← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
What's Wright - Bills INSANE press conference, Nick's Lamar Jackson Ravens-Raiders TRADE, NFL Awards | Nick Wright
01:07:01
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- [00:00]
Nick Wright
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.
- [00:06]
Damon Bruce
Welcome in Walter I nick ride episode 418. And this episode, as always, is presented to you by our great friends at Boost Mobile. Damanze. Good morning. Great to see you. I'm a. I'm a little upset with you. Just gonna get this out of the way here.
- [00:26]
Nick Wright
Feel like I might know what it's about, maybe I don't.
- [00:30]
Damon Bruce
Well, now I'm interested because I'm certain you don't know what it's about. So now I'm a little curious what you thought it was about. But we can save that maybe for off the air because what I am because this is, after all, year long you embarrass me by crushing your teasers while I just scuttle along as a 500 picker of games. You then come the playoffs decide you're going to start picking games too, and you're crushing me. It's just a total a debacle on my end what's happened. And so yeah, I mean, that's not certain as well. Well, that's what I think. I think maybe next year we each do five picks on, you know, unrelated to each other. And maybe I also start doing a teaser. Yeah, maybe I drink your milkshake a little bit. And so. So there's that. Oh, I mean, it's a line from my favorite movie of all time. And so the I drink your milkshake. So here's the deal.
- [01:41]
Nick Wright
Blood.
- [01:42]
Damon Bruce
Yeah, there you go. Tomorrow's show is our gambling show and our pick show. There are only two games, so that would be a very, very short show. So we are what we would typically do here. We're previewing this weekend's games on Thursday. We're going to save most of the preview of the two conference championship games for tomorrow, wrap it into our pick show. So that is why the docket is what the docket is today. So today, you know, there's still plenty of news to get to and we will get to all of it, including some really interesting Lakers reporting that we will get to later in the show and the NFL awards ballots, the awards finalists, I should say coming out, all of that. But we're going to start the show with the Bill's press conference disaster class from yesterday. But before we do that, let's go straight to voicemail. Brought to you by our friends at Boost Mobile Warriors, General manager Mike Dunleavy, warriors with I listen, I just got to say it a good a legit bar in when talking about Jonathan Kaminga's trade Demand quote in terms of demands. When you make a demand, there needs to be a demand on the market.
- [03:01]
Nick Wright
Damn, that's a nice line. I feel bad for Jonathan Kaminga. What's going on over there with him and the Warriors.
- [03:06]
Damon Bruce
I mean it's they, I mean this is like the seventh different iteration of them being unhappy with each other. I as good as that line is, I do wonder if Dunleavy, had he known Jimmy Butler was going to go down with a torn acl, if he would have maybe kept that in his holster a bit. The Knicks have a players only meeting and then beat the Nets by 54 points. And Baker Mayfield welcomes Kevin Stefanski to the NFC south by saying he's still waiting on a call and text from him after he got shipped off like a piece of garbage. I can't wait to see it twice a year. Coach very quickly important this very succinct tweet. There's some real wisdom that can be learned from it and that is always make the uncomfortable effort because if you don't, it will sit with you and with the other person. Like that is. I'm not going to trying to be too deep. I'm not. But the, the everyone you always end up. Let me rephrase it. You never regret the final chapter. Phone call, text, note, email, whatever. And you almost always do regret if you can never get the stomach up to do it. And I've done. I've had both sides of that coin where I have or I haven't now I people might be thinking I'm like giving relationship advice here. This isn't like romantic relationship advice because that's something that I don't have like experience in. Like I've been. I've been in one relationship for basically the entirety of my 20s and all of my 30s and I'm now in my 40s. But the I have had people that I worked with very closely for years that then left and I no longer worked with them. And I I know the sick feeling I'm sure Kevin Stefanski had of man, I do. I this is not going to be a fun conversation with Baker Mayfield, but years later I'm sure he wishes he had done it. And you the, the sense and I have been in the spot where there is a couple people that I never made that phone call or text. And to this day I'm like, well, I mean it's obviously too late now and you just feel badly about it and you always feel better on the other side of it having done it, even if the actual experience of it is uncomfortable. So I know this is maybe a little deeper than we thought we'd start the show with, but I saw that and I was like, man, that's a. That is that there's a life lesson in there. And I, you know, I. It was. To me, it's one worth spending a moment on. All right, reminder everybody, like, rate, subscribe, review to the show because not only do you get, I mean, just the greatest sports takes around, but occasionally you get like, wow, maybe that actually will improve my life a little bit of. I wouldn't call it life advice, but just, you know, wisdom from someone that's made a lot of mistakes on things like that and wants people to do better. And so subscribe to the pod. It helps us out. We really do appreciate it. Damanze, the Bill's owner and new Grand Poobah CEO of everything Brandon Bean, had a press conference. It was interesting. I could talk about this for six hours. Yeah, I'll try to limit it to like 20 minutes. Let's get into it.
- [07:21]
Nick Wright
The Bills have given you some more fire, some more stuff to talk about. Um, so the Bill season ended last week and the owner came out and threw McDermott in the second year. Keon Coleman, wide receiver under the bus, saying that that was McDermott's guy. That was his thing. As a former Bills hater, this has got to make you pretty happy, huh?
- [07:39]
Damon Bruce
Well, no, I mean, no, I. I'm not going to say it makes me happy. It was a window into. I had been saying that I think the Bill's job is better than the Ravens job.
- [07:55]
Nick Wright
Yeah.
