March 2, 2021 • 41 mins
The most likely reason JJ Watt chose to play for the Cardinals
Dak Prescott is asking for Patrick Mahomes money
Zion is getting better and will one day be the face of the league
Guest: Mark Schlereth
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
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Find your local station for The Herd at Fox Sports
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(00:26):
live in Los Angeles. This show is called The Herd.
Wherever you may be and however you may be listening
Fox Sports Radio, iHeartRadio and f S one, it is
good to have you in today. All sorts of things happening.
JJ Watt yesterday, middle of our show decided to move
(00:46):
his act and his talent to Arizona and Joey Taylor
and I were in the Woe stage and the Wow
stage and didn't see that common stage. We're so often
surprised by where stars go. Joy, how are you? I'm great,
but a really wild NFL offseason. It's far and it
actually hasn't really even officially started. It's amazing how many
(01:09):
stars the transaction business in the NFL. Stafford, JJ Watt, Carson,
I want to talk about this so There was a
story out there yesterday. It was down to Buffalo in Arizona,
two different culture cities fan bases, and apparently somebody in
Buffalo reporter had talked to a former Texans coach and
(01:29):
they criticized JJ Watt. They said, quote, he's selfish, only
cared about his stats. He does a lot of things
that hurt the defense. I wouldn't want him. He cared.
He hurt us sometimes more than he helped us. So
what you're saying is he a little rogue that's been
the knock on in Dominican zoo for years. He's a
little bit of a you know, doing his own thing,
(01:49):
a little bit of a freelancer. For the record, i've
heard a little bit of that with JJ Watt a
little bit now this morning. It's interesting if I lined
up and this goes along the lines of what like
the big sports betting companies think. If I looked at
the NFC West this morning, I would take the Rams
to win the division. They won ten games last year
(02:09):
with Jared Goff. I think Matt Stafford's worth a win.
I'd have the Rams winning the NFC West at eleven
to five. I would have San Francisco if Jimmy Garoppolo
is healthy. If he's healthy, battling them for second place.
I'm selling some of my stock on Seattle, but they
have Russell Wilson, so I'd pick him third. In Arizona
fourth not a shot, but it's the best division in football.
(02:30):
So JJ Watt did not choose the best team in
his own division. He didn't choose the best roster in
his own division. He didn't choose the best Super Bowl
odds in his own division. He picked probably the fourth
best coach in a division. Some would argue the fourth
(02:54):
best quarterback in his division. He didn't choose an area
that was closer to home. Arizona was fourth in sacks
last year. He didn't choose a place where he'd have
the greatest impact. It may just be this easy. J J.
Watt chose the place that was best for him and
(03:14):
his wife, Kalia, and that's it. She's a pro athlete,
he's a pro athlete. They don't have to have a
second home with warm weather. They can go train in
the off season. It's just a good place to play
some golf, drinks to Margharita's in the off season, and
he and his wife can train together outdoors in their
beautiful house. Matt Stafford, by the way, was on the
market many suitors. He chose the Rams, which is the
(03:39):
toughest division in football. Why we found out, you're just
like He liked Los Angeles. He had a home here,
he liked the weather, off, seasons are easier. He's kind
of worn out from Michigan winners. I mean, he grew
up in Texas, played at Georgia. He was tired of
the winners. Think about where the Stars choose. Kd chose
Brooklyn Kawhi chose the Clippers. Tom Brady chose the Buccaneers.
(04:09):
As you age, things that were less important become really important.
Think about the final two choices for JJ Watt on
one shoulder as a little Buffalo bill, Hey, we are
a player away from a Super Bowl. You are gonna
win the division, and the airside was it was a
(04:33):
little devil and he was wearing Arizona colors and he's like,
it is Buffalo. You're gonna have to have a second home.
Does your wife for only want to live in Buffalo
to jump on tables and it's kind of crazy. Arizona's
more laid back. You can golf in the off season.
You can golf in the season. Think about the two
places that were the final places. He probably felt guilty
(04:57):
a little bit for choosing Arizona, So you can 's
Buffalo because that was as joint I talked about, that's
the place where he can Literally, they're gonna win their
division next year. They feel like they're a pass rush
away from the super Bowl. Tennessee doesn't. Green Bay doesn't.
Necessarily they already had a pretty good pass rush. So
the final two places came down to one place where
it made total football sense, and they finished second to
(05:19):
the place that didn't make really any football sense. And
that's okay. We tend to in the media try to
figure out what the best place for the athlete is
he fits the scheme, Hey, the division and Lebron James
chose Miami they weren't good when he got there, and
(05:39):
the Lakers they were terrible when he got there. Both
cities for a kid that grew up in Akron, a
lot of sex appeal, a lot of fun. You can
get free agents to come and play there. We're always
trying to figure out where players are gonna go. We're
almost always wrong. In my gut feeling this morning. And
I've moved forward different times to different places. I think, Joe,
(06:01):
you've moved three or four different times. It's never you
get that yellow notepad out. And I guarantee that JJ
Watt did with his wife Kayleia, and they wrote down stuff,
and we'd be wrong in all the guesses. And I'm
here to tell you, I bet some of what was this.
Cliff Kingsbury has a reputation. He doesn't grind players at practice.
(06:22):
He's very Sean McVeigh. JJ Watson Hall of Famer. Does
he want to grind it practice? JJ Watt shows up
on Sunday and kicks your rs. He doesn't need to
grind at practice. You don't want to get hurt at practice.
You mean to put that one down? Where did my
wife and I in the offseason? You know you live
in a cold place. You gotta have a second home
in Arizona. Don't so all those little things you write
(06:44):
now on a list as we age. You know, when
I was twenty, professional success was everything. I'm fifty. I'm
more into my kids success like pro athletes are the same.
Kaded of Brooklyn Kawhie of the Clippers, Brady, the Buccaneers,
JJ Watt to Arizona. It may have just been as
simple as I'm married. Now the off seasons matter. Now.
(07:06):
Money's good enough and winning if it happens, great. If
it doesn't, I still make the Hall of Fame, and
that's okay too. All Right, So I saw this story.
Jane Slater is a reporter. I trust she is talking.
Her sources are telling her. Yesterday the Dan Patrick Show
on how Dak is not budging on his salary demands.
(07:31):
There's money was in the ballpark of Russell Wilson slash
Jared Goff type money. Now he's looking to be paid
right behind Patrick Mahomes a guy who's gone to the
Super Bowl two years in a row. Dak hasn't done
that yet, so they feel like it's been a respectable offer.
His camp believes that he needs to bear what the
market value is, and they feel like this deals should
(07:52):
have gotten done two years ago. So your problems with
money aren't our problems. It's about respect. If you trust
that report, and I do, is it possible? Devoted and
dependable Deck has become delusional Deck. So let's pretend we'll
play game here that quarterbacks were paid in order based
(08:15):
on two things. Now, talent's obviously a big deal, but
I think it's actually second place to how valuable you are,
because I've seen Bill Belichick give up a lot of
talented players. He rarely gives up valuable players. In fact,
our sports leagues all have awards called most Valuable Player.
None of them have most talented player. Joy. And I've
(08:36):
been in this business for thirty years. Companies move on
from talented people all the time, valuable people, and I'll
move on from valuable people. So if you were paid
based on your talent and how valuable you are to me,
there's three tiers. The first tier is four guys, Russell Wilson,
(08:56):
Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Josh Allen. And let me
describe each. Seattle runs an anequated offense. Pete Carroll was
fired twice and had a losing record in Seattle before
Russell Wilson. What is Seattle offensively without Russell Wilson. Tom
Brady not only moves your team in the right direction,
(09:16):
he gives you super Bowls At the end. He changed
a goofy buccaneer franchise into a place. Now we argue
everybody wants to play. Aaron Rodgers doesn't give you many
super Bowls, but Green Bay has historically been awful when
he doesn't play. And then Josh Allen. Josh Allen's their
best running back. He's their best running weapon, he's their
best throwing weapon. On a historically last twenty years in
(09:39):
that franchise. They're now a Super Bowl conversation team. The
second tier, and I know what you're saying, Patrick Mahomes. Well,
Annie Reid has thirteen playoff wins without Patrick Mahomes. Two
years ago they beat the playoff Vikings without Patrick Mahomes
and should have beaten the Packers. The Kansas City Chiefs
(10:01):
were a good franchise forever without Patrick Mahomes and with
all their weapons today, if Patrick Mahomes was not the
Chiefs quarterback, I believe we saw it with Alex Smith,
they'd be a playoff team. So the second tier. Patrick
Mahomes is a mega talent, but not quite as valuable
as the verse four. Deshaun Watson again mega talent, but
he went four and twelve this year. It Oh, by
the way, Bill O'Brien won that division with Brock Osweiler.
(10:26):
Look it up. I did. I don't remember it, but
it happened. Lamar Jackson is damn good, but Baltimore won
a lot of games in the Super Bowl without him,
and then Jimmy Garoppolo. I know what you're saying. Come on, Colin,
Kyle Shanahan is a great coach. Has won twenty five
percent of his NFL games without Kyle, without Jimmy Garoppolo.
