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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.

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (3:18)

This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio.

Jason McIntyre (3:27)

Hello and welcome to the Herd. It's a lovely Thursday in sunny and warm Los Angeles. Yep, we got the heat wave out here. Sorry to those of you dealing with cold March weather. We don't know what that's like. And it's not just the weather that's hot in la. It's the Lakers. Oh my goodness. Or as the kids like to say, OMG. Welcome to the herd. It's me, Jason McIntyre, in for vacationing, Colin Cowherd. He's now cut me off, won't talk to me because the Lakers are so hot and he knows he's got to come back and do where Colin was wrong 17 times on the LA Lakers. I'm joined today by Rachel Nichols. Listen, we had a spirited morning meeting. Rachel, I know you're fired up, obviously, NCAA tournament. But the Lakers are the big story. We got Giannis.

Rachel Nichols (4:12)

Giannis, yeah, there's a lot going on right now.

Jason McIntyre (4:15)

There is a lot happening. We're going to get to Giannis in a moment, but I need to start with the Lakers and their win last night over the Rockets. They go to Houston this week, sweep the Rockets with two dominant fourth quarters. Monday it was defensively okay. Remember the blitzing, the pressing of Kevin Durant? Wednesday it was offense and it was a luka Doncic talking spicy. Did you hear him? That's what I bleeping do to the crowd in Houston after just taking over. Luka was sensational, as they say in soccer. Folks, I'm just telling you. I know people like to say, oh, he's overweight, he's not dunking. Are you watching basketball? Why are we doubting this guy? The highlight reel from last night alone, the alley. Oops. Ayton Rui LeBron. It was incredible. And it the Lakers performance overall made three things. Look at this job. Look, he's making Jabari Smith dance. Poor guy. And then he's looking at the crowd saying, that's what I do. I'm just telling you, if you don't like the Don Luca, you got problems. This guy is one of the best shows in the league and what he showed me last night in the Lakers, three things are very obvious. Yes. Number one, the Lakers are contenders. Serious title contenders. The round mound of rebound who just last weekend was out. No way. They're not going to. I think you got to change your team when you could take down New York, Minnesota, Denver and sweep Houston on the road. Peaking matters more in March than it does in January and December. The Lakers are hot right now. That's clear. Number one. Number two is LeBron James has fit into the role. JJ Redick put him in. They had some come to Jesus discussion. I'm sure it's going to come out later on about what went down. But look at this hot streak. The Lakers are on fire. LeBron's doing everything right. He had an amazing game last night. 13 of 14, six dunks, the most he's had in a game since 2017. We'll give LeBron his own segment shortly. But I think my big picture takeaway, watching this team gel or coalesce, as Reddick likes to say. I think it's very clear guys that I would rather face OKC in the second round than the San Antonio Spurs. The spurs terrified me, okay? They are downright scary. Okc really, really good defending champs. But right now, the way the Lakers are playing, as you hear J.J. redick here, I'm not afraid of the Thunder. Here's Redick on the Lakers hot streak.

JJ Redick (6:38)

There's a lot of things that are really good right now. Again, talked about it before the game, just high level of, of people embracing the roles that the team needs. I think our, our guys are doing a fantastic job of making in game adjustments as we toggle through different defenses, you know, different things that we want to exploit on the offensive end, just from where we were earlier in the season on both those things. Just being able to execute in game and then. And then embracing, you know, the roles that the team needs. I think it's just at a much higher level right now. You can tell when a group is connected, and we've. We've been very connected for the last couple weeks.

Jason McIntyre (7:23)

