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- [00:00]
Jason McIntyre
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:04]
Colin Cowherd
Banking with Capital One helps you keep more money in your wallet with no fees or minimums on checking accounts and no overdraft fees. Just ask the Capital One Bank Guy. It's pretty much all he talks about in a good way. He'd also tell you that this podcast is his favorite podcast too. Oh really? Thanks Capital One Bank Guy. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See CapitalOne.com Bank Capital One NA Member FDIC introducing the new Dell AI PC powered by the Intel Core Ultra processor. It helps do your busy work for you so you can fast forward through editing images, designing presentations, generating code, debugging code, summarizing meeting notes, finding files, managing your schedule, responding to Jim's long emails, leaving all the time in the world for the things you actually want to do. No offense Jim. Get a new Dell AIPC starting at 699.99@dell.com how those ahead stay ahead Nothing says summer like long days, clutch plays and firing off a few bets on the game. All with DraftKings sportsbook. If you've never been on baseball before, it's easy. Just pick a guy to go yard, hammer some live odds mid game or just ride your squad. Hope for the best. So download the DraftKings sportsbook app. The code, as always, is heard H E R d that's code heard. New customers 150 bucks in bonus bets instantly just betting five bucks only on DraftKings. The crown is yours.
- [01:28]
Alex Curry
Gambling problem. Call 1-800- gambler in New York. Call 877-8-Hopeny or text hopeny 467-369 in Connecticut. Help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Please play responsibly on behalf of Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Kansas. 21 + age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void. In Ontario, new customers only. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gam.
- [02:02]
Colin Cowherd
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.
- [02:21]
Jason McIntyre
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Happy Friday everybody. What is up? It's your boy Jason McIntyre in for Colin Cowherd. He is back on Monday. I know you're excited. Boy, a lot of venom online yesterday for some of the takes. But hey, it's Friday. Hot take, happy hour in full effect. I'm joined on this beautiful Friday by Alex Curry. Alex, I know you're excited for your big leave that's coming up.
- [02:56]
Marlon Humphrey
Yeah, I'm excited. There's a lot. There's the unknown, you know, but we're one day at a time, so we're here today. We're going to have a great last day.
- [03:04]
Jason McIntyre
We are.
- [03:06]
Marlon Humphrey
I love that you were getting heat for your takes yesterday because that means that they were polarizing, which is what you want to do.
- [03:13]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, I want to be loved, Alex. I just want to be loved in this industry. Although I'll say there was a story that dropped like eight minutes before we walked onto set. Oh, it is spicy. And we'll get to that shortly. I don't want to say LeBron versus Luca, but something's happening in LA and it does not look good for the King. We got a great show lined up, lot of exciting, fun guests. We'll do summer league stuff, little NFL. But we're going to start with the big debut last night. Cooper flag, the 18 year old phenom from Duke in his first NBA Summer League game. Now, I know everybody wants to draw dramatic, sweeping conclusions from a summer league game in Vegas. I'm just gonna warn you. Don't do that. Okay? The 18 year old Cooper Flag had an uneven game. Listen, this is what happens. What? Remember when Benyama last year came out in his first summer league game and was kind of awful and everybody's oh, he's not gonna. He's gonna be fine. That was two years ago. But Cooper Flag last night shoots five of 21 over five on threes. And all I hear is, well, I don't know. His shot doesn't look good, Jay. I. I didn't. Where is he? Elite. I'm like, guys, we saw him for a full season at Duke. He's elite everywhere. I mean, I. I just thought the overreaction to Cooper Flag shooting last night was goofy. Let me tell you what he does well. The guy's a winning basketball player. Should I mention, with 70 seconds left, he makes the game saving block on a layup attempt by a Laker guard. Just swats it out of thin air. And then guess what happens? He comes down on the fast break and Cooper Flag makes the game winning assist to a young nem hard. Boy, did that kid look good. And the Mavs pull out the win over the Lakers. And somewhere along the Line in the NBA mostly. We, we got to this. Hey, hey, if you're a jack of all trades but master of none, I don't know, it's just, what are you elite at? Well, let me ask you guys, when Nikola Jokic came into the NBA at 20, what was he elite at? Anyone? Anyone? What about Giannis? He gets into the league at 19. This spindly young fellow from Greece. Hey, what does Giannis elite at, Jay? Hey, sorry. Length, okay? That's not an elite trait. That's not a skill that carries over. Like Giannis came into the league, he wasn't elite in anything. Cooper Flagg comes in more advanced than those guys. As an 18 year old, remember a month ago, he should have graduated high school. That's when you usually graduate high school, right? 