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- [00:00]
Matt Hasselbeck
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to always have a few financial goals and a really smart one. You can set earning cash back on what you buy every day. And with Discover you can get this. Discover automatically matches all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year. Seriously, all of it. And we trust you to make smart decisions. I mean, after all, you listen to this show. See terms@discover.com credit card Imagine never buying gas again.
- [01:25]
Colin Cowherd
EVs are as easy to charge as your phone and perfect for everyday life. Drive daily with confidence everywhere you go. Most Americans drive 40 miles a day. Most EVs are equipped with 200 to 400 miles of range. They've got fewer parts, fewer repairs and fewer headaches. With hundreds of new and used EV models available today, there's an EV to fit every lifestyle and every budget. I love my electric vehicle. It's easy. No more gas stations. The way forward is electric. Learn more atelectric for all.org thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and noon to 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd@foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Sports Radio. Here we go. Injuries, attrition, things we don't like in sports may decide the NBA championship. Aaron Rodgers final year Interesting numbers and data and studies and polls on Austin Reaves. Welcome in. It is Thursday. We are live and it is the Herd. Wherever you may be, however, you may be listening, watching whatever Platform for making us part of your day. Well, the Spurs, Dylan Harper got hurt. De' Aaron Fox is hurt. He'll probably come back. The Dylan Harper injury may decide the finals. Here are my three big takeaways after watching last night. Two are not good for Oklahoma City. Number one, J Dub, Jalen Williams got hurt again. He's their number two score and it's a hammy again. So the number two score for Oklahoma City will not be 100% the rest of the series. And A.J. mitchell, young player, got hurt late quad strain. Is he coming back? So now Oklahoma City is mostly built deepest team in the league to overcome injuries more than any other team. But they're going to become now very SGA reliant. AJ Mitchell been a great spark plug. J dub gives you 20 with his eyes closed. And you know, last night SGA delivered. But in Oklahoma City's built for it. But against the spurs defense, it is less than ideal. That's bad. Second big issue for Oklahoma City. The only way to stop to this point Wemby is to grab him, push him, pull him, hang on him. Hacker Shack. Hacker Shack didn't work, by the way, long term. And those foul calls, they'll double on the road. You're going to get some calls at home last night when Hartenstein had three fouls in the first half, might as well have called eight. You're not getting those calls on the road. And also Adam Silver is not going to allow, nor should he, the face of the league or the emerging face of the league, Wemby to be pulled, dragged, pushed. They're not going to allow that. It's crappy television, it's bad sports. And remember this series just set an NBA record in Game 1 ratings. You're not going to let, by the way, a seven foot four guy and we're all concerned about his health long term anyway. You're not going to let people hang on him. No commissioner is going to do that. So for Oklahoma City you got two injuries. Now you're SGA reliant and the Wemby issue. So now, now San Antonio, they may have fewer problems, but it could be a series killer is Stefan Castle is a great player. He is a lot of things. He's a bully defensively, he's, he's 18 points. He's competitive. But what he isn't is a point guard. He doesn't have a tight enough handle. He's very loose. And when it comes to point guards and quarterbacks, it's all in the details, you know, and, and he just is not a point guard. He's a, he's a great two or a three, whatever you want to label him. I love him. We all love him. He's an ascending star. He's not a point guard in Oklahoma City. And their trapping, defense and depth is, is, is a huge problem now. Dearon Fox is going to come back and play, I would guess next game. But if Dylan Harper is out, an emerging star, best rookie guard since Magic, they're in big trouble. They are in big trouble. So I mean, last night Oklahoma City essentially won on points via turnovers. They had 27. That was the game. The game was on the turnovers. So if they don't get