(10:47):
I'm sorry, I hurt your feelings. That's called valuable. Everybody
else in the NFL is Tier three, pretty talented, sometimes valuable.
Let's remember that in the last seventeen starts, Dak Prescott
is six and eleven. They were five and five with
(11:08):
Andy Dalton last year, if you count the game he
came in initially and led them do a win against
the New York Giants. They were behind, Dak got hurt,
he came in and won. He was Dak was eight
and eight in twenty nineteen, six and eleven as last
seventeen starts, and in games he started and finished last year,
(11:28):
he was one and three. Andy Dalton, if you count
the game he replaced Dak against the Giants, was five
and five. Now, Dak's better than Andy Dalton. I am
not in any way insinuating he is not. But if
Dak is saying, this morning, I'm worth Patrick Mahomes money,
I'm gonna struggle with that. And I like Dak, but
(11:49):
that's dependable devoted Dak to delusional Dak. You gotta kind
to know if you go into contract negotiations, you gotta
you gotta kind of know the temperature in the room.
To me, there's four guys that are Tier one. They
can kind of name their price. There's another four or
(12:12):
five guys, maybe even more talented, but don't quite feel
as valuable to the franchise. Garoppolo would be the opposite.
I don't think he's a mega talent, but I think
he's super valuable to San Francisco everybody else. It's kind
of tier three obviously, a Dak maybe a higher tier
three or a Matt Ryan, And you know, Baker's probably
(12:34):
somewhat valuable. But if that's true, he sees himself as
Mahomes money class. Maybe that's why Jerry Jones may franchise
them again, and that may be the reason coming up next.
(12:54):
Whenever you watch a sporting event, watch the commercials, because
the commercials will tell you who the audience is for
the sporting event. Ever watch a golf event and it's
like American Express and it's Buick. Older people watch golf.
If you watch the NBA, it's Mountain Dew, It's Burger King. Hey,
(13:15):
younger people watch the NBA. Leagues will tell you who
is watching based on the commercials, and leagues also tell you.
Right now, the NBA is telling you Zion's about to
become our most popular player more than Lebron and I'll
talk about that coming up. Be sure to catch live
editions of The Herd weekdays and noon eastern nine am
(13:36):
Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeart Radio.
I Hey, what's up everybody? It's me three time pro
bowler le Warrington and I couldn't be more excited to
announce a new podcast called up Point Game. What is
up onint Game? You asked, along with my fellow pro
bowler T J. Hushman Zada and Super Bowl champion Yep.
(13:57):
That's right, Plexico Burris, you can only name us show
with that type of talent on it. Up on Game.
We're going to be sharing our real life experiences loaded
with teachable moments. Listen to up on Game with me,
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on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get
(14:19):
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It's rare in professional sports, at least in this country,
(14:40):
where somebody who becomes iconic is a late bloomer or
we don't really know about him early, and all of
a sudden we figure out, Wow. I mean, you know,
we talked about Lebron at sixteen, Bryce Harper at seventeen,
Tiger Woods at thirteen. That's just kind of the reality
of how it works. A few late bloomers become a
(15:02):
face of the league. Now you could say, oh, Patrick Mahomes,
but all football players go to three or four years
of college, and by the end of his first year
there were rumors he was amazing, and by his second
year in the league he became really, really, really the
most talked about quarterback in the NFL not named Tom
Brady or maybe Aaron Rodgers, so Mahomes is not a
late bloomer, but it's interesting. Zion Williamson watched them last night. Again.
(15:24):
He's getting better every game. The best team in the
NBA so far has been the Utah Jazz, and he
was dominant last night again. I would make the argument
today that Zion Williamson is the second or third most
popular player in the NBA. I think Lebron and Steph
Curry go back and forth. I think Steph is very
relatable to young kids because he's small like young kids,
(15:47):
where Lebron looks just so monstrous and big. I think
Lebron and Staff are the two most popular players in
the league. I think Zion's already number three. Katie and
Harden are great, but their personalities are a little odd.
Jannison Kawhi are quiet, necessarily dynamic personalities. But have you
noticed anything Utahs the number one team in the league.
The NBA's not rushing to put them on TV. The
(16:08):
NBA didn't rush to put New Orleans on TV when
they had Anthony Davis. Is anybody noticing how ESPN and
TNT are fighting to get Zion Williamson on television. It
reminds me when Tim Tebow was in the NFL. I
was told by an executive that Tebow articles on Sunday
night after the games were getting five and six times
(16:29):
like the Patriot articles with Brady or the Giants articles
with Eli. I think the NBA's found their next face
in the league, and I think it's Zion, and I
think he's already the third most popular player. I remember
a couple of years ago, it may have been five
or six years ago, and I've said this on the
air with Joyce several times. When sixty Minutes came out
and said Yannis is the face of the league. I'm like,
(16:49):
I didn't know who he was until like year three
in the NBA. Zion has three things that are really
really important. Number One, he played at Duke and his
shoe exploded and there was controversy around him, so we
knew him as a teenager. I didn't know Yannis until
I didn't know Kauai until he'd been in the league
like three years. I didn't know Yannis. It's one thing
(17:12):
for Bryce Harper, who he's in the minors, and I
knew him in high school. It's another thing, like we
didn't talk about Mike Trout and then he went to
the Angels and he had to be great. Before we
talked about him being great, we talked about Bryce Harper
being great in the eight Bigs when he was in
high school. So Zion played at Duke. That's why I've
always defended college basketball. It's a good platform. NBA should
(17:32):
use it more. And we knew who he was early,
plus the internet his dunks. Secondly is his game is
not only dynamic, it doesn't look like anybody else's game.
I remember when Magic Johnson came into the NBA. There'd
never been a six eight and a half point guard.
He didn't even look like other guards. Magic had kind
of a funky shot. He didn't shoot like anybody else.
(17:55):
He didn't play like anybody else. Zion's game doesn't look
like anybody else's game. And number three, his personality. Like Magic,
He's likable, he smiles. He wanted to play when a
shoe exploded, he wanted to come back to college basketball,
but he said, all my agents and stuff said I
probably need to go pro. I'd love to come back
and play college basketball. I think he's the third most
(18:18):
popular guy in the league. We knew him early. His
game is crazy and crazy different, and I find the
guy incredibly likable. That's not that James Harden isn't likable,
he's a little odd. Kawhi is quiet. I mean, Jannis,
we didn't kind of figure him out till later. And
his game is good, but there's holes in it and
(18:39):
it's I don't find it terribly dynamic, although there are
moments when he makes great plays. But if you look
at how hard the NBA is working to get Zion
on television, that tells you everything. They're looking at data
and they're looking at research, and he is jumping and
popping off the charts. They're not doing that with Kauai.
(19:02):
I mean, they're not Dame Lillard's great. They're not doing
that with the Trailblazers. They didn't do it with a
d and the Pelicans. They're not doing it with John Morant.
They're doing it with historically irrelevant New Orleans and Zion.
Joy Taylor with the News No, No, this is the
herd line News Well forty nine ers GM John Lynch
(19:23):
said last week that he had no doubt that Jimmy
Garoppolo would be the team's quarterback in twenty twenty one
if he's healthy, but they're still rumored to be looking
at other options. They reportedly called the Panthers who ask
about potentially trading for Teddy Bridgewater. Well, Teddy's got injury
stuff too. It's very strange. That's a weird one. Does
(19:45):
somebody have phone records? How do they know that? That's weird? Well, look,
it's it's a very it's it's a trusted source. Athletic
is reporting this. Yes, I just find it kind of
interesting that that wouldn't be the fit on Lynch would
come out and say that, and then there's still reports
that they were Can you and I agree with this?
(20:07):
They're moving off Jimmy G in a year, yes, so,
and I think if they had a viable option right
now they would move off him now. I agree, but
they don't. And it's not because of talents, because although
there are some people out there who don't like Jimmy
G talent wise, he's shown what he can do. He
wins when he's healthy. The problem with Jimmy G is
(20:30):
he's always injured. He's missed twenty three games to injury.
Remember when the Kirk Cousin rumors came out and we
were both all the Stye Wall was. I was like
Kirk Cousins. Kirk Cousins never missed a start. He missed
a week seventeen start years ago, playoffs, So what Kyle Shanahan.
That's why Bridgewater makes no sense to me, because Teddy's
had some traumatic injury. I don't think that Teddy is
a fit there. I don't, but and I do think
(20:52):
that Carolina is actively trying to move off of Teddy,
and I think that they will whether they're going through
this season or not. It's depending on what they know,
depend what they do in the draft and the rest
of free agency. But the thing with Jimmy g is,
while he may be capable, obviously we've seen him play
in a Super Bowl and be one throwaway from winning it,
the amount of injuries brings him down to this level
(21:15):
of quarterback because after a while, it's exhausting to have
to constantly be worried about if he's going to be available.