18 and a half. 18 ish. He, he completed a season at Duke, was utterly dominant, and now is in the NBA Summer League at 18 and a half. Doesn't turn 19 until later this year. That's crazy. And all these people who are like Jason, he shot 5 of 21. Look at the form on his shot. Guys, take a timeout. Take a deep breath. He played 32 minutes last night, okay? This guy's been working for the last decade to get to this moment. As a young guy, of course he had butterflies. I will point out he shot 84% from the line at Duke last season. Okay? Three point shooting, you know, how you shoot free throws is a better descriptor of how your 3 point shooting could go. Cooper's going to be fine from three, shot 38% of Duke. I don't expect him to shoot 38% in the NBA as a rookie, but he's going to be fine. I just think the overreaction and this whole, like, he's Andre Kirilenko. Can we stop with that nonsense? It's just goofy. People forget when it comes to the draft, it's not about what you are, it's about what you can be. I've tried to hammer this home in the NFL. I try to hammer this home in the NBA. Nobody cares about what Vijay Edgecombe is. As a rookie in Philly, he's drafted super high because what's he going to be in three, four, five years? We've got him on the rookie deal. What can he be? Well, I'm here to tell you, Cooper flag to me, I look at him and I see a young Kevin Garnett. And I know everybody who's going to hear that and see it online is going to say, well, wait a minute. Kevin Garnett won an MVP. Kevin Garnett was leading the league in rebounds for four straight years. Yeah, when he's like 27, Cooper Flag at 18 is better than Kevin Garnett was at 18, period. I mean, you can look up the stats. Kevin Garnett's rookie year, he was fine. Cooper Flag will be better because he's more of an advanced player at this juncture. Now the question becomes, will he continue to improve the way Giannis, the way jokic, the way KG? Those guys improved dramatically. Guys like LeBron and Luka came in not as finished products, but they were different. Okay? Luka was like 21, 7 and 6 as a rookie. LeBron, I think, was, like averaging 19 points, five boards, five assists. Those are otherworldly numbers. Extraordinary players, historic greats. I think Cooper Fly can get there. He's obviously not there yet, but can we please stop overreacting to him shooting 5 of 21 in what he called one of the worst games of his life? Here's Cooper Flag on his summer league debut.
- [08:24]
Cooper Flagg
I just couldn't really get into our rhythm. You know, it's a different environment. You know, I think it's obviously very different. College, it's probably very different from what, you know, the real end is going to be like. I'm not necessarily worried, but obviously just not happy with how it went. But, you know, end of the day, we did get the win.
- [08:39]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, I mean, listen, the win matters, I'm sure, to those who care about summer league. And Cooper Flag obviously wants to start his career with a win. I'll just say I see a guy who does everything well at 18, and that, frankly, terrifies me. Winning and what he is, he's a winning player. I mean, don't let's not bring up the loss to Houston. That cost me a lot of money in the NCAA tournament. That was not on Cooper Flag. He's got to get the ball. And, oh, by the way, just one last small thing for the basketball hoop. Heads out there. Go look at the reel of Cooper Flag last night. Every time he got in the lane, two, three defenders waiting for him. Not going to happen in the NBA, folks. He'll be surrounded by real NBA players like Klay Thompson, who you can't leave open, like PJ Washington, who becomes all of a sudden a good shooter. When he's around Luka and Kyrie, he's going to have NBA players around him. You're not going to be able to clog the lane. And Cooper Flags will be dunking on a lot of people and have a really good rookie year. All right, I want to pivot now to a story that was just breaking right before we came on air about a fractured relationship between the Lakers and LeBron James. Now, if you've been paying attention for a couple weeks, it's been smelling a little funky in la. Things have not been trending well. And according to a big deep dive from Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne, LeBron James is pretty ticked off. And listen, you could see from his actions that he's not thrilled with what's going on. And according to the story, and Windhorst is a great reporter and I know him well, and Ramona Shelbert, they're good. They're buttoned up. This is top level stuff. This isn't transactional reporting that are handed to you from agents. This is stuff you got to fish for. And it sounds like the gist of it is, hey, Lakers, let's remember a few things here. LeBron picked the Lakers. LeBron dragged the Lakers out of the wilderness. Everybody wants to remember. Kobe's final game was awesome. It was the final five years before LeBron got there. The Lakers were a dumpster fire. They were. It was the worst stretch in franchise history. LeBron saved them. He pulled them out of that disaster, okay? And within a couple years, brought them a title. Got them Anthony Davis. Okay? LeBron saved the Lakers franchise. That's not hyperbole, that's fact. He saved him. And now as he ages into his 40s, LeBron is feeling like the love is not quite there anymore and the focus is on the new shiny toy, Luka Doncic. And this article really articulates how there was a big wine and dine between the powers that be of the Lakers and. And Luca. And LeBron didn't get the invite. Maybe his got lost in the mail. And it was basically, how can we move forward? Here's our game plan, here's what we want to do. And it was like, LeBron was not an integral part of that. And you could see how he would feel salty. He was a second team, all NBA guys. He's the greatest player in the history of basketball. And he was awesome last year at this age, like, can we respect him a little bit now from the Lakers camp? They will certainly push back. Whoa. Well, wait a minute, LeBron, what are you talking about? Last year you want us to draft your boy, Bronnie? We drafted him last year. You wanted JJ Redick as head coach. We got him. So we're still catering to you. My guy, you're still in our game plan. But the problem is things have changed since last summer. The Luka Doncic trade changed everything. Remember before the Lakers were like, oh, we can build around Anthony Davis going forward. As LeBron gets into his 40s, AD will be our centerpiece. Lakers had an opportunity to get younger and better, and they did that. And it's pretty clear there's some mending offenses to be done with LeBron. And Jovan Buha, who covers the Lakers closely, he was on here yesterday talking about this relationship. LeBron wants him to spend all the picks. Here's Jovan talking about the issues.
