The Herd with Colin CowherdColin reacts to a new era of stardom in Los Angeles as LeBron James and Luka Doncic are teaming up in amazing harmony. Colin breaks down why Shedeur Sanders could slip in the draft. All-Pro OL Terron Armstead joins the show to discuss his future in the NFL. Plus, the latest edition of Where Colin Was Right and Wrong!
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This is the Best of the Herd with Colin cowher on Fox Sports Radio.
All right here we are vacation is officially over. Live in Los Angeles Little New Studio for a while. It's the Herd wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. Jmak we went to different places. You were on the beach. I had a hammer and nails and was making things happen. But it's interesting what happened. It was pretty good, pretty good week to have take off. There wasn't a lot going on, but over the course of the weekend we saw some very interesting things happen. And with the Lakers, with the Warriors, with the Knicks, with the Celtics.
I don't want to talk about that.
So, you know, sometimes people get blamed for stuff, and sometimes they're at fault. But Jimmy Butler is one of those guys that throughout his NBA career a lot of finger pointing.
Jimmy's a problem.
But I had said about a month ago, the Warriors need to create some inertia. They're boring. Steph looks bored. They just look bored. And Jimmy Butler gets people worked up. He's like, he works hard at practice. He'll get after a coach. Well, the Warriors are now five and one since Jimmy Butler arrived. By the way, how are his old team, the Sixers doing with Joel Embiid. They've lost seventh straight and Embiid got bench yesterday, and remember Embiid was the franchise. Jimmy Butler in Philadelphia was viewed as a problem. He was also viewed as a problem in Chicago, where he led him to the second round of the playoffs, and they've been unwatchable since. He goes to Minnesota, great numbers playoffs, they blamed him there. He goes to Miami, they didn't blame him. Last four years finals twice Miami, a very strong organization figured out, hey, Jimmy's not for everybody. But what Jimmy creates is intensity. And in the NBA. Oh, these guys are talented. I mean, you don't make the NBA. Just think of how great you have to be to be in the NBA. But I would argue there's not that many winning players. Lebron's not just talented, he's a winning player. Steph Curry's a winning player. Draymond Green is a classic. Not as talented as a lot of guys, but a winning player. Well that's Jimmy Butler. Bulls playoffs, te Wolves playoffs, Miami Heat Finals, and here he goes to the Warriors. So the Warriors were kind of a lifeless offense when Steph was off the floor. POD's was like sometimes a one or a two. You can never count on Wiggins. Well now they have a number two, and what he's doing, he's getting to the free throw line. So the Warriors just didn't get to the free roll line. And that is part of being a winning player. And that's what Jimmy Butler is right. I just look this morning free throws made. They were near the bottom of the NBA since he arrived, their first of free throw percentage, bottom of the NBA since he's arrived their second. That is what a winning player does, and this organization needed fight, needed feisty, needed to get to the line, needed contact, and Jimmy is not. By the way, Miami heat one in five since he left, Warriors five and one since he arrived. And again I get that Butler's not for everybody, but this is what I said a month ago. This is a boring team. They don't have any offensive energy. If STEP's done on the floor, they're unwatchable. Jimmy Butler will just create things. He'll get on his coaches, his teammates. Practice will be harder, and he's a really nice offensive player. And the thing with Butler, he's not a naturally gifted offensive player. He is a grinder, so he gets banged up. He plays hard. But when you watch the Warriors today, now Pods is their third or their fourth guy. STEP's their one, Butler's there two at Kaminga now everybody it's like a pitching staff that gets a true number two starter behind their ace and it sets up everybody else to go against a pitcher that's of the same talent. So they were asking guys like Pods and to do things he's not capable of. They wanted more consistency from Kaminga. At this point, you don't know what's get that you know exactly what you get with Jimmy Butler. He has created a lot of things. Free throws, free throws made. They'll be better defensively, better in the half court offense. And Steve Kerr five and one since he arrived talked about Jimmy Butler.
It feels easier right now for us game. You can make a mistake and keep playing and not feel like, you know, oh my god, we got we gotta flip things right now. The trade itself, I think I mentioned this after the Sacramento game. We just needed it, and you know, we felt it. We were kind of treading water. Sometimes you just you got to shake things up, and we shook things up.
For the record, Joel Embiid has become mostly a big truck that half the time you can't even get out of the garage. He's getting benched, he won't play back to backs, and this is an organization where people are gonna lose their jobs because Embiid is not delivered. He may have the worst contract now in professional sports.
He's getting hurt more often.