It is, but for the time being, like I said
to start the show, in this moment, he's really valuable
because Kyle Shanahan can't go into another year and finish
third or fourth again. But he might because Jimmy G
might get hurt again. He might, but listen with the fact,
(21:39):
the fact that they already haven't moved off him with
his injuries tells you, we don't have anybody better. No,
they don't. But it doesn't surprise me that they are
making so many calls because you really, it becomes impossible
to game plan and to plan for your season when
you don't know if your franchise quarterback is going to
be available. And that's not Jimmy G's fault, it's just
the way that it is. He's injured a lot, a
(22:00):
lot of time. In an understatement, he's missed twenty three
games and not that long of a career. Yeah, it's
impossible to plan for that. So Tom Brady pulled off
the dream season, winning his seventh Super Bowl in his
first year in Tampa, but he didn't spend too much
time celebrating the accomplishment. Buck's quarterback coach Clyde Christensen revealed
he got a call from Brady the very next morning,
(22:21):
ready to get their work on next season. He said.
Brady said, I was just sitting here thinking, and I
think we can really be better next year. I think
we're going to be a better team. He was already
excited about the next year. It's amazing that's how his
mind works. He's barely been in a couple of hours
and he's already thinking about it the next morning. Tom,
you gotta enjoy the wins sometimes, Laddy like it. Just
live a little. Yeah. But it's funny. So we all
(22:44):
sleep eight hours a day, and theoretically we all work
eight hours a day, and that gives you eight more hours. Yeah,
And I think about this all the time. My daughter
always goes, Dad, you're you know, for an old guy,
you're really productive. And I'm always like, will you sleep
eight and work eight? What are you gonna do? Old? Yeah,
that's true, but like, what do you do for eight hours?
Is it possible? So you have a lot of life.
(23:08):
Your days are long. Tom Brady could have had seven
and a half great hours with his family that day
and then called this guy and said, you know, I
actually I was thinking about this driving to the store,
driving out to you know, the bay here. I think
we're gonna be better next year. So that story sounds
like Tom has no life. But if you think about
the average I think about this all the time. Is
(23:29):
that I this Sunday, for instance, I had to do
a podcast, but I sat and watched an NBA game,
and I watched a movie, and I thought, what a loser.
I sat in my hotel room for three and a
half hours. I was so discouraged. And then I thought
to myself, what my daughter says, That's just life. You
got a lot of time in your life. But also
NBA is technically work. Yeah, I guess so. But I
(23:51):
guess my point is the idea that Tom's obsessed. He
could have had seven and a half hours of his
non sleeping night. Yeah, it's not like he was send
him a power point presentation on what he's got going
on next year, but it is the mentality of it.
Success is not an accident. Yeah, thank you. And there
are outliers where people get given opportunities and their overnight successes,
(24:16):
and then most of the time in overnight success is
ten or twenty years into making and sustained success is
most certainly not an accident. That is dedication and hard work.
And Tom Brady has shown that. And the reason that
he has the respect that he has around the league
and the reason that all of his teammates embrace him
the way that they did and followed him is because
he leads by example. He's not just out there saying
(24:38):
I'm the best in walking in with an error about
him that you know all that I've accomplished. He wakes
up the next morning thinking about how to get better
every day, and that is something that you can't fake.
People see that, they appreciate it, and it rubs off
on other people. And it can't be argued because he
went to Tampa in his first year and won a
Super Bowl. So the proof is there. Yeah, sustained success
(24:58):
is not an accident. Tom's mind leads him to great places.
So James Harden led the Nets with a big win
over the Spurs last night. He recorded a triple double
in the one two thirteen overtime win, which was his
seventh since joined the Nets. He also became the first
player to record a thirty point fifteen assists and at
least ten rebound triple double with no turnovers, so being
(25:20):
very efficient and after the game, Kyrie said, there's only
more good things to come for James Harden in Brooklyn.
I think we have to implement the phrase get used
to it. When James being James, it makes all our
job a lot easier, and you know, like I said,
we got to get used to somethingbody special like that
doing you know, things like that in terms of breaking records.
(25:43):
So I can't wait to be right alongside him with
my name and nets history, you know, alongside Katie, alongside
bb alongside Joe, a longside all the guys on our
team where we're just breaking records as a team and
then individually, you know, we're stacking up with some of
the best to ever play. They did let the Spurs
get and at the end of the game and go
to overtime, but I liked how they came back together
(26:05):
after slipping a little bit and letting it go to overtime.
It's really not a good sequence at the end of
the game. I just Bolyn is doing. The only question
for Brooklyn now, I mean really, the only question now
is when you play a team, when you go to
the playoffs and you play the same team over and
over and over and over, and it's like, obviously, Brooklyn
(26:27):
is a real problem when you don't have a lot
of prep with the NBA squestions. Yeah, yeah, so we
have a condensed schedule. If you just like what Brooklyn's doing,
they are a real problem. You just don't have the
time to implement a defensive strategy to stop three of
the best basketball players in the world. The only question
now for Brooklyn for us, Joy is okay, now they
faced Brad Stevens or any good coach, Toronto's coach six
(26:52):
times in two weeks, can you find some rhythm defensively?
Because I'm not even like, I'm certainly not worried about
Rod Stevenson. They don't have that. But this is obviously
with a condensed schedule, Brooklyn's going to score one hundred
and twenty eight a night, and you just have to
deal with You have the deal with it. You have to.
You have to also be able to score and take
advantage of any kind of breakdowns like they did last night.
(27:14):
We don't let the spurs creep back in it. Good stuff,
Joy with the news. Well that's the news, and thanks
for stopping by. The herd Line News. Got three Super
Bowls and a couple of Pro Bowls. He's a Fox
Sports NFL analyst, does commentary, does games. He's our friend.
He's Mark Schlereth. He's joining us. Brought to you by Mercedes.
Ben's the best or Nothing. Saul, can you take me
(27:34):
into the mind of a great player. JJ Watt chose
the Arizona Cardinals. I could argue that have the fourth
best coach in the division. I could argue that have
the fourth best roster in the division. And my argument
is he and his wife, Kayalia, they may have just said,
you know, you don't have to have a second home
if you live there, it's a good place to work
out in the off season. It could have been that
simple that it was just there's quality of life stuff.
(27:55):
I mean, what's your takeaway? Oh yeah, I think that,
you know, I think you talk about JJ Wat. He's
a thoughtful guy and it is about him, and it's
about his wife. It's about her career as well as
his career. But I would say this, like, what's like
the teams that were reported offering JJ Watt Tennessee, Indianapolis,
and Cleveland, And I would say this, which of those
(28:17):
quarterbacks has the highest potential ceiling if you're gonna go
play with one of those quarterbacks. First off, you go
to Arizona, you already reunited with DeAndre Hopkins, a buddy
of yours right that you played in Houston with, So
you've got some familiarity there, You've got the two best
what sack artists in the game over the last decade
in JJ Watt and Chandler Jones, and you've got a
(28:39):
quarterback that has an incredibly high ceiling. Yeah. So I
would say of the teams that seemed to be offering
because we all thought, hey, Green Bay or Kansas City,
but if they weren't in the mix, and those were
the teams offering you, I can make a very compelling
argument that at eight and eight last year, with those
added editions, you have the best chance of actually being
competitive for a playoff run. Now tough division, no question
(29:01):
about it, but a lot of questions that division with
you know Stafford coming over to Los Angeles, and obviously
with what's going on in Seattle with Russell Wilson. So
I think I can make a compelling argument that those
those teams that were offering you the best chance to
win and win big is in Arizona. So Dak Prescott
story yesterday, Jane Slater says he wants respect, he wants
(29:23):
Patrick Mahomes money, And I said earlier, I think we're
going from dependable Dack to slightly delusional Dack. What do
you make on these new reports that he's not budging
and he wants Patrick Mahomes money. Well, I mean I
would look at this situation with Dak Prescott and say,
what were you doing two years ago? I mean, if
we look back at Jimmy G. You were just talking
(29:43):
about Jimmy Ge. Remember when Jimmy G signed his contract
and all of a sudden it was like, oh, could
you believe they're spending that kind of money on Jimmy
G a former second rounder? And what are they doing now?
That contract is a bargain? And I look at Dallas
all these the last two year, you're shuffling their feet,
not getting a deal done, throwing out you know, the
(30:04):
news to hit the news cycle, like can you believe
what he's turning? What he's turning down? Like I look
at this and I completely pin the whole thing on
the Dallas Cowboys. You didn't take care of your quarterback.
And I know you don't want to spend top dollar
for your quarterback, but if you'd just spend it two
years ago, gets what he'd be a bargain right now,
(30:24):
and you were unwilling to do it two years ago,
and you've put yourself in this position. I don't blame
a guy for wanting to maximize his value. And the
value out there for quarterbacks, we've seen it, right. I mean,
Matthew Staffords played twelve years in the league, has been
in the playoffs, what he's never won a playoff game,
has been in the playoffs a handful of times, and
they traded him for two first rounders. So you tell
(30:45):
me what the value of a quarterback is. I mean,
obviously in a quarterback starved league, it's huge. So I
don't blame a guy for max trying to maximize his value.