at least de' Aaron Fox back, they're in trouble. I cause right now we have to be totally honest about this and nobody wants to hear this. And okc, San Antonio's been the better team. Better field goal percentage, better three point percentage. They have the best player in the series, points in the paint. Oklahoma City is looking up. I mean they had to go to hack a shack last night, which in the moment can work. You know how it works that you're not going to get those calls on the road. Go look at the history of the Utah Jazz with Jerry Sloan when they played really physical basketball. They go on the road, they never had a great road record despite the fact they were getting to the finals. Should have had a better road record. They were unbeatable at home because at home they got the calls. On the road they didn't get as many calls. And so like Hartenstein last night you could have had seven fouls and they're going to call every one of those. Hacker shack always worked way better when Shaq was on the road. So I think San Antonio's better, shooting better points in the paint they have the best player, but Dylan Harper not being available, they and De' Aaron Fox not at 100%. And the way OKC is constructed is a problem for the Spurs. So I think, I think Oklahoma City has more issues. But the one issue San Antonio has let Dylan Harper out, that could unravel the whole series. Second year in a row. By the way, some of these injuries are non contact. Second year in a row, NBA stars. This is what LeBron has talked about. I mean, quads, ACLs, hammies, non contact injuries for at least half of them. This game is so fast. Now this one, when Adam Silver suggested 10 minute quarters, not 12 to shrink the game, everybody went whoa. I don't know, maybe it's not a bad Idea. So here's SGA after evening the series last night is nothing special that you can do. Like, every team has their identity, and when they impose their identity more than the other team does, they usually win. We were probably more desperate than they went than they were, like just, just naturally because we had to get this game or else we go on the road down 02. So, yeah, some of it was that, but nonetheless, you still have to go out there and do the job. All right, so Aaron Rogers yesterday went out about halfway through our show and said, hey, this is going to be the last season, Aaron. And so I always felt when Aaron was in his prime because he was such a pretty player. I mean, I always thought Elway was better than Marino, but Marino was prettier. The aesthetic, the way he let go of the ball is release. I mean, Marino was just like magical to watch. Same with Aaron Rodgers. And I don't think Favre's the comp. I always thought Aaron's comp was Dan Marino. You want more titles, you want more trophies, right? Marino didn't get any. Aaron got one. But, God, they're beautiful throwers of the football. I mean, Aaron, like, throws with his feet, not on the ground. It's like, it's like a magician. It's wild. But I always thought he was a little overvalued in his prime where people were saying he's better than Brady. I'm like, Brady's stacking trophies. What are we doing here? This is not baseball where we care about your stats. It's football. Show me your Lombardi's. But now I think Aaron's actually massively undervalued. So I want to remind everybody, especially the media that keeps telling me he's really, he's washed. He did win the AFC north last year over a stacked roster in Baltimore and Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow, who played a handful of games. But he did win the north, by the way. At 41, he almost threw as many touchdown passes as Bo Nix, Josh Allen and Sam Darnold. With an awful receiving core. In fact, Aaron was the only quarterback in the league with this stat line. At least 65% completion percentage, at least 24 touchdowns, and seven or fewer interceptions. He was the only guy in the league. Bad receiving core, broken offensive culture, hit and miss offensive line, and an average running back room. In fact, PFF last year went and rated all wide receivers and tight ends in the league, right? Top 50. Cedars had nobody. Arizona had two. Okay, so you're talking about a broken offensive culture for Years, a bad receiving room. I mean, I like Friarmouth, but you know, whatever. They didn't have very good weapons offensive line until last year. Aaron gets some credit for this. Was sort of disjointed. And so I, I, I. And he carried him to 10 wins. And by the way, he