June 17, 2025 • 36 mins
Colin credits the Thunder for playing aggressive defense and comparing them to the “Legion of Boom” Seahawks and why it’s clear defense continues to win championships. Following Shohei Ohtani’s return to the pitching mound, Colin unveils his “Mount Just-More” listing all-time great athletes who are clearly above their contemporaries. He also talks to Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh about his quarterback Justin Herbert and what he needs in order to find postseason success
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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
noone Pacific. Find your local station for The Herd at
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Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowver
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Here we go.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
It is a Tuesday. This is gonna be a good one.
Jim harbaughd Nick Wright, stop by Jmack and I joining you.
You know Jmax. Sometimes as a young broadcaster, you don't
pay the respect that certain teams and players so richly deserve.
And I'm watching OKC last night, and this is a
(00:48):
very good you follow the NBA draft. It's a very
domestic draft. It is a very good draft. People are
speculating there is twelve to fourteen players in this draft
that could be at some point in an All Star
like it's one of our better drafts in a while.
And OKAC has the first pick out of the lottery.
They got two picks in this first round, and they
(01:10):
may have five of the top thirty defenders in the
NBA right now, two guys who made the All Defensive team.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
But you gotta be honest, Je Meck.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
I know they're not esthetically pleasing, but they're an all
time defense.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (01:23):
Well, there's a reason I've got a different facial hair
look this morning, Colin. That's because I've been going into
witness protection because I've been bashing these guys all season, and.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Now they're going to be the chance. That's what I
have to do.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Well, let's do I think the series is over. Okay,
going back to Indy, but I think it's over with
Halliburton's injury. But once again, when a historically great defense
meets a fast paced or dynamic offense, the defense usually prevails.
Times of flat circle, history repeats itself. It could be
the Bad Boy Pistons, Yep, they kept beating MJ. It
(01:55):
could be Belichick's defense in New England beating the greatest
show on turf. It could be a Sabans dynasty time
after time dominating a great offense. The truth is the
Pacers have the lead, leading pace, and they look at
times completely out of sorts, overwhelmed by this relentless defense,
which again may have five of the top thirty defenders
(02:17):
in the league. It's got a Seattle Seahawks league in
a boom feel where it's like fast and relentless and
well coached and twitchy and aggressive.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Go ask Peyton and Manning about it. Even when Brady.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Beat him in the Super Bowl, it was a defensive interception.
The Patriots game plan was catch it and go forward.
Do not run side to side, or they'll strip you
of the ball or tackle you for a loss. That's
how much the Seahawks defense was in Brady and Peyton
Manning's head. In Halliburton's injury, that's like the one way
to beat him. Halliburton's pace, his quirky, hurky jerky style,
(02:55):
it can be hard to defend. He moves the ball
so well.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
He's hurt now.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
So we spend so much time in basketball discussing offense.
KD and the Splash Brothers. No, those teams had the
best defense in the league. Michael Jordan's Bulls, MJ Rodman
and pippin first team All NBA defense multiple times. The
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiving corps been a mess the
(03:19):
last two years. The run game sometimes disappears. Last time
they won a Super Bowl. Yeah, Spag's defense was number
two in the NFL, and that's why the Lions died.
Not Jared Goff. They couldn't stop anybody. They were all
beat up. I know SGA doesn't dunk a lot, and
you don't know much about Jalen Williams, but there's a
reason James Harden, Dominique Wilkins, Mellow and Allen Iverson have
(03:41):
no titles.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
You gotta make stops too. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Yeah, Iverson stole a lot of balls. Yeah he cheated
on passing lanes, but in the end, he didn't guard anybody.
Oklahoma's City's offense, especially on the road, can disappear at times.
It can be a little hit and miss. It's very young.
Young players don't play as well on the road. If
SGA is not getting to the free throw line, then
(04:05):
a lot of time that thunder offense on the road.
It can have bad quarters. But here's what travels well. Defense.
And the Indiana Pacers are o. N seven in the
playoffs when they score under one hundred and ten points, Yep,
that's the series and without Halliburton, good luck. So defense
is not just about steals, it's not just about blocks.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
It's like.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Great defense is like two factor authentication. It's just tedious
and aggravating and it makes you work a little harder
and it really is annoying. And that's really the defense
for Oklahoma City. The ball pressure on the perimeter, meaning
if you do get past them, you're off balanced.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
There's always a.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Body on you. And then home Gren is a great
rim protector. So like he didn't have a great offensive series,
but he can defend you on the wing at seven
to two, can defend you at the basket. Even when
you try to get putbacks off block shots, those can
get blocked. Last time, I think, okay, so he had
fourteen blocks. But it's not just about blocks and steals.
(05:10):
It is the constant pressure the minute you take it
over half court, they make it constantly uncomfortable.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
And in the end it's switchable.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
It's twitchy guys can guard you outside all the way
down the floor. They can block a shot at the rim,
and SGA their best offensive player notices we.
Speaker 6 (05:32):
Were very disruptive defensively, kind of had them on their heels,
was pressuring and we because of that had like felt
three or four steals in a row. Then we were
able to get run, get out and run, get easy baskets.
But yeah, it always starts defensively for US.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Yes, defense first.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
When historically great defenses meet fast paced or dynamic offenses,
often the result is this. And even when you do
have all time great offenses. The Moss Patriots, they didn't
win a Super Bowl. They the defense wasn't as good.
And the Katie Warriors, they were great defensively. Iggy at
one point got an MVP of the Finals. I want
(06:13):
to talk about Jayalen Williams. So I have been on
this kick for multiple years about Jalen Williams. Not Jalen Williams,
but on this kick is that the NBA has tried
to marginalize college basketball for years, and I think it's
a huge mistake. Where are all the G League stars
in this final? Words, Scoot Henderson, anybody's seeing Jonathan kaminga
(06:35):
Jalen Williams, small college, military parents, three years grinding his
butt off, not seeking a shorter route or a quick buck.
College basketball's got better coaching, major march, madness, environments, packed houses,
(06:55):
TV pressure. I'm going to show our TV audience this
look at the last six years of Jalen Williams basketball.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
Journey.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Look at these numbers, Santa Clara seven, then eleven points,
then eighteen, then to the NBA fourteen, nineteen twenty one.
No shortcuts, gradual improvement. He's got the touch that tells
you he has spent so long in the gym. He
can score in transition, he can hit a three, he's
(07:24):
got mid range, but it's that beautiful touch around the
basket with his enormous length. That's time in the gym,
and there'll be a point at some point. And I
think Adam Silver's now realizing it that the NBA will
treat college basketball like the NFL's always treated college football
as an adversary, as an ally. The coaching's intense, the
(07:46):
environments are intense. You come into the NFL. You've played
in Blacksburg or Tusca Loosa. You've played in Austin or Norman, Oklahoma,
or Madison, Wisconsin, or Athens, Georgia. You played in front
of one hundred thousand people night. It's been intimidating. Ain't
getting in the G League. You're not getting big time
coaching in the G League. Look at this finals. Look
(08:07):
at Jalen Williams. Is just what this finals is all
about Jalen Williams, Tyrese Halliburton, Nemhart, Alex Caruso, TJ McConnell,
Pascal Siakam, Nie Smith, Obi Toppin a lot of guys
who spent multiple years in college grinding. Oh yeah, there's
(08:27):
a one and done guy here. There not a lot
of G leaguers, not a lot of G leaguers. When
I watched Jalen Williams last night, dude, he that dude
has grinded his way to being an offensive machine. He
didn't just get forty fifty six percent from the floor,
only had one turnover. Super efficient. I mean that that
(08:50):
is what it takes to be great. Halliburton was overlooked.
Jalen Williams goes to Santa Clara. I'm not saying SGA
shouldn't to be a one in don Ra, Miles turn
or some of these guys. You know, they're just they're
just like prodigies. But Oklahoma City may not be a
riveting team, but I respect the hell out of them.
The culture, the coaching, the grind you listen.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Offense is fun. Defenses work.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Oklahoma City plays defense like a hard coached college team,
and it was Jalen Williams a forty spot last night.