I want to ask you. The draft is coming up,
and you know you're not some draft specialist. You don't
play aim to be, but I have this. So I
was Zach Wilson's the new hot guy, and now people
(31:06):
are now saying, hey, he not that far from you know, Lawrence,
Trevor Lawrence. And so I remember the first time I
saw Zach Wilson play, it was against Utah and he lost,
and Kyle Whittingham's a defensive coach. And then at the
second time I saw me played the University of Washington,
Chris Peterson defensive coach, and he got blown out. And
the third time I saw me played Utah again and
(31:28):
he lost worse. Oh and three against top twenty five teams.
His bowl wins are over like you know, directional schools.
And every time I watched him play a great defensive
coach or a really high end team, he lost. But yet,
and by the way, he was kind of mad as
a freshman. As a sophomore this year he popped and
I think to myself, well, my eyes told me against
(31:50):
the good teams, you know he can line up and
play with the big boys. I never saw him line
up and go toe to toe and beat the big boys.
Am I that is? I? Am I making too big
of a deal out of that? And go back to
your career because you came from a smaller school. Or
should I look at a college kid who every time
I watched him against the big boys, frankly wasn't very special.
(32:13):
What do you make of that using your career and
what you've seen. Well, I would go back to roster
building and how important is your roster And you know,
we always downgrade a guy because he didn't play against
great competition, right, because he played at a smaller school.
But I would always look at that situation and say, hey, man,
(32:34):
he's competing against those those smaller schools. And when you
take your school and you go against the big boys
at every position, you're out man. And so I'll go
back to, you know, Josh Allen. Look at what Josh
Allen has been able to accomplish in Buffalo in three years,
and look at how he steadily improved as a as
(32:58):
a quarterback, you know. And there were a lot of
people saying, well, the accuracy isn't there, and he didn't
compete against big schools. He played at Wyoming when he played.
So I don't look like a lot of draftnicks. I
don't look at playing in a smaller school as detrimental
to a guy's development. I look at his skill set,
I look at his arm talent, I look at his footwork,
(33:19):
I look at his just his presence in the pocket,
his accuracy down the field, and I think all those
things are really good. And a lot of times what
ends up happening is when you play at a smaller
school with lesser athletes on the outside. Man, you have
to make accurate throws, like big time, tight window throws.
And when you play at a school where you only
face light competition two or three times a year. You don't.
(33:43):
And what's open in the NFL, like, what's wide open
in the NFL is completely covered in college. Like that's
a shocking reality for most quarterbacks who leave college and
come to the NFL. The coaches like, you got to
throw that ball, and like, well, he wasn't open, And
the coaches like, no, he was wide open. And I
think smaller school guys sometimes have a better adaptability at
(34:05):
those things. When they come into the NFL, it's less
there's less of a window to adapt to that. That's
pretty good. You kind of shot my theory down all
the heck, my theory doesn't mean anything anymore. You just
blew it up. Not it's a good point with John
because I look at him and I watched them against
Utah and Washington. I was like, I don't really see it.
I mean, it's talented, you can tell you's an NFL player,
(34:27):
But the Josh Allen stuff is good. Well, thanks for
blowing up my argument there. I really appreciate that. All right,
My pleasure. Good seeing you, buddy, Mark Slareth. Likewise, you
bet Matt Moseley next hour is going to join us. Reporter,
a long time talk show host in Dallas. Regarding to
that situation coming up next. You know they always say,
and people go to Facebook. I'm not on Facebook daily
(34:50):
the show is, but people go to Facebook, and that's
where a fair start and you go back to your
high school girlfriend or high school boyfriend, college boyf friend,
college girlfriend. You reunite with an old flame, and that,
of course is because memories are often greater than reality.
(35:11):
There's a reason she dumped you. Okay, what that has
to do with dak thoughts on that Next, be sure
to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays and noon
Easter ninety and Pacific. Hey, what's up everybody? It's me
three time pro bowler LeVar Rington and I couldn't be
more excited to announce a new podcast called Up on Game.
(35:34):
What is Up on Game? You asked, along with my
fellow pro bowler t J. Hushman's outa and Super Bowl champion. Yep,
that's right, Plexico Burrds. You can only name a show
with that type of talent on it. Up on Game
We're going to be sharing our real life experiences loaded
with teachable moments. Listen to Up on Game with me
(35:55):
LeVar Arrington, t J. Hushman's Otta and Plexico Birds on
the iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts from.
Michelin Endurance XT silicone wiper blades don't crack with a heat,
don't crack with a cold, design to repel water and
get yours today only at Walmart. So um I was
(36:17):
saying before the break that I don't go to Facebook,
but people that do they always talk about kind of
the Facebook effect where a lot of affairs start on Facebook,
where you know, guys look up their high school flame
or college flame, or women look up their high school
flame or college flame. And that's because your memories are
greater than reality. There's a reason you dumped him and
(36:38):
then married somebody else and had beautiful kids is that
your memories are much greater than reality. People generally don't
remember pain. They often say that's why women have multiple children,
because they don't remember how painful sometimes childbirth can be.
You don't remember the pain. You remember the good times
in relationships too, And so I don't go to Facebook.
(36:58):
But that's that's the effect of it. Now it's about
Dak Prescott, who now wants to be paid like Patrick Mahomes.
Let's talk about not the memories. Let's talk about the
reality of Dak. These are all facts, not opinions. Last
seventeen starts, he's six and eleven. Fourteen of his wins,
that's a lot of wins have come against Washington and
(37:19):
the Giants rebuilding seven and two against one, seven and
one against the other. Last four years, majority of his
wins against those two crappy teams. And in twenty nineteen
another reality. End of the year to get into the
playoffs against New England or Philadelphia, both, especially Philadelphia injury
ravaged teams, he couldn't generate one touchdown drive. More reality.
(37:42):
As they've become less about Zeke and more about Dak,
the Cowboys win less. In fact, if you go back
to every year Dak and Zeke have been in the
league together, twenty sixteen to twenty twenty, I have all
the numbers on the screen. I will not bore the
radio audience, but his rushing totals have gone down every year,
and as you see quite obviously, the team gets worse.
(38:02):
So the less it's about Zeke and the more it's
about Dak, because Zeke now is a pretty average running
back and the Cowboys are a pretty average football team.
So those that's the reality of what we have now
with Dak. That's the reality six and eleven, last seventeen,
a majority of his wins against the rebuilding Giants and
the rebuilding Washington football team couldn't generate a touchdown twenty nineteen.
(38:24):
End of the year against Philadelphia and New England. And
the more they rely on Dak and the less they
rely on Zeke, the less they win. Those are not
now the Facebook effect. Let's go to the memories, Oh,
thirteen and three in his rookie season. Well, let's go
to that year. Let's go to the thirteen because that's
(38:47):
where we're like, Holy Molly, he's good. The Cowboys were
number one in rushing percentage, number two in rushing yards
a game, number two in rushing touchdowns, and number three
in rushing average. This was Zeke's team. Zeke rush for
six tish of a lot of yards. Zeke rush for
fifteen touchdowns and sixteen hundred yards. And if you recall,
(39:09):
I remember that rookie year. It was the first time
in my life that I talked about an offensive line.
Remember that Dallas team. I mean they were just all
those offensive linemen were in their prime. They were all
first round picks. You know, the San Francisco forty nine
ers have all those first round picks in their defensive line.
We talked about it the Super Bowl year. The Cowboys
were the opposite. They had all these first round offensive
(39:32):
linemen and they were all in their prime. They just
bowled people over. You couldn't get to Dak. You couldn't
stop Zeke. Do you have many yards? Sixteen hundred yards
is fifteen touchdowns? Your memory is Dak is thirteen and three.
It was Zeke's team. You couldn't stop him. I remember
this Pittsburgh game. You could not stop them. And so
I think it's the Facebook effect. I think we're getting
(39:53):
a little bit of our memories of early Dak aren't
really the reality of early Dak or certainly later Dak.
Is that I'm not saying he doesn't have qualities I
like and admire. I'm not saying when he wasn't carted
off the field, I didn't get emotional like, and I'm
not saying he's not a franchise quarterback. I'm not I'm
not saying any of those things. He has a franchise quarterback.
(40:15):
He's reliable, he's tough, he had one flukey injury. I
mean he's you know, he's been good with Jerry Jones.
He stood behind him. He's always ready to play. He
you know, he tends to. He's got kind of a
quality where he can struggle in football games to find
a rhythm, but late in games, he's never afraid of
the moment. I like that about him. Kirk Cousins is talented.
(40:36):
Sometimes feels like he shrinks in the moment. I think
Dak lacks some certain great talents, but I never think
he shrinks in the moment. But I do think we've
come to a you know, that fork in the road
where the memories are fuzzy. We're romanticizing stuff more. You
you go to a psychologist, if you're ever really going
(40:59):
a deep die with a psychologist, they'll all tell you
the same things. We always embellish our childhood. It was
either greater or worse than it really was. Most people
have sort of, you know, a little chaos in childhood,
go to school, have friends. It's never as great as
we recall. It's probably never as bad as most people recall.
You know, we were all goofy. We're all kids. We
(41:22):
all cried, we all hit, we struck out a lot,
hit a couple of game winning shots, but we were
goofy kids. I think with Dak, we're going a little
overboard on the memories and we need to be more
honest about the realities our two on a Tuesday. Next
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday from twelve to three eastern,
nine to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS one.
