Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to 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
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Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
We're back our number two here on the Hurd. It's
me Jason McIntyre in for Colin Cowherd. He's enjoying an
extended July fourth holiday. Boy, heck, guys living the dream baby.
So it's Nan Alex Curry in the Salt Mines. Alex,
how we doing holding up up? By the way, I
was your July fourth Any firework.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Activity or num one?
Speaker 4 (00:49):
Yeah, I mean I did the standard like I think
I talked about it when we were on the show
last week. The Strand is just like immaculate vibes in
hermos in Manhattan, and I have a couple of friends
with strandhouse, so just yeah, just.
Speaker 5 (01:02):
Just hanging out.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
Matt Staff just did the walk down the Strand like
seeing seeing everybody else rage and have a good time
and just waving from afar because I've officially been pregnant
for every holiday since Thanksgiving.
Speaker 6 (01:14):
Wow, that's been great.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
All right, well that's exciting. You know, you got you've
got a big summer ahead, big summer.
Speaker 6 (01:19):
We're in the red zone. We're feeling good, we're feeling happy.
Just hopefully she cooks for another week too.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
All right, we got Albert Breer coming up in five minutes.
He's jet setting it. Well, all these guys taking summer vacations.
We're just work. We grind, all right, let me let
me quickly go. So a lot of NBA free agency
has been decided.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Not everything. Bradley Biel could still move. You've got big
got Jonathan Kuminga.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
I don't know if he's adjusting the odds of anybody,
but we decided to come up with a Jmax six
pack as of now, the six pack of NBA teams
that can win the championship next year. Now, as I
was reminded this morning, if we had done this last
year at this time, it would have been Boston Celtics
won through six. Everybody thought they were going to repeat.
(02:02):
They had a loaded team. They just won the chip.
I mean, they were absolutely stacked and didn't get out
of the second round, So keep that in mind. No
defending champ has gotten out of the second round since
the Kad Curry Warriors. Let's have the six pack. Let's
get started with. I think we're starting with the Cleveland
Cavaliers in the East, mostly because they retain almost everyone
(02:25):
on their team. They did lose tied Jerome rotational guy
had a good season. But when you keep the core
Garland coming off the tow injury in the playoffs, Moblei
Allen Mitchell is a good team. DeAndre Hunters now had
we'll have a full season.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Listen.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
I know Cleveland, it's tough to think of them winning
a chip without Lebron, but guys, the pieces are there
for sure.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
I think the Cleveland Cavaliers are one or two in
the East.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Let's go to the next team and that is the
New York Knickerbockers.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Do they still call them the Knickerbockers either way. So,
last the Knicks added two new starters in Towns and Bridges.
Obviously very difficult to dominate right out of the gate
with two new starters. Well, now this year the Knicks
I will have a new head coach, but it looks
like they're gonna retain everyone else from the starting lineup,
added two guys to the bench.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
I you know, listen, Mike Brown, I like.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Him if he plays his cards right and uses more
bench and keeps his guys fresh for the postseason. I
don't see why this isn't a fifty five to six
win team, sixty win team. And I think they're top
two in the East, maybe number one, and the garden
home court advantage will be.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Sick in the postseason.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
All right, let's go to the West because nobody else
is good in the East, and we're.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Gonna go Lakers. I know, I know, Jay Mack, You're crazy.
Were doing well.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
Let's see if they add Bradley Bield there for sure
in the six pack, and I'm gonna put them here
out of respect to I don't know, two of the
five best players in the league in Luca and Lebron.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Oh, Jay, what happened against Minnesota? Well, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
They had like twenty games together to work out the Kings.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
They had no sense.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Can we just take a deep breath and say, like
they lost to the Timberwolves and nobody.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Really saw it coming. They're gonna be fine.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
The Lakers are certainly one of the six best teams
in the league. Next up, Denver Nuggets. I like the
offseason they've had. They're putting all their chips in for now.
Cam Johnson for Michael Porter Jr. Feels like a slight upgrade,
not a huge one because MPJ is a much better scorer,
but I think Cam Johnson will be good. I like
Bruce Brown coming back getting off Russell Westbrook.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
I think they added Tim.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Hardaway to Yeah, Tim Hardaway, They've done.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
A good job.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
And remember Aaron Gordon was hurt in Game seven with
the ankle, or maybe they beat OKC. Next up the
Houston Rockets. I think they've won the offseason more than anybody.
I mean, they added Kevin Durant. Look at this, They
added Climp Capella, and they added Dorian Finney Smith. Essentially,
the Rockets got better than anybody and they lost.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
It's like nothing. Dylan Brooks and Jalen Green and a
first round pick.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
I think you could look for guys like Reid Shepherd
to step up big time. I would not be surprised
at all if shen Goon is an All Star once again.
Jabari Smith less, pressure Aman Thompson rising star.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Houston's good. I think the team to beat in the
West Houston Rockets in the Jmax six pack. And I
know you're waiting on one last.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Team, Okac Thunder.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
I had for a moment Orlando in this spot over OKC. Yeah,
that's real. I could see Alex looking at me like Jmack,
what's wrong with you. I'm just gonna remind you, guys.
SGA got paid, Chad Holbern got paid. It's a different
mentality and mindset among the players, and history bears this out.
