optimistic. And it's funny my
(10:29):
my ex wife's very optimistic and sometimes my daughter will go,
you know, some mom is sometimes too optimistic. And I
always say, as opposed to what cynical optimism, overtime wears
better than cynical. And Brady and Russell Wilson border on corny.
But last year Tampa Bay losts thirty eight to three
(10:53):
in Week nine. That season could have been over, but
it isn't. With tom tom Pom Pom, Tommy raw Ra,
Tommy Son at the end of the tunnel, Tommy. That's
one of the great assets of Brady. It's not the biggest,
not the strongest, not the fastest. He's got a will
and a belief will get through it. It's also what
(11:15):
makes Russell Wilson unique, and some of his teammates roll
their eyes at him. That's not who Aaron is. Good God,
you think Aaron and Green Bay is a weird fit.
You think he gets frustrated with green Bay Cleveland. The
first sign of dysfunction he would be eye rolling through
the tunnel is that Aaron is great, but he's not
(11:37):
for everybody. You need stability, you need smart people. He
sours on things quickly. And Baker Mayfield, for all my
misgivings about him, right now, he's a good fit. He's easy.
He fits Cleveland, overlooked, often mocked, a little small, not
(11:58):
the most gifted, but a gamer. Got some fight. You
can back him into a corner, He'll come out swinging.
That's kind of what Cleveland needs now. Aaron Rodgers is
not for everybody. Be sure to catch live editions of
The Herd weekdays in noon Easter nine am Pacific on
Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app. Denver
(12:22):
remains the number one landing spot for Aaron Rodgers. One
of the things to remember is Denver right now has
the second most cap space in the NFL. So that's
a real thing. You know, there's very few hopeless teams
in the NFL, and by hopeless I mean no shot
at the playoffs and and and a really really low
(12:45):
ceiling at best. Denver is one of those teams. I
think there's five in the NFL that there there's no
chance of a playoff. Spot of the New York Jets
rookie head coach, rookie quarterback, worse roster easily in their division.
Philadelphia Eagles really question marks at coach, question marks at quarterback,
(13:09):
and I don't I think they're rebuilding much more than
they'd like to admit. The Houston Texans dysfunction everywhere. Detroit Lions,
they've done a good job in the offseason to upgrade
their offensive line. It maybe the strength of the team,
but they got a new coach, a new quarterback, learning
a new system. They're just not really good. And then
there's the Denver Broncos. And four out of those five
(13:31):
teams don't have a good enough roster, or just have
rookie this or rookie that, or they're just swimming in chaos.
That is not the issue. In Denver, their rosters good
enough to make the playoffs. It is, and their coach
is on the defensive side, strongly respected, and it's not
(13:54):
an organization that really swims in chaos. It's just not
It's generally been the Steelers with Mountain Range. I mean
it Denver's well run. Historically, John always struggled at GM,
but they're well run. To me, it's May, it's early,
it's May. You got time and you got cap space.
Go for it. Denver had two big issues this offseason,
(14:16):
secondary awful and quarterback question marks. Well, they've answered the secondary.
Nobody in the NFL did a better job than to
solve their secondary issue than Denver except Cleveland. Cleveland did
the best job, but they went and got in Denver.
Patrick certan great corner, number one rated corner number one
(14:36):
or two at Alabama, and Kyle Fuller, a very high
end corner from Chicago. Still can't figure out why Chicago
couldn't make that work on the books. So they're not
going to be a good team at corner. Their only
other question was quarterback. They got cap space, they have time,
They have a good enough roster. As Jay Glazer says,
when you're driving to your facility and you know you're
(14:58):
not a playoff team, GMing and coaching in the NFL,
it's a miserable, miserable experience. And I contend Denver and
Aaron doesn't fit everywhere. He would work here. He's got
respect for Elway. Peyton Manning had that I mean cut
Peyton Manning salary. Peyton Mann didn't like about it, but
(15:20):
he didn't criticize it publicly because Elway's an all timer
and Elway is better than Aaron Rodgers all time. And
you know the history of football, and Aaron knows it.
And because Peyton Manning won a Super Bowl, Aaron knows
that Aaron would have to be on his best behavior
for Aaron, and I think he could be two or
three years. Give it a run. But this one works
(15:42):
to me on so many fronts. This is not a
chaotic organization. It's a good enough roster and their only
weakness is quarterback. Be sure to catch live editions of
The Herd weekdays and noon Easter nine a Empacific. Hey,
this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning my
podcast Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical
(16:04):
sportspod pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day.
Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest
sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at
the sports book, and all the best guests. Do yourself
a favor and listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre
on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get
(16:25):
your podcasts. The Clippers are awful late in games they're terrible.
Paul George can get tentative. You know, they don't have
you know, outside of Kawhi another score after Paul George
you can depend on for twenty five a night. But
if you look at their late game clutch statistics, and
I'll put them on the screen here for our FS
(16:46):
one viewers. There are five teams in the NBA who
are terrible in something called clutch points, that's the last
five minutes of a game with a point differential of
five or less. Four of the teams have no talent,
the Cabs, the Magic, the Thunder, and the Rockets. Then
there's a team with a bunch of talent, the Clippers,
(17:06):
that's second worst in the league. What the hell is
going on? It's not that hard to figure out. This
is the issue. When Kawhi and leonards your star, he
doesn't talk, he's odd, he's nonverbal. By the way, who
is second best in the NBA and clutch points the
Sons because Chris Paul talks and yells and coaches and
(17:28):
barks and screams. I never bought into this. You know,
leadership is who talk, walks softly, carry a big stick,
and you gotta talk that's why. That's why the Packers
and Aaron Rodgers are in trouble. Talk. That's leadership is
talking and communicating, not being a big, strong guy who's silent.
When Kawhi is your star, you're bad. If he's the
(17:51):
culture center, you're bad. Late, and this is two years now,
it's been a problem. How in God's name are they
the second worst team in clutch points? Taylo's won a title.
It's not him. They've got talent. The other four teams
around them in the NBA stats are bad. This is Kauai.
You say, what about San Antonio and Toronto? Those cultures
(18:12):
were set. He was icing on a very formidable cake.
He is the cake with the Clippers, and he doesn't talk.
He's nonverbal. He doesn't distribute when you want. You got
to give this team to Rondo with five minutes left.
Paul George very talented, but his history is he gets
very tentative and tight late. Kawai can drop a bucket.
(18:34):
Forget him leading, Just have him be what he is
a shotmaker, that's what he is. But you look at
the Clippers. They have top eight in the NBA bench scoring,
excellent bench. They've got a coach that's won a title.
They have two stars, they've got a three in d
Guy Nicholas Batum. That's a championship team. They are they are,
they are ready to win, microwave and win, and they're
(18:58):
awful at the end of games. It makes no sense
until you think of well, who's who's running the team.
By the way, the Sons are suddenly great at clutch scoring.
Chris Paul's verbal. Lebron's teams have generally been good late.
He's verbal, he's a coach on the floor. The Warrior
(19:19):
teams have generally been very good late. Why Steph Curry
is verbal, It's not complicated. Stuff is that you cannot
have this roster and be this bad late in games.
You got to hand it over to Rondo. Let him
do what he does. They call him playoff Rondo for
a reason. Last year he was great for the Lakers
in big spots, and he wasn't a necessity for the Lakers.