It's just so smart. Gotta love JJ Redick. And let's be real, it's not just LeBron who's bought in Deandre Ayton. I think he's going to remove his nickname of dominating, which is goofy. You don't dominate anything, okay? You get on the block, you score a couple buckets, you catch a couple lobs, and you play defense. That's the reality. You know, you're not out here looking for some big contract. Stop trying. Let Luka cook. I mean, Austin Reaves was terrible the last two games and the Lakers won handily. And I look at this potential opponent, you know, everybody. Oh, the Thunder are terrifying. Yes. They won the title last year. Do I need to remind you guys how they did? Because against that Denver team, Aaron Gordon was on one leg. He got hurt in Game 6. Game 7, he's on one leg, and OKC wins. And then you face the Pacers in the finals. And game seven was looking scary early. And then Tyrese Halliburton goes down and OKC pulls away easily. I'm not quite putting an asterisk by their title. It's not like the Raptors. Remember when the Raptors beat the warriors because KD was down and Klay was down? Like, that's different. This OKC team is really good. But as you see, some highlights here. Kayson Wallace. Yeah, really nice. Caruso, nice. Lou Dort. Here's the problem. They're so deep. OKC runs like 12 deep. They're a great regular season team. A bunch of young guys who are try hards. They run nonstop. But here's the problem. You start looking at the postseason and there's a great Pat Riley quote. You play eight and you trust seven. You're not playing 12 or even 10 guys in a playoff series. It's too high level. The minutes matter. You're not having SGA come off the court for 20 minutes. So, like Mitchell, who's a really nice player, Jared McCain, Wiggins, Isaiah Joe, all these guys are hugely valuable. There's just no minutes for them. So when you shrink the bench, I like the Lakers matchup against the Thunder. And you know, I'm trying to sell the staff guys, I'm terrified of Wembanyama. There is no matchup for him anywhere in the league and the Lakers certainly have nobody. Wembanyama. I was like fifth row when Wembanyama went for like 28 points in the first quarter against the Lakers. Now it was a mass unit Lakers, but they got humiliated. There are. There's no zone defense that's going to stop Wemby. He's unstoppable. And you look at Stefan Castle, go, go look online what he did at head to head against Cade Cunningham and sga. He's the best young defender in the league. I do not want Luka facing him in a seven game series again. Lou Dort, yeah, he's fine, but we know he's a cheap shot artist getting thrown out of games, doing dirty stuff. Lucas had his way with him. And oh, by the way, do I need to remind you guys the last team and player to take down OKC in the playoffs? You got it. Luka Doncic with the Dallas Mavericks two years ago. I looked it up. Luka averaged a nice 24, 10 and 8 in that series. Utterly dominant. And guess what else happened? All the role players on Dallas fit perfectly. Everybody did their role. I think the Lakers could do that. And honestly, if you don't think the Lakers are at least a major contender to come out of the west, you haven't been watching the basketball close enough. All right, I want to pivot to another story in the NBA that is a little troubling. You could see this coming from a mile away, but reports surface yesterday that Giannis and the Milwaukee Bucks are kind of sort of beefing. And I'm looking for the exact quote here because it's a little clunky when it comes out on social media and you. And you start to wonder, well, who's leaking this? Is this coming from the Bucks or is this coming from Giannis? I'm going to read it to you. The Bucks want Giannis shut down for the remainder of the season after his latest injury. And if you haven't been paying attention, the Bucks who haven't got out of the first round the last three years. Giannis keeps getting injured. Not great for a guy who's 31 years old. The team's playoff chances dwindled, but Atenokounmpo has refused the team's requests and wants to play. Why? You're hurt you're not making the playoffs, but Giannis wants to play. It gets better, folks. There have been multiple meetings over Antenna Kounmpo status in the last 24 hours since its hyper extended knee. And a disagreement has ensued between the sides on whether it is best for him to return. I'm of the belief, and feel free to disagree, that this is Giannis leaking this because he's afraid to be the bad guy. And I know you guys know this old quote, hey, if you try to please everybody, you please nobody. And Giannis is trying to come out not looking like the bad guy. He is terrified of being Kevin Durant or LeBron James. And I, and I get it, you don't want everybody hating you around the league and in Milwaukee, where you set up shop and want a title. But it's looking increasingly like that's going to be the case. Folks, I'm just going to break it down for you pretty easily. Okay? Rachel and I agree. Tanking works. I am pro tanking, especially, especially in this draft. Milwaukee sitting at 28 and 40, they're 10th in the West. They're not making the playoffs, like seven games out. So they have a 13% chance right now at the top four. And top four would be Debonza, Peterson, Acuff, Boozer, maybe Caleb Wilson. In that top four, they only have a 13% chance. But Dallas is 23 and 47, only five games worse than the Bucks. They have a 37% chance in the top four. So you're telling me if you shut down Giannis, and I know they're not good with him right now, they think they're 2 and 9 in their last 11. So they're not good with him. They're horrific without him. So you can triple, almost triple your chances from 13 to 37 of landing in the top four if you lose a lot more games, Folks, with Giannis, they're at least competitive. They can score. You see it on the screen. Without him, we're talking a full on dumpster fire like the Utah Jazz, who bench four starters last night. Well, you know, Jaren Jackson's hurt and they give up 147 to the Timberwolves without Anthony Edwards, it's like, yeah, they're trying not to win games because they want another good pick. The Bucks should be doing that. So why the hell is Giannis insisting I want to come back and play? Because he's trying to make it look like the Bucks don't want him to play. Do you remember what just went down with Max Crosby and the Raiders? They wanted to tank for Fernando Mendoza, so they tried to shut down Max Crosby. How did Max Crosby respond? He went and posted a Video on Instagram of him shooting basketball in his ridiculously awesome basketball court in his backyard, just swishing threes and moving clean. You're like, max Crosby can play. Why isn't he out there now? He obviously was injured. Obviously the meniscus. He needed surgery, but there was a push and pull. Why? Because Max Crosby wanted out. Giannis wants out. So now we're setting up a situation where the team and player are at odds, and Max Crosby could say whatever he wants. Jay Glazer broke the news on this way back. Matt Crosby wants out, okay? Giannis, I'm telling you guys, he wants out. I know he had a great run in. In Milwaukee. He would love to stay because he loves the city and his family. Kids were born there and all that. He wants to win, and he's not winning in Milwaukee anytime soon. So the move is to force your way out without looking like a jerk, like Anthony Davis. Remember when he was with the Pelicans and he was like, I'm not playing. Trade me. And Anthony Davis walked into the arena and they booed him. His own arena, because he was being such a jerk about it. Giannis doesn't want that smoke. He definitely doesn't want the LeBron Heat. Remember when LeBron left for the Heat, he did the Jim Grace special. I'm taking my talents to South Beach. He was hated in Cleveland and around the league because he looked like a bad guy. So what? You guys know, being in the media, you're taking all kinds of arrows. You're wrong about this. That's a terrible take. You got to have thick skin now. Maybe it's because I have a family and I'm older, but I really don't care about the social media stuff. Giannis, Kevin Durant, LeBron. These guys live on social media. They grew up with it. It's almost an extension of who they are. And it becomes very difficult to tune that noise out. So I understand where Giannis is coming from, but somebody in his camp has to say, giannis, it doesn't matter. People are going to forget this. You gave Milwaukee a title. Just move on, my guy. And I'm hopeful that Giannis could just pull the band Aid off and say, you know what? We had a great run. I'm ready to move on and play somewhere else. I don't think they're going to hate you in Milwaukee. So spicy start to the show. We got Luka, we got Giannis. We haven't even got to LeBron. We've got some NFL moves, Rachel. I mean, listen, this is a great show. I think there may be some basketball happening tonight in the NBA. I don't know.