If you haven't won the chip, haven't gotten paid. Its front,
(05:48):
front of office. That's a top priority. That's everything.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Well, now they got the title.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
SGA's got all the accolades, he's got all the money
that Hunger desires.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Not quite there. Yes, they're young.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Yes, they're probably gonna win fifty to sixty games, maybe
sixty two. I don't know that they're gonna win the championship. Again,
you guys can bet him, go for it. I'm not
doing that. So there's the Jmax six pack heading into
next season. Oh my gosh, who you doing these graphics.
Speaker 6 (06:15):
For everyone listening?
Speaker 4 (06:16):
You guys, there is a photo of j Mac on
the screen that is so on brand.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
I'm in a tank top. Yes, that's a good job.
I think that's Tish or Scott. Shout out to those guys.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
All right, let's go to Albert Breer live from Nantucket. Yes,
that is a big look at that tan on this guy.
Oh my gosh, what are you doing this summer? He's
on a lobster boat. What's going on?
Speaker 7 (06:43):
No?
Speaker 8 (06:44):
No, no, no lobster boat for me. But yeah, this
is a couple of weeks. I shut it down. And
I one of my few strengths J Mack is my
ability to chanswer. Everybody can see them on the screen now, yes, yes,
up close and personal. All right, before we get to NFL.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
I know you're a huge college football guy, and Deon
Sanders came out this week and essentially said we need
a salary cap in college football.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
So we went from like players.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Can't get paid five years ago to nil to salary
like it's exploding at a pace that I don't think
anybody could have foreseen.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Your buck.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Guys are always big spenders, but when you hear salary
cap in college football, that just it just doesn't seem
to make a ton of sense, does it.
Speaker 8 (07:27):
I mean, I think I understand what Deon's saying, and
I think what Deon's saying is a small version of
a bigger topic that college coaches have been discussing for
years now, which is we need guardrails. We need some
sort of system that will put rules in place that
everybody has to play by that you know, maybe isn't
apples to apples from program to program based on what
(07:49):
program you're at, but gives everybody a fighting chance. And
you know, I think if you're at a place like Colorado,
which is not you know, a blue blood at the
level of Alabama or an Ohio data at Texas, then
it really does behoove you to have those sorts of
guardrails in place and have some limits on how much
you can spend. And so what'll be interesting about this
(08:11):
to me at least is two things. The first thing
I think would be, you know what this looks like
with the nil piece, because even though there is that
PETE the revenue share that goes up to twenty million,
you do have like the other piece of it, which
is nil, and our school is going to be able
to spend above the twenty million in iil, how do
you classify nil versus money that's coming from the school.
(08:35):
I think all of that needs clarification, you know. And
then I think the other one that's really obvious is whether.
Speaker 7 (08:40):
Or not they unionize.
Speaker 8 (08:42):
And you know, forever and ever and ever, the NCAA
has pushed back against any sort of any sort of
thought that these.
Speaker 7 (08:50):
Guys would be classified as employees.
Speaker 8 (08:52):
But if you're going to put a salary cap in place,
it would pretty much necessitate a collective bargaining agreement, which
would nessess a unionization and making these guys employees.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
So when you listen to Dion, it almost sounds like
he's maybe losing out on recruits to I don't know,
the Texas text of the world. Here is audio of
Dion talking about a salary cap need Albert.
Speaker 5 (09:14):
I wish it was a cap, you know, like the
top of the line player makes this, and if you're
not that type of guy, you know you're not gonna
make that. This is what the NFL does. So the
problem is you got a guy that's not that durn good,
but he could go to another school and they give
him a half a million dollars and you can't you
can't compete with that. That don't make sense. See, all
you have to do is look at the playoffs and
see what those teams spent, and you understand darning a
(09:37):
white end playoffs, it's kind of hard to compete with
somebody who's giving twenty five thirty million dollars. So during
freshman class it is, it's crazy. The seems that pays
the more, pays the most is gonna be then in.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
So again, you're just wrapping up on college football.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Do you think we will see one here in the
next like five years or is there just too much layer?
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Like you mentioned the word union. That's insane for college football.
Speaker 7 (10:03):
Come on, yeah, And I don't know how you solve it.
Speaker 8 (10:06):
And you know, once the genie got out of the bottle,
I don't think there was any putting it back in.
But I also don't know how you put enough rules
in place to make it fair for everybody unless you
turn the guys into employees. And then if you're going
to put a cap on what employees can make, well
that needs to be negotiated with the employees, which would
(10:26):
require the employees being in a union. So I like
there's no easy answers here Jmac. I mean, it just
sort of is what it is. And you know, I
think there was an opportunity over the last twenty years
for the NCAAA, for the conferences to get a hold
of this early and get in early and try to
fix this early and create some sort of order and
(10:48):
rules and guardrails and all of that stuff. And unfortunately
there wasn't the leadership at the NCAA level with guys
like Mark Emritt to do that. Those guys were more
concerned with just collecting every check into know theil until
the money train stopped rolling, you know, And so now
everybody else has left to pick up the pieces. And
I think it's, you know, again, it's sort of unpredictable
(11:11):
which way that's all going to go.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
All right, let's pivot to the NFL.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
The new Quarterback Show on Netflix debuted, and it seems
like Kirk Cousins is I don't want to say a
sympathetic figure, but.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
I mean, you're laughing. I think a lot of people
are like, who cares about this guy? He's made a
lot of money.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
I keep going back to this when the first when
it first happened that they traded up for Penis six
weeks after signing Cousins to one hundred million guaranteed. It
felt like, WHOA, that's kind of dirty, Kirk Cousins. I
feel like he was misled by Atlanta, Like if they
had told him were drafting Penix, he probably would not
have signed there, right.
