Best of The Herd

Colin doesn't like what he's seen from the Giants this offseason in a look behind the scenes on an HBO documentary and why things aren't looking good for their GM Joe Schoen. He tries to outline realistic expectations for the Jets after another troubling report about their offensive coordinator. He also shares his list of teams that will consider hiring Bill Belichick next season. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
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for listening to the best of The Herd podcast. Oil

(00:24):
Come in. It's a Wednesday. We're live in LA. It's
the Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may
be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day.
Today we're on FS two Serbia USA basketball Knox us
off for a couple hours on radio all day XM
serious all day. Appreciate that. Jmat So, I don't know
if you're watching HBO Max Hard Knocks. I am now

(00:46):
watching it on The New York Giants, and I think
we talked about this about a week ago. You may
or may not have been on the show. I was talking,
I think to Jordan about this that you get little
moments on these shows. A lot of it is people
playing to the cameras, but you get about you know,

(01:07):
every couple shows, you get a moment or a scene
and you can you kind of have a sense of
what's going on in the room. And there was a
scene last night HBO Giants. We've seen this before. So
you're not a Giants fan, so this will be an
easy topic for you to stop.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
I try to limit watching bad teams in the off season.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
Colin Okay. Well, so there's no school, no certification, no
degree to be an NFL general manager. Some of the
guys are analytic guys, summer former players, couple owners think
they're gms. There's a really a wide spectrum. Minnesota's GM

(01:47):
went to Princeton and then went to Stanford to get
a master's in economics, and then was a trader on
Wall Street, and then the Niners GM was a player
and a broadcaster, John Lynch, a friend, the dysfunctional Middle Cincinnati,
the Bengals, Cowboys, their owners are the gms, which is laughable.

(02:08):
So you go from traders to Wall Street traders to tycoons.
It's all over the map. I can only judge you
therefore on the results. I think the Jets Joe Douglas
is good, but he whiffed on left tackle and a quarterback.
I hated both. And I'm not a GM and I
could see Zach Wilson wasn't gonna work. So how good

(02:30):
is he? Bill Belichick's the best coach arguably in the
history of the sport, and the last seven drafts which
he's controlled in New England, there's almost no Pro bowlers.
He's awful at it. Awful. I mean his last draft
he had three guards, two kickers for the slowest receiving
core in the league. He's just lost the Bears GMS

(02:53):
interesting Ryan Poles. He was shaky early that Chase Claypool
moved in work via Jones third round Tennessee wide receiver bust.
But he's been really good in the last eighteen months.
So he's taken some swings and he's hit on a
lot of them. I kind of think he's an interesting one.
He's also helped rebuild the offensive line. But the one

(03:14):
thing I do know about being a general manager, and
I got a lot of friends who do it, you
got to have some sort of relationship with the owner
that's comfortable. You have to trust the owner. You've got
to be able to read your owner's temperament. Sometimes the
owner has kids in the building. Sometimes the owner can
be like Jim or say in Indianapolis, a little impulsive.

(03:36):
Sometimes almost all the time, the owner thinks he knows
more about football than he does. But there was a
moment in this. So John Mara is sitting there on
the table, and this is before Saquon Barkley and free
agency left for the rival Eagles, and the GM is
Joe Shane, a handsome young guy from Buffalo. He's got

(03:59):
two underling in the chairs. Watch all the body language
with this, and and listen as mara is just really
uncomfortable with his star Saquon Barkley going to rival Philadelphia potentially.

Speaker 3 (04:18):
Where what's the latest on the thing.

Speaker 4 (04:22):
I just got a text that Chicago's driving the price
up and Philly's out.

Speaker 3 (04:25):
I don't know if that's true or not.

Speaker 4 (04:28):
Which I don't know if I'll make a couple of calls.
I don't even know if that's gonna then happen, but.

Speaker 3 (04:35):
I'm gonna have a tough time to sleep.

Speaker 5 (04:37):
N One goes to Philaepe the outside of that, As
I've told you, just being up, I had been around
enough players, but he's the He's the most popular player.

Speaker 3 (04:48):
We have by far.

Speaker 1 (04:50):
HBO stream It, HBO Max Tuesday, Hard Knocks that's really bad,
Like the owner's not happy, Joe sh smiling, the underlings
have their head down like it's really uncomfortable, and he
doesn't have an answer. Well, I'm hearing that, but it
may not be true. So if you're hearing it via

(05:13):
a text, you don't trust your sources. I trust mine
and I'm just a radio guy. You're a GM Do
you think that's what it looks like with less sneed
and Stan Kronke and Sean McVay potentially or Brett Veach
in the Hunt family. That's Mickey Mouse. Joe Shane's smiling,
the underlings are uncomfortably looking down, the owner's got his

(05:34):
hand on his face, and Joe Shane's answer is, well,
I don't really know. If Lachlan Murdoch, who owns this company,
was in my morning meeting and said I'd be really
uncomfortable if you didn't talk about soccer a lot today,
you know what my lead would be. Soccer read the room,

(05:54):
read the owner. Like. The bottom line is maybe man
created some of this stuff because he wanted to re
sign Daniel Jones, and I don't think anybody else in
the world wanted to in New York. But I watch
the Giants here and there is a disconnect between owner
and GM, and I'm uncomfortable watching it. You ever watch

(06:17):
Jeopardy when there's three people on there and two are
really smart and one isn't and one's getting crushed, and
you're kind of uncomfortable for the person getting crushed. Like
I'm uncomfortable watching Joe Shane there. Uh, bro, you gotta
have answers when when billionaires walk into rooms. If I
know I'm going to have a member of the Murdoch

(06:40):
family in a room I'm in, I prep for it,
even if it's over a glass of wine and a
brief ninety second conversation, I'm ready to roll. If that's
what the GM owner conversations look like. Well, my sources
teb Helman, I don't know if that's so. You don't

(07:00):
know anything. You're the GM. You don't really know anything,
and that's the owner. And it's so predictable for Joe
Shane and the Giants. Saquan's gonna go crush in Philadelphia's
great player. Howie Roseman is just working the Giants. He
gets a great player and he's gonna create angst inside

(07:21):
that Giants building all season. Because you know he's going
to go to New York and rush for one hundred
and twenty yards and two touchdowns and the back page
of the New York Post is going to be, Oh, no, Joe.
But I'm sorry. Watching this thing with the New York Giants,
I have no confidence in this organization none. I mean

(07:43):
you could you could see the underling. You can see
the assistance in the chair. They don't want to make
eye contact with anybody. Everybody's uncomfortable in that room. That is.
J Mack hates the Giants, so he's probably laughing at this.
But that I can't watch that and have a great
deal of confidence about the hierarchy with the New York Giants, can't.

(08:06):
I just I don't even know Joe Shane, but I'm
watching that thing and I that is, people don't want
to look up. One guy's covering his head, the other
guy's smiling uncomfortably. Not good. Speaking of not good, the
Raiders had Josh Jacobs and they have Max Cross, Me
and Devonte Adams, three great players. Josh Jacobs is now
leaving and he's going to the Green Bay Packers. And

(08:28):
Josh Jacobs has made the rounds. The former Alabama star
and he'll be a big time star in Green Bay.
Was lamenting on a podcast about being a Raider for
a few years.

Speaker 6 (08:40):
I remember coming to the league and losing my first
game and I was mad, not talking to nobody in
event come up to me and like this NFL, like
you gonna lose. I'm like, oh, cool with losing, Like
you know what I'm saying. Like it was so it
was so different, and then the most frustrating thing about
it all. I feel like, especially when you guy like me,
you know, say Max, you got guys that come in

(09:01):
every day and work hard and you don't get the results.
You be close, but every year you close, but it's
not you know, it's not win.