Rachel Nichols (16:09)

March Madness.

Jason McIntyre (16:09)

March Madness is, I think, happening. But coming up next year on the Herd. Hey, Albert Brier floated something fascinating on Lamar Jackson. It was kind of eye opening. I was taken aback. Ravens fans online not happy with it, but there appears to be truth to it. Things are going down in Baltimore. It doesn't look great. That's next on the Herd.

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (16:29)

Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app.

Jason McIntyre (16:39)

Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast Straight fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod, pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day. Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the Sportsbook and all the best guests. Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight fire with Jason McEntire on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Ebglis Advertiser (17:59)

EBGLIS Lebricizumab LBKZ, a 250 milligram per 2 milliliter injection, is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 88 pounds or 40 kilograms with moderate to severe eczema, also called atopic dermatitis, that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin or topicals or who cannot use topical therapies. Ebglis can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. Don't use if you're allergic to ebglis. Allergic reactions can occur that can be severe Eye problems can occur. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems you should not receive a live vaccine when treated with ebglis. Before starting Epglis, tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection searching for real relief?

Ebglis Advertiser (18:34)

Ask your doctor about epglis and visit epglis.lilly.com or call 1-800-lillyrx or 1-800-545-5979.

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Jason McIntyre (20:45)

You are now entering the no Bull zone sponsored by Credible Great Rates with none of the bull. So Albert Breer came on the show yesterday and we were talking about Lamar Jackson. He took it to an interesting place. Obviously it's Been a trying. What are we looking at? The story came out in December, so we're looking at about three months in Baltimore. The story came out from. I believe Mike Preston was the journalist that like Lamar Jackson was falling asleep in team meetings. He was up late night playing video games. He's basically an overgrown kid. There were his own rules basically that he had around the organization. And Baltimore didn't exactly push back on this. It wasn't like a, this is fantastical or whatever people are saying now about politics, but there were a lot of oh, that's interesting. I can see that even apparently John Harbaugh was wearing thin of his act. Lamar had just been so not there and not locked in that it was like, is he taking this seriously? Like what's going on? And he would show up at minicamp and then dip after a day and it just remember he would miss a bunch of practices and people were like, why is he just missing a Wednesday practice? And there really was no explanation. Albert Beer tried to connect a lot of the dots yesterday. Take a listen.