- [07:55]
Damon Bruce
And the reason I am focused on, by the way, on these job openings is, and I do not think this can be reiterated enough, these types of jobs demand say never come open MVP quarterback who's not yet 30, that job being open. In the last 55 years of the NFL, there has been one other MVP quarterback in his 30s who had a head coach opening is Brett Favre. And Favre's job came open for very different reasons. Mike Holmgren was. Was the coach of the Packers. They won a Super bowl with far. They went to another one. He then wanted more power. He wanted to be the GM and head coach. The packers wouldn't give him that job, so he resigned. And so that created the opening. He went to Seattle to go do it there and they hired a guy named Ray rhs. Ray Rhodes lasted one year. They then fired him and they hired Mike Sherman. So the prior to two weeks ago, the only MVP quarterback in their prime in their 30s, who had ever dealt with a head coach vacancy was Brett Favre. And it happened twice, but under very different circumstances. They didn't want to move on from the initial coach, and then they hired the wrong guy. They felt in Ray Rhodes, we have two of them right now, Lamar and Josh Allen. And so it is Aaron Rodgers having a head coach opening when they moved on from Mike McCarthy to Matt LaFleur when he's in his mid, late 30s, was surprising, if not shocking. Peyton Manning in Denver, and you might be like, wait, did they change coaches in Indy with Peyton? But he hadn't won an MVP yet. Like, that was when he was very young. That. So this is stunning that this exists. And I just. It is a seismic event in the NFL for one of these jobs to be open, much less 2 of the jobs to be open. To get back to what I was saying, I. I had been saying the Bills job is a better job than the Ravens job, but, man, Steve Bashani gave a press conference, and you're like, oh, I can see why that guy is so successful. Matter of fact, seems to, you know, own the room, very assured of himself, knows what he's doing. And I watched Terry Pula and I was like, oh, boy, it's not great. And so that I don't know if it's enough to jump the Ravens job in my mind ahead of the Bills job, but it is instructive. The other thing that was very instructive, and I want to be again, I don't know if Terry Pul is telling the truth or not telling the truth, but you got to take him at his word on at least some of this stuff. Or let me rephrase it. You have to at least be open to the possibility that he's telling the truth. And Terry Pula confirmed something that I hypothesized on TV and on this pod earlier this week that he determined they had to fire Sean McDermott, essentially because of how devastated Josh Allen was. And that's why I hammered and focused on Allen crying. And I be. And I was. I knew it was. I was running the risk of either sounding like a Neanderthal guy, like, men don't cry. I've cried on this pod multiple times. Like, that's not what. That's not what I was trying to communicate. And I'm certainly, as a guy that wears makeup and talks for a living, wasn't trying to act like I'm Mr. Tough Guy compared to Josh freaking Allen. The reason I was hammering on. He's that Distraught that he is sobbing in the locker room reportedly and teary eyed at the press conference is that is a massive signal that that team might be broken. And Terry Pegula comes out on Wednesday and says when he walks in the locker room and Josh Allen doesn't even acknowledge him because he's, quote, sobbing. That's when he knew they had to change the coach. Which also again, this is why it's a tough press conference to Maze. That's. Even if that's true, that's a shitty thing to put on Josh Allen's shoulders.
- [13:26]
Nick Wright
Oh, yeah. And also. But he, Josh Allen played poorly in the game. He was crying, but it's probably because of something that he did, though. I mean, they lost the game, but I mean, so I have to fire McDermott because the result was so bad. But the result was so bad directly related to Josh Allen.
- [13:46]
Damon Bruce
Right. Like, I guess I'll put a fine point on what you're saying. I believe it would be more damning for the, you know, kind of trajectory of the team had that been Josh Allen's reaction after they lost in a game he played awesome. Where it, where it would have just felt. I think I like what you, what I think you're getting at is Josh Allen was that emotional because he felt like he let his team down. That. Not, not necessarily that we're never going to get over the hump. Yeah. But I'm, you know, this on for these three hours. I wasn't myself. I wasn't good. I let the guys down. And that's. And so I think that's, Listen, that makes a lot of sense there. There's that the empagula was, you know, said he did not going into that game, he did not think he was going to end up firing the coach even if they lost. But then after the game, when he saw the reactions, that's when he knew it. But he also seemed very clearly to believe they lost because they got robbed like that. So that logically it doesn't really. He said at the press conference we lost because of a bad call. And he said to Josh Allen, I thought it was a catch. So those things.
- [15:16]
Nick Wright
Oh, yeah. That's insane.