- [12:49]
Jovan Buha
This is the first time you could say in LeBron's career he hasn't been the sole focus or the primary focus of his franchise that he's been on. Like, even with A.D. it was all, like, it was always LeBron trying to pass the baton to A.D. luka just came in and got the baton right. Like, I get it. He's a guy who's about to enter his prime, has already led a team to the Finals. But LeBron's just. I think the big thing is, like, he sees the finish line, whether it's another year, two years, and he wants to win that fifth ring. And it doesn't feel like the Lakers are going all in on this year's roster.
- [13:20]
Jason McIntyre
So now that's a decent point. LeBron's looking around, being like, are we better? Can we compete with Denver and Houston? I think deandre Ayton. I know the take yesterday did not go over well in the interwebs. Let's just be real, guys. Deandre Ayton at $8 million is a heist next year for the Lakers. Absolute steal. You take him over Rudy Gobert for 36 million in a heartbeat. All right, so the Lakers did get better. Obviously, Ayton's got a bit of an ugly history being a malcontent, but let's see if he shapes up with Luka and LeBron on the roster. And I gotta ask, this Bradley Beal thing. A lot of people are projecting the Clippers to get him. If the Lakers get Beal. I don't want to hear this. It's like Russell Westbrook. It's absolutely not. They're not even close to the same player. What? Westbrook's kind of an unhinged, I'm going to get mine, I can do it myself, guy. That's not Bradley Beal. Bradley Beal's never won anything, never been anywhere. He'll fall in line. I think obviously, LeBron is upset with how things went. Remember, at the deadline, they could have got Mark Williams, which would have been good. Lakers, nix that trade. I think in hindsight, we'll look back at that moment and be like, that was smart. Why? Because the Lakers are not going to be hamstrung for the next three, four, five years. They're able to build quickly around Luca, and I guess I can wrap up with this. The whole two timelines thing is difficult. You want to know, go ask the Golden State Warriors. Remember, after Durant left, they had injuries to Clay and Curry. They end up with a top five pick, and that's where they got James Wiseman and they also got Jonathan Kaminga. And those were two guys they thought they could build around going forward, but they had this old, old regime. Draymond green, Klay Thompson, LeBron. How do you merge those two timelines and get them on the same page? Now, the warriors, while they technically couldn't figure it out, they did figure it out because they got another title, but they didn't secure the long term with Wiseman and Kamingo. Wiseman got shipped out of town. He really hasn't panned out anywhere. And Kaminga is probably going to land elsewhere here in the next 10 days. So that timeline's done. It's difficult to thread that needle between young guys and old Luka, what, 26, LeBron 40. That's going to be immensely difficult. There are going to be some hiccups. I think they just. Lakers need to man up, get to the table, tell LeBron, hey, we can compete. DeAndre, by the way, LeBron, did you watch how OKC struggled against Jokic? Did you see how OKC struggled against Zubak? They can't handle Biggs. Then they got to go bigs, and their strength of guards and wings goes out the window. We've got Ayton. Obviously he's not Jokic, but he can hang inside. He'll give OKC problems. Like there is a world where the Lakers compete, But I think LeBron just needs to be shown the love. And frankly, sometimes we all need a little bit of love, Right? We have a phenomenal show today. And coming up next, okc. You know, I just mentioned them. They just signed another guy to a massive contract. But their title window, it's smaller than you think because of some dumb NBA rules. That's next year on the Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, Weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific, on Fox Sports Radio. FS1 and the iHeartRadio app.
- [16:46]
LeVar Arrington
Hey, what's up everybody? It's me, three time Pro Bowler LeVar Arrington and I couldn't be more excited to announce a podcast called Up On Game. What is up on Game?
- [16:56]
Jason McIntyre
You ask?
- [16:56]
LeVar Arrington
Along with my Fellow Pro Bowler T.J. hushman, Zada and Super Bowl Champion.
- [17:01]
Colin Cowherd
Yep, that's right, Plexico Burris.