Albert Breer (22:02)

If you look at Lamar's history, the years he's missed games due to injury have been the ones where he was in a contract dispute. And you look at it, 18, 19, 20, great start to his career. 21, he's first eligible for a contract, doesn't get one, misses games. 22, contract issue lingers, misses games. And then last year they talked about extending him before last year. Last year he winds up missing games. So you know, I, I do think that there's that part of it and I think it's complicated. This is all complicated by his play style. You know, is, is, is, are the Ravens all in with him? Are the Ravens going to, gonna, going to see this through with him?

Jason McIntyre (22:46)

And I think Rachel had the stat. He's been hit more than any other quarterback in recent years. I mean he's just taking a pounding. Here's where it gets interesting. So he's a two time mvp. So there is a chorus of folks saying, oh you got to pay him. He's Lamar Jackson. You want to compete? Well, does paying Lamar mean you're automatically going to compete? I mean they missed the playoffs last year. I know it was week 18 and if the kicker makes a field goal, that's very makeable. I think it was 44 yards, they were in the playoffs, no big deal. And Pittsburgh misses. Problem is they didn't make the kick and Lamar missed games and they weren't great. And then it was compounded when essentially they push out the coach Now I say they because it was the Ravens, but I mean more than a few people think Lamar Jackson was involved in that. And then it got worse. They lose their center, Linderbaum, he goes to the Raiders. They try to get Crosby, they pull out of it. Then they get Hendrickson. You look at the depth chart, they lose two of their three tight ends. Mark Andrews is still there, but they lost likely in free agency. And the third string tight end who was pretty good kid out of Iowa State, he's now with the Chargers. So you're losing depth. You've got an unhappy quarterback. You've got a rookie first time coach. You've got the black eye of the Max Crosby saga. You bring on Hendrickson. I don't know. You know, he's a fine player. Is he going to be a game changer for that defense? I don't know. I feel bad for Jesse Minter. You see him here posing with his family first time he gets a head coaching job. He's got a minefield in Baltimore. Yeah, he's got a quarterback who when healthy and locked in is awesome. But I'm not so certain that things are looking rosy in Baltimore. And I and I'll add this, what happens if Lamar says, guys, if you don't give me what I want, well, I'm not signing for anything less? Then it becomes a real ugly power struggle. When you give a quarterback this much power, things don't always work out that that great.

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (24:40)

Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific.

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Podcast Host (25:15)

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Ebglis Advertiser (25:34)

HempGlass Libricizumab LBKZ, a 250mg per 2ml injection, is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 88 pounds or 40 kilograms with moderate to severe eczema, also called atopic dermatitis, that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin or topicals, or who cannot use topical therapies. EBGLIS can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. Don't use if you're allergic to ebglis. Allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. Eye problems. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems. You should not receive a live vaccine when treated with ebglis. Before starting ebglis, tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection.

Podcast Host (26:08)

Ask your doctor about ebgliss and visit eglis.lilly.com or call 1-800-lillyrx or 1-800-545-5979.

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Jason McIntyre (28:21)

Here we go. Our number two on the herd, Jason McIntyre in for Colin Cowherd, joined by Rachel Nichol. Just talk some NFL draft. We got Mark Schlaroth coming up here breaking down that big Broncos trade. Broncos, best team in the afc. Sure feels like it. I don't know, Rachel, you think Denver maybe kind of sorta.

Rachel Nichols (28:44)

I mean, they've loaded up from a team that made the championship game, right? So I don't see.

Jason McIntyre (28:50)

What about your commanders? We haven't talked about them at all. It's been a minute. What's going on?

Rachel Nichols (28:54)

I mean, they're gonna get there. Look, but I said it at the time, right? It was amazing to go to the NFC championship. Like when I say championship game, that's what I mean. But it was a little fluky, right? They won a bunch of like one possession games the other teams didn't. Yeah, and they didn't. There wasn't a huge question going into that game against the Eagles that oh,

Jason McIntyre (29:15)

who's going to win?

Rachel Nichols (29:17)

That's hard to replicate right away. You got to build to it. So I have faith.

Jason McIntyre (29:21)

I like those. You got to have faith. I have faith in the jets for 20, 27. 27.

Rachel Nichols (29:26)

Just to be clear, I was gonna say my faith may be different than your faith.