- [15:17]
Damon Bruce
Yeah. So. And so if you're Sean McDermott, you're like, what the hell? So you're saying we thought. You thought what? I thought that we won, but I'm fired because of it. And so the whole thing seems, let's call it haphazard. And I say all that. But while acknowledging I do think the Bills need to shake the Snow globe. I do think there is too much scar tissue from the sequence of five years. So they and I'm not going to rehash this fully, but I do think it, it informs why it even if the process was idiotic, even if the press conference was an embarrassment, that potentially changing the head coach had to be done. Because in 2020 you reach the AFC Championship game ahead of schedule. Josh Allen explodes onto the scene in his first real superstar year. The Chiefs clock you. But that was peak, peak early Chiefs defending Super bowl champs that that year they lost one game where momes started. They, you know, trying to go back to back. And in the off season you say your GM Brandon Bean says we are obsessed with Kansas City. We are building a team with them in mind. That's so 2020 is not a even though you lose in the AFC title game, you feel great about the year. And then after that, your seasons end as follows. The 13 seconds game, which they're still not over. Clearly still not over. That was five years ago. Still not over it. The next year you have the demar Hamlin situation late in the year and then go into the playoffs and Cincinnati comes into your building and just clocks you. And it does kind of feel like that if because that Bill's performance in that particular playoff game was so disparate from how we'd seen them in playoff games before that you wonder if having a teammate die in front of you on the field against the Bengals in the regular season and then playing the Bengals in the playoffs, if it was just too much. Then the next year you finally have the Chiefs in your building for the first time in the playoffs and you miss a field goal to tie the game. And then the next year you're back in the AFC Championship game for the first time since 2020 against the Chiefs and you come up short. And then the next year the Chiefs finally aren't in the playoffs, you're playing a Broncos team, you have the lead in the fourth quarter and you lose in overtime and feel like even though you're incorrect on this, you got screwed. So I do think there's just too much scar tissue. You probably needed to move on, but the messaging was so clunky. And here's where the Keon Coleman thing I think is most interesting because obviously the Monze like they torched the kid and the owner torched the team and all that. He's still on the team at a position. You have no depth. He is cost controlled, he's young. He still obviously has potential and maybe and you would have wanted in theory to Monze the next head coach to evaluate him and make a decision. Do you think you know, you can he's basically playing for free as a second round pick on a rookie deal or should we cut bait? But now because of what was said about him at the press conference where people are like no, the G the guy who's still here didn't want him and the, the guy who's not here did want him. So that's obviously clunky and bad for all involved and Brandon Bean tried to clean it up after. But here is what to me is instructive about that. Forget the fact that, that there is plenty of the Bills that have you seen any of on Twitter to Monze the the clips of the Bills draft documentary from the Keon Coleman draft?
- [20:18]
Nick Wright
No, but it is, it seems like it contradicts what the owner was saying.
- [20:22]
Damon Bruce
Well, Brandon Bean certainly seems excited about being able to draft Keon Coleman like that end so and it again, maybe he's putting on a good brave face. Do I believe that maybe there was a player available at 33 that Bean had slightly higher than Keon Coleman. But sure. But it doesn't, at no point does it seem like he's, you know, exactly right. And it is his, his decision. The other piece of the and I'm going to get back to the Keon Coleman thing, but this is important. The other piece of the press conference that was noteworthy was Brandon Bean getting very animated, talking about how devastated he, his wife, his family have been by some of the commentary that he stabbed Sean McDermott in the back and questioning his character and sound who he is, any of those things. And I'm not alleging he stabbed anybody in the back. I am saying this. Somebody told the owner of the team at some point this year, the front office, meaning Brandon Bean did not want Keon Coleman. The coaching staff did. Somebody told him that. And the most obvious answer as to who would have told him that is Brandon Bean. Now at the press conference, Brandon Bean then tried to clean it up and he's like they're all my picks, like it's my responsibility and blah, blah, blah. But I don't, I'm not, I'm not saying that qualifies as stabbing anyone in the back, but there was a level of that wasn't my pick, that was the coaching staff's pick. But here Damanze is where and this is the piece that I think people have skipped over. It makes it even more dysfunctional. Sean McDermott is a head coach Obviously, but he's a defensive head coach. He calls the defense. He's. That's his side of the ball. So if the coaching staff really liked Keon Coleman, the loudest voice about which receiver we should take in the draft of the coaching staff likely would not be McDermott, but would be the offensive coordinator, Joe Brady, who is still on the staff and interviewing to be the head coach. So when the owners, like the gm, didn't want the player, the coaches did, in all likelihood, the coach who wanted the player that you're so out on, you're flaming at this press conference. You are interviewing to maybe be the next head coach.
- [23:27]
Nick Wright
All over the place.
- [23:29]
Damon Bruce
I mean, it really. It ain't great. And I honestly think that it'll be.
- [23:35]
Nick Wright
Good for Kevin Coleman in a weird way, like here in this, because I do think he's a little. A little childish in his production. Obviously wasn't what it needed to be this year. And I think that. I think that that might work out in a more positive way than negative. He maybe ends up leaving the team or they end up getting rid of him. But I think if he's on the Bills next year, probably have more production.
- [23:56]
Damon Bruce
Wherever he is next year, whether it's Bills or elsewhere. This right now is a fork in the road moment for that young man's career. And fork in the road doesn't always mean good. Sometimes you. The four, you take the fork in the road. Cadaris Tony took after the Chiefs, gave him chance after chance after chance, and you're no longer Kadarius Tony, NFL wide receiver. You're Young Joker, failing rapper. And like, that's the, you know, like. But the. And sometimes the fork in the road moment.
- [24:34]
Nick Wright
Or.