Speaker 1 (09:09):
Yeah, you know, I've said this before. It always makes
me happy when I see somebody that works really, really hard.
I'll get called by people in my industry, or I
see athletes get drafted by really stable organizations, because I've
been very lucky in my career that I've worked overwhelmingly

(09:32):
for really good companies, stable financially. I had two years
in Tampa and it was an absolute circus. I mean
I could go on for hours. Our general manager at
the time once told people not to park in a
certain parking lot, and two days later he had his
Porsche park sideways, taking up four spots. It was a

(09:53):
circus employees, bosses hitting on employees at Christmas parties, people
getting fun left and right. A weatherman who dressed up
a dog in dresses on the set five o'clock news.
At one point was on a couch that I kept
falling off of because it was too slippery. I wish
I was making it up. It was a disaster. A
lot of good employees, though, but you couldn't do your

(10:14):
best work as an employee because management was a revolving
door full of clowns. There's only so much you can do.
People I work with was great. The reporters were great,
and the anchors were great, and the producers were great,
and the people at the desk were great. And that's
the Raiders. And Josh Jacobs is telling you this is

(10:36):
what it's like to be in a dysfunctional organization. I mean,
Green Bay is gonna be Disneyland, lush gardens, functional, smiling employees.
The Raiders are that carnival that shows up and they
host it in your high school parking lot. And one
of the Carnees says, before you get on the Tilto World,
I wouldn't sit in that chair. We've had some problems

(10:58):
with it. Raider fans are so odd and delusional. They
get very angry because they're all over the country and
they're always asking you, how do you think the Raiders
will do this year? I don't know. They're in a
division with Andy Reid, Sean Peyton, and Jim Harbaugh, Patrick Mahomes,
Justin Herbert, and a very promising rookie named Bo Nicks

(11:21):
with sixty one college starts. And the Raiders have a
defensive head coach who has twenty eight million dollars in
financial debt because of the car dealership things gone sideways.
He's an interim coach, a former player who's never been
a full time head coach. And again Andy Reid twice
a year, Sean Payton twice a year, Jim Harbaugh twice

(11:42):
a year, Mahomes Justin Herbert, and potentially a really good
college quarterback turning pro bow Knicks. I don't like the Raiders.
They've been over five hundred two times in twenty one years.
The ownership is poor, the division's good, their quarterbacks men,
I don't think it's good. And I'm really happy for

(12:04):
Josh Jacobs that he goes to an organization that, in
the last twenty years in Green Bay has made the
playoffs fourteen times. And do you know how hard that is?

Speaker 7 (12:14):
Do you know?

Speaker 1 (12:14):
This isn't college football, where the good programs go to
bowls almost every year. In the NFL, half the playoff
teams annually don't make it the following year, and the
Packers fourteen times in twenty years super Bowls included. That's
really hard to do. So for anybody out there, sometimes

(12:37):
I think fans don't quite understand that the NFL's a
little bit like your life. There's only so much you
can overcome. If you've got poor ownership and bad bosses.
There's only so much you can do. Josh Jacobs, best
running back in the country in high school, first or

(12:58):
second best college running back is going to crush in
Green Bay with the Raiders. He was really good, but
the dysfunction he constantly had to overcome muddled leadership is
just a killer for employee morale and momentum. So I'm

(13:19):
always happy when people who work hard land in a spot.
Good ownership, smart executive leadership. I've said this before. When
anybody ever calls in my business, I always say, there's
a sea of money. Don't chase it, chase good management.
There's a finite amount so that if you're a fantasy

(13:42):
football player, my take is with a very young, talented
offensive line, Matt Lafleur, Jordan Love, an excellent tight end
receiver depth, Josh Jacobs is going to crush. He is good.
There's not a great There's not that many great defenses
in the NFC. He I mean, even the good teams
like Detroit and Green Bay don't have great defenses. Rams

(14:04):
is a young defense. It's not great. San Francisco is
getting older on defense. Josh Jacobs for the Packers is
going to crush and I can't wait for it. Happy
for the kids. J Mac. Now it's time to talk
about your Jets. Wait a minute, wait.

Speaker 2 (14:23):
So much for glass half full Wednesday. You just start
out bashing the Giants and the Raiders to dumpster fires.

Speaker 7 (14:29):
I love it.

Speaker 2 (14:29):
That's right in my wheelhouse. Very exciting.

Speaker 1 (14:32):
Now there's a story about the New York Jets. I
don't like to be negative guy. I've got a nice
shirt on, nice clean shirt on. It. It's a very
optimistic shirt. My shirt is a light almost a pinkish color.
It's like bright hue, yeah, pinkish hue. It's signaling that
the day is positive and optimistic. And here I come

(14:54):
with a sledgehammer and I don't like it. I don't
like it at all. Comparison, it is the thief of joy.
It's easy to envy other people's lives. It might look
like they have it all together on their ig, but
in reality they probably don't. Called filters, therapy can help
you focus on what you want instead of what others have.

(15:17):
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give Better Help a try. It's entirely online, designed to
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(15:39):
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Better helpatlp dot com slash succeed.

Speaker 8 (15:50):
Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays
at noon Easter nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.

Speaker 3 (16:00):
HI.

Speaker 9 (16:00):
This is Jay Glazer. And you may know me for
the world of football or fighting or even shows like
HBO's Ballers. Well you don't know is for my entire life.
I have lived in something I refer to as the
Great Depression anxiety. So now I'm coming out with a
new podcast, Unbreakable, a mental health podcast with Jay Laser
where each week, well we.

Speaker 1 (16:20):
Talk about mental health.

Speaker 7 (16:21):
I hope to describe it, give it words.

Speaker 9 (16:23):
Listen to Unbreakable with Jay Glazer on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Speaker 1 (16:32):
Tough on the Raiders and the Giants to start, but
why stop there? So I saw a story this morning.
I'm reading the Athletics. They got a podcast Scoop City
and under Reported. But this is Diana Russini this podcast.

(16:54):
One of the things noted here is that the New
York Jets and Aaron Rodgers was given a heads up
on this is that they contacted Arthur Smith, who the
Steelers hired as an offensive coordinator who could come to
the Jets and potentially be part of the play calling process.

(17:14):
With Nathaniel Hackett. Now, I want you to think about
that name. The last NFL team that won a Super
Bowl that had to babysit one of their coordinators. The
Jets literally had to bring on a second offensive senior
member to help with the play calling for the offensive coordinator.

(17:39):
A lot of people in my space are afraid to
get called out. They'll soft pedal opinions. They play it safe,
and they don't want to be honest, especially about big
market teams that have very large and loud fan bases.
But we have to be honest about the New York Jets.
They're an eight nine ten win They're an eight nine
win team. Top oops, that's the top and I could

(18:03):
see six and seven easily when you look at their schedule.
That looks like the biggest break right when you look
at their schedule, that's what everybody points to. But opening
at San Francisco with a rebuilt O line is a
potential nightmare. The next four weeks, weeks two through five,

(18:24):
it's Tennessee, New England, Denver, Minnesota three at home. That
looks really really comfortable, But Tennessee will probably after losing
on the road, play with urgency in their home opener,
and the Jets are on a short week, and the
Minnesota game really isn't it home. It's in London, and
those games are always weird. That's not as easy as

(18:48):
you think. And the end of the season they end
with Tua, Trevor Lawrence, Matt Stafford, Josh Allen and Tua. Again,
you can go one and four and those easily those
could be shootouts for a beat up Jets d that's
been on the field too long. Just think about this,
all the optimistic soft pedaling on the Jets. And again,
I think they're an eight to nine win team, but

(19:10):
I think that's the top. There is no thirteen, twelve, eleven,
I don't think at all. Just think about this. I'm
gonna give you characteristics of a team and then I'll
unveil the team. So let's put this up for our
television audience. Characteristics of a team. Excellent young coach, ascending
star quarterback, variety of strong weapons, great left tackling prime

(19:35):
no clear cut favorite in their division that is the
Houston Texans. Do we think they're gonna be a twelve
or thirteen win team? There's a lot of people C. J.
Stroud sophomore slump. They're still very very young at a
lot of spots. That's a team we have hope for.

