Warren Moon, Pro Football Hall of Fame Quarterback

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A peanut butter M&M's production. In a world where Super Bowl winners get the world's admiration and a fancy ring, but the runners-up get nothing, one retired cop returns. That's one retired quarterback. Read the script.

Oh, sorry. One retired quarterback returns to claim what's his. Um, that's claim a ring with diamonds made from M&M's peanut butter, but you're on a roll.

The Ring of Comfort, coming soon to a Super Bowl new you. Warren, thank you so much for taking the time to hop on. Appreciate it. Yeah, thanks for having me on. It was quite a game yesterday.

Most certainly. I guess if there is anything, out of a few controversies, it was the decision by Kyle Shanahan to receive the football. What were your thoughts in real time as he and the team made that decision?

I thought it was a good decision. I always want the football. I always want to put the pressure on the other team. And if you feel like you can go down and score, and you already scored the last couple of times you had the ball, even though they were just field goals, you still put the pressure on them to have to score at least a field goal to tie you or a touchdown to beat you, which is what happened. But you're putting confidence in your football team that they can go down and score maybe a touchdown or a field goal, and that your defense can hold.

So that's kind of what has to happen. And it doesn't matter if you take the ball first or not, you're going to have to score a touchdown. What if the Chiefs took the ball first, and they went down and scored a touchdown, and you didn't score a touchdown? Everybody would have said they made the wrong decision there. So you're never going to be right if you lose a football game because you didn't score enough points.

That's the bottom line. You have to score more points than the other team, and it doesn't matter when they happen. Warren Moon is here with us, the chair of the sport we show on CBS Sports Radio. The nightmare scenario did come true, at least for the 49ers, and we know that Patrick Mahomes did take them down the field and through that touchdown pass that we just heard, Utzah Hartman. When you take a look at Patrick Mahomes, what makes him special from your perspective as a Hall of Famer? I think it's his competitiveness. I think we all know that he's a very physically talented guy as far as being able to throw the football from all different angles with his arm, to be able to run the football, you know, and really put pressure on the defense with his legs, scramble, make plays outside the pocket. But I think it's his competitiveness that really drives him over the top, and you could see on that last drive, he wanted to take that football game over. He dropped back the pass one time, and he had no intention of throwing the football. He just took off and ran, and got about 15, 20 yards on a scramble because he wanted to do it on his own if he had to. And that's what he was doing on that drive. I think he was 8 for 8 in overtime, and then he had a couple of big scrambles. So the thing that I love about him is his competitiveness, and especially at winning time in ball games, that's when he seems to play his best, and that's when you want your quarterback playing his best football.

Well, Warren, we've heard so many comparisons about catching Tom Brady and Mahomes having to answer this. When you look at his style of play and how the NFL has changed, realistically, how much longer do you think we're going to see him perform at a ridiculous level? He's only 28. Right, and he's only 28, and he's just getting to his prime, believe it or not. It just depends on how long he wants to play, and then how long he can still do all these special things that he does, because at some point you're going to start to lose some of those things physically. When does that come? Does it come when he's 35?

Does it come when he's 33? He's still another 5, 6 years away, so he still has a chance to win as many Super Bowls as Tom, but I don't think he has to win as many to be considered as good. It's the way he's doing it right now, so early, and so many of them. And if he continues at this rate, even if he finishes with 5 or 6, in how many years? You know, Tom played 23 years. I mean, if Patrick plays, what, 10, 12, 15 years, and he gets 6 Super Bowls, I mean, I think that's equivalent or better.

So, I just love the way the guy plays the game. You look at what he's done since he's been in the league, he's been the 6th straight AFC championship game. Every year that he has started, he's been to the championship game, and he's already been to 5 Super Bowls. So, nobody's had that type of start, and I don't see him getting any worse because he has a very young defense. I'm sure they're going to make some improvements offensively, maybe get him a number one receiver, and if they do that, they're going to be that much more dangerous.

Warren Moon is here with us, the JR Sportman show on CBS Sports Radio. On the opposite side, you have a less heralded quarterback in Brock Purdy, who didn't wow yesterday, didn't have a bad game, it was just okay. What are your thoughts on the valuation after now seeing him for a full season, plus what we got last year? I love how the young kid has played, and all he's taken is criticism all season long about he's only this good because of the talent that he has around him. Well, most quarterbacks have talent around him, that's one of the reasons why they play well. The quarterback is one of the more dependent positions there are in professional sports, and you have to have good players around you in order to be successful. There's no question he has a very, very talented team, but he still has to make those throws, he still has to make those reads, he still has to be able to get the team in and out of the right plays with a lot of scrimmage, and he makes plays with his legs a lot, and he did that in the two come-from-behind playoff victories, and he made some big plays yesterday. This kid is just on his way, you've got to remember he's only in his second year, he's been to a NFC Championship game, he's been to a Super Bowl, and he's only going to continue to get better, so I wish people would lay off of him because of where he was drafted. People don't remember that Tom Brady was a six-round draft pick as well, and I think he had a pretty good career, so where you're drafted doesn't always mean how good you are. Well, Warren, we all know about the success you had at the CFL and the NFL with the Oilers and moving on as well.