I've never seen him as a leader, but it was Embiid sometimes talent. Remember Durant and Westbrook. Nobody can deny Westbrook's energy, production and talent. And Sam Presty's a brilliant GM. But Katie's like, I'm the better player by far. Can I get a little love? And I think I think Darryl Morey's a smart guy. But in the end, the Embiid struggles forget getting along with teammates. Embiid struggles to play well with the hell he struggled at the Olympics. Remember it was the one guy that didn't work at the Olympics. Butler can work with any team. There is no team. I don't care if he went to the Knicks or the Celtics tomorrow. Butler works with every team. He makes every team better. He gets into the playoffs. Yes, he can wear you out. Some relationships don't last forever. Steph Curry doesn't wear people out. Jimmy can wear people out, but he'll make your basketball team better. All right, Something else that happened over the weekend. So this has been a long time coming. And this is not a shot at Lebron James. But Lebron now is in what year twenty two, Lebron at his best is going to give you amazing four and five minute flashes of brilliance. But he cannot be the initiator of the offense anymore. If Luca sits down, he can be. If lucas playing and Lebron sits down, Austin Reeves also capable of being a playmaker. JJ Reddick finally said the quiet part out loud as the Lakers beat Denver is that Luca had his highest usage rate as a Laker and it was his best game. This is how the Lakers should play because remember, as great as Kyrie Irving was in Cleveland, he was relegated to a shooting guard with Lebron and probably should have been as great as d Wade was in Miami. He was relegated to off ball, and he's not a great pure shooter. Lebron has been such a force of nature and so great for so long that everybody wants him to playoff ball. And AD's great, but Ad can't be the playmaker. So Lebron's entire career, it's not that Lebron's selfish. I always use a statistic with Lebron James. He averaged like twenty eight game his junior year in high school. He could have averaged sixty his senior year. You know what, he averaged one more point of senior year. Lebron wants to pass. He likes to be a playmaker. I've always felt these more Magic Johnson than Michael Jordan. He wants others to score, but he likes to control the offense. Finally, finally, he has a teammate. This is due to two things. Lucas a really good playmaker and Lebron's now forty, So the combination of the two. A transformational young talent in Luca and the fact that Lebron is older and is great in spurts. But in the Denver game, when Lebron didn't have to be the initial, the initiator of offense, his usage rate was only twenty nine percent.
That's well below his average.
Did you also notice, since Luca arrive, what's happened to Lebron's efficiency. It's gone through the roof. So he's fresh for those flurries late in the round, late in the quarter, late in the sequence, late in the half, late in the game. So this is finally and now now it's working.
Now.
Somebody said this too many years ago, and it was really smart about Lebron. Whenever you play with Lebron, you are playing in Lebron's offense. You just have to figure out. Now, Kyrie got really frustrated with it. But I think Lebron because of his age and because I think Luca's even I mean, listen, Kyrie's an all time talent, but I think he looks at Luc and goes, Okay. Finally, as much as I loved Ad, he's not a playmaker. Luca is Austin Reeves is Lebron is. But this is what JJ Reddick said after this winning Denver, and this is the quiet part, finally finally being said out loud.
Luca needs to be the guy that controls the offense in Bonn and Ar because.
We're going to stagger everybody. They're going to have their.
Times to be on the ball. But all three of those guys are very intelligent basketball players, and we can create mismatches, we can get teams in the blunder.
Nobody's ever said that like that has been thought about privately, it's been whispered, it's been you know, it probably be better. The whole ad time, we kept waiting for the baton pass that against Denver. That was the baton pass.
That was a moment.
That's what I said.
I think the Lakers can play for the Western Conference Finals if they play like that.
You got Ruey in the corner.
Austin Reeves is your third best playmaker, Luke is your primary initiator, and Lebron off ball, unless Lucas says. For the record, Lebron sees it and said this after.
I'm a natural born wide receiver and he's a natural born quarterback, so it fits perfectly. You know, I'm I've been running the floor and running lanes like you know, pretty much my whole life. And he's been throwing great passes pretty much his whole life. So it's not it's not hard to get a rhythm when it comes to that. You know, it's just all about you know, eye contact and you know, him being a great quarterback like he is, and need being a recipient of it.
This is not a small thing. This has like been the discussion for years. This is what Kyrie complained about. D Wade didn't complain about it. D Wade and Spolstra figured it out after about two practices. This is gonna be Lebron's team. Kyrie pushed back, but Lebron was better at it. Ad I'm not a playmaker. This is what it can look like. This is what it can look like at its best. Lucas the playmaker. He initiates it. Lebron will have more efficiency and more energy late in the quarter half game and they blow out Denver. And Denver's a team I don't know in the last fifteen is Denver fourteen and one? Denver always beats the Lakers and this wasn't even close. So I don't want to get too crazy, but this is what I should look like.
J mack Listen. Hockey blew up when I was gone.
Aaron Rodgers, maybe a Ram Colin Wright, Colin wrong. NFL may screw around with their kickoffs even more. I hope you had a great time with the fam.
I did, wife and I went to Graham Cayman. So nice little get away down to the Caribbean. It's good to be back and hear you saying nice things about Lebron.
Oh my god, that's awesome.
Am I wrong?
No, you're right.
It does feel like we're a little far away.
I feel like I have to wave or maybe cush out a little louder for that may have been intentional. Oh shots fired some Sunday.