(19:42):
He was an additive of bonus because with Lebron you
had the leadership. But this is kind of what you
get when when your culture is set with Kawhi Leonard
and last year, what was the big issue with the Clippers.
I got fooled on it. Chemistry Again, Chemistry is not
a problem when your leader is a communicator. Chemistry is
(20:05):
a problem when your general manager in Green Bay won't
talk to your prickly quarterback, then it's a problem. So
watching the Clippers yesterday, I'm like, this roster's way too
good to be this bad at the end of basketball games.
It makes no sense. They are just easily disrupted. Now now, now, again,
(20:26):
the Knicks deserve credit. Knicks play real defense. THI but
it was a great defensive coach. But if you look
at the Knicks talent, Julius Randall's a B plus player
having an A plus year. Derek Rose is not a
vertical finisher like he used to be. He's a he's
a good off the bench guy. Reggie Bullock, I mean
when you really watch I mean this a prime example,
when you watch these highlights, you just they're just don't
(20:49):
really have an identity late in games. Why would they
Why would they have an identity? That's not what, that's
not what. By the way, last year, if you look
up reports, the biggest complaint was, well, Kawhi is getting
special treatment and Paul George was getting special treatment. Again,
that doesn't happen if guys talk, and you can't blame
(21:11):
coaches at some point. This has always been a players league.
Players have the power. The NFL's not a players league.
NBA is, so that means you make the money. Coaches
get fired, not stars. But then when you're bad late
in games, it falls on the player, not the coach.
I'm tired of the coach getting whacked. In the NBA.
It's a players league. You get the plaudits when you
(21:34):
win late, you get the criticism when you lose late.
This is not a Brad Stevens issue. In Boston, they
don't have enough juice. This is not a Tie lou problem.
One more Herd. The Herd streams twenty four hours a day,
seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search Herd
to listen live or on demand. Whenever you like, Colin right,
Colin wrong, where Colin was right. I've acknowledged for years,
(21:57):
ten years, Aaron Rodgers is great, but he's really petty
and hard to get along with. Well. Story came out
this weekend from a former teammate and executive that said,
Aaron's an intelligent, trolling, petting mother Blanker He's gonna make
you look stupid for disrespecting him. Set another why are
you getting blindsided? I'm not saying Aaron's evil, but this
(22:19):
is like his criminal mastermind plan set. An executive put
it this way. They'd have to fire everybody he's dug in,
that's who he is. They'd have to make him the
freaking owner of the team. That's the sense I get.
He just wants control again. These are people who have
worked with him and been with him and been teammates
with him. Aaron is difficult and prickly and condescending. And
(22:41):
when I write my last and third book, I'll write
an Aaron Rodgers story that I've never told. He's a
lot to deal with. That's all I've ever said, and
get remarkable pushback when I started ten years ago saying
it for the record, I get a lot less now.
Where Colin was right always said the second chapter. If
you write the book on Lebron is durability. The first chapter,
(23:04):
he's amazing. Now he's not very durable. Three injuries in
two years. He came back last week. High ankle sprain
was the injury. He reinjured it almost immediately. The Lakers
have sort of devolved into a playing game team to
make the playoffs. Lebron's had to me kind of a
bitter year where he usually gets one hundred and twenty
(23:26):
days off after a title or a championship roun this
year he got seventy. He was anti All Star game,
anti playing game, anti starting the season in December, and
let's just be honest, now, not only have we seen
the best of Lebron, we've probably seen the last of
him playing engaged for a full regular season. Where Colin
(23:48):
was right. Never understood the disrespect for Steph Curry. Maybe
it's the nerdy shoes he wears, or he didn't have
the alpha players want, but he scored forty nine points
in three order Saturday. He's going to win the scoring Championship.
And oh, by the way, he is single handedly putting
it an odd fitting Warriors team in the playoffs. They're
(24:10):
currently the eight seed. He is shooting since the All
Star Break forty six percent on threes and getting thirty
seven points a game. By the way Kad left him,
Katie can't stay healthy and is not even the most
valuable Brooklyn Nett, this is what Curry is all about.
(24:31):
The great players in this league can lead through dysfunction,
through chaos. It's what Lebron's done in Cleveland a couple
of times. It's what Lebron did when he came to
the Lakers. There are a lot of great players in
this league. There are only two or three that are
in Steph Curry's class in terms of valuable. Where Colin
(24:53):
was wrong, Yeah, I started the year saying the Dodgers
had the chance to be the best team since maybe
the late nineties Yankees. They started thirteen and three. They're
now in third place in the National League West. They
got beat by the Angels this weekend. At one point,
led fourteen nothing and almost blew the lead. Dave Roberts
has to at some point be on the hot seat
(25:15):
before the All Star Game. Injuries are piling up, Cody
Bellinger's not there yet, and Dustin May is now out.
The bullpen is a real concern. They regularly leak runs
late in games. Not a good weekend. The Freeway Series
didn't treat them well. Angels won two of those. Where
Colin was right. Nothing against Kirk Cousins, but any time
(25:39):
you throw a little shade at the Vikings quarterback, their
fans go nuts story came out this week. They were
fishing for a quarterback and strongly considered drafting Justin Fields
when he dropped. It's nothing against Kirk Cousins, but he
has an incredibly low ceiling. He's seven and sixteen in
(25:59):
prime time time games and in a division with Aaron Rodgers.
He just doesn't get you to the next level. There's
a reason Stefon Diggs was constantly complaining. But man, there
is no fan base that gets more sensitive when you
criticize their quarterback. He's very much Derek Carr, but in
(26:20):
my opinion, not as mobile. Therefore, he's got a low ceiling.
The Vikings acknowledging it were about ready to draft Justin
Fields where Colin was wrong. Well, I ripped him last week.
I gotta be fair about this. Anthony Davis dominated the
Sons this week and in a very important game for
the Lakers and scored forty two points. What do you
(26:41):
know he delivered in one of their biggest games of
the year. Listen, it's never been about talent for Anthony Davis.
It has always been about desire. That's why he reminds
me so much of Rashid Wallace, a great defensive player
from a you know, a Carolina Kentuck. He liked program hard.
(27:02):
To stop elite defender, you have to beg to get
into the weight room and work on his body. That's
why his body never treats him well. But Big game
in Portland played pretty well. Big game against the Suns.
He absolutely dominated it and he deserves that credit. Where
Colin was right well, very early, even when they were
oh and seven. We kept saying with the Miami Dolphins,
(27:25):
I love the coach and I like the direction of
this team. Peter King and his column this Morning Football
Morning in America talked about Chris Greer twenty eight trades
in twenty eight months on the job. This is why
I like this team, and Greer had a great quote.
Football has evolved a lot of general managers are willing
(27:46):
to trade now. All we think is about getting better tomorrow.
This is a Miami team that everybody seems to like now,
But we said it when they started owen seven. Look
at their offseasons, look at their rafts. Really smart and
Chris Greer is one of these gms who keeps a
very low profile. You don't hear him talk. There are
(28:08):
no press conferences He is really one of the sharp
cats in the NFL. Where Colin was right, Bradley Beale.
How long have I been saying Bradley Beale's the best
player with no marquee value in this league. He's got
to go to a winner. Well, he's one of the
favorite my guys, right, favorite he is now. The Wizards
(28:31):
are the hottest team in the league in the last month.