Speaker 8 (11:47):
Yeah, And I think, like the the on the Quarterback Show,
he laid it out, like as clearly as he's laid
it out, or I think anybody's laid it out, which
is more or less. The Vikings wanted him to go
to year to year and and I think a lot
of us knew this at the time. And yeah, there
was some reporting out there on this that he was
looking for a multi year commitment from a team that
beyond just the money, beyond just the guarantees, you know,
(12:11):
a statement like this guy's going to be our quarterback
for the foreseeable future. And that's reflected in the contract
that we negotiated with him. And again, like the Vikings
were through going through this process of resetting their roster,
of of getting some of the older players out of there,
getting younger at key spots, you sought. The edge rusher position,
for example, was a really good a really good, really
(12:33):
good example of that, like where they move out to
Neil Hunter and they bring in Andrew Van Ginkole and
Jonathan Gernard and they draft Alice Turner and so like
the the the idea there was, well, yeah, Kirk, we're
willing to bring you back, we're willing to pay you
market value, but that does not mean we're not going
to draft a quarterback. We're picking higher than we plan
(12:54):
to pick for some time. And you know, if the
quarterback is there that we like, we're going to take him.
And that means we can't guarantee that you're going to
be the quarterback in twenty twenty five and going forward.
Speaker 7 (13:03):
We'll give you the job in twenty four. But that's
really it.
Speaker 8 (13:06):
And the Falcons contract reflected that they were going to
do more than that, that they were going to give
him at least a couple of years of runway, and
that it was going to be his show. And so
you know, I think, you know, looking at that from
an Apples to Apple's perspective, you know, Kirk looked at
it and said, Okay, on one end, I'm going to
get at least two years and if I play well,
more than that on the other end, this team is
(13:28):
probably going to take a quarterback in the first round,
and I may be out after a year and looking
for a new home again in twenty twenty five. So
of course he took the first option, not knowing the
two options that the two teams will wind up in
very similar situations at the end. And I think the
other thing you noticed just listening to him talk, and
this is pretty obvious, is like he felt like the
(13:49):
Vikings were very honest with him, and because of that,
the Vikings lost the quarterback right Whereas if you go
back and you look at it, like he felt like
the Falcons were wound up being a little bit dishonest,
might be strong.
Speaker 7 (14:03):
But maybe misled them a little bit in the way
they were gonna handle this.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
Yeah, let's go on to another story that just popped up.
And you know, Jared Goff, a super nice guy, doesn't
really rattle cages or say stuff. He kind of called
the Rams. I don't know if it was McVeigh or
the RAMS organization immature for the way they handled his
departure a couple of years ago. I'm looking back, you know,
with Jared Goff as a starter, he and McVeigh were
(14:28):
doing awesome. They made the playoffs in three or four years,
like it was a good run, and they got to
a super Bowl, and then to kind of not give
him more of, like more than a one minute heads
up that we're trading you.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
I don't know, did he deserve that? What's your read
on how that kind of shook out?
Speaker 8 (14:45):
Yeah, I mean I think I think, you know, if
you listen to a lot of the stuff that Sean
himself has said in the time since, he has a
lot of regret from that. You know, he did go
back and clear some of that stuff up and they
have been able to re establish a relationship. I don't
think it is what it was before and probably never
will be, but I mean it was to the point where,
you know, a year after the trade, one of the
(15:07):
first texts that Sean got was from Jared congratulating him
on winning the Super Bowl. So yeah, I think there
was a lot of regret in the RAMS organization on
the way things were handled down the stretch in twenty
twenty and into early twenty twenty one with Jared Goff,
and they wish they would have handled it better than
they did. I also don't think that they anticipated that
(15:30):
the opportunity to replace Jared Goff was going to come
along as quickly as it did. If you remember that happened,
that trade was agreed to now couldn't be consummated till March,
but that trade was agreed to at the end of January,
and so it was I mean, I believe less than
two weeks after the Rams season ended. So everything kind
of moved fast. And I do think the Rams have
(15:51):
some regret over the way that they handled that and
as much as they I think have worked out their differences.
Think you can see, you know, in the way that
Jared's talking in the in the documentary that he still
feels a little stung by what went on.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
Yeah, clearly, anytime you get bounced that way, it's brutal. Now,
I mean, he's done well in Detroit. I don't know
if they back So are you on board with the
Lions probably backsliding a little bit this year?
Speaker 7 (16:18):
Yeah, there's a lot that there, there's a lot that
they have to replace.
Speaker 8 (16:22):
I think Frank Ragnow is a really big boss, Like
I I know the amount they put on him to
to to to to to help run the show on
offense and really help their young lineman and from a
leadership perspective, from a play perspective, he's really good. Now
they have some answers at the position Graham Glasgow. They
(16:43):
draft Tate Ratlege out of Georgia. But to think that
they won't take a little bit of a step back
and what's been a massive stretch for strength with them
along that offensive line, yeah, I think you'd be. You'd be,
You'd be fooling yourself at least a little bit not
to think that they're that they that there's going to
be at least some effect to losing rag Now upfront.