Jason McIntyre (29:29)

For sure. All right, so we'll do NFL in a minute. Real quick. I just Gotta talk about LeBron. I know people are, oh, he's so annoying. He complains, he gets hit in the face. It's fake. He's not really hit. Like, let's just put that all aside. He had an unbelievable game last night. 13 of 14 shots. He's 41 years old. He had six dunks. I mean, look who. By the way, it's small stuff like this. Tari Eason's number 17 on the Rockets. You see LeBron just take him off the dribble easily. And Easton shaking his head. All these Laker bloggers out there, they're trying to break down who are we going to get next year. Tari Eason is like one of the top four targets. LeBron just abusing him. I mean, look at LeBron dunkbacks. He caught a one handed alley. Oops. That was a totally turned back the clock. I mean, he's just. The guy is unbelievable. Even if you don't like his politics or his social media or his king, all that stuff. Or you're defensive about Michael Jordan, which I don't know why you'd be. Michael Jordan doesn't care about you. It just feels strange to not like and enjoy what LeBron's giving us. There will be a day soon, look at that alley. Oh, he's gone and he's no longer in the league. And you're like, oh, you know, I can't get as excited about, I don't know, Cooper Flagg as I could LeBron James and I love Cooper Flag. And just to see what LeBron's doing in this new role, he's essentially been told, hey man, you're a free agent, we don't know if it's going to work for you in LA next year. And JJ Redick, who used to do a pod with LeBron, clearly talked to him and LeBron has responded. Here's Redick talking about LeBron's big night.

JJ Redick (31:13)

He was awesome tonight. And I think too, you know, part of the evolution of him on this team has been and particularly in this stretch has just been his patience. His patience. Knowing, you know, he's going to get the ball and he's going to have transition opportunities and he's going to have plays called for him and he's going to, you know, play off ball and, and get a corner. 3 First play of the game like he's, he's going to have those opportunities and he's played really patiently.

Jason McIntyre (31:44)

You got to respect it. As an old guy myself, I really love to see this and I'll just put a bow on it with this. So early in his career, LeBron was surrounded by pretty much nothing. Took the Cavs to the Finals. Really impressive stuff. Then he goes to Miami. Oh, I don't know if he can work with Dwyane Wade. They're too similar. Four strips to the finals. Two. Two titles. Then he goes back to Cleveland. Now can he play with Kyrie Irving, a bold dominant point guard? Yeah, they took down the 73 win warriors in the finals. Then he goes to the Lakers. Anthony Davis, can they work together? I mean, two ball stoppers, two non shooters, yet win a title in the bubble. At some point we've got to get wise and be like, dude, why on earth are we doubting this guy? Why? All he does is deliver all the friggin time. It's like with Nikola Jokic in Denver. Well, he's kind of doughy, he's not athletic, he's just a Great freaking basketball player. And we do, we see this in sports all the time. I mean, our next guest is in Denver and like John Elway could not win the super bowl for the longest time. Then he couldn't get back to the Super Bowl. Then it's like, is he that good? And then he went to the Super Bowl a couple times late and delivered like, stop doubting superstars. They got where they are because they're special players, special athletes, a different makeup. You're just built different. All right, let's get to our guest, Fox Sports NFL analyst Mark Schlerith. I've worked with him many, many years. The guy has to be super excited right now about his Denver Broncos. Where are you right now, Mark? That is a nice setup.

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (33:21)

I'm, you know what, I'm Jason right now I'm at the, at the, the studio, just in a conference room at the studios that I work at in Denver radio.

Jason McIntyre (33:31)

Yeah, it looks sweet. So Denver's very excited right now, huh? I mean, goodness gracious. Jalen Waddle for nothing.

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (33:37)

Like it went from, it went from this, this panic stricken. Like the only, the only players that we had signed were our own players in free agency. And the Denver, I mean Broncos country was just beside themselves. Like we're not going to participate in free agency and like we need a weapon and we haven't addressed anything and we don't think our players are all that good, although this roster is exceptional. But I will agree with, with the panic of Broncos country that we needed a weapon. We needed somebody in the offensive passing game to take some pressure off of Bonix that Bonix can really play with and get excited about. And the thing about Jalen Waddle is he's a guy that can lift the top of coverage. He'll run every route on the route tree. He'll run the, in cutting routes, catch the ball. He can catch it, you know, at 8 yards and take it 80. He's that type of player and that's what he does. He's a phenomenal football player, a great kid who fits the culture of the Denver Broncos. Hard worker, all those things. And I tell you, I tell you he's also a guy that's smart, that can play every position so he can play, hey, if Cortland Sutton's out, he can play the X. If they want to put him at the Z receiver, you know, the strong side receiver, he can play that receiver. He can motion down and play in the slot. So he can do everything. He's an exceptional athlete. And I really Think this is the one boy the Broncos were really missing that really helps them out in their passing game.

Jason McIntyre (35:10)

Interesting. So I don't want to get too excited about your Broncos, but I'm going through the depth chart. Secondary stacked, linebackers are very good. Defensive line loaded, offensive line excellent. You know offensive lines as well as anybody. I don't see a discernible weakness on this team. If you had to identify a position group, where is the weakness, Mark?