In the last two week, he's had three games over
forty points. He's going to finish number two in the
NBA and scoring. He had fifty points Saturday. It's a
bad franchise. But I'll tell you this, everybody at some
point has struggled to play with Westbrook because Russell kind
(28:52):
of has a distinct style. What do you know, Bradley
Beale with a past his prime Westbrook, over the course
of the season is able to play very well with
Westbrook in the same back court. It's not like he's
a big of forward. They're in the same backcourt. They're
(29:14):
playing very well together. And Beal remains the best player
in the NBA that you've probably never watched an entire
game of. And I'd love to see him in the playoffs.
I know Lebronze Camp, huge fans, huge, huge fans of
Bradley Beale. They just can't make it work because he's
(29:35):
expensive and the Lakers don't have cap space. Be sure
to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon
Easter not Ampacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and
the iHeartRadio app. Listen. There's three receivers in the NFL
to me that are just different than everybody else, in
no particular order, Stefon Diggs, DeAndre Hopkins, and our next
guest joining us live, Davante Adams eight years, four Pro Bowls,
(30:00):
first player in NFL history with a hundred catches and
eighteen touchdowns in one season, and just a remarkable player.
So the obvious question, when I saw you were booked today,
just when you heard the Aaron Rodgers stuff, what was
your first reaction? What I mean, what was like the
first minute you thought blank? What did you think? Well?
(30:21):
When I first got it, um, I was I was
actually on the golf course. I'm trying to enjoy myself,
a couple of gruskies out there, so it's a good day.
And then I hear that and it kind of sways it. Obviously,
I don't really know what the thing, hadn't really spoke
to him, so, um, you know, it wasn't the best
news to receive while I'm out there trying to have
a good time, but you know, it scared me a
(30:42):
little bit, but it was you know, a lot of
things that go into this, So I was like, let's
let's just calm down, let's see see what's going on.
We'll talk to him and then you know, ultimately and
trying to figure out what was going on with this thing.
You know, DeVante, you're a free agent at the end
of next year, so you're very, very fortunate that if
the Aaron green bathing did not work, you would be
on the market. And I'm gonna guess you're gonna get
whatever you want. You're gonna You're gonna get a Stefon
(31:03):
Digg's deal. So let's be honest here. This is not
a shot at Jordan's love. But if Aaron moved on,
you have such an incredible working relationship with him, what
it affect your future in Green Bay? Potentially? Potentially? I mean,
that's my guy. That's the only guy that I've had,
(31:24):
you know other than that. Um. Twenty seventeen season when
he got hurts. It's the only guy that I played
with him. Um, you know, we built up a special
connection over the years that has made it, you know,
put us both in really good positions in our career. Um,
you know, not that he needed me to come along
for it, because he was already in that spot, but
we established a lot together, So it would change a lot. Manum,
you know, doesn't mean potentially I'd be gone, but um,
(31:47):
you know, I definitely have to do some extra thinking
if if my guy wasn't here. Well, first of all,
you have the most catches in a single season in
Packer history, which is kind of remarkable considering how many
great players they've had. All the stat that mattered last year,
you were number one in all of them. Here's the
thing is that you Aaron needs to trust a receiver
(32:07):
to throw to him. That's why it can be tough
for like Tom Brady rookie receivers, he's hard on him.
Aaron rookie receivers, he's hard on him. You built a
trust with him. Take take me back to your first
year or two, when do you think, Davante you crossed
that threshold where Aaron finally said I trust this kid. Um,
(32:32):
I mean that takes It took time, and I'm not
gonna lie. It took time before I can, you know,
honestly personally say you know, we're in that spot and
he trust me for sure. There's been time, you know,
throughout my first year. You know, he came to me
some critical moments in playoff game against Dallas, but that
we hadn't really developed that true trust at that point,
so I wasn't really sold that, you know, we have
(32:53):
like this, this crazy barn that's going to turn into
something undeniably special. So I would say obviously twenty fIF
was not a great year for me at all. So
definitely wasn't that. I'd say around twenty sixteen, you know,
middle of that season, we were having a lot of success,
scoring a bunch of test bounds. Um, you know I was.
I was healthy that year, so I was able to
get through it and really just play my game. And
(33:15):
you know, being hurt banged up in twenty fifteen, just
the type of player I am and the type of
movements that I made, you can't have any you know,
nagging injuries going on with your limbs and ankles and
all of that stuff. So being able to be healthy
in twenty sixteen, I felt like we were able to
establish something and kind of snowball that moving forward and
missed him in seventeen when he got hurt, but we
got right back to in twenty eighteen and m kind
(33:38):
of since then just been tearing it up. Is it's
very rare. Adelman and Brady had this, a Doug Baldwin
and Russell Wilson had this. There's almost non verbal stuff
when I watch you and Aaron play, it's it's it's
like you're playing a little game by yourself. You haven't
let all your teammates in on. You know. I feel
(34:00):
like and by the way, Aaron doesn't get along with everybody,
and that's fine, but there's something about what you've done
that is created this relationship and kind of talk about
that it is special and not He hasn't had this
with every wide receiver. Um. I think it's just years
and years of just building that connection in the consistency. Honestly,
(34:21):
I think just him being able to trust that I
know what I'm doing, and um, you know, he got
this thing where I've referred to him as an elephant before.
You know, he remembers everything so I try to basically
hop onto that training and be that same type of
player where he'll he'll bring up something he'll tell me
in a huddle. You remember, you know, I guess the
Titans twenty sixteen, you ran, uh, you know outside release
(34:45):
this or that route, and I need you to run
it like that. So then I'll line up there and
he'll kind of give me a look later in the
game and I'll look over to him and know exactly
what he's trying to get me to do. And then,
you know, coming out and there's nothing more gratifying than um,
you know, connecting on that type of level, or knowing
what your quarterback is expecting of you doing just that
turnaround seeing a ball and catching a touchdown. I feel
(35:07):
like that's what's allowed us to be different than any
other group, being able to do stuff like that. Listen,
the Packers are a big brand, they're a notable franchise,
but they're DeVante, They're different. They don't have an owner.
It is not only the smallest NFL city, it's the
smallest NFL city, it's the smallest pro city. It's a
very there's a very unique bonding experience in Green Bay
(35:30):
it's not a criticism one of one of Aaron's criticisms
of the franchise. They haven't communicated all the time, and
in fairness, he's right. Um, when when Aaron complains about that,
do you defend him on that? Do you see that?
Sometimes I defend my guys on everything. Man, I mean,
(35:51):
this is uh, we all know, it's a pretty um
you know, dense business is a lot that happens, a
lot that goes on here. Um. You know, just like
any other job, you want to be happy, and you
want guys, once you have gained that respect, you want
to be treated with that type of respect. So, UM,
there's certain things that you know, I can't speak on specifics,
but there's certain things that he wants and maybe the
(36:12):
club isn't wasn't so excited about living up to right away.
And you know that can affect a guy who's done
so much for an organization. Um. You know, he's put
his his body and he's really laid his life on
the line out there for for that team, for his
teammates and everything. So I've been behind him one hundred
percent throughout the whole thing. Obviously, I'm praying everything works
(36:33):
out and that we get him back, and um, you know,
we can continue to go out there and do stuff
like we see on a screen there because it's a
lot of fun doing that. By the way, finally, because
of the pandemic DeVante, we have not in the media.
We haven't seen Jordan Loved practice, we haven't seen him play.
There was no preseason. We're all just guessing here. So
so I'm not expecting him to be Aaron Rodgers. That's unfair.