- [24:34]
Damon Bruce
Yeah. Or. I mean, I. We even outside of sports, a lot of us in our early 20s, both people on this pod in our early 20s had moments of immense failure and embarrassment, and it was all right. Is that enough for me to be like, grow up. And you know what I mean? Like, for real. And that is like. And so I. The. For Keon Coleman again, the how do you move the glass? Half. Half full is. I can prove all. I can prove everyone wrong, whether it's with Buffalo or wherever I am. I am going to the. I've become a punchline. And I am young enough and healthy enough that it wouldn't be. I. I want to make sure. I keep saying he's 22. I want to make sure. And I don't want to spend. Yeah. I mean, Keon Coleman is. He's played two years in the league. But he came. I was right about this. He came in Super Young. He's 22. He turns 23 in May. So, like, he's younger than some receivers that will be drafted this year. And so he just has the opportunity to be like, I've got 10 years of NFL football ahead of me to make this be, you know, a sidebar of my story. And the other fork in the road is he can watch that press conference be like, man, f those guys, I'm going back to bed. And I don't know, like, you know what I'm saying? But I'm not gonna. And so that's. But it. It does make everything about this. Bill's job is so interesting to me. And here's the other piece of it. Damanze that as. As I'm talking to you, Brandon Cooks is on Good Morning Football saying at the end of the day, was a catch. Yeah, guys gotta. You gotta get over it. You can't. That doesn't. That doesn't move you forward.
- [26:58]
Nick Wright
He didn't even really act.
- [26:59]
Damon Bruce
Just doesn't.
- [26:59]
Nick Wright
Was a catch during the game.
- [27:01]
Damon Bruce
Well, that's the other thing. Disappointed that. That's the other thing. He did not respond like someone who thought they had caught the ball. Respond like he got responded like someone correct. 100% correct. And we can't. I don't think we have the rights to show. And I, I know we don't have the rights to show like old NFL footage on here, but it's worth. It's worth a Google or throwing into YouTube for folks during the game where 90s playoffs Packers 90ers. The game where Terrell Owens made the, you know, one of the greatest catches. Young to catches it in the end zone and gets annihilated to win a playoff game against Brett Favre's Packers. Steve Young throws in the pass on that drive or certainly in that game, Jerry Rice catches the ball, has it stripped. Like when he's upright, the ball is stripped and the ball basically rolls right down his leg. I'm doing this from memory, but I know I'm right. And he just kind of nonchalantly grabs the ball, signals first down and jogs to the huddle. And his lack of reaction is why nobody realized it was a fumble like his. He was so like it. He didn't like it was no panic, no even quick like anything. And so like the bot. Now he could have gotten the ball.
- [28:50]
Nick Wright
And just kept running to the touchdown.
- [28:52]
Damon Bruce
No, no, no, no. He was down. But I'm saying he fumbled before he was down but did not react like a player who thought there was a fumble. And so the refs didn't even stop to look like wait, was there a fumble now to get get us back on track quickly. The most interesting piece of this left is we haven't heard from Josh Allen and I don't know when we will. But the fact that we haven't means maybe we won't at least. Yeah, obviously at some point he'll talk. But I find all that interesting and I find the Bill's head coach search very interesting. But this to me is one of the best jobs you two of the 10 best job openings that the NFL has had in my life are open right now. And if Brian Dable goes from being fired by the Giants to the head coach of the Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen, I don't know what the comp for that is in like my business but I feel like it's like being fired from being one of the hosts on the Beast games to all of a sudden you're the lead anchor of 60 Minutes. It's like, oh shit, this worked out really great for me. But check me out. But I don't know. I, I don't think hiring Davis Webb, who claims he's Josh Allen's best friend is the way to go. I don't think running it back with your offensive coordinator Joe Brady or your former offensive coordinator Brian Dable is the way to go. Luanna Rumo, first time head coach, would be the former D coordinator for the Bengals is interesting, but it's, you know, I said Belichick, everyone in the world hates that idea except me. Tomlin's not coming, so I don't know.
- [31:18]
Nick Wright
Where Pierce is out there somewhere.
- [31:21]
Damon Bruce
That would be a disaster. You can't hire Antonio Pierce, so I don't know what they do, but I'm super interested in it. All right, Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock. Bat Florida's sports book. Folks, these playoffs have been unbelievable and I hope you've been cashing in on the unexpected moments on Hard Rock bet. Two teams are going to punch their tickets to the big game this weekend. And when it comes to these standalone matchups, there's nothing better than a same game parlay. Lock in one game, stack your picks, build your script. Maybe the quarterback throws for 250. The running back goes for 100. The tight ends the first one to hit pay dirt. Hard Rock BET gives you tons of ways to build your same game parlay, turning game days into paydays. And if you miss kickoff, don't worry. Hard Rock Bet has live in game betting so you're never too late to the action. Find a winner or grab that player prop you meant to play and live bet between snaps in just a few easy taps. If you haven't tried your first bet on Hard Rock Bet, there's still time for you to get $150 in bonus bets. If you win, just place a $5 bet and if it hits you get not only your winnings but also a an extra $150 in bonus bets. So just because your favorite team may be out of it, that doesn't mean you have to sit on the sidelines this postseason between same game parlays, live betting, can't miss welcome offer and new promos dropping every day. Hard Rock Bet has you covered all postseason long. That's Hard Rock Bet. Download the Hard Rock Bet app and make your first deposit today. Payable and bonus bets. Not a cash offer offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in Florida Offered by SE Hard Rock Digital LLC in all other states. Must be 21 plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida, call 1833 play wise in Indiana, if you or someone you know has a gambling problem wants help, call 1-800-9 with it gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia. All right, Daman's a I threw out a trade on TV yesterday. I don't think it's dumb. Seems like I'm in the minority and not thinking my own trade idea is dumb. Go ahead and let's talk it through.
- [33:57]
Nick Wright
All right, so we're running out of games to talk about. So it's rumor slash trade talk time of the year. People are throwing around trades and rumors. A trade or rumor that you co signed was Lamar for Max Crosby and the number one pick, which would probably be Mendoza to the Raiders.