had to win games against the Lions and the Ravens to get into the playoffs. And he was excellent against both considering what he was working with. Against Detroit, he had 270 yards, no turnovers. Against the Ravens, he had 290 yards and no turnovers. He had to win those games. Those are good teams. There was a lot of pressure. He had a one man receiving core and he won both games and played well. So, and I, and I, and I. People will say this, and this always happens if the ending to the movie is bad. Everybody said the movie is bad, right? You could have had a good movie with a bad ending. People say, well, just see him against the Texans in the playoffs, folks. Patrick Mahomes played the Texans. His passer rating that day, 19. Sam Darnold was engulfed. Played his worst game against the Texans. Go look at Josh Allen against the Texans. The LA Rams had the number one offense in the league. They were a hot knife through butter against the Seahawks multiple times. And the Seahawks had a good defense. But when the Rams, McVeigh and Stafford and Puka Nku and Devonte Adams and all the fellows played the Texans, they couldn't move the ball. They couldn't pick up first downs. The Texans had the best defense in the NFL in at least half a decade. It's Legion of Boom. Good. So this idea, I always thought Aaron, and I was always like, aaron's good. I think he's better than Favre. Stop with a Brady. I'm not even putting him in the Manning and Joe Montana space. Give me a break. He's great, but stop now. It's ridiculous. Even people I respect in the media are like, you're not very good. He won the division. It was a good division. Lions, Ravens, W's. Look at his stat line. Terrible receiving core, broken offensive culture. RGI was like, guys, come on. He inherited a mess, a dysfunctional offensive culture. He's going to be good this year. They got Michael Pittman. He's going to be good. They're going to be good. They're going to vie for the division for seven weeks. Totally. He could go 6 and 17 and oh, I have become the life preserver of sanity with Aaron Rodgers. Here's RG3 yesterday. I think Aaron Rodgers is One of the all time greats. But I also think that him coming back to the Pittsburgh Steelers makes them legit AFC north title contenders and legit super bowl contenders as well. He's got DK Metcalf, they bring in Michael Pittman Jr. From the Colts, they draft Jeremy Bernard from that from Alabama and Now he's got 6 foot 4, 6 foot 4, 6 foot 1 wide receivers out there that he's used to throwing the ball to. And he wouldn't come back and partner with the guy that he won a Super bowl with and Mike McCarthy in Green Bay if he didn't feel like they could win it all. Yeah, he just wanted more money. You know, he's always been a little mysterious. Last several years, offseason, you know, that's, that's who he is. The schedule is completely workable. Gets kind of tough week 10 or 11, that's fine. I mean Joe Burrow, will he be available week 10? Ish. We don't know. I mean last couple of years that has been a. And I don't say that being glib like Burrow is struggle with health. All right. J. Mack. So what a bummer. The Dylan Harper injury is such a bummer. Last year it was Halliburton and Tatum, now it's J Dub, it's Harper, it's the Aaron Fox, it's A.J. mitchell. I mean, you know, it's interesting the sport where you get tackled football, the rosters tend to be healthier. I mean go look at the Seahawks roster. At the end of the year everybody's healthy. They played the Patriots, almost everybody's healthy. The NBA playoffs now, spurs are all banged up. OKC is all banged up. I mean it's, it's, this is what we, they talk about. The pace of the game is so fast now. And players, when you start having non contact injuries, you do have to consider the Adam silver suggestion of 12 minute quarters becoming 10 minute quarters. It's not going to affect anything. Oh, what about the record books? Wemby's going to rewrite them all anyway. Who cares, right? Like get over the record books. This is not baseball, it's not Mickey Mantle. We don't care about that stuff.
- [14:59]
Ben Mather
I mean there is a world where they just bake in some extra days off during these western. I mean this is the most hype playoff series the league has had in I don't know, a decade. And now you instantly have like three of the top, I don't know, eight guys in the series injured. It's just devastating. Colin. I'M really ticked off. Hopefully my Knicks stay healthy tonight. Need the Knicks big time.