(36:57):
I never expected a Brady back up to be Brady
or a Russ Wilson back up to be Russell. But
if I asked you, how far do you believe if
Aaron left, how far is Jordan Love from starting in
the league another off season, another year, Could you give
me some sense, like if if the worst thing happened
(37:18):
in Aaron left, the worst thing for you, how far
is Jordan from playing? Is he close? I'd say, And
here's is pretty tough, and like you just stated, not
having any any real action out there, it's tough for
me to assess that fully based off what I've seen.
He works really hard, he's really attentive, and um, you know,
(37:38):
he's like a sponge with Aaron in that room, just
soaking up everything, all the knowledge, you know, different things,
and with his mechanics, I know, um, you know he's
been working on to try to get better and better
at UM. But it's tough because I haven't seen him play.
I haven't seen him get out there and do a preseason.
So after this year, I think we'll be able to
give a more accurate assessment of that seeing him going
(37:59):
against a few other teams, maybe some some cross uh
you know how they do the training camp practices. Maybe
we'll do some stuff like that, uh potentially, so we'll see. Um.
You know, I definitely got faith in that it can
get it done. And you know, whoever's out there, I
showed it with you know, twenty seventeen with Bret Henley.
I'm gonna get out there and be ready to ball regardless. Um,
you know, control what I can control. Um. But like
(38:20):
I said, love is he's been looking good from what
I've seen, but that real live action is what it
really let us know. Well, by the way, if you
quit today, you get Hall of Fame votes. Uh, you
are a spectacular talent. Congratulations on that. You're You've got
something called optimum nutrition, building better lives. What is that? Yeah, man,
a partner partnered with Optimal Nutrition. UM, you know, the
(38:42):
best in the in the business. They've They've done so
much for me, my family, UM, the communities, UM that
like the communities that I grew up in. UM. Just
putting people in a better position to be able to
maximize their potential. And I feel like that's uh, you know,
having a sponsor like that that you can trust when
it comes to training, especially at the level that we
are at M. I feel like it's incredibly incredibly important
(39:04):
to be able to trust that and know that I'm
going to be getting the best out of you know,
better workouts, better recovery, all this stuff that allows me
to be in my peak performance. DeVante, You're a spectacular talents.
Great to finally meet you. By the way. Have you
talked to Aaron at all in the last a couple
of weeks at all texted him anything. Yeah, we talked
a little bit. It's been um, you know a lot
(39:25):
of still being uh you know figured out on his end.
So it's tough for me to get into specifics and
speak on it. Honestly, I would love to, UM, can't
wait talk and just get on here and tell you
that he's back and we're you know, we're back and
run doing our thing that we've been doing. Um, but
for now, it's just, you know, you got to iron
out a few things and then um, you know, hopefully
I'll be back on the show. We'll be celebrating, taking
(39:46):
shots and whatnot. Well, I hope you're optimistic today, DeVante.
Thanks for coming on the show. I appreciate it. Man,
you're a you're a stud, and I appreciate it. Thank you, Boss,
I appreciate you.
Thanks for listening to the Best of Herd podcast. Be
sure to catch us live every weekday from twelve to
three eastern, nine to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
and FS one. Find your local station for the Herd
at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us live
every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. This
is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowhern on
Fox Sports Radio. AH. Here we go on a Monday,
(00:29):
live in Los Angeles. It's the Herd wherever you may
be and however you may be listening iHeartRadio, Fox Sports
Radio FS one. One hour from now, Where Colin was right,
Where Colin was wrong? Little over an hour from now.
Davante Adams Superstar wide receiver. He is an all timer
for the Green Bay Packer. Stops by Joy Taylor's out
(00:51):
today and Alex Curry stepping in again after a while.
Angel Dodger weekend series in which the Angels got the
better of the Dodgers these days, who doesn't I think
everyone does, but I mean it's not often you see
thirty six runs in two games. It was wild. It
was a wild first two games and then an easy
two one win Yesterday, Big fight in the stands on Friday.
(01:13):
That was not the only fight. There was a fight
at our pre and post game set behind me after
the game. I mean, you say one thing, those fans
are going at it. Well, let's start here on a Monday.
So yesterday afternoon, on Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to
everybody out there. I made it a point. I wanted
to watch the Knicks versus the Clippers. And I've said
this before. You know, most NBA regular season games, most
(01:35):
Major League Baseball regular season games, most NHL regular season
games that don't matter a ton, but you do get
the occasional late season series or late season game that matters.
And there's a handful of NBA regular season games at all,
you know, circle and go. I want to watch that one.
And this was an interesting one. The New York Knicks
kind of a direction list mess forever have a basketball
(01:57):
team everybody now likes. It's a band of overachievers. And
that they were on a West coast road swing, fifth
West Coast game, so it kind of weary and tired,
and you had the well rested Clippers. Everybody was planned
that mattered. Kawhi and Paul George, they had two days off.
So my feeling was going into the game is you're
gonna have a Clippers team rested with a bunch of energy,
(02:18):
National TV game, and but I think you know the
Knicks will fight for a while, but they're tired. Nope,
that's not what happened. Nope. The Knicks fell behind ten one,
were often behind, and just kept fighting and fighting and
outworked and outplayed and out defended the Clippers in Los
Angeles and one and Julius Randall didn't play particularly great.
(02:42):
This was about Reggie Bullock, this was about defense, this
was about Derrick Rose. And I gotta tell you two
things jumped out to me first time in twenty five years.
The Knicks have a future because they have a direction. Okay,
it's not just hey we got a bunch of cap space.
Hey we're gonna land this glamorous free age. Yeah, that
never happens. This is actually a real team, a band
(03:04):
of overachievers. They play real defense, they play really hard.
There's about seven guys that can give them somewhere between
twelve and eighteen points tonight. They have an excellent head coach.
And that's the second thing is that they are not
a championship team. This year and maybe not next year.
They're not expectations, be realistic. This is what hurts organizations
that aren't winning for a long time. They get unrealist.
(03:26):
Cleveland Brown fans are like super Bowl or bust. Cleveland's
probably not gonna win a super Bowl. In fact, the
I'm gonna go with they're not. But they're a playoff team.
They can win playoff games. The Knicks are a playoff team.
They can win a playoff series, but they don't have
enough offense, not a nightly basis to be a championship team. Also,
one of the great advantages of the Knicks is they
(03:47):
play their ass off. They play hard. That wins a
lot of games in the regular season. But everybody in
a playoff plays hard, and so that equals out and
you need town. Brooklyn's gonna play hard in the playoffs.
Lakers gonna play hard in playoffs. These star studded teams
they take nights off. They're not energized. I mean they
call it ra gen rondo, playoff rondo. He plays hard
when the lights are on. But it doesn't matter to me.
(04:09):
Because the Knicks now have a direction, it's so much
easier in life to get somewhere when you actually point
to something and you're going somewhere. And it's not just
that the Knicks have been bad. They've never stood for
anything in recent years. What are they They're not good
at really anything in particular, what is the foundation of
(04:33):
the house. What is it? The Knicks have it? Play
real defense, They're very coachable. You get maximum effort every night.
That is not a championship team, but it's a forty
five win team in the regular season, and that in
the East can get you four or five seed. And
they are absolutely good enough to win a playoff series.