(19:57):
But they're not Buffalo or Kansas City or San Francisco Detroit.
Here's another team. I'll throw another one out there. Elite
super Bowl winning head coach, star quarterback, still elite, dependable weapons,
four top draft picks on the defensive front last two years.
Very stable organization. That's the La Rams. And everybody is like,

(20:24):
I'm not sure Texas and Rams all those things are
musts for Super Bowl teams. Now let's go to the Jets.
Let's think about what the Jets are. An unproven defensive
head coach that's lost two out of three games he's coached,
a forty year old, prickly quarterback coming off a major injury,

(20:46):
a rebuilt O line with an old left tackle, an
offensive coordinator that you need a babysitter for. An incredibly
impulsive and shaky ownership. Oh yeah, in the tougher conference,
with a dominant number one team in their division that's
won at four straight with arguably the most talented quarterback

(21:09):
in the league. And you want me to embrace this
as an eleven twelve thirteen win team. The Texans in
the Rams people like, but I hear well CJ. Stroud's
young Stafford's old Texans ownership. Well, the defensive players for

(21:31):
the Rams, they're really unproven, though Kobe Turner was actually
semi dominant for a rookie third round defensive tackle. I'm
not buying the Jets. People are afraid because it's New York.
It's a big fan base. People in the media don't
want the blowback. Well, they're defense. Six of the top

(21:53):
ten defenses in the NFL last year, six of the
top ten either did not make the playoffs or did
not win a playoff game. If you're relying on your
defense to carry you, it ain't happening. It's an offensive league.
The Niners can't stop anybody San Francisco. Last couple of years,

(22:18):
they'll they'll they'll play at Kansas City in a big spot.
Kansas City's Hot Knife threw butter against them. You're not
You're not winning the Super Bowl on the defensive side,
go look at the coaches ending up in the Super
Bowl last three or four years. They're all offensive guys.
So I'll say it. Eight nine wins tops for the Jets.
With a real possibility of six or seven wins based

(22:40):
on the health of Aaron and the offensive line. And
I do not believe that's negative.

Speaker 10 (22:47):
J Mack with a.

Speaker 8 (22:48):
News no, no, no, this is the herd line news.

Speaker 2 (22:54):
Well, when you frame it that way, they're in deep trouble.
But I will say the market disagrees with you. I
saw Jets twelve or thirteen games, depending on where you're
shopping their favorite.

Speaker 1 (23:05):
Okay, they're not favored like Alabama in the Saban dynasty.

Speaker 2 (23:10):
Think doesn't happen in the NFL.

Speaker 1 (23:12):
Cole I think that. I really do think the second
game of the year is fascinating because you're gonna go
to San Francisco, cross country flight and probably get your
chief kicked.

Speaker 7 (23:20):
Maybe we'll see remember.

Speaker 1 (23:22):
Old offensive line and old offensive line O Hyron Smith,
the older offensive lineman. Veterans do not plan in the preseason.
So September, especially Week one, what team has more dependable
veterans returning San Francisco over the Jets. And it's at
home and it's a three thousand mile flight, so it's
like it's not a good one. Then you go back

(23:43):
home and on a short week and flying back home,
you go back on the road, Tennessee home with a
new offensive coach, elevated weapons that everybody's got. That as
a w that is a twenty seventeen game.

Speaker 2 (23:57):
Either way, we'll see Tennessee Titans. I am not gonna
bet on Niners Yets. Remember last year, I think I
went four and one in Week one, but the miss
was give me the Steelers over the forty nine Yeers
and it was like twenty eight to nothing.

Speaker 1 (24:10):
You know, I told you that.

Speaker 2 (24:11):
I was so disappointed.

Speaker 1 (24:12):
So I told you this year, and I've already told management,
I'm not doing blazing five in the Week one picks. No,
I already told you guys already. I don't care.

Speaker 2 (24:21):
You could say that now. Then we get close to
the seame. I know I love this.

Speaker 1 (24:24):
I love it.

Speaker 8 (24:24):
I love it.

Speaker 1 (24:24):
I know that, but I'm not going to count it
because last year I went zero to five. Because nobody's
playing any of their starters in the preseason. So the
Blazing five isn't for me. It's for the audience. I've
had people my whole life that come up, people come
up to me for more than any other thing, to
want to talk about the Blazing five. Out of everything
I do all the takes Number one, will people bet it?

(24:46):
So I'm not gonna throw out a bet when last
year I had no idea in Week one? What the
hell I was watching nobody's playing in the preseason. So
I'm gonna start in week two and then look at
my staff. You guys, it'd be nice, you know, it'd
be nice if I had some support on the staff.

Speaker 2 (25:04):
So you know, I do the contest in Vegas. You
pick games every week you could win like five million
bucks or whatever. So one of the guys who runs
the contest has been reaching out to me, Hey, does
Cowherd want to do it with you this season? And
I'm like, I'll talk to him. We'll see. I listen,
you can basically give your blazing five to the contest
every week and be part of it and win a
lot of money.

Speaker 1 (25:23):
I don't know, you know what. I'm loyal to the
Herd and my audience, not some flimsy contest with you
and one of your shakedowns.

Speaker 2 (25:32):
This is a big contest in Vegas.

Speaker 7 (25:34):
Anyways.

Speaker 2 (25:34):
Let's start with the Chiefs. They enter training camp looking
to defend that Super Bowl crown, and they're trying to
be the first three peat winners in the Super Bowl era.
Kansas City's offense inconsistent last year. Mahomes looking to work
out the kinks before the season starts this time around, I'm.

Speaker 7 (25:50):
Gonna get better.

Speaker 11 (25:51):
Every season starts different. You got to come out of
that same mentality you had the year before, even a
higher intensity. And even though he won the Super Bowl
last year, we felt like we did play our best
foot especially offensively, it wasn't fun. I mean, all the
every single week having to try to just continue to
get better and better and results not paying off the
way you wanted to.

Speaker 7 (26:08):
It wasn't a lot of fun.

Speaker 11 (26:09):
We have a lot of those same guys back and
they know how that failed, and so we're gonna try
to prepare ourselves better this year so that we can
play better throughout the season. And obviously he's trying to
end with the same result.

Speaker 1 (26:20):
Well, if Xavier Worthy the first receiver, if he hits.

Speaker 2 (26:25):
It, all hinges well no.

Speaker 1 (26:26):
I mean, but if he hits because Rashi Rice, you
can't trust these two immature You just can't trust him.
I mean, I'm sorry, he's.

Speaker 2 (26:33):
Mark, he's Hollywood Brown.

Speaker 1 (26:34):
You can trust him. Go go ask a results. So
they won a Super Bowl last year with a lousy
passing game, lousy little lowsy.

Speaker 2 (26:41):
It was the worst offensive season of Mahomes in the
Chiefs era.

Speaker 1 (26:44):
There's no question. So I'm saying Xavier Worthy of hits
that if they won a Super Bowl with that receiving
corp last year, they just need one guy. Rashi Rice
has a lot of promise, but he's just and I'm
sure he'll make.

