February 11, 2025 • 45 mins
Colin explains why after 1 game he believes LeBron James and Luka Doncic will work well together for a very obvious reason. He has bad news for Chiefs fans and why they have an uphill battle to remain contenders after another devastating Super Bowl loss. Plus, he talks to Nick Wright from First Things First about Patrick Mahomes playing poorly for the 2nd time in the Super Bowl
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox
Sports Radio in noon to three Eastern nine am to
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Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin cowher
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
All right, here we go on at Tuesday. Football season's
over for a while. We got some Luca Lebron baby
Lakers rolland live in Los Angeles.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
It's the Herd.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Wherever you may be and however you may be listening.
Thanks for making us part of your day. I don't
want to hear the jazz are no good. Keep your
eye on the jazz, bright future, Jmac. Laker's won twelve
or fourteen. Now, lucas playing with new guys. You know,
Luca got hurt. He's been out since Christmas. So there's
I'm not I was watching the last night. I'm taking
what am I doing with Luke? He's not dropping forty tonight.
(00:58):
He needs time to get back into shape. But boy,
that first half of the Lakers Austin Reeves, Lebron and
Luca Austin Reeves.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
Now you like him? Huh, he's your guy, all right?
Speaker 5 (01:09):
Seventy two and a half for the Lakers.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
Oh, they're going to the finals, coward.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Well, let's just start with this. That's a little hot.
That's a little hot this morning. But when I hear this, yeah,
I don't know if Lebron and Luca are gonna work together.
Go back to Miami. D Wade and Lebron. That wasn't
a good fit. Both need the ball to excel. Neither
are great shooters. They were just two great athletes and
(01:33):
they ended up getting a four straight finals. Stephan, Katie
and Klay Thompson one ball. Three guys that need it.
Last night Lebron and the Lakers second highest plus minus
for Lebron this season and the Lakers had their second
highest point title Between the Warriors, the Heatles, and Lebron
and Luca. What a all three have in common in basketball?
(01:55):
Smart guys figure it out. A lot of stars, can't.
They lack self awareness? Right, the egos, the lack of
self awareness. I mean, the OKC Westbrook metal thing, it
just didn't work. Katie, Steph Clay worked, the Heatles worked
Lebron and Luke Austin reeves it's gonna work. I mean
last night before the game, Lebron's like, don't worry about
(02:17):
fitting in, We'll work around you.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Just go score.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
And I think that's chemistry is an issue when you
have selfish guys and insecure guys and guys with no
self awareness. You know, Harden and Kyrie playing with Katie
and Brooklyn. Katie was great, the other two guys were
a pained. They hurt chemistry. So Lebron and Luca are engaged.
They're smart, they have huge brands, so they're very, very
(02:43):
secure in who they are, both excellent passers. The only
weird part for me is how the hell is Lebron
still this good? What's in that whiney's drinking? I swear
he looks like he's in year twelve or thirteen. Lebron's amazing.
But if you go back to the Heatles in Miami,
they didn't have any size Joel Anthony, remember him, Joel
Anthony was a six nine and a half center. They
(03:04):
had no true point guard. But it was one of
the smartest teams I've ever seen. Shane Battier, Ray Allen,
Lebron Haslam. I mean it just everybody, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade.
They just made it work. Draymond, Steph Clay, you know
k D. Smart guys, just make it work. So now
(03:27):
Lucas rusty Okay, never played with these guys, I don't
care about practice, never played game speed with these guys.
Hasn't played in a long time. And the Lakers do
have an issue, and it's a real issue. They have
no rim protection. Jackson Hayes is a fun guy on
alley oops, and you saw a lot of alley oops.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Last night, but they don't have any rim protection.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
So when the Mark Williams deal from Carolina did not
go through, the Charlotte deal, that's kind of a bummer. Now,
like Robert Williams, who the Celtics had for years, he
didn't he wasn't available very much, but when he was available,
he changed the temperature in the room. So they're gonna
have to address that on on the market and see
if they can find somebody. But I'll say this about
the Lakers last night when I watched them, especially in
the first half, because they put the game away in
(04:06):
the first half. It felt young, It felt fun, it
felt fresh.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
I looked it up this morning.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Ten more threes. They took ten more threes than average.
There were more alley oops, you know what, three pointers
everywhere again, Austin Reeves, Lebron and Luca. Yes they all
need the ball, but you know what, smart guys figured out.
And Staples was roaring all the Luca jerseys. I think
(04:34):
this thing is gonna be excellent. And I'll get to
it a second why I think they can win the West.
But here was Luca and JJ Reddick after.
Speaker 6 (04:40):
It was a little nervous before. I remember when was
the last time it was nerves before the game. So,
but once a step on the Cory was it was
fun and just being on there again felt amazing. It's
new team, knew everything, but like the way they helped me.
Teammates Rob Jenny, just a lot of support for me.
(05:03):
You can see why I'm coming to Arena. I saw
the Luca jerseys. It was just surreal feeling.
Speaker 7 (05:09):
Sometimes you can have agendas in a game. I felt
like this for our group was just a no agenda
game beyond winning a basketball game and play the right
way with our three guys who are going to be
our primary creators. Like they all did it really well,
and I think our guys will get accustomed to the
Luka passes for sure.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Listen, the Lakers felt like they went from analog to digital,
and if you look at the Western Conference standings, why
can't they get there? Memphis is number two. I don't
trust them. They play very fast, great pacing. I'm not
sure if that transfers to the playoffs. Denver is horrific defensively.
Now Jamal Murray's healthy, a get and playing well, They're
a bad defensive team. The Rockets can't shoot super young.
(05:52):
I think they're a regular season team. I think there'll
be a one and done in the playoffs. Clippers, do
you really trust them? So I look at the West.
The best team I've seen in the NBA by a
long shot is the Celtics. I watch them hammer the
Knicks again. Boston's the best team in the league. OKC
is very good that I won't deny, and I'm not
sure if the Lakers can beat them, although it feels
(06:12):
like to me they've matched up with him pretty well
the last couple of years with Ad and Lebron. So
my takeaway is I watched last night. It was a
lot of threes, a lot of alley ups. It's only
going to get better. I mean, Luke hasn't played in forever.
First game with the guys. I think if they can
figure out I said that before. If the Mark Williams
thing would have gone through, I would have had no
problem saying Lakers in the final. I don't know if
(06:34):
they can beat Boston, probably not, but I think they
could get there. I don't know if they can win
the West, but I'm watching all the listen. It's an
offensive sport, right, I mean, defense matters, but people get
frustrated when Jason Tatum doesn't take the game over offensively,
not defensively. So I'm reading this story about the Super
(06:57):
Bowl ratings and one hundred and twenty six million viewers
for the Super Bowl fifty nine. First of all, it's
more than that, but it's hard to track how many
people actually watch. The Nielsen ratings. They do count out
of home viewers, but you don't really have an exact
count on that. You're kind of guessing at some point,
(07:17):
I think it probably was closer to one hundred and
thirty six million. And the second thing is this wasn't
Let's be totally honest about this, it wasn't a good game.
The peak of the rating was in the second quarter.
What if it had been an overtime game, could you
get to one hundred and thirty to thirty five million.
But there's a lot of reasons why I think the
NFL keeps extending their season and adding games because there's
(07:39):
an insatiable appetite for it. We never get tired of it.
And the other thing is there's a reason they keep
playing games now in Australia and they're going to go
to Brazil again, and they're going to go they won
the US market. If you dominate America, spread your wings.
So when people complain about games overseas, why not they
own the country. And I think there's a lot of
(08:00):
reasons why the NFL is king. It's a once a
week sport. But that's always been true. But we didn't
have the iPhone and TikTok in the sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties.
We are a very very distracted nation. It is harder
to get people's attention Monday through Friday, and the NFL
is a once a week game. The second thing is
it's a really good television product, not just because I
(08:21):
work at Fox. NBCCBS ABC are great too, but the
production of the television product is outstanding. The other thing,
it's relatable football players. There is no load management. They
plan the snow, they plan the wind, they plan the rain.
Like the rest of us. They just go to work
when they're not one hundred percent. It's totally relatable. The
(08:41):
other thing is they make big changes regularly. They bailed
on Oakland, they upgraded to Vegas. They bailed on San Diego.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
I know it hurts.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
They upgraded in LA, they bailed on Saint Louis. They'd
bail on Jacksonville tomorrow if they could. They're not going
to be burdened by tradition. They're not gonna worry about
what the hardcore traditionalist and the romantics think. They're gonna
take swings in the ball, and I think they constantly
pivot on rule changes. Baseball struggles with that. Basketball makes
(09:13):
changes sometimes though they feel a little bit like they're
out of desperation. Last week they're talking about shorter quarters.
Who's ever worried about how long a quarter is? We
worry that you got too many games, or load management
and so I think there's a lot of reason for
the changes. I just think, more than anything, it's a
very well run league by adults. Agents run baseball, players
(09:34):
run the NBA. Economically, it is two times the size
of the NBA, yet feels like it's nimble like a sailboat.
It can turn quickly during a Super Bowl. Rule changes,
always willing to change, and somebody told me this years
ago that anytime there's a change, basketball thinks of it first.
(09:54):
Baseball makes the most money out of it, and football
gets it right. And I think the NFL, more than
any he just consistently gets it right when changes are needed.
They don't pander. Agents and the players don't run the league.
They're like every good company I've ever worked for, And
none of the companies I've ever worked for that are
very well run are run.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
By the employees.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
They value the employees, they pay the employees, they treat
the employees well. It's not run by the employees. I
should not be running Fox. I should not be running it.
I'm treated well. I shouldn't be running it. And so
there you go. The number is huge. I think it's
probably bigger than that. And it was not a very
competitive game. We got a lot of things. Nick Wright
(10:36):
joins us in fifty minutes. It's been a very rough
forty eight hours for Nick. You know, he was due
for a bad weekend, j Mac, he was due.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
Can I give you a peek behind the curtain.
Speaker 5 (10:48):
One of our smart producers hit me up this morning,
was like, hey, can you bring in a violin to
play during the Nick Wright segment?
Speaker 4 (10:54):
And I tried to find a violin this morning, No dice,
but I yeah, we feel bad for him. You know,
it's just for this chief.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
I barely slept last year.
Speaker 5 (11:01):
I tried to tell them they weren't a good team
all season record, be damn you you were right, and
they looked awful.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
And then if you go back to that Houston game,
I was choppy, very friendly.
Speaker 4 (11:11):
Whistle there shall we say?