- [34:13]
Damon Bruce
Yeah, I would not like so listen. No, well, you might just become a Raider fan. You can just follow Lamar.
- [34:22]
Nick Wright
But yeah, Lamar and Genti would be pretty cool.
- [34:26]
Damon Bruce
So here's the deal. I. I don't I'm not saying this and I didn't just create this out of thin air. The ESPN did like bold predictions for the off season and one of them was could Tom Brady and the Raiders make a play for Lamar Jackson? I don't know that I think the Raiders, after watching them and believing in them this year, are, you know, close Enough to make a move even for Lamar Jackson. However, I am more interested in this from the raven side of it and I don't know who the next Ravens head coach is going to be but whomever it is, I think in the universe where this was available you get the equivalent I believe of Demons. A5 first round picks. The equivalent of 5 first round picks for Lamar and by that I mean Max Crosby on the open market is worth two firsts and we know the number one pick given the Bryce Young trade. It's equivalent. The equivalent that it's worth is a little more than three, you know, middle average first round picks. I know number one pick is literally one first round pick but it's to in order to get it you would have to trade like the 15th pick and two future first to move up that far. So this is the equivalent of you know, call it five first round picks and you would not be like all right, well now we're in the quarterback wilderness because now you might end up being if Mendoza is not the guy but you're not trading for the number one overall pick blind say you know, or trading for a future year pick where you don't know who the players are that you'd be taking, you would know you are taking Fernando Mendoza. And the point that the reason I find this interesting from the Ravens perspective, this theoretical fake trade that ESPN alluded to it and then I put a fine tooth comb on or a finer point on I should say I do think that it is a legitimate discussion what is a better path to winning a championship Young quarterback on a rookie scale plus Max Crosby, plus the extra 40 some million dollars of cap space to build out the rest of the roster or Lamar Jackson who will enter next year undoubtedly as the highest paid player in the league on a 60 plus million dollar a year contract. I, I and it is worth noting the two Super Bowls the Ravens have won, they won with cheap quarterbacks and stacked rosters. The Denver Broncos are attempting this right now. I know B Knicks is now out but young quarterback, all this talent around him, the Patriots, I you know, don't think they actually have all that much talent around them. I think what the job may and Brable have done is unbelievable. But they spent money this off season, they have more money to spend this next offseason. You know I'm not breaking news that good young cheap quarterback who gives you franchise quarterback play on rookie quarterback salary, add a bunch of pieces has been a very successful model. And then when you add to it what I think could be some squeamishness for the Ravens of a brand new contract for Lamar after. At the very least we can call it an injury riddled year. I, I think it's worth a real discussion and it is. I also want to make this part clear. This is not an insult to Lamar because if I were the Raiders I would not it like let me again this is. We're playing in double hypothetical worlds here but let's say the Raiders offered this to the Ravens, Max Crosby in the number one pick for Lamar and the rate and the Ravens said no thank you. And then the Bengals heard it had been offered and they called the Raiders and they said we'll take it for Joe Burrow. If I'm the Raiders, I wouldn't do that deal. I don't think Joe Burrow is worth the number one overall pick plus Max Crosby because even with Lamar having an injury riddled year, Joe to me is an even bigger injury risk than Lamar and Joe has not shown consistent regular season first team all pro level play the way Joe has one year like that in his career the way Lamar has. So it is there's. There are only three veteran quarterbacks in the league that if I were the Raiders I would offer this package up for Lamar, Josh and Patrick. Obviously the Chiefs and the Bills, there's nothing you could offer those teams to get them to trade Josh or Patrick. The Ravens, given how this last year went, the new head coach, Lamar's pending contract situation, I just wonder if the door is creaked open to the point of if the Ravens were even considering this, why would they have fired Harbaugh again? Now we're in like quadruple hypotheticals. What I will tell you is this. They if they wanted the Harbaugh Lamar relations that partnership could not continue. And had they kept Harbaugh then Lamar really has a hammer because he also does have a no trade clause in his deal. So you might say Nick, you're talking about a trade. He has no trade clause. Players again can wave those and can make it can decide, you know, kind of steer where they want to go potentially because of it. I just think it is not, I think the Lamar contract is going to be a big enough story this off season that this is of all the fake trades that exist. Amanza, this is not total whole clothes like that. I, I do think that there will be some of that discussion over the off season. So you're saying I'm not predicting it's going to happen.
- [42:30]
Nick Wright
Crosby, Mendoza and no more picks or like that's it for multiple other first round picks. Right. With.
- [42:37]
Damon Bruce
No, no, no, no, no. What I'm, what I'm saying is the number one overall pick to acquire, that by itself usually takes three first round picks.
- [42:48]
Nick Wright
Right.
- [42:48]
Damon Bruce
And to acquire Max Crosby would take two first round picks. So I'm saying this is the equivalent in value of five first round picks. But the trade would be essentially Fernando Mendoza and Max Crosby for Lamar Jackson.
- [43:04]
Nick Wright
Yeah.
- [43:05]
Damon Bruce
And. And so you're out on it. Most people are out on it.
- [43:09]
Nick Wright
Yeah. No, I mean, if it were multiple, I thought it was going to be multiple, but I, I see what you're saying in it being multiple first to equal the number one pick of the draft. But. Yeah, but yeah, no, that's not enough. I need some more retooling if we're getting rid of Lamar.
- [43:23]
Damon Bruce
But so. Well, that's the thing is this, I don't think. And by the way, I guess you're off the books. You get all the space, get all.