Then the other obvious part is the coordinators, right, So
(17:06):
can Kelvin Shepard be what Aaron Glenn was?
Speaker 7 (17:08):
Can John Morton be what Ben Johnson was?
Speaker 8 (17:11):
Those are high bars to clear for those coaches. On
the flip side, though, I think everybody needs to remember
what the lines were at the end of the year.
That was an incredibly banged up team. They were playing
at an exceptionally high level when they were healthy, and
they were able to withstand losses of guys like Aiden Hutchinson.
Speaker 7 (17:29):
And Allen McNeil.
Speaker 8 (17:30):
On the defensive side of the ball, they were down to.
I think only three or four like full time starters,
like the guys they had planned to be their starters
out there on that side, you know. So I think
if you look at that and you figure they're not
going to have as bad injury luck, and they've still
got so many young players that are ascending, you know,
you guys like Jamison Williams and Jamirit Gibbs and Brian Branch,
(17:53):
you know Aiden Hutchinson himself coming back off the injury.
That those guys are still on the way up. They
still should be really good, even if they do take
a step back.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
I got to ask you about the Kansas City chiefs.
I think when you do TV hits, you automatically have
to talk chiefs at some point.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
But Brent Veach made a.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
Curious comment about Travis Kelce, and I think he was
just being honest, but it kind of sounded like maybe
he can see the end for Travis Kelce and like
you could see him wear down.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
But he was just being honest.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
I don't think it was a dig, But I'm curious
just to your thoughts on Vich's comments on Kelsey.
Speaker 7 (18:31):
Well, I mean he's turning thirty six.
Speaker 8 (18:32):
Yeah, you know what I mean, like, so I think
I think if you're if you're being honest about it,
like he's already that position, by the way, Like it's
amazing he's made it as long as he has more
tight ends where the tag of injury prone than I
think at any other position. And the reason why is
because of how difficult that position is on your body.
(18:54):
So the fact that he's made it this far is
really really remarkable. But yeah, they do have they do
have to plan for what's next year. They did give
Noah Gray a contract extension, who's been his backup, and
they drafted out a duke a couple of years ago,
and the offense is going to look a little bit different.
I mean, I I the weird thing is j mac
(19:14):
Like I look at it like I think Travis Kelce
could take a step back and they still could be
significantly better on offense than they were a year ago.
Speaker 7 (19:25):
And it's for a few reasons. I think their tackle
situation will be better.
Speaker 8 (19:28):
I don't know what combination of Jalen Moore, Juwan Taylor,
and Josh Simmons will be out there tackle, but it
should be better than what they were doing.
Speaker 7 (19:36):
What they had at the end of the year last year.
Speaker 8 (19:38):
You know, and then Matt Naggi had this vision for
the offense last summer that never came to life, and
it was Hollywood Brown and Xavier Worthy on the outside
with Travis Kelcey and Rashie Rice running through the space
vacated underneath. Hollywood Brown got hurt start of the year,
he wasn't available till December. Rashie Rice went down for
the year about a month in so you never got
(19:59):
to see all that all together. Well, now you are
going to get the chance to see it all together.
And they think Rashie Rice has a chance to be
one of the ten best receivers in football. What and
Xavier Worthy's coming back in this second year and the
Checko's healthy. So if you're better at tackle and you
had this vision that come that that that that you
had drawn out last year, that comes to life this year,
(20:20):
I think they actually have a chance to be better
on offense than they were a year ago, with the
X factor, of course being Kelsey's age. The same way,
I think the defense is going to be really good
with the X factor being Chris Jones' age on that
side of the ball.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
Now, listen, I'm glad you saved that hot take for
that moment, because I'm shocked right now. I haven't heard
anybody say that. Everybody seems to think regression is coming,
you know.
Speaker 8 (20:41):
Because you're all prisoners to the last thing you saw.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
Not me, but other people probably. So that's interesting. The
world where the Chiefs offense is better with everybody healthy
and the offensive line maybe. Well, you're an Ohio State guy, right,
you know, you know the guy that they drafted, right, yeah.
Speaker 8 (21:00):
I mean like Simmons is, like, that's a devastating injury
for like a big man, like the that's worse than
the torn acl what he went through, the torn Pteller tendon.
And I don't think it was perfect at first, but
since the Chiefs have had him, he's checked all the
boxes and physically he's a freak. So the beauty of
it for the Chiefs is they don't need him to
(21:22):
start day one. If he wins the job, great, But
they brought in Jalen Moore to play that position from
the Niners, who had been a film for Trent Williams.
They have Juwan Taylor there who has been up and
down but still has ability, so like they can kind
of bring Josh Simmons along at his own case, and
you know, he's got the ability to be a top
(21:42):
shelf tackle somebody somebody there. Compared to the Trent Williams.
Maybe that's a little bit over the top, but he
does have a lot of ability.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
All right, we'll wrap up with this. Is there any
update on TJ.
Speaker 9 (21:52):
Watt.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
There's reports out there that like the fan base is
starting to get divided over what to do with their
beloved DJ. There's a report about someone family member of
someone in the organization venting we can't pay him.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
What are you hearing out there?