Speaker 5 (11:14):
I'll ask, though, Colin, like, where was the leadership on
the sideline when they were getting their butts kicked twenty
four to nothing. You know, there's a lot of video
out there of Tom Brady in that Atlanta Super Bowl?
Speaker 4 (11:23):
Yeah, fired up the truth, Let's go, come on, guys,
we're not done. And I saw none of that. You know,
the Chief just looks shell shock.
Speaker 5 (11:28):
Like, wait, we're not winning, We're not winning, we're not
coming close to winning.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
It was kind of embarrassing.
Speaker 5 (11:33):
Where's the leadership, Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, I didn't see it.
Speaker 4 (11:36):
Did you?
Speaker 8 (11:38):
Well?
Speaker 1 (11:39):
I don't look to my coaches for that. They got
a headset on or they're trying to maneuver. I think
I think players have to inspire players. I think generationally
it means more coming from another player. If a great
players on the sideline at twenty eight years old, marketing
at a twenty five year old, I think that has
incredible impact. I don't think coach marketed a player. Coaches
market players. It's called practice, and so when you get
(11:59):
into a GA. I do think it's up to players
to help motivate players. There's a lot of tape of
Troy Aikman. He's on his players, Peyton Manning on his players,
and I think there's value. I mean, I've seen Lamar
Jackson on the sideline talking to his own line, getting
guys fired up.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
That stuff matters.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
Something for Mahomes to work on in the offseason.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
Yeah, a couple things.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Gotta get a left tackle baby, be sure to catch
live editions of the Herd weekdays and neon Eastern non
am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
App Welcome Back.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
The So last night Lebron and Luca in Los Angeles
first half was great and Utah is not very good.
Now Lebron and Luca go to Salt Lake City. I think,
is it tomorrow night they play him. So it's one
of those you see that a lot feels like on
the West Coast. You get those back to back games.
So listen, I think Utah's got a bunch of draft picks.
They're like a younger version of Oklahoma City, like they
(12:59):
have landed their stars. But they've got Kessler, the big
guy that got Lori Market, and they got they got
some dudes.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
They're just not there yet. Very young team.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
But I was thinking about Lebron and Luca last night,
and listen, I've always said I think Austin Reeves is
a number four and a championship team.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
Maybe a three. He's playing a really good basketball.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
But I was thinking about the best tandems in basketball
right now, and it's not just scoring. I think there's
a lot of components that go into it. I think
the Lakers are not very good around the basket. Defensively,
Jackson Hayes is more of an offensive guy and ali
up guy kind of Finn not a defensive guy. But
I was thinking to myself one of the best best
ten tandems because I'm watching Lebron and Luca last night.
They looked great and Luca is not close. I mean
(13:39):
he didn't shoot the ball particularly well. He didn't have
his legs under him. It's the first game of the
new guy. I mean, he could drop thirty against Utah
in Salt Lake City and you wouldn't be surprised. So
these are my top ten current duos in the NBA.
I actually think Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler worked because
one's the ball handler shooter and one's the defender and the.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Aggressive guy that can score.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
They're two and zero since they put him together, and
I think Steph just needed a really good number two
when Jimmy's a number one.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
I don't think you're a championship team.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
If Jimmy's a two and you've got a good three
in Draymond Green that I think he would win a
playoff series or two. Steph Steve Kerr run the show.
Draymond Jimmy Butler, aggressive defense.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
I like him.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
I'd put him at ten. I would put Sga and
Jalen Williams at number nine. Now SGA's a bucket. He's
just impossible to stop. Jalen Williams is only I looked
it up this morning, twenty three years old.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
Lord.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Now a lot of people think it's Sga and Chet Holmgren,
but Homegren to me, is just not healthy enough to
consider him an elite duo. At number eight, Jannison Dame
Jannis is banged up a little bit. Dame's playing very,
very well. Like last year, they were struggling to figure
out the chemistry and Dame was coming off injuries.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
I think he's playing really good right now.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
And I also think they do fit because Giannis covers
up some of Dame's weaknesses defensively. When they had to
move Drew Holliday to bring in Dame, he got better
on offense, worse on defense. I still think I think
Kyle Kuzma was a nice get for them because I
thought Chris Middleton had peaked and was going down. I
think Kuzma helps. I don't know how much it helps,
(15:18):
but it helps. I think number seven I think these
guys are underrated. Kyrie and Ad. Now Ad is banged
up a d. Don't listen to j Mack. This guy
has been a top six or seven player in the
NBA the last two years.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
He got hurt, he hadn't been hurt much.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
He's a tremendous player, and again not a lot of ego.
Great defensive player can give you twenty five a night,
and you know Kyrie can be some maintenance. But he
got along well with Luca and he is a tremendous score.
So I would put them at seven. I think Wemby
and Darren Fox is really good. They're probably a year away.
I don't think people realize how good of a score
(15:54):
Yaron Fox is. He's twenty five a night. And you
got Chris Paul on this team. He got the Yukon
guard who's just getting better with time. San Antonio is
a year away from potentially winning the West. I think
this is a great move for them. I really like
their scouting and drafting. I just think they're too young.
But I'd put Wemby and the Aaron Fox at the
six best NBA duo. I would put Jalen Brunson in cat.
(16:16):
They really feed off each other. By the way, Jalen
Brunson's assists almost eight a game career high. Why Cat
and Cat by the way, is shooting forty three percent
from three? Why because a lot of it he's getting
open looks. Because Jalen Brunson draws so much attention. I
don't think this is a championship team. I've watched them
play the Celtics twice and just get bull dozed.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
But I like this duo.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Carl Anthony Towns can drive you crazy, but there is
no doubt he is a very, very gifted offensive player.
Number four a Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley. They're young,
but at least Mobley is. They're They're both averaging twenty
a game plus and five assists. They have the number
one offense in the NBA. I know we stopped watching
(16:59):
him when Lebron left. They're fun to watch, young, aggressive.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
You know.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
Mobley's a guy that came out of USC and he
was a fast riser in the draft. He just keeps
getting better. So I'd put them at number four. I'll
do Jokic and Murray at number three. Now Murray is
healthy again. Jokic is absolutely great. He's averaging a thirty
point triple double this season almost so I think Jokic
remains the best player in the league right now, unstoppable player.
(17:26):
They don't play a lick of defense, so I don't
think they're a championship team. Murray is on pace to
average twenty one and a half points in seven and
a half rebounds he assists during this five or six
game streak when he got healthy again. I always like
Jamal Murray, not as much as Jay Mack, who has
beating that drum for years. They're a bad defensive team,
but I would put them at number three. I would
(17:47):
put number two Tatum and Brown. They're not the highest
scoring duo, but they're versatility, smart guys, both ends. They're
just excellent and by the way they've been playing together
so long now, they take turns closing out in games.
They're excellent, and they're different personalities. I think Jalen Brown's
more aggressive, but they're both in their prime, they're both
(18:10):
signed long term, they're both coachable, they don't need to
score to affect games. I'd put them at two, and
I think Lebron and Luke are number one. Luca's not
close to where he's going to be after give this
thing ten games, Luca's going to be back to thirty
two a night. I can't even figure Lebron out. I
can't figure out how he's this good. It makes no sense.
(18:32):
Lebron is playing like it's year thirteen. So I think
they're the number one now. Now they are a more
lethal scoring duo than Brown and Tatum, but Brown and
Tatum are both in their prime. So Jmac, first of
all your reactions, I'm sure you were overjoyed with this,
oh dear.
Speaker 5 (18:51):
So make sure Wes, when he posts this on social media,
mentions No, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
Speaker 4 (18:58):
I can't really because.
Speaker 8 (19:00):
I don't know.
Speaker 5 (19:01):
I mean, I had one BN Yama and Fox of mine,
but like Combine, they have zero playoff series wins.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Well, they're kid, they're first of all, there's an argument
San Antonio in the second half of the regular season
now will be a significantly.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
Better than the first time.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
I mean, dearon Fox, you're just throwing a bunch of
kids together. I told this during the morning meeting this morning.
The one team in the NBA to watch out for
is the San Antonio Spurs. They're gonna get into the
playoffs and they're gonna knock somebody off because that team
they just threw Dearon Fox into this thing, and they
got that kid from Yukon.
Speaker 4 (19:37):
That guard Castle. He's awesome.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
He is awesome. So san Antonio is the team that is.
We saw this with Dallas last year. A team starts rising,
they make moves at the trade deadline and you look
up and you're like, nobody wanted to play Dallas. San
Antonio is not quite that good, but the Spurs are
dangerous the next three months.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
Booker kd is one omission.
Speaker 5 (19:59):
You could make a case uh DeMar Derozen and Sibonas
and no, I'm just kidding.
Speaker 4 (20:03):
What are the Kings fans on staff put me up
to that? But the legit one that I got to
asked about, and I.
Speaker 5 (20:09):
Know you're not a fan is John Morant and Jaron
Jackson in Memphis. They are playing out of their minds.
John Moran's got his act together. Jackson's having the best
season of his career.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
He might be all NBA.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Had been eleven.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
Damn he just nipped that right now.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Spurs just added Daron Fox and there are only three
wins behind the Suns.
Speaker 4 (20:27):
Yeah, they're twelfth in the West coming.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
That's not a knock on Booker and Kevin Durant. But
when I say that, do you think dynamic? I think
there are things Booker does very well score there are
other things also interesting.
Speaker 4 (20:41):
I see one, two, three, four of these.
Speaker 5 (20:44):
Duos just got together last week.
Speaker 4 (20:46):
That's pretty wild.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
Huh a great.
Speaker 4 (20:48):
It was a monster week for the NBA people.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
Oh, it's the best week of the NBA in years years.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
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Speaker 9 (20:58):
Hey, Steve Covino and I'm Rich David and together we're
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That's Covino and Rich. Welcome in to our number two.
Great to have you here live in Los Angeles.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
It's the herd.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Wherever you may be and however you may be listening.
Thanks for making us part of your day. Nick Wright's
going to be joining us. He's a trooper. He's going
to be joining us here in a couple of minutes.
And I thought I would start j Mac. You'll you'll
get a kick out of this. Connor or Sports Illustrate excellent.
Young a journalist only deals in facts acknowledges. He believes
(22:27):
that the Chiefs in twenty twenty five will miss the
Super Bowl each of the next two seasons, and he
talks about how the Patriots had several gaps in Super Bowls.
He said, it's not anti Andy Reider, Patrick Mahomes. Great
players get old fast, and role players are hard to
keep around. And the draft, even by the best GMS,
(22:49):
is like a sixty to forty fifty to fifty proposition.