Speaker 7 (09:29):
Every time we play in the finals, it's the biggest
game of your life, you know what I mean. So
I think that's given me a little more comfort, and
just like playing hard and playing aggressive, I think I
just understand the opportunity that we have and I just
try and play as hard as I can, and then
whatever happens after that is is where the chips fall.
But I'd be lying if I said I could imagine
(09:49):
doing it.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
I did tonight.
Speaker 7 (09:50):
But I definitely could have seen myself here a long
time ago. I just didn't think it happened this past
and I didn't think it would be with the group
of guys that you know. I truly am my grateful
to be around.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
To play this level of defense. The Seahawks may have
fallen apart later and pointed fingers the Seahawks culture maybe
didn't last forever, but generally, to be a great defensive team,
it's teamwork, it's chemistry, it's coaching. You've got to all
be tied together by a string. You have to believe
(10:23):
in the same thing. That's why I criticize guys like Luca.
I'm like, dude, it can't just be about getting buckets.
You got to defend on the other end or else.
It tears at the fabric because defense is all about
effort and work. Nobody's born a great defensive player. There
are people that are born long and at good genetics.
They're long and they can be athletic and they've got like,
(10:46):
you know, the right hips to be a corner, you know.
But defense, nobody comes out of the womb. All NBA
first team defense, that is effort. There have been great
big sewer defenders small who were great defenders. I mean
Alex Caruso. That is effort to be a defender like
Alex Crucoe. He's guarding guys seven inches taller. That is effort.
(11:10):
And Jalen Williams on both and I watch Oklahoma City, man,
I respect that culture.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
Those are workers.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Even a SGA's game, you're not jumping over you, they're
not dunking over you.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
That's just years in the gym.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
Jmak in his time, you paid a little respect. Wow
to the thunder.
Speaker 5 (11:30):
Wow Colin, I gotta say, bravo. That is a great
take on Jalen Williams.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
I'm not gonna lie. The audience couldn't see it.
Speaker 5 (11:36):
But when you said I want to talk about Jalen Williams,
I honestly rolled my eyes, like, oh, what.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
Is he the best number two in the league? Colin.
Speaker 5 (11:43):
That's a great take because you're spot on this guy.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
When he came out of college.
Speaker 5 (11:47):
I remember he was drafted twelfth overall and there was
a guy sitting there who just won MVP of the
Final Four, a Badji from Kansas, And I'm like, why
are they taking this guy over Agbodji who just won
the MVP the Final four and Oklahoma City saw something
in him, and You're right, he stuck around in college,
slow growth.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Colin. That's a great take.
Speaker 5 (12:07):
I totally agree with you, and I wonder if you
look at this draft coming up or we gonna see
more guys instead of hey, let's just grab a freshman.
Is there a junior or senior who can help us
win in the next like two years.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Well, I think what you're seeing between Halliburton and Siakam
and Jalen Williams and SGA, you know what I'm seeing maturity.
I'm seeing these are really focused, mature teams and it's impressive.
I'm like, I don't care what the TV ratings are like,
all I know is when I watch this final, I
see committed athletes that are coachable, that work their butt off.
(12:45):
I don't want to talk about Scott Foster. I want
to talk about the defense and the pacing and the
maturity and the effort. There are a lot of good
basketball players when I watch, when I watch SGA, when
I watch Jalen Williams, you can see the time in
the gym to have Jalen Williams touch. Yeah, he can
shoot at three, he's got a mid range game, and
(13:05):
he's got handles. He's got beautiful touch. Dude.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
You know that. Again, that's in the gym.
Speaker 5 (13:13):
And it's funny in his work because remember the one
and done guys. Ben Matheren had one good showing. Otherwise
he's been kind of all over the place. And I'm
not bassing Jed Holmgren. He was terrible last night. I
think like four for fifteen shooting.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Yeah, another one and done guy. And I'm not blasting them, but.
Speaker 5 (13:28):
They don't have the maturity to consistently show up the
way some of these other veterans have. Listen, that's one
of your better takes this summer.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Colin, well done, well, I really appreciate I didn't know
if we had a leaderboard on that, but I do
appreciate it Nick Wright and Jim Harbaugh Today.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
in noon eastern non am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
What was the thing we talked about yesterday?
Speaker 1 (13:52):
We said, if I said to you, you're not gonna
believe what Blank did in sports, the two people I
would put in there are Caitlin Clark and show Hey Otani.
Caitlyn Clark had thirty eight seconds this weekend at the WNBA.
It was the greatest, most exhilarating thirty eight seconds in
WNBA history. She was shooting thirty three footers, bang bang, bang,
(14:14):
demanding the ball. It was it didn't look real, okay,
so oh Tani pitch last night against the Podras. By
the way, he is now pitching and hitting. The Podres
sent out their ace because he's pitching. He came up
to face the race, no practice wings.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
He threw over one hundred miles an hour.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
And Dave Roberts is to a point now where he
is the Dodgers manager.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
But he acknowledges. It's hard not to just be a
fan of show.
Speaker 8 (14:45):
Heyotani, I thought the stuff was really good, much better
as far as the fastball velocity than I think anyone
anticipated hit one hundred. You know, I was thinking ninety
five to ninety seven. But I think that just competitor
adrenaline came out in him. To see him come into
the dugout from the pen all that stuff. I was
(15:06):
kind of fan boying for like half an inning.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
So even in high school baseball, kids become what they
call pos pitchers only like we know in baseball that
how taxing just pitching is. I mean, you'll often hear
this in the postseason. I don't know if we could
throw Verlander on short rest. You know what, rech rest
(15:30):
Otani gets four and a half minutes in the dugout
until he's hitting. I mean, it's insane that he is
an ace in twenty twenty five, with how specialized pitching is.
This is Dereck Henry of the Ravens being the leading
tackler for Baltimore at linebacker, or Patrick Mahomes being the
(15:53):
top edge rusher in the conference.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
I mean, just insane.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
He is the best player in bathe the gap between
Otani and the second best baseball player, and that second
best player maybe Mookie Betts, and even he gets engulfed
by the gravitas and the talent of Otani.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
And you know a lot of times you hear about
the Mount Rushmore.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
There are a handful of athletes I would call them
they make the Mount just more. They're just more than
even the second best person in their sport. Michael Phelps
would be on my Mount Just Moore. Ten more Olympic
medals than anybody else, fourteen more gold medals than anybody else.
(16:42):
When I was a kid growing up, it was like
Mark Spitz. I mean, it's an afterthought. And by the way,
if you're saying, well, how come there are so many faces,
that's why it's called Mount Just Moore.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
We even have just more faces.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Number two would be Usain Bolt, three straight Olympics, one
hundred and two hundred meter champion, three consecutive Olympics. As
an old man, he was the world's fastest guy in
two events. I would say Wayne Gretzky at one point
eight straight MVPs. Wayne Gretzky would be on the Mount
Just Moore. That's like when he's twenty three years old. Also,
(17:19):
he still holds fifty five NHL records. Now, think about
how fast Hawky is, how international it is, and how
good the athletes are. He still shares or holds fifty
five career NHL records. Serena Williams in the open era,
twenty three more major women's singles title than anybody else.
(17:41):
And by the way, a dominant doubles player singles doubles,
dominant tiger Wood's highest career earnings, lowest career average, and
literally change courses. I think it's fair to say he
changed equipment and change courses. And I think then you
have to go on my mount just Moore, it's gotta
be el tawny. In a specialized world of sports, we're
(18:04):
in high school. If a guy is a great pitcher,
that's just what he's gonna do. First player. And oh,
by the way, he's not only a great hitter, he's not.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Only an ace. He'll steal your fifty four bases.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
I mean, it's just insane what Otani does last night.
He's pitching, goes to the dugout comes out, Padre is
throwing their ace.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
He don't even war them off. He just goes pitching, boom,
gloves off.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
I'm gonna go hit. There's just nothing like it. I
mean even even Dave Roberts. I'm gonna fan boy.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
A little bit.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
One more Heard. The Herd streams twenty four hours a day,
seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search Herd
to listen live or on demand whenever you like. Let's
bring him on. Been talking about this all day. Jim Harball,
coach of the LA Chargers, is joining us live and often.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
As you see, Jimmy's got a smile on his face.