- [15:21]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, it'll be interesting to watch emotionally where Cleveland's at. I mean the advantage Cleveland has because they had the game one and gagged. They're not a young team. I mean Donovan Mitchell's been around a long time. James Harden's been around a long time. Evan Mobley's pretty young. But if you look at their backcourt and those are the guys that are going to have the ball and control the tempo. These are not guys that literally can't handle an ugly loss. I said this when the Knicks came back to win. Chuck Daly, rest in peace, lost big leads. Phil Jackson, Steve Kerr, Red Red Holtzman. You know, you can go back to the Knicks. Great teams lose leads, especially Jason in this three ball era. Yeah. Where I mean Golden State, you know, would come back from 14 down to win. People occasionally beat Golden State when they were, you know, the warriors were up 14. So I don't think it's the 70s or 80s. If you lost an 18 point lead, it was devastating. I think you just lose leads now. So I mean there was never in my lifetime in the NBA. You'll see stuff now where it's like a 30 to 8 run. Like that's not that abnormal in the NBA. There was a run, I forget it was during the regular season. I swear to God, it was like 28, 0.
- [16:37]
Ben Mather
Yeah. But this was the biggest blown lead, I believe in the last 13 years.
- [16:42]
Colin Cowherd
Yes.
- [16:42]
Ben Mather
Of the NBA plus. So as a result, I like your, the way you're attacking this. How does Cleveland bounce back? I bet the Knicks first half, I think the Knicks, who ended this game hot as hell. They shot. They made six of their last nine threes. They got in that zone, that rhythm. They were like, okay, this is what works, this is what doesn't. Quick hook on Josh Hard, who's a non shooter. And I think the Knicks run out. I don't know if they'll run away and hide, but I think they come out smoking hot in the first half.
- [17:05]
Matt Hasselbeck
Yeah.
- [17:07]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah. The staff found this. Yeah, this was it. The. Remember when the Raptors went on a 31 nothing run against the Magic in March? And Orlando's got talent.
- [17:18]
Matt Hasselbeck
Yeah.
- [17:18]
Colin Cowherd
So, I mean it's so, it's, it's so. You know, everybody's saying, oh, the Cavs, you got veteran guys with the ball in their hands. You've got a good staff. You, you know, you got guys with some mileage on there. This is the new NBA. You lose leads quickly now, a 22 point lead with nine to go. But again, the Knicks were a great fourth quarter team. You were on the road. Brunson's an elite scorer. It's not the first time he's been hot. He's one of the best fourth quarter players in the last decade in the league. The Knicks do that to people. Knicks did that to a lot of teams over the last couple years. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app hey, it's Ben, host of the Fifth Hour with Ben Mahler. Would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking what in God's name is the fifth Hour? I'll tell you. It's a spin off of the Ben Mather Show, a cult hit overnights on fsr. Why should you listen? Picture if you will, a world where we chat with captains of industry in media, sports and more every week. Explore some amazing facts about human nature and more. Listen to the fifth hour with Ben Mather on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast brought
- [18:30]
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- [19:16]
Discover Card Advertiser
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- [19:43]
Colin Cowherd
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You're now entering the no Bull Zone sponsored by Credible Great rates. None of the bull. So the Athletic and I think this is the second year they've done this. I could be wrong and it's a lot. There's a lot of tiers. It's kind of confusing to me. They should simplify it. But they come out with five tiers and they've introduced the first four and they have sub tiers. So like you have like tier 2 and then you know, tier 2A, tier 2B, tier 2C. It's. It's a lot. They got to clean it up a little bit. But but it's interesting in tier two they haven't introduced tier one yet when that'll be the top players in the league. Like, like a Luca or a joke. It's tier 2A is like Steph Curry, Jalen Brunson. Tier 2B is Jalen Brown, LeBron James, Tyrese Maxey. So I've said this. Salary caps, not baseball, but salary caps make everybody's salary count. If you pay your third best player what a number two player should make, it limits how much help you can add to the roster. I've always said Austin Reeves a good player on a championship team. He's either your third or fourth best player. That is seen as hate. Well, the