- [17:04]
LeVar Arrington
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, Lavar Arrington, TJ Huch, Manzada and Plexico Burris on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast from.
- [17:27]
Colin Cowherd
Introducing the new Dell AI PC powered by the Intel Core Ultra processor. It's not just an AI computer, it's a computer built for AI. That means it's built to help do your busy work for you so you can fast forward through editing images, designing presentations, generating code, debugging code, running lots of apps without lagging, creating live transitions and captions, summarizing, meeting notes, extending battery life, finding that file you were looking for, managing your schedule, meeting your deadlines, responding to Jim's long emails, leaving all the time in the world for more you time and for the things you actually want to do. No offense Jim. Get a new Dell AIPC Starting at $699.99 at Dell.com AIPC how those ahead Stay Ahead Banking with Capital One helps you keep more money in your wallet with no fees or minimums on checking accounts and no overdraft fees. Just ask the Capital One bank guy. It's pretty much all he talks about in a good way. He'd also tell you that this podcast is his favorite podcast too. Oh really? Thanks Capital One Bank Guy what's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capital1.com Bank Capital One NA Member FDIC hi, it's the Herd. Nothing says summer like long days, clutch plays and firing off a few bets on the game. All with DraftKings sportsbook. As the season heats up, so do The Bats and DraftKings sportsbook has you covered with live betting, home run props, odd boosts and more. Whether you're chasing dingers or jumping in mid game, Always action to be had. If you've never bet on baseball before, it's easy. Just pick a guy to go yard, hammer some live odds mid game, or just ride your squad, hope for the best. No spreadsheets, just vibes dingers. So here's something special for first timers new DraftKings customers. All you have to do is bet five bucks and you'll get $150 in bonus bets and you'll get it instantly. So download the DraftKings sportsbook app. The code, as always, is heard. H E R D. That's code heard. New customers, 150 bucks in bonus bets instantly. Just betting five bucks only on DraftKings. The crown is yours.
- [19:49]
Alex Curry
Gambling problem. Call 1-800- gambler in New York. Call 877-8-Hopeny or text hopeny467-369 in Connecticut. Help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Please play responsibly on behalf of Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Kansas 21. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void. In Ontario, new customers only. Bonus bets expire 168hours. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see DKNG co Audio.
- [20:25]
Jason McIntyre
Welcome back, our number two here on the herd. It's a gorgeous Friday morning in Los Angeles. It's me, Jason McIntyre, in for Colin Cowherd. I did speak with the big guy yesterday. He is enjoying the burning embers of his summer vacation in parts unknown. I just like saying that because they used to announce a wrestling duo from parts unknown. I don't know if you guys remember that. Yes, I was a huge wrestling fan as a kid. I'm joined by Alex Curry, who attracts. Were you a wrestling fan or no? No.
- [20:59]
Marlon Humphrey
I will say now I appreciate the art of it because it is.
- [21:04]
Colin Cowherd
It's art.
- [21:05]
Marlon Humphrey
It's acting. And I think when you look at it that way, like, it's not. You're like, oh, it's not real. It's like, oh, no, it's real. These are incredible athletes. But it's theater.
- [21:13]
Jason McIntyre
It's theater.
- [21:14]
Marlon Humphrey
It's theater. So you have to look at it like theater. And I was a big theater nerd as a thespian growing up. So, like, once I think I, like, equated it to that. I was like, oh, I get it. This is cool.
- [21:22]
Jason McIntyre
Jake the Sake Roberts, ultimate warrior.
- [21:25]
Marlon Humphrey
Don't know names. I know the Rock. I love Dwayne the Rock Johnson. He's like my fave.