After the first couple of rounds, you're rolling the dice
on draft picks. And so again, this is an excellent
journalist that only deals in facts. Connor Or saying that,
so I there are things that I think you have
to be honest about. Let's not do like recency bias.
But mahomes number one weapon the last three years have
(23:10):
been Travis Kelcey kind of looks cooked. He's thirty six
years old in the last couple of games, not really yet.
So you know, the classic sports muscle car can't be
your primary car.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Like it's time.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Number two is in a very mediocre draft, they're gonna
get they need a tackle, and they'll probably get the
fifth to sixth best tackle because that positions so valuable,
and unless they compromise and sacrifice draft picks, they're not
getting one of the better left tackles. They also need
to tight end and the two best ones will be taken.
The other thing is the division. We gotta be honest, now,
Pete Carroll, Jim Harbaugh. We saw what Harbaugh did in
(23:45):
one year. We saw Bo Nicks as a rookie. Sean Payton,
I'm sorry, it matters. That's the best coaching division in football.
That's not even arguable. That is the best coaching division
in football. The other thing is we saw Jim harbaughd
do this at San Francisco, at Michigan and with the Chargers.
In one year he turned him around. This year, they
(24:06):
have sixty five million in cap space. The Chargers got
to the playoffs with a rookie slot receiver as a
really elite weapon.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
That was it.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
So they got a lot of cap space. And what
the Chargers need is a defensive tackle and running backs.
And the two positions in the draft that are absolutely
stacked are defensive tackle and running back. And because of
their draft position, they'll get the first or second best
tight end in the draft, which they need. And here's
the other thing, and we got to be honest about this.
(24:38):
Mahomes next year is going to be a twenty four
percent cap hit. Twenty four percent of Kansas City's cap
is going to be Mahomes. He's going to be making
sixty six large. Tom Brady was never over fourteen. It matters.
It matters. I know the CAP's going up, but it matters.
Tom Brady on average was a ten to twelve percent
cap hit. That's why those Patriot teams never had units
(25:01):
that were bad. They were never terrible anywhere. In the
two blowout losses to Kansas City and the Super Bowl,
they're bad at left tackle, They're just bad. The Patriots
were never awful anywhere, didn't matter kicker, punter, quarterback, left tack,
all the key positions, they were at least B plus
and a lot of that was Brady sacrificed. Tom talked
about this last week. It is damn hard to win
(25:23):
these Super Bowls.
Speaker 11 (25:25):
What I realized early in my career about Super Bowls was, man,
we won my first year. Like, what's the big deal is?
It's like I went to college, we played Norge Bowl,
I won, We went to the Citrus Bowl, we won.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
Okay, now I'm in the Super Bowl.
Speaker 11 (25:37):
We won, all right, what's the big We didn't have
a great seat in two thousand and two. We won
in two thousand and three. What's the big deal? We
won in two thousand and four, what's the big deal? Right,
then you go to two thousand and seven and you lose,
and then you go to twenty eleven and you get
to the super Bowl. They're having a great team in
twenty ten and we lose, and it was just like, wow,
(26:00):
this is way harder.
Speaker 4 (26:01):
We went ten years between winning.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Yeah, it's really hard, very very difficult. They were in
good health, and then the ticker went not to mention
how long is Andy Reid gonna coach? I know this
(26:25):
is somber solemn. Nick Wright is now joining US lives.
Speaker 12 (26:38):
That's probably your best comedy bit in years. And you
know what is a staple of the best of the
best comedians what they incorporate some of their old classics
into their new material. So you had a lot of
new stuff there, but then you went back to one
of the classic which is next year is the year
(27:04):
Justin Herbert breaks through. I mean that, I mean set
your watch to it. And by the way, I do
think you had the chiefs because they're drafting thirty two
or thirty one. Pardon me, unable to draft anyone of need,
and I think you had the Chargers because they're drafting
twenty one getting the best running back, d tackle, and
tight end in the draft.
Speaker 8 (27:24):
It is unbelievable. The Chargers, to.
Speaker 12 (27:27):
Their credit, who you know, did, have to go through
the season with a rookie wide receiver as their number
one option.
Speaker 8 (27:34):
Can you imagine.
Speaker 12 (27:34):
Making the Super Bowl in back to back years with
a rookie wide receiver being your number one option? I
can't probably never be done. No, I mean, listen, listen.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
It is.
Speaker 12 (27:47):
The Chiefs and me deserve a lot of criticism for
the performance on Sunday.
Speaker 8 (27:56):
Spinning that forward into.
Speaker 12 (27:58):
This team being cooked is I think a bridge too
far even for you, like I don't. Maybe you've been
hanging out with j Mac too off and off the
air and he's been spitting that poison in your ear.
But they still go into next season the overwhelming favorites
in the AFC West, and they go in the next
(28:19):
season better positioned than any other team in the AFC. Now,
it's hard to get to a super Bowl every single year.
I get that, But I think you're writing the obituary
a tad too soon, my friend.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Okay, the one thing I did I did say is that,
and I mean, you've never denied that Brady's great. That's
one of the great things You've always said. The guy's ridiculous.
I mean, it's literally the second part of his career.
He was arguably better than Elway's entire career. Right. But
the one thing I'll say about Tom, and having lived
in Connecticut during his reign, is that we used to
(28:55):
always talk about this, if he had the second best
poker hand, he could still in the hand. He didn't
have to have pocket aces. And now now, in fairness,
last year I didn't. I think the last couple of
years the Chiefs didn't have a loaded roster. But I
would say that in the Super Bowl losses, let's just
(29:15):
talk about this one.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
I didn't feel. I felt like I was.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
Watching the same play over and over, and I didn't
feel Mahomes adjusted a lot. Maybe that's Andy Reid, but
it did. I watched it and I thought, God, Tom
would have just moved the chains short that he kept
sitting in the pocket the same play.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
I thought Patrick really played terribly.
Speaker 12 (29:38):
I listen, I think it was one of the worst
games of Patrick's career.
Speaker 8 (29:40):
But we're not.
Speaker 12 (29:41):
This again is where I just have to be the
arbiter of fairness, okay, or if one wants to argue that.
And again, Brady is the most accomplished player ever, the
goat at this position and of the sport. And because
of this loss, it's going to take Patrick an immense
(30:03):
amount of time to have a chance to catch him,
because this was the opportunity to do something Tom never did.
Speaker 8 (30:09):
That is all true. Here's what is also true.
Speaker 12 (30:12):
We are now revisionist historing how Tom Brady's playoff defeat
when going for a three peat went. It was not
in the super Bowl, with the decisive play being a
pick six. It was in the divisional round to Jake Plumber,
with the decisive play being a pick six. And I
(30:34):
know that the Michael Jordan propaganda machine has convinced people
that losing in round one or round two is actually
better than winning those rounds and then losing in the
championship round. But that, of course is ludicrous, and so
the idea. You're right that Tom never had this pore
(30:56):
of a performance in a super Bowl.
Speaker 8 (30:58):
That is unquestioned.
Speaker 12 (31:00):
But Tom had, as every quarterback ever had brutal performances
that prevented his team from getting too super bowls. Patrick's
never had that, and so we can go tit for
tad on these things. And I had to listen yesterday
to Joe Montana four and zero in super Bowls, and
(31:20):
that is true. It is also true that in the
dead middle of his prime eighty five, eighty six, eighty seven,
those three years, Joe Montana in three consecutive playoff games,
had three consecutive Round one or first game defeats, and
had zero touchdowns over.
Speaker 8 (31:39):
A three year span.
Speaker 12 (31:40):
Cumulatively in the playoffs three straight blowofs, including a forty
nine to three, but because they happened in round one,
they don't count.
Speaker 8 (31:49):
I don't buy into that. I never have. Patrick played
very poorly.
Speaker 12 (31:54):
Yesterday he now joins the list of every single quarterback
in NFL history, of which he wasn't previously on where
he played his worst game of the year in the
biggest spot of the year. But I think we are
writing the obituary as you literally are a tad too soon.
Speaker 3 (32:12):
Yeah, well, I think there.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
I do have Kansas City being a wild card team
next year, so I think they're still.
Speaker 12 (32:19):
What you had him this year. I think that's what
you had him last year. This year you have him
in the wild card. Every year. Every year is going
to be the Chargers year. And did you say Pete Carroll?
I like Pete Carroll too. Does that team have a
quarterback yet? I'm just kidding, like literally on the roster.
Do they have a quarterback? Is it aid and O'Connell.
Speaker 8 (32:37):
I don't think that.
Speaker 12 (32:38):
I don't think Pete Carroll's gonna move the chains with
Aidan O'Connell.
Speaker 8 (32:41):
That's just me, it is.
Speaker 3 (32:43):
I said this yesterday about the Eagles.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
Though. If Saquon Barkley got hurt next year, cross your
fingers and they lose two free agents and it's more
of a Jalen Hurts offense, they wouldn't look the same there.
I mean, listen, this is a sport with regulated level
of violence. I think the Chiefs will rebuild. They'll be fine.
They need to left tackle that need a running back.
You know, they just have to hit some draft picks.
They're prone to do that. I do think the Andy
(33:06):
Reid thing is real, is that I could see Andy
with two more great runs and just say, listen, man,
I got four or five of these things, I'm out
And then as you know, even the great organizations miss
on head coaches fifty percent.
Speaker 3 (33:23):
Of the time.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Is there part of you that wonders? The Andy thing
is what worries you more than players?
Speaker 12 (33:31):
Oh listen, I mean and I one thousand percent. And
Patrick leading up to the game, when he was asked,
you know, basically, how long can this keep up? His
answer was, as long as Andy's still here the whole team.
Speaker 8 (33:46):
You know what I mean. It gives him the respect
and credit he deserves. Here is.
Speaker 12 (33:53):
The reason I am not incredibly concerned about that. First
of all, in the short term, we know he's coming
back at least next year, and I would imagine, as
you're saying he's coming back for two or three more years,
he is just about to start a five year, one
hundred million dollar contract. So even if he doesn't finish that,
you have this time. The other reason that I am
(34:16):
less concerned is if he were to signal that he
was going into what would be the last year of
his career, this immediately becomes the most coveted coaching.
Speaker 8 (34:32):
Job in modern NFL.
Speaker 12 (34:34):
History, Like it would, it be the most coveted job
since the Bucks. I'm sorry, the Colts fired Jim Mora
the answer, that's probably right. But even in that moment,
Peyton obviously had not accomplished ten percent of what Patrick
already has, and so I do think they will be fine.