tiers came out. He is a tier 3 player and he's not 3A. He's deep into 3B, almost 3C. And you say that's outrageous. Well, not really. It says this is how it describes a tier three player that he's in star consideration but ideally third best player of a big three. Oh you mean exactly what I have said for two years to the word. If you ask him to be a second best player, he will be compromised. You will be compromised. So he is a 3B tier player, not a tier 1 sub, sub tiers, not a tier 2, not a tier 3A and 3.3B. And that's a good, good player. Just to give you an example, if you just move up one sub tier, it's Stefan Castle and Bama to Bayou Bama to buy you pound for pound, is the best defensive big not named Wemby in the league. And he scored 83 points in a game that's just one notch ahead of Austin. And Stefan Castle is going toe to toe with the mvp. Okay, Austin got hunted the last two years in the playoffs. So that's what I've said. It's amazing if you. Maybe it's because local media tends to be favorable to local teams. So I come out like, you know, the big bad wolf here. I'm, I'm banging on players. I liked Austin Reeves a lot, but I've always said with Austin, you can't pay him like a 2 because that means you can't have a very good 4. Right? And that's the key to his contract. He's eligible to make 240. You pay him to me, you pay him in the 200s. Watch out. I mean, LeBron James said this on a podcast a couple of days ago. The Lakers need more good players to beat Oklahoma City. They're not being out hustled or outworked. J.J. redick needs more good athletes. How do you get them? People outside of Luca not taking maxes. Here's LeBron. I have the passion and the admiration to host the Larry o' Brien trophy up every single year. But I also have a realization of, you know, what particular team I have been a part of in that particular year. And, you know, understanding this year, you know, we fought and we played to the maximum ability of our team. We were not outworked. We were not, you know, out. You know, they didn't out physical us, they didn't outsmart us. You know, I felt like we were just out talent, you know, by OKC. Yeah, they were out talented. And LeBron's absolutely right. And so that's the thing I like, like I've always said with Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold and you know, I love Darnold. I don't Love Darnold at 55 million. I like him at 45 million. At 35 million. Sam Darnold is one of the best values in the national football league. At 45, he's a good quarterback. At 55, then you're going to have. You can't have a number one receiver and you can't stack your defense. Right? Right. Can you keep JSN with Sam Darnold's contract now, you can pay JSN early. If Sam's making 55, you can't even pay him late. And that's the difference with Baker. It's the same thing. I like Austin reaves, but if LeBron's not taking a veteran minimum and Luke is getting the max and deserves it, well, then that Austin contract we gotta be. We got. I mean, the Rams right now, you know who they're paying and they're favored to win the Super Bowl. They're paying Matt Stafford, they're paying Trent McDuffie, and they're paying Devonte Adams. Right. And by the way, McDuffie is here for the long term. Stafford for three years. I love Devonte Adams. They may move off him in a year. I mean, they're trying to draft receivers because, you know, that's, that's salary cap. So again, if Austin signed for 185, love him. He's my number three. Works his butt off. Good guy, good player. But the Athletics polling, which is inexact, I think they have Cooper flag lower than they should. I think they have Jaylen Brown lower than they should. You know, that's my opinion. It's not perfect. Yeah. I mean, I don't know what Jaylen Brown has to do. He was in the MVP conversation. I don't know. I don't know what he has to do. I mean, I think Jaylen Brown's great. So be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, Weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific.
- [26:36]
Apple Card Advertiser
Brought to you by Apple Card. Apple card users get 2% daily cash back on purchases made in store and online, whether it's for big ticket items or everyday purchases. When they use their Apple Card with Apple Pay, now that's a benefit that's just too good to pass up. You could be earning 2% daily cash back when you use your Apple Card with Apple Pay to buy turmeric for your signature curry, 2% back on flights to visit the family in Tucson, and even 2% back on your kid's new tuba. You might even be able to get 2% back on a tuba tutor. Not an Apple Card customer. You can apply in the wallet app on iPhone. Subject to credit approval. Apple card issued by Goldman Sachs bank usa, Salt Lake City Branch terms and more at Apple Co Benefits.
