July 12, 2024 • 29 mins
Colin explains why Aaron Rodgers has more in common with NBA superstars than other all-time great NFL quarterbacks. He believes Angel Reese winning Rookie of the Year over Caitlin Clark would be better for the WNBA in the long run. He also talks to Rams running back Blake Corum about playing for Jim Harbaugh at Michigan and his transition to the NFL
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Episode Transcript
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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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or FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin cowher
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
It is a fride day. It is great to be
here live in Los Angeles. It's the Herd wherever you
may be in however you may be listening. Thanks for
making us part of your day. Jordan Schultz in tow
today as usual. Blake Korum, the Michigan Wolverine rookie, stops
by today. Danny Parkins, who filled in for me, great
Chicago radio voice, stopping by Sam Smith, longtime NBA writer.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
We got the Summer League, we got.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
The Olympic team, and tomorrow the Baltimore Ravens open their
camp for the rookies. So this is sort of the
last day for sports talk radio in America without heavy
NFL from this point forward. That's the thing that moves
the needle. It's a lot of NFL talk. But I thought, Jordan,
(01:13):
I'm gonna start today with an NFL topic. Okay, we're
gonna start with an NFL topic today. So Aaron I
saw him in a golf tournament, Aaron Rodgers yesterday at
a golf tournament. And Aaron was always a very very
polarizing player because he was good looking and kind of cocky,
and he replaced Farv and he's always been polarizing. Then
he comes in with strong political opinions and vaccine opinions.
(01:36):
Now he's like wildly crazy polarizing. I got no problem
with that. I don't care. I can disagree with him
on his politics, on his vaccine, I don't care.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
A real talented guy.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
But Mark Schlare was, you know, on his personal podcast
talking about like at Thanksgiving, there's a grown up table
and a kid's table, and if you're talking all time
great quarterbacks, Aaron would be at the kids table, and
that'll be viewed as anti Aaron. But one of the
reasons I didn't buy into Aaron going to the Jets
and changing the world is I view Aaron as almost
(02:13):
and I felt like this with Odell Beckham Junior, he's
almost an NBA brand that he wins awards. He's asthetically pleasing.
He got very rich, but I don't consider him an
all time great team guy. In football is our team sport.
And here's a great example. So Aaron's early career, he
(02:33):
sits on the benure three years behind a legend, and
his rookie year he's six and ten. So if you
take his prime years from year five in Green Bay
got a slower start, and to year seventeen where he
won MVP. Because people tend to Michael Jordan, nobody remembers
the Wizard years. We don't talk about the years he
got beat by Boston and Detroit.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
We go to your prime years.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
So let's go to Aaron's thirteen years of prime football.
He had twenty one playoff games, eleven and ten, lost
several times at home as a favorite. He lost at
home to old Tom Brady, Jimmy Garoppolo, Colin Kaepernick. In
twenty one playoff starts, he had one come from behind win.
(03:21):
Brady had nine times that Mahomes is just going into
his prime. He's got five times that Aaron was always
as a quarterback, a front runner when the weather was good,
when things were good, when he had a lead. These
aren't opinions, these are facts. In thirteen years, he had
one playoff run. He's very much an NBA star where
(03:45):
he's esthetically pleasing, he's pretty to watch. He got rich,
he's got a big brand. But if you look at
the all time great quarterbacks, you gotta do better than
one trip to a super Bowl in thirteen years. Marie
and Aaron are are kind of those guys we look
at and go. You had good coaches, you had stability,
(04:07):
you had good offensive lines. What the hell happened? I
was looking this morning at super Bowl appearances for many
of the great quarterbacks. Brady had ten. L Way five,
Montana four, bratch Off four, Peyton Manning for Stawback four,
Jim Kelly, Aikman big Ben, Kurt Warner Tarkenton three four.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Aaron had one. And remember he.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Played in the mostly weak division where the Bears and
the Lions were always a mess and Minnesota was never great.
So we got home field a lot. Green Bay also
has a decided home field advantage because it's the coldest
place in the league outside of Buffalo. He had two
offensive coaches, three if you count his first coach as
a rookie. He always had good offensive lines, and the
Packers are always stable. They're never a tire fire. Maybe
(04:55):
some years the defense isn't as good as we think.
So in thirteen years a prime, he was a five
hundred playoff quarterback, twenty one games, one come from behind
playoff win.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
That's what he is.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
So why don't you buy into the Jets? I don't
like their offensive line? And I always thought Aaron was
was kind of an Aaron guy and not necessarily a
fox hole guy. He's not Mahomes who plays from behind
as well as he plays with the lead. He's not
Brady who's better in his biggest games. He didn't have
the intellect of Manning or the size and the mobility
(05:30):
of Big Ben. He's not eight min the leader or
as tough as Bradshaw. It's not a criticism, it's just
my eyes. So you know, when everybody looks at Aaron
Rodgers and the opinions like why don't I buy the Jets? Well,
because Josh Allen's a significantly more focused quarterback in his prime, bigger, stronger, faster.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Josh Allen's a much better.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Quarterback than Aaron. The criticism of Aaron old Quarterbacks coming
off surgery with dubious offensive lines don't do well in
this league. So you know, in the NBA, Tracy McGrady
can never get in his prime to a second round
of the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
You're a Hall of Famer.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
James Harden Westbrook playoff disappointment after disappointment, Kawhi Leonard's never available.
They'll all make the Hall of Fame. Mellow was selfish,
not in good shape, didn't play defense. Hall of Fame
first ballot. But Aaron's to this point, Aaron's going to
brag about a high passer rating. It's excellent, but that's
(06:32):
not the kind of thing you put your grandkids on
your knee and go, hey, you want to hear about
dad's touchdown to interceptions splits. Aaron just didn't win enough
with stability, week, division, home field, weather, advantage, offensive coaches, you.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Know what enough. So if you wonder why don't buy
it to the Jets. I've always thought Aaron's overvalued.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Don't have anything to do with his vaccine opinions, don't
have anything to do with his politics.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
I don't care.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
I think most NFL quarterbacks are probably conservative. I don't
view myself as a conservative, What do I care? Mark
Schlareth on his podcast said.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
I don't even think this is an opinion. I think
it's the truth.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
If you invite the greatest quarterbacks of all time to
dinner and there's you know, it's like Thanksgiving and there's
one main table and then the kid's table on the side,
Aaron Rodgers is sitting at the kids table. Yeah, because
he's got one champion. Yes, you don't get to sit
with Joe Montana and Tom Brady and multiple Super Bowl
(07:34):
winners at the big boy table.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
You don't, by the way, in the NBA, you do.