So I will say this, we are. I'm not gonna tell you why we're in a makeshift studio. It's amazing how good of a makeshift studio it was. They told me, Colin, we'm gonna have a makeshift studio, and I thought we were gonna be in a broom closet. So I came up here this morning with very low hopes. My optimism was it a low nothing against management. But I went up to a broom closet and I'm like, all right, it's gonna be about four months.
I can't believe how nice it is.
In fact, you may want to cancel those plans and use that budget for something else, because I am really comfortable out here.
Great.
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We do it every Monday at this time. Football or not? Colin right, Colin wrong? And here we go where Colin was right? Well, I said, once they got Luca, it would take a while to figure it out, and they won't be great defensively. But either as Denver in the West, but the Lakers will be a Western Conference Finals participant. They blew out Denver in Denver, Luca now not Lebron for the first time ever. Lucas the quarterback and the initiator of the offense, and Lebron's more the tight end or wide receiver. And I think at this point that's the best way.
To do it.
JJ Reddick deserves a lot of credit. He's saying the quiet part out loud.
Lucas gonna lead the offense, allowing Austin Reeves and Lebron to be great off ball. This is how it should work. And JJ Reddick, the new guys come in. I said this, This franchise now is Luca and JJ Reddicks. That's not a shot at Lebron, but this game against Denver is what the offense should look like.
Going forward where Colin was raw.
There's a story today that the Vikings are considering re signing Sam Darnold, and I'm a little used by this, not the franchise tag, which would pay him a lot, So that tells me JJ McCarthy's injury. There's still some concerns now Daniel Jones is there, but a free agent, listen, I'm not one of these. Sam had a great year, thirty five touchdown, twelve picks.
Is it a lightning in a bottle moment? A little bit?
But I think Sam's in his prime. He's coachable, he moves, he's got a good arm, and I think Minnesota's really well coached. But I will be honest, I thought he was moving off. I thought he Sam would have a market. I'd be surprised if the Raiders don't make a real run in him. So Darnold, according to his story, vikings open to a contract. Where Colin was right. I said this before I left. Keep your eyes on Aaron Rodgers. If Stafford leaves to the Rams, and Pro Football Talk is quoting a general manager, anonymous GM saying, yep, it's being discussed. One of the reasons Stafford and the Rams are gonna discuss a new deal at the combine starting Thursday, going through the weekend.
I'm told, but.
Aaron doesn't want a long term deal. He's been humbled a little in New York and also after playing in well run Green Bay, he probably misses a really top to bottom, well run organization. I'm not saying it's gonna happen. But I'm not surprised that Aaron, who I actually think with a staff at the end of last year for the Jets that was suboptimal. I thought Aaron was pretty good down the stretch. Story Today, rams.
Are looking where Colin was wrong.
Well, they got Josh Hart finally back after eleven days off, but they got I thought the Knicks were going to be a very good team, better offensively with Karl Anthony Towns and very good at least as good defensively.
They're not. They're bad defensively.
Now.
They're getting Robinson back and Josh Hart came back, but Boston and Cleveland attacked Karl Anthony Towns and there is nothing they can do about it. Again, I thought a lot of their defense would be solved by Mikale Bridges, a very athletic win. They cannot defend the three. In fact, I think their last in the NBA at defending the three. So of all the Knicks problems, I thought they were going to be a better offensive team than last year. Still great defense, they are struggling on the defensive end.
Where Colin was right.
Never really understood the fascination with Joel Embiid right now they've lost seven straight with Joel Embiid. He got bench yesterday.
Listen.
I know he's talented, and I know he's worth something, but they chose Embiid is the good guy and Jimmy Butler is the bad guy. And all Butler does is win now with the Warriors and then with the Miami Heat. I don't understand his game. He's shooting more threes than ever and he's bad at it, shooting twenty nine percent. He didn't work in the Olympics with other star players, so I've never been a huge Mbid fan. He was gifted an MVP a couple of years ago because people didn't think it was fair that Jokis won three straight. Now you're seeing the result of that huge contract. Bad news for the Sixers.
Where Colin was raw T.
Higgins looks like he could stay in Cincinnati stories today they are considering strongly a franchise tag now that would probably overpay him for the short term. But my takeaway is, outside of Burrow and Jamar Chase, who are you paying?
You got one Edge Rusher.
If Philadelphia can pay everybody, including Dom, they should be able to pay Burrow, Jamar Chase and t.
Higgins.
He's a really good player. He's durable, he's got a catching radius. I mean he can take a hit, he can block a little. I'm surprised Cincinnati would open up the wallet.
Here where Colin was right.
We were huge proponents of Jimmy Butler to the Warriors, and they're five and one since he arrived. They didn't have a consistent number two score. More than that though, Butler gets to the free throw line, and the Warriors were bottom of the league in that category. Since he arrived, their top one to two in the league and free throws attempted and free throws made. He's feisty. He is not a naturally gifted offensive score, but he works for it. He forces you to guard him and defend him every time down the floor. And he's the kind of guy that will challenge teammates. It's his staff, and I just think they needed to be more interesting, and.
He delivered where Colin was right.