(34:57):
I also would not act as if losing the guy
who I believe to be one of the three greatest
coaches in the history of the sport and the greatest
offensive mine in the history of the sport, you know what,
wouldn't be a significant, significant loss, But that is much
further down the road than you know this or next season.
Speaker 1 (35:18):
At least I believe lost a little bit lost in
Luca going to the Lakers. Is how insane Lebron has
played this year. It looks like you're thirteen.
Speaker 12 (35:29):
It's unbelievedble, It's incredible, and it very much is Brady
in Tampa where you're like, is he still a top
four quarterback when he was forty four?
Speaker 1 (35:38):
Like? Right, I mean he left and the next year
you're like, I think he's still top four or five?
Speaker 3 (35:46):
What do you make we know I'll get to Luke
in a second.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
How do you explain Lebron he's better than last year?
Speaker 2 (35:53):
What is it?
Speaker 1 (35:54):
So?
Speaker 12 (35:55):
I mean, listen, I think there is a natural benefit
to truly, and I think this is being proven out
in real time literally being the greatest athlete, and I
just mean raw athleticism maybe in world history. Like you
can say, oh, you found a way to be hyperbolic,
(36:17):
Like I don't know who he's competing with on that
as far as height, weight, speed, longevity, durability, all of
it over a twenty five year stretch. Like I honestly
don't know who was the corner. Gosh darn it, I
shouldn't ask it. There was a corner that he played
for Washington, he played for like Daryl.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
Green Green like Daryl Green.
Speaker 12 (36:39):
I was like, I don't know, like as he was
on that same list. I don't know, but regardless. So
the reason I bring that up is Lebron is right
now seventy five percent of the athlete he was ten
years ago, but seventy five percent of prime Lebron is
still more then ninety five percent of the rest of
(37:03):
the league. So because of that, he's been able to
stave off the aging curve a bit. You then add
to it, he's a better shooter. Yeah, these last two
years than any point of his career. The IQ is
still you know, obviously not going anywhere. And what I
think we've seen the last couple of weeks is the
power of hope and the power of belief. You saw
(37:26):
in the Olympics, Colin Lebron was like, all right, these
might be the last really consequential games of my basketball life.
And you saw him on the global stage be the
best player in the entire tournament.
Speaker 3 (37:41):
Night in night outs, good point.
Speaker 12 (37:43):
And then you saw this year when it's like, wait
a minute, we're actually a little bit better than I expected.
JJ's doing a great job. If I'm able to carry
us when Anthony Davis is out, maybe that gets the
team to make one of these around the Fringes deadline
moves we want them to make, and maybe we can
(38:04):
steal a finals appearance. And then instead of that, they
trade for a top three player in the world. And
now I think Lebron is like, oh my god, I
can win a championship like me.
Speaker 8 (38:15):
And if Luca can.
Speaker 12 (38:17):
Take Kyrie and role Players to the championship, can take
their championship, Round, can take a young Jalen Brunson in
role Players to the conference finals. What if I, all
of a sudden can actually hand the offense off to
someone else actually not see the team go to die
(38:38):
when I go to the bench, actually be rested going
into the playoffs, and the Lakers are going to have
problems defensively and the lack of the you know, they
traded for Mark Williams for a reason they got rescinded.
But you have the highest IQ duo in league history
now on the on a team We've never had two
(38:59):
players with this passing ability plus IQ playing together so offensively,
it's going to be a top three team, and I
think Lebron knows what that means for him.
Speaker 1 (39:11):
For the record, Does Jimmy Butler do anything for the Warriors?
I mean, I think it makes it much more interesting.
Speaker 8 (39:19):
I thought the NBA missed the play in.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
Yeah, I think the NBA had a great week. The
Luca thing, the Butler thing, dearon Fox to winby I
thought the league had a great week. Does Butler do
anything for that team still playing team to use?
Speaker 12 (39:30):
I mean, well, I mean I think that without him
they were going to risk at risk of missing the
play in, right, and the Warriors have been in the
play in and lost previously. I think without him they
were going to be at certainly not only at risk,
but probably a favorite to miss the actual eight team postseason.
(39:54):
Now I fully expect them to be in the playoffs.
I don't know that I think I think their ceiling
is round is a Round one victory. I do think that.
I just I think that Steph is still really good.
Speaker 8 (40:13):
But night Tonight now.
Speaker 12 (40:14):
Steph also, by the way, has been playing his best
basketball as of late, maybe invigorated by.
Speaker 8 (40:19):
The trade as well.
Speaker 12 (40:20):
They the only chance they have of making any real
noise is if the way Steph has played the last
couple weeks, if he can keep that up. I also
think that Jimmy, you know, Jimmy is not night Tonight
that reliable when it comes to an injury risk. So
they are an very old injury concerned team. But I
(40:42):
am a fervent believer that if you happen to have
one of the ten to twelve greatest players in the
history of the league still playing at a high level,
you have an obligation to go all in every year.
It is irresponsible to worry about the future you are
your only obligation is to right now. So I think
(41:04):
the Warriors did right by Steph here, even if it's
not a real needle mover.
Speaker 8 (41:09):
When it comes to winning a championship.
Speaker 1 (41:11):
So maybe we were a little premature on the headstone.
I will say, however, is if they don't hit on
some of these draft picks. Drafting thirty first, it's a
little scary.
Speaker 12 (41:25):
Drafting thirty first, that's the best position we've been in
three years. You're usually stuck in the thirty two hole.
Think about it. And by the way, keep in mind
they all the Chiefs also have They have the thirty
first pick, the sixty third pick, and then like the
sixty sixth pick because they got that from Tennessee and
Tennessee finished with one of the worst rugs in football.
(41:47):
So we're loaded to bear headed into the draft. Tell
you that right now, maybe we trade for Micah Parsons.
Who knows, I Colin, I'll leave you on this. The Chiefs,
we all know, since Patrick's been there seven years, they
have a two games one or two game season. It
starts in the conference championship round. Two years they've gone
oh to one. Both years they made massive changes. One
(42:11):
year after going oh to one, they fired the de coordinator,
brought in Spags. One year after going on on one,
they traded Tyreek Hill. Three years they've gone to and oh,
we know what you do after that, You hold a parade.
They've now twice gone one and one. The first time
they did it, they remade the offensive line. I'm very
curious what they do the second time, because one and
(42:34):
one doesn't cut it in Kansas City.
Speaker 8 (42:36):
It's a five hundred season. It's really embarrassing.
Speaker 12 (42:38):
So like I don't I don't blame you for poking fun,
but they will make a major adjustment. I don't know
what it'll be, but it's not gonna be quiet this
offseason in Kansas City, I promise you.
Speaker 1 (42:49):
That, right, Nick Wright, First things first, he's bruised, a
bit battered, but still shows up.
Speaker 12 (42:55):
You know what, look if the sports gods, I must
have been a great person in a previous life. Because
the fact that the day after my lowest moment of
my adult life as a football fan, I get to
watch my large adult Slovenian son, Luka Ancic team up
with Lebron James.
Speaker 8 (43:14):
It's not in a fever dream. I mean, I'm right back, baby,
I am.
Speaker 1 (43:18):
So back, and it was fun to watch last night
at the Stafles. Good seeing you, Nick Wright. Rachel Nichols
will stop by on the Lakers stuff. It was fun
Crypto Arena, My bad Crypto.
Speaker 3 (43:30):
I'm sorry. I'm not a Bitcoin bro. I don't keep up.
Speaker 4 (43:35):
Yeah, he Nick seems to be doing well.
Speaker 5 (43:37):
Feel a little delusion still there about how quickly they
can remake the offensive line. Sounds like they're gonna lose
a guard and they need to replace two other positions
in the line.
Speaker 4 (43:45):
I don't think that's a one off season job.
Speaker 1 (43:48):
I am closer to Connor or I think and again,
I think Buffalo gave him a hell of a fight
in Arrowheadyay.
Speaker 5 (43:56):
If you're Buffalo, don't you go all in Miles Garrett. Now,
whoever we can get, just go all in.
Speaker 1 (43:59):
You're There's two teams in the league that have to
go all in on Miles Garrett, Buffalo and Green Bay.
Buffalo can't stop Kansas City. I've watched four times they've
met in the playoffs. Kansas City gives you thirty five plus.
That's with Sean McDermott. Go get Miles Garrett. It's not players. Generally,
you got to overpay a little bit to go to
Buffalo Green Bay right, not hot free agent markets.
Speaker 3 (44:19):
Go buy Miles Garrett.
Speaker 4 (44:20):
We've now seen the blueprint to take down the Chiefs.
Speaker 5 (44:23):
Just get your pass rush to get after Mahomes and
wear him down and rattle in and cover.
Speaker 1 (44:28):
So it's been on the back. There's a lot of
good offensive tackles in this class. There's no great ones.
Joe Alt the Chargers is a higher graded tackle than
anybody in this class. And Alt struggled at times this year.
Later in the year, he struggled in protection against Houston.
Remember that game against Houston.
Speaker 5 (44:47):
Well, it's a good defensive lineman draft as well. So
there's a world where Ravens Bills just take a couple
of bites at the apple and go after Miles Garrett.
Speaker 4 (44:54):
No anything play.
Speaker 1 (44:55):
If I'm Buffalo, I signed Miles Garrett and I draft
their offense is fine, Go get fix the defense, trade
for Miles Garrett, and then draft more defensive. It's a
great running back and defensive tackle draft. And I mean
Matt Miller's a guy that covers the draft.
Speaker 3 (45:13):
He's excellent.
Speaker 1 (45:14):
Uh, Daniel Jeremiah does the same. Those those guys. I
mean people are saying there's like twenty some draftable defensive tackles,
like like, I mean, I forget the number. But it's
like it's something. So there's there's a way winter. Boy,
have you seen have you seen some of the winter?
Speaker 4 (45:35):
I heard it's gonna rain here in La this weekend.
Speaker 3 (45:37):
No, Wednesday and Thursday stinks it. And now it's gonna be.
Speaker 1 (45:41):
Done by Friday, early in the morning. But Wednesday and
Thursday it is a It is a monolu whatever it's
called Pineapple Express or I don't know whatever that's I'm
not an epidemiologist or a meteorologist.
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox
Sports Radio in noon to three Eastern nine am to
noon Pacific. 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 Fox Sports Radio
or FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin cowher
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
All right, here we go on at Tuesday. Football season's
over for a while. We got some Luca Lebron baby
Lakers rolland live in Los Angeles.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
It's the Herd.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Wherever you may be and however you may be listening.