- [27:22]
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- [27:47]
Colin Cowherd
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- [28:36]
Matt Hasselbeck
Hey, everyone, check out this guy and his bird.
- [28:38]
Colin Cowherd
What is this your first date? Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together.
- [28:43]
Ben Mather
We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird.
- [28:46]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.
- [28:48]
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- [28:51]
Ben Mather
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Ben Mather
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- [28:59]
Colin Cowherd
Well, welcome back. The starting to see camps open up. I think it was Aaron and the Steelers were one of eight camps that opened. I did appreciate Aaron, who can be a little ambiguity in his game, you know, offseason especially. Came out and basically said, hey, this is it. So he kind of no agenda. Here's the plan. One more season. Now the responsibility is on the Steelers. So I appreciated that. You know, we got LeBron in LA, everybody's guessing, organization's guessing. And Aaron's like, yep, this is it, and didn't bring it up. Somebody asked him and he said, yep, this is it. Which I kind of appreciated because it's, it's a tone setter for the organization. With that, Matt Hasselbeck, 18 years in the NFL, joins us now live, hour number three on a. Yeah, when did you know? I mean, Aaron's obviously still good. When a, when a pro athlete who's been. Who's good but not what he once was. Right. You can tell. You guys know, you work out recovery slower off Seasons are harder. Where do you, where do you think ultimately pro athletes decide to retire? Is it in the rehab? Is, is it in the season? Is it after a big hit? Where do you guys decide to retire?
- [30:18]
Matt Hasselbeck
I think it's for a quarterback, it's either in, during an injury, you know, he had the broken wrist. I think he might have even had, you know, a surgical situation there. Possibly, I forget. But either way, life's not fun when you're dealing with broken bones and injuries or it's mental. Like you're sitting in the run game installation meeting literally at 40 something years old and you're like, really? I'm doing this all day, every day. Like evens are to the right, odds are to the left. Like, what new are we talking about here? We're going away from the safety that's down. Like, this is just boring. I'm ready to do other things with my life. I think for a quarterback, it's those things. It's not that you don't believe in your arm or you don't feel like you could still find a way to win. Maybe for other receiver, other positions like receiver, you feel like you're not fast enough anymore or stuff like that. But for quarterbacks, I think that's why it's so hard for certain guys to walk away. So far, if you see Tom Brady, I think Aaron Rodgers is going to struggle with it at some point as well. Even though he said this is his last year.
- [31:16]
Colin Cowherd
I said, I defended Aaron earlier. I said, everybody wants a voice in life. But Brady kind of fell on the sword in New England. He just like, you know, whatever. And then he went to Tampa and it should be noted he may have fallen on the sword in New England, but he bailed on him because he was tired of it. He went to Tampa and moved Aryans upstairs, which I didn't blame because I thought he was right. But the point is Aaron, meanwhile, if he felt something, he said something. He was mostly team guy, but a little bit of an independent contractor. But I always, I kind of feel like at least he's authentic. Like, like you could argue that, you know, Brady's 100% football. Aaron was 85%, 15% independent contractor. But Aaron would tell you how he feels and that's just his personality. Did you. Were you ever bothered by the fact that sometimes he was a little passive aggressive or sometimes he didn't kind of fall on the team sword, which the quarterback's supposed to always do that sometimes he was public with stuff, or do you look at that and go, hey, you get in trouble when you do that stuff, you get ripped for it. So I appreciate it.