Carmelo gets lumped in with a Kobe Bryant. That's not
the way it works in football. So as we get
ready to talk football starting next week, like every day,
nobody's anti Aaron or anti Jets.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
But Aaron's out of his prime.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
It could be forty Malmes is it, Lamar's in it,
Josh Allen's in it, Herbert's in it, Trevor Lawrence in it.
Speaker 5 (08:05):
C J.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Stroud appears to be close to being in it, Joe
Burrow's in it, Stafford's out of it.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
But right now is better than Aaron.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Golf is in it. Jalen Hurts is in it. It's
a quarterback. It's a quarterback coaches league. If you're not
in your prime, you have to have an elite coach.
We don't know if Robert Sawa is that. Here's what
I do know, though, I'm talking more WNBA because of
not only Caitlin Clark, but Angel Reese and Angel Reese.
(08:34):
Juju Watkins, a great young player, picked Angel Reese as
her WNBA Rookie of the Year. I laugh when I
saw it. I was like, I was gonna get the
Caitlyn Clark. The Swifties. Remember when Kanye West diss Taylor
Swift as the best thing that ever happened to Taylor
Swift's career, her fans became more emboldened, more ticked off,
(08:55):
more loyal. The best thing that ever happened to Taylor
Swift was Kanye West. Her music's great, She's a great songwriter,
super smart, but that in bold in her fan base
never never looked back. At the time it may have hurt,
but between the Olympic snub to Caitlin Clark, which was silly,
(09:17):
and Angel Reese potentially winning Rookie of the Year, that'd
be the best thing in the world for Caitlin Clark,
it would also be the best thing in the world
for the WNBA. Hear me out, it's a Magic Bird thing.
What made Magic and Bird last is neither truly won
the Who's Better. Remember people chose sides for years because
(09:41):
they met in the NCAA finals. Magic won, but then
Bird won Rookie of the Year, but then Magic won
the title as a rookie, but then Bird won at
the next year. Eight years they made seven finals. At
one point Magic on top that he had a bad finals,
he was tragic, and then Bird was on top and
(10:02):
he had some injuries or underachieved in a big spot
or two. It just went back and forth and back
and forth. Magic never won, Bird never won, and over
time they created this friendship and they're in McDonald's commercials together.
This is great that Angel Reese along with an Olympic snub,
(10:22):
because right now Caitlin Clark's more popular, She's filling arenas,
she's moving the attendants and the TV ratings. But if
the snub plus Angel Reese winning Rookie of the Year
can really change the WNBA and it creates arguments, and
arguments are they're great for sports. They're both terrific players,
and unlike the NBA, the WNBA draft can deliver players
(10:45):
who are productive culture changers. Game one. They're both excellent.
But I think Caitlin the Olympic snub, and if she
gets snub for Rookie of the Year, it just empowers
her fan base and creates a true, real rivalry that's
unbelievable for the league. I think I'm not joking here.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
I listen.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
I grew up with Ali Fraser, Alli won, Fraser won,
all you won. It empowered both. I mean, Joe Fraser
is in the history of heavyweights. One of the reasons
he's listed near the top is because the wars he
had with all.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
E even when he lost.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
So everybody's pushing back and taking sides on Angel Reese
and they're taking sides on Caitlin Clark.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Go look at Magic and Bird.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Magic won in college, right, he wins the college game,
and Bird wins Rookie of the Year. Then Magic wins
the title, then Bird's win the next then Magic had
bad finals and Bird was on top of the world,
and then Magic. It just went back and forth and
for like twelve years. And if Bird would have gone
to a crappy team. It wouldn't have helped the NBA.
It would have helped the Lakers, who have always been
(11:54):
the biggest brand, and it would have helped Magic. It
was the losses and the tragic Johnson and losing every
other year. If you went back to that Magic and
Bird final for a long stretch, it was Laker Celtics, Laker,
Celtics Laker. It was the push the pull that made
the rivalry and simultaneously elevated the league. I think it's
(12:15):
great if Caitlan doesn't win Rookie but maybe can win
a playoff series and the next year she's an All Star,
and then Angel Reese isn't an All Star, and then
the next year Angel wins a title that would elevate
the entire sport, not just make Caitland Clark popular. And
the WNBA has never made money, never made a prophet
as a league. This can't just be about Caitlin Clark.
(12:39):
It can't just be about Tiger Woods. Golf had to
win wild Tiger won. That's the different UFC one, not
just Connor McGregor. The key to the WNBA is, Yeah,
Caitlin Clark can get rich. You guys gotta make money.
This league gotta make a profit. You want to play
a bigger arenas. And the way that happens isn't Caitlin
Clark winning everything. It's Caitlin Clark with a true rival
(13:04):
that she has to look up to occasionally. Team wins awards, popularity,
the Angel Rees dynamic here is bigger than everybody thinks.
All right, here we go on a Friday. By the way,
the United States men's national team fired Greg Berhalter, so
I'm sure they can just go poachs the world's best coaches.
(13:25):
One's already turned them down. It is it is not
turning out the way they wanted. With the United States
men's national team. Jurgen Klop said, no, thank you, not interested.
We'll talk about that coming up.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon eastern non am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app Well.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Well, well, Jurgen Klopp used to be the coach, the
manager of Liverpool, very big reputation. The States men's national team.
The Soccer Federation eyeing him as the Greg Burhalter replacement,
and he said no, thank you. Yeah, that's what he said.
(14:11):
So you have to remember this is not necessarily an
enviable job. It would come with remarkable pressure because the
team we have now though I didn't feel they underachieved,
I just said it yesterday. Coppo wasn't the perfect pitch,
the perfect tournament for our talent. It's a grittier tournament.
(14:32):
We're more European now in style. We'll do better when
we get and qualify for the World Cup. But Burholter
got ousted. But the feeling among soccer diehards in America
as this team is inches from Brazil, we are right
there with Argentina.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
Oh boy.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
So we all know there's a lot of dysfunction in sports.
A third of the NFL teams, a third of the
NBA teams, a third of baseball teams, bad ownership, kooky
front offices. Soccer it's always worse. You have three hundred
million dollar contracts. It's very much about the star. FIFA
is perpetually corrupt, scandals constantly overseas. So our soccer federation.
(15:14):
I'm not sure how I feel about this. Is like
the White House. They've got a president and a vice
president and a secretary general, and they often work in
the shadows. You can only you can only be a
president for so many terms. It's very political. It has
this Greg Burholter situation had a Joe Biden feel to it.
He's our guy, No, he's not. People lining up on sides.
(15:36):
A lot of the work being done by the media
in cahoots with a soccer federation insiders, outsiders, until finally
Greg got the acts because a player got a red card.
The refereeing wasn't sensational, it didn't work to our favor.