Thanks for making us part of your day. I don't
want to hear the jazz are no good. Keep your
eye on the jazz, bright future, Jmac. Laker's won twelve
or fourteen. Now, lucas playing with new guys. You know,
Luca got hurt. He's been out since Christmas. So there's
I'm not I was watching the last night. I'm taking
what am I doing with Luke? He's not dropping forty tonight.
(00:58):
He needs time to get back into shape. But boy,
that first half of the Lakers Austin Reeves, Lebron and
Luca Austin Reeves.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
Now you like him? Huh, he's your guy, all right?
Speaker 5 (01:09):
Seventy two and a half for the Lakers.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
Oh, they're going to the finals, coward.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Well, let's just start with this. That's a little hot.
That's a little hot this morning. But when I hear this, yeah,
I don't know if Lebron and Luca are gonna work together.
Go back to Miami. D Wade and Lebron. That wasn't
a good fit. Both need the ball to excel. Neither
are great shooters. They were just two great athletes and
(01:33):
they ended up getting a four straight finals. Stephan, Katie
and Klay Thompson one ball. Three guys that need it.
Last night Lebron and the Lakers second highest plus minus
for Lebron this season and the Lakers had their second
highest point title Between the Warriors, the Heatles, and Lebron
and Luca. What a all three have in common in basketball?
(01:55):
Smart guys figure it out. A lot of stars, can't.
They lack self awareness? Right, the egos, the lack of
self awareness. I mean, the OKC Westbrook metal thing, it
just didn't work. Katie, Steph Clay worked, the Heatles worked
Lebron and Luke Austin reeves it's gonna work. I mean
last night before the game, Lebron's like, don't worry about
(02:17):
fitting in, We'll work around you.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Just go score.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
And I think that's chemistry is an issue when you
have selfish guys and insecure guys and guys with no
self awareness. You know, Harden and Kyrie playing with Katie
and Brooklyn. Katie was great, the other two guys were
a pained. They hurt chemistry. So Lebron and Luca are engaged.
They're smart, they have huge brands, so they're very, very
(02:43):
secure in who they are, both excellent passers. The only
weird part for me is how the hell is Lebron
still this good? What's in that whiney's drinking? I swear
he looks like he's in year twelve or thirteen. Lebron's amazing.
But if you go back to the Heatles in Miami,
they didn't have any size Joel Anthony, remember him, Joel
Anthony was a six nine and a half center. They
(03:04):
had no true point guard. But it was one of
the smartest teams I've ever seen. Shane Battier, Ray Allen,
Lebron Haslam. I mean it just everybody, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade.
They just made it work. Draymond, Steph Clay, you know
k D. Smart guys, just make it work. So now
(03:27):
Lucas rusty Okay, never played with these guys, I don't
care about practice, never played game speed with these guys.
Hasn't played in a long time. And the Lakers do
have an issue, and it's a real issue. They have
no rim protection. Jackson Hayes is a fun guy on
alley oops, and you saw a lot of alley oops.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Last night, but they don't have any rim protection.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
So when the Mark Williams deal from Carolina did not
go through, the Charlotte deal, that's kind of a bummer. Now,
like Robert Williams, who the Celtics had for years, he
didn't he wasn't available very much, but when he was available,
he changed the temperature in the room. So they're gonna
have to address that on on the market and see
if they can find somebody. But I'll say this about
the Lakers last night when I watched them, especially in
the first half, because they put the game away in
(04:06):
the first half. It felt young, It felt fun, it
felt fresh.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
I looked it up this morning.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Ten more threes. They took ten more threes than average.
There were more alley oops, you know what, three pointers
everywhere again, Austin Reeves, Lebron and Luca. Yes they all
need the ball, but you know what, smart guys figured out.
And Staples was roaring all the Luca jerseys. I think
(04:34):
this thing is gonna be excellent. And I'll get to
it a second why I think they can win the West.
But here was Luca and JJ Reddick after.
Speaker 6 (04:40):
It was a little nervous before. I remember when was
the last time it was nerves before the game. So,
but once a step on the Cory was it was
fun and just being on there again felt amazing. It's
new team, knew everything, but like the way they helped me.
Teammates Rob Jenny, just a lot of support for me.
(05:03):
You can see why I'm coming to Arena. I saw
the Luca jerseys. It was just surreal feeling.
Speaker 7 (05:09):
Sometimes you can have agendas in a game. I felt
like this for our group was just a no agenda
game beyond winning a basketball game and play the right
way with our three guys who are going to be
our primary creators. Like they all did it really well,
and I think our guys will get accustomed to the
Luka passes for sure.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Listen, the Lakers felt like they went from analog to digital,
and if you look at the Western Conference standings, why
can't they get there? Memphis is number two. I don't
trust them. They play very fast, great pacing. I'm not
sure if that transfers to the playoffs. Denver is horrific defensively.
Now Jamal Murray's healthy, a get and playing well, They're
a bad defensive team. The Rockets can't shoot super young.
(05:52):
I think they're a regular season team. I think there'll
be a one and done in the playoffs. Clippers, do
you really trust them? So I look at the West.
The best team I've seen in the NBA by a
long shot is the Celtics. I watch them hammer the
Knicks again. Boston's the best team in the league. OKC
is very good that I won't deny, and I'm not
sure if the Lakers can beat them, although it feels
(06:12):
like to me they've matched up with him pretty well
the last couple of years with Ad and Lebron. So
my takeaway is I watched last night. It was a
lot of threes, a lot of alley ups. It's only
going to get better. I mean, Luke hasn't played in forever.
First game with the guys. I think if they can
figure out I said that before. If the Mark Williams
thing would have gone through, I would have had no
problem saying Lakers in the final. I don't know if
(06:34):
they can beat Boston, probably not, but I think they
could get there. I don't know if they can win
the West, but I'm watching all the listen. It's an
offensive sport, right, I mean, defense matters, but people get
frustrated when Jason Tatum doesn't take the game over offensively,
not defensively. So I'm reading this story about the Super
(06:57):
Bowl ratings and one hundred and twenty six million viewers
for the Super Bowl fifty nine. First of all, it's
more than that, but it's hard to track how many
people actually watch. The Nielsen ratings. They do count out
of home viewers, but you don't really have an exact
count on that. You're kind of guessing at some point,
(07:17):
I think it probably was closer to one hundred and
thirty six million. And the second thing is this wasn't
Let's be totally honest about this, it wasn't a good game.
The peak of the rating was in the second quarter.
What if it had been an overtime game, could you
get to one hundred and thirty to thirty five million.
But there's a lot of reasons why I think the
NFL keeps extending their season and adding games because there's
(07:39):
an insatiable appetite for it. We never get tired of it.
And the other thing is there's a reason they keep
playing games now in Australia and they're going to go
to Brazil again, and they're going to go they won
the US market. If you dominate America, spread your wings.
So when people complain about games overseas, why not they
own the country. And I think there's a lot of
(08:00):
reasons why the NFL is king. It's a once a
week sport. But that's always been true. But we didn't
have the iPhone and TikTok in the sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties.
We are a very very distracted nation. It is harder
to get people's attention Monday through Friday, and the NFL
is a once a week game. The second thing is
it's a really good television product, not just because I
(08:21):
work at Fox. NBCCBS ABC are great too, but the
production of the television product is outstanding. The other thing,
it's relatable football players. There is no load management. They
plan the snow, they plan the wind, they plan the rain.
Like the rest of us. They just go to work
when they're not one hundred percent. It's totally relatable. The
(08:41):
other thing is they make big changes regularly. They bailed
on Oakland, they upgraded to Vegas. They bailed on San Diego.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
I know it hurts.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
They upgraded in LA, they bailed on Saint Louis. They'd
bail on Jacksonville tomorrow if they could. They're not going
to be burdened by tradition. They're not gonna worry about
what the hardcore traditionalist and the romantics think. They're gonna
take swings in the ball, and I think they constantly
pivot on rule changes. Baseball struggles with that. Basketball makes
(09:13):
changes sometimes though they feel a little bit like they're
out of desperation. Last week they're talking about shorter quarters.
Who's ever worried about how long a quarter is? We
worry that you got too many games, or load management
and so I think there's a lot of reason for
the changes. I just think, more than anything, it's a
very well run league by adults. Agents run baseball, players
(09:34):
run the NBA. Economically, it is two times the size
of the NBA, yet feels like it's nimble like a sailboat.
It can turn quickly during a Super Bowl. Rule changes,
always willing to change, and somebody told me this years
ago that anytime there's a change, basketball thinks of it first.
(09:54):
Baseball makes the most money out of it, and football
gets it right. And I think the NFL, more than
any he just consistently gets it right when changes are needed.
They don't pander. Agents and the players don't run the league.
They're like every good company I've ever worked for, And
none of the companies I've ever worked for that are
very well run are run.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
By the employees.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
They value the employees, they pay the employees, they treat
the employees well. It's not run by the employees. I
should not be running Fox. I should not be running it.
I'm treated well. I shouldn't be running it. And so
there you go. The number is huge. I think it's
probably bigger than that. And it was not a very
competitive game. We got a lot of things. Nick Wright
(10:36):
joins us in fifty minutes. It's been a very rough
forty eight hours for Nick. You know, he was due
for a bad weekend, j Mac, he was due.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
Can I give you a peek behind the curtain.
Speaker 5 (10:48):
One of our smart producers hit me up this morning,
was like, hey, can you bring in a violin to
play during the Nick Wright segment?
Speaker 4 (10:54):
And I tried to find a violin this morning, No dice,
but I yeah, we feel bad for him. You know,
it's just for this chief.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
I barely slept last year.
Speaker 5 (11:01):
I tried to tell them they weren't a good team
all season record, be damn you you were right, and
they looked awful.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
And then if you go back to that Houston game,
I was choppy, very friendly.
Speaker 4 (11:11):
Whistle there shall we say?
Speaker 5 (11:14):
I'll ask, though, Colin, like, where was the leadership on
the sideline when they were getting their butts kicked twenty
four to nothing. You know, there's a lot of video
out there of Tom Brady in that Atlanta Super Bowl?
Speaker 4 (11:23):
Yeah, fired up the truth, Let's go, come on, guys,
we're not done. And I saw none of that. You know,
the Chief just looks shell shock.
Speaker 5 (11:28):
Like, wait, we're not winning, We're not winning, we're not
coming close to winning.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
It was kind of embarrassing.
Speaker 5 (11:33):
Where's the leadership, Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, I didn't see it.
Speaker 4 (11:36):
Did you?
Speaker 8 (11:38):
Well?