I know why he's got a smile because Joe Alton,
year two, Hampton Nause, Mike William, Trey Harris. I was
saying this earlier, Jim. I followed your career. I always
feel Jim Harbaugh teams in year one, you change the culture.
But it's not until year two, when you have a
second recruiting class or a second draft that I feel
(19:17):
like it's a Jim HARBAUGHD team. I look at this
team and I think, oh, that's a Jim HARBAUGHD team.
Two tackles, two stud running backs. I felt last year,
I'm like, it's not Jim's team quite but the culture
is good. Did you feel you feel like this is
more complete this year?
Speaker 9 (19:37):
I loved our team last year, and as you know,
I want I wanted to get everybody back running back
version two point zero.
Speaker 4 (19:46):
That that wasn't the case.
Speaker 9 (19:49):
We couldn't do that this this era of free agency
and everything else, et cetera. But we made some great additions.
Joe Hartiz our personnel staff has done an incredible job,
I mean going out and finding some of the guys
that that they brought in, plus what we did with
the draft.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
That, yeah, I do. I feel like we're.
Speaker 9 (20:10):
I know, we're in a better place, uh you know
June seventeenth than we were last year at June seventeenth.
Part of that is probably you're doing everything for a
second time. Everything you've done before year you're doing again.
But uh, you know, the uh the entire mentality of
the of the team, and it's it's from the leaders
like like Justin and Derwin and k Mack and.
Speaker 4 (20:33):
Dan Henley, all the all the guys.
Speaker 9 (20:36):
I mean they they they train and prepare like they've
accomplished nothing, uh so that when the season comes they
can they can be that guy.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
So I am I am taking that same lead, and
you just don't.
Speaker 9 (20:50):
Talk about it really, you know, unless unless we're on
an interview and somebody you know, puts a microphone in
your face.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
Uh, you know, then then you really you have to
talk about it.
Speaker 9 (20:58):
But uh, you know, the guys are the guys are
doing and prefer to do. Uh you know, they're talking
in the in the training environment and on the practice field.
And I I am, I am drinking the kool aid
by buying completely into that.
Speaker 4 (21:11):
And that's that's the way we've been rolling. You know.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
If I think of Jim Harbaugh teams, your teams always
have leaders. And I think to myself, do you recruit leaders?
Can you tell when you're recruiting a kid if he's
a leader in high school? Do you draft leaders? I mean,
Joe Alt goes to Notre Dame. He's a smart, tough kid.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
Your teams.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
When I think of Harball, I think tough and good leaders.
How do you end up with them? Do you create them?
Or do you draft or recruit them? Why do your
teams end up with those?
Speaker 9 (21:43):
The Uh yeah you recruit them? Yeah, yeah, you draft them.
You can tell, you can tell the minute they walk
onto the field, you know, the the minute Derwin James
walked out of the field our first h off season,
O t a uh when I when I when I
walked over to shake justin Herbert's hand, it's you know
(22:07):
right away, you know it's there's a presence there, saying
with Khalil mack uh, there's the presence when he talks,
everybody's everybody's listening. When he's playing, everybody is is watching.
It's and it's never what somebody says. It's never what
they say. It's it's what they do. And that that
(22:30):
gets reinforced with how they train, how they how they
go about their business, how they how they play the
game of football. So uh uh, we like we we
have a saying that we really love, which is what
you say. I can't even hear what you say because
what you do speak so loudly that I can't even
hear what you're saying.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
You know, it's obviously and I said this when you
went college to pro I said, man, Harbaugh is going
to be a great drafter for the first two to
three years because he's recruited half these guys. Did you
find in this draft, for instance, had you recruited any
of your draft picks or at least seen their tape
in high school? Did did the Michigan stuff help you
a little bit in the first two drafts? Like Joe Alt,
(23:12):
you probably recruited at Michigan. Has have you found that
it's helped you a little bit in the draft process.
Speaker 9 (23:18):
It really helped a lot, Colin, and and not just
for it was my knowledge of guys.
Speaker 4 (23:24):
It was, Uh, it was Mike Elston's knowledge of.
Speaker 9 (23:27):
Joe Alt, who told all all the stories of the
you know, the the when he came in as a freshman, Uh,
how athletic he was. Uh, you know that Jesse mentor
you know, I could Steve Klinkscale, who I believe is
uh one of the best, if not the best, secondary coaches,
and in all of football. The guys they recruited, the
(23:51):
guys they coached, the guys that uh that you know,
they they watched weekly because they were preparing for him,
uh in an upcoming game.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
So it was It's not just me, It was.
Speaker 9 (24:04):
That cumulative effect of all of us who'd just really
been in that environment, you know, just a couple of
months earlier.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
I remember years ago talking to a guy named Bill
Pouley in the legendary Hall of Fame front office guy.
And he said when he drafted Peyton Manning, he said
Peyton cared so much. He called him a teeth clencher.
He said, sometimes we have to say, hey, Peyton, it's
ice cream after practice, lighting up, it's okay.
Speaker 3 (24:29):
And when I watch Justin.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Herbert, he cares so deeply that there are times I
think he gets so frustrated with himself.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
He's too hard on himself. That's my view of it.
Am I right? And if I am?
Speaker 1 (24:44):
How do you make sure Justin still you gotta have fun, Jim,
You gotta have fun when your coach have to have
fun when you play. Do you ever worry that Justin
is too hard on Justin?
Speaker 4 (24:53):
No, don't change the thing. Do not change a thing
about Justin Herbert.
Speaker 9 (25:00):
Yeah, he he he does everything, everything great. How much
he cares, Yeah, he cares, He cares deeply. How much
he trains, He trains the the perfect amount.
Speaker 4 (25:15):
You know, everything that.
Speaker 9 (25:16):
He does is is don't change the thing. Our challenge
is the rest of us, you know, especially the ones
on the offensive side of the ball that Justin's counting on. Uh,
you know, the playmakers, the offensive line, the backs, the
tight ends, the coaches.
Speaker 4 (25:35):
You know, it is our challenge to get.
Speaker 9 (25:37):
To his level because, uh, you know the only in
my opinion, you know, his biggest weaknesses is us. You know,
we've got to we we have to be the ones
that rise up to his level.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
So you're in a division now with Pete and Chip,
with Sean Payton's a pretty good coach, Andy Reid and Spags.
It's the best coach division in football. You get no
breathers every week is like a coaching challenge. You're you
are feisty and you're tough and you love challenges. It
is a you don't have a lot of breathers on
(26:10):
that schedule. But would you rather face that schedule in
those staffs and say, you know the roadblock, You'd rather
have the book on Pete.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
Although you have a pretty good book.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
There is there an advantage to being in a division
that is the best coach division in football?
Speaker 9 (26:29):
Well, first of all, I mean there's I've never seen
the coaching, uh you know, at a level that it
is across the entire.
Speaker 4 (26:35):
National Football League.
Speaker 9 (26:36):
I mean, it's it's great coach after great coach because
the way they prepare their teams everybody is great.
Speaker 4 (26:45):
Yeah, we're gonna We're gonna play games.
Speaker 9 (26:46):
No matter who we're playing, it's gonna get decided in
the last two minutes of the game. They're gonna come
down to one score games. This is the National Football League.
Everybody's really well coached, everybody's really well trained, everybody has
has great players. You know, it's it's at an unprecedented
level where the league is right now. I mean everybody's good. Yeah,
(27:09):
it's it's competitive. Dogg eat dog for sure. You know,
tremendous in the AFC West, tremendous in every single division
as you look across pro football.
Speaker 4 (27:22):
So it is. It is something you got to get
prepared for. I mean, we know it.
Speaker 9 (27:27):
Uh, we're gonna play the Kansas City Chiefs Game one
in sath Paolo.
Speaker 4 (27:31):
Let's make sure we get ready for it.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
I've said for years, I always like Nause Harris. He
played in front of offensive lines that were kind of
couldn't quite get it right. And I think you do
occasionally find these players in the NFL that maybe the
fit's not perfect, and then they go to a second
place and you're like, oh, he's better than I thought.
I think Nause Harris is one of those guys. What
(27:55):
did you see about him when you looked on film
and Pittsburgh. What did you say, okay, that that's gonna
work here with the Chargers.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
Uh.