We played a man down, we lost a Panama and
Burholter wins that game.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
He's still the coach he did and he's out by
It's like our politics. How do you feel about that?
Speaker 1 (16:01):
And so as we believe we're getting very close to Argentina,
we're now looking for a coach. Go look at the second, third,
and fourth options we did this morning. Unlike you know
our Olympic basketball, where you go from like coach k
to Pop to Kerr and Spolstro waiting in the wings.
Perholter is gone. You'regen was the primary candidate. They didn't
(16:26):
get him. Go look at the next four options. Tell
me if I've heard of any of them, and we
whiffed our number one choice. It's very political. I said
this for a while. I think the soccer Federation needs
an overhaul. But you know, maybe, you know, maybe they'll
go steal jj Uddick from the Lakers. Maybe the soccer
(16:46):
Federation is combing through soccer podcast to find their next coach.
But right now they don't have one, and they don't
really have a history of nailing the choice. And if
the choice doesn't win as many games as they think
they should. And for the record, Berhalter won sixty nine
percent of his games, got us to the round of
sixteen in a World Cup with the second youngest team
(17:07):
a draw with England. We had no business doing that.
And because COPA wasn't really built for our style of play,
which is now more European. We're more skilled in COPA,
narrower field, shorter field, a little grittier. Red cards shouldn't
have been called. It happens. And now we're looking for
a coach. Go look at the options this morning. By
(17:29):
the way, I Alexi Lawless was Alma J. Mac last week.
He's available.
Speaker 6 (17:36):
If the United States Soccer Federation came to me and
asked me to coach this team, I would do it
in a second out of a sense of responsibility, and yeah,
out of a sense of confidence, maybe even bordering on
arrogance in terms of what I feel that we could
do with this group here.
Speaker 5 (17:51):
So I'm not going to do the politician thing.
Speaker 6 (17:53):
Hell yeah, they should be so.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
Lucky to have someone like me leading this team. Is
he wrong?
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Go look at the choices this morning. I'm just saying
our soccer fans are never satisfied. The blame is always
on the coach, It's never on the players. We have
this delusion that we're inches from the top teams, and
uh we're not. We have skill, polistics probably are only
truly elite elite player. We've got a lot that are close.
(18:23):
He's clearly when Polusic's healthy and playing, he's the engine
that drives his car, but the first choice talk to
the hand not interested.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and Noone Easter, not a Empacific.
Speaker 7 (18:42):
Pali Foods go here with Tony Foods.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Go Yeah.
Speaker 7 (18:44):
As everybody knows, we're the hosts of the award winning
Polly and Tony Foods Go show. Yeah, but instead of
us telling you how great we are. Here's how Dan
Patrick described us when he came on our show.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
Quick, knowledgeable and funny, opinionated.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
What are you doing interrupting our problem?
Speaker 8 (19:00):
He wasn't talking about you.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
You took those clips totally of context.
Speaker 7 (19:05):
Oh yeah, well, after this promo, I'm gonna take you
out and beat you.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Let me put this into context. Shut up.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (19:12):
Anyway, just listening to the Paul and Tony Fusco Show
on iHeartRadio, Apple podcasts O wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Yee.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Now, he's the only college football player to score a
touchdown in every game. He was viewed as the top
running back in college football the last several years. And
how lucky is Blake Korham. The Rams are lucky to
have him. He goes Jim Harbaugh to Sean McVay. That's
a pretty good baton handoff, and Blake Koram is joining
us down. You know, from the outside, Blake, they look
(19:41):
like totally different cats. Now, they're both athletic, they're both
intense guys. But is there anything about Sean that it
feels a little Jim Harball.
Speaker 5 (19:52):
Yeah, I would definitely say their enthusiasm for the game.
Speaker 8 (19:56):
You know, Coach Harball always talked about enthusiasm unknown mankind.
Speaker 5 (19:59):
But you see that daily by coach McVay, like his energy.
Speaker 8 (20:03):
You know, it doesn't matter what time it is in
the morning, of what time it is in the evening.
Like he's the same guy each and every day, as
I saw through OTAs. I love playing for him so far,
and it's only been what maybe a month and a
half of OTA's I'm blessed.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
You know, a Harball's it'll bit. It'll be hard for
you to not root for the other team that plays
at so far, the Chargers, because Jim really made an
impact on your life. Go back to when Jim Harball
recruited you at a high school and you never played
for him. He's kind of a different guy. He's got
a different personality. Did you instantly know, Blake, that's my guy?
(20:40):
Or you know, because a lot of people meet Harball
and they're like, man, he's intense, he is different. Did
you know instantly you were going to go to Michigan.
Speaker 5 (20:50):
I committed on spot. So I took two officials official visits.
Speaker 8 (20:54):
I wanted to commit before my senior year high school,
and I took one to a house date and then
I took my next one to Michigan.
Speaker 5 (21:02):
I committed on spot.
Speaker 8 (21:04):
I went up to coach Rovall's office, I said, I'm coming,
And it was because of you know, his coaching style,
his demeanor for the game, his love for the game,
his passion for his players.
Speaker 5 (21:14):
I was like, you know what, I'm gonna be a Wolverine.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Yeah, you know, Blake. It's interesting you have a lot
of power for your size. So does Kyron Williams, Notre
Dame running back who they took several years ago. It's interesting.
I look at you and you're obviously a fast guy,
but you'll lower your shoulder. Do you use your size
a bit as an advantage? When I watched you at
(21:37):
Michigan sometimes I thought you were good at kind of
hiding behind the line in pulling situations. Talk about that
because you know, everything in the NFL is measurables. Combine
size length. You've been great, although you would be categorized
as a smaller back, but you don't play small. And
where did that come from?
Speaker 3 (21:55):
Right?
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Yeah?
Speaker 8 (21:57):
I think that just comes from you know, my whole life.
You know, everyone always called me a smaller back. But
when it comes to strength wise or pound for pound, like,
you know, there's not too many you know guys that
can you know, outlift me in the weight room and
things like that, so, uh, you know, I try to
use that to my advantage for sure, Like there'd be
linebackers in the game, they're like, hey man, I can't
see them until you already the whole and so like
(22:18):
that's my that's my advantage, you know, just staying patient
and then using my you know, speeding agility to hit
it at the last second and get up on them
as fast as I can.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
So what was your you went to OTAs What was
your initial impression of going from college football for years
at Michigan to a professional ota Was it faster? Uh?
Speaker 3 (22:39):
Tell me your impression of the difference.
Speaker 8 (22:42):
Well, first, I just want to start off by saying
the culture at the Rams is one of them.
Speaker 5 (22:47):
It's truly amazing.
