Mahomes' Ankle An Issue? (Hour 4)

The week continued as the Zach Yelp Show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. Let's preview the championship games and coming up this Sunday on CBS. You can watch that heavyweight showdown between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs.

And Arrowhead and Evan Washburn of CBS Sports will be on the sideline. Evan, great to have you on. Good to see you and Phil the other night. How you been?

Yeah, Zach, that was fun. Not much of a game, but good to catch up in the cafeteria there. So let's start off in the AFC. The Bengals, they should be confident. That's what makes them such a good team.

I'm just starting to wonder, with all the Tweet and EI apples doing, I saw Mike Hilton after the big victory against the Bills called Arrowhead, Burrowhead. Is the confidence at all a little bit too concerning or is this just who they are? No, I think it's who they are and I think they kind of feed off of it. At this point, they've got to create some sense of doubt or tension against them because I think it's starting to flip. I think after what happened on Sunday, the underdog thing has been kind of put to bed. And now one way to maybe get those of us on the outside to doubt them again would be to say that they're over-confident. So I don't know, it's all at this point, week 20 mind games and whatever you need to do to get yourself to a place where you're bringing it on Sunday evening. I guess it's just part of the sauce.

But they seem to embrace it, enjoy it, and thrive in it. I know it's early in the week, but what are you hearing about the Mahomes ankle? Andy Reid said he's going to play, but the question I guess becomes similarly to the Jalen Hurts shoulder.

How effective will he be able to be? Yeah, I think the beauty of it, and it's a tough term to use because it is a pretty gruesome injury and one that I'm sure is going to be incredibly uncomfortable throughout the week and even on Sunday, is that unlike the shoulder for Hurts, Mahomes has proven as he did in the second half that he can make plays kind of stuck in the pocket and relying on his arm, quick release, and not so much being the scrambler to throw. It's a big part of his game, and if he can't do it, it's definitely unfortunate for the Chiefs and Mahomes. But again, I think he's proven he's so versatile that he can win in a lot of ways, and since it's not his throwing shoulder or arm, that he'll still have that bazooka. And I thought that Andy Reid brought up a good point, and I was actually there in 2019. He suffered a pretty bad ankle injury in Jacksonville in week one, and then he came back pretty much in the next few weeks and just lit it up.

So look, this dude seems to be built different. It's going to be a storyline all week and on Sunday, but I don't expect it to limit just his ability to impact the game. My biggest concern is that this game becomes a shootout, and hey, it's like stupid Evan Washburn to doubt Mahomes, but you just wonder if he's going to be able to match Burrow.

We all know Mahomes is considered to be the best quarterback, but if that ankle is not where it needs to be and they have to require to move around and really keep up in a track meet type of game, I just wonder how Mahomes will respond. I agree, and again, if he can't get outside the pocket and make some of the plays with his legs, picking up first downs or extending plays so they can get those deep shots downfield. But also, I think it's worth noting that they're built different this year without a fiery kill, so the downfield passing game, even when Mahomes has been healthy, hasn't been something that they lean on or count on as much. And they've proven to be able to go back and forth with teams by managing and matriculating the ball down the field and getting, let's say, 8 to 12 yard chunks with guys like Kelsey or Juju as opposed to those, hey, I'm going to hold on to the ball behind this line of scrimmage for five seconds and then get Tyreek busting down the field for 40. So Lou Annarumo has done a remarkable job with this Bengals defense, and not many people make Mahomes look human or are able to go out there and clearly beat them three straight times, but Cincinnati has done it. When you go back and rethink about those games or rewatch those games, what has Cincinnati really been able to perfect, especially in those second halves up against the Chiefs? I think, and they've been talking to Lou about it over the course of the last couple of years, he just really leans on the intellectual capacity of his players when it comes to their ability to diagnose what's happening early in the game. Okay, this is what the opponent, in this case Kansas City, wants to do.

Alright, what should we do to combat it? And we talk about adjustments a lot, and I know that's a word that some people find triggering that, hey, teams don't really make adjustments, or they don't do half-time adjustments, they do it in-game. One thing I do know is that defensively it's hard to change on the fly and to make tweaks, whatever term you want to use, on the fly that can really impact an offense. Especially one as lethal as Kansas City, but he feels like he has that and proven to have that, and he has it on all three levels.

You've got an all-pro snub in D.J. Reeder up front, you've got Logan Wilson in the middle who can make plays against the run in the past, and then you've got Jesse Bates and Von Bell in the back end. They've been a bit spin at corner with the injury to Chittabe' Ujie, but the rookie, Sam Taylor-Britt, stepping up, and I just think Lou has proven with his guys that they can manage a game and manage the swings, and then in the most critical moments, really frustrate offense. You look at the Chiefs, and I look at the way that they're going to be perceived going into this game, Evan Washburn.

I know that they've seen almost everything. They've been down big in the fourth quarter, they've been down big in the first half of these playoff games, and they always seem to prevail. This Cincinnati team has given them clearly the last two years the most trouble. Is there a mental kind of block for this team in Kansas City when they go up against the Bengals that they have to find the way to break down, or are they just not going to be mentally rattled by going up against the Bengals?

I go back and forth on this stuff, Zach, and especially with a team like Kansas City and just how experienced they are in these moments. I mean, the idea that this is their fifth straight AFC title game at home is bonkers. I think they are irritated, frustrated about the fact that they have lost the last three to Cincinnati, but I don't by any means think that that's something that's going to weigh on their minds as they try to get sleep the night before the game or as they take the field thinking, oh, man, we can't do this. This is not a situation as I would see it going back to kind of those New England years where you would hear teams say when they walked into Foxboro they'd lose to the banners before they even took the field. I don't get that from Kansas City when it comes to Cincinnati.