Speaker 9 (28:06):
It's everything that he does is is at a high
level and great and he's he's there every week, He's
there every game.
Speaker 4 (28:13):
Uh, and it's so cool.
Speaker 9 (28:15):
I mean you mentioned a little bit about being in
college before now and and guys you recruited, uh and
guys that that that I coached. I mean, nobody recruited
harder than Najie Harris, you know up in Antioch, California. Uh,
you know, as many trips as I could make I
made there.
Speaker 4 (28:32):
Uh yeah, and uh and Makai back then.
Speaker 9 (28:35):
I mean, I'm just I'm reminiscing going back to to
watching uh Makai play basketball and in high school and
being in a game where uh I see him see
him slam dunk of basketball and then uh then he
gets then he got elbowed. He got elbowed that he
might have broken his nose, and uh, he went over
the towel. There's play coming out. He throw him a
(28:55):
towel from the bench and you know, he wipes it.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
Off.
Speaker 9 (28:59):
I think he was out for like, uh you know,
like a whistle or two and then right back in
the game. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, that's that's my
kind of guy right there.
Speaker 4 (29:10):
You didn't then to come to Michigan. He with with
the Louisville and had a had a tremendous career. But uh,
just so.
Speaker 9 (29:17):
Many, so many great guys, so many great uh great
stories that way. Uh, and I get you know, you
get a chance to to to be a part of
it and coach these guys. I mean you can imagine
the excitement, you know, and still still kind of pull
it down, uh that we have justin Herbert and and
Derwin James. I mean I just I just loved him
(29:39):
watching him play football. Uh, you know, just an appreciation
for how he played the game. And now to be
able to get to coach him. Uh, I mean Derwin James,
he likes people that that like football. If you like football,
you're gonna like Derwin James. And he's gonna he's gonna
like you back. And yeah, you just pull it down
that you get to get to coach these guys. You know,
it's a it's uh best darn drive ever had Colin.
Speaker 3 (30:04):
I'll just say, you look good.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
You look you look a little betner than last year
you've had. You had a couple of hell things. Give
me an update. How do you feel, how are you doing?
How is your cause? You look good. You look younger
than the last time I had you. That's Southern California sushi.
Speaker 9 (30:19):
That's Jackie Harvall said. The said the same thing. Uh yeah,
I get that. Got a hip replaced. Uh, it's it's
working great, all patched up. The iron horse had to
go in for a few uh fine tunings, and I
had an ablazing had an Ablazian done. That was Uh,
it was, it was really really successful.
Speaker 4 (30:41):
It was Uh. I was really super happy. My uh
my doctor, doctor Shibata. Uh he came in and tell
me how it went. He goes went, he went good.
It went really good. And uh, I go what every
doctor says, it went good.
Speaker 9 (30:55):
I mean I never talked to a doctor after a
surgery that that that uh said it.
Speaker 4 (31:00):
Didn't go well.
Speaker 9 (31:01):
I go tell me about it, and he uh, I
mean he started describing what he did and and it
was like it was like a football player describing you
know the miraculous uh you know way that he scored
a touchdown.
Speaker 4 (31:15):
You know, he really I could tell, Okay, now we're getting.
Speaker 9 (31:18):
Somewhere, and uh he really he really feels uh really
feels good about it, you know, and uh he kind
of was described. Well, you know, why why did I
asked him, why why didn't they why didn't they fix
that issue? You know the the last time I had
this place, and well, you know it wasn't you know,
they're really good.
Speaker 4 (31:35):
Uh you know, the technology is a lot better. I go, na, doctor,
it was you, it was you.
Speaker 9 (31:42):
And uh so yeah, I feel you know, it just
it just fires you up when uh, when you get
that kind of you know, right here and.
Speaker 4 (31:49):
Uh right here in l A.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
By the way, you saw Tawny pitch last night. I
think he's it's just unbelievable. It's just unbelievable. He's good looking,
he's great, Like you talk about the whole package.
Speaker 3 (32:01):
He's magnetic.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
When you go to a Dodger game, it doesn't even
feel I mean, you know what great is when great
is when among great players they look.
Speaker 3 (32:12):
Up to you. I always used to say this about
Mike Tyson.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
Other heavyweight fighters were intimidated by Mike Tyson. That's what
great is You watched o'tani last night? What do you see?
Speaker 9 (32:24):
I was just blown away by the whole thing. Uh
just everything his his walk up.
Speaker 4 (32:29):
Song, I mean, uh you know, the uh.
Speaker 9 (32:33):
The way he puts his bat you know, at the
end of the top of the plate there and he
measures it and he puts his foot in the same
spot and uh, you know, I really watched him as
there was my son Jack who's a who's a twelve
year old baseball player, and son Johnny who's eight, and Katie,
and I'm going I just study him, just watch watch,
uh watch him. He's in a rhythm. Everything he does
(32:57):
is to create the rhythm. He does it the same
way every time. Look at that the pitching motion, whether
it's from the stretch or from the you know, from
the from.
Speaker 4 (33:05):
The wind up.
Speaker 9 (33:06):
H his his routine rhythm, rhythm, you know, rhythm, get
the rhythm, get there, you know, get the get the
freaking rhythm.
Speaker 4 (33:14):
Rhythm the rhythm, get the freaking rhythm. You know it's
you just watch.
Speaker 9 (33:18):
It with him and uh yeah, the the uh hit
him nukes a couple of nukes is uh. As Johnny
with my son eight year old, would say, uh, this incredible.
Speaker 4 (33:31):
The walk up song is is so good. Uh, just
everything about it.
Speaker 9 (33:35):
But that's sports, you know, Colin, You gotta you've got
to be able to uh to get the rhythm. You
get out of rhythm, you start trying to make adjustments
and and then you're out there, You're out there floundering.
So uh, youngsters and sports, uh, you know, get in
the rhythm, have that rhythm trained and practiced, and then
go do your job.
Speaker 4 (33:57):
Uh get the rhythm.
Speaker 9 (33:58):
And and uh and let the chips fall where they made.
But don't try to start start questioning yourself or making
uh making adjustments.
Speaker 4 (34:08):
I mean that's that's.
Speaker 9 (34:10):
Uh, that's probably my biggest takeaway of watching, uh watching
last night's game.
Speaker 3 (34:16):
Yeah, all right, and.
Speaker 4 (34:18):
Another l I guy, JJ Spahn, How cool was that?
Speaker 1 (34:22):
You know what's amazing is that JJ spon you here?
Did you hear the story that he literally his daughter
was sick? Is that JJ Spahn calling you? He's his
daughter that morning?
Speaker 4 (34:35):
Call her back?
Speaker 1 (34:37):
So his his daughter was throwing up Sunday morning, he
was up at three in the morning, went to a CVS.
He he was working on four hours sleep.
Speaker 4 (34:47):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (34:48):
And then he goes in rain delay and this kid
ends up hitting one of the great pots in the
history of the US Open.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
He was up at three in the morning driving to
a s He.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
Asked because his daughter, Well, that's what being a great
dad is. And he said, actually, he said, it took
my mind off golf. Yeah, I didn't think about golf.
I was worried about my daughter all day and I
was like, sixty four foot pot.
Speaker 3 (35:12):
That that's a winner right there.
Speaker 9 (35:14):
Yeah, how about the one where he hits the pin,
you know, hits the great shot in there and uh,
you know, kind of sucks up, then it hits the
pin and.
Speaker 4 (35:23):
Then it goes oh, brutal all the way back down.
I mean this, I mean one of the most brutal
breaks you could get.
Speaker 9 (35:29):
Uh, and uh, you know, it just he was just
a he was just an iron wall to that negativity that,
you know, just just just shattered in that adversity, that negativity,
you know, negativity just crumble and uh to watch him
go about his business, I mean, uh, it was Uh.
Speaker 4 (35:48):
It was tremendous.
Speaker 3 (35:50):
Okay, listen, Andy Reid right now is working on plays.
Speaker 1 (35:53):
You got to get back. I want some razzle dazzle
in that opener gym. I want something. I want something
with Mike Williams. I want some lad Maconkey double pass.
I want you to go because I that game. I
have you winning the division and he's a wildcard team,
so I know he's working right now. You got we
got to get back to work.