(04:54):
They just lack offensive firepower. But you know, it's funny
for all the glamour and the wealth and the stars
of New York if you really go back to the
history of New York Knicks basketball, and when I was
a kid, the first time I started watching sports was
like nineteen seventy one, nineteen seventy two. The two championships
(05:16):
for the Knicks came in nineteen seventy and seventy three,
both against the Lakers with Jerry West. The Lakers were
known as flashy and offensive. The Knicks were all about defense.
Walt Frazier, still a broadcaster, was a seven time All
NBA defender. They were about defense. And everybody always thinks
New York is flashy. That's not about it. That's not
(05:37):
what it's about. Even Syracuse Basketball, the most popular college
team in New York now, is about that zone defense
that Beheim plays. New Yorkers like their team's tough. The
New York Giants super Bowls, everly never been about offense.
They've been about defense. Joe Namath is one of the
only like offensive driven New York championship teams. And when
(06:00):
you really look, I mean Mariano Rivera, the Closer. They
don't win any of those World Series under Tory without
Mariano Rivera the Closer. And so you New York's all flashy,
but the Knicks won with defense over the flash year Lakers.
Pat Riley's teams were all about defense, and this team
is all about defense and effort. It just fits New York.
(06:21):
I've said this before. It's not a coincidence that every
great Laker team starts with offense. Wilt, Jerry West, Gail Goodrich.
Those teams won like thirty three straight in the seventies.
At one point, Magic and Kareem Shack and Kobe. That's
really what they're about. Last year was weird. It was
(06:43):
kind of about defense and a D and Dwight Howard
and JaVale McGee and size. It was such a weird
Laker championship. But again, it was a pandemic year. It
was a weird year the Detroit Pistons. Every time they've won,
it's been about defense. You kind of mirror your city,
and if you go back and look at Knicks basketball,
it's always been defense and tough and effort Nanthony Mason
(07:06):
and Charles Oakley and Walt Frazier, and that's what this
team is. They're not that gifted. Derrick Rose is kind
of reinventing himself. He played great yesterday. Julius Randall is
a max effort guy, not flashy shoots. Three is better
than he used to but in a mathematical driven league
now where threes beat two's, Lakers bailed on him. Nick said, okay,
(07:27):
what else? And we're not landing the stars we want.
He's been great. They have RJ. Barrett, Reggie Bullocks, a
defender of plays hard. This is a classic Knicks team.
They stand for something, they are something, they're good at something.
What a joy to watch them play. Not a championship team.
Don't go nuts, don't reach and overpay Randall, don't reach
for a injury. Riddles star, That's not what Jar. You're
(07:52):
not Brooklyn. Offensively, you're not that's not what Jar. Don't
get silly, don't be the Browns. Don't make a big
reach and overpay. Your foundation is excellent. You play defense,
you're well coached, you play hard. You're overachievers. And that has,
frankly in New York, been the recipe for winning championships.
It's Willis Reid hobbling on the court. It's the Knicks
(08:15):
tackling Michael Jordan. It's a fun watch. They're not pretty,
they're not glamorous, they're not that vertical. But it's a
great watch. All Right. I saw this yesterday. Cleveland Browns
will not be trying to trade for Aaron Rodgers. We
love Baker. Okay, whether or not I agree with that,
(08:38):
there is a point here is that Aaron Rodgers, as
great as he is, is not for everybody. And he's
not and that's important to think about. I don't think
he fits with the culture of the Colds very much.
A team. I think he would actually be a step
(08:59):
back for Andy Reid. I think Mahomes is more coachable.
There's this thing about Aaron Rodgers. It's always been the
stat that all the cheese hats can't really argue with.
Aaron's a Baylor. He's not a foxhole guy. He's just gifted.
(09:19):
One of the things about Russell Wilson and Tom Brady
they're optimistic to the point of being corny. Tom Brady
trails a Super Bowl twenty eight to three and wins.
He trails that Seahawk team by ten in the fourth
quarter and wins. Tom Brady has thirty nine fourth quarter
(09:40):
comeback wins in his career. And what makes that number
amazing is how often did he even trail in the
fourth quarter. They average twelve thirteen games a year. Aaron
has seventeen fourth quarter wins. Oh Colin, that's because they
don't trail much either. It is Russell Wilson, and he's
got five percent more than Arin. Joe Flacco has more
(10:04):
than Arin. Andy Dalton has more than Arin. Derek Carr
has more than Arin. Matt Stafford has more than Narin.
Matt Ryan has more than Aaron. Aaron is not a
foxhole guy. He sours very quickly. One of the amazing
things about being sort of optimistic. And it's funny my
(10:29):
my ex wife's very optimistic and sometimes my daughter will go,
you know, some mom is sometimes too optimistic. And I
always say, as opposed to what cynical optimism, overtime wears
better than cynical. And Brady and Russell Wilson border on corny.
But last year Tampa Bay losts thirty eight to three
(10:53):
in Week nine. That season could have been over, but
it isn't. With tom tom Pom Pom, Tommy raw Ra,
Tommy Son at the end of the tunnel, Tommy. That's
one of the great assets of Brady. It's not the biggest,
not the strongest, not the fastest. He's got a will
and a belief will get through it. It's also what
(11:15):
makes Russell Wilson unique, and some of his teammates roll
their eyes at him. That's not who Aaron is. Good God,
you think Aaron and Green Bay is a weird fit.
You think he gets frustrated with green Bay Cleveland. The
first sign of dysfunction he would be eye rolling through
the tunnel is that Aaron is great, but he's not
(11:37):
for everybody. You need stability, you need smart people. He
sours on things quickly. And Baker Mayfield, for all my
misgivings about him, right now, he's a good fit. He's easy.
He fits Cleveland, overlooked, often mocked, a little small, not
(11:58):
the most gifted, but a gamer. Got some fight. You
can back him into a corner, He'll come out swinging.
That's kind of what Cleveland needs now. Aaron Rodgers is
not for everybody. Be sure to catch live editions of
The Herd weekdays in noon Easter nine am Pacific on
Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app. Denver
(12:22):
remains the number one landing spot for Aaron Rodgers. One
of the things to remember is Denver right now has
the second most cap space in the NFL. So that's
a real thing. You know, there's very few hopeless teams
in the NFL, and by hopeless I mean no shot
at the playoffs and and and a really really low
(12:45):
ceiling at best. Denver is one of those teams. I
think there's five in the NFL that there there's no
chance of a playoff. Spot of the New York Jets
rookie head coach, rookie quarterback, worse roster easily in their division.
Philadelphia Eagles really question marks at coach, question marks at quarterback,
(13:09):
and I don't I think they're rebuilding much more than
they'd like to admit. The Houston Texans dysfunction everywhere. Detroit Lions,
they've done a good job in the offseason to upgrade
their offensive line. It maybe the strength of the team,
but they got a new coach, a new quarterback, learning
a new system. They're just not really good. And then
there's the Denver Broncos. And four out of those five
(13:31):
teams don't have a good enough roster, or just have
rookie this or rookie that, or they're just swimming in chaos.
That is not the issue. In Denver, their rosters good
enough to make the playoffs. It is, and their coach
is on the defensive side, strongly respected, and it's not
(13:54):
an organization that really swims in chaos. It's just not
It's generally been the Steelers with Mountain Range. I mean
it Denver's well run. Historically, John always struggled at GM,
but they're well run. To me, it's May, it's early,
it's May. You got time and you got cap space.
Go for it. Denver had two big issues this offseason,
(14:16):
secondary awful and quarterback question marks. Well, they've answered the secondary.