Debo Samuel, the Niners have told him you have permission to look for a trading partner. I had said last year. I thought he was the odd man out. Kittle still playing at an elevated level. Brandon Aiyuk is there down the field, deep threat. They've got to play brock Perty. They drafted two receivers Pearsol late first round. Looks like he can fill that role. Deebo is a really really good chess piece, and Kyle Shanahan does wonders with those. I'm not sure if he's the same player if he gets a defensive head coach or a staff that doesn't quite understand his value doing many things besides wide receiver. But he felt like the odd man out to me during this season and the story now San Francisco willing to move Colin Wright, Colin Wrong.
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Here we Go.
It is a Tuesday, live in Los Angeles.
It's The Herd.
Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, thanks to make it as part of your day.
Tonight is the night.
Tonight is the night Luca Dante, the newest Laker in Los Angeles and the team that traded him away.
Shockingly, the Dallas.
Mavericks, limp into town with all their bigs injured. This has the potential to get really ugly. J Mack is going to this one. I'll be locked on a TV, smoking a stog, maybe knocking down a gin and soda, checking out what will be a spectacle in Los Angeles tonight. And this is a city over the last several years between Mookie Betts and Freeman and Shoeo Tani and Lincoln Riley and Jim Harbaugh and a lot of stars come in to town. J Mac, tonight is gonna be interesting. So Luka Dantag at home hosting the MAVs. You're gonna officially see how awful this trade was. Luca's gonna be inspired. He's gonna be ticked off, and JJ Reddick and Lebron James are gonna make sure he eats. They're gonna feed him the ball all night. This is gonna be the New York Giants against Saquon Barkley. This is gonna be dinner with your ex and she upgraded. You're gonna be wondering, if you're Dallas, what was I thinking? Where did it all go wrong? It sets up to be a blood bath potentially because Dallas all their bigs are hurt. So Luca's gonna score anyway he wants. And I said this, if the Mavericks would have gotten Anthony Davis, Austin Reeves and three first round picks, I still wouldn't have made the deal. But I but I could. I. You know, he's hurt conditioning. Maybe I'd sleep a little better at night. But give it him away for one pick for Anthony Davis. And he is not twenty six years old yet, He's got two more days to be twenty five. And here's the thing, the thing I'm thinking about this morning. Yes, Saquon Barkley to the Eagles was a huge gaff by Joe Shane the Giants gym. But Sakuon Barkley's a running back. They don't last forever thirty two years old. They can be out of the game thirty three years old. They retire soon. So you don't have to sit and watch this forever. Luca's twenty five. If he gets the conditioning right, he could be dropping thirty three points a night for the next fourteen years. And the other thing, he's in the Western Conference, so Luca could be keeping Dallas. Because I actually like Dallas's roster, Ad Kyrie, their size, their coach.
I actually like Dallas's roster.
But there's a real opportunity here for the Lakers to bounce the Mavericks out for years. And this is a player that is just in two days turning twenty six. So years ago, about fifteen straight years out of college.
I used to have a dream.
That haunted me, and it may lasted twenty years, and this thing woke me up in a sweat about three times a month. I had this dream that I was going to take a college final and I wasn't prepared, and I had this dream all the time. And just think about it this way, Luca is advanced calculus, and the Mavericks Nico Harrison, is gonna spend the next twelve to thirteen years waking up at least two to three times a month in a sweat. That's why if you're gonna trade Luca, you gotta get assets, you gotta get Amo, you gotta get him out of your conference. He can't get in the way of keeping you from trophies. So tonight's the night. Dirk Noavinski previously in Dallas their greatest player ever. He'll be here tonight and he has been in La several times to support Luca.
I felt a little disappointed and sad for him. You know, I think you obviously didn't see this coming. So he invited me to come out to his first game in LA and I felt like I had to support him. It was reported that he was pretty obviously down and disappointed how it went down, and so I wanted to be there for him. I wanted to be there for his family and then show support.
It was weird.
It was surreal to see him play for the Lakers, and so at the end of the day, I mean, I'll ever be a Lakers fan, but it was always be a Luca fan.
Tonight is a spectacle. We've been lucky in Los Angeles. We've just had big coaches and you know, Stafford to town and harbought a town and show Hey moves up the I five, and here comes Freddie Freeman from Atlanta, and here comes Mooky Bets and now it's Luca in our lap and facing his Mavericks hobbling into town.
Tonight can't wait.
So melk Hyper maybe you've heard of him, has a big mock draft and he released it today and a lot of people are surprised that schahduor Sanders, who people you know, during the college football season, many people speculated he'd go number one. He's going number seven in the mock draft of the New York Jets, and I was thinking about this this morning. That's about where he should go. I think he's a good B plus prospect. I think he's a good kid. He's accurate. But my favorite part about Shadur Sanders is not It's not that his dad is Dion. It's not that he was one of the first guys that made big nil money. Actually, my favorite part isn't his strength. He's really accurate. You want to know my favorite part of Shaduur Sanders. The last two years, he has been the most sacked college quarterback out of every single Power five school. Oh, it gets worse. In the last two years he had the worst running game of any other quarterback in Power five conferences. This is Andy Dufrayne escaping from Shawshank. This kid has been through a tunnel. Okay, this kid has swam through a tunnel.