Speaker 3 (36:11):
Okay, Yes, sir, appreciate you having me on.
Speaker 4 (36:16):
Jim.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
It's great seeing you're smiling more than you ever had,
the great Jim Harbaugh.
Speaker 3 (36:19):
Thanks coach,
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
noone 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 Cowver
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Here we go.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
It is a Tuesday. This is gonna be a good one.
Jim harbaughd Nick Wright, stop by Jmack and I joining you.
You know Jmax. Sometimes as a young broadcaster, you don't
pay the respect that certain teams and players so richly deserve.
And I'm watching OKC last night, and this is a
(00:48):
very good you follow the NBA draft. It's a very
domestic draft. It is a very good draft. People are
speculating there is twelve to fourteen players in this draft
that could be at some point in an All Star
like it's one of our better drafts in a while.
And OKAC has the first pick out of the lottery.
They got two picks in this first round, and they
(01:10):
may have five of the top thirty defenders in the
NBA right now, two guys who made the All Defensive team.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
But you gotta be honest, Je Meck.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
I know they're not esthetically pleasing, but they're an all
time defense.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (01:23):
Well, there's a reason I've got a different facial hair
look this morning, Colin. That's because I've been going into
witness protection because I've been bashing these guys all season, and.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Now they're going to be the chance. That's what I
have to do.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Well, let's do I think the series is over. Okay,
going back to Indy, but I think it's over with
Halliburton's injury. But once again, when a historically great defense
meets a fast paced or dynamic offense, the defense usually prevails.
Times of flat circle, history repeats itself. It could be
the Bad Boy Pistons, Yep, they kept beating MJ. It
(01:55):
could be Belichick's defense in New England beating the greatest
show on turf. It could be a Sabans dynasty time
after time dominating a great offense. The truth is the
Pacers have the lead, leading pace, and they look at
times completely out of sorts, overwhelmed by this relentless defense,
which again may have five of the top thirty defenders
(02:17):
in the league. It's got a Seattle Seahawks league in
a boom feel where it's like fast and relentless and
well coached and twitchy and aggressive.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Go ask Peyton and Manning about it. Even when Brady.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Beat him in the Super Bowl, it was a defensive interception.
The Patriots game plan was catch it and go forward.
Do not run side to side, or they'll strip you
of the ball or tackle you for a loss. That's
how much the Seahawks defense was in Brady and Peyton
Manning's head. In Halliburton's injury, that's like the one way
to beat him. Halliburton's pace, his quirky, hurky jerky style,
(02:55):
it can be hard to defend. He moves the ball
so well.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
He's hurt now.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
So we spend so much time in basketball discussing offense.
KD and the Splash Brothers. No, those teams had the
best defense in the league. Michael Jordan's Bulls, MJ Rodman
and pippin first team All NBA defense multiple times. The
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiving corps been a mess the
(03:19):
last two years. The run game sometimes disappears. Last time
they won a Super Bowl. Yeah, Spag's defense was number
two in the NFL, and that's why the Lions died.
Not Jared Goff. They couldn't stop anybody. They were all
beat up. I know SGA doesn't dunk a lot, and
you don't know much about Jalen Williams, but there's a
reason James Harden, Dominique Wilkins, Mellow and Allen Iverson have
(03:41):
no titles.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
You gotta make stops too. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Yeah, Iverson stole a lot of balls. Yeah he cheated
on passing lanes, but in the end, he didn't guard anybody.
Oklahoma's City's offense, especially on the road, can disappear at times.
It can be a little hit and miss. It's very young.
Young players don't play as well on the road. If
SGA is not getting to the free throw line, then
(04:05):
a lot of time that thunder offense on the road.
It can have bad quarters. But here's what travels well. Defense.
And the Indiana Pacers are o. N seven in the
playoffs when they score under one hundred and ten points, Yep,
that's the series and without Halliburton, good luck. So defense
is not just about steals, it's not just about blocks.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
It's like.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Great defense is like two factor authentication. It's just tedious
and aggravating and it makes you work a little harder
and it really is annoying. And that's really the defense
for Oklahoma City. The ball pressure on the perimeter, meaning
if you do get past them, you're off balanced.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
There's always a.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Body on you. And then home Gren is a great
rim protector. So like he didn't have a great offensive series,
but he can defend you on the wing at seven
to two, can defend you at the basket. Even when
you try to get putbacks off block shots, those can
get blocked. Last time, I think, okay, so he had
fourteen blocks. But it's not just about blocks and steals.
(05:10):
It is the constant pressure the minute you take it
over half court, they make it constantly uncomfortable.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
And in the end it's switchable.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
It's twitchy guys can guard you outside all the way
down the floor. They can block a shot at the rim,
and SGA their best offensive player notices we.
Speaker 6 (05:32):
Were very disruptive defensively, kind of had them on their heels,
was pressuring and we because of that had like felt
three or four steals in a row. Then we were
able to get run, get out and run, get easy baskets.
But yeah, it always starts defensively for US.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Yes, defense first.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
When historically great defenses meet fast paced or dynamic offenses,
often the result is this. And even when you do
have all time great offenses. The Moss Patriots, they didn't
win a Super Bowl. They the defense wasn't as good.
And the Katie Warriors, they were great defensively. Iggy at
one point got an MVP of the Finals. I want
(06:13):
to talk about Jayalen Williams. So I have been on
this kick for multiple years about Jalen Williams. Not Jalen Williams,
but on this kick is that the NBA has tried
to marginalize college basketball for years, and I think it's
a huge mistake. Where are all the G League stars
in this final? Words, Scoot Henderson, anybody's seeing Jonathan kaminga
(06:35):
Jalen Williams, small college, military parents, three years grinding his
butt off, not seeking a shorter route or a quick buck.
College basketball's got better coaching, major march, madness, environments, packed houses,
(06:55):
TV pressure. I'm going to show our TV audience this
look at the last six years of Jalen Williams basketball.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
Journey.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Look at these numbers, Santa Clara seven, then eleven points,
then eighteen, then to the NBA fourteen, nineteen twenty one.
No shortcuts, gradual improvement. He's got the touch that tells
you he has spent so long in the gym. He
can score in transition, he can hit a three, he's
(07:24):
got mid range, but it's that beautiful touch around the
basket with his enormous length. That's time in the gym,
and there'll be a point at some point. And I
think Adam Silver's now realizing it that the NBA will
treat college basketball like the NFL's always treated college football
as an adversary, as an ally. The coaching's intense, the
(07:46):
environments are intense. You come into the NFL. You've played
in Blacksburg or Tusca Loosa. You've played in Austin or Norman, Oklahoma,
or Madison, Wisconsin, or Athens, Georgia. You played in front
of one hundred thousand people night. It's been intimidating. Ain't
getting in the G League. You're not getting big time
coaching in the G League. Look at this finals. Look
(08:07):
at Jalen Williams. Is just what this finals is all
about Jalen Williams, Tyrese Halliburton, Nemhart, Alex Caruso, TJ McConnell,
Pascal Siakam, Nie Smith, Obi Toppin a lot of guys
who spent multiple years in college grinding. Oh yeah, there's
(08:27):
a one and done guy here. There not a lot
of G leaguers, not a lot of G leaguers. When
I watched Jalen Williams last night, dude, he that dude
has grinded his way to being an offensive machine. He
didn't just get forty fifty six percent from the floor,
only had one turnover. Super efficient. I mean that that
(08:50):
is what it takes to be great. Halliburton was overlooked.
Jalen Williams goes to Santa Clara. I'm not saying SGA
shouldn't to be a one in don Ra, Miles turn
or some of these guys. You know, they're just they're
just like prodigies. But Oklahoma City may not be a
riveting team, but I respect the hell out of them.
The culture, the coaching, the grind you listen.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Offense is fun. Defenses work.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Oklahoma City plays defense like a hard coached college team,
and it was Jalen Williams a forty spot last night.
Speaker 7 (09:29):
Every time we play in the finals, it's the biggest
game of your life, you know what I mean. So
I think that's given me a little more comfort, and
just like playing hard and playing aggressive, I think I
just understand the opportunity that we have and I just
try and play as hard as I can, and then
whatever happens after that is is where the chips fall.
But I'd be lying if I said I could imagine
(09:49):
doing it.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
I did tonight.