- [21:29]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, it seems like a nice guy. All right. Coming up here in like six minutes. Holy cow, we got an all pro NFL quarterback, Marlon Humphrey from the Ravens. You know, there's a new ranking out. The best secondary in the league belongs to the Ravens. Interesting the way they're building it. But we'll talk to Marlon Humphrey soon. I want to Go here. They love to do a good list on this show. They travel well online so they came up with J Mac. We need a six pack of teams that can win the super bowl and there's a couple obvious ones we'll get to. I could only find two in the AFC and four in the NFC. So here's my six teams as of right now, early July 2025. Who can win the 2026 Super Bowl. Let's start with that. San Francisco 49ers. They had a terrible year last year but it was due to injury. Now they get Brandon Iuk should be back. Although I'm seeing one report. He may not start week one. We'll see. But Ayuk should be a factor when he returns. Obviously the young fellow they drafted last year, Christian McCaffrey comes back. Trent Williams still breathing. I think this is going to be a great team. The schedule is the great determinant with the Niners easiest by far in the league. They only face three playoff teams from last year. They don't face any of the top five quarterbacks in the league. Folks. The Niners are a Super bowl contender. I would say a minimum of 12 or 13 wins. Next up, my pick to win the super bowl next year, the Buffalo Bills. They've been knocking on the door for a few years. Josh Allen, obviously tremendous. They came up a little short in the playoff game in Kansas City. We will not relitigate the terrible officiating in that one. Obviously Buffalo had some self inflicted wounds trying to pull off the tush push, brotherly shove, whatever you want to call it, repeatedly. And it failed. The Bills did add Joey Bosa. Not a bad pickup. Josh Palmer from the Chargers, Trus White. Not sure what he can give you as like a nickel dime cornerback, but they also have a very favorable schedule and they've won the last five AFC east titles. Wow, I did not realize that. It's been a while for my jets the the third team. I think they win the super bowl next year. Bit of a dart throw here. Washington commanders. So instantly I get pushback. Well, the Texans had a good first year with CJ Stroud. Then they fell back a little. Still made the playoffs. I thought Washington adding Laramie Tunsil and Debo Samuel was just a stroke of genius. I think is a really good team. I think they'll push the Eagles in the NFC East. They're vastly superior to the Cowboys and Giants and you just, you look at the continuity. Kept their head coach, kept Both coordinators, Terry McLaurin's holdout should be done here shortly. Folks. I know they got slaughtered by the Eagles in the NFC championship game. They will be much better that win over Detroit in the playoffs. I mean did Jaden Daniels making the leap in year two? I'm bullish on Washington. I think they could win the Super Bowl. Team number four? Yes, you got to go for the Philadelphia Eagles. They are favored to repeat. I do think it'll be a challenge. I would not bet them to repeat. Offensive line is formidable. Saquon Barkley coming off a heavy usage year scares me a little bit. You know I have Jalen Hurts as the fifth best quarterback in the NFL. They did lose their offensive coordinator. They lost Makai Becton, Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, Darius Slay, C.J. gardner, Johnson. That's like six starters gone. But the Eagles are going to certainly be an 11 win team and there's just too much talent not to be in the super bowl discussion. Next up. Yes siree the LA Rams, they are really the arrow is super duper pointing upward for them. They had the best off season according to one report. You know they grade the moves. One one report had the Rams having the best offseason. Adding Devonte Adams certainly helps they lose Cooper cup but Devonte Adams and Puka, that is pretty impressive. And their drafts the last couple years between Puka, Jared Verse, Fisk, they've just hit home run after home run. This is a really, really good team. If the offensive line holds up, they should make the NFC Championship. Finally my final team of the six pack that can win the Super Bowl. And it's not just because he's coming up as a guest here, but Baltimore Ravens number one secondary in the NFL. Obviously the Lamar Jackson a Derrick Henry combination is just filthy. You have to love adding Jair Alexander as like a dime cornerback. They got him on the cheap. Malachi Starks should form the best safety duo in the league. I know he's only a rookie, but he and Hamilton should be really formidable on the back end if the wide receivers can stay healthy. I mean listen, if Mark Andrews doesn't drop a two point conversion, I don't know. Are the Ravens in the in the Super Bowl? Do they beat the Chiefs on the road? This is a really, really good team. The Ravens will certainly be there. Can Lamar deliver in January? That's the big question. So those are my six teams that can win the Super bowl. The J Max 6 pack. They love this photo. And look at the jets on a dinghy. Is that what that is? A dinghy?
- [26:53]
Marlon Humphrey
An inner tube, a safety tube. Whatever it is, someone goes overboard, you toss it to them.
- [26:58]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, basically the jets are overboard for a good 15 years now. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app.
- [27:12]
Colin Cowherd
Introducing the new Dell AI PC powered by the Intel Core Ultra processor. It's not just an AI computer, it's a computer built for AI. That means it's built to help do your busy work for you so you can fast forward through editing images, designing presentations, generating code, debugging code, running lots of apps without lagging, creating live transitions and captions, summarizing meeting notes, extending battery life, finding that file you were looking for, managing your schedule, meeting your deadlines, responding to Jim's long emails, leaving all the time in the world for more you time and for the things you actually want to do. No offense, Jim. Get a new Dell AIPC Starting at $699.99 at Dell.com AIPC how those ahead? Stay ahead. Banking with Capital One helps you keep more money in your wallet with no fees or minimums on checking accounts and no overdraft fees. Just ask the Capital One bank guy. It's pretty much all he talks about in a good way. He'd also tell you that this podcast is his favorite podcast too. Oh really? Thanks. Capital One Bank Guy. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capital1.com bank capital1na member, FDIC.
- [28:38]
Jason McIntyre
All right, let's get to our guest, Marlon Humphrey joining the herd. The all pro cornerback from the Baltimore Ravens, college football legend. What's up man? How you doing?
- [28:49]
Cooper Flagg
Nothing much, feeling good. Enjoying the last couple of days before I got to start the real world. So I'm feeling good.