Nobody in the NFL did a better job than to
solve their secondary issue than Denver except Cleveland. Cleveland did
the best job, but they went and got in Denver.
Patrick certan great corner, number one rated corner number one
(14:36):
or two at Alabama, and Kyle Fuller, a very high
end corner from Chicago. Still can't figure out why Chicago
couldn't make that work on the books. So they're not
going to be a good team at corner. Their only
other question was quarterback. They got cap space, they have time,
They have a good enough roster. As Jay Glazer says,
when you're driving to your facility and you know you're
(14:58):
not a playoff team, GMing and coaching in the NFL,
it's a miserable, miserable experience. And I contend Denver and
Aaron doesn't fit everywhere. He would work here. He's got
respect for Elway. Peyton Manning had that I mean cut
Peyton Manning salary. Peyton Mann didn't like about it, but
(15:20):
he didn't criticize it publicly because Elway's an all timer
and Elway is better than Aaron Rodgers all time. And
you know the history of football, and Aaron knows it.
And because Peyton Manning won a Super Bowl, Aaron knows
that Aaron would have to be on his best behavior
for Aaron, and I think he could be two or
three years. Give it a run. But this one works
(15:42):
to me on so many fronts. This is not a
chaotic organization. It's a good enough roster and their only
weakness is quarterback. Be sure to catch live editions of
The Herd weekdays and noon Easter nine a Empacific. Hey,
this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning my
podcast Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical
(16:04):
sportspod pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day.
Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest
sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at
the sports book, and all the best guests. Do yourself
a favor and listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre
on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get
(16:25):
your podcasts. The Clippers are awful late in games they're terrible.
Paul George can get tentative. You know, they don't have
you know, outside of Kawhi another score after Paul George
you can depend on for twenty five a night. But
if you look at their late game clutch statistics, and
I'll put them on the screen here for our FS
(16:46):
one viewers. There are five teams in the NBA who
are terrible in something called clutch points, that's the last
five minutes of a game with a point differential of
five or less. Four of the teams have no talent,
the Cabs, the Magic, the Thunder, and the Rockets. Then
there's a team with a bunch of talent, the Clippers,
(17:06):
that's second worst in the league. What the hell is
going on? It's not that hard to figure out. This
is the issue. When Kawhi and leonards your star, he
doesn't talk, he's odd, he's nonverbal. By the way, who
is second best in the NBA and clutch points the
Sons because Chris Paul talks and yells and coaches and
(17:28):
barks and screams. I never bought into this. You know,
leadership is who talk, walks softly, carry a big stick,
and you gotta talk that's why. That's why the Packers
and Aaron Rodgers are in trouble. Talk. That's leadership is
talking and communicating, not being a big, strong guy who's silent.
When Kawhi is your star, you're bad. If he's the
(17:51):
culture center, you're bad. Late, and this is two years now,
it's been a problem. How in God's name are they
the second worst team in clutch points? Taylo's won a title.
It's not him. They've got talent. The other four teams
around them in the NBA stats are bad. This is Kauai.
You say, what about San Antonio and Toronto? Those cultures
(18:12):
were set. He was icing on a very formidable cake.
He is the cake with the Clippers, and he doesn't talk.
He's nonverbal. He doesn't distribute when you want. You got
to give this team to Rondo with five minutes left.
Paul George very talented, but his history is he gets
very tentative and tight late. Kawai can drop a bucket.
(18:34):
Forget him leading, Just have him be what he is
a shotmaker, that's what he is. But you look at
the Clippers. They have top eight in the NBA bench scoring,
excellent bench. They've got a coach that's won a title.
They have two stars, they've got a three in d
Guy Nicholas Batum. That's a championship team. They are they are,
they are ready to win, microwave and win, and they're
(18:58):
awful at the end of games. It makes no sense
until you think of well, who's who's running the team.
By the way, the Sons are suddenly great at clutch scoring.
Chris Paul's verbal. Lebron's teams have generally been good late.
He's verbal, he's a coach on the floor. The Warrior
(19:19):
teams have generally been very good late. Why Steph Curry
is verbal, It's not complicated. Stuff is that you cannot
have this roster and be this bad late in games.
You got to hand it over to Rondo. Let him
do what he does. They call him playoff Rondo for
a reason. Last year he was great for the Lakers
in big spots, and he wasn't a necessity for the Lakers.
(19:42):
He was an additive of bonus because with Lebron you
had the leadership. But this is kind of what you
get when when your culture is set with Kawhi Leonard
and last year, what was the big issue with the Clippers.
I got fooled on it. Chemistry Again, Chemistry is not
a problem when your leader is a communicator. Chemistry is
(20:05):
a problem when your general manager in Green Bay won't
talk to your prickly quarterback, then it's a problem. So
watching the Clippers yesterday, I'm like, this roster's way too
good to be this bad at the end of basketball games.
It makes no sense. They are just easily disrupted. Now now, now, again,
(20:26):
the Knicks deserve credit. Knicks play real defense. THI but
it was a great defensive coach. But if you look
at the Knicks talent, Julius Randall's a B plus player
having an A plus year. Derek Rose is not a
vertical finisher like he used to be. He's a he's
a good off the bench guy. Reggie Bullock, I mean
when you really watch I mean this a prime example,
when you watch these highlights, you just they're just don't
(20:49):
really have an identity late in games. Why would they
Why would they have an identity? That's not what, that's
not what. By the way, last year, if you look
up reports, the biggest complaint was, well, Kawhi is getting
special treatment and Paul George was getting special treatment. Again,
that doesn't happen if guys talk, and you can't blame
(21:11):
coaches at some point. This has always been a players league.
Players have the power. The NFL's not a players league.
NBA is, so that means you make the money. Coaches
get fired, not stars. But then when you're bad late
in games, it falls on the player, not the coach.
I'm tired of the coach getting whacked. In the NBA.
It's a players league. You get the plaudits when you
(21:34):
win late, you get the criticism when you lose late.
This is not a Brad Stevens issue. In Boston, they
don't have enough juice. This is not a Tie lou problem.
One more Herd. The Herd streams twenty four hours a day,
seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search Herd
to listen live or on demand. Whenever you like, Colin right,
Colin wrong, where Colin was right. I've acknowledged for years,
(21:57):
ten years, Aaron Rodgers is great, but he's really petty
and hard to get along with. Well. Story came out
this weekend from a former teammate and executive that said,
Aaron's an intelligent, trolling, petting mother Blanker He's gonna make
you look stupid for disrespecting him. Set another why are
you getting blindsided? I'm not saying Aaron's evil, but this
(22:19):
is like his criminal mastermind plan set. An executive put
it this way. They'd have to fire everybody he's dug in,
that's who he is. They'd have to make him the
freaking owner of the team. That's the sense I get.
He just wants control again. These are people who have
worked with him and been with him and been teammates
with him. Aaron is difficult and prickly and condescending. And
(22:41):
when I write my last and third book, I'll write
an Aaron Rodgers story that I've never told. He's a
lot to deal with. That's all I've ever said, and
get remarkable pushback when I started ten years ago saying
it for the record, I get a lot less now.