Speaker 7 (09:50):
But I definitely could have seen myself here a long
time ago. I just didn't think it happened this past
and I didn't think it would be with the group
of guys that you know. I truly am my grateful
to be around.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
To play this level of defense. The Seahawks may have
fallen apart later and pointed fingers the Seahawks culture maybe
didn't last forever, but generally, to be a great defensive team,
it's teamwork, it's chemistry, it's coaching. You've got to all
be tied together by a string. You have to believe
(10:23):
in the same thing. That's why I criticize guys like Luca.
I'm like, dude, it can't just be about getting buckets.
You got to defend on the other end or else.
It tears at the fabric because defense is all about
effort and work. Nobody's born a great defensive player. There
are people that are born long and at good genetics.
They're long and they can be athletic and they've got like,
(10:46):
you know, the right hips to be a corner, you know.
But defense, nobody comes out of the womb. All NBA
first team defense, that is effort. There have been great
big sewer defenders small who were great defenders. I mean
Alex Caruso. That is effort to be a defender like
Alex Crucoe. He's guarding guys seven inches taller. That is effort.
(11:10):
And Jalen Williams on both and I watch Oklahoma City, man,
I respect that culture.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
Those are workers.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Even a SGA's game, you're not jumping over you, they're
not dunking over you.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
That's just years in the gym.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
Jmak in his time, you paid a little respect. Wow
to the thunder.
Speaker 5 (11:30):
Wow Colin, I gotta say, bravo. That is a great
take on Jalen Williams.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
I'm not gonna lie. The audience couldn't see it.
Speaker 5 (11:36):
But when you said I want to talk about Jalen Williams,
I honestly rolled my eyes, like, oh, what.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
Is he the best number two in the league? Colin.
Speaker 5 (11:43):
That's a great take because you're spot on this guy.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
When he came out of college.
Speaker 5 (11:47):
I remember he was drafted twelfth overall and there was
a guy sitting there who just won MVP of the
Final Four, a Badji from Kansas, And I'm like, why
are they taking this guy over Agbodji who just won
the MVP the Final four and Oklahoma City saw something
in him, and You're right, he stuck around in college,
slow growth.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Colin. That's a great take.
Speaker 5 (12:07):
I totally agree with you, and I wonder if you
look at this draft coming up or we gonna see
more guys instead of hey, let's just grab a freshman.
Is there a junior or senior who can help us
win in the next like two years.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Well, I think what you're seeing between Halliburton and Siakam
and Jalen Williams and SGA, you know what I'm seeing maturity.
I'm seeing these are really focused, mature teams and it's impressive.
I'm like, I don't care what the TV ratings are like,
all I know is when I watch this final, I
see committed athletes that are coachable, that work their butt off.
(12:45):
I don't want to talk about Scott Foster. I want
to talk about the defense and the pacing and the
maturity and the effort. There are a lot of good
basketball players when I watch, when I watch SGA, when
I watch Jalen Williams, you can see the time in
the gym to have Jalen Williams touch. Yeah, he can
shoot at three, he's got a mid range game, and
(13:05):
he's got handles. He's got beautiful touch. Dude.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
You know that. Again, that's in the gym.
Speaker 5 (13:13):
And it's funny in his work because remember the one
and done guys. Ben Matheren had one good showing. Otherwise
he's been kind of all over the place. And I'm
not bassing Jed Holmgren. He was terrible last night. I
think like four for fifteen shooting.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Yeah, another one and done guy. And I'm not blasting them, but.
Speaker 5 (13:28):
They don't have the maturity to consistently show up the
way some of these other veterans have. Listen, that's one
of your better takes this summer.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Colin, well done, well, I really appreciate I didn't know
if we had a leaderboard on that, but I do
appreciate it Nick Wright and Jim Harbaugh Today.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
in noon eastern non am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
What was the thing we talked about yesterday?
Speaker 1 (13:52):
We said, if I said to you, you're not gonna
believe what Blank did in sports, the two people I
would put in there are Caitlin Clark and show Hey Otani.
Caitlyn Clark had thirty eight seconds this weekend at the WNBA.
It was the greatest, most exhilarating thirty eight seconds in
WNBA history. She was shooting thirty three footers, bang bang, bang,
(14:14):
demanding the ball. It was it didn't look real, okay,
so oh Tani pitch last night against the Podras. By
the way, he is now pitching and hitting. The Podres
sent out their ace because he's pitching. He came up
to face the race, no practice wings.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
He threw over one hundred miles an hour.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
And Dave Roberts is to a point now where he
is the Dodgers manager.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
But he acknowledges. It's hard not to just be a
fan of show.
Speaker 8 (14:45):
Heyotani, I thought the stuff was really good, much better
as far as the fastball velocity than I think anyone
anticipated hit one hundred. You know, I was thinking ninety
five to ninety seven. But I think that just competitor
adrenaline came out in him. To see him come into
the dugout from the pen all that stuff. I was
(15:06):
kind of fan boying for like half an inning.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
So even in high school baseball, kids become what they
call pos pitchers only like we know in baseball that
how taxing just pitching is. I mean, you'll often hear
this in the postseason. I don't know if we could
throw Verlander on short rest. You know what, rech rest
(15:30):
Otani gets four and a half minutes in the dugout
until he's hitting. I mean, it's insane that he is
an ace in twenty twenty five, with how specialized pitching is.
This is Dereck Henry of the Ravens being the leading
tackler for Baltimore at linebacker, or Patrick Mahomes being the
(15:53):
top edge rusher in the conference.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
I mean, just insane.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
He is the best player in bathe the gap between
Otani and the second best baseball player, and that second
best player maybe Mookie Betts, and even he gets engulfed
by the gravitas and the talent of Otani.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
And you know a lot of times you hear about
the Mount Rushmore.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
There are a handful of athletes I would call them
they make the Mount just more. They're just more than
even the second best person in their sport. Michael Phelps
would be on my Mount Just Moore. Ten more Olympic
medals than anybody else, fourteen more gold medals than anybody else.
(16:42):
When I was a kid growing up, it was like
Mark Spitz. I mean, it's an afterthought. And by the way,
if you're saying, well, how come there are so many faces,
that's why it's called Mount Just Moore.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
We even have just more faces.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Number two would be Usain Bolt, three straight Olympics, one
hundred and two hundred meter champion, three consecutive Olympics. As
an old man, he was the world's fastest guy in
two events. I would say Wayne Gretzky at one point
eight straight MVPs. Wayne Gretzky would be on the Mount
Just Moore. That's like when he's twenty three years old. Also,
(17:19):
he still holds fifty five NHL records. Now, think about
how fast Hawky is, how international it is, and how
good the athletes are. He still shares or holds fifty
five career NHL records. Serena Williams in the open era,
twenty three more major women's singles title than anybody else.
(17:41):
And by the way, a dominant doubles player singles doubles,
dominant tiger Wood's highest career earnings, lowest career average, and
literally change courses. I think it's fair to say he
changed equipment and change courses. And I think then you
have to go on my mount just Moore, it's gotta
be el tawny. In a specialized world of sports, we're
(18:04):
in high school. If a guy is a great pitcher,
that's just what he's gonna do. First player. And oh,
by the way, he's not only a great hitter, he's not.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Only an ace. He'll steal your fifty four bases.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
I mean, it's just insane what Otani does last night.
He's pitching, goes to the dugout comes out, Padre is
throwing their ace.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
He don't even war them off. He just goes pitching, boom,
gloves off.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
I'm gonna go hit. There's just nothing like it. I
mean even even Dave Roberts. I'm gonna fan boy.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
A little bit.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
One more Heard. The Herd streams twenty four hours a day,
seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search Herd
to listen live or on demand whenever you like. Let's
bring him on. Been talking about this all day. Jim Harball,
coach of the LA Chargers, is joining us live and often.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
As you see, Jimmy's got a smile on his face.
I know why he's got a smile because Joe Alton,
year two, Hampton Nause, Mike William, Trey Harris. I was
saying this earlier, Jim. I followed your career. I always
feel Jim Harbaugh teams in year one, you change the culture.