Speaker 1 (11:39):
I don't look to my coaches for that. They got
a headset on or they're trying to maneuver. I think
I think players have to inspire players. I think generationally
it means more coming from another player. If a great
players on the sideline at twenty eight years old, marketing
at a twenty five year old, I think that has
incredible impact. I don't think coach marketed a player. Coaches
market players. It's called practice, and so when you get
(11:59):
into a GA. I do think it's up to players
to help motivate players. There's a lot of tape of
Troy Aikman. He's on his players, Peyton Manning on his players,
and I think there's value. I mean, I've seen Lamar
Jackson on the sideline talking to his own line, getting
guys fired up.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
That stuff matters.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
Something for Mahomes to work on in the offseason.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
Yeah, a couple things.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Gotta get a left tackle baby, be sure to catch
live editions of the Herd weekdays and neon Eastern non
am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
App Welcome Back.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
The So last night Lebron and Luca in Los Angeles
first half was great and Utah is not very good.
Now Lebron and Luca go to Salt Lake City. I think,
is it tomorrow night they play him. So it's one
of those you see that a lot feels like on
the West Coast. You get those back to back games.
So listen, I think Utah's got a bunch of draft picks.
They're like a younger version of Oklahoma City, like they
(12:59):
have landed their stars. But they've got Kessler, the big
guy that got Lori Market, and they got they got
some dudes.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
They're just not there yet. Very young team.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
But I was thinking about Lebron and Luca last night,
and listen, I've always said I think Austin Reeves is
a number four and a championship team.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
Maybe a three. He's playing a really good basketball.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
But I was thinking about the best tandems in basketball
right now, and it's not just scoring. I think there's
a lot of components that go into it. I think
the Lakers are not very good around the basket. Defensively,
Jackson Hayes is more of an offensive guy and ali
up guy kind of Finn not a defensive guy. But
I was thinking to myself one of the best best
ten tandems because I'm watching Lebron and Luca last night.
They looked great and Luca is not close. I mean
(13:39):
he didn't shoot the ball particularly well. He didn't have
his legs under him. It's the first game of the
new guy. I mean, he could drop thirty against Utah
in Salt Lake City and you wouldn't be surprised. So
these are my top ten current duos in the NBA.
I actually think Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler worked because
one's the ball handler shooter and one's the defender and the.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Aggressive guy that can score.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
They're two and zero since they put him together, and
I think Steph just needed a really good number two
when Jimmy's a number one.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
I don't think you're a championship team.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
If Jimmy's a two and you've got a good three
in Draymond Green that I think he would win a
playoff series or two. Steph Steve Kerr run the show.
Draymond Jimmy Butler, aggressive defense.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
I like him.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
I'd put him at ten. I would put Sga and
Jalen Williams at number nine. Now SGA's a bucket. He's
just impossible to stop. Jalen Williams is only I looked
it up this morning, twenty three years old.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
Lord.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Now a lot of people think it's Sga and Chet Holmgren,
but Homegren to me, is just not healthy enough to
consider him an elite duo. At number eight, Jannison Dame
Jannis is banged up a little bit. Dame's playing very,
very well. Like last year, they were struggling to figure
out the chemistry and Dame was coming off injuries.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
I think he's playing really good right now.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
And I also think they do fit because Giannis covers
up some of Dame's weaknesses defensively. When they had to
move Drew Holliday to bring in Dame, he got better
on offense, worse on defense. I still think I think
Kyle Kuzma was a nice get for them because I
thought Chris Middleton had peaked and was going down. I
think Kuzma helps. I don't know how much it helps,
(15:18):
but it helps. I think number seven I think these
guys are underrated. Kyrie and Ad. Now Ad is banged
up a d. Don't listen to j Mack. This guy
has been a top six or seven player in the
NBA the last two years.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
He got hurt, he hadn't been hurt much.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
He's a tremendous player, and again not a lot of ego.
Great defensive player can give you twenty five a night,
and you know Kyrie can be some maintenance. But he
got along well with Luca and he is a tremendous score.
So I would put them at seven. I think Wemby
and Darren Fox is really good. They're probably a year away.
I don't think people realize how good of a score
(15:54):
Yaron Fox is. He's twenty five a night. And you
got Chris Paul on this team. He got the Yukon
guard who's just getting better with time. San Antonio is
a year away from potentially winning the West. I think
this is a great move for them. I really like
their scouting and drafting. I just think they're too young.
But I'd put Wemby and the Aaron Fox at the
six best NBA duo. I would put Jalen Brunson in cat.
(16:16):
They really feed off each other. By the way, Jalen
Brunson's assists almost eight a game career high. Why Cat
and Cat by the way, is shooting forty three percent
from three? Why because a lot of it he's getting
open looks. Because Jalen Brunson draws so much attention. I
don't think this is a championship team. I've watched them
play the Celtics twice and just get bull dozed.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
But I like this duo.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Carl Anthony Towns can drive you crazy, but there is
no doubt he is a very, very gifted offensive player.
Number four a Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley. They're young,
but at least Mobley is. They're They're both averaging twenty
a game plus and five assists. They have the number
one offense in the NBA. I know we stopped watching
(16:59):
him when Lebron left. They're fun to watch, young, aggressive.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
You know.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
Mobley's a guy that came out of USC and he
was a fast riser in the draft. He just keeps
getting better. So I'd put them at number four. I'll
do Jokic and Murray at number three. Now Murray is
healthy again. Jokic is absolutely great. He's averaging a thirty
point triple double this season almost so I think Jokic
remains the best player in the league right now, unstoppable player.
(17:26):
They don't play a lick of defense, so I don't
think they're a championship team. Murray is on pace to
average twenty one and a half points in seven and
a half rebounds he assists during this five or six
game streak when he got healthy again. I always like
Jamal Murray, not as much as Jay Mack, who has
beating that drum for years. They're a bad defensive team,
but I would put them at number three. I would
(17:47):
put number two Tatum and Brown. They're not the highest
scoring duo, but they're versatility, smart guys, both ends. They're
just excellent and by the way they've been playing together
so long now, they take turns closing out in games.
They're excellent, and they're different personalities. I think Jalen Brown's
more aggressive, but they're both in their prime, they're both
(18:10):
signed long term, they're both coachable, they don't need to
score to affect games. I'd put them at two, and
I think Lebron and Luke are number one. Luca's not
close to where he's going to be after give this
thing ten games, Luca's going to be back to thirty
two a night. I can't even figure Lebron out. I
can't figure out how he's this good. It makes no sense.
(18:32):
Lebron is playing like it's year thirteen. So I think
they're the number one now. Now they are a more
lethal scoring duo than Brown and Tatum, but Brown and
Tatum are both in their prime. So Jmac, first of
all your reactions, I'm sure you were overjoyed with this,
oh dear.
Speaker 5 (18:51):
So make sure Wes, when he posts this on social media,
mentions No, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
Speaker 4 (18:58):
I can't really because.
Speaker 8 (19:00):
I don't know.
Speaker 5 (19:01):
I mean, I had one BN Yama and Fox of mine,
but like Combine, they have zero playoff series wins.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Well, they're kid, they're first of all, there's an argument
San Antonio in the second half of the regular season
now will be a significantly.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
Better than the first time.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
I mean, dearon Fox, you're just throwing a bunch of
kids together. I told this during the morning meeting this morning.
The one team in the NBA to watch out for
is the San Antonio Spurs. They're gonna get into the
playoffs and they're gonna knock somebody off because that team
they just threw Dearon Fox into this thing, and they
got that kid from Yukon.
Speaker 4 (19:37):
That guard Castle. He's awesome.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
He is awesome. So san Antonio is the team that is.
We saw this with Dallas last year. A team starts rising,
they make moves at the trade deadline and you look
up and you're like, nobody wanted to play Dallas. San
Antonio is not quite that good, but the Spurs are
dangerous the next three months.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
Booker kd is one omission.
Speaker 5 (19:59):
You could make a case uh DeMar Derozen and Sibonas
and no, I'm just kidding.
Speaker 4 (20:03):
What are the Kings fans on staff put me up
to that? But the legit one that I got to
asked about, and I.
Speaker 5 (20:09):
Know you're not a fan is John Morant and Jaron
Jackson in Memphis. They are playing out of their minds.
John Moran's got his act together. Jackson's having the best
season of his career.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
He might be all NBA.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Had been eleven.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
Damn he just nipped that right now.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Spurs just added Daron Fox and there are only three
wins behind the Suns.
Speaker 4 (20:27):
Yeah, they're twelfth in the West coming.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
That's not a knock on Booker and Kevin Durant. But
when I say that, do you think dynamic? I think
there are things Booker does very well score there are
other things also interesting.
Speaker 4 (20:41):
I see one, two, three, four of these.
Speaker 5 (20:44):
Duos just got together last week.
Speaker 4 (20:46):
That's pretty wild.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
Huh a great.
Speaker 4 (20:48):
It was a monster week for the NBA people.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
Oh, it's the best week of the NBA in years years.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon eastern non a em Pacific.
Speaker 9 (20:58):
Hey, Steve Covino and I'm Rich David and together we're
Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 10 (21:03):
You could catch us weekdays from five to seven pm
Eastern two to four Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and
of course the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
Why should you listen to Covino and Rich.
Speaker 10 (21:12):
We talk about everything life, sports, relationships, what's.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
Going on in the world.
Speaker 9 (21:16):
We have a lot of fun talking about the stories
behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture,
stories that well, other shows don't seem to have the
time to discuss.
Speaker 10 (21:25):
And the fact that we've been friends for the last
twenty years and still work together. I mean that says
something right, So.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
Check us out.
Speaker 9 (21:31):
We like to get you involved too, take your phone calls,
chop it up.
Speaker 10 (21:34):
As they say, I'd say, the most interactive show on
Fox Sports Radio, maybe the.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Most interactive show on planetar.
Speaker 9 (21:40):
Be sure to check out Covino and Rich live on
Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app from five to
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Speaker 10 (21:47):
And if you miss any of the live show, just
search Covino and Rich wherever you get your podcasts, and
of course on social media.
Speaker 9 (21:52):
That's Covino and Rich. Welcome in to our number two.
Great to have you here live in Los Angeles.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
It's the herd.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Wherever you may be and however you may be listening.
Thanks for making us part of your day. Nick Wright's
going to be joining us. He's a trooper. He's going
to be joining us here in a couple of minutes.
And I thought I would start j Mac. You'll you'll
get a kick out of this. Connor or Sports Illustrate excellent.