- [43:29]
Nick Wright
The money off of Lamar's contract.
- [43:31]
Damon Bruce
Right. And it wouldn't just be, here's the other thing you wouldn't be doing this being like, all right, we're rebuilding. You'd be doing it saying, we have, we saw the windows right now. The commanders, the Patriots, the Bears and the Broncos in the last two years have all made the divisional rounder further with a quarterback that was either a rookie or in his second year. Like we are. We are going for this right now. All right, I want to discuss this Baxter Homes lakers Genie Bus LeBron story. You guys tell me the. I don't mind Demonte's background being off. We can fix that later. There. Oh, it's back. Look at that. Go ahead.
- [44:18]
Nick Wright
So yesterday, Baxter Holmes of ESPN dropped a story about the sale of the Lakers into the piece. Also discussed how Jeannie Bus grew frustrated with LeBron and didn't even want to sign him to a new contract in 2024. Even talked about shipping him off to the Clippers. What do you make of all this?
- [44:36]
Damon Bruce
Okay, so a couple and Jeannie buses today came out and you know, basically refuted some of this. Let me say this on the front end, the thrust of this story is not about LeBron and everyone should read the story. It is superb reporting by a superb reporter in Baxter Holmes who does great work, really great work for espn. And you know, it is very long and very good about the Bus family and the sale of the Lakers. Okay. That if I were doing Los Angeles talk radio, that would be one of the. The major topic of the day on this platform. I don't know how many people care about the palace intrigue of the bus family sale of the Lakers, so I'm going to focus on the LeBron piece of it because I am interested in that. But I again, I just want to give credit to the story and to Baxter for and say on the front end, this is not the general plot point of the story, but I'm going to read you the LeBron section and then I'm going to briefly explain why it enrages me. From Backstroam's story, Team sources told ESPN she even began to turn against the lakers star player LeBron James. Jeannie privately grumbled, people close to the team say, about what she felt was James's outsized ego and the overt control that he and Clutch Sports, which represents both James and Davis, exerted over the organization. She didn't like that James was considered a savior for a floundering franchise when he arrived in 2018, and that it was he who chose the Lakers rather than the team's leadership receiving praise for landing him. More on that in a moment. Team sources have been adamant for years that James camp informed the Lakers as early as 2017 that he was coming to join them when he became a free agent the following year. The distance between Jeannie and James widened after the Lakers traded for Russell Westbrook in July of 2021. The team had made the trade in an effort to appease James, but the acquisition backfired in catastrophic fashion. Louisiana went 33 and 49 missed the playoffs, and James seemed to wash his hands of his role in the acquisition. Jeannie privately bristled about what she felt was his lack of accountability in the way James would shift blame onto others after the Westbrook trade, people said in 2022. In the aftermath of the Westbrook trade, multiple people said Jeannie privately mused about not giving James a contract extension, even about trading James with the Clippers floated as a possibility. This was before James received a contract extension which, with a no trade clause for two years, $104 million. And when the Lakers drafted James son Bronny with the 55th pick, Jeannie privately remarked that James should be grateful for such a gesture. But she felt he wasn't. That summer, as she discussed new contract for James, Jeannie seemed more resigned to the fact that they'd have to do it, almost begrudgingly accepting they'd take a massive PR hit by not okay. The reason this that's the that's the piece and now this is me not reading the pieces talking. The reason LeBron James considered himself a savior for a floundering franchise was simply because he was a savior for a floundering franchise. It's not complicated, it's not weird, it's not hard to fucking parse. The reason LeBron considered the Lakers a floundering franchise is because before he got there, they were a floundering franchise. And the reason he considered himself a savior was because within two years of getting there, they won the championship. The Los Angeles Lakers had never been bad. Back to Minneapolis Demons a their second year in existence in the league. Actually no, pardon me, their first year in existence when they went from the Detroit gyms who were bad to the Minneapolis Lakers with George Mikin, they won the championship. They then won a bunch more championships in the 50s. Then in the 60s they went to the finals almost every year. Lost to the Celtics a bunch. Then in the 70s they got Kareem Abdul Jabbar. And then in the 80s were the most successful team in the NBA. Then in the 90s they had their one tiny downturn which was a 33 win team that missed the playoffs. And shortly thereafter they got Shaquille o' Neal and drafted Kobe Bryant or traded for him and they were awesome again, the Los Angeles Lakers. I'm giving the full context here. Prior to the 2000 and tens, Daman say here is the full list of years they were not in the playoffs either Minneapolis or Los Angeles. 1958, 1975 and 76, that's when they traded for Kareem. 1994 and 2005, that's the list. From the 50s until the 2000 and tens, they had always been excellent, flourishing. And then in the five years before LeBron got there, they missed the playoffs five times and won the following number of games. 