Speaker 8 (22:09):
I just think I just think they're I think there's
too much mutual interest in getting something done for them
not to be for them not to get something done.
The reason the Steelers went and got Aaron Rodgers is
because with the core that they've built, the core that
they've been highly competitive with but not at the top
level with over the last four or five years, there
(22:32):
may be a one or two year window left and
that's TJ. Watt, Minka Fitzpatrick when he was still there
before he got traded for Jalen Ramsey, which made them
two years older. Cam Hayward's at the end, you know,
with this group of players, it's about twenty twenty five.
And I think that's part of what appealed about the
situation that Aaron Rodgers is that he looks at it
and says, everybody else is on my timetable here.
Speaker 7 (22:54):
These are my peers.
Speaker 8 (22:55):
We're gonna go chase a championship together. So if that's
where the Steelers are, and TJ. Watt is at a
point in his career where he has to go chase
like he knows that the clock's ticking a little bit,
he has leverage over the Steelers and that they need
him to be part of that vision, but it also
(23:16):
behooves him to be part of that team, you know,
And so I just think there's too much mutual interest
for them not to get something done. I do think
the contracts for Miles Garrett and Daniel Hunter and Max
Prosby done this offseason do complicate things a little bit,
But at the end of the day, you know, I
the way I see it, at least like the two
parties involved here have have too much mutual interest not
(23:38):
to find a way to get something done. I don't
know if it will be at the beginning of camp
or right before week one, but I would think that
they'll find some sort of way to work this out.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
All right, Albert Breer, thanks a lot for taking time
out of your vacation and your family to talk football.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
Oh my gosh, what a good guy.
Speaker 7 (23:55):
All right, Albert Enjoy all right, Thanks Gus.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
All right, Coming up on the Herd. Wait a minute, Sara,
am I reading this right?
Speaker 3 (24:03):
Yannis making a definitive decision about his future in Milwaukee.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
Alex says that for the next In the next segment,
Year on the Herd, One More Herd. The Herd streams
twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Within
the iHeartRadio app Search Herd to listen live or on
demand whenever you like.
Speaker 9 (24:25):
Hey, what's up, everybody? It's me three time pro bowler
LeVar Arrington and I couldn't be more excited to announce
a podcast called Up on Game?
Speaker 2 (24:33):
What is Up on Game?
Speaker 9 (24:34):
You asked, along with my fellow pro bowler TJ. Hutschman,
Zada and Super Bowl champion Yup, that's right, Plexico Burris.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
You can only name a show with that type of
talent on it.
Speaker 9 (24:46):
Up on Game We're going to be sharing our real
life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen to Up on
Game with me LeVar Arrington, TJ. Hutschman Zada and Plexico
Burrs on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you
get your podcast from.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
This month it gets really exciting. But for now, let's
go to Alex Curry with the news. No, no, no,
turn on the news. This is the herd Line News and.
Speaker 4 (25:17):
J Mac We're gonna start in the NBA. Because there's
been a ton of rumors, trade rumors surrounding Janie's off season,
but he hasn't addressed anything until recently. In a live
stream on YouTube, Jannis was asked if he'll play for
the Bucks this season, for which he said probably.
Speaker 6 (25:32):
I love Milwaukee now. We also said taxes.
Speaker 4 (25:35):
Are better in Florida and added that a lot of
people have tried to convince me to play in New York,
so there's a lot. There wasn't anything definitive in this
things two noesis weaker with Jason Tatum and Halliburn out
for the year, But right now Jannie is enjoying his
off season. We've seen him dancing on yacht's on vacation.
(25:57):
But for Buck fans, This is a good sign because
it's the first time we've actually heard anything directly from
Yannis saying probably I love Milwaukee. He also did it
completely close the door on the option of potentially getting
traded somewhere else. And he's always been a good guy, right,
He's always said the right things.
Speaker 6 (26:17):
He has been so incredibly loyal to the Bucks for
giving him the opportunity that he has.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
He's brought them a championship, and the Bucks made moves.
They recently released Damian Lillard. We had heard he wasn't
happy with that, but then they signed Miles Turner. I'm
probably happy about that. But they've been knocked out of
the first round three seasons in a row. Like, it's
not working. Whatever they have right now is not working.
(26:44):
And I believe that Yanna should see what the options
are and if he has a better opportunity, why wouldn't
you take it?
Speaker 2 (26:54):
Yeah, I mean you said they're not They've been knocked
out three years.
Speaker 5 (26:58):
In a row.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
Yeah, so in the first round three straight since this
So they're starting back court is one of the five
worst in the East. Huh, there's no path to getting better.
They have no first round picks for the rest of
this decade. I know you said Miles Turner, like, that's
a that's a good get, it's a good gay because
of what happened with Dame. You're basically paying Miles Turner
fifty million dollars because.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
They waved and stretched.
Speaker 7 (27:20):
Muh huh.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
There's no way they're gonna get good. So that's why.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
And I know this is tough to stomach if you're
a Bucks fan, but is the move to trade the
honis and start over or do you want to be
mediocre for the next four years and maybe maybe get
to the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
They're not a lock.