Speaker 2 (26:56):
Play defining hits for Worthy. What's he gonna catch thirty
five balls? Come on?

Speaker 1 (27:00):
Oh no, no, no, no. I think if he ends up
being an electric performer, sixty five to seventy catches three
or four touchdowns. But he is absolutely a chain mover
that he can get first down.

Speaker 2 (27:11):
I think he's that guy. He's a straight line, speedy guy,
and maybe Reeve can scheme up some stuff to get
him the ball in space. But he's not like an
elite route runner coming from this great route tree.

Speaker 3 (27:21):
No he's not.

Speaker 1 (27:21):
I told you I was. I'm very dubious on Xavier words.

Speaker 2 (27:25):
Yeah, he is tiny and Hollywood Brown is the other
guy who you hit and miss at times. I don't know, man,
it's tough to bet against the Chiefs now they're becoming
like the Patriots with Brady and they're Brian like, you're
an idiot if you go against him. But I will say,
they're not winning the Super Bowl this year. Now, maybe
get him.

Speaker 1 (27:42):
I know I wouldn't make him the favorite.

Speaker 2 (27:43):
But not the Niners in brock Purty are the favorite.
Next story is the Cowboys. Boy they got their three
main stars still uncertain futures, Dax Ceede Lamb and Micah Parsons.

Speaker 7 (27:55):
Well, how about this.

Speaker 2 (27:56):
In a recent TV appear, It's Hall of Famer and
three times Super Bowl champ Haley addressed Jerry jones approach
to the salary cap and suggested a big time trade
for the Cowboys.

Speaker 10 (28:06):
He kept back loaning everything, so now he screamed, So
now he you know, hey, you know, you know Bill
came do and he doesn't have the money to be
able to do that. And so what he's gonna have
to do is he's gonna have to find another way
around the side of the cap. Trade that just put

(28:30):
him up for the trade. Guess what every team in
the league be after, Yeah, every team in the league.
Dak is a winner. Dak is a great person, a
great leader.

Speaker 7 (28:41):
I know him I go up there all the time.

Speaker 1 (28:44):
Yeah, every team in the league would not be that's yeah, yeah,
I mean he'd have a very tiny mark.

Speaker 2 (28:49):
I love it how he's like, hey, trade da He's
a great leader and a great person.

Speaker 1 (28:53):
Let's trade him.

Speaker 2 (28:53):
Let's get him out.

Speaker 1 (28:54):
Well, Kirk Cousins is both, but they wanted to move
off him. I don't disagree you could. I mean, I'll
give you an example. The Giants need to quarterback, and
the Raiders need a quarterback, and Tennessee might. There's three
teams that will buy for Dak Prescott because Dak gives
you continuity. He's Kirk Cousins. That's why I say Kirk
Cousins to Atlanta. They have a good old line. They're

(29:16):
looking for stability after the last several years. Dak provides
maturity and stability, and that for a team like the Raiders,
that is. I mean, if Drake May doesn't show you something,
are we sure in one year from now? So they
don't move off Drake Van do Dak? He'll have a market.

(29:37):
But it's not it's gonna be very very small. Idle
at his number. It's small.

Speaker 2 (29:43):
I'll toss it out. Aaron Rodgers has a mediocre year.
He's can't he's just you know, he's old. And that's
a rap for Aaron Rodgers. He's done. The Jets chase
Dak Prescott saying, you know what, we've We've got all
these young guys. We're not paying Sauce Gardner, We're not
paying Garrett Wilson Breeze, so we just need a quarterback
to get and Dak Prescott makes sense to the Jets.

Speaker 1 (30:05):
Yeah, I don't think go look at organizations that need stability, Raiders, Jets, Giants,
that's what that's really the secret sauce with Dak smart, adult, authentic, real.

Speaker 2 (30:21):
Stable, runner up for the MVP Award last year.

Speaker 1 (30:23):
Productive. Now do I think do I think it his
number he's gonna win you a Super Bowl?

Speaker 10 (30:29):
No?

Speaker 1 (30:29):
I don't think it his number. Ta Will, But Tua
is a grown up, he's smart, he's good at the podium.
Two is a really nice guy.

Speaker 2 (30:37):
It's Trevor Lawrence winning a super Bowl at fifty five.

Speaker 1 (30:39):
I think he's got much more talent than both. Well, yeah,
but that's what we're talking about here. So again, the
number for my quarterback not everybody. I was told this
years ago by a general manager in this league with
a Super Bowl. Not every owner is about winning. It's
about getting attention. It's about business.

Speaker 2 (30:58):
It's a business.

Speaker 1 (30:59):
And so Dak doesn't have a huge market. But like
Kirk Cousins, you know this year Atlanta is gonna win
ten games up.

Speaker 2 (31:08):
If we thought the same war last year.

Speaker 1 (31:11):
No, no, no, no, no. Kirk Cousins is significantly better than Derek Carr.
That's not let's not get into that space. Let's not
just go look at the DAK and Kirk Cousins are
a notch above Derek Carr. DAK and Kirk Cousins are
the same guy. One's gonna star on the helmet. But
what they're both great at is consistency. They're not chaotic,

(31:33):
they don't say stupid crap at the microphone. They're they're
you know, so there is a there was a market.
It's not big for Kirk Cousins or DAK, but when
you provide stability at that organization, that is huge.

Speaker 2 (31:47):
Huge. Final story is the NBA. Yesterday we talked about
the Warriors and lowry marketing of the Jazz, a potential
link up. Maybe there's a trade however, in something's going
on in this trade. I'm just telling you the Warriors
and Jazz are really going back and forth because the
recent podcast appearance, Yes, Warriors owner Joe Lacob explained why
you can't just trade away all the young talent to

(32:09):
win for Steph Curry.

Speaker 12 (32:11):
So you're assuming that by trading all of your emerging
young players, potentially young stars, that you are going to
be better. We run analytical models on all that stuff.
We will make a deal that makes us better.

Speaker 13 (32:23):
Avianda is that we can't bankrupt the team in an
unbelievably dumb way for a decade. You can't bankrupt the
entire team. It's future to go for one year because
there are twenty It's very very hard to win. Even
if you have the best team, you can sustain an injury.
So within reason, we're gonna always try to do whatever
we can to win now, not just for Steph.

Speaker 1 (32:47):
Yeah, he's absolutely right. Lori Markinen for kaminga Moody and
picks is a really good move. You throw in pods,
it's a bad move because if you have marketed averaging
twenty two Steph twenty seven pods up to fifteen Draymond's
Draymond Wiggins can give you sixteen, then that's a really
good team with a great coat.

Speaker 2 (33:08):
That's a good starting lineup. And then you have like
no bench whatsoever. Ben's Curry's thirties.

Speaker 1 (33:12):
So you're not paying Pods. You're not. You know, there's
Lori Marketing can be a really nice two to three.
Draymond and Steph are the soul of the team. But
if Pods makes a leap, and I think he will
to about fourteen a game, and I think he's gonna
make that leap, and Marketing gives you twenty three, that's
a good basketball.

Speaker 7 (33:31):
So here's the problem.

Speaker 2 (33:33):
The Lakers in Lebron get bashed, right because you know
what are they Are Lebron improving the team?

Speaker 7 (33:38):
Come on? Are they getting better?

Speaker 2 (33:40):
And it's like, I don't know. Are the Warriors improving
the team for Steph Curry?

Speaker 1 (33:43):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (33:44):
But should the Warriors be best?

Speaker 7 (33:45):
But are they trying to get.