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 Herd. You're listening to Fox
Sports Radio. Oh, here we go on a Tuesday. We're
(00:26):
live in Los Angeles. This show is called The Herd.
Wherever you may be and however you may be listening
Fox Sports Radio, iHeartRadio and f S one, it is
good to have you in today. All sorts of things happening.
JJ Watt yesterday, middle of our show decided to move
(00:46):
his act and his talent to Arizona and Joey Taylor
and I were in the Woe stage and the Wow
stage and didn't see that common stage. We're so often
surprised by where stars go. Joy, how are you? I'm great,
but a really wild NFL offseason. It's far and it
actually hasn't really even officially started. It's amazing how many
(01:09):
stars the transaction business in the NFL. Stafford, JJ Watt, Carson,
I want to talk about this so There was a
story out there yesterday. It was down to Buffalo in Arizona,
two different culture cities fan bases, and apparently somebody in
Buffalo reporter had talked to a former Texans coach and
(01:29):
they criticized JJ Watt. They said, quote, he's selfish, only
cared about his stats. He does a lot of things
that hurt the defense. I wouldn't want him. He cared.
He hurt us sometimes more than he helped us. So
what you're saying is he a little rogue that's been
the knock on in Dominican zoo for years. He's a
little bit of a you know, doing his own thing,
(01:49):
a little bit of a freelancer. For the record, i've
heard a little bit of that with JJ Watt a
little bit now this morning. It's interesting if I lined
up and this goes along the lines of what like
the big sports betting companies think. If I looked at
the NFC West this morning, I would take the Rams
to win the division. They won ten games last year
(02:09):
with Jared Goff. I think Matt Stafford's worth a win.
I'd have the Rams winning the NFC West at eleven
to five. I would have San Francisco if Jimmy Garoppolo
is healthy. If he's healthy, battling them for second place.
I'm selling some of my stock on Seattle, but they
have Russell Wilson, so I'd pick him third. In Arizona
fourth not a shot, but it's the best division in football.
(02:30):
So JJ Watt did not choose the best team in
his own division. He didn't choose the best roster in
his own division. He didn't choose the best Super Bowl
odds in his own division. He picked probably the fourth
best coach in a division. Some would argue the fourth
(02:54):
best quarterback in his division. He didn't choose an area
that was closer to home. Arizona was fourth in sacks
last year. He didn't choose a place where he'd have
the greatest impact. It may just be this easy. J J.
Watt chose the place that was best for him and
(03:14):
his wife, Kalia, and that's it. She's a pro athlete,
he's a pro athlete. They don't have to have a
second home with warm weather. They can go train in
the off season. It's just a good place to play
some golf, drinks to Margharita's in the off season, and
he and his wife can train together outdoors in their
beautiful house. Matt Stafford, by the way, was on the
market many suitors. He chose the Rams, which is the
(03:39):
toughest division in football. Why we found out, you're just
like He liked Los Angeles. He had a home here,
he liked the weather, off, seasons are easier. He's kind
of worn out from Michigan winners. I mean, he grew
up in Texas, played at Georgia. He was tired of
the winners. Think about where the Stars choose. Kd chose
Brooklyn Kawhi chose the Clippers. Tom Brady chose the Buccaneers.
(04:09):
As you age, things that were less important become really important.
Think about the final two choices for JJ Watt on
one shoulder as a little Buffalo bill, Hey, we are
a player away from a Super Bowl. You are gonna
win the division, and the airside was it was a
(04:33):
little devil and he was wearing Arizona colors and he's like,
it is Buffalo. You're gonna have to have a second home.
Does your wife for only want to live in Buffalo
to jump on tables and it's kind of crazy. Arizona's
more laid back. You can golf in the off season.
You can golf in the season. Think about the two
places that were the final places. He probably felt guilty
(04:57):
a little bit for choosing Arizona, So you can 's
Buffalo because that was as joint I talked about, that's
the place where he can Literally, they're gonna win their
division next year. They feel like they're a pass rush
away from the super Bowl. Tennessee doesn't. Green Bay doesn't.
Necessarily they already had a pretty good pass rush. So
the final two places came down to one place where
it made total football sense, and they finished second to
(05:19):
the place that didn't make really any football sense. And
that's okay. We tend to in the media try to
figure out what the best place for the athlete is
he fits the scheme, Hey, the division and Lebron James
chose Miami they weren't good when he got there, and
(05:39):
the Lakers they were terrible when he got there. Both
cities for a kid that grew up in Akron, a
lot of sex appeal, a lot of fun. You can
get free agents to come and play there. We're always
trying to figure out where players are gonna go. We're
almost always wrong. In my gut feeling this morning. And
I've moved forward different times to different places. I think, Joe,
(06:01):
you've moved three or four different times. It's never you
get that yellow notepad out. And I guarantee that JJ
Watt did with his wife Kayleia, and they wrote down stuff,
and we'd be wrong in all the guesses. And I'm
here to tell you, I bet some of what was this.
Cliff Kingsbury has a reputation. He doesn't grind players at practice.
(06:22):
He's very Sean McVeigh. JJ Watson Hall of Famer. Does
he want to grind it practice? JJ Watt shows up
on Sunday and kicks your rs. He doesn't need to
grind at practice. You don't want to get hurt at practice.
You mean to put that one down? Where did my
wife and I in the offseason? You know you live
in a cold place. You gotta have a second home
in Arizona. Don't so all those little things you write
(06:44):
now on a list as we age. You know, when
I was twenty, professional success was everything. I'm fifty. I'm
more into my kids success like pro athletes are the same.
Kaded of Brooklyn Kawhie of the Clippers, Brady, the Buccaneers,
JJ Watt to Arizona. It may have just been as
simple as I'm married. Now the off seasons matter. Now.
(07:06):
Money's good enough and winning if it happens, great. If
it doesn't, I still make the Hall of Fame, and
that's okay too. All Right, So I saw this story.
Jane Slater is a reporter. I trust she is talking.
Her sources are telling her. Yesterday the Dan Patrick Show
on how Dak is not budging on his salary demands.
(07:31):
There's money was in the ballpark of Russell Wilson slash
Jared Goff type money. Now he's looking to be paid
right behind Patrick Mahomes a guy who's gone to the
Super Bowl two years in a row. Dak hasn't done
that yet, so they feel like it's been a respectable offer.
His camp believes that he needs to bear what the
market value is, and they feel like this deals should
(07:52):
have gotten done two years ago. So your problems with
money aren't our problems. It's about respect. If you trust
that report, and I do, is it possible? Devoted and
dependable Deck has become delusional Deck. So let's pretend we'll
play game here that quarterbacks were paid in order based
(08:15):
on two things. Now, talent's obviously a big deal, but
I think it's actually second place to how valuable you are,
because I've seen Bill Belichick give up a lot of
talented players. He rarely gives up valuable players. In fact,
our sports leagues all have awards called most Valuable Player.
None of them have most talented player. Joy. And I've
(08:36):
been in this business for thirty years. Companies move on
from talented people all the time, valuable people, and I'll
move on from valuable people. So if you were paid
based on your talent and how valuable you are to me,
there's three tiers. The first tier is four guys, Russell Wilson,
(08:56):
Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Josh Allen. And let me
describe each. Seattle runs an anequated offense. Pete Carroll was
fired twice and had a losing record in Seattle before
Russell Wilson. What is Seattle offensively without Russell Wilson. Tom
Brady not only moves your team in the right direction,
(09:16):
he gives you super Bowls At the end. He changed
a goofy buccaneer franchise into a place. Now we argue
everybody wants to play. Aaron Rodgers doesn't give you many
super Bowls, but Green Bay has historically been awful when
he doesn't play. And then Josh Allen. Josh Allen's their
best running back. He's their best running weapon, he's their
best throwing weapon. On a historically last twenty years in
(09:39):
that franchise. They're now a Super Bowl conversation team. The
second tier, and I know what you're saying, Patrick Mahomes. Well,
Annie Reid has thirteen playoff wins without Patrick Mahomes. Two
years ago they beat the playoff Vikings without Patrick Mahomes
and should have beaten the Packers. The Kansas City Chiefs
(10:01):
were a good franchise forever without Patrick Mahomes and with
all their weapons today, if Patrick Mahomes was not the
Chiefs quarterback, I believe we saw it with Alex Smith,
they'd be a playoff team. So the second tier. Patrick
Mahomes is a mega talent, but not quite as valuable
as the verse four. Deshaun Watson again mega talent, but
he went four and twelve this year. It Oh, by
the way, Bill O'Brien won that division with Brock Osweiler.
(10:26):
Look it up. I did. I don't remember it, but
it happened. Lamar Jackson is damn good, but Baltimore won
a lot of games in the Super Bowl without him,
and then Jimmy Garoppolo. I know what you're saying. Come on, Colin,
Kyle Shanahan is a great coach. Has won twenty five
percent of his NFL games without Kyle, without Jimmy Garoppolo.
(10:47):
I'm sorry, I hurt your feelings. That's called valuable. Everybody
else in the NFL is Tier three, pretty talented, sometimes valuable.