Speaker 4 (27:35):
They're definitely not a lock. I mean, they're getting there,
they're just getting knocked out in the first round. But
it's also like, when you say mediocre, you still have
one of the best players in the league on your
team and the honest and superstar. You just you don't
have the pieces you need around him to get back
to being a championship team. And sometimes it's hard, but
(27:56):
you got you got to move on.
Speaker 3 (27:58):
If you have just to look at this as purely
a business decision, then you're shipping Giannis out.
Speaker 6 (28:04):
Of town the time that you can get a lot
for it.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Price is gonna go down, and I know it's tough.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
Hey, hey, we don't want to lose. Honest, we'll be irrelevant.
We're not gonna be on TV. We're not gonna have
a full arena.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Everybody's got to go through that.
Speaker 4 (28:17):
Like, do you want to talk about the team who
made the biggest mistake of not trading high was when
the Angels had Otani and then they literally got nothing
for him, Like no, no, no, we're gonna keep it
and we're gonna try to win this year.
Speaker 6 (28:29):
It's like, what are you doing?
Speaker 3 (28:30):
No, you're not.
Speaker 4 (28:31):
This is when you trade is when the stock is
high and you get the most that you can from him.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
It's it's gonna be a tough one.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
And remember, okay, see with Kevin Durant, they get far
and then Kd's like I'm out.
Speaker 4 (28:44):
You know, like that could have as he literally could
come back move on then and be like let's it's
time for it's time.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
To go in the ownership group.
Speaker 3 (28:52):
So like you know, like I'm sure those guys are like,
we can't lose our money maker. He's the only reason
we're relevant.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
He is, but but it could also be relevant if
you start winning and in order to do that, something
bigger needs to change, and that might be a full rebuild.
Yeah that's okay, Okay, you mentioned OKC. We're going to
stick with the NBA. The Thunder a fresh off of
bringing OKAC their first NBA title and are looking to
be the league's next dynasty. They already locked up Sga
(29:19):
with a long term deal and now reportedly given Chet
Holmgren a five year rookie max extension worth up.
Speaker 6 (29:25):
To two hundred and fifty million dollars.
Speaker 4 (29:27):
Now, the Thunder also expected to lock up Jalen Williams
this summer. Now, just to put this into perspective, chet
salary will jump from thirteen point seven million to forty
one point three next season. Now, I personally think it's
too early to talk dynasty. Mentioned dynasty after one chip,
but if you're going to do it, you got to
(29:48):
keep your core together and this is a stack young team.
But you also have to remember this season everyone was
on rookie deals, so it made it easier to build,
and you just paid your MVP SGA the biggest yearly
contract in American sports history. He is making seventy one
(30:09):
point two five million dollars a year, that's more than show.
Hey o Khanni Juell and b Dak Prescot Jason Data.
I'm like things change once you start paying your stars.
It's it's a different mentality. You don't have as much
wiggle room. And again, like these guys are young. You
hope that they stay hungry. It was weird that we
(30:32):
didn't see them. There wasn't how do I explain this?
They said when they won the championship, it is like
act like you've.
Speaker 6 (30:39):
Been here before.
Speaker 4 (30:39):
It's like, no, but you haven't celebrate, get excited and
show some emotions that like this is something really big
that you accomplished. So that could be a positive that
like maybe they they stick with that mentality and they
could get back to another championship. But again, like you're
you're you are now having to pay your guys when
you didn't have have to pay anybody last So can we.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
Get that graphic on the screen about the highest paid
players in sports? So otani Wana World Series. Yes, Joel
Embie never been to a conference championship game. Jason Jatum
lost in the second round.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
Out for the year. Dek Prescott's not sniffing the Super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (31:17):
No, Andthy Davis always hurt. I don't think the Mads
are ready to compete. And Giannis in the bucks, no shot,
Like now, you know once you start paying these guys.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
And by the way, Devin Booker's gonna make it.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
By the way, Sho Tani Defer deferred a lot of
his money for.
Speaker 6 (31:31):
Most of his money.
Speaker 4 (31:32):
Yeah, but he's also making like one hundred million a
year on like ads, probably more back in Japan.
Speaker 3 (31:38):
So yeah, this is a different situation. And Devin Booker's
going to be at seventy two mil with the Sons
with his new deal, and they're probably not top eight
or nine in the West.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
So and I get it.
Speaker 4 (31:49):
These guys are worth it, but don't you help me.
He's what the markets doing, like you have to. You
have to follow the market if you want to keep
your top guys.
Speaker 3 (31:55):
So you tell me Jay, you got to go get
the bag. Fine, I'll get the bag, but we're not
winning it. Do I want to win or get paid?
I think you get paid what. I can't think for everybody,
but I would love to get paid, get me my money,
and then I want championships.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
That's all I want to do.
Speaker 6 (32:09):
Not a wrong answer for an athlete.
Speaker 4 (32:11):
The athlete window is so much smaller than any other
industry out there of your chance to make big money.
So if you want to go and make that generational
wealth money, all on you, no judgment, go do that,
but you're limiting your team to be able to build
around you.
Speaker 6 (32:30):
And that's a real real thing.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
All right.
Speaker 6 (32:34):
Let's move to the NFL.