Speaker 1 (33:47):
Kurry another title? Because the Warriors have several rings in
the last decade. So this is how dynasties age. You
can bang on Belichick and Brady the last year or
two it wasn't as pretty right or how it ended,
but they won so many trophies. It was worth it. Wait,
last four years, twelve bad years in a row, and

(34:08):
then Lebron wins a Bubble title and they do wabble
into the Western Conference finals, but they've overwhelmingly not but
in the trophy room and well again you go back
five six years.

Speaker 7 (34:18):
I don't care like you.

Speaker 2 (34:19):
Look at recent history. Last couple of years, Lakers have
been contending in some of the Warriors and now neither
of them looks like a contended.

Speaker 1 (34:26):
But there are things that the Warriors have the Lakers don't.
If they had Lori marketing, you'd have four really good
players Draymon, step Pods and Lori Marketers. Cut time out.

Speaker 2 (34:38):
I know he's your boy's Draymond a really good player.

Speaker 1 (34:41):
Still calling he's a great player right now? Yes, still
a great player.

Speaker 5 (34:48):
He is.

Speaker 1 (34:49):
Okay, go look at the analytics.

Speaker 2 (34:52):
Now the analytics, so what a brock pretty discussion turns
the analytics? Now what it gets to Dreba.

Speaker 7 (34:59):
Look at the analytics. This is why I love working
with you, Ben. It's fun.

Speaker 2 (35:02):
Even ends soon.

Speaker 7 (35:03):
It's been a good ride.

Speaker 2 (35:04):
This is a lot of fun, the most fun I've
ever had of my career.

Speaker 1 (35:06):
Forty see the exit ramp coming up. J Mack with
the news.

Speaker 8 (35:11):
Well that's the news, and thanks for stopping by the
herd Line News.

Speaker 1 (35:16):
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Speaker 8 (36:23):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon Easter not a Empacific.

Speaker 1 (36:29):
All right, it's our two. It is a Wednesday where
live in Los Angeles. It's the Herd. Wherever you may
be and however you may be listening. Thanks for making
us part of your day. I'm telling you, Jmac, you
got a dress for success. Today is a day I
wanted to be optimistic. Now I haven't been yet, but
I think this shirt is an optimistic shirt, and at
some point today I will pivot to being more positive.

Speaker 2 (36:52):
Yeah, I thought you were making a reference about my shirt.
I've never won this thoughts just got me as a
new gear, you know. And now I thought you were
going to.

Speaker 1 (36:59):
Say, like good in the shirt. But that reminds me
of a shirt you wore when you had dual ear
rings and you were given out phone numbers in New York.
It's very no.

Speaker 2 (37:08):
No, I wasn't giving out I was securing phone numbers.
But on the ladies trying.

Speaker 7 (37:14):
Trying to be cool.

Speaker 2 (37:15):
Back in the day, you know, it was fun.

Speaker 1 (37:17):
To be young. You're still young in my mind.

Speaker 2 (37:22):
My body says otherwise when I play hoops all the time.

Speaker 1 (37:25):
So there's a story here. Tom pellisera who we've had
on the show before, was on Rich Eisen Show yesterday
and he said that Bill Belichick is still very engaged
in the game and he wants to coach next year.
Is that he's going to do some of this media
stuff inside the NFL, and you know he wants his
name out there, and you know he's going to constantly

(37:45):
because his career did not end well in New England
and his draft in developing was atrocious. So what he
got to show for it, he's old bad track record
on drafting. He's a kind of a power driven guy
who wants to do what he wants to do. I
would have a hard time drafting. I would have a
hard time hiring Belichick unless he was completely willing to

(38:10):
allow the front office to do the drafting. Bill's not
good on it, but he's too arrogant at this point
in his career to acknowledge he's not good at it.
He's atrocious at it. The last seven drafts for the
Patriots have been among the worst in the league, and
Bill has absolutely controlled those. The reason he didn't get

(38:30):
a job wasn't his coaching. That wasn't it. It was
his inability to disengage from the drafting and the personnel stuff.
And I've heard that from two people in the NFL
that know a lot about his coaching interest.

Speaker 8 (38:50):
Bill.

Speaker 1 (38:51):
Teams do not want to hand over anything to Bill
but the coaching whistle. That's what they want him to do.
But a lot of these coaches, you get into a
Greg Popovitch situation, older in their career, they got stacks
of money, they got the rings, the legacy, the power,
the ego they want. You know, as Bill Parcell said,

(39:11):
if I'm making the food, I want to pick the groceries.
And that's where Belichick is. So the teams that would
be willing to relinquish all that power are mostly lousy teams.
Even a team like Atlanta, which is so so, was
not willing to do that. So, but Tom Pellasero is
saying he's hearing Bill. It doesn't matter if it's roasts,

(39:34):
football talk shows. He is staying engaged. So the Belicheck list,
in my opinion, from what I've heard, are three teams, Philadelphia, Dallas,
and Buffalo. I've heard two things about Belichick, and I
trust my sources on this. He would rather stay out East.
He's got his place in Nantucket. He golfs down in Jupiter, Florida.

(39:54):
Bill doesn't have any interest moving everybody out west. The
second thing, he would like the quarterback situation to be stable.
The instability post Brady was his downfall. There's nothing more
stable than Dak and Josh Allen. Jalen Hurts will wait
and see. My guess is he'll rebound and have a
better year. So but I will tell you this is

(40:17):
that the Buffalo one is really intriguing to me. Not
because Sean McDermott's not a good coach. Andy Reid was
a great coach and Philadelphia moved off him. But you
get to a point with McDermott now, is that the
receiving course seems light. The offense has been productive with
Josh Allen, but we worry about that side progressing oc
Hire's O line, lack of run game, and you got

(40:40):
Houston's rising, Herbert's got Harbaugh, Ravens are still elite. Here
comes Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence has his best roster. I
think Sean McDermott, without being on the hot seat, I
think there is a sense that you can't just win
the division again. It's got to be more than that.
You got to have higher standards. And I know Buffalo's
a small and if they win ten games and go

(41:02):
ten and seven and lose, you know they win a
playoff game close, everybody goes. Maybe next year. But I
feel like there's an underlying heat on Sean McDermott. I
don't care what his contract status is. All those contracts
are rounding airs for billionaire owners at this point, the
Buffalo one. And he could also come back and rub
it in the Patriots face. And we know Belichick can

(41:26):
hold grudges. You don't think he wants to face the
Patriots twice a year and rub it in Robert Kraft's face.
You're out of your mind. I even think, as a
long shot, keep your eye on the Jets, but that
would be like one hundred to one long shot. I
don't think he'd take the Giants. People have suggested that,
but that quarterback situation's a mess. With that former NFL scout,

(41:50):
he's at the volume, he's my buddy, covered the NFL
for fifteen years. John Mittlecock scouted with the Eagles. You know,
it's interesting. You know the Eagles really well, and I
put him on the Belichick list is One of the
things I've always appreciated about them is they've moved off
winning coaches, Chip Kelly, Doug Peterson, Andy Reid. I was

(42:11):
told there are concerns about Nick Sirianni that if you
take Shane Steich and now an Indy out of his career,
he struggled with his side of the ball offense. You
tell me your take on Jeffrey Lourie John and what
if Siriani, what if they're good not great, and what
if Jalen Hurts, you know, continues to be a little

(42:31):
bit less than we thought he was when they paid him.

Speaker 8 (42:35):
Well.