You know what.
And there's a reason that there aren't a lot of great Ohio State quarterbacks in the NFL, and not a lot of great Notre Dame quarterbacks. USC quarterbacks Texas quarterbacks, Georgia quarterbacks.
Why is that?
Why is that yet cow The Golden Bears have given us GoF and Aaron Rodgers. North Carolina State gave us Philip Rivers gave us Russell Wilson. Eastern Illinois gave us Garoppolo and Tony Romo. Why is that Josh Allen's from Wyoming, Patrick Mahomes is from Texas Tech, Lamar Jackson from a basketball school Louisville.
Why is that?
It's because of what Shadeur Sanders faced A tunnel of crap? Is that the reality is when you go to an Ohio State, you take a three three step drop, hit a receiver, a five star receiver on a drag route. He goes for forty eight yards. It's easy living. Go back to Matt Lionerd at USC. How many times was he sacked? I mean one time one year, it was eleven times. It's not a real life that you'll face in the NFL, especially if you're a top ten lottery pick. You go to bad teams in battle lines, and bad receivers and often really bad coaches. That is why Big Ben didn't go to Ohio State. He was overlooked by them Miami of Ohio. Drew Brees didn't go to Texas. He was overlooked by them.
He went to.
Purdue Mahomes all those guys from cal Shadeur Sanders has had to manufacture offense. And that's what happens in the NFL. Even if you're Patrick Mahomes, because you make so much money, you don't have an elite offensive left tackle and you have to manufacture stuff because you have to let Tyreek Hill go. Philadelphia is an outlier. They pay the quarterback and they're loaded. The reality is in the NFL, if you're a top ten quarterback, you usually go to a lousy roster or a really bad smell in the organization, and then once you do get paid, you're going to be limited on actually what they can put around you. I mean, that's the downside to being a lottery pick. But Shador Sanders the most sat quarterback, the worst running game. This kid's ready for it. It's not that his dad's deon. It's not that he was the first NIL star or second. It's not that he's really accurate. He's lived a real life in the NFL. I mean, Caleb Williams high school and college everything was easy. He goes to Chicago. That's a real life The coach, the coordinators, the raw you're o line, the media is not in your corner. So I look at Shadar Sanders and I looked it up this morning, and he's seventh in Mel Kuiper's draft.
That's exactly.
That's exactly, by the way, if you look at the top seven teams in the NFL Draft, I could argue the Jets have the best roster.
You gonna fall a little.
Oh, they got a number one receiver and a number one back, and they have a left tackle from Penn State, and they've got maybe the best corner or second best corner in the league. And they've got a top linebacker. Now they got a new coaching staff. But I would argue falling in the draft of the Jets, it's a better roster than Tennessee or the Giants, or Cleveland or the Raiders. So I looked up the composite rankings of Colorado that Shador Sanders played with. It was even with BYU SMU and Arizona State. And there are two quarterbacks in this draft that are ready to play Day one, cam Ward and Shaudor Sanders, and the biggest reason is he's lived a real NFL life, running for his life with no running game for two years and having to manufacture offense. J Mack, you are very fired up. I would ask you where you got your tickets. I hopefully you had to pay for him. You didn't get freebie, so you can relate to people. But you are going to the game tonight and i'm'm a little jealous, but I'm gonna sit back watch and my guess is Luca goes for forty four. Forty four, Well, they don't have any rim protection. Dallas' bigs are all hurt. But the other thing is, you know, JJ Reddick and Lebron James are going to feed him the ball for forty minutes. He is going to get the ball, They're gonna initiate offense. This is gonna be one of those you know, you just do guys a solid. It's almost like when Lebron would play Cleveland in Miami. It's like, we're gonna make sure we get in the ball. We're gonna make sure it's a solid.
Yeah.
You think he's maybe dieting today a little uh intermittent fasting, not eating a little look a little slimmer to just shove it in the face of the mas boy. It's tough to be a Dallas Mavericks fan right now. How about a Dallas sports fan right now? Colin Cowboys are in turmoil.
I was in Chicago this weekend and I was talking to a couple of Chicago sports fans. They are going through. People in Los Angeles are spoiled.
We are.
I mean, I mean there has been about an eight year run. I mean, think of our football coaches. We've had Chip Kelly, Lincoln, Riley, Jim Harbaugh, Sean McVay. Our quarterbacks have been Caleb Williams, Matt Stafford, Jared Goff got shipped out of town.
He wasn't good enough, and Justin Herbert not not bad. No.
So it's and all of a sudden, Luca falls in the lap of the Lakers. So it is Tonight's gonna be a big night in.
La huge massive.
I'll go triple double for Luca, thirty two point triple double.