Where Colin was right always said the second chapter. If
you write the book on Lebron is durability. The first chapter,
(23:04):
he's amazing. Now he's not very durable. Three injuries in
two years. He came back last week. High ankle sprain
was the injury. He reinjured it almost immediately. The Lakers
have sort of devolved into a playing game team to
make the playoffs. Lebron's had to me kind of a
bitter year where he usually gets one hundred and twenty
(23:26):
days off after a title or a championship roun this
year he got seventy. He was anti All Star game,
anti playing game, anti starting the season in December, and
let's just be honest, now, not only have we seen
the best of Lebron, we've probably seen the last of
him playing engaged for a full regular season. Where Colin
(23:48):
was right. Never understood the disrespect for Steph Curry. Maybe
it's the nerdy shoes he wears, or he didn't have
the alpha players want, but he scored forty nine points
in three order Saturday. He's going to win the scoring Championship.
And oh, by the way, he is single handedly putting
it an odd fitting Warriors team in the playoffs. They're
(24:10):
currently the eight seed. He is shooting since the All
Star Break forty six percent on threes and getting thirty
seven points a game. By the way Kad left him,
Katie can't stay healthy and is not even the most
valuable Brooklyn Nett, this is what Curry is all about.
(24:31):
The great players in this league can lead through dysfunction,
through chaos. It's what Lebron's done in Cleveland a couple
of times. It's what Lebron did when he came to
the Lakers. There are a lot of great players in
this league. There are only two or three that are
in Steph Curry's class in terms of valuable. Where Colin
(24:53):
was wrong, Yeah, I started the year saying the Dodgers
had the chance to be the best team since maybe
the late nineties Yankees. They started thirteen and three. They're
now in third place in the National League West. They
got beat by the Angels this weekend. At one point,
led fourteen nothing and almost blew the lead. Dave Roberts
has to at some point be on the hot seat
(25:15):
before the All Star Game. Injuries are piling up, Cody
Bellinger's not there yet, and Dustin May is now out.
The bullpen is a real concern. They regularly leak runs
late in games. Not a good weekend. The Freeway Series
didn't treat them well. Angels won two of those. Where
Colin was right. Nothing against Kirk Cousins, but any time
(25:39):
you throw a little shade at the Vikings quarterback, their
fans go nuts story came out this week. They were
fishing for a quarterback and strongly considered drafting Justin Fields
when he dropped. It's nothing against Kirk Cousins, but he
has an incredibly low ceiling. He's seven and sixteen in
(25:59):
prime time time games and in a division with Aaron Rodgers.
He just doesn't get you to the next level. There's
a reason Stefon Diggs was constantly complaining. But man, there
is no fan base that gets more sensitive when you
criticize their quarterback. He's very much Derek Carr, but in
(26:20):
my opinion, not as mobile. Therefore, he's got a low ceiling.
The Vikings acknowledging it were about ready to draft Justin
Fields where Colin was wrong. Well, I ripped him last week.
I gotta be fair about this. Anthony Davis dominated the
Sons this week and in a very important game for
the Lakers and scored forty two points. What do you
(26:41):
know he delivered in one of their biggest games of
the year. Listen, it's never been about talent for Anthony Davis.
It has always been about desire. That's why he reminds
me so much of Rashid Wallace, a great defensive player
from a you know, a Carolina Kentuck. He liked program hard.
(27:02):
To stop elite defender, you have to beg to get
into the weight room and work on his body. That's
why his body never treats him well. But Big game
in Portland played pretty well. Big game against the Suns.
He absolutely dominated it and he deserves that credit. Where
Colin was right well, very early, even when they were
oh and seven. We kept saying with the Miami Dolphins,
(27:25):
I love the coach and I like the direction of
this team. Peter King and his column this Morning Football
Morning in America talked about Chris Greer twenty eight trades
in twenty eight months on the job. This is why
I like this team, and Greer had a great quote.
Football has evolved a lot of general managers are willing
(27:46):
to trade now. All we think is about getting better tomorrow.
This is a Miami team that everybody seems to like now,
But we said it when they started owen seven. Look
at their offseasons, look at their rafts. Really smart and
Chris Greer is one of these gms who keeps a
very low profile. You don't hear him talk. There are
(28:08):
no press conferences He is really one of the sharp
cats in the NFL. Where Colin was right, Bradley Beale.
How long have I been saying Bradley Beale's the best
player with no marquee value in this league. He's got
to go to a winner. Well, he's one of the
favorite my guys, right, favorite he is now. The Wizards
(28:31):
are the hottest team in the league in the last month.
In the last two week, he's had three games over
forty points. He's going to finish number two in the
NBA and scoring. He had fifty points Saturday. It's a
bad franchise. But I'll tell you this, everybody at some
point has struggled to play with Westbrook because Russell kind
(28:52):
of has a distinct style. What do you know, Bradley
Beale with a past his prime Westbrook, over the course
of the season is able to play very well with
Westbrook in the same back court. It's not like he's
a big of forward. They're in the same backcourt. They're
(29:14):
playing very well together. And Beal remains the best player
in the NBA that you've probably never watched an entire
game of. And I'd love to see him in the playoffs.
I know Lebronze Camp, huge fans, huge, huge fans of
Bradley Beale. They just can't make it work because he's
(29:35):
expensive and the Lakers don't have cap space. Be sure
to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon
Easter not Ampacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and
the iHeartRadio app. Listen. There's three receivers in the NFL
to me that are just different than everybody else, in
no particular order, Stefon Diggs, DeAndre Hopkins, and our next
guest joining us live, Davante Adams eight years, four Pro Bowls,
(30:00):
first player in NFL history with a hundred catches and
eighteen touchdowns in one season, and just a remarkable player.
So the obvious question, when I saw you were booked today,
just when you heard the Aaron Rodgers stuff, what was
your first reaction? What I mean, what was like the
first minute you thought blank? What did you think? Well?
(30:21):
When I first got it, um, I was I was
actually on the golf course. I'm trying to enjoy myself,
a couple of gruskies out there, so it's a good day.
And then I hear that and it kind of sways it. Obviously,
I don't really know what the thing, hadn't really spoke
to him, so, um, you know, it wasn't the best
news to receive while I'm out there trying to have
a good time, but you know, it scared me a
(30:42):
little bit, but it was you know, a lot of
things that go into this, So I was like, let's
let's just calm down, let's see see what's going on.
We'll talk to him and then you know, ultimately and
trying to figure out what was going on with this thing.
You know, DeVante, you're a free agent at the end
of next year, so you're very, very fortunate that if
the Aaron green bathing did not work, you would be
on the market. And I'm gonna guess you're gonna get
whatever you want. You're gonna You're gonna get a Stefon
(31:03):
Digg's deal. So let's be honest here. This is not
a shot at Jordan's love. But if Aaron moved on,
you have such an incredible working relationship with him, what
it affect your future in Green Bay? Potentially? Potentially? I mean,
that's my guy. That's the only guy that I've had,
(31:24):
you know other than that. Um. Twenty seventeen season when
he got hurts. It's the only guy that I played
with him. Um, you know, we built up a special
connection over the years that has made it, you know,
put us both in really good positions in our career. Um,
you know, not that he needed me to come along
for it, because he was already in that spot, but
we established a lot together, So it would change a lot. Manum,
you know, doesn't mean potentially I'd be gone, but um,
(31:47):
you know, I definitely have to do some extra thinking
if if my guy wasn't here. Well, first of all,
you have the most catches in a single season in
Packer history, which is kind of remarkable considering how many
great players they've had. All the stat that mattered last year,
you were number one in all of them. Here's the
thing is that you Aaron needs to trust a receiver
(32:07):
to throw to him. That's why it can be tough
for like Tom Brady rookie receivers, he's hard on him.