Speaker 7 (42:35):
I think they thought long and hard about Bill Belichick
last year, you know, after the ending of that season
historic collapse. I think it was a very real possibility.
Now it would have been the first defensive coach that
Jeffrey Lurie has hired. He has an offensive just the
you know, if you think about it, Andy Reid, Doug Peterson, Sirianni,

(42:58):
Chip Kelly, Yeah, would have been a little out of
the norm. But Jeffrey Lury's a Boston guy and there
was a NBA Finals game where Jeffrey Lury was there
with about twenty five players. I don't think the twenty
five players drove. I think he brought them all so
that area.

Speaker 2 (43:13):
Uh.

Speaker 7 (43:13):
He's obviously played Belichick twice in the Super Bowl, so
I definitely think that's a possibility. I just have a
hard time now that you get Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio,
who clearly they wanted last year. I don't see how
they're not good now super Bowl good, who knows, but
I think they're gonna be in the playoffs. And this
gets to the Giants conversation with Saquon Barkley. A little

(43:35):
like Christian McCaffrey. You know, you put them there that
they have so many pieces. I'm not saying you and
I could lead him to ten wins, but I think
we'd be pretty competitive. Now you add Fangio, one of
the best defensive coordinators listen, Sirian a little bit of
a hothead, motivator. He's a CEO, but I kind of
like my CEOs to be a little older. He's a
younger CEO, but he doesn't have to call the offense

(43:57):
because a couple of years ago, like you said, said
Sha psych now he's got Kellen Mooreho's ran an offense
forever in Dallas. Hit some speed bumps last year, but
anyone would. Working for Brandon Staley, I tht the Eagles
would be pretty competitive now if they lose in the
first or second round because of the expectations of the city,
a little like the Lakers or the Yankees, like it

(44:18):
doesn't fly. Especially with a payroll like they have and
the talent, you never know. They're definitely a wild card.
I would disagree with you a little bit though. On
the Giants. For Belichick, I do think they're a team.
They have some defensive pieces. You know, the owner pretty
old school. Bill's obviously been there. They have a relationship.
I don't think there is any amount of money in

(44:38):
the world to get Belichick to go to the Jets.
But I do think the Giants would be lingering out
there if they have a bad season that when you
look at their roster, I don't see how they're gonna
be any good.

Speaker 1 (44:48):
So I'm watching HBO Max, I'm watching the Mara conversations
with Joe Shane, and I've got to tell you there's
a couple of moments. I know a lot of that
stuff it's pe acting for the cameras, but there are
these body language moments every year on Hard Knocks. You
know when des Bryant was in Dallas chewing out a coach,

(45:09):
his career, basically his market disappeared. Antonio Brown, you know,
freezing cryo, freezing his feet, like his market like he
got a crazy label. And I've watched that. I want
to play this the Hard Knocks video. You got the
owner covering his head, the Saquon Barkley move, Joe Shane smiling,
the the you know, the the middle management guys around

(45:32):
him won't make eye contact. Let's play the tape.

Speaker 3 (45:35):
Where what's the latest on the SIQUE thing.

Speaker 4 (45:39):
I just got a text that Chicago's driving the price
up and Philly's out.

Speaker 3 (45:42):
I don't know if that's true or.

Speaker 4 (45:43):
Not, which I don't know if I'll make a couple
of calls. I don't even know if that's gonna gonna happen, but.

Speaker 5 (45:52):
I gotta have a tough time sleep and if sink
one goes to filming, hope donutside of that.

Speaker 3 (45:56):
As I've told you, just being up.

Speaker 5 (46:00):
Around enough players, but he's the he's the most popular
player we have by far.

Speaker 1 (46:07):
By the way, his source said Philly was out also
not great telling your boss, Yeah, I don't know. I
watched that and I thought to myself, Saquon Barkley is
gonna crush for the Eagles, come back to haunt the Giants.
What do you make of New York football teams right now?
There's talent everywhere on both defenses, Giants Jets. What do

(46:28):
you make of that interaction there? I just can't see
Less Snead and Stan Kronke having that moment.

Speaker 7 (46:34):
Why, I would say the number one thing having been
around Howie Roseman, a GM has to have just locked
down is information. Because your entire job, it's a little
bit like a stock trader, right when it comes to coaches,
when it comes to players, when it comes to trades,
you have to have an understanding of the market. That
means knowing what other GMS are thinking. That means knowing

(46:57):
what the agents are thinking. That means no understanding the
value of contracts. They made this big deal about Saquon
Barkley not paying him. Well, a couple of years ago,
let's say four or five, the running back contracts were
just a little out of whack and they were backfiring. Well,
now they're a bargain, right. One day a house is overvalued,
the next day it might be undervalued. Things change. The

(47:20):
Eagles got Saquon Barkley for twenty six million dollars guaranteed.
His cap hit this year is three point eight million
dollars for example. You know, to contrast that Daniel Jones
ninety two million dollars guaranteed his cap hit this year
is almost fifty million dollars. I think there are two
teams if you're gonna lose Saquon Barkley. Listen, if he

(47:42):
goes to the Cardinals, if he goes to the Vikings,
if he had gone to the Bears, who cares. Under
no circumstances could the guy go to the Cowboys or
the Eagles, but especially the Eagles. You saw John Marr's face.
You know why he knows he's gonna be successful there.
How's he not going to be successful there? It's a
little like once mca affrey got to the forty nine ers.
Now McCaffrey's a better player, but it seems like it's

(48:05):
gonna work, and it's gonna work really well, and they
didn't pay him very much money. So Joe Shane, I
give them credit, even though I think the NFL kind
of forced him. They have been very open in terms
of the editing of this, Like we've got a lot
of good inside information in terms of how he connects
with the agents, how he talks with his staff. But
he seems like a nice guy, seems a little over

(48:27):
his head. Yeah, and I just know Howie Roseman, I mean,
would have flipped a lid at this point in time
in the process if he doesn't have all the information. Now,
obviously you don't know everything the other teams are gonna do,
but his right you know, Joe Shane's right hand man,
Brandon Brown, worked for HOWI for years. So for them

(48:48):
not to understand that the Eagles weren't just I mean,
they kind of knew they were interested, but they were
really interested and it was pretty clear. And then they
signed him. So you saw John Marr's face. I listen,
they have now a history post Tom Coughlin of firing
a lot of people, and I don't see how the
Giants are going to be very good. And if Saquon
goes to have success, the writing's on the wall. I mean,

(49:10):
all these guys are gonna lose their job.

Speaker 1 (49:13):
You covered you were with San Francisco in that area,
for years, so Brandon Ayyuk and Deebo Samuels said he
wanted out and they signed him. Brandon Ayyuk's been a
bit more forceful in social media and leaks. But now
Ricky Piersall the first round running a first round receiver
gets hurt with a non football injury.

Speaker 7 (49:34):
Not ideal.

Speaker 1 (49:34):
What do you make of that? And what do you
make of Ayuk? My take is brock Perty's not a
big arm guy. I think you could get a first
rounder for Ayyuk if piersaal hit. But that's a dubious
early injury. What do you make of that Ayuk situation? John?

Speaker 7 (49:49):
Yeah, I think the problem of trading Ayuk at this
point for a pick is the forty nine ers are
in big picture mode. I mean, let's face it, they're
kind of super Bowl or bust. This yearat year was
pretty devastating this team. I mean, George Kittle's thirty years old,
Trent Williams is thirty five years old. You know, deebo
Is just has a lot of wear and tear in
those tires. I think the situation became complicated. You know,

(50:13):
once they signed Deebo Samuel, they could have afforded Ayuk
at a large number if Christian McCaffrey didn't exist. But
then they traded for Christian McCaffrey and he immediately became
I don't know, lt Or Marshall fall two point zero
and Deebo's already under the contract. If they were both
in this situation, I think they would choose Ayuk over Deebo.