- [32:22]
Matt Hasselbeck
Well, I think everyone's got their own leadership style. His leadership style certainly has been to send a message to coaches, to the front office, to his teammates. You know, when he's talking to media, that's been the thing that he's done. I don't think that needs to be how he does it anymore, though. I think he's just got so much juice, so much synergy with this new coaching staff. Respect for the organization. From everything that I hear, his teammates absolutely love him. They get together in downtime and free time, they talk football and other things. So I don't think he's going to feel the need to do it on a radio show or something like that. I think he's the kind of guy that'll just be like, he's got an issue. It's going to be him and Mike hashing it out. Hey, Mike, remember 10 years ago when we had this exact same thing come up, you know, and this was my idea then, I didn't feel listened to. Hey, what do you think about now? And I think Mike McCarthy, in the same way, I think they've got a relationship where there's such a. Such a respect there. I mean, when people were trying to put Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers against each other for years in Green Bay, I got to tell you, as someone who's close to Mike McCarthy, never one time did I ever hear him ever even give an inkling of a negativity about Aaron Rodgers. Like, that's unique with coaches. Coaches love to complain about their starting quarterback in some way. Mike McCarthy never did that. So I just think the mutual respect, the history, I do think the leadership style will look different this year for Aaron Rodgers.
- [33:48]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, the. Yeah, you look at his numbers. I was always a Rogers guy over a Farve guy. I think there are four or five guys, you know, Mahomes, Peyton, Elway, Brady, Montana, that are above him. You could. You could put him at six. I mean, he's. I'll put these on the screen here.
- [34:06]
Matt Hasselbeck
Well, I'll tell you where he's number one. Like, he doesn't turn the ball over like that. That's the thing that I think, you know, he throws the ball away and doesn't turn it over. You know, that's the thing that I think is his superpower. One of his superpowers. One of his superpowers is what he does at the line of scrimmage, you know, with his cadence. And getting us into the right play or out of the wrong play. He's unbelievable at that. He needs to lean into that more. And then one of his other superpowers, something that Mike McCarthy, you know, around a campfire and in too many beers for both of us will say, this guy is as. As there ever was in the NFL at not throwing interceptions. And that's a superpower. It really is. And Mike McCarthy, who's coached Joe Montana and Brett Favre and a lot of great quarterbacks, for him to sit there and have the admiration for how Aaron does that. He's aggressive as all get out with the ball and yet doesn't turn the ball over. Over, you know, a career, it's 22 years now. That's. That's remarkable. And that's, you know, what every head coach will say, hey, if we just don't turn the ball over and we get turnovers, we win more games. And that, that's always the. So to me, I think that's. That's something that if you want to study or put him on a list, that's where you should start.
- [35:15]
Colin Cowherd
You know, I said, I started saying this years ago, is that quarterbacking in Green Bay is a totally unique NFL experience. You have no owner. That's something. It's the smallest market, the smallest media. And so unlike Matt Stafford can literally put glasses on and disappear in Los Angeles and. But there are places. Buffalo's another one. But they have a hockey team, right? Green Bay, you are the. There's no owner. The most important position. You can't go to the grocery store. And I always.
- [35:49]
Matt Hasselbeck
There's a. There's a hundred thousand owners. So that's why you're going to run into the owner at the grocery store,
- [35:53]
Colin Cowherd
you know, but there's. I used to call it the Green Bay quarterback syndrome, is that you become. I mean, literally, it's. It's the Beatles. If they wanted to go back in Liverpool in their prime, like, it just. You can't hide. And I do think sometimes it can make you. It separates you from people and you kind of get, you know, it's a little exhausting. I remember years ago, Damon Stoudemire from Portland played for the Blazers. He said, I really love playing in Toronto. He goes, they had a baseball team, you know, they had an NBA team. It's an international city. I could hide. He goes, I can't hide in Portland. I'm an NBA player. And I do think being a, being a Packer quarterback, everybody thinks it's great. You were there if you're the superstar of the league, isn't it kind of difficult?