Speaker 8 (22:48):
You know, I love, you know, playing for the Rams,
and like I said, I've only been there for a
short period of time. But I would say the biggest
difference for me coming from college to the NFL, it's
probably the speed of practice.
Speaker 5 (22:59):
Everything just so fast.
Speaker 8 (23:01):
You know, everyone's professional, So there's you know, obviously there's
some mistakes.
Speaker 5 (23:04):
But there's there are very few far in between. But
I'll say that was the.
Speaker 8 (23:09):
Biggest difference, you know, coming in it's really just to
speak of the game. And obviously, you know, I had
to learn to playbook pretty quick. You know, I didn't
want to let my teammates down by messing up. So
you know, definitely the speed of practice, it's pretty fast.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
How long does it take you, Blake, You're a smart guy,
But how long does it take you that you feel
so comfortable with a playbook you don't have to think
about it?
Speaker 3 (23:32):
Is it?
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Is it a two week, three week, two month process?
How long does it take?
Speaker 5 (23:37):
Yeah?
Speaker 8 (23:38):
I think for me, I definitely had you know, majority
of the playbook after week one. But I was in
there grinding with Coach g great running back coach Man
just really a great, down to earth human being. I love,
you know, playing for him and him being my running
back coach. So I was in there, you know, just
asking him to meet NonStop, just trying to get the playbook.
So I was said, two weeks, I really you know,
(24:00):
the whole book, but also it comes with reps and
socias you know, I was trying to get as many
reps as I can to really get those game like
reps and here to play calls coming from Matthew Stafford
and or tv G where I was in with and
But ill say, for the most part, you know, I
kind of had the offense. But it's one of those
things where you know, I have to stay at it
every day. You know, I can't go a couple of
(24:21):
days without looking at my playbook because you know, I
was at Miskip for four years, so I knew that offense.
Speaker 5 (24:26):
You know, like the back of my hand.
Speaker 8 (24:27):
But this one, you know, I don't know as good yet.
So I'm into my playbook every day, just trying to
stay sharp.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
You know.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
It's interesting. I actually think it's an advantage at Michigan.
You're a workhorse running back. And I've said this before,
that's the one position in football if a running back says,
you know, I'm not going to play in the bowl game,
it's not a natty, I'm gonna go to Pro. I
got Leonard Fournette did that. McCaffrey. I got no problem
with it. There is a there is a duration for
running back. Were you ever worried about at college that
(24:56):
you got so many carries and you were such a workhorse.
Did you ever think to yourself, man, how many how
many hits do I have on this body? Nah?
Speaker 5 (25:06):
I never worried about that.
Speaker 8 (25:07):
I was always like they coach, if you need me
to run it forty times or run it forty times.
I think it's all about a mindset. But I also
think it's about how you take care of your body. Obviously,
every running back has to chase longevity. But you know,
not everyone you know takes care of their body properly.
No one you know might not get a couple of
massages a week or go in and get treatment, you know,
(25:28):
And so you know, I make sure I take care
of my body.
Speaker 5 (25:31):
So you know, if a team needs me to, you know,
carry the ball.
Speaker 8 (25:34):
Like Michigan, did you know twenty plus times a game,
you know I can do it and I can feel
good about doing it. It's not like my body's hurting
after every game Saturday. So it never you know, came
to my mind that.
Speaker 5 (25:47):
You know.
Speaker 8 (25:47):
Yeah, I got a lot of touches in college, but
you know, I still feel like I did, you know
my freshman year of college.
Speaker 5 (25:54):
You know feel good? You know, I feel like I'm.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Me what for a running back? What is a greater
feeling that you're in the open and you make a
linebacker or a corner completely miss you you put a
great move on him. Or is it a better feeling
that you hit somebody head on and rolling for a
couple extra yards?
Speaker 3 (26:13):
For you?
Speaker 1 (26:14):
What gets you more jacked up? What in open space?
What's a greater feeling?
Speaker 8 (26:20):
Uh?
Speaker 7 (26:21):
You know it.
Speaker 5 (26:23):
Depends in the beginning of the game.
Speaker 8 (26:25):
You know, I kind of want them to feel me
a little bit, just so they know it's gonna be
a long day. But after I give them a little
Southern there's no better feeling than you know, catching the
safety or a dB or linebacker one and one open
space and they're just you know, stuff like a deer headlights.
You know, there's no better feeling than seeing that, just
knowing before you even get someone like, oh, yeah, I
got them.
Speaker 5 (26:45):
You know, I can't really pick one, but I love
them both.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
What do you expect this year from your Worklord? What
will we see? Are do you think you'll be used
in the past game? A lot of times they say
past protection is where rookie runs back struggle, although Harball
made you block. Are there things you think you'll flourish
with immediately, I.
Speaker 8 (27:08):
Think, uh, you know, overall, I think flourish. But you know,
for me, just going into you know, our first season,
whatever the coaches need me to do best, believe, I'm
gonna do well. To be running, you know, you know,
catching the ball, blocking for sure, like playing special teams.
You know, I'm here, you know, I'm here to help
the team win. As Michigan, you know, we did set
(27:29):
the team to team the team.
Speaker 5 (27:29):
I'm carrying that right over to the NFL because that's
what matters. And I love to win. So you know,
I think you can expect me, you know, to do
a little bit of everything. Obviously.
Speaker 8 (27:38):
You know, we have a great running back room with
Karen Williams, you know, Boston S guy who just came along,
Ryny Rivers, Zach Evans. You know, we have a really
good running back room and so I've definitely been picking
those guys brains. But for me, you know, it's just
a you know, day to day thing for me, just
trying to get better each and every day. But uh,
you know, I think, uh, you know, the coaches have
seen through Ta's I'm all around back and so you know,
(27:58):
maybe I'll be doing a little bit of everything.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Finally, I think, along with Mahomes, I think there's an
argument that Matt Stafford is the best arm talent in
the league. How many practices did it take for you
to go, oh, that's pretty good.
Speaker 5 (28:16):
It took one period. It's a one period. It's a
one period for me to know like, yeah, yeah, he's different.
Speaker 8 (28:25):
You know, it doesn't matter if the dB is the
only you linebackers on you. He's gonna put it where
only you can get it. You know, he'll be looking
left and throwing it right. It just does some crazy things.
But that's why you know, he's one of the best
to ever do it. You know, that's why you know
he's played for so long and he's still playing at
you know, one of the highest levels ever. You know,
he's one of the best quarterbacks in the league. And
(28:46):
I think he shows that each and every day the
way he comes to practice meetings.
Speaker 5 (28:49):
You know, he's attacking it like he's a rookie.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Yeah, yeah, he's a remarkable player.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Hey, Blake, from Harbaugh to McVeigh, that's the way to
do it. Two offensive lines that can maul people up front.