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (35:30)

Well, I would say versatility, tight end position. They have a guy by the name of Troutman who you know, if he's in base formation. And when I talk about base in the NFL, like bases 1st and 10 for me or 2nd down and 5 minus. If Troutman is in there, it's probably, I did an 8 down break breakdown of him and just his targets over the season and an eight game breakdown. There's probably and this off the top of my head, just watching all the film about an 80% chance that they're going to run the ball when he's in. And for Ingram it's exactly the opposite. If he's in on first and 10 or second down and five minus, there's probably about 80% chance they're throwing the ball. So to have that guy that's got duality, the guy that's got the versatility to line up and you have to decide as a defense, hey man, are they going to throw the ball? Are they going to pass? They're going to throw the ball, they're going to run the ball. Should we play them in nickel or should we play them in base? Like that's a big thing and that's a weakness for me with the Broncos right now at that tight end position. And then the health of Your running back, J.K. dobbins is phenomenal, but he's phenomenal for about eight or nine games a season. That's it. And so, and, and I did not think that RJ Harvey as good as he was in his rookie year, I did not think that he was in every down like a first and second down back. He excelled in third down situations in my mind. So do you have enough in your backfield to, to feel confident about your team?

Jason McIntyre (37:00)

Okay. I just was thinking, listen to you talk. So you didn't mention Bo Nix as a potential weakness. I don't think he's a weakness. But I do recall at the, when he got injured, I think there was something where Sean Payton was like, yeah, you know, he was bound to get hurt given the injury. And then Bo Nix like Called a press conference or maybe called into your show. I don't remember what it was, but Bo Nix essentially was like, no, he's wrong. Was there any brief off season squabble between those two, or am I making stuff up?

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (37:26)

No, I think there's. I mean, I think the way Sean coaches, there's always a little bit of tension. I think it's one of the reasons they went to Davis Webb as the new offensive line play caller is because that was the quarterback's coach. There's a combination and a reflection there. And I think sometimes Sean looks at it and says, maybe I'm a little bit too close and I need to step back a little bit. And I think there's part of it also that I think Sean looking back on, on. And I don't know, I haven't talked to him about this, but Sean looking back on that AFC Championship game, I bet you he sits there and goes, if I wasn't such a competitive play caller and I wasn't calling the plays on that fourth down and one, if I was just. If I just had that 30,000 foot view, I probably would have kicked that field goal. And I think if we kick that field goal, we go up 10, nothing. Remember at the time, New England had 12 plays and 12 total yards in that game and a snowstorm was coming. And I think you look back on that and say, maybe I would have been a better decision maker had I been the CEO as opposed to the CEO slash play caller.

Jason McIntyre (38:33)

This is why we have you on. That's a great take. I hadn't heard that anywhere. I like that. All right, let's look at some macro stuff around the league. Let's start with the Max Crosby stuff. When you first heard that the Ravens backed out a. Had you ever experienced anything like that or heard of a move where you signed somebody? Big trade fanfare? No, we don't want them. That. That seemed kind of shocking. And it was a bad look for the Ravens, or is that over?

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (38:58)

It was a. No, it was a bad look. And listen, man, I did an extensive breakdown on my podcast, the Single Truth podcast about. I failed three physicals in a row in 1990, after the 94 season, 95 going into 1995. And I failed in Chicago, I failed in Indianapolis, I failed in Atlanta, where the doctor in Atlanta told me I had the left knee of an 80 year old woman and didn't believe that I played the National Football League. That's exact quote. That's a quote. And then I went to Denver and I Literally could have made fart noises with my armpit, and they were going to pass me. And I find out later that Mike Shanahan just said, hey, man, I want. This guy's a great player. And he passes the physical regardless. So now think about this. That same knee at that point, that same knee that failed three physicals when I went into for in the line of duty disability after I retired in 2001, that knee at that point, I think it had six surgeries on it after that point, another six years in the league, another six years of wear and tear. I had another nine surgeries on that knee in particular. Right. So 15 total surgeries on that knee. And I went into a physical with the NFL doctors, and the first one I took, they did not pass me as being disabled enough to collect in the line of duty disability. So, meaning. Meaning from another six years and another nine surgeries, the knee that failed three physicals, and it failed the physical in San Diego in. In 1997 as well. The. The knee that failed four physicals wasn't disabled enough to get the benefit from the NFL. So the reason I tell you all that is because if Trey Hendrickson isn't available, if Trey Hendrickson signs in Indianapolis or He signs for $40 million and he's not available, Max Crosby passes that physical. That's what I believe. That's how it works. And so you've given yourself an out, and you took the out, and I get it, you can do it. It's a bad. It's a bad look. But you didn't all of a sudden, like, you didn't all of a sudden Max Crosby come in there, and all of a sudden your doctors go, did you guys know he had surgery? We didn't know. He just got off crutches. We had no idea. There is always going to be degenerative changes in any joint. If you play in the NFL, you can have the most pristine career and never been hurt, and you will have arthritic, degenerative changes in every joint in your body because you play in the National Football League. That's just the way it is. They backed out of a deal because they had an opportunity to back out of a deal. And look at, man, that's their prerogative. That's how the rules work. But like you said, it's a really bad look.