27, 21, 17, 26, 35. So all of Lakers history, five years missed the playoffs from Minneapolis to LA across damn near 65 years. And then the five years before LeBron got there,. They missed the playoffs five times. Their their finishes in the Western Conference. Again, 15 teams in the Western Conference the five years before LeBron got there or 14th, 14th, 15th, 14th, 11th, they were arguably the worst team in basketball for a half decade. That is a floundering franchise that was saved one. Some people think that if you save something or someone, you might consider yourself a savior. By LeBron James wanting to move to Los Angeles, not by Rob Binka or Jeannie Bus's fancy PowerPoint presentation. So that is what happened. Now does LeBron have an outsized ego? I've heard that. Does Clutch sports exhibit a lot of influence over the Lakers? Seems to be did LeBron James want Russell Westbrook? Yes. Did that work out? No. But LeBron James wanted a bunch of things. LeBron James wanted Ty Lou to be his coach. They said no to that. LeBron James wanted Paul George on the Lakers. That didn't happen. LeBron. There's there's plenty of things LeBron wanted they didn't do, and plenty of things LeBron wanted they did do. The Lakers choosing to say yes to the request for Russell Westbrook because the Lakers brand is stars when they had said no to other things and yes to other things and then acting like LeBron is the one who called it into the league office and washing their hands of it entirely, but then also whining about LeBron helping them get Anthony Davis, which then allowed them to get Luka Doncic and win a championship is laughable. And complaining to people a year after the guy wins finals MVP for you and you win a championship that you don't want to give him a contract extension and you might actually trade him only to give him a two year max contract extension with a no trade clause is laughable. Dr. Jerry Buss was one of the greatest owners in the history of pro basketball. Jeannie Buss by all accounts is an incredibly nice person who has a lot of friends in the media. The new owners of the Lakers. Are going to get the team back on the track it had been for Dr. Jerry Buss entire tenure and the track that it had fallen off of entirely until LeBron James came to Los Angeles and saved the damn team. Are you thinking about upgrading to the all new iPhone 17 Pro designed to be the most powerful iPhone ever. But you're also thinking about the traffic on your way to the store transferring all your data. Good news. When you order a new iPhone online with Boost Mobile, they'll send an expert to your home or work to deliver your brand new iPhone 17 Pro and get you all set up on Boost Mobile within minutes. No hassle. Visit boostmobile.com to get started. Delivery available for select devices purchased@boostmobile.com terms do apply. All right, demonsi, let's go down to the NFL Awards piece of this because we're not going to have enough time to do everything that I want to do. So let's do that here.
- [56:27]
Nick Wright
So the list of finalists dropped for NFL Awards. You still do not have a vote. So you have to make your picks here. So what. What would your picks be for the.
- [56:36]
Damon Bruce
Okay, so listen mvp, the finalists Are literally, and this makes me happy, the five finalists I would have had Stafford, May Allen, Christian McCaffrey, who I'm very glad to see was a finalist and Trevor Lawrence. And so all of that is I maybe would have flipped in Miles Garrett for Josh, but I probably not. These would have been my finalists. My ballot of these five would be Stafford, 1, Drake May, 2, Christian McCaffrey, 3, Trevor Lawrence, 4, Josh Allen, 5. And I'm so happy for Trevor that he's an MVP finalist. That is sick. All right, next one to Monte. Tell me the category and the nominees.
- [57:28]
Nick Wright
So you got coach of the year. We got Ben Johnson, Liam Cohen, Mike McDonald, Kyle Shanahan and Mike Raywell.
- [57:38]
Damon Bruce
My vote for this would be Kyle Shanahan. Yeah, I thought the fact that that team was playing for the one seed the final week of the year. I know the playoffs don't count in this, but they ended up going to Philly and winning a playoff game, dealing with all those injuries there. I mean the other four candidate, all five of these guys to Monse have an unbelievable case.
- [58:04]
Nick Wright
Yeah, yeah.
- [58:05]
Damon Bruce
Ben Johnson, Liam Cohen and Mike Brable all taking four or five win teams from last year and getting them. They all won their division. They all, you know, were two or three seeds like that was remarkable. Mike McDonald getting to 14 wins with Seattle. But my vote would be for Shanahan next.
- [58:30]
Nick Wright
Next we got assistant coach of the year, Brian Flores, Clint Kubak, Vic Fangio, Josh McDaniels and Vance Joseph.
- [58:42]
Damon Bruce
I want to say this on the front end. I am surprised Robert Salah was not nominated. Was not one of the finalists.
- [58:48]
Nick Wright
Yep.
- [58:49]
Damon Bruce
I thought the that he had done an amazing job and the league agrees he got a head coaching job out of it. My vote here. So if people don't know. Brian Flores, D coordinator for the Vikings, Clint Kubiak, offensive coordinator for the Seahawks, Vic Fangio, D coordinator for the Eagles. Josh McDaniels, offensive coordinator for the Patriots, Vance Joseph, defensive coordinator for the Broncos. My vote here would be Josh McDaniels. I think that what when you have a second year quarterback in Drake May and you cater an offense so beautifully to his exact strengths, I don't think they have great receivers or great running backs. They scored a ton of point like they were just another person all year long offensively. So I would say Josh McDaniels there next.
- [59:40]
Nick Wright
Offensive player of the year, Puka Nakua, Bijan Robinson, Christian McCaffrey, Jackson Smith and Jigba and Drake May. Gotta be Puga, guys. Unbelievable.
- [59:55]
Damon Bruce
This is poker. It's tough for me. It would come down to Puker or cmc.
- [60:04]
Nick Wright
Okay.
- [60:06]
Damon Bruce
JSN third, Bijan fourth. And I like I also, by the way, this is the first real signal we have demons a other than first team all pro that Matt Stafford won mvp.
- [60:26]
Nick Wright
Oh, the Drake Maze and offensive Player of the year as well.
- [60:30]
Damon Bruce
I think that is a signal that people who voted Stafford mvp, like we.
- [60:38]
Nick Wright
Got to get May something he bought.
- [60:40]
Damon Bruce
Gave Drake May Offensive player of the year.
- [60:43]
Nick Wright
Right.