Good luck to you in the ram is my friend
Speaker 5 (29:06):
Naw I appreciate it.
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 (00:27):
It is a fride day. It is great to be
here live in Los Angeles. It's the Herd wherever you
may be in however you may be listening. Thanks for
making us part of your day. Jordan Schultz in tow
today as usual. Blake Korum, the Michigan Wolverine rookie, stops
by today. Danny Parkins, who filled in for me, great
Chicago radio voice, stopping by Sam Smith, longtime NBA writer.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
We got the Summer League, we got.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
The Olympic team, and tomorrow the Baltimore Ravens open their
camp for the rookies. So this is sort of the
last day for sports talk radio in America without heavy
NFL from this point forward. That's the thing that moves
the needle. It's a lot of NFL talk. But I thought, Jordan,
(01:13):
I'm gonna start today with an NFL topic. Okay, we're
gonna start with an NFL topic today. So Aaron I
saw him in a golf tournament, Aaron Rodgers yesterday at
a golf tournament. And Aaron was always a very very
polarizing player because he was good looking and kind of cocky,
and he replaced Farv and he's always been polarizing. Then
he comes in with strong political opinions and vaccine opinions.
(01:36):
Now he's like wildly crazy polarizing. I got no problem
with that. I don't care. I can disagree with him
on his politics, on his vaccine, I don't care.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
A real talented guy.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
But Mark Schlare was, you know, on his personal podcast
talking about like at Thanksgiving, there's a grown up table
and a kid's table, and if you're talking all time
great quarterbacks, Aaron would be at the kids table, and
that'll be viewed as anti Aaron. But one of the
reasons I didn't buy into Aaron going to the Jets
and changing the world is I view Aaron as almost
(02:13):
and I felt like this with Odell Beckham Junior, he's
almost an NBA brand that he wins awards. He's asthetically pleasing.
He got very rich, but I don't consider him an
all time great team guy. In football is our team sport.
And here's a great example. So Aaron's early career, he
(02:33):
sits on the benure three years behind a legend, and
his rookie year he's six and ten. So if you
take his prime years from year five in Green Bay
got a slower start, and to year seventeen where he
won MVP. Because people tend to Michael Jordan, nobody remembers
the Wizard years. We don't talk about the years he
got beat by Boston and Detroit.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
We go to your prime years.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
So let's go to Aaron's thirteen years of prime football.
He had twenty one playoff games, eleven and ten, lost
several times at home as a favorite. He lost at
home to old Tom Brady, Jimmy Garoppolo, Colin Kaepernick. In
twenty one playoff starts, he had one come from behind win.
(03:21):
Brady had nine times that Mahomes is just going into
his prime. He's got five times that Aaron was always
as a quarterback, a front runner when the weather was good,
when things were good, when he had a lead. These
aren't opinions, these are facts. In thirteen years, he had
one playoff run. He's very much an NBA star where
(03:45):
he's esthetically pleasing, he's pretty to watch. He got rich,
he's got a big brand. But if you look at
the all time great quarterbacks, you gotta do better than
one trip to a super Bowl in thirteen years. Marie
and Aaron are are kind of those guys we look
at and go. You had good coaches, you had stability,
(04:07):
you had good offensive lines. What the hell happened? I
was looking this morning at super Bowl appearances for many
of the great quarterbacks. Brady had ten. L Way five,
Montana four, bratch Off four, Peyton Manning for Stawback four,
Jim Kelly, Aikman big Ben, Kurt Warner Tarkenton three four.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Aaron had one. And remember he.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Played in the mostly weak division where the Bears and
the Lions were always a mess and Minnesota was never great.
So we got home field a lot. Green Bay also
has a decided home field advantage because it's the coldest
place in the league outside of Buffalo. He had two
offensive coaches, three if you count his first coach as
a rookie. He always had good offensive lines, and the
Packers are always stable. They're never a tire fire. Maybe
(04:55):
some years the defense isn't as good as we think.
So in thirteen years a prime, he was a five
hundred playoff quarterback, twenty one games, one come from behind
playoff win.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
That's what he is.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
So why don't you buy into the Jets? I don't
like their offensive line? And I always thought Aaron was
was kind of an Aaron guy and not necessarily a
fox hole guy. He's not Mahomes who plays from behind
as well as he plays with the lead. He's not
Brady who's better in his biggest games. He didn't have
the intellect of Manning or the size and the mobility
(05:30):
of Big Ben. He's not eight min the leader or
as tough as Bradshaw. It's not a criticism, it's just
my eyes. So you know, when everybody looks at Aaron
Rodgers and the opinions like why don't I buy the Jets? Well,
because Josh Allen's a significantly more focused quarterback in his prime, bigger, stronger, faster.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Josh Allen's a much better.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Quarterback than Aaron. The criticism of Aaron old Quarterbacks coming
off surgery with dubious offensive lines don't do well in
this league. So you know, in the NBA, Tracy McGrady
can never get in his prime to a second round
of the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
You're a Hall of Famer.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
James Harden Westbrook playoff disappointment after disappointment, Kawhi Leonard's never available.
They'll all make the Hall of Fame. Mellow was selfish,
not in good shape, didn't play defense. Hall of Fame
first ballot. But Aaron's to this point, Aaron's going to
brag about a high passer rating. It's excellent, but that's
(06:32):
not the kind of thing you put your grandkids on
your knee and go, hey, you want to hear about
dad's touchdown to interceptions splits. Aaron just didn't win enough
with stability, week, division, home field, weather, advantage, offensive coaches, you.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Know what enough. So if you wonder why don't buy
it to the Jets. I've always thought Aaron's overvalued.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Don't have anything to do with his vaccine opinions, don't
have anything to do with his politics.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
I don't care.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
I think most NFL quarterbacks are probably conservative. I don't
view myself as a conservative, What do I care? Mark
Schlareth on his podcast said.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
I don't even think this is an opinion. I think
it's the truth.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
If you invite the greatest quarterbacks of all time to
dinner and there's you know, it's like Thanksgiving and there's
one main table and then the kid's table on the side,
Aaron Rodgers is sitting at the kids table. Yeah, because
he's got one champion. Yes, you don't get to sit
with Joe Montana and Tom Brady and multiple Super Bowl
(07:34):
winners at the big boy table.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
You don't, by the way, in the NBA, you do.
Carmelo gets lumped in with a Kobe Bryant. That's not
the way it works in football. So as we get
ready to talk football starting next week, like every day,
nobody's anti Aaron or anti Jets.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
But Aaron's out of his prime.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
It could be forty Malmes is it, Lamar's in it,
Josh Allen's in it, Herbert's in it, Trevor Lawrence in it.