Jason McIntyre (41:54)

Yeah. Wow. Let's go to Kyler Murray. I was kind of sort of stunned that the Minnesota Vikings make it sound like some of these reports that he's going to be the guy in Minnesota. But Mark, my question is, once the Cardinals tried to trade Kyler, no takers. Fine, okay, they cut him, no takers. But Minnesota thinks he's a starter over J.J. mcCarthy. What are your thoughts on, on Kyler Murray going to Minnesota?

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (42:20)

Yeah, I think he, I think he is a starter over McCarthy and what we've seen here in recent years, you can go to, you know, Baker Mayfield, Baker Mayfield was playing scout team defensive end for the Carolina Panthers, gets cut, goes to the Rams for a couple of weeks, has a game against the Broncos where they hangs 50 on them, has this quarterback rehabilitation process, goes to Tampa and has been great, right? I mean, he does that. So you got that aspect. Then you're talking about a guy like Sam Darnold who turns down other teams to go to San Francisco to have that opportunity to go to quarterback rehab, goes to Minnesota, plays exceptionally well, then wins a Super bowl last year. Right? Now, all of a sudden you've had this, hey, Mac Jones going to San Francisco and playing exceptionally well under Kyle Shanahan last year, that was. So you look at Kyler and say, hey, man, if we can get Kyler to play within the system. The problem with Kyler Murray and I've done a lot of Arizona games that he, he's in love with the sizzle more than he is the steak. To be a great quarterback in the National Football League, it's not about putting up highlights for Fox or for ESPN or whatever. It's about falling in love with the boring. And until he learns to fall in love with the boring, he's always going to be one of those guys that puts up unbelievable highlights and loses games. That's who he is until he learns to do that. Jason.

Jason McIntyre (43:55)

But you're in those meetings with Kevin o' Connell when you call games, I thought he was more of a I need my guy on script. I don't want you running around like a chicken with your head cut off, just trying to make plays. So that's the only reason I'm still like, McCarthy's a pocket guy. He's can scramble, but I feel like he wants to go pocket first. Do you think Kyler can be a pocket first guy?

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (44:16)

I think Kyler has to have a moment of humility and self reflection where he says, now I make a lot of really big plays and it looks really cool, but ultimately it doesn't win. That doesn't win the NFL. Hey, listen, when you're playing off script, I always say the NFL is a 70, 30 rule league. 70% of the time. You got to be on script 30% of the time when things break down, you got to make a play. But your default mechanism, Jason, has got to be from the neck up, not the neck down. Because what ends up happening is you'll make two or three big plays, and they're remarkable, they're spectacular. But you'll take four sacks, you'll fumble the ball and you'll throw an interception. And at the end of the day, you've got a highlight reel that's exceptional, that nobody can match. But you lost 27, 23.

Jason McIntyre (45:13)

Right?

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (45:14)

That's the way these things go down, and that's what he has to learn. Can Kevin o' Connell and the Minnesota Vikings convince him that that's the way he's got to play? I've seen him do it. I know he's capable. Will he? That's my question.

Jason McIntyre (45:29)

Can you teach an old dog new tricks? I'm going to go ahead and say no. I forgot when I talked about the Dolphins trade for Waddle. Malik Willis goes to Miami. Within a week, they trade Jaylen Waddle. Mark, I'm going to read to you Malik Willis, first chance to be a starter, right? These are the receivers the Dolphins gave him. Malik Washington, Jalen Tolbert, Tutu Atwell, Theo wise, Theo Wiese Jr. Taj Washington. He's gonna have no chance to win there or have any success. I mean.

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (45:57)

Yeah.

Jason McIntyre (45:57)

Do you think he's got buyer's remorse? I know he got paid, so he probably doesn't care, but.