- [60:44]
Damon Bruce
And so like I don't know what the betting odds are right now for mvp, but this piece of news to me would put Stafford at minus 500. I think Stafford like I am.
- [61:01]
Nick Wright
I'd wager a lot of money you parlay.
- [61:05]
Damon Bruce
Probably not. They shouldn't let you. No, but I don't think. Listen, I don't think Drake May is going to win Offensive player of the Year. Offensive Player of the Year, typically is another way to say best non quarterback. And so Puka or CMC would be good with me. I would give it to CMC just because I thought he was the Niners offense this year.
- [61:31]
Nick Wright
All right, next Defensive player of the year, we got Miles Garrett, Micah Parsons, Will Anderson Jr. Aiden Hutchinson and Nick Bonito. Micah Parsons is eligible.
- [61:43]
Damon Bruce
Well, I mean, he played 13 games. You know what I mean? Like, no, there's no. In the NFL. There's no. They just. It's whoever you know where people got votes. But I mean Miles Garrett's gonna win it unanimously. So it doesn't matter. Like Miles Garrett's obviously the answer here. Go ahead.
- [62:05]
Nick Wright
We got comeback player of the year, dak Prescott, Christian McCaffrey. Christian McCaffrey, Stefan Diggs, Trevor Lawrence and Aiden Hutchinson.
- [62:22]
Damon Bruce
I'm gonna say Aiden because I think Aiden came back from the worst injury of all these guys. Like, remember in the off season, you saw his two legs and one looked way skinnier than the other and like. And he was excell. I'm going to say Aiden. Next.
- [62:38]
Nick Wright
Next we got offensive Rookie of the Year Terry.
- [62:42]
Damon Bruce
Yeah, I'll go through the. Sorry, the. I'll just. Because I didn't realize how late we were. My Offensive Rookie of the year would have been Te McMillan and my defensive Rookie of the year would have been. Probably Schwessinger. Swiss Schwessinger. I'm gonna say it wrong from the Browns and also they're supposed to be protector of the Year, the Offensive Lineman of the Year. And I haven't seen those finalists, so I don't know where they are. All right, let's get to the Listener.
- [63:16]
Nick Wright
Questions, quick math, magical says, seriously, There Will Be Blood, the worst movie I've ever seen. Phenomenal acting, gorgeous cinematography. All for the story that wasn't worth telling. Damn.
- [63:30]
Damon Bruce
The. That's a. Can I just say something mathematical? You wrote a comment that said a movie had phenomenal acting and gorgeous cinematography and was the worst movie you've ever seen. That does seem to be a little in conflict. I mean, aside from the acting and the images, that movie sucked. What? I love them. I mean, I think it's the. I think it is arguably, with respect to the Godfather 1 and 2, I think it's arguably the greatest movie ever made.
- [64:09]
Nick Wright
All right, next, Pradavi asks if the Chargers don't have a top five offense under the new oc, do they start thinking about moving on from Herbert?
- [64:18]
Damon Bruce
No. Herbert's not the type of quarterback you move on from. But we are.
- [64:25]
Nick Wright
Lamar Jackson is, though.
- [64:29]
Damon Bruce
No. So these are different. Herbert you wouldn't get. I would certainly trade Herbert for the number one pick and Max Crosby like to. You know what I mean? To be clear, that's a fair point. My point. So let me. Let me tweak what I was saying. Herbert is not the type of quarterback you move on from because it's like, ah, he's not quite good enough. Like the. And Lamar. You wouldn't be moving on from Lamar like that. I'm not the.
- [64:57]
Nick Wright
Because he would be going and starting somewhere else. Yeah.
- [65:01]
Damon Bruce
Yeah. So right. The. The. When you're like, okay, this guy Tua is Kyler. Are the guys. It's like they got paid. They don't have it. We got to turn the page. My point is Herbert is in a class above that. Lamar is in a class wholly above that, where it's not so much about like, nobody's ever like, we need to move on from Lamar Jackson. It's oh my God, look at the offer we just got for Lamar Jackson. So to be. I'm glad you made that clarification that point. But it doesn't really matter what the sorry. Of Chargers. It doesn't really matter if they have top five offense or not. The only thing people are going to if the Chargers offense is stinks all year long and Herbert finally looks halfway decent, let alone good in a playoff game, people will feel great. And if the Chargers have a top five offense and Herbert looks the way he's looked in all his other playoff games again, then people will feel like he's just never going to get it. And so the. You know, that's just where it is.
- [66:08]
Nick Wright
All right next JJ asked how much how come Lamar always ends up in trade rumors when Dak hurts Joe make.
- [66:15]
Damon Bruce
More sense he's the only one of those guys that's ever demanded a trade Lamar Jackson demanded a trade three years.
- [66:24]
Nick Wright
Ago when when they weren't giving him.
- [66:27]
Damon Bruce
A contract extension correct yeah that's yeah but I mean that's why like that those other guys and Dak by the way there absolutely were Dak trade rumors around the time he was negotiating a contract like Herz and Burrow they they've been on smooth sailing so that's why like the Lamar contract stuff has been tricky in the past I'm not making stuff up reminder everybody like rate subscribe review gambling show with our full AFC and NFC championship game previews tomorrow right here so that's why you got to subscribe to the shows thank you to boost and Hard Rock Bet volume and Blue Duck talk to you guys tomorrow. What's right this is an iHeart podcast.
- [67:08]
Nick Wright
Guaranteed human.