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Wake the neighbors. Tell your friend you want to watch the next twenty minutes. Tarron Armstead twelve years in the NFL, A five time pro bowler, started with the Saints, went to the Dolphins. One of the great multi left tackles, pass blocking, run blocking in the NFL for a long time. Could play still available. We'll get into that in a second. This guy's full of personality that you know that what's always interesting.
I'm fascinated by this.
How in the hell did you end up being overlooked by SEC teams? It didn't take you very long to be good in the NFL. You went to Arkansas Pine Bluff. I know where Arkansas is. I don't know where the pine or the bluff is at. Why were you a late bloomer?
I think my area was just overlooked.
My high school was behind the times as far as exposure, okay, putting the eyes on guys and getting the tape to where it was available. You know, I was still VHS, very very a lot of static.
Well, Josh Allen, same thing, Oh really, Jodan, I mean literally didn't get a single college offer.
Oh wow?
Played out in the sticks in Northern.
Cay, same situation.
Yeah, so if you were watching my film, you would have to kind of figure out which of those dots were me and we liked that guy, and that it didn't happen for me.
Did you know did you go to the combine?
I did?
Okay, When did you know I'm better than that guy? I'm better than that guy?
Like?
When did you know I'm gonna play in this league?
I wouldn't say that Combine was that situation for me. Combine helped me get more odds and more exposure. I had broke the forty yard dash record for the offense. A lineman ran four six five two, So look at that. Yeah, So that that just helped me get my name out and got more people to watch my film. My college film had some static too, but it was more DVD. It wasn't VHS no more, so it's hard to see that too. But Combine helped me tremendously. But as far as like which guy that I felt like I could play against for I'm better than never really been my thing. I went to the East West Shrine game and then got invited to the Senior but the next week, So those two weeks were probably the most revealing for me as far as level of talent because I kept hearing that through the process, your a level of talent that you played against is going to be different than the SEC guys.
So first one on one, I'll tell you a quick story.
First one on one at the Singer Ball, I got there late a lineup.
It's a d M from Georgia. I don't remember his name, and I'm like, this is my moment.
I jumped at him through his ass five yards and jumped on him everything like I blacked out. And that was my mike right then and there. It was my moment of you can do this, you can play at this level.
I love stories like that. I love that stuff.
The you know, it's funny. We were talking during the break. I love Sean Payton. Sean Payton facetiming last night in Indy and you played for him for years and he is very blunt for sure. He and Russell Wilson. Russell's mister optimism, Shawn's mister authentic honesty. Like it it clashed. Yeah, you didn't like Seawn early.
I didn't.
I didn't like him at all my first three four years. But I appreciated him like I appreciated his coaching style. He's very direct, he was very aggressive, but he wasn't personable at all. Like I couldn't say nothing to him, couldn't make a suggestion or opinion or anything.
The only time he talked to you was if you messed up. That was it. Like he was not a pat on the back guy at all.
So as a young player coming from Arkansas pinm Bluff, I was looking for a little you know what.
I mean, a little something.
But everything that he taught me in those first four years it stuck with me in It taught me what's important doing your job, execution, play after play, a game after game, and I couldn't I can't thank the man enough. And then later on my last five years together, we became best friends and I love him to death. That the stories that he has and the moments that we've shared together.
He went the extra mile for me.
Twenty twenty, during COVID, my brother passed away and we couldn't travel, so, you know, it was looking like I wouldn't be able to go to the funeral.
And I'm like, I'm driving if that's the case.
This middle of the week, and Sean called me to his office and he's like missus Benson. I told her the situation. We're taking her plane, we're going to the funeral. I'm like, what do you mean way, He's like, I'm coming with you. We're going to the And he came up to my hometown, me and him, Dan Rochark, he just signed with the Bears as the O line coach Alvin Kamara and Latavia's Murray and we all went to the funeral together and Sean was amongst the people and he helped my family, like genuinely, had had people laughing and smiling at really the toughest time.
Of our lives. So forever, forever grateful for that man.
By the way, somebody said on the staff, they said, hey, tarn is going to give you crap about Steph Curry who dropped fifty six last night.
Joe, what are you going to say to me? I was very complimentary today, have Steph Curry?
Yeah?
No, So now that you mentioned it, and it's about eight years ago that you said this.
Eight years.
Yeah, I've been holding onto it. I've been waiting for you. Yeah, so eight years. I honestly don't even remember what you said. I just know at the moment I didn't like It didn't like it one bit. What I say it was, he is he can he win a championship? Uh you know by aselfing, he does?
He need X, Y and Z to do it. It was it was something crazy, just just out raging, and it just bothered you. It bothered me so bad.
But you know what it's funny about Steph Curry.
He goes to Davidson so none of us watch him small school. You and him have something in common. He has ankle issues, ankle issues. He's not very good defensively at all.
My ankles, My ankle is pretty good. I heard everything else, but the ankles were good.
But he was he had to develop into something.
Yeah, I know what you mean.
And there was there were talk they were going to keep Monte Ellis and and move him like there that Wasry west Is like, we're not doing that. I think it was Jerry West or somebody in the organization. And the truth is is that I do think the jet fuel to players like you and Curry. And I've said this about this year's quarterback draft. They're all getting crushed.