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (46:02)

No, I think there's a rebuilding process that's going on here in Miami. Listen, man, Miami is one of the toughest places in the National Football League to win because just the culture of Miami, you know, when Mike McDaniel went there to. When he went there to coach,

Jason McIntyre (46:22)

like,

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (46:23)

he goes as football nerd, he comes out as, you know, Crockett and Tubs, you know, with the, you know, obviously he's got the culotte pants, the pedal pusher pants. You know, he's got the big glasses and the whole nine yards. Like there's a cultural thing there. It's just hard to win. And I always say this, man, you get late in the season and it's. You're like, your coaches are up your can, right? They're on you. You just lost a game. It's miserable. You're grinding through the tape. Everybody's just angry and pissed off. You go home, right? It's raining out and it's nasty. And you come back and you just got to do anything. You can to get that victory in Miami. All those things are true. And then you walk out of the facility, and it's beautiful sunshine. You go, let's go down to the beach and get margaritas. You know, life is great. It's just hard culturally, to win there. You got to get the right type of players. You got to get guys who love the game, who are intrinsically motivated and not out, you know, trying to be part of the Miami scene.

Jason McIntyre (47:25)

Yeah. All right, we'll wrap up. Mark real quick. Because you work at Fox, we're contractually obligated to ask you about Aaron Rodgers, who is either on a darkness retreat or doing ayahuasca somewhere in Bali right now. We don't know. First of all, what's your interest level in Aaron Rodgers? And B, should the Steelers even want him back, or do they say, let's reboot on the cheap guy, Will Howard see what we've got? And if we don't have anything, we draft a quarterback next year, start over.

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (47:52)

Yeah, listen, man, he played pretty well last year, all things considered. He's still pretty. He's still. Yeah, but I mean, I think you look at it like, would you rather have Kirk Cousins or Aaron Rodgers? Like, if it comes down to those two guys and you. Is there still a trade available? Is Mac Jones. Is Matt Jones. Like, would that be a part of a trade? Listen, I personally feel like at this particular point, you know, there's this sliding scale of justice. And, you know, when you are so exceptional, I mean, he had 27 TDs versus, I think, seven interceptions, something of that nature. There's, like, when you're so exceptional, you'll put up with the ayahuasca. You know, I've got a wife, but nobody's ever met her. You know, you put up with. With all the stuff.

Jason McIntyre (48:45)

Yes.

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (48:46)

And I'm a. I'm an Aaron Rodgers lover. But I think at some point, it's time to move on. And I think about Pittsburgh. I am ready to say, hey, man, see you around sometimes. Now, the One thing is, McCarthy there is interesting to me because they have worked, and they've won a Super bowl together. That's that. That's the interesting dynamic. Can you get Aaron to play, you know, Aaron Rodgers football, and can you run the ball and take some pressure off of him for some of the things he doesn't do as well as he used to? I don't know.

Jason McIntyre (49:17)

I'm kind of. With you. I would move on. It's just a headache. Kirk Cousins is low. I don't know when you were a single guy, you like low maintenance women, right? It's like, I don't, I don't need the high maintenance. Aaron Rodgers is high maintenance.

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (49:29)

Kirk Cousins,

Jason McIntyre (49:31)

right?

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (49:32)

It feels to me like the, the, you know, the juice is not worth the squeeze anymore with Aaron Rodgers. And I'm with you on Kirk Cousins. I think Kirk Cousins now two years removed from the Achilles. And I thought last year doing an Atlanta game and seeing what was going on on Friday practices, that just baffled me. Nobody practiced off the. Kirk Cousins on a Friday, going into a game was running his offense with nothing but backup wide receivers and backup players. I think, I think three or four of the offensive linemen weren't practicing. None of the receivers were practiced. Like, I understand that on Wednesday if everybody's beat up, but Friday is your dress rehearsal and we are practicing on Friday with nobody who's actually going to play in the game. I was standing. What are we doing? What are we doing? Yeah. Oh, yeah. They get the day off. You know, your hamstrings are a little sore. I don't know.

Jason McIntyre (50:36)

Fire the staff. I mean, you know, it was, for

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (50:40)

me, it was one of those things where I'm like, dude, that, that, that does. Friday's your dress rehearsal. Friday. I gotta have you going. Like, in my day, if you didn't practice Friday, you didn't get to play. That's like, that's how it worked, you know. And, you know, I know I'm old man shouting on clouds like Colin always says, but dude, there's, there's something to being ready to play this game at an elite level. There is something to do being a professional. I was a professional freaking football player because that's what I did. And that's what I expect. And that to me is not professional football. That is, that is Patty cake Pop Warner. You know, everybody gets a, everybody gets a certificate of participation stuff.

Jason McIntyre (51:22)

Participation trophy. Love it. All right, Mark Slayer. Great stuff. Enjoy the off season, buddy. We'll see you soon.

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (51:28)

All right, Sounds good, Jason. Take care, buddy.

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