But it's not until year two, when you have a
second recruiting class or a second draft that I feel
(19:17):
like it's a Jim HARBAUGHD team. I look at this
team and I think, oh, that's a Jim HARBAUGHD team.
Two tackles, two stud running backs. I felt last year,
I'm like, it's not Jim's team quite but the culture
is good. Did you feel you feel like this is
more complete this year?
Speaker 9 (19:37):
I loved our team last year, and as you know,
I want I wanted to get everybody back running back
version two point zero.
Speaker 4 (19:46):
That that wasn't the case.
Speaker 9 (19:49):
We couldn't do that this this era of free agency
and everything else, et cetera. But we made some great additions.
Joe Hartiz our personnel staff has done an incredible job,
I mean going out and finding some of the guys
that that they brought in, plus what we did with
the draft.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
That, yeah, I do. I feel like we're.
Speaker 9 (20:10):
I know, we're in a better place, uh you know
June seventeenth than we were last year at June seventeenth.
Part of that is probably you're doing everything for a
second time. Everything you've done before year you're doing again.
But uh, you know, the uh the entire mentality of
the of the team, and it's it's from the leaders
like like Justin and Derwin and k Mack and.
Speaker 4 (20:33):
Dan Henley, all the all the guys.
Speaker 9 (20:36):
I mean they they they train and prepare like they've
accomplished nothing, uh so that when the season comes they
can they can be that guy.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
So I am I am taking that same lead, and
you just don't.
Speaker 9 (20:50):
Talk about it really, you know, unless unless we're on
an interview and somebody you know, puts a microphone in
your face.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
Uh, you know, then then you really you have to
talk about it.
Speaker 9 (20:58):
But uh, you know, the guys are the guys are
doing and prefer to do. Uh you know, they're talking
in the in the training environment and on the practice field.
And I I am, I am drinking the kool aid
by buying completely into that.
Speaker 4 (21:11):
And that's that's the way we've been rolling. You know.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
If I think of Jim Harbaugh teams, your teams always
have leaders. And I think to myself, do you recruit leaders?
Can you tell when you're recruiting a kid if he's
a leader in high school? Do you draft leaders? I mean,
Joe Alt goes to Notre Dame. He's a smart, tough kid.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
Your teams.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
When I think of Harball, I think tough and good leaders.
How do you end up with them? Do you create them?
Or do you draft or recruit them? Why do your
teams end up with those?
Speaker 9 (21:43):
The Uh yeah you recruit them? Yeah, yeah, you draft them.
You can tell, you can tell the minute they walk
onto the field, you know, the the minute Derwin James
walked out of the field our first h off season,
O t a uh when I when I when I
walked over to shake justin Herbert's hand, it's you know
(22:07):
right away, you know it's there's a presence there, saying
with Khalil mack uh, there's the presence when he talks,
everybody's everybody's listening. When he's playing, everybody is is watching.
It's and it's never what somebody says. It's never what
they say. It's it's what they do. And that that
(22:30):
gets reinforced with how they train, how they how they
go about their business, how they how they play the
game of football. So uh uh, we like we we
have a saying that we really love, which is what
you say. I can't even hear what you say because
what you do speak so loudly that I can't even
hear what you're saying.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
You know, it's obviously and I said this when you
went college to pro I said, man, Harbaugh is going
to be a great drafter for the first two to
three years because he's recruited half these guys. Did you
find in this draft, for instance, had you recruited any
of your draft picks or at least seen their tape
in high school? Did did the Michigan stuff help you
a little bit in the first two drafts? Like Joe Alt,
(23:12):
you probably recruited at Michigan. Has have you found that
it's helped you a little bit in the draft process.
Speaker 9 (23:18):
It really helped a lot, Colin, and and not just
for it was my knowledge of guys.
Speaker 4 (23:24):
It was, Uh, it was Mike Elston's knowledge of.
Speaker 9 (23:27):
Joe Alt, who told all all the stories of the
you know, the the when he came in as a freshman, Uh,
how athletic he was. Uh, you know that Jesse mentor
you know, I could Steve Klinkscale, who I believe is
uh one of the best, if not the best, secondary coaches,
and in all of football. The guys they recruited, the
(23:51):
guys they coached, the guys that uh that you know,
they they watched weekly because they were preparing for him,
uh in an upcoming game.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
So it was It's not just me, It was.
Speaker 9 (24:04):
That cumulative effect of all of us who'd just really
been in that environment, you know, just a couple of
months earlier.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
I remember years ago talking to a guy named Bill
Pouley in the legendary Hall of Fame front office guy.
And he said when he drafted Peyton Manning, he said
Peyton cared so much. He called him a teeth clencher.
He said, sometimes we have to say, hey, Peyton, it's
ice cream after practice, lighting up, it's okay.
Speaker 3 (24:29):
And when I watch Justin.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Herbert, he cares so deeply that there are times I
think he gets so frustrated with himself.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
He's too hard on himself. That's my view of it.
Am I right? And if I am?
Speaker 1 (24:44):
How do you make sure Justin still you gotta have fun, Jim,
You gotta have fun when your coach have to have
fun when you play. Do you ever worry that Justin
is too hard on Justin?
Speaker 4 (24:53):
No, don't change the thing. Do not change a thing
about Justin Herbert.
Speaker 9 (25:00):
Yeah, he he he does everything, everything great. How much
he cares, Yeah, he cares, He cares deeply. How much
he trains, He trains the the perfect amount.
Speaker 4 (25:15):
You know, everything that.
Speaker 9 (25:16):
He does is is don't change the thing. Our challenge
is the rest of us, you know, especially the ones
on the offensive side of the ball that Justin's counting on. Uh,
you know, the playmakers, the offensive line, the backs, the
tight ends, the coaches.
Speaker 4 (25:35):
You know, it is our challenge to get.
Speaker 9 (25:37):
To his level because, uh, you know the only in
my opinion, you know, his biggest weaknesses is us. You know,
we've got to we we have to be the ones
that rise up to his level.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
So you're in a division now with Pete and Chip,
with Sean Payton's a pretty good coach, Andy Reid and Spags.
It's the best coach division in football. You get no
breathers every week is like a coaching challenge. You're you
are feisty and you're tough and you love challenges. It
is a you don't have a lot of breathers on
(26:10):
that schedule. But would you rather face that schedule in
those staffs and say, you know the roadblock, You'd rather
have the book on Pete.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
Although you have a pretty good book.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
There is there an advantage to being in a division
that is the best coach division in football?
Speaker 9 (26:29):
Well, first of all, I mean there's I've never seen
the coaching, uh you know, at a level that it
is across the entire.
Speaker 4 (26:35):
National Football League.
Speaker 9 (26:36):
I mean, it's it's great coach after great coach because
the way they prepare their teams everybody is great.
Speaker 4 (26:45):
Yeah, we're gonna We're gonna play games.
Speaker 9 (26:46):
No matter who we're playing, it's gonna get decided in
the last two minutes of the game. They're gonna come
down to one score games. This is the National Football League.
Everybody's really well coached, everybody's really well trained, everybody has
has great players. You know, it's it's at an unprecedented
level where the league is right now. I mean everybody's good. Yeah,
(27:09):
it's it's competitive. Dogg eat dog for sure. You know,
tremendous in the AFC West, tremendous in every single division
as you look across pro football.
Speaker 4 (27:22):
So it is. It is something you got to get
prepared for. I mean, we know it.
Speaker 9 (27:27):
Uh, we're gonna play the Kansas City Chiefs Game one
in sath Paolo.
Speaker 4 (27:31):
Let's make sure we get ready for it.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
I've said for years, I always like Nause Harris. He
played in front of offensive lines that were kind of
couldn't quite get it right. And I think you do
occasionally find these players in the NFL that maybe the
fit's not perfect, and then they go to a second
place and you're like, oh, he's better than I thought.
I think Nause Harris is one of those guys. What
(27:55):
did you see about him when you looked on film
and Pittsburgh. What did you say, okay, that that's gonna
work here with the Chargers.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
Uh.
Speaker 9 (28:06):
It's everything that he does is is at a high
level and great and he's he's there every week, He's
there every game.
Speaker 4 (28:13):
Uh, and it's so cool.