This is them.
And what makes Curry so great is that he just he just always works at his craft. And I think sometimes and I see this a little with Luca. Luca was so good at sixteen, beating European men.
He's still not in good shape. Like what the.
Harder things are to attain, the more it fuels you for the rest of your life. Steph Curry will be competitive golfing at seventy four because of Davidson.
And going to your life. The fact you were doubted even today.
Does it tick you because you were I think you were great at top four, third best, top three tackle last year? Does it still drive you crazy? Do you feel disrespected by that?
I do?
I do?
And that to your point, that's what drew me to Steph Curry. Like to be. To become a fan of Steph Curry is all the noise and for him to use it as fuel and to work like to work, to work, to work to become what he has become. I took the same approach. I had to work over time to go from Arkansas Pine Bluff and be a small school guy, underachiever, all of those things whatever to be a five time pro bowler, all pro you know what I mean. And it's still like you say to this day, it was third rate tackle. This year whatever, who was Grays or metrics, But I just always got to prove myself. And I'm okay with that because I love the grind, I love the work, I love getting better, I love the progression. It's just a part of who I am.
So I've said this before.
NFL's obviously rewarding financially offensive players over defensive players. But I've said there's a handful of defensive players in my life. Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor, and Donald they're just different facts. Miles Garrett is pretty close to that, and my argument is if you give him a winning environment, he'll play even better. Like Lebron looks better now that Luke is there, for sure. I mean Staft's playing better, Jimmy Butler's there. It's like they're showing up. It's like, okay, everybody's watching my games.
Now.
How many times have you faced Miles Garrett and physically he should have more body fat at that size. Is he a tough matchup even for you?
Yeah?
Yeah, I've played him three times. I would say I think we played the first time in twenty eighteen. That is a top three one on one old line versity line battle. I went and watched it again, probably two months ago. It's a it's a it's a dog fight.
I won. I did it. I just put that out. I won.
But if you go back and watch that game, I got no help, he got no help. He lined up here, I line up here, and we went at it for the entire game twenty eighteen.
Go watch that.
So the next day when you wake up, be honest, is it hard to get out of bed when you place somebody at that level?
For sure?
For sure that you get a physical dolt fell like that, somebody that's like really it's like a train wreck, for sure, as you feel every part of it, your neck, back, shoulders, for sure, no question about it.
By the way, Matt Stafford just reached an agreement with the Rams. Oh wow, so we got the Raiders came after him. But it was interesting. According to Diana Russini, the Raiders only offer two years, which is what the Rams are offering.
So the trade.
Speculation talk is done. The first significant off season quarterback domino has fallen. The Rams and Stafford, according to Adam Schefter, have reached an agreement on a restructured deal. My guess is two years. I'm not sure about the money. Stafford's pretty unique. You know what I always appreciated about Stafford. A lot of these older quarterbacks don't want to get hit. Matt will sit in there fearless to the last half second, fearless.
You've hit him a few times.
I mean you you've been in games against Stafford. Are there is there a secret code the quarterbacks? Like Breeze was a smaller quarterback, sure as he got older, tell me what it's like to protect like Tua, we got concussions. He don't want to get You don't want to get hit. Do you feel a responsibility because of Tua's concussions? Does that add pressure to you?
It's pressure playing that position anyway, being being the front line, Like I had two smaller quarterback.
I've had two smaller quarterbacks my career, Drew Brees and Tua.
By the way, Tua Breeze is Toua's calm.
For sure, for sure, and for a good reason too. It is not is not for nothing, He's he is that from that claw. So the stressful part and it's real life stress, like it's anxiety that goes on in past protection. That's like the worst thing in the world is to get your quarterback hit to me. So if I give up a sack, like, no matter how to play for the rest of the game, it doesn't matter.
My ruined it is ruined. I get the quarterback hit.
He only gave up three last year.
I don't think two of those are on me. So we got to go back and watch the film. Yeah, that's a lot of factors goes into that.
Is there a guy in the league that gave you more trouble and he wasn't a high draft pick?
Yeah, you know, we've always said this, There are guys in the NBA. They have maybe a weird body or whatever. But if you ask players are.
Like, I mean, I remember Dominique Wilkins telling me, he goes, I love playing MJ.
I did not sleep playing Bernard King.
Right, Bernard could just say I'm scoring fifty four tonight, he goes, I couldn't stop him.
He goes, I hated playing it. Is there a guy in the league that you're like because Max.
Crosby talks a lot of trash he does, and he's a fourth I think he's a fourth rounder. Is there a guy in the league that you maybe do not sleep quite as well the night before.
No, I would say I feel the same way as Dominique, Like I would rather block Miles Garrett and Max Crosby.
Wow, I would, I would. It's the guy that just got elevated.
Off practice squad. I'm terrified of him. I'm scared to death. He is, he's in his stands, he got his his leg is shaken. God damn, he's about to rush with everything in his being intimidating.