Young a journalist only deals in facts acknowledges. He believes
(22:27):
that the Chiefs in twenty twenty five will miss the
Super Bowl each of the next two seasons, and he
talks about how the Patriots had several gaps in Super Bowls.
He said, it's not anti Andy Reider, Patrick Mahomes. Great
players get old fast, and role players are hard to
keep around. And the draft, even by the best GMS,
(22:49):
is like a sixty to forty fifty to fifty proposition.
After the first couple of rounds, you're rolling the dice
on draft picks. And so again, this is an excellent
journalist that only deals in facts. Connor Or saying that,
so I there are things that I think you have
to be honest about. Let's not do like recency bias.
But mahomes number one weapon the last three years have
(23:10):
been Travis Kelcey kind of looks cooked. He's thirty six
years old in the last couple of games, not really yet.
So you know, the classic sports muscle car can't be
your primary car.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Like it's time.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Number two is in a very mediocre draft, they're gonna
get they need a tackle, and they'll probably get the
fifth to sixth best tackle because that positions so valuable,
and unless they compromise and sacrifice draft picks, they're not
getting one of the better left tackles. They also need
to tight end and the two best ones will be taken.
The other thing is the division. We gotta be honest, now,
Pete Carroll, Jim Harbaugh. We saw what Harbaugh did in
(23:45):
one year. We saw Bo Nicks as a rookie. Sean Payton,
I'm sorry, it matters. That's the best coaching division in football.
That's not even arguable. That is the best coaching division
in football. The other thing is we saw Jim harbaughd
do this at San Francisco, at Michigan and with the Chargers.
In one year he turned him around. This year, they
(24:06):
have sixty five million in cap space. The Chargers got
to the playoffs with a rookie slot receiver as a
really elite weapon.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
That was it.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
So they got a lot of cap space. And what
the Chargers need is a defensive tackle and running backs.
And the two positions in the draft that are absolutely
stacked are defensive tackle and running back. And because of
their draft position, they'll get the first or second best
tight end in the draft, which they need. And here's
the other thing, and we got to be honest about this.
(24:38):
Mahomes next year is going to be a twenty four
percent cap hit. Twenty four percent of Kansas City's cap
is going to be Mahomes. He's going to be making
sixty six large. Tom Brady was never over fourteen. It matters.
It matters. I know the CAP's going up, but it matters.
Tom Brady on average was a ten to twelve percent
cap hit. That's why those Patriot teams never had units
(25:01):
that were bad. They were never terrible anywhere. In the
two blowout losses to Kansas City and the Super Bowl,
they're bad at left tackle, They're just bad. The Patriots
were never awful anywhere, didn't matter kicker, punter, quarterback, left tack,
all the key positions, they were at least B plus
and a lot of that was Brady sacrificed. Tom talked
about this last week. It is damn hard to win
(25:23):
these Super Bowls.
Speaker 11 (25:25):
What I realized early in my career about Super Bowls was, man,
we won my first year. Like, what's the big deal is?
It's like I went to college, we played Norge Bowl,
I won, We went to the Citrus Bowl, we won.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
Okay, now I'm in the Super Bowl.
Speaker 11 (25:37):
We won, all right, what's the big We didn't have
a great seat in two thousand and two. We won
in two thousand and three. What's the big deal? We
won in two thousand and four, what's the big deal? Right,
then you go to two thousand and seven and you lose,
and then you go to twenty eleven and you get
to the super Bowl. They're having a great team in
twenty ten and we lose, and it was just like, wow,
(26:00):
this is way harder.
Speaker 4 (26:01):
We went ten years between winning.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Yeah, it's really hard, very very difficult. They were in
good health, and then the ticker went not to mention
how long is Andy Reid gonna coach? I know this
(26:25):
is somber solemn. Nick Wright is now joining US lives.
Speaker 12 (26:38):
That's probably your best comedy bit in years. And you
know what is a staple of the best of the
best comedians what they incorporate some of their old classics
into their new material. So you had a lot of
new stuff there, but then you went back to one
of the classic which is next year is the year
(27:04):
Justin Herbert breaks through. I mean that, I mean set
your watch to it. And by the way, I do
think you had the chiefs because they're drafting thirty two
or thirty one. Pardon me, unable to draft anyone of need,
and I think you had the Chargers because they're drafting
twenty one getting the best running back, d tackle, and
tight end in the draft.
Speaker 8 (27:24):
It is unbelievable. The Chargers, to.
Speaker 12 (27:27):
Their credit, who you know, did, have to go through
the season with a rookie wide receiver as their number
one option.
Speaker 8 (27:34):
Can you imagine.
Speaker 12 (27:34):
Making the Super Bowl in back to back years with
a rookie wide receiver being your number one option? I
can't probably never be done. No, I mean, listen, listen.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
It is.
Speaker 12 (27:47):
The Chiefs and me deserve a lot of criticism for
the performance on Sunday.
Speaker 8 (27:56):
Spinning that forward into.
Speaker 12 (27:58):
This team being cooked is I think a bridge too
far even for you, like I don't. Maybe you've been
hanging out with j Mac too off and off the
air and he's been spitting that poison in your ear.
But they still go into next season the overwhelming favorites
in the AFC West, and they go in the next
(28:19):
season better positioned than any other team in the AFC. Now,
it's hard to get to a super Bowl every single year.
I get that, But I think you're writing the obituary
a tad too soon, my friend.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Okay, the one thing I did I did say is that,
and I mean, you've never denied that Brady's great. That's
one of the great things You've always said. The guy's ridiculous.
I mean, it's literally the second part of his career.
He was arguably better than Elway's entire career. Right. But
the one thing I'll say about Tom, and having lived
in Connecticut during his reign, is that we used to
(28:55):
always talk about this, if he had the second best
poker hand, he could still in the hand. He didn't
have to have pocket aces. And now now, in fairness,
last year I didn't. I think the last couple of
years the Chiefs didn't have a loaded roster. But I
would say that in the Super Bowl losses, let's just
(29:15):
talk about this one.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
I didn't feel. I felt like I was.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
Watching the same play over and over, and I didn't
feel Mahomes adjusted a lot. Maybe that's Andy Reid, but
it did. I watched it and I thought, God, Tom
would have just moved the chains short that he kept
sitting in the pocket the same play.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
I thought Patrick really played terribly.
Speaker 12 (29:38):
I listen, I think it was one of the worst
games of Patrick's career.
Speaker 8 (29:40):
But we're not.
Speaker 12 (29:41):
This again is where I just have to be the
arbiter of fairness, okay, or if one wants to argue that.
And again, Brady is the most accomplished player ever, the
goat at this position and of the sport. And because
of this loss, it's going to take Patrick an immense
(30:03):
amount of time to have a chance to catch him,
because this was the opportunity to do something Tom never did.
Speaker 8 (30:09):
That is all true. Here's what is also true.
Speaker 12 (30:12):
We are now revisionist historing how Tom Brady's playoff defeat
when going for a three peat went. It was not
in the super Bowl, with the decisive play being a
pick six. It was in the divisional round to Jake Plumber,
with the decisive play being a pick six. And I
(30:34):
know that the Michael Jordan propaganda machine has convinced people
that losing in round one or round two is actually
better than winning those rounds and then losing in the
championship round. But that, of course is ludicrous, and so
the idea. You're right that Tom never had this pore
(30:56):
of a performance in a super Bowl.
Speaker 8 (30:58):
That is unquestioned.
Speaker 12 (31:00):
But Tom had, as every quarterback ever had brutal performances
that prevented his team from getting too super bowls. Patrick's
never had that, and so we can go tit for
tad on these things. And I had to listen yesterday
to Joe Montana four and zero in super Bowls, and
(31:20):
that is true. It is also true that in the
dead middle of his prime eighty five, eighty six, eighty seven,
those three years, Joe Montana in three consecutive playoff games,
had three consecutive Round one or first game defeats, and
had zero touchdowns over.
Speaker 8 (31:39):
A three year span.
Speaker 12 (31:40):
Cumulatively in the playoffs three straight blowofs, including a forty
nine to three, but because they happened in round one,
they don't count.
Speaker 8 (31:49):
I don't buy into that. I never have. Patrick played
very poorly.
Speaker 12 (31:54):
Yesterday he now joins the list of every single quarterback
in NFL history, of which he wasn't previously on where
he played his worst game of the year in the
biggest spot of the year. But I think we are
writing the obituary as you literally are a tad too soon.
Speaker 3 (32:12):
Yeah, well, I think there.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
I do have Kansas City being a wild card team
next year, so I think they're still.
Speaker 12 (32:19):
What you had him this year. I think that's what
you had him last year. This year you have him
in the wild card. Every year. Every year is going
to be the Chargers year. And did you say Pete Carroll?
I like Pete Carroll too. Does that team have a
quarterback yet? I'm just kidding, like literally on the roster.
Do they have a quarterback? Is it aid and O'Connell.
Speaker 8 (32:37):
I don't think that.
Speaker 12 (32:38):
I don't think Pete Carroll's gonna move the chains with
Aidan O'Connell.
Speaker 8 (32:41):
That's just me, it is.
Speaker 3 (32:43):
I said this yesterday about the Eagles.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
Though. If Saquon Barkley got hurt next year, cross your
fingers and they lose two free agents and it's more
of a Jalen Hurts offense, they wouldn't look the same there.
I mean, listen, this is a sport with regulated level
of violence. I think the Chiefs will rebuild. They'll be fine.
They need to left tackle that need a running back.
You know, they just have to hit some draft picks.
They're prone to do that. I do think the Andy
(33:06):
Reid thing is real, is that I could see Andy
with two more great runs and just say, listen, man,
I got four or five of these things, I'm out
And then as you know, even the great organizations miss
on head coaches fifty percent.
Speaker 3 (33:23):
Of the time.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Is there part of you that wonders? The Andy thing
is what worries you more than players?
Speaker 12 (33:31):
Oh listen, I mean and I one thousand percent. And
Patrick leading up to the game, when he was asked,
you know, basically, how long can this keep up? His
answer was, as long as Andy's still here the whole team.
Speaker 8 (33:46):
You know what I mean. It gives him the respect
and credit he deserves. Here is.
Speaker 12 (33:53):
The reason I am not incredibly concerned about that. First
of all, in the short term, we know he's coming
back at least next year, and I would imagine, as
you're saying he's coming back for two or three more years,
he is just about to start a five year, one
hundred million dollar contract. So even if he doesn't finish that,
you have this time. The other reason that I am
(34:16):
less concerned is if he were to signal that he
was going into what would be the last year of
his career, this immediately becomes the most coveted coaching.