It seemed, I don't want to say that you were ahead of your time, but we certainly know that you use your feet. When you take a look at the way the quarterback position is played now, Lamar Jackson winning an MVP, Josh Allen rushing on a dime probably too often, how do you feel about the evolution of the game, and what the heck would you be doing right now if you played? I'd be scary if I was still in my prime playing, and the way the game is being played today, and the rules, the rules, the way they are for the passing game, and then the way they protect the quarterback, that's the thing I love. They just, you just don't get good hits on the quarterback anymore, and if you do, you get flagged for it, so it wasn't that way in my day, but I really like the way the quarterback position is played. Now, it's more of a hybrid position where you definitely have to be able to throw the ball from the pocket, but you better be able to move around and make things happen with your legs if you can, because these defenses are so fast now, and they have so many different pressures and wrinkles with their blitzes and things that ultimately you're going to have to make somebody miss, because somebody's going to either get beat, or somebody's going to come free, so if you have that ability with your legs to be able to avoid someone, to get outside the pocket, extend a play, and make a play down field with your arm or with your legs, that just makes you a much more valuable quarterback, so you see a lot of the guys in the league now that can do that. You know, whether it's Josh Allen or Haybird or Patrick Mahomes or any of the other guys you mentioned, Lamar Jackson, I mean, you can go on and on, all these guys have the ability to move, but they also can throw the football from the pocket, which you have to be able to do. Well, Lamar Jackson caught a lot of criticism, and we know that Patrick Mahomes is at the top of the totem pole. Do you think Lamar gets the credit that he deserves?

It was a bad way that they ended in that AFC Championship game. Oh, he gets the credit. I mean, you don't become a two-time MVP if people aren't thinking you're not a pretty good player. There's not a lot of two-time MVPs in this league that have played in this league, so he's getting the credit, but until he wins with the big one, nobody ever gets the actual credit they deserve.

And he's gotten close, and he has a lot more opportunities to get it done if he stays healthy. The only thing that worries you about Lamar is the style that he plays. It gives him more opportunities to maybe get hurt, but he's starting to throw the football more from the pocket. He's running the ball a little bit less, and he's only going to continue to keep improving as a pocket passer, so he'll have his opportunities to maybe get to the big game and win it, but until then, he's a two-time MVP, which means he's had some really good seasons. Warren Moon is here with us, CBS Sports Radio, the JR Sportbreeze Show. Somebody, and it's crazy how time flies, Russell Wilson is going to be 36th later on this year. We have no idea where he's going to play.

We don't know what's going on with Denver. What are your thoughts on him? I know that you guys have a little bit of a connection to having both played up in Seattle. Yeah, well, you know, I did the radio for Seattle Seahawks for 15 years, so I was here when Russell came in as a rookie, and I really got a chance to know him and share ideas and different things with him. He was a fine player for the Seattle Seahawks. He had some trouble there in Denver those first couple of years, and I don't know if his future is going to be with the Denver Broncos.

By the way, they put him on the bench at the end of the season. I think he and Sean Payton, their philosophies are a little bit different as far as what Sean wants out of his quarterback, so Russell's probably going to be moving on if they're able to do it. Because of his contract situation, it's not an easy contract to move, but I'm sure there are some teams out there that would love to have his services for a couple of years. You look at the Atlanta Falcons, I'm sure they're looking for a trigger guy, and there's some other teams around the league, whether it's the Pittsburgh Steelers.

I mean, there's teams I know that need good quality quarterbacks, so it's just a matter of if those teams can fit him into their salary cap and all that, and then what the compensation would be. So we'll see how all that shakes out this offseason. As we start to wrap up, of course I want to ask you about more of these quarterbacks.

Man, we had some two young ones come in, two opposite ends of the spectrum. Bryce Young, terrible year with the Panthers, everything surrounded him, not good. And then we can go ahead and look at Houston and look at what Stroud has done. Do you think there's a possibility that Bryce can kind of bounce back, or is it out of his control?

Well, some of it is his control, and then some of it's going to be the organization's control, and they're just going to have to put some more pieces around him. Normally when you're a number one overall pick, you're going to a pretty bad team. That's why that team got the number one overall pick, because of their record. And they didn't have a lot of talent around him as far as offensive line play, as far as any explosive type players on the offensive side of the ball, on the outside and that. So it's kind of hard for a young quarterback to come in and do well.