- [28:55]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah. Let me ask you, what was the summer like? I mean you, you've been on a hiatus. Did you go travel the world? Were you just grinding on football? What was going on?
- [29:06]
Cooper Flagg
A lot of golf, a lot of, a lot of less sleep nights. I just had a. Well, not just that, but got a six month old now.
- [29:14]
Jason McIntyre
Oh.
- [29:15]
Cooper Flagg
So it's been a different off season. Definitely not my norm. But I just got into golf so golf's been great. Football training and then a lot of family time. We just got had a family vacation so it's really good. But it's been great. Life has been really good.
- [29:34]
Jason McIntyre
Real quick on the golf. I, I find golf a little slow. You know, I like the up, more up tempo stuff. How do you handle that transition? Football is fast and powerful and golf is just like Taking it easy.
- [29:47]
Cooper Flagg
Yeah. I became a member of the country club that doesn't have a crazy ton amount of members. So people are going too slow. I just leave that hole. Go to skip around a lot of different holes. So I've made it kind of as fast as I. I don't know if I'm allowed that. So honestly, I might be telling on myself, but I've made it a little bit faster. But that is sometimes the bad thing of golf. It takes, it can take some time. There's some slower players and I feel like if you're not, you're gonna be a slower player. You at least got to be good. And most people that are slow are not good. So that needs to be a new rule for sure.
- [30:21]
Jason McIntyre
I hope your wife likes it when you say, hey, I'll be back in five hours. I'm going to play golf. My wife doesn't. Anyways, let's get to the NFL aspect. So Pro Football Focus recently ranked the secondaries in the league and you guys are number one. A, is that a surprise? B, obvious. And C, you know, a lot of defenses these days, Marlon, are building. Hey, you just need edge rushers. Let's start there. Cornerback is secondary safety and linebacker. Forget it. But you guys are kind of built different from the back end.
- [30:49]
Cooper Flagg
Yeah, I think for me, Honestly, we were 32nd last year. I believe last in the league. So for us to be ranked number one does not really mean anything to me. I just would love to not be last. I would love to be number one. That would be amazing. But I'm really focused on what we just did last year. We got essentially most of the same guys returning, so I would love to finish number one. That'd be great. But I do know for right now, the only thing on my mind is we were the 32nd ranked. And that was. That's. That's not cool. And that's just not very good. So I'm trying to fix that before we even think about being number one.
- [31:30]
Jason McIntyre
Toughest quarterback you faced last season?
- [31:36]
Cooper Flagg
The toughest quarterback I faced last season would probably.
- [31:44]
Jason McIntyre
I mean, he faced a lot of good ones. That's a problem.
- [31:47]
Cooper Flagg
Oh, Joe Burrow. Joe Burrow. I don't even know. Yeah, Joe Burrow. A surprising second even though we end up winning that game. But I felt we caught them on the earlier end. Jaden. Jaden Daniels.
- [31:59]
Jason McIntyre
What?
- [32:00]
Cooper Flagg
We caught them pretty early on. But I just remember, I'm like, man, for his. Got to be a rookie. He's. He was just so poised, so smooth. Seemed like he never was really phased, honestly. So I think from a young, young talent perspective, he's, I mean he already is a, is a star, but he was, he's pretty good.
- [32:19]
Jason McIntyre
Interesting. So no mention of Josh Allen there. I don't know Buffalo F going to take that as a slight or did you. You know, I. Was Josh Allen easier to prep for?
- [32:29]
Cooper Flagg
No, I think they, their game. Well, going off their playoff game plan, it just was a pretty, it was a playoff game plan, I felt. And they didn't really have him do anything crazy that they didn't need to do. They were, I thought their game plan was really good against us and they just kind of kept us on our heels and we, we just couldn't really, we couldn't really make the plays we need to make. I think you, you see more. I feel like you see a little bit more from a quarterback in a bad way when they score a lot of points on you and either you're ahead and they're trying to come back and quarterbacks really got to just full blown carry the team. But Josh Allen, Bovar managed the game. Yeah, that playoff game in just a great way. And I, obviously they beat us and you know, we played Jalen Hurts, but that was another to me, a simple, simpler game plan. And so there was. We played a lot of good quarterbacks, but the ones that seem like, yo, this guy's pretty good, obviously Joe Burrow and then Jada.
- [33:24]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah. Let me quickly, you mentioned playoffs, so I'll ask about it. Listen, you guys have had some tough endings to the season. Obviously, you know, the, the, the loss in Buffalo was just brutal. I'm just curious, what, what's the mood like after that? Because every season you guys go in thinking we got a shot at the super bowl and then to come up short again. I don't know, what was the vibe like? Do you remember that day pretty closely?