Speaker 5 (08:05):
C J.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Stroud appears to be close to being in it, Joe
Burrow's in it, Stafford's out of it.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
But right now is better than Aaron.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Golf is in it. Jalen Hurts is in it. It's
a quarterback. It's a quarterback coaches league. If you're not
in your prime, you have to have an elite coach.
We don't know if Robert Sawa is that. Here's what
I do know, though, I'm talking more WNBA because of
not only Caitlin Clark, but Angel Reese and Angel Reese.
(08:34):
Juju Watkins, a great young player, picked Angel Reese as
her WNBA Rookie of the Year. I laugh when I
saw it. I was like, I was gonna get the
Caitlyn Clark. The Swifties. Remember when Kanye West diss Taylor
Swift as the best thing that ever happened to Taylor
Swift's career, her fans became more emboldened, more ticked off,
(08:55):
more loyal. The best thing that ever happened to Taylor
Swift was Kanye West. Her music's great, She's a great songwriter,
super smart, but that in bold in her fan base
never never looked back. At the time it may have hurt,
but between the Olympic snub to Caitlin Clark, which was silly,
(09:17):
and Angel Reese potentially winning Rookie of the Year, that'd
be the best thing in the world for Caitlin Clark,
it would also be the best thing in the world
for the WNBA. Hear me out, it's a Magic Bird thing.
What made Magic and Bird last is neither truly won
the Who's Better. Remember people chose sides for years because
(09:41):
they met in the NCAA finals. Magic won, but then
Bird won Rookie of the Year, but then Magic won
the title as a rookie, but then Bird won at
the next year. Eight years they made seven finals. At
one point Magic on top that he had a bad finals,
he was tragic, and then Bird was on top and
(10:02):
he had some injuries or underachieved in a big spot
or two. It just went back and forth and back
and forth. Magic never won, Bird never won, and over
time they created this friendship and they're in McDonald's commercials together.
This is great that Angel Reese along with an Olympic snub,
(10:22):
because right now Caitlin Clark's more popular, She's filling arenas,
she's moving the attendants and the TV ratings. But if
the snub plus Angel Reese winning Rookie of the Year
can really change the WNBA and it creates arguments, and
arguments are they're great for sports. They're both terrific players,
and unlike the NBA, the WNBA draft can deliver players
(10:45):
who are productive culture changers. Game one. They're both excellent.
But I think Caitlin the Olympic snub, and if she
gets snub for Rookie of the Year, it just empowers
her fan base and creates a true, real rivalry that's
unbelievable for the league. I think I'm not joking here.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
I listen.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
I grew up with Ali Fraser, Alli won, Fraser won,
all you won. It empowered both. I mean, Joe Fraser
is in the history of heavyweights. One of the reasons
he's listed near the top is because the wars he
had with all.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
E even when he lost.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
So everybody's pushing back and taking sides on Angel Reese
and they're taking sides on Caitlin Clark.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Go look at Magic and Bird.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Magic won in college, right, he wins the college game,
and Bird wins Rookie of the Year. Then Magic wins
the title, then Bird's win the next then Magic had
bad finals and Bird was on top of the world,
and then Magic. It just went back and forth and
for like twelve years. And if Bird would have gone
to a crappy team. It wouldn't have helped the NBA.
It would have helped the Lakers, who have always been
(11:54):
the biggest brand, and it would have helped Magic. It
was the losses and the tragic Johnson and losing every
other year. If you went back to that Magic and
Bird final for a long stretch, it was Laker Celtics, Laker,
Celtics Laker. It was the push the pull that made
the rivalry and simultaneously elevated the league. I think it's
(12:15):
great if Caitlan doesn't win Rookie but maybe can win
a playoff series and the next year she's an All Star,
and then Angel Reese isn't an All Star, and then
the next year Angel wins a title that would elevate
the entire sport, not just make Caitland Clark popular. And
the WNBA has never made money, never made a prophet
as a league. This can't just be about Caitlin Clark.
(12:39):
It can't just be about Tiger Woods. Golf had to
win wild Tiger won. That's the different UFC one, not
just Connor McGregor. The key to the WNBA is, Yeah,
Caitlin Clark can get rich. You guys gotta make money.
This league gotta make a profit. You want to play
a bigger arenas. And the way that happens isn't Caitlin
Clark winning everything. It's Caitlin Clark with a true rival
(13:04):
that she has to look up to occasionally. Team wins awards, popularity,
the Angel Rees dynamic here is bigger than everybody thinks.
All right, here we go on a Friday. By the way,
the United States men's national team fired Greg Berhalter, so
I'm sure they can just go poachs the world's best coaches.
(13:25):
One's already turned them down. It is it is not
turning out the way they wanted. With the United States
men's national team. Jurgen Klop said, no, thank you, not interested.
We'll talk about that coming up.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon eastern non am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app Well.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Well, well, Jurgen Klopp used to be the coach, the
manager of Liverpool, very big reputation. The States men's national team.
The Soccer Federation eyeing him as the Greg Burhalter replacement,
and he said no, thank you. Yeah, that's what he said.
(14:11):
So you have to remember this is not necessarily an
enviable job. It would come with remarkable pressure because the
team we have now though I didn't feel they underachieved,
I just said it yesterday. Coppo wasn't the perfect pitch,
the perfect tournament for our talent. It's a grittier tournament.
(14:32):
We're more European now in style. We'll do better when
we get and qualify for the World Cup. But Burholter
got ousted. But the feeling among soccer diehards in America
as this team is inches from Brazil, we are right
there with Argentina.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
Oh boy.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
So we all know there's a lot of dysfunction in sports.
A third of the NFL teams, a third of the
NBA teams, a third of baseball teams, bad ownership, kooky
front offices. Soccer it's always worse. You have three hundred
million dollar contracts. It's very much about the star. FIFA
is perpetually corrupt, scandals constantly overseas. So our soccer federation.
(15:14):
I'm not sure how I feel about this. Is like
the White House. They've got a president and a vice
president and a secretary general, and they often work in
the shadows. You can only you can only be a
president for so many terms. It's very political. It has
this Greg Burholter situation had a Joe Biden feel to it.
He's our guy, No, he's not. People lining up on sides.
(15:36):
A lot of the work being done by the media
in cahoots with a soccer federation insiders, outsiders, until finally
Greg got the acts because a player got a red card.
The refereeing wasn't sensational, it didn't work to our favor.
We played a man down, we lost a Panama and
Burholter wins that game.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
He's still the coach he did and he's out by
It's like our politics. How do you feel about that?