No, No, the scouts, who you talk?
Who's the practice squad guy that's that just got elevated this week.
They told him on Wins that hey, you're gonna play this week.
You might not give me a terrified I'm fearful.
Yeah, I don't want to see him.
Give me Max, give me Miles Garrett. Yeah, with that practice squad, got it, just called up. I don't want no smokes.
Young.
He's got nothing but energy, nothing but energy.
He's gonna run through my face mask over and over and I throw him to the ground. But I'm like supposed to. So it's like, you know what I mean, he gonna get up and do it again. I don't want to see him.
You've made your money, you can retire today, but you play outside of quarterback, the most important position in the sport. If a good team called you up and said, dude, two years would you would you go play?
I'm on a good team, so no, so you wouldn't you were not gonna play. I'm on a good team already, I know. But I mean, so nobody else can call me you would?
You're this is it?
I'm a yeah, Dolphins only.
Yeah, and that's it.
That's it.
But you're you're you're kind of pausing.
I'm not. I think it's natural pauses in a conversation. You know what I mean?
That's funny. So what do you do now? You're yo? How old are you?
Thirty?
Okay? You got you got some money, You've had a career.
Yeah, what do you do?
What is an?
Can most people retire? I'm sixty and still working. The average person is great man, sixty five, sixty six. You're thirty three and can wrap it up?
What do you do? I weigh my options, right.
I feel like being in the league for so long, having a successful career and done and I've done well financially, it gives me cushion in room to make a decision like this and to see if I want to continue to go out and compete in pursuit of a championship. That's the goal, like that, honestly, honestly speaking, that is that's the goal. So it's a it's a lot of factors that goes into that. A lot of health for sure, but then kids, my kids getting older, my twin girls about to be teenagers. Pray for me please, So those type of things are factors for sure. The Dolphins have been incredible and graceful allowing me this time. I know you've seen the contract restructure that we we just came to.
It worked well for all parties.
It allowed me a little bit more time to think and allowed them to do whatever they need to do necessary to improve the.
Dolphins. Have you said structure money?
Yeah, yeah, we restructure. Yeah, you haven't signed it, not physically.
Are you going to?
Yeah?
Again, you're pausing. What does that mean? You're pausing when I ask you, are you going to sign the contract?
What the restructure is? It's like I took my projected salary down to minimum.
Okay, So it allows the Dolphins to do with the new space cap space to.
Do whatever they need to do to improve the team.
It allows me the time to make a decision whether I want to keep playing or not. So if I'll decide, hey we're doing this, I'm locking in. Let's go, then we have another conversation.
Okay, Matt Stafford broke news.
You could do it right after I could.
I want to let Matt have his day, would be to take his shine, and then they only talking about me today.
You know, all right?
You know you've you've had Sean Payton's intensity as a coach, Dan Campbell's almost he's a player, and now you've got this wizard this like MI, I t Mike McDaniel. Be honest about Mike McDaniel. First time you saw him, did you say he's gonna stand in front of us?
He's a little different? Right?
No, No, not at all, not at all.
My first time I saw him was I was on a visit, so it was it was one on one and he just came in.
He came in with energy. Man, he was he was excited.
He had just got there three four days before, you know what I mean, So he didn't know where his pens and A yeah, he is for sure, he's he's different. He's different, but that's okay because he's it's genuinely him, and that's what I appreciate. It is not a front, is not an act. It's it's him, and you spend time with him, you'll see that and you have a deeper appreciation for him.
Tarn Armstead, you know you're always welcome.
I appreciate it.
You can always come by the show.
You come to my show too. I don't have one yet, but one day when I do. You free to come through a.
Dead end career, there's no reason to do this.
You hang out with your beautiful twin daughters.
Are are they athletes?
What are they? Yeah?
Basketball players? Best sixth grade team in the country. Going to a Nationals again. Yeah, back to back with doing it.
What do you weigh right now? By the way, that's personal.
What do you weigh about two eighty five?
What do you play at to ninety eight three hundred? That's a light tackle for you to be that good at that.
Weight, appreciate it strong.
What do you This is a weird question. If I said Max Reps bench, what do you bench? This is a weird question.
Was bench? Huh? I'm not benching no more. You don't bench, no, not Max rev No.
No, you're just doing light stuff, trying to keep tone.
Yeah, I get what I need to get in a lot of pilates and stuff like that.
Really, how about that? How about that?
Yeah? When I grab him, it's no getting away.
Okay, Matt Stafford is signed with the Rams. We'll say it again. Uh, congra Yeah, that's that's so.
We said.
We thought the Raiders were in play, but in the end the Rams wanted that first Raiders pick and probably a second, and the Raiders said that's a little bit too much. So Stafford whose legacy again, if you give him a second super Bowl, that's l Way, That's Peyton Manning, that's Big Ben. Don't forget how a quarterback's career ends goes a long way in forming that legacy. Right now, Stafford's considered great, he becomes an all time great with a second Super Bowl, and the Rams are in that short little window where they could do it.