- [33:51]
Cooper Flagg
It's not the best. I think it was a lot of uncertainty. I felt for myself or some of the other guys didn't know if they'd be around the next year, including myself. And so there's, there's a lot of uncertainty. Obviously, you know, teams change every single year. Felt that you had a really good roster at the time. So yeah, it was just a lot of uncertainty. It was a lot of, you know, kind of what happened? What did we do wrong here? But it was definitely, you know, obviously every year if you don't win the super bowl, it's a. You didn't get the objective. But over my past eight Years. It was definitely a. Definitely a different feeling of just. It was just different. I don't know if it was because we thought we had a good team or what, but if I had to put into words, it would be just a lot of uncertainty.
- [34:41]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah. I don't know if Lamar is a golfing partner, but I'm sure you get this a lot. Hey, man, when is Lamar going to carry you guys? One day in January. And I know when is a team loses a team, but he has had some playoff games where he hasn't been MVP caliber. What do you say to people when they. When they ask you about. Or maybe nobody asked you about this? I don't know.
- [35:03]
Cooper Flagg
Especially I. I don't get asked that too often. I think I, you know, as a player, I don't really see it as a just quarterback only type stat. I know that's kind of how it is. It's all about, you know, the quarterback got. But I usually try to focus on, you know, how can we help, how can we play better, how can we win the game? On defense, there's been a lot of past Baltimore Ravens defenses that have, you know, led teams. All I know is that the biggest stat is, you know, we haven't really had. I think we've had one turnover and all of Lamar's playoff games. So I know it's all about the quarterback, but, you know, when you look at the numbers, you look at the stats, you look at the reality. The Baltimore Ravens defense hasn't really helped out at all or even done their part to win some of these playoff games. And that's kind of the biggest focus on us in the defensive room this offseason. And that'll be the focus in training camp, practice, and it'll translate to games.
- [35:55]
Jason McIntyre
A little inside football, but the Jair Alexander edition. Does this change anything for you? Do you prefer playing on the inside, outside? Does it matter? Or. Or. Because the secondary is pretty stacked right now.
- [36:07]
Cooper Flagg
Yeah, yeah, it didn't matter to me. I was super excited to. To add him to the. To the squad. I. I actually tried to hit him up on Instagram, but he deleted his Instagram. So I was like scrambling get his number. And then by the time I even could get it, I see him in the building, so I'm like, all right, sweet. And I. I talked to him and I'm just super excited. We got a lot of great players in our secondary this year. I think the way we want to play, who plays where, matchups, we put, you know, all our best guys in the field, I'm just super excited. It. I think you just can't go wrong adding a guy like that. And so I'm really excited for this year's secondary and excited for us to just make a lot of plays and hopefully he'll. He'll help, like I said, with getting those turnovers in the playoffs. You've done it before and I look forward to doing it again.
- [36:54]
Jason McIntyre
Let me quickly ask you, I noticed you played in 2015 at Alabama on a loaded team with Derrick Henry. Is that the most dominant team you've ever been on or was there a Ravens team you felt that was more dominant? Because you guys. I'm looking at the results 2015, you guys just eviscerated almost everybody.
- [37:14]
Cooper Flagg
We. Yeah, it would be. It would be hard. I have been on the number one defense in the NFL, but that Alabama team was just next level. I think everyone on the starters ended up getting drafted into the NFL. You were freaking giving the ball at Derrick Henry 40 times a game. Nobody could stop it. So it was honestly pretty crazy to look back on that team and you know, obviously the next year we end up losing a Clemson, but it would have been great to repeat. But that, that, that 2015 team, it was just. It was just loaded. And I don't. I don't know if they're. That domination is. Can only be done really at the college level. But that was, that was a great year.
- [37:59]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah. All right. We could wrap up. You. You got a movie, Nothing but a Winner. It's a documentary. Tell us about it being part of the process. What's that been like? And. And any comparisons to football.
- [38:11]
Cooper Flagg
Yeah, so it was great. I am executive produced Nothing but a Winner. Me and my sister, she's an actress in la. It was a great opportunity that got presented to me and I was able to be a part of it and kind of have inputs here and there and different things. It's basically just about, you know, the history of two great coaches at that happen to be at the University of Alabama. Some of the wins, some of the, you know, ugly losses. The kick six for my Auburn fans out there. Tune in to see the hat and you know, kind of how Bama came a part to be, you know, with segregation and different things. First, you know, athlete, African American athlete at the university. So a lot of different things going on with it, but it's just basically a documentary about just greatness, our form, the process of it, all the great things that kind of. And the rich history of Alabama football and just winning coaches that's the biggest thing is you can take away whether you're Alabama fan, not Alabama fan. It's just really a documentary about just something great and it'll be out soon and it'll be. It'll be really good.