Let's remember that in the last seventeen starts, Dak Prescott
is six and eleven. They were five and five with
(11:08):
Andy Dalton last year, if you count the game he
came in initially and led them do a win against
the New York Giants. They were behind, Dak got hurt,
he came in and won. He was Dak was eight
and eight in twenty nineteen, six and eleven as last
seventeen starts, and in games he started and finished last year,
(11:28):
he was one and three. Andy Dalton, if you count
the game he replaced Dak against the Giants, was five
and five. Now, Dak's better than Andy Dalton. I am
not in any way insinuating he is not. But if
Dak is saying, this morning, I'm worth Patrick Mahomes money,
I'm gonna struggle with that. And I like Dak, but
(11:49):
that's dependable devoted Dak to delusional Dak. You gotta kind
to know if you go into contract negotiations, you gotta
you gotta kind of know the temperature in the room.
To me, there's four guys that are Tier one. They
can kind of name their price. There's another four or
(12:12):
five guys, maybe even more talented, but don't quite feel
as valuable to the franchise. Garoppolo would be the opposite.
I don't think he's a mega talent, but I think
he's super valuable to San Francisco everybody else. It's kind
of tier three obviously, a Dak maybe a higher tier
three or a Matt Ryan, And you know, Baker's probably
(12:34):
somewhat valuable. But if that's true, he sees himself as
Mahomes money class. Maybe that's why Jerry Jones may franchise
them again, and that may be the reason coming up next.
(12:54):
Whenever you watch a sporting event, watch the commercials, because
the commercials will tell you who the audience is for
the sporting event. Ever watch a golf event and it's
like American Express and it's Buick. Older people watch golf.
If you watch the NBA, it's Mountain Dew, It's Burger King. Hey,
(13:15):
younger people watch the NBA. Leagues will tell you who
is watching based on the commercials, and leagues also tell you.
Right now, the NBA is telling you Zion's about to
become our most popular player more than Lebron and I'll
talk about that coming up. Be sure to catch live
editions of The Herd weekdays and noon eastern nine am
(13:36):
Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeart Radio.
I Hey, what's up everybody? It's me three time pro
bowler le Warrington and I couldn't be more excited to
announce a new podcast called up Point Game. What is
up onint Game? You asked, along with my fellow pro
bowler T J. Hushman Zada and Super Bowl champion Yep.
(13:57):
That's right, Plexico Burris, you can only name us show
with that type of talent on it. Up on Game.
We're going to be sharing our real life experiences loaded
with teachable moments. Listen to up on Game with me,
LeVar Arrington, t J. Hutchman's Out of and Plexico Birds
on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get
(14:19):
your podcast from. And joy Endless hot Water for spolight,
Comfort with Navy and tankless water heaters Save hundreds now
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It's rare in professional sports, at least in this country,
(14:40):
where somebody who becomes iconic is a late bloomer or
we don't really know about him early, and all of
a sudden we figure out, Wow. I mean, you know,
we talked about Lebron at sixteen, Bryce Harper at seventeen,
Tiger Woods at thirteen. That's just kind of the reality
of how it works. A few late bloomers become a
(15:02):
face of the league. Now you could say, oh, Patrick Mahomes,
but all football players go to three or four years
of college, and by the end of his first year
there were rumors he was amazing, and by his second
year in the league he became really, really, really the
most talked about quarterback in the NFL not named Tom
Brady or maybe Aaron Rodgers, so Mahomes is not a
late bloomer, but it's interesting. Zion Williamson watched them last night. Again.
(15:24):
He's getting better every game. The best team in the
NBA so far has been the Utah Jazz, and he
was dominant last night again. I would make the argument
today that Zion Williamson is the second or third most
popular player in the NBA. I think Lebron and Steph
Curry go back and forth. I think Steph is very
relatable to young kids because he's small like young kids,
(15:47):
where Lebron looks just so monstrous and big. I think
Lebron and Staff are the two most popular players in
the league. I think Zion's already number three. Katie and
Harden are great, but their personalities are a little odd.
Jannison Kawhi are quiet, necessarily dynamic personalities. But have you
noticed anything Utahs the number one team in the league.
The NBA's not rushing to put them on TV. The
(16:08):
NBA didn't rush to put New Orleans on TV when
they had Anthony Davis. Is anybody noticing how ESPN and
TNT are fighting to get Zion Williamson on television. It
reminds me when Tim Tebow was in the NFL. I
was told by an executive that Tebow articles on Sunday
night after the games were getting five and six times
(16:29):
like the Patriot articles with Brady or the Giants articles
with Eli. I think the NBA's found their next face
in the league, and I think it's Zion, and I
think he's already the third most popular player. I remember
a couple of years ago, it may have been five
or six years ago, and I've said this on the
air with Joyce several times. When sixty Minutes came out
and said Yannis is the face of the league. I'm like,
(16:49):
I didn't know who he was until like year three
in the NBA. Zion has three things that are really
really important. Number One, he played at Duke and his
shoe exploded and there was controversy around him, so we
knew him as a teenager. I didn't know Yannis until
I didn't know Kauai until he'd been in the league
like three years. I didn't know Yannis. It's one thing
(17:12):
for Bryce Harper, who he's in the minors, and I
knew him in high school. It's another thing, like we
didn't talk about Mike Trout and then he went to
the Angels and he had to be great. Before we
talked about him being great, we talked about Bryce Harper
being great in the eight Bigs when he was in
high school. So Zion played at Duke. That's why I've
always defended college basketball. It's a good platform. NBA should
(17:32):
use it more. And we knew who he was early,
plus the internet his dunks. Secondly is his game is
not only dynamic, it doesn't look like anybody else's game.
I remember when Magic Johnson came into the NBA. There'd
never been a six eight and a half point guard.
He didn't even look like other guards. Magic had kind
of a funky shot. He didn't shoot like anybody else.
(17:55):
He didn't play like anybody else. Zion's game doesn't look
like anybody else's game. And number three, his personality. Like Magic,
He's likable, he smiles. He wanted to play when a
shoe exploded, he wanted to come back to college basketball,
but he said, all my agents and stuff said I
probably need to go pro. I'd love to come back
and play college basketball. I think he's the third most
(18:18):
popular guy in the league. We knew him early. His
game is crazy and crazy different, and I find the
guy incredibly likable. That's not that James Harden isn't likable,
he's a little odd. Kawhi is quiet. I mean, Jannis,
we didn't kind of figure him out till later. And
his game is good, but there's holes in it and
(18:39):
it's I don't find it terribly dynamic, although there are
moments when he makes great plays. But if you look
at how hard the NBA is working to get Zion
on television, that tells you everything. They're looking at data
and they're looking at research, and he is jumping and
popping off the charts. They're not doing that with Kauai.
(19:02):
I mean, they're not Dame Lillard's great. They're not doing
that with the Trailblazers. They didn't do it with a
d and the Pelicans. They're not doing it with John Morant.
They're doing it with historically irrelevant New Orleans and Zion.
Joy Taylor with the News No, No, this is the
herd line News Well forty nine ers GM John Lynch
(19:23):
said last week that he had no doubt that Jimmy
Garoppolo would be the team's quarterback in twenty twenty one
if he's healthy, but they're still rumored to be looking
at other options. They reportedly called the Panthers who ask
about potentially trading for Teddy Bridgewater. Well, Teddy's got injury
stuff too. It's very strange. That's a weird one. Does
(19:45):
somebody have phone records? How do they know that? That's weird? Well, look,
it's it's a very it's it's a trusted source. Athletic
is reporting this. Yes, I just find it kind of
interesting that that wouldn't be the fit on Lynch would
come out and say that, and then there's still reports
that they were Can you and I agree with this?
(20:07):
They're moving off Jimmy G in a year, yes, so,
and I think if they had a viable option right
now they would move off him now. I agree, but
they don't. And it's not because of talents, because although
there are some people out there who don't like Jimmy
G talent wise, he's shown what he can do. He
wins when he's healthy. The problem with Jimmy G is
(20:30):
he's always injured. He's missed twenty three games to injury.
Remember when the Kirk Cousin rumors came out and we
were both all the Stye Wall was. I was like
Kirk Cousins. Kirk Cousins never missed a start. He missed
a week seventeen start years ago, playoffs, So what Kyle Shanahan.
That's why Bridgewater makes no sense to me, because Teddy's
had some traumatic injury. I don't think that Teddy is
a fit there. I don't, but and I do think
(20:52):
that Carolina is actively trying to move off of Teddy,
and I think that they will whether they're going through
this season or not. It's depending on what they know,
depend what they do in the draft and the rest
of free agency. But the thing with Jimmy g is,
while he may be capable, obviously we've seen him play
in a Super Bowl and be one throwaway from winning it,
the amount of injuries brings him down to this level
(21:15):
of quarterback because after a while, it's exhausting to have
to constantly be worried about if he's going to be available.