(50:35):
But Deebo's under this contract and he's on the team,
And I think the forty nine Ers the way they
you know, build their offense or you know, scheme their
offense and play, Ayuk's never going to be one hundred
and five hundred and ten catch guy like aman Ross
Saint Brown, which he saw the money he got and
he wants that. The problem is they're never going to
throw him that many balls. So does it pencil to

(50:57):
pay Ayuke this much money. They had a deal on
the table for twenty six million dollars a year and
then the market exploded and then it got really complicated.
Here's the other thing with the forty nine ers. Yeah,
Barad Marte, who's their contract guy, is a very very
tough negotiator and they always pay their guys. But look
at Nick Bosa, who I'd argue is the second best

(51:17):
player on the team if you consider Trent the best player.
He did not sign his contract till the week before
Week one last year, so that they don't just hand
over money just because you're a good player. And I
also think they're very that they understand the big picture
of this operation, that they like this player a lot.
He's an he's a winning player, he's a talented player,

(51:40):
he's a productive player. I do think it just gets
complicated the way they've constructed that they have a lot
of high priced guys. I think George Kittle makes a
lot of money, Fred Warner makes a lot of money,
Trent makes a lot of money, McCaffrey makes a lot
of money, and obviously Perty next year is gonna get paid.
But a lot of party success has been with Ayuk.
It's just a complicated situation. I can't envision them trading

(52:01):
him for a pick because that does not help them
this year. Now. Every you know, I don't care what
you do. You got a price for whatever you have
if someone blew them away, like offer two first round,
But who's doing that? Colin. I think two years ago
they thought about trading Ayuk because they they could see
this coming and that year when Jay Flowers and Jordan Addison,

(52:24):
those guys in the early twenties were drafted. But ultimately
the Giants or excuse me, the Vikings and the Ravens
drafted those two players. And they're really good players and
they're cheap. So how does it make any sense for
these teams to trade, you know, the playoff level teams
a first round pick that's going to be in the
twenties when they can just draft one of those players.

(52:44):
Brandon Ayuk was the twenty seventh pick in the draft, right,
that's where you could get these type talents at three
four million dollars a year for four straight years, so
you have to deal with the fifth year options. So
I think this is going to go into camp. I
think it's gonna cantinue to get ugly, and I think
Ayuk is going to continue to express his frustrations.

Speaker 1 (53:04):
So finally, I did a top ten coaching list yesterday,
and one of the reasons I thought about it because
you at the volume and on your podcast had done
it several days earlier, so we both have Sean mcvah
andy Reid near the top. My list is Reid McVeigh,
John harm I didn't count Jim because I haven't seen
him in years, but my guess is he'll be top
five very quick. You did not have Sean Payton anywhere

(53:28):
in your top ten. I had him very high. You
had Shanahan one. I think he's had too many meltdowns
in high leverage games in the fourth quarter. But I
do acknowledge that if he gets a trophy he'll go
right back up. I just feel in those big leverage
spots he's had some real disappointments and often Andy Reid
has been at his very best in those high leverage moments,

(53:49):
Belichick at his best. John Harbaugh is best in those
leverage moments. But you don't have Sean Payton anywhere in there.
And we mostly agree outside of that. You like Dan
Campbell more than I do. Situationally, I think he's a
bit too emotional, but I do love him. Give me
your take on Sean Peyton and Denver this year, and
despite the fact that he turned around at the time

(54:11):
the worst franchise in America in any sport, the Saints,
you don't have him top ten. Why?

Speaker 7 (54:18):
Yeah, I think it's a fair argument. Sean Payton and
Kevin Stefanski, who did something similar in Cleveland. You know,
he hasn't been to the playoffs in a wire while
here Colin, he took a year off. This is obviously
a big next couple of years. What he can do
with bo Nicks, he could easily jump back in. I
think the Dan Campbell situation a little like Sean Payton

(54:39):
when he got to New Orleans, right he takes over
the Lions. Anyone who goes to Ohio State or Alabama
is going to have success. But like what Lane Kiffin's
doing at Ole Miss is remarkable, and that's kind of
how I look at Dan Campbell. To me, Sean Payton,
We'll see. I mean, obviously his resume speaks for itself,
but part of it drafting for the next three or

(55:02):
four years, and I'm a little dubious. I think that
division is gonna be very, very difficult, and clearly his squad,
not his fault. Because of the Russell Wilson situation, They're
not gonna be as talented I had. Jim Harbaugh, I
think as my third anyone looking at a graphic I
removed Andy Reid. It's like drafting the best NBA players

(55:22):
in the nineties and taking out Michael Jordan. So I
just removed because he's the lock number one pick. I
just think if you wanted to argue John's over Jim,
I personally would take Jim. I expect Jim to be awesome.
I think the Chargers are gonna make the playoffs this year.
So you look at Sean Payton's division. Obviously the Raiders
are are a mess, but in terms of Jim Harbaugh

(55:44):
and Andy Reid, I would have him as the third
best coach in the division. So I just think it's
gonna be difficult. I'm also kind of betting on the
future on some of these guys. I think Lafleur last
year proved he's a star what he did with Jordan Love.
I know you and I are very very high on
Shange Psyching, you know Tomlin. If you wanted to remove
Tomlin and put in Sean Payton, I wouldn't argue. But

(56:05):
part of this was, like, you know, betting on the
next five years. I'm super high on Demico, super high
on Steiken. I think Sean McDermott. I know you've been
critical of him. He's dominating that division, and you know,
we'll see what happens this year. With the health of
the Jets, I think the Dolphins are going to take
a step back. But if he wins it again, that's
five straight years winning the division. We can quibble with

(56:27):
his success in the playoffs and that thirteen second you
know loss to the Chiefs as an all timer, but
just in terms of last year, to me, he earned
you know, a lot of equity with the fans, and
just like his resume in terms of their six and six,
they had no business winning that division. They had a
million injuries and when the dust settled, what happened they

(56:47):
were hosting playoff games because they won the division again.
So to me, Sean Payton, you make the playoffs this year,
which I think is going to be pretty difficult with
a rookie quarterback. But it's not like I think the
guy is not good. I just think the last three
or four years, you know, this hasn't been as good.

Speaker 10 (57:04):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (57:05):
John Middlekoff three and out the podcast at the volume,
former NFL scout for the Eagles as oh as good
see anybody you.

Speaker 7 (57:12):
See it gone?

Speaker 1 (57:12):
Yeah, I think I've told you this. J mac Denver, Broncos,
Minnesota Vikings I think are much more compelling teams offensively
than people give them credit for. I think both coaches
are really smart. I think we all acknowledge that football,
I don't care if it's high school, college or pro
football is a coaching sport where you can literally change results.
I don't think the Texans, even with c. J. Stroud,

(57:35):
are that good without Demiko Ryans. I think Shane Steiken.
I think the reason we like Indianapolis we don't know
what Anthony Richardson is. We love Shane Steikin. I think
people are because I think Sean Payton sometimes can be
gruff and direct and not likable. That was the worst
organization in America in any sport were the LA Clippers
and the New Orleans Saints, and he made them a

(57:56):
power and that was dysfunctional ownership, bad front off, terrible
quarterback play. So I I don't you know. Last year
I did not get I said last year on the Rams,
how can they be a bad team with Stafford and McVeigh,
That's impossible? In Cooper Cup, how can you be a
terrible team If bow Knicks can play, and I and

(58:17):
I really feel strongly he can. I've talked, I've texted
Sean really feel strongly, I've got too many good players,
left tackle, receivers.