Speaker 4 (32:35):
Or Brock perty landed a long term extension this offseason,
putting him among the top ten highest paid quarterbacks in
the league, and many have tried to discredit what pretty
has done in his three seasons with San Francisco, but
former NFL quarterback Matt Ryan believes he's actually underrated.
Speaker 10 (32:52):
I think his ability to throw football over the middle
of the field. I think that's huge for them. Fits
within the scheme and what they do. He's a really
good athlete. I think rate it in terms of, you know, mobility,
but also accuracy on the run. You know, the ability
to be accurate in the intermediate passing game, moving around.
I think that fits with how Kyle wants to run
the football, so, you know, I think he can identify that,
(33:14):
you know, pretty quickly. I think the unknown is or
the unknown was with Brock early on. Is he going
to be able to make good decisions? Is it going
to be poised in two minute situations in critical third downs?
And he's shown to be that in his short career.
Speaker 4 (33:29):
I will preach this from the rooftops. Put some respect
on brock Purty's name. I think people have a hard
time getting over the fact that he was the very
last pick in the draft, mister irrelevant. But when you
look at what this man has done in his first
few seasons in the league, starting with his rookie season,
taking the team to the NFC Championship Game. Then he
(33:50):
got injured, which is why they I think they lost.
Then he took his team to the super Bowl the
next season. Last year is a bit of a wash
because of so many injuries at every part of that
forty nine ers team.
Speaker 6 (34:04):
But they believe he's the guy. They just paid him
like he's the guy.
Speaker 4 (34:10):
I don't think they're gonna win the NFC West this year,
even though they have an easier schedule because they have
I have the Rams winning the NFC West.
Speaker 6 (34:23):
I think they have. They definitely have a bounce back season.
They should. They have an easier schedule.
Speaker 4 (34:28):
Yeah, and everybody else, It would be a little shocking
if they didn't. Hopefully McCaffrey is because yact they need
and he stays healthy. He's about to be a new
dad too, so hopefully has that new dad energy.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
Oh he married the some kind of celebrity person. Yeah,
every guys saw a picture.
Speaker 6 (34:45):
They're also in the red zone.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
Yeah, I remember those days. Uh huh, Alex the news.
Well that's the news, and thanks for stopping by the
Herd Line news all right.
Speaker 3 (34:58):
Coming up next, did the GM of the Kansas City Chiefs?
Do you just take a shot at Travis Kelce? That's
next year on the Herd.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
in neonon eastern nin am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 4 (35:18):
Tuesday, it's the Midsummer Classic as Judge Otani in Baseball's
biggest stars head to Atlanta for the MLB All Star Game.
Coverage begins at seven eastern, four Pacific only on Fox.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
Back here on the Herd.
Speaker 3 (35:35):
As I said earlier, NFL is going to start to
get a little bit more on the front burner, if
you will. As we head into late July, NBA starting
to peter out. Big Summer League game tonight, though, But
let's go to the Kansas City Chiefs for a moment,
shall we.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
I know Kansas City Chiefs fans hold their breath when
I start talking about the Chiefs.
Speaker 3 (35:52):
But you guys need to look at one of your own,
because earlier, I think it was this week, Brett Viach architect, mastermind,
whatever you want to call him, came out in the
media and was talking about.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
Travis kelcey and his shall we say struggle.
Speaker 7 (36:09):
So I looked it up.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
So three years ago, Travis kelce thirteen hundred yards, twelve touchdowns.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
I think you could argue he's the best tight end
in the league.
Speaker 3 (36:19):
Two years ago those numbers dipped to nine hundred and
eighty four yards and five touchdowns, So four hundred fewer yards,
seven fewer touchdowns. Last year Travis kelce down to eight
hundred and twenty three yards, three touchdowns, career lows across
the board.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
Now the guy's turning thirty six soon. What are we
going to make of that?
Speaker 7 (36:45):
Now?
Speaker 3 (36:45):
You and I can look at this and see whatever
we want. Okay, I look at this and see a
former superstar in decline. As it happens to everybody, right,
that's just normal. Everybody starts to decline in their mid
thirties and whatever professional sport they play, unless your name
is Lebron or Tom Brady, who are just freaks. But
(37:06):
Chiefs fans look at this and say, well, he's just
slow playing it, saving.
Speaker 2 (37:10):
It for the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (37:11):
Okay, fine, he had a great game against the Texans
and did nothing in the other two games. Go look
at the Super Bowl clips. If you can clip off
every route he ran in the Super Bowl, it was useless.
Travis Kelcey did absolutely nothing against the Eagles, and I
look at his drop right here.
Speaker 2 (37:25):
That's just brutal.
Speaker 3 (37:26):
And that's against the Texans when he actually played halfway decent.
But he's just he's not the same guy he was
and that's not a knock. So Brett Veach came out
and this is an actual quote.
Speaker 2 (37:38):
This is not made up. This is not fake news.
This might be it. Now that was part of a
larger quote.
Speaker 3 (37:45):
But when you're watching Kelsey in the Super Bowl again,
go call it up on YouTube. You look at that
and you're like, this might be it. So when the
GM is saying that, now, I was at a motivational
ploy to get Kelsey fired.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
Up and locked. And if you can only do so much.
Speaker 3 (38:02):
Now Kelsey may come out in the first two weeks
and have you know, fifteen catches for three hundred yards
and always back he's been He's coming off like a
seven month rest.