It is, but for the time being, like I said
to start the show, in this moment, he's really valuable
because Kyle Shanahan can't go into another year and finish
third or fourth again. But he might because Jimmy G
might get hurt again. He might, but listen with the fact,
(21:39):
the fact that they already haven't moved off him with
his injuries tells you, we don't have anybody better. No,
they don't. But it doesn't surprise me that they are
making so many calls because you really, it becomes impossible
to game plan and to plan for your season when
you don't know if your franchise quarterback is going to
be available. And that's not Jimmy G's fault, it's just
the way that it is. He's injured a lot, a
(22:00):
lot of time. In an understatement, he's missed twenty three
games and not that long of a career. Yeah, it's
impossible to plan for that. So Tom Brady pulled off
the dream season, winning his seventh Super Bowl in his
first year in Tampa, but he didn't spend too much
time celebrating the accomplishment. Buck's quarterback coach Clyde Christensen revealed
he got a call from Brady the very next morning,
(22:21):
ready to get their work on next season. He said.
Brady said, I was just sitting here thinking, and I
think we can really be better next year. I think
we're going to be a better team. He was already
excited about the next year. It's amazing that's how his
mind works. He's barely been in a couple of hours
and he's already thinking about it the next morning. Tom,
you gotta enjoy the wins sometimes, Laddy like it. Just
live a little. Yeah. But it's funny. So we all
(22:44):
sleep eight hours a day, and theoretically we all work
eight hours a day, and that gives you eight more hours. Yeah,
And I think about this all the time. My daughter
always goes, Dad, you're you know, for an old guy,
you're really productive. And I'm always like, will you sleep
eight and work eight? What are you gonna do? Old? Yeah,
that's true, but like, what do you do for eight hours?
Is it possible? So you have a lot of life.
(23:08):
Your days are long. Tom Brady could have had seven
and a half great hours with his family that day
and then called this guy and said, you know, I
actually I was thinking about this driving to the store,
driving out to you know, the bay here. I think
we're gonna be better next year. So that story sounds
like Tom has no life. But if you think about
the average I think about this all the time. Is
(23:29):
that I this Sunday, for instance, I had to do
a podcast, but I sat and watched an NBA game,
and I watched a movie, and I thought, what a loser.
I sat in my hotel room for three and a
half hours. I was so discouraged. And then I thought
to myself, what my daughter says, That's just life. You
got a lot of time in your life. But also
NBA is technically work. Yeah, I guess so. But I
(23:51):
guess my point is the idea that Tom's obsessed. He
could have had seven and a half hours of his
non sleeping night. Yeah, it's not like he was send
him a power point presentation on what he's got going
on next year, but it is the mentality of it.
Success is not an accident. Yeah, thank you. And there
are outliers where people get given opportunities and their overnight successes,
(24:16):
and then most of the time in overnight success is
ten or twenty years into making and sustained success is
most certainly not an accident. That is dedication and hard work.
And Tom Brady has shown that. And the reason that
he has the respect that he has around the league
and the reason that all of his teammates embrace him
the way that they did and followed him is because
he leads by example. He's not just out there saying
(24:38):
I'm the best in walking in with an error about
him that you know all that I've accomplished. He wakes
up the next morning thinking about how to get better
every day, and that is something that you can't fake.
People see that, they appreciate it, and it rubs off
on other people. And it can't be argued because he
went to Tampa in his first year and won a
Super Bowl. So the proof is there. Yeah, sustained success
(24:58):
is not an accident. Tom's mind leads him to great places.
So James Harden led the Nets with a big win
over the Spurs last night. He recorded a triple double
in the one two thirteen overtime win, which was his
seventh since joined the Nets. He also became the first
player to record a thirty point fifteen assists and at
least ten rebound triple double with no turnovers, so being
(25:20):
very efficient and after the game, Kyrie said, there's only
more good things to come for James Harden in Brooklyn.
I think we have to implement the phrase get used
to it. When James being James, it makes all our
job a lot easier, and you know, like I said,
we got to get used to somethingbody special like that
doing you know, things like that in terms of breaking records.
(25:43):
So I can't wait to be right alongside him with
my name and nets history, you know, alongside Katie, alongside
bb alongside Joe, a longside all the guys on our
team where we're just breaking records as a team and
then individually, you know, we're stacking up with some of
the best to ever play. They did let the Spurs
get and at the end of the game and go
to overtime, but I liked how they came back together
(26:05):
after slipping a little bit and letting it go to overtime.
It's really not a good sequence at the end of
the game. I just Bolyn is doing. The only question
for Brooklyn now, I mean really, the only question now
is when you play a team, when you go to
the playoffs and you play the same team over and
over and over and over, and it's like, obviously, Brooklyn
(26:27):
is a real problem when you don't have a lot
of prep with the NBA squestions. Yeah, yeah, so we
have a condensed schedule. If you just like what Brooklyn's doing,
they are a real problem. You just don't have the
time to implement a defensive strategy to stop three of
the best basketball players in the world. The only question
now for Brooklyn for us, Joy is okay, now they
faced Brad Stevens or any good coach, Toronto's coach six
(26:52):
times in two weeks, can you find some rhythm defensively?
Because I'm not even like, I'm certainly not worried about
Rod Stevenson. They don't have that. But this is obviously
with a condensed schedule, Brooklyn's going to score one hundred
and twenty eight a night, and you just have to
deal with You have the deal with it. You have to.
You have to also be able to score and take
advantage of any kind of breakdowns like they did last night.
(27:14):
We don't let the spurs creep back in it. Good stuff,
Joy with the news. Well that's the news, and thanks
for stopping by. The herd Line News. Got three Super
Bowls and a couple of Pro Bowls. He's a Fox
Sports NFL analyst, does commentary, does games. He's our friend.
He's Mark Schlereth. He's joining us. Brought to you by Mercedes.
Ben's the best or Nothing. Saul, can you take me
(27:34):
into the mind of a great player. JJ Watt chose
the Arizona Cardinals. I could argue that have the fourth
best coach in the division. I could argue that have
the fourth best roster in the division. And my argument
is he and his wife, Kayalia, they may have just said,
you know, you don't have to have a second home
if you live there, it's a good place to work
out in the off season. It could have been that
simple that it was just there's quality of life stuff.
(27:55):
I mean, what's your takeaway? Oh yeah, I think that,
you know, I think you talk about JJ Wat. He's
a thoughtful guy and it is about him, and it's
about his wife. It's about her career as well as
his career. But I would say this, like, what's like
the teams that were reported offering JJ Watt Tennessee, Indianapolis,
and Cleveland, And I would say this, which of those
(28:17):
quarterbacks has the highest potential ceiling if you're gonna go
play with one of those quarterbacks. First off, you go
to Arizona, you already reunited with DeAndre Hopkins, a buddy
of yours right that you played in Houston with, So
you've got some familiarity there, You've got the two best
what sack artists in the game over the last decade
in JJ Watt and Chandler Jones, and you've got a
(28:39):
quarterback that has an incredibly high ceiling. Yeah. So I
would say of the teams that seemed to be offering
because we all thought, hey, Green Bay or Kansas City,
but if they weren't in the mix, and those were
the teams offering you, I can make a very compelling
argument that at eight and eight last year, with those
added editions, you have the best chance of actually being
competitive for a playoff run. Now tough division, no question
(29:01):
about it, but a lot of questions that division with
you know Stafford coming over to Los Angeles, and obviously
with what's going on in Seattle with Russell Wilson. So
I think I can make a compelling argument that those
those teams that were offering you the best chance to
win and win big is in Arizona. So Dak Prescott
story yesterday, Jane Slater says he wants respect, he wants
(29:23):
Patrick Mahomes money, And I said earlier, I think we're
going from dependable Dack to slightly delusional Dack. What do
you make on these new reports that he's not budging
and he wants Patrick Mahomes money. Well, I mean I
would look at this situation with Dak Prescott and say,
what were you doing two years ago? I mean, if
we look back at Jimmy G. You were just talking
(29:43):
about Jimmy Ge. Remember when Jimmy G signed his contract
and all of a sudden it was like, oh, could
you believe they're spending that kind of money on Jimmy
G a former second rounder? And what are they doing now?
That contract is a bargain? And I look at Dallas
all these the last two year, you're shuffling their feet,
not getting a deal done, throwing out you know, the
(30:04):
news to hit the news cycle, like can you believe
what he's turning? What he's turning down? Like I look
at this and I completely pin the whole thing on
the Dallas Cowboys. You didn't take care of your quarterback.
And I know you don't want to spend top dollar
for your quarterback, but if you'd just spend it two
years ago, gets what he'd be a bargain right now,
(30:24):
and you were unwilling to do it two years ago,
and you've put yourself in this position. I don't blame
a guy for wanting to maximize his value. And the
value out there for quarterbacks, we've seen it, right. I mean,
Matthew Staffords played twelve years in the league, has been
in the playoffs, what he's never won a playoff game,
has been in the playoffs a handful of times, and
they traded him for two first rounders. So you tell
(30:45):
me what the value of a quarterback is. I mean,
obviously in a quarterback starved league, it's huge. So I
don't blame a guy for max trying to maximize his value.