Speaker 2 (58:25):
Too many good players for what like seven wins?

Speaker 1 (58:29):
What are we talking?

Speaker 2 (58:29):
You think Sean may really taking this team to like
Wold Card content?

Speaker 1 (58:32):
Yes, yes, just like I thought the Rams would be
taken to Wild Card contention last year and everybody in
Vegas had them at five. Vegas does make mistakes.

Speaker 7 (58:42):
Colin.

Speaker 2 (58:42):
AFC is so stacked, so many good teams, it would
be one of the biggest miracles in the last decade
in the NFL. If the Broncos sniffed the playoffs.

Speaker 1 (58:52):
Sniff the playoffs, that's that's a very hyperbolic that's that's
a have you seen guys. We'll just go to the
Republican Nationals. Can men to that sales.

Speaker 2 (59:00):
Joms, I gotta flight to Milwaukee after the show.

Speaker 1 (59:02):
Actually, Fox Sports Radio and tire Racker giving away a
set of four tires every two weeks this summer. To
enter and get rules, go to foxsportsradio dot com, furnished
by tire Rack and tire raq dot com. The way
tied buying should be and has been for forty years.

Speaker 2 (59:21):
Saturday, the four time defending Olympic champs are back Lebron
Curry in the Best of the USA tuned up for
the Olympics as they put their run for the fifth
straight gold in Paris. USA takes on South Sudan Saturday
at three Eastern only on Fox Set.

Speaker 1 (59:38):
So Lebron's now thirty nine in his twenty second year.
It really is remarkable. He is, on any given game
or offensive possession, the most important player for Team USA.
Kevin Durant had a quote yesterday. He said, he's just
meant so much to the game of basketball. I was
in high school following him. He's almost forty now he's
still playing in an elite level, which is just inspiring

(01:00:01):
to me. And it's funny. You forget Larry Bird was
limping at thirty two, Barkley at thirty two, injuries piling
up Westbrook at thirty three. You saw clear regression. Tiger
Woods is a golfer. He won in two thousand and
eight a major. He started eroding. He's a golfer. Lebron
is thirty nine. He's played thirteen thousand more minutes than

(01:00:25):
any active player. I think Chris Paul's next. He's gone
through more chalk than high school school districts. The guy
is just unbelievable. He's played two hundred and eighty seven
playoff games, which is three and a half extra seasons,
and those are intense minutes. He was very healthy last year,
shot over forty percent from three point land. So one

(01:00:48):
of the things about Lebron, and I really think this
is important, is that where Kawhi can't stay healthy and Embiid,
we're waiting for him to deliver from day one in
this league is a rookie to fifteen years in his prime.
Until now, the NBA is a league the draft is
basically all prospects. Almost when becomes into the league. He

(01:01:11):
didn't make the Spurs one game better, Lebron doubled the
Cavs win total the minute he arrived in Cleveland out
of high school. Is that the NBA is really a
league of hope and projecting and development. The NFL draft
is not. The NFL draft is kids who are twenty
three years old, some are married. It's a shorter career.

(01:01:32):
You get more sort of mature kids who have been
into college campus. They're ready to come in perform very
very quickly, even at the toughest position. CJ. Stroud, Ohio
State to the NFL exemplary justin Herbert Joe Burrow. These
guys pop immediately, so you're not hoping. We're not talking
about ceilings. People want things delivered, right. That's why we

(01:01:57):
love Amazon. I call I order, It's on my doorstep
up the next day at ten in the morning. People
want delivery and they're loyal to it. And that's one
of the things about the NFL is that you watch
a draft. You got six guys that can play. I mean,
who do the Packers miss on? When's the last when's
the last draft pick? The Green Bay Packers first, second, third,

(01:02:17):
fourth round missed on Lebron in a league of hope,
is certainty great year one, dominant in his prime. Dominant
is an older player individually and here on this team,
on any possession, the best player on Team USA. So

(01:02:39):
I mean it's very Tom Brady. Tom wanted it more,
spent more time in his body, was more disciplined with
his diet. And you know the old saying is nobody
cares work harder, nobody cares about excuses.

Speaker 3 (01:02:54):
And in a.

Speaker 1 (01:02:54):
League of hope and sealing and potential, I think Lebron delivers.

Speaker 10 (01:02:59):
And you know.

Speaker 1 (01:03:02):
His haters, you know they're going to point to, you know,
he's lost championships. So much of this league is what
you're represented by, who your front office is, what's the
ownership situation. You know, I've said this about Michael Jordan
for years in hockey. I think Chicago played in the
Western Conference or does Had the Bulls been a Western
Conference team because they're right in the middle of the

(01:03:23):
country and not an Eastern Conference team, he would have
gotten to finals early in his career, would have Michael
and lost to Boston in Detroit. So I never you know,
Magic got to nine finals, won five, lost four. He
had Larry Burden the way. Another dynasty. Jordan never faced
a real dynasty. He did early in his career and
couldn't get to the finals. Detroit was a dynasty. He

(01:03:44):
couldn't get past them. Boston was a dynasty. He couldn't
get past them. There was no dynasty out West during
Jordan's best years. There were good teams Phoenix, Utah, Seattle, Portland,
but there were no Dynasties. People forget this. Mike couldn't
beat the Dynasties, but they were all in his conference

(01:04:04):
and that's the difference. But it is really remarkable that,
at thirty nine years old, the only comps a football
player Brady. I mean, when Brady retired, we all felt
he was still There was probably not three quarterbacks in
the world that if you gave the football to with
two minutes left, you would trust to win the game
more than Brady. Maybe Mahomes, maybe a Joe Burrow, maybe

(01:04:27):
a Stafford. That's about it. That's how I feel with Lebron.
There's about three guys in the league, just about three
that I'd trust with the ball in their hands with
thirty seconds left, but not many. And I think a
lot of it is, you know, and even though he's
polarizing because he's taken some political stands and cultural stands,

(01:04:47):
it is remarkable. Even Brownie, and I'm not sure Brownie's
an NBA player offensively, is not he's a G League player. Offensively,
I'm not sure he's a G League player offensively. But
even Brownie's popular because he's you know, he's his son.
I think Lebron James, and I think the Lakers see
this with all their data and all their merch if
you get past all the stuff about the personality and

(01:05:09):
the cultural and the political stuff, this is Jordan looked
old in Washington, he looked old with the Wizards. Lebron
doesn't look old. And I'm watching these USA games. H
didn't look old, don't look gold at all. He played
a ton of games last year. So uh one, they're
beaten Serbia.

Speaker 2 (01:05:30):
Beating the Brakes off Serbia. But this could be troubling.
Is now Serbia uses his motivation for the next meeting
when they meet here in a couple of weeks. I
do I don't know how to approach you with this.
Lebron putting undue pressure on Bronni, naming him after himself, saying,
like four or five years ago, I want to play.
You know, that's my dream to play with my son.

(01:05:51):
I just you know, Lebron's son wins this Call of
Duty tournament, you the video game tournament Vegas. I just
wonder whose dream is it for Bronnie to playing in
the NBA. Is it Lebron's or his son Ronnie.

Speaker 7 (01:06:03):
I don't know the answer to that.

Speaker 2 (01:06:05):
I'm not saying Lebron's done a bad job, but like you,
you're a parent, you want the best for your kid,
and like I just wonder if maybe the pressure has
been a bit much watching him kind of struggle as he.

Speaker 1 (01:06:17):
Is not an NBA offensive player, well not yet. Yeah,
I don't see them much there. I think he's athletic,
I think he can defend, and I think that'll be
a space in the NBA if he gets there.