Again, like I talked about earlier, it's a dependent position, and you're dependent on other players being around you that are very good. I think with C.J. Stroud in Texas, he had some nice little weapons around him that he could feed off of, and he had a better team on the defensive side of the ball. Demarco came in and did a great job defensively, which always gave them a chance in those football games, and they put a couple of weapons around him, and he had some success. So I think Bryce Young is going to be okay if they put some pieces around him. They've had a lot of disarray there. Coaching change in the middle of the season, that doesn't help. Now he's going to have another coach, another offensive coordinator, so that might set him back a little bit as well.

But I think he's a fine little player, and if they get the right people around him, I think he'll be fine. Well, Warren, you went into the Hall of Fame in 2006. Last week we found out about the most recent inductees. People are kind of just looking at why Antonio Gates did not get in. I don't know if there's something with the writers.

I have no idea. What are your thoughts on him having to wait a little bit longer? You know, I was shocked about a couple of different guys that didn't get in. I was shocked that Torrey Holt didn't get in. I was surprised that Reggie Wayne didn't get in. Both of those guys have been waiting for a while, and they've both been finalists probably the last five or six years. There's so many great players that have played this game, and what I try and tell those guys who make it to the finals is that if you make it to the finals at some point, you're probably going to be inducted.

I just don't know when that's going to be, so just hold tight and try and be patient if you can. You know, the great Lin Swan, I think he waited 16 times or something like that before he got put in. So it's not an automatic, you know, that you go in there because there's so many other players that are waiting to go in at all the other positions. And because football has so many more players than other sports, and you're only going to put five guys in there, it's going to take a while sometimes. So I feel bad for Antonio, but he's a great player, and I think he will be a Hall of Famer one day.

And final question for you, Warren. Speaking of the Hall of Fame, Eli Manning is eligible next season. Given his regular season record and what he did in the postseason longevity, what say you about Eli getting into the Hall? Yeah, that's going to be an interesting one because the Hall, they look at what you did in the postseason, no question about it, but they also look at your overall career. And so there was some up and downness in his career, but I think Eli Manning is a Hall of Famer, there's no question about it. And whether he's a first-ballot guy, I'm not sure, but we'll find that out next year when he's eligible.

But having two Super Bowl rings and a couple MVPs in your back pocket doesn't hurt. Most certainly. Well, Warren, thank you so much for adding your perspective. Where can people follow and keep up with you and all your thoughts, my man? You can find me on Twitter at wmoon1 and Instagram WarrenMoon1.

So that's where I am, that's where I'll be, and if you want to reach out to me, go ahead and reach out to me. Are there any more Hall of Fames that we can put you in, or you fill them all up already, right? I just went into the Houston Sports Hall of Fame two weeks ago, believe it or not, and I was very honored by that because of the quality of people that are in there. I mean, you're talking about Nolan Ryan and Roger Clements and Clyde Drexler and Kim Olajuwon and A.J.

Ford and Mary Lou Redden and Carl Lewis. I mean, the people that have come out of that city, just amazing athletes. So for me to be included in that, I was really, really honored by that. Hey, amazing years putting up the numbers with the Oilers. Congratulations, Warren.

I'm sure that we got more Hall of Fames coming, that's why I asked. Thank you so much for the time. All right, thanks for having me on today.

I really appreciate it, and what a great ending to the season. Hey, let's see if they can three-peat. Are they going to be the first ones to do it, Warren?

They all have as good a chance as anybody, no question about it, because of their young defense, and I think they're set pretty good contract-wise with all the people on their football team, so it should be good. All righty. Thank you again, Warren. Enjoy the rest of the offseason, and let's see what moves everybody makes. You take it easy, okay? All right, take care.

Have a good night. A Peanut Butter M&M's production. In a world where Super Bowl winners get the world's admiration and a fancy ring, but the runners-up get nothing, one retired cop returns- That's one retired quarterback. Read the script.

Oh, sorry. One retired quarterback returns to claim what's his- Um, that's claim a ring with diamonds made from M&M's peanut butter, but you're on a roll. The Ring of Comfort, coming soon to a Super Bowl new you. Okay, picture this, it's Friday afternoon when a thought hits you. I can spend another weekend doing the same old whatever, or I can hop into my all-new Hyundai Santa Fe and hit the road. With available H-Track all-wheel drive and three-row seating, my whole family can head deep into the wild. Conquer the weekend in the all-new Hyundai Santa Fe. Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details. Hyundai, there's joy in every journey.

2024 Santa Fe, available early 2024. I'm Tony and this is The Tony Kornheiser Show. Wow, that makes it sound a bit more serious than it really is. So what exactly is the show about? It's been almost 30 years and I still don't know. Right now we have some of the best voices in football come on to explain to us what we need to know in the college and pro world, and we get weekly picks from a monkey.

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