- [36:37]
Matt Hasselbeck
Yeah, certainly. And I saw Brett Favre deal with that. And everyone, you know, when I first got to Green Bay, they would talk about how it's a small market team. Well, our first game that year was in Tokyo against the Kansas City Chiefs. And, you know, I don't know, I probably saw 300 cheeseheads in Tokyo. So I think it's an international team. It's. It's a team that has a fan base that is everywhere, even though they happen to play in a. In a small city in Green Bay. I think the thing that I saw with Aaron Rodgers, and this happens sometimes when you're in an organization for a long period of time and people rise up the ranks there and kind of puff out their chest like, oh, I'm the reason, and we're the reason that we have won. Lombardi's here, and da, da, da, da. A guy like Aaron Rodgers is like, hold on here. I was the reason, or I was the bigger part of the reason why we were winning. Lombardi's here, not this new coach or new staff person or person upstairs. It's a very red tape organization because there is no owner. I remember being there for a special kickoff for, like, the centennial type season for the Packers. They wouldn't let Desmond Howard work out in the weight room on the treadmill because it was against team policy. You know, there's some things that are just super annoying. He was an MVP of the Super Bowl. There's been three in Green Bay at that point. Like, so, like, what are we doing? And I think those are some things that can kind of frustrate you if you're someone like Aaron Rodgers that's just obsessed with getting back and hoisting another Lombardi. You got people in the building that, like, maybe you, man, you're annoying to me. You don't see it the way I see it. I don't want to be near you. And I just. I think that's some of the rub. It's not so much head coach, quarterback. It's like, it's a great organization. Don't get me wrong. It's awesome. But because there is no owner, there are some challenges that feels like you're working through a government, governmental organization instead of being like, hey, Jerry Jones, can we get this done, please? Thank you.
- [38:36]
Colin Cowherd
What. What exact years were you in Green Bay? What years were those?
- [38:40]
Matt Hasselbeck
I was there 98, 99, 2000. So head coaches were Mike Holmgren and then Ray Rhodes and Then Mike Sherman. Quarterback coaches were andy Reid, Mike McCarthy, and then Tom Rossli, Darrell Bevel.
- [38:56]
Colin Cowherd
So you had some turnover in three years.
- [38:59]
Matt Hasselbeck
Sure did. And, you know, I think part of the exciting thing for us is they were coming off of two consecutive Super Bowls, and everything was on the up and up. Like Mike Holmgren, Ron Wolfe. It was just like this match made in heaven. And then Ron Wolfe retired. Mike Holmgren left to go to Seattle. Andy Reid left to go to Green Bay. There was a lot of, like, you know, the people that had hoisted that Lombardi were all out of the building pretty quickly. And so, you know, I saw it with Brett Favre, and he, you know, resurfaced with Mike McCarthy when he came back. And then Aaron Rodgers obviously took over, and then Ted Thompson was there, and then Ted Thompson left. It's. It's a lot of. There's been a lot of turnover. Even though there's been some consistency, I do think that there's some turnover there. And the people that have kind of been through it through thick and thin, you know, I think that can happen in. In an organization, especially when you're the guy pulling the trigger, you know, winning all the MVPs that Aaron Rodgers has won.
- [39:52]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah. Before we let you go, Justin Herbert, not at OTAs. Lamar Jackson didn't show up. Aaron famously went to Egypt after a couple days. Are OTAs overrated for veteran quarterbacks?
- [40:06]
Matt Hasselbeck
No, not really, but they're. They're not all the same. Like, there's a phase one, a phase two, a phase three. I think phase three is the most important part. So, like, this week, I believe, would be phase three for the Baltimore. I would love to see Lamar there. Not because he needs it, but he's got two young wide receivers that were drafted this year. He's got a young left guard that's there. Like, it would be such a benefit to the. Obviously a new head coach. So, again, it's not for you necessarily like Brett Favre when it come to some of the stuff in the off season. I benefited as the quarterback that got to run with the ones, but. But I think the team would have benefited had Brett been there instead of me.
- [40:46]
Colin Cowherd
Fair enough. Good seeing you, my man.
- [40:49]
Matt Hasselbeck
Have a great weekend. Colin. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.