- [39:16]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, it sounds like July 31st in theaters. Congrats on that. I'm curious. A lot of people look to set themselves up for a post career. You just turned 29, so you got a ways to go. But is Hollywood where you want to go next? Or, you know, a lot of guys transition to the media or you could, you know, do what Cam Newton's doing and just start a podcast and try to rabble rouse that way. What do you think in post career?
- [39:41]
Cooper Flagg
Had a lot of different thoughts. Media was one. You know, Hollywood would be. Would be awesome if I, if I chose that route. There's, you know, that's something I kind of think about. You know, obviously you do football for a long time and you're. You kind of figure out what do you want to do after. There's so many different ways you can go. But I would love to. You know, I always wanted to direct a movie. I always wanted to play in a movie. So I've always wanted to do something around that space. Maybe not full time, but the cool thing about all that is that's something you can do and do something else. But media, Hollywood, all those things are kind of things that interest me. It just. We'll just have to see when. What happens when I, When I retire, what the wife says, you know, she'll. She'll always have a big part in that. I wish I could be a pro golfer. If I could do that, I would. That'd be the biggest one.
- [40:27]
Jason McIntyre
But no way.
- [40:28]
Cooper Flagg
I think I missed too many reps when I was 6, 7, 8 years old. You can't get back. And so the best I could do now is maybe break 80 one day in my life and I'll consider that my Super Bowl.
- [40:39]
Jason McIntyre
Hey, let me ask one more thing. I just was watching those highlights and I thought about something. So Travis Hunter is coming into the league as an elite cornerback and wants to play both ways. I'm assuming in high school you were playing both ways and dominating. But Marlon, my big thing, the second he said this, I was like, okay, so you got to play the Ravens. So you got to go tackle Derrick Henry in space, then go to the sideline and come back on and run a bunch of pass. That's impossible. How on earth is he going to be able to do this? And I'm just curious your thoughts on did you play two ways in high school and yeah. Is this Mission impossible for Travis Hunter?
- [41:14]
Cooper Flagg
I think, you know, he is very talented. I think he's me watching. I think he's a really, really elite DB based off the, you know, a couple games I saw this past year. But to do both, it seems very Mission Impossible esque. You know, I think Dion obviously did a little bit of it, you know, back in his day, but I just think the game has changed so much since then. Dion was clearly light and day the fastest guy out there. Nowadays, everybody's fast. You know, I think of Jason Kelsey, that dude's running up on you just as fast as the dagum receiver tight end. So I think he's really got a tough challenge ahead. I think eventually he will realize, man, it's really, really hard to do this at a high level where every week you're playing a top NFL team. It's not like college where you know, there is teams on everyone's roster where it's like, this should be a pretty easy game. And that's just not the case in the NFL. And I think he'll, I hope he has success with it and I hope he just decides it's just too much for me as opposed to, you know, he kind of struggles with it, but I definitely think he has the ability to do it. But I more just think the stamina to do it. I don't know if anyone has that to do it for a full NFL season.
- [42:31]
Jason McIntyre
You played with Derrick Henry in college. Now he's your teammate. Have you, I'm just curious, have you ever tackled him? What's, what the hell is that like?
- [42:40]
Cooper Flagg
The problem is he's so tall a lot of times, so you go low, he. His knee will actually hit your head. And it's, It's a lot. He's this. I've got a tackle. He's somehow, I don't know how he gets stronger and faster in the fourth quarter while everyone else seems to be fatiguing. And I think that gives him a lot of his advantage. But his exception, speed. He's so tall. He's getting on the edge faster than what you think. And if you, if you don't go now, it's bad and it's stiff arm, it'll throw you around. But it's rough. It's something at the corner. You think, I shouldn't be doing this. I don't want to do this. The linebacker D line should be doing this. But when you do got to do it, you got to run your feet. Try not to close your eyes and try to get them down.
- [43:20]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah. Good stuff. Marlon Humphrey. Check out his movie, Nothing but a winner. End of this month in theaters. Congrats on everything, man, and good luck this year.
- [43:29]
Cooper Flagg
Yes. Thank you so much.
- [43:30]
Jason McIntyre
All right. Marlon Humphrey, who's a budding golfer. Who knew? I had no idea, but I hope Travis Hunter was listening. Did you, I mean, did you hear, did you see the reaction, Alex? He almost started laughing. He's like, yeah, that's mission impossible.
- [43:41]
Marlon Humphrey
It's hard. I mean, again, like, you, you, you never want to deter someone from reaching a crazy goal that we've never seen before. I mean, people laughed at Shohei Ohtani when he said he was going to be a power hitter and an ace pitcher. Obviously, it's way different on your body, baseball compared to football. But again, don't knock it until you, until you try it. I, I think that's kind of. Most players reactions are going to be what Marlon's reaction was, but again, he's very impressed. Producer golfer. Like, like, that was a good interview.
- [44:13]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah. Marlon Humphrey. Fun. This is an I heart pod.