Aaron rookie receivers, he's hard on him. You built a
trust with him. Take take me back to your first
year or two, when do you think, Davante you crossed
that threshold where Aaron finally said I trust this kid. Um,
(32:32):
I mean that takes It took time, and I'm not
gonna lie. It took time before I can, you know,
honestly personally say you know, we're in that spot and
he trust me for sure. There's been time, you know,
throughout my first year. You know, he came to me
some critical moments in playoff game against Dallas, but that
we hadn't really developed that true trust at that point,
so I wasn't really sold that, you know, we have
(32:53):
like this, this crazy barn that's going to turn into
something undeniably special. So I would say obviously twenty fIF
was not a great year for me at all. So
definitely wasn't that. I'd say around twenty sixteen, you know,
middle of that season, we were having a lot of success,
scoring a bunch of test bounds. Um, you know I was.
I was healthy that year, so I was able to
get through it and really just play my game. And
(33:15):
you know, being hurt banged up in twenty fifteen, just
the type of player I am and the type of
movements that I made, you can't have any you know,
nagging injuries going on with your limbs and ankles and
all of that stuff. So being able to be healthy
in twenty sixteen, I felt like we were able to
establish something and kind of snowball that moving forward and
missed him in seventeen when he got hurt, but we
got right back to in twenty eighteen and m kind
(33:38):
of since then just been tearing it up. Is it's
very rare. Adelman and Brady had this, a Doug Baldwin
and Russell Wilson had this. There's almost non verbal stuff
when I watch you and Aaron play, it's it's it's
like you're playing a little game by yourself. You haven't
let all your teammates in on. You know. I feel
(34:00):
like and by the way, Aaron doesn't get along with everybody,
and that's fine, but there's something about what you've done
that is created this relationship and kind of talk about
that it is special and not He hasn't had this
with every wide receiver. Um. I think it's just years
and years of just building that connection in the consistency. Honestly,
(34:21):
I think just him being able to trust that I
know what I'm doing, and um, you know, he got
this thing where I've referred to him as an elephant before.
You know, he remembers everything so I try to basically
hop onto that training and be that same type of
player where he'll he'll bring up something he'll tell me
in a huddle. You remember, you know, I guess the
Titans twenty sixteen, you ran, uh, you know outside release
(34:45):
this or that route, and I need you to run
it like that. So then I'll line up there and
he'll kind of give me a look later in the
game and I'll look over to him and know exactly
what he's trying to get me to do. And then,
you know, coming out and there's nothing more gratifying than um,
you know, connecting on that type of level, or knowing
what your quarterback is expecting of you doing just that
turnaround seeing a ball and catching a touchdown. I feel
(35:07):
like that's what's allowed us to be different than any
other group, being able to do stuff like that. Listen,
the Packers are a big brand, they're a notable franchise,
but they're DeVante, They're different. They don't have an owner.
It is not only the smallest NFL city, it's the
smallest NFL city, it's the smallest pro city. It's a
very there's a very unique bonding experience in Green Bay
(35:30):
it's not a criticism one of one of Aaron's criticisms
of the franchise. They haven't communicated all the time, and
in fairness, he's right. Um, when when Aaron complains about that,
do you defend him on that? Do you see that?
Sometimes I defend my guys on everything. Man, I mean,
(35:51):
this is uh, we all know, it's a pretty um
you know, dense business is a lot that happens, a
lot that goes on here. Um. You know, just like
any other job, you want to be happy, and you
want guys, once you have gained that respect, you want
to be treated with that type of respect. So, UM,
there's certain things that you know, I can't speak on specifics,
but there's certain things that he wants and maybe the
(36:12):
club isn't wasn't so excited about living up to right away.
And you know that can affect a guy who's done
so much for an organization. Um. You know, he's put
his his body and he's really laid his life on
the line out there for for that team, for his
teammates and everything. So I've been behind him one hundred
percent throughout the whole thing. Obviously, I'm praying everything works
(36:33):
out and that we get him back, and um, you know,
we can continue to go out there and do stuff
like we see on a screen there because it's a
lot of fun doing that. By the way, finally, because
of the pandemic DeVante, we have not in the media.
We haven't seen Jordan Loved practice, we haven't seen him play.
There was no preseason. We're all just guessing here. So
so I'm not expecting him to be Aaron Rodgers. That's unfair.
(36:57):
I never expected a Brady back up to be Brady
or a Russ Wilson back up to be Russell. But
if I asked you, how far do you believe if
Aaron left, how far is Jordan Love from starting in
the league another off season, another year, Could you give
me some sense, like if if the worst thing happened
(37:18):
in Aaron left, the worst thing for you, how far
is Jordan from playing? Is he close? I'd say, And
here's is pretty tough, and like you just stated, not
having any any real action out there, it's tough for
me to assess that fully based off what I've seen.
He works really hard, he's really attentive, and um, you know,
(37:38):
he's like a sponge with Aaron in that room, just
soaking up everything, all the knowledge, you know, different things,
and with his mechanics, I know, um, you know he's
been working on to try to get better and better
at UM. But it's tough because I haven't seen him play.
I haven't seen him get out there and do a preseason.
So after this year, I think we'll be able to
give a more accurate assessment of that seeing him going
(37:59):
against a few other teams, maybe some some cross uh
you know how they do the training camp practices. Maybe
we'll do some stuff like that, uh potentially, so we'll see. Um.
You know, I definitely got faith in that it can
get it done. And you know, whoever's out there, I
showed it with you know, twenty seventeen with Bret Henley.
I'm gonna get out there and be ready to ball regardless. Um,
you know, control what I can control. Um. But like
(38:20):
I said, love is he's been looking good from what
I've seen, but that real live action is what it
really let us know. Well, by the way, if you
quit today, you get Hall of Fame votes. Uh, you
are a spectacular talent. Congratulations on that. You're You've got
something called optimum nutrition, building better lives. What is that? Yeah, man,
a partner partnered with Optimal Nutrition. UM, you know, the
(38:42):
best in the in the business. They've They've done so
much for me, my family, UM, the communities, UM that
like the communities that I grew up in. UM. Just
putting people in a better position to be able to
maximize their potential. And I feel like that's uh, you know,
having a sponsor like that that you can trust when
it comes to training, especially at the level that we
are at M. I feel like it's incredibly incredibly important
(39:04):
to be able to trust that and know that I'm
going to be getting the best out of you know,
better workouts, better recovery, all this stuff that allows me
to be in my peak performance. DeVante, You're a spectacular talents.
Great to finally meet you. By the way. Have you
talked to Aaron at all in the last a couple
of weeks at all texted him anything. Yeah, we talked
a little bit. It's been um, you know a lot
(39:25):
of still being uh you know figured out on his end.
So it's tough for me to get into specifics and
speak on it. Honestly, I would love to, UM, can't
wait talk and just get on here and tell you
that he's back and we're you know, we're back and
run doing our thing that we've been doing. Um, but
for now, it's just, you know, you got to iron
out a few things and then um, you know, hopefully
I'll be back on the show. We'll be celebrating, taking
(39:46):
shots and whatnot. Well, I hope you're optimistic today, DeVante.
Thanks for coming on the show. I appreciate it. Man,
you're a you're a stud, and I appreciate it. Thank you, Boss,
I appreciate you.
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.