I want to ask you. The draft is coming up,
and you know you're not some draft specialist. You don't
play aim to be, but I have this. So I
was Zach Wilson's the new hot guy, and now people
(31:06):
are now saying, hey, he not that far from you know, Lawrence,
Trevor Lawrence. And so I remember the first time I
saw Zach Wilson play, it was against Utah and he lost,
and Kyle Whittingham's a defensive coach. And then at the
second time I saw me played the University of Washington,
Chris Peterson defensive coach, and he got blown out. And
the third time I saw me played Utah again and
(31:28):
he lost worse. Oh and three against top twenty five teams.
His bowl wins are over like you know, directional schools.
And every time I watched him play a great defensive
coach or a really high end team, he lost. But yet,
and by the way, he was kind of mad as
a freshman. As a sophomore this year he popped and
I think to myself, well, my eyes told me against
(31:50):
the good teams, you know he can line up and
play with the big boys. I never saw him line
up and go toe to toe and beat the big boys.
Am I that is? I? Am I making too big
of a deal out of that? And go back to
your career because you came from a smaller school. Or
should I look at a college kid who every time
I watched him against the big boys, frankly wasn't very special.
(32:13):
What do you make of that using your career and
what you've seen. Well, I would go back to roster
building and how important is your roster And you know,
we always downgrade a guy because he didn't play against
great competition, right, because he played at a smaller school.
But I would always look at that situation and say, hey, man,
(32:34):
he's competing against those those smaller schools. And when you
take your school and you go against the big boys
at every position, you're out man. And so I'll go
back to, you know, Josh Allen. Look at what Josh
Allen has been able to accomplish in Buffalo in three years,
and look at how he steadily improved as a as
(32:58):
a quarterback, you know. And there were a lot of
people saying, well, the accuracy isn't there, and he didn't
compete against big schools. He played at Wyoming when he played.
So I don't look like a lot of draftnicks. I
don't look at playing in a smaller school as detrimental
to a guy's development. I look at his skill set,
I look at his arm talent, I look at his footwork,
(33:19):
I look at his just his presence in the pocket,
his accuracy down the field, and I think all those
things are really good. And a lot of times what
ends up happening is when you play at a smaller
school with lesser athletes on the outside. Man, you have
to make accurate throws, like big time, tight window throws.
And when you play at a school where you only
face light competition two or three times a year. You don't.
(33:43):
And what's open in the NFL, like, what's wide open
in the NFL is completely covered in college. Like that's
a shocking reality for most quarterbacks who leave college and
come to the NFL. The coaches like, you got to
throw that ball, and like, well, he wasn't open, And
the coaches like, no, he was wide open. And I
think smaller school guys sometimes have a better adaptability at
(34:05):
those things. When they come into the NFL, it's less
there's less of a window to adapt to that. That's
pretty good. You kind of shot my theory down all
the heck, my theory doesn't mean anything anymore. You just
blew it up. Not it's a good point with John
because I look at him and I watched them against
Utah and Washington. I was like, I don't really see it.
I mean, it's talented, you can tell you's an NFL player,
(34:27):
But the Josh Allen stuff is good. Well, thanks for
blowing up my argument there. I really appreciate that. All right,
My pleasure. Good seeing you, buddy, Mark Slareth. Likewise, you
bet Matt Moseley next hour is going to join us. Reporter,
a long time talk show host in Dallas. Regarding to
that situation coming up next. You know they always say,
and people go to Facebook. I'm not on Facebook daily
(34:50):
the show is, but people go to Facebook, and that's
where a fair start and you go back to your
high school girlfriend or high school boyfriend, college boyf friend,
college girlfriend. You reunite with an old flame, and that,
of course is because memories are often greater than reality.
(35:11):
There's a reason she dumped you. Okay, what that has
to do with dak thoughts on that Next, be sure
to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays and noon
Easter ninety and Pacific. Hey, what's up everybody? It's me
three time pro bowler LeVar Rington and I couldn't be
more excited to announce a new podcast called Up on Game.
(35:34):
What is Up on Game? You asked, along with my
fellow pro bowler t J. Hushman's outa and Super Bowl champion. Yep,
that's right, Plexico Burrds. You can only name a show
with that type of talent on it. Up on Game
We're going to be sharing our real life experiences loaded
with teachable moments. Listen to Up on Game with me
(35:55):
LeVar Arrington, t J. Hushman's Otta and Plexico Birds on
the iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts from.
Michelin Endurance XT silicone wiper blades don't crack with a heat,
don't crack with a cold, design to repel water and
get yours today only at Walmart. So um I was
(36:17):
saying before the break that I don't go to Facebook,
but people that do they always talk about kind of
the Facebook effect where a lot of affairs start on Facebook,
where you know, guys look up their high school flame
or college flame, or women look up their high school
flame or college flame. And that's because your memories are
greater than reality. There's a reason you dumped him and
(36:38):
then married somebody else and had beautiful kids is that
your memories are much greater than reality. People generally don't
remember pain. They often say that's why women have multiple children,
because they don't remember how painful sometimes childbirth can be.
You don't remember the pain. You remember the good times
in relationships too, And so I don't go to Facebook.
(36:58):
But that's that's the effect of it. Now it's about
Dak Prescott, who now wants to be paid like Patrick Mahomes.
Let's talk about not the memories. Let's talk about the
reality of Dak. These are all facts, not opinions. Last
seventeen starts, he's six and eleven. Fourteen of his wins,
that's a lot of wins have come against Washington and
(37:19):
the Giants rebuilding seven and two against one, seven and
one against the other. Last four years, majority of his
wins against those two crappy teams. And in twenty nineteen
another reality. End of the year to get into the
playoffs against New England or Philadelphia, both, especially Philadelphia injury
ravaged teams, he couldn't generate one touchdown drive. More reality.
(37:42):
As they've become less about Zeke and more about Dak,
the Cowboys win less. In fact, if you go back
to every year Dak and Zeke have been in the
league together, twenty sixteen to twenty twenty, I have all
the numbers on the screen. I will not bore the
radio audience, but his rushing totals have gone down every year,
and as you see quite obviously, the team gets worse.
(38:02):
So the less it's about Zeke and the more it's
about Dak, because Zeke now is a pretty average running
back and the Cowboys are a pretty average football team.
So those that's the reality of what we have now
with Dak. That's the reality six and eleven, last seventeen,
a majority of his wins against the rebuilding Giants and
the rebuilding Washington football team couldn't generate a touchdown twenty nineteen.
(38:24):
End of the year against Philadelphia and New England. And
the more they rely on Dak and the less they
rely on Zeke, the less they win. Those are not
now the Facebook effect. Let's go to the memories, Oh,
thirteen and three in his rookie season. Well, let's go
to that year. Let's go to the thirteen because that's
(38:47):
where we're like, Holy Molly, he's good. The Cowboys were
number one in rushing percentage, number two in rushing yards
a game, number two in rushing touchdowns, and number three
in rushing average. This was Zeke's team. Zeke rush for
six tish of a lot of yards. Zeke rush for
fifteen touchdowns and sixteen hundred yards. And if you recall,
(39:09):
I remember that rookie year. It was the first time
in my life that I talked about an offensive line.
Remember that Dallas team. I mean they were just all
those offensive linemen were in their prime. They were all
first round picks. You know, the San Francisco forty nine
ers have all those first round picks in their defensive line.
We talked about it the Super Bowl year. The Cowboys
were the opposite. They had all these first round offensive
(39:32):
linemen and they were all in their prime. They just
bowled people over. You couldn't get to Dak. You couldn't
stop Zeke. Do you have many yards? Sixteen hundred yards
is fifteen touchdowns? Your memory is Dak is thirteen and three.
It was Zeke's team. You couldn't stop him. I remember
this Pittsburgh game. You could not stop them. And so
I think it's the Facebook effect. I think we're getting
(39:53):
a little bit of our memories of early Dak aren't
really the reality of early Dak or certainly later Dak.
Is that I'm not saying he doesn't have qualities I
like and admire. I'm not saying when he wasn't carted
off the field, I didn't get emotional like, and I'm
not saying he's not a franchise quarterback. I'm not I'm
not saying any of those things. He has a franchise quarterback.
(40:15):
He's reliable, he's tough, he had one flukey injury. I
mean he's you know, he's been good with Jerry Jones.
He stood behind him. He's always ready to play. He
you know, he tends to. He's got kind of a
quality where he can struggle in football games to find
a rhythm, but late in games, he's never afraid of
the moment. I like that about him. Kirk Cousins is talented.
(40:36):
Sometimes feels like he shrinks in the moment. I think
Dak lacks some certain great talents, but I never think
he shrinks in the moment. But I do think we've
come to a you know, that fork in the road
where the memories are fuzzy. We're romanticizing stuff more. You
you go to a psychologist, if you're ever really going
(40:59):
a deep die with a psychologist, they'll all tell you
the same things. We always embellish our childhood. It was
either greater or worse than it really was. Most people
have sort of, you know, a little chaos in childhood,
go to school, have friends. It's never as great as
we recall. It's probably never as bad as most people recall.
You know, we were all goofy. We're all kids. We
(41:22):
all cried, we all hit, we struck out a lot,
hit a couple of game winning shots, but we were
goofy kids. I think with Dak, we're going a little
overboard on the memories and we need to be more
honest about the realities our two on a Tuesday. Next
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