Speaker 2 (38:11):
Guys.
Speaker 3 (38:12):
Okay, So I asked Albert Breer about this earlier in
the show. Here's Breer on Veitch's comments about his tight end.
Speaker 7 (38:21):
Well, I mean, he's turning thirty six, you know what
I mean.
Speaker 8 (38:23):
Like, so, I I think if you're if you're being
honest about it, like he's already that position, by the way, Like,
it's amazing he's made it as long as he has
more tight ends where the tag of injury prone than
I think at any other position.
Speaker 7 (38:39):
And the reason why is because of how difficult that
position is on your body. So the fact that he's
made it this far is really really remarkable.
Speaker 2 (38:49):
One hundred percent. I agree.
Speaker 3 (38:50):
Listen, Kelsey's a Hall of Famer. He's on the short
list of best tight ends in NFL history.
Speaker 8 (38:55):
What is it like.
Speaker 2 (38:57):
Shannon Sharp and Gronkowski.
Speaker 3 (39:00):
I'm sure I'm missing some guys, but Kelsey is certainly,
without question in there, It's.
Speaker 2 (39:05):
Just he's older now. Now.
Speaker 3 (39:07):
Breer did go on to say that there's a world
where healthy Chiefs receiving cores with Hollywood Brown, where Shee Weiss,
Rice Xavier Worthy. That opens up the field, and maybe
Kelsey is starting to eat more. But I think it's
safe to say the Chiefs could look a little different
this year. Kelsey may just not be featured as much
in an effort to save him for the postseason. So
(39:29):
I would just keep an eye on Kansas City. I'm
on record saying they'll miss the playoffs. I know that
sounds like a hot take, but if you look at
the landscape, their schedule is brutal, especially compared to some
of the other teams in the AFC, and several teams
got a lot better, including in their division. I think
clearly the Broncos improved. I don't know if the Chiefs improved. Seriously,
(39:51):
the Raiders are better, I don't know how much better.
And then you've got the Chargers along with the Broncos,
who are charging and looking.
Speaker 2 (39:59):
For that division.
Speaker 3 (40:00):
So just let's keep an eye on Travis Kelce and
the Chiefs this offseason. I'll wrap up this hour with
this one is this Kirk Cousins story this Netflix show
Quarterback season two and Kirk Cousins is prominently featured, and
he's like, basically the big takeaway is did he get screwed?
(40:22):
Or are the Falcons just a really dense organization who
either made a grave mistake giving Kirk Cousins one hundred
million guaranteed off an Achilles or are the Falcons also
smart for after giving Cousins one hundred million drafting a
quarterback in the top ten, and did it screw Cousins?
Because honestly, Cousins comes off like very upset. He says
(40:45):
he was misled and maybe it's a soft spot in me.
Maybe I'm getting soft in my old age, But I
actually felt bad for Kirk Cousins. And I asked the
morning meeting about he does anybody else feel bad for Cousins?
And you know, people were like pulling money out of
their pockets and being like, yeah, Kirk Cousins is extremely rich,
Scrooge McDuck ritche, how can you feel bad for that guy?
(41:07):
And it's like, well, I'm sure he didn't want it
to end this way. Like Kirk Cousins undeniably goes into
this you know, training camp as the best backup quarterback
in the league. He would kill to be a starter
anywhere else. And he's stuck in Atlanta, and I know,
making a lot of money, but you don't want to
be doing that at his age, in your mid thirties.
(41:27):
You want to be contending here at the end of
your career. And meanwhile, Cousins is looking up at a rookie.
And by the way, Cousins is playing it like the
true pro saying all the good luck to Michael Pennix
and being you know, he's just being the leader that
you'd expect him to be.
Speaker 2 (41:45):
It feels a little fake, but on some level, I
just I get it.
Speaker 3 (41:50):
Kirk Cousins was drafted in the fourth round, wasn't expected
much when they took RG three first in Washington. Hey man,
you're gonna be a developmental guy. You're a backup out
of Michigan State. And then Kurt RG three gets hurt,
Kirk Cousins gets his chance, and boom he's in.
Speaker 2 (42:04):
So do you think on some level Michael Penix is seeing, oh,
Cousins had his chance. Now it's my time to shine.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
You know.
Speaker 3 (42:11):
Pennick's all off seasons like, I can't lose this starting job.
It's mine, And so that leaves cousins in kind of
a craft spot. And there's no way that he wanted
it to end this way. I saw a report that
his wife and he were married in Atlanta. They named
their kid, Turner after Ted Turner, obviously with the Braves
and tbs, and it's like he's.
Speaker 2 (42:32):
Got an affection to that city.
Speaker 3 (42:34):
He wanted this to be his last go round, and
he ends up kind of on the outside looking in.
Speaker 2 (42:41):
Can't be fun.
Speaker 3 (42:43):
I don't know if I could hold it together the
way he is as a professional. But on on the
other side of the corner, you're like, dude, you're getting
paid a lot of money, and I can hear these
people he's getting paid.
Speaker 2 (42:53):
Who cares. Competitors want to be on the field. They
don't want to just take checks, all right.
Speaker 3 (42:58):
Coming up in the final hour, the Lakers are one
piece from a title and an amazing college football story
that you're gonna love.