Speaker 1 (16:01):
And so as we believe we're getting very close to Argentina,
we're now looking for a coach. Go look at the second, third,
and fourth options we did this morning. Unlike you know
our Olympic basketball, where you go from like coach k
to Pop to Kerr and Spolstro waiting in the wings.
Perholter is gone. You'regen was the primary candidate. They didn't
(16:26):
get him. Go look at the next four options. Tell
me if I've heard of any of them, and we
whiffed our number one choice. It's very political. I said
this for a while. I think the soccer Federation needs
an overhaul. But you know, maybe, you know, maybe they'll
go steal jj Uddick from the Lakers. Maybe the soccer
(16:46):
Federation is combing through soccer podcast to find their next coach.
But right now they don't have one, and they don't
really have a history of nailing the choice. And if
the choice doesn't win as many games as they think
they should. And for the record, Berhalter won sixty nine
percent of his games, got us to the round of
sixteen in a World Cup with the second youngest team
(17:07):
a draw with England. We had no business doing that.
And because COPA wasn't really built for our style of play,
which is now more European. We're more skilled in COPA,
narrower field, shorter field, a little grittier. Red cards shouldn't
have been called. It happens. And now we're looking for
a coach. Go look at the options this morning. By
(17:29):
the way, I Alexi Lawless was Alma J. Mac last week.
He's available.
Speaker 6 (17:36):
If the United States Soccer Federation came to me and
asked me to coach this team, I would do it
in a second out of a sense of responsibility, and yeah,
out of a sense of confidence, maybe even bordering on
arrogance in terms of what I feel that we could
do with this group here.
Speaker 5 (17:51):
So I'm not going to do the politician thing.
Speaker 6 (17:53):
Hell yeah, they should be so.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
Lucky to have someone like me leading this team. Is
he wrong?
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Go look at the choices this morning. I'm just saying
our soccer fans are never satisfied. The blame is always
on the coach, It's never on the players. We have
this delusion that we're inches from the top teams, and
uh we're not. We have skill, polistics probably are only
truly elite elite player. We've got a lot that are close.
(18:23):
He's clearly when Polusic's healthy and playing, he's the engine
that drives his car, but the first choice talk to
the hand not interested.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and Noone Easter, not a Empacific.
Speaker 7 (18:42):
Pali Foods go here with Tony Foods.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Go Yeah.
Speaker 7 (18:44):
As everybody knows, we're the hosts of the award winning
Polly and Tony Foods Go show. Yeah, but instead of
us telling you how great we are. Here's how Dan
Patrick described us when he came on our show.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
Quick, knowledgeable and funny, opinionated.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
What are you doing interrupting our problem?
Speaker 8 (19:00):
He wasn't talking about you.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
You took those clips totally of context.
Speaker 7 (19:05):
Oh yeah, well, after this promo, I'm gonna take you
out and beat you.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Let me put this into context. Shut up.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (19:12):
Anyway, just listening to the Paul and Tony Fusco Show
on iHeartRadio, Apple podcasts O wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Yee.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Now, he's the only college football player to score a
touchdown in every game. He was viewed as the top
running back in college football the last several years. And
how lucky is Blake Korham. The Rams are lucky to
have him. He goes Jim Harbaugh to Sean McVay. That's
a pretty good baton handoff, and Blake Koram is joining
us down. You know, from the outside, Blake, they look
(19:41):
like totally different cats. Now, they're both athletic, they're both
intense guys. But is there anything about Sean that it
feels a little Jim Harball.
Speaker 5 (19:52):
Yeah, I would definitely say their enthusiasm for the game.
Speaker 8 (19:56):
You know, Coach Harball always talked about enthusiasm unknown mankind.
Speaker 5 (19:59):
But you see that daily by coach McVay, like his energy.
Speaker 8 (20:03):
You know, it doesn't matter what time it is in
the morning, of what time it is in the evening.
Like he's the same guy each and every day, as
I saw through OTAs. I love playing for him so far,
and it's only been what maybe a month and a
half of OTA's I'm blessed.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
You know, a Harball's it'll bit. It'll be hard for
you to not root for the other team that plays
at so far, the Chargers, because Jim really made an
impact on your life. Go back to when Jim Harball
recruited you at a high school and you never played
for him. He's kind of a different guy. He's got
a different personality. Did you instantly know, Blake, that's my guy?
(20:40):
Or you know, because a lot of people meet Harball
and they're like, man, he's intense, he is different. Did
you know instantly you were going to go to Michigan.
Speaker 5 (20:50):
I committed on spot. So I took two officials official visits.
Speaker 8 (20:54):
I wanted to commit before my senior year high school,
and I took one to a house date and then
I took my next one to Michigan.
Speaker 5 (21:02):
I committed on spot.
Speaker 8 (21:04):
I went up to coach Rovall's office, I said, I'm coming,
And it was because of you know, his coaching style,
his demeanor for the game, his love for the game,
his passion for his players.
Speaker 5 (21:14):
I was like, you know what, I'm gonna be a Wolverine.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Yeah, you know, Blake. It's interesting you have a lot
of power for your size. So does Kyron Williams, Notre
Dame running back who they took several years ago. It's interesting.
I look at you and you're obviously a fast guy,
but you'll lower your shoulder. Do you use your size
a bit as an advantage? When I watched you at
(21:37):
Michigan sometimes I thought you were good at kind of
hiding behind the line in pulling situations. Talk about that
because you know, everything in the NFL is measurables. Combine
size length. You've been great, although you would be categorized
as a smaller back, but you don't play small. And
where did that come from?
Speaker 3 (21:55):
Right?
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Yeah?
Speaker 8 (21:57):
I think that just comes from you know, my whole life.
You know, everyone always called me a smaller back. But
when it comes to strength wise or pound for pound, like,
you know, there's not too many you know guys that
can you know, outlift me in the weight room and
things like that, so, uh, you know, I try to
use that to my advantage for sure, Like there'd be
linebackers in the game, they're like, hey man, I can't
see them until you already the whole and so like
(22:18):
that's my that's my advantage, you know, just staying patient
and then using my you know, speeding agility to hit
it at the last second and get up on them
as fast as I can.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
So what was your you went to OTAs What was
your initial impression of going from college football for years
at Michigan to a professional ota Was it faster? Uh?
Speaker 3 (22:39):
Tell me your impression of the difference.
Speaker 8 (22:42):
Well, first, I just want to start off by saying
the culture at the Rams is one of them.
Speaker 5 (22:47):
It's truly amazing.
Speaker 8 (22:48):
You know, I love, you know, playing for the Rams,
and like I said, I've only been there for a
short period of time. But I would say the biggest
difference for me coming from college to the NFL, it's
probably the speed of practice.