Speaker 8 (34:32):
Job in modern NFL.
Speaker 12 (34:34):
History, Like it would, it be the most coveted job
since the Bucks. I'm sorry, the Colts fired Jim Mora
the answer, that's probably right. But even in that moment,
Peyton obviously had not accomplished ten percent of what Patrick
already has, and so I do think they will be fine.
(34:57):
I also would not act as if losing the guy
who I believe to be one of the three greatest
coaches in the history of the sport and the greatest
offensive mine in the history of the sport, you know what,
wouldn't be a significant, significant loss, But that is much
further down the road than you know this or next season.
Speaker 1 (35:18):
At least I believe lost a little bit lost in
Luca going to the Lakers. Is how insane Lebron has
played this year. It looks like you're thirteen.
Speaker 12 (35:29):
It's unbelievedble, It's incredible, and it very much is Brady
in Tampa where you're like, is he still a top
four quarterback when he was forty four?
Speaker 1 (35:38):
Like? Right, I mean he left and the next year
you're like, I think he's still top four or five?
Speaker 3 (35:46):
What do you make we know I'll get to Luke
in a second.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
How do you explain Lebron he's better than last year?
Speaker 2 (35:53):
What is it?
Speaker 1 (35:54):
So?
Speaker 12 (35:55):
I mean, listen, I think there is a natural benefit
to truly, and I think this is being proven out
in real time literally being the greatest athlete, and I
just mean raw athleticism maybe in world history. Like you
can say, oh, you found a way to be hyperbolic,
(36:17):
Like I don't know who he's competing with on that
as far as height, weight, speed, longevity, durability, all of
it over a twenty five year stretch. Like I honestly
don't know who was the corner. Gosh darn it, I
shouldn't ask it. There was a corner that he played
for Washington, he played for like Daryl.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
Green Green like Daryl Green.
Speaker 12 (36:39):
I was like, I don't know, like as he was
on that same list. I don't know, but regardless. So
the reason I bring that up is Lebron is right
now seventy five percent of the athlete he was ten
years ago, but seventy five percent of prime Lebron is
still more then ninety five percent of the rest of
(37:03):
the league. So because of that, he's been able to
stave off the aging curve a bit. You then add
to it, he's a better shooter. Yeah, these last two
years than any point of his career. The IQ is
still you know, obviously not going anywhere. And what I
think we've seen the last couple of weeks is the
power of hope and the power of belief. You saw
(37:26):
in the Olympics, Colin Lebron was like, all right, these
might be the last really consequential games of my basketball life.
And you saw him on the global stage be the
best player in the entire tournament.
Speaker 3 (37:41):
Night in night outs, good point.
Speaker 12 (37:43):
And then you saw this year when it's like, wait
a minute, we're actually a little bit better than I expected.
JJ's doing a great job. If I'm able to carry
us when Anthony Davis is out, maybe that gets the
team to make one of these around the Fringes deadline
moves we want them to make, and maybe we can
(38:04):
steal a finals appearance. And then instead of that, they
trade for a top three player in the world. And
now I think Lebron is like, oh my god, I
can win a championship like me.
Speaker 8 (38:15):
And if Luca can.
Speaker 12 (38:17):
Take Kyrie and role Players to the championship, can take
their championship, Round, can take a young Jalen Brunson in
role Players to the conference finals. What if I, all
of a sudden can actually hand the offense off to
someone else actually not see the team go to die
(38:38):
when I go to the bench, actually be rested going
into the playoffs, and the Lakers are going to have
problems defensively and the lack of the you know, they
traded for Mark Williams for a reason they got rescinded.
But you have the highest IQ duo in league history
now on the on a team We've never had two
(38:59):
players with this passing ability plus IQ playing together so offensively,
it's going to be a top three team, and I
think Lebron knows what that means for him.
Speaker 1 (39:11):
For the record, Does Jimmy Butler do anything for the Warriors?
I mean, I think it makes it much more interesting.
Speaker 8 (39:19):
I thought the NBA missed the play in.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
Yeah, I think the NBA had a great week. The
Luca thing, the Butler thing, dearon Fox to winby I
thought the league had a great week. Does Butler do
anything for that team still playing team to use?
Speaker 12 (39:30):
I mean, well, I mean I think that without him
they were going to risk at risk of missing the
play in, right, and the Warriors have been in the
play in and lost previously. I think without him they
were going to be at certainly not only at risk,
but probably a favorite to miss the actual eight team postseason.
(39:54):
Now I fully expect them to be in the playoffs.
I don't know that I think I think their ceiling
is round is a Round one victory. I do think that.
I just I think that Steph is still really good.
Speaker 8 (40:13):
But night Tonight now.
Speaker 12 (40:14):
Steph also, by the way, has been playing his best
basketball as of late, maybe invigorated by.
Speaker 8 (40:19):
The trade as well.
Speaker 12 (40:20):
They the only chance they have of making any real
noise is if the way Steph has played the last
couple weeks, if he can keep that up. I also
think that Jimmy, you know, Jimmy is not night Tonight
that reliable when it comes to an injury risk. So
they are an very old injury concerned team. But I
(40:42):
am a fervent believer that if you happen to have
one of the ten to twelve greatest players in the
history of the league still playing at a high level,
you have an obligation to go all in every year.
It is irresponsible to worry about the future you are
your only obligation is to right now. So I think
(41:04):
the Warriors did right by Steph here, even if it's
not a real needle mover.
Speaker 8 (41:09):
When it comes to winning a championship.
Speaker 1 (41:11):
So maybe we were a little premature on the headstone.
I will say, however, is if they don't hit on
some of these draft picks. Drafting thirty first, it's a
little scary.
Speaker 12 (41:25):
Drafting thirty first, that's the best position we've been in
three years. You're usually stuck in the thirty two hole.
Think about it. And by the way, keep in mind
they all the Chiefs also have They have the thirty
first pick, the sixty third pick, and then like the
sixty sixth pick because they got that from Tennessee and
Tennessee finished with one of the worst rugs in football.
(41:47):
So we're loaded to bear headed into the draft. Tell
you that right now, maybe we trade for Micah Parsons.
Who knows, I Colin, I'll leave you on this. The Chiefs,
we all know, since Patrick's been there seven years, they
have a two games one or two game season. It
starts in the conference championship round. Two years they've gone
oh to one. Both years they made massive changes. One
(42:11):
year after going oh to one, they fired the de coordinator,
brought in Spags. One year after going on on one,
they traded Tyreek Hill. Three years they've gone to and oh,
we know what you do after that, You hold a parade.
They've now twice gone one and one. The first time
they did it, they remade the offensive line. I'm very
curious what they do the second time, because one and
(42:34):
one doesn't cut it in Kansas City.
Speaker 8 (42:36):
It's a five hundred season. It's really embarrassing.
Speaker 12 (42:38):
So like I don't I don't blame you for poking fun,
but they will make a major adjustment. I don't know
what it'll be, but it's not gonna be quiet this
offseason in Kansas City, I promise you.
Speaker 1 (42:49):
That, right, Nick Wright, First things first, he's bruised, a
bit battered, but still shows up.
Speaker 12 (42:55):
You know what, look if the sports gods, I must
have been a great person in a previous life. Because
the fact that the day after my lowest moment of
my adult life as a football fan, I get to
watch my large adult Slovenian son, Luka Ancic team up
with Lebron James.
Speaker 8 (43:14):
It's not in a fever dream. I mean, I'm right back, baby,
I am.
Speaker 1 (43:18):
So back, and it was fun to watch last night
at the Stafles. Good seeing you, Nick Wright. Rachel Nichols
will stop by on the Lakers stuff. It was fun
Crypto Arena, My bad Crypto.
Speaker 3 (43:30):
I'm sorry. I'm not a Bitcoin bro. I don't keep up.
Speaker 4 (43:35):
Yeah, he Nick seems to be doing well.
Speaker 5 (43:37):
Feel a little delusion still there about how quickly they
can remake the offensive line. Sounds like they're gonna lose
a guard and they need to replace two other positions
in the line.
Speaker 4 (43:45):
I don't think that's a one off season job.
Speaker 1 (43:48):
I am closer to Connor or I think and again,
I think Buffalo gave him a hell of a fight
in Arrowheadyay.
Speaker 5 (43:56):
If you're Buffalo, don't you go all in Miles Garrett. Now,
whoever we can get, just go all in.
Speaker 1 (43:59):
You're There's two teams in the league that have to
go all in on Miles Garrett, Buffalo and Green Bay.
Buffalo can't stop Kansas City. I've watched four times they've
met in the playoffs. Kansas City gives you thirty five plus.
That's with Sean McDermott. Go get Miles Garrett. It's not players. Generally,
you got to overpay a little bit to go to
Buffalo Green Bay right, not hot free agent markets.
Speaker 3 (44:19):
Go buy Miles Garrett.
Speaker 4 (44:20):
We've now seen the blueprint to take down the Chiefs.
Speaker 5 (44:23):
Just get your pass rush to get after Mahomes and
wear him down and rattle in and cover.
Speaker 1 (44:28):
So it's been on the back. There's a lot of
good offensive tackles in this class. There's no great ones.
Joe Alt the Chargers is a higher graded tackle than
anybody in this class. And Alt struggled at times this year.
Later in the year, he struggled in protection against Houston.
Remember that game against Houston.
Speaker 5 (44:47):
Well, it's a good defensive lineman draft as well. So
there's a world where Ravens Bills just take a couple
of bites at the apple and go after Miles Garrett.
Speaker 4 (44:54):
No anything play.
Speaker 1 (44:55):
If I'm Buffalo, I signed Miles Garrett and I draft
their offense is fine, Go get fix the defense, trade
for Miles Garrett, and then draft more defensive. It's a
great running back and defensive tackle draft. And I mean
Matt Miller's a guy that covers the draft.
Speaker 3 (45:13):
He's excellent.
Speaker 1 (45:14):
Uh, Daniel Jeremiah does the same. Those those guys. I
mean people are saying there's like twenty some draftable defensive tackles,
like like, I mean, I forget the number. But it's
like it's something. So there's there's a way winter. Boy,
have you seen have you seen some of the winter?
Speaker 4 (45:35):
I heard it's gonna rain here in La this weekend.
Speaker 3 (45:37):
No, Wednesday and Thursday stinks it. And now it's gonna be.
Speaker 1 (45:41):
Done by Friday, early in the morning. But Wednesday and
Thursday it is a It is a monolu whatever it's
called Pineapple Express or I don't know whatever that's I'm
not an epidemiologist or a meteorologist.
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Colin Cowherd
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