Speaker 9 (28:15):
I mean you mentioned a little bit about being in
college before now and and guys you recruited, uh and
guys that that that I coached. I mean, nobody recruited
harder than Najie Harris, you know up in Antioch, California. Uh,
you know, as many trips as I could make I
made there.
Speaker 4 (28:32):
Uh yeah, and uh and Makai back then.
Speaker 9 (28:35):
I mean, I'm just I'm reminiscing going back to to
watching uh Makai play basketball and in high school and
being in a game where uh I see him see
him slam dunk of basketball and then uh then he
gets then he got elbowed. He got elbowed that he
might have broken his nose, and uh, he went over
the towel. There's play coming out. He throw him a
(28:55):
towel from the bench and you know, he wipes it.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
Off.
Speaker 9 (28:59):
I think he was out for like, uh you know,
like a whistle or two and then right back in
the game. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, that's that's my
kind of guy right there.
Speaker 4 (29:10):
You didn't then to come to Michigan. He with with
the Louisville and had a had a tremendous career. But uh,
just so.
Speaker 9 (29:17):
Many, so many great guys, so many great uh great
stories that way. Uh, and I get you know, you
get a chance to to to be a part of
it and coach these guys. I mean you can imagine
the excitement, you know, and still still kind of pull
it down, uh that we have justin Herbert and and
Derwin James. I mean I just I just loved him
(29:39):
watching him play football. Uh, you know, just an appreciation
for how he played the game. And now to be
able to get to coach him. Uh, I mean Derwin James,
he likes people that that like football. If you like football,
you're gonna like Derwin James. And he's gonna he's gonna
like you back. And yeah, you just pull it down
that you get to get to coach these guys. You know,
it's a it's uh best darn drive ever had Colin.
Speaker 3 (30:04):
I'll just say, you look good.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
You look you look a little betner than last year
you've had. You had a couple of hell things. Give
me an update. How do you feel, how are you doing?
How is your cause? You look good. You look younger
than the last time I had you. That's Southern California sushi.
Speaker 9 (30:19):
That's Jackie Harvall said. The said the same thing. Uh yeah,
I get that. Got a hip replaced. Uh, it's it's
working great, all patched up. The iron horse had to
go in for a few uh fine tunings, and I
had an ablazing had an Ablazian done. That was Uh,
it was, it was really really successful.
Speaker 4 (30:41):
It was Uh. I was really super happy. My uh
my doctor, doctor Shibata. Uh he came in and tell
me how it went. He goes went, he went good.
It went really good. And uh, I go what every
doctor says, it went good.
Speaker 9 (30:55):
I mean I never talked to a doctor after a
surgery that that that uh said it.
Speaker 4 (31:00):
Didn't go well.
Speaker 9 (31:01):
I go tell me about it, and he uh, I
mean he started describing what he did and and it
was like it was like a football player describing you
know the miraculous uh you know way that he scored
a touchdown.
Speaker 4 (31:15):
You know, he really I could tell, Okay, now we're getting.
Speaker 9 (31:18):
Somewhere, and uh he really he really feels uh really
feels good about it, you know, and uh he kind
of was described. Well, you know, why why did I
asked him, why why didn't they why didn't they fix
that issue? You know the the last time I had
this place, and well, you know it wasn't you know,
they're really good.
Speaker 4 (31:35):
Uh you know, the technology is a lot better. I go, na, doctor,
it was you, it was you.
Speaker 9 (31:42):
And uh so yeah, I feel you know, it just
it just fires you up when uh, when you get
that kind of you know, right here and.
Speaker 4 (31:49):
Uh right here in l A.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
By the way, you saw Tawny pitch last night. I
think he's it's just unbelievable. It's just unbelievable. He's good looking,
he's great, Like you talk about the whole package.
Speaker 3 (32:01):
He's magnetic.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
When you go to a Dodger game, it doesn't even
feel I mean, you know what great is when great
is when among great players they look.
Speaker 3 (32:12):
Up to you. I always used to say this about
Mike Tyson.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
Other heavyweight fighters were intimidated by Mike Tyson. That's what
great is You watched o'tani last night? What do you see?
Speaker 9 (32:24):
I was just blown away by the whole thing. Uh
just everything his his walk up.
Speaker 4 (32:29):
Song, I mean, uh you know, the uh.
Speaker 9 (32:33):
The way he puts his bat you know, at the
end of the top of the plate there and he
measures it and he puts his foot in the same
spot and uh, you know, I really watched him as
there was my son Jack who's a who's a twelve
year old baseball player, and son Johnny who's eight, and Katie,
and I'm going I just study him, just watch watch,
uh watch him. He's in a rhythm. Everything he does
(32:57):
is to create the rhythm. He does it the same
way every time. Look at that the pitching motion, whether
it's from the stretch or from the you know, from
the from.
Speaker 4 (33:05):
The wind up.
Speaker 9 (33:06):
H his his routine rhythm, rhythm, you know, rhythm, get
the rhythm, get there, you know, get the get the
freaking rhythm.
Speaker 4 (33:14):
Rhythm the rhythm, get the freaking rhythm. You know it's
you just watch.
Speaker 9 (33:18):
It with him and uh yeah, the the uh hit
him nukes a couple of nukes is uh. As Johnny
with my son eight year old, would say, uh, this incredible.
Speaker 4 (33:31):
The walk up song is is so good. Uh, just
everything about it.
Speaker 9 (33:35):
But that's sports, you know, Colin, You gotta you've got
to be able to uh to get the rhythm. You
get out of rhythm, you start trying to make adjustments
and and then you're out there, You're out there floundering.
So uh, youngsters and sports, uh, you know, get in
the rhythm, have that rhythm trained and practiced, and then
go do your job.
Speaker 4 (33:57):
Uh get the rhythm.
Speaker 9 (33:58):
And and uh and let the chips fall where they made.
But don't try to start start questioning yourself or making
uh making adjustments.
Speaker 4 (34:08):
I mean that's that's.
Speaker 9 (34:10):
Uh, that's probably my biggest takeaway of watching, uh watching
last night's game.
Speaker 3 (34:16):
Yeah, all right, and.
Speaker 4 (34:18):
Another l I guy, JJ Spahn, How cool was that?
Speaker 1 (34:22):
You know what's amazing is that JJ spon you here?
Did you hear the story that he literally his daughter
was sick? Is that JJ Spahn calling you? He's his
daughter that morning?
Speaker 4 (34:35):
Call her back?
Speaker 1 (34:37):
So his his daughter was throwing up Sunday morning, he
was up at three in the morning, went to a CVS.
He he was working on four hours sleep.
Speaker 4 (34:47):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (34:48):
And then he goes in rain delay and this kid
ends up hitting one of the great pots in the
history of the US Open.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
He was up at three in the morning driving to
a s He.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
Asked because his daughter, Well, that's what being a great
dad is. And he said, actually, he said, it took
my mind off golf. Yeah, I didn't think about golf.
I was worried about my daughter all day and I
was like, sixty four foot pot.
Speaker 3 (35:12):
That that's a winner right there.
Speaker 9 (35:14):
Yeah, how about the one where he hits the pin,
you know, hits the great shot in there and uh,
you know, kind of sucks up, then it hits the
pin and.
Speaker 4 (35:23):
Then it goes oh, brutal all the way back down.
I mean this, I mean one of the most brutal
breaks you could get.
Speaker 9 (35:29):
Uh, and uh, you know, it just he was just
a he was just an iron wall to that negativity that,
you know, just just just shattered in that adversity, that negativity,
you know, negativity just crumble and uh to watch him
go about his business, I mean, uh, it was Uh.
Speaker 4 (35:48):
It was tremendous.
Speaker 3 (35:50):
Okay, listen, Andy Reid right now is working on plays.
Speaker 1 (35:53):
You got to get back. I want some razzle dazzle
in that opener gym. I want something. I want something
with Mike Williams. I want some lad Maconkey double pass.
I want you to go because I that game. I
have you winning the division and he's a wildcard team,
so I know he's working right now. You got we
got to get back to work.
Speaker 3 (36:11):
Okay, Yes, sir, appreciate you having me on.
Speaker 4 (36:16):
Jim.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
It's great seeing you're smiling more than you ever had,
the great Jim Harbaugh.
Speaker 3 (36:19):
Thanks coach,
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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