Speaker 5 (22:59):
Everything just so fast.
Speaker 8 (23:01):
You know, everyone's professional, So there's you know, obviously there's
some mistakes.
Speaker 5 (23:04):
But there's there are very few far in between. But
I'll say that was the.
Speaker 8 (23:09):
Biggest difference, you know, coming in it's really just to
speak of the game. And obviously, you know, I had
to learn to playbook pretty quick. You know, I didn't
want to let my teammates down by messing up. So
you know, definitely the speed of practice, it's pretty fast.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
How long does it take you, Blake, You're a smart guy,
But how long does it take you that you feel
so comfortable with a playbook you don't have to think
about it?
Speaker 3 (23:32):
Is it?
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Is it a two week, three week, two month process?
How long does it take?
Speaker 5 (23:37):
Yeah?
Speaker 8 (23:38):
I think for me, I definitely had you know, majority
of the playbook after week one. But I was in
there grinding with Coach g great running back coach Man
just really a great, down to earth human being. I love,
you know, playing for him and him being my running
back coach. So I was in there, you know, just
asking him to meet NonStop, just trying to get the playbook.
So I was said, two weeks, I really you know,
(24:00):
the whole book, but also it comes with reps and
socias you know, I was trying to get as many
reps as I can to really get those game like
reps and here to play calls coming from Matthew Stafford
and or tv G where I was in with and
But ill say, for the most part, you know, I
kind of had the offense. But it's one of those
things where you know, I have to stay at it
every day. You know, I can't go a couple of
(24:21):
days without looking at my playbook because you know, I
was at Miskip for four years, so I knew that offense.
Speaker 5 (24:26):
You know, like the back of my hand.
Speaker 8 (24:27):
But this one, you know, I don't know as good yet.
So I'm into my playbook every day, just trying to
stay sharp.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
You know.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
It's interesting. I actually think it's an advantage at Michigan.
You're a workhorse running back. And I've said this before,
that's the one position in football if a running back says,
you know, I'm not going to play in the bowl game,
it's not a natty, I'm gonna go to Pro. I
got Leonard Fournette did that. McCaffrey. I got no problem
with it. There is a there is a duration for
running back. Were you ever worried about at college that
(24:56):
you got so many carries and you were such a workhorse.
Did you ever think to yourself, man, how many how
many hits do I have on this body? Nah?
Speaker 5 (25:06):
I never worried about that.
Speaker 8 (25:07):
I was always like they coach, if you need me
to run it forty times or run it forty times.
I think it's all about a mindset. But I also
think it's about how you take care of your body. Obviously,
every running back has to chase longevity. But you know,
not everyone you know takes care of their body properly.
No one you know might not get a couple of
massages a week or go in and get treatment, you know,
(25:28):
And so you know, I make sure I take care
of my body.
Speaker 5 (25:31):
So you know, if a team needs me to, you know,
carry the ball.
Speaker 8 (25:34):
Like Michigan, did you know twenty plus times a game,
you know I can do it and I can feel
good about doing it. It's not like my body's hurting
after every game Saturday. So it never you know, came
to my mind that.
Speaker 5 (25:47):
You know.
Speaker 8 (25:47):
Yeah, I got a lot of touches in college, but
you know, I still feel like I did, you know
my freshman year of college.
Speaker 5 (25:54):
You know feel good? You know, I feel like I'm.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Me what for a running back? What is a greater
feeling that you're in the open and you make a
linebacker or a corner completely miss you you put a
great move on him. Or is it a better feeling
that you hit somebody head on and rolling for a
couple extra yards?
Speaker 3 (26:13):
For you?
Speaker 1 (26:14):
What gets you more jacked up? What in open space?
What's a greater feeling?
Speaker 8 (26:20):
Uh?
Speaker 7 (26:21):
You know it.
Speaker 5 (26:23):
Depends in the beginning of the game.
Speaker 8 (26:25):
You know, I kind of want them to feel me
a little bit, just so they know it's gonna be
a long day. But after I give them a little
Southern there's no better feeling than you know, catching the
safety or a dB or linebacker one and one open
space and they're just you know, stuff like a deer headlights.
You know, there's no better feeling than seeing that, just
knowing before you even get someone like, oh, yeah, I
got them.
Speaker 5 (26:45):
You know, I can't really pick one, but I love
them both.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
What do you expect this year from your Worklord? What
will we see? Are do you think you'll be used
in the past game? A lot of times they say
past protection is where rookie runs back struggle, although Harball
made you block. Are there things you think you'll flourish
with immediately, I.
Speaker 8 (27:08):
Think, uh, you know, overall, I think flourish. But you know,
for me, just going into you know, our first season,
whatever the coaches need me to do best, believe, I'm
gonna do well. To be running, you know, you know,
catching the ball, blocking for sure, like playing special teams.
You know, I'm here, you know, I'm here to help
the team win. As Michigan, you know, we did set
(27:29):
the team to team the team.
Speaker 5 (27:29):
I'm carrying that right over to the NFL because that's
what matters. And I love to win. So you know,
I think you can expect me, you know, to do
a little bit of everything. Obviously.
Speaker 8 (27:38):
You know, we have a great running back room with
Karen Williams, you know, Boston S guy who just came along,
Ryny Rivers, Zach Evans. You know, we have a really
good running back room and so I've definitely been picking
those guys brains. But for me, you know, it's just
a you know, day to day thing for me, just
trying to get better each and every day. But uh,
you know, I think, uh, you know, the coaches have
seen through Ta's I'm all around back and so you know,
(27:58):
maybe I'll be doing a little bit of everything.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Finally, I think, along with Mahomes, I think there's an
argument that Matt Stafford is the best arm talent in
the league. How many practices did it take for you
to go, oh, that's pretty good.
Speaker 5 (28:16):
It took one period. It's a one period. It's a
one period for me to know like, yeah, yeah, he's different.
Speaker 8 (28:25):
You know, it doesn't matter if the dB is the
only you linebackers on you. He's gonna put it where
only you can get it. You know, he'll be looking
left and throwing it right. It just does some crazy things.
But that's why you know, he's one of the best
to ever do it. You know, that's why you know
he's played for so long and he's still playing at
you know, one of the highest levels ever. You know,
he's one of the best quarterbacks in the league. And
(28:46):
I think he shows that each and every day the
way he comes to practice meetings.
Speaker 5 (28:49):
You know, he's attacking it like he's a rookie.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Yeah, yeah, he's a remarkable player.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Hey, Blake, from Harbaugh to McVeigh, that's the way to
do it. Two offensive lines that can maul people up front.
Good luck to you in the ram is my friend
Speaker 5 (29:06):
Naw I appreciate it.
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Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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