I think they have a ton of respect for them and they know what they're going to find themselves getting into over the course of three hours on Sunday, but I don't think of it as a hurdle they have to jump before they even take the field. Is there more pressure headed into this game on the Bengals or the Chiefs? I would say it's still the Chiefs. I think Cincinnati is proven that they are a team that is going to be here year in and year out as long as Burroughs there and as long as they've got the nucleus, obviously offensively with Jamar Chase and T. Higgins and then the defense we mentioned. I think when Kansas City won it in 2019 and then going back to what I just said about the five straight people had them kind of pegged as the next dynasty, as the next Patriots, if you will, which I think is ridiculous.

There's something we're going to see that, but just getting to this point and if they drop another one to since then, it's like, okay, what do we got going on here? Because the 10 win seasons are great and it's an incredible duo of Andy Reid and Mahomes, but if you don't start hanging a couple more banners, then I do think that it becomes a different description of what you are as a team and in this era, if you will. If Burroughs wins this game on Sunday, the AFC title game, and takes down Mahomes for the fourth straight time, will you call him the best quarterback in the league?

I don't know. I mean, I'm a big believer in these teams and this is frustrating probably, especially in the sports talk radio world. I don't think wins are quarterback stats.

The more and more I do this and the more I'm around it, I just realize how much it is an incredibly team-oriented result. Look, I think Burroughs has as much an impact on their ability to win or lose games, but we talked about Luanna Ruma on this defense. I think what they did to Buffalo on Sunday afternoon equal to what Burroughs did against Buffalo on Sunday afternoon, what that line did. I'm not going to take a result either way and say that that puts a quarterback over another. I think Burrough, in my mind, whether he wins or loses on Sunday, solidified himself as a top five quarterback or an AFC right there with Mahomes, Allen, and Burrough, and I kind of view it as maybe season to season. I think Mahomes has had the best season at the quarterback position in 2022 and Burroughs may be off to a faster start to 2023 if that makes sense.

Evan Washburn here with us. So where does Buffalo go from here? I was talking about it yesterday. I said they have to get more physical in the trenches on both sides of the ball and they have to start taking a little bit of the food off the plate of Josh Allen and get him a legit bonafide running back. I think that's fair. I think there's aspects to the defense too that, and this isn't necessarily something that's going to be off-season, or I shouldn't say that depending on what happens with Micah Hyde. I know he was making his way back from the neck injury, but they were really depleted there. It's a unique defense in the sense that it's that bend that doesn't break, and I thought that they became thin at the worst possible time, whether it was the Vaughn injury, Micah Hyde, where they went in the secondary.

Obviously Damar Hamlin is part of that as well. It just became too much to overcome defensively. And then to your point, I think it's a valuable one. Though I would say I wouldn't ever expect to see Buffalo become a run first type operation.

I do think it needs to be part of it, and I know that's been kind of a constant back and forth. Because John McDermott has been out there clear at times that he wants to be able to lean on the run game. I think Cincinnati is a good example of it this year, because let's be real. Mixon has not been as effective or relied upon over the course of the 17 game regular season. He dealt with obvious concussion, but they have him there, and when they needed him most, he did step up. So I think that's the kind of layer of a run game that could really be valuable to Buffalo moving forward. But I just think that if you look at it in a vacuum, like Sunday was rough for Buffalo, Zach. By all accounts, they just were out physical, out tough, whatever you want to say. But I look at the last three years with disappointment because they have made a Super Bowl. I still look at it as what happened in the divisional round last year was once in a lifetime, the 13 seconds against Kansas City, and then even going back the year before in the AFC title game.

I mean, they're right there. So I don't look at this as like, hey, we need to knock this thing back down to the studs and kind of rebuild who we are. What about Dallas?

Where do they go from here? They're paying Dak, we know, a ton of money, but he keeps on just being a good quarterback, not a great quarterback, and the unfortunate part for them, he was not good in a game where he only needed to be good to probably go get that victory against the Niners on Sunday. Look, Dak's your quarterback, you're paying him to be your quarterback. I'm a big believer, Zach, in setting proper expectations. Money doesn't dictate, your salary as quarterback doesn't dictate what you have as a fan when it comes to throwing around top five for a guy like Burrow.

Just because you're getting paid in that group doesn't mean that's who you are, but it also doesn't mean, hey, let's just cut bait unless you have a clear exit strategy. I always go back to Kansas City and how they got into this Mahomes situation. They had Alex Smith there for, I don't know, maybe four or five years, a good stretch, and they paid him well and he was effective, they got the playoffs, but there was a limitation. That's not to say in a perfect scenario he doesn't make a run, a Joe Flacco type situation, but if you kind of frame your expectation that way and if you're a Dallas fan and you think, okay, we got Dak now, what are we doing? What are we moving forward with? When do we look towards the draft to maybe make a move for a quarterback or do we, because I think contractually they're kind of bound to them for a little while here. So I just think you want to make this clean move or this clean break, but it just doesn't work that way.

So kind of live in your situation as best you can and then hope that when the time's ready, that's when you're ready to pounce on the opportunity at that position. What does your gut tell you on Rodgers? Is he back in Green Bay next year or is he going to get traded to one of these AFC teams? I don't know, man. That's a tough business to live in. I try and consume as much Rodgers content as possible because I do find... You can't miss it. It's all over the place.

It never ends. It's insufferable. Whatever they're saying doesn't really fit at times. But look, I think it's feeling like he's building a situation with the way he's describing things where if he were to leave, the crumbs were laid. It kind of reminds me a little bit of the Brady situation in New England when people were following when he was selling his house or when he was doing this or who was moving where. And those are things where, hindsight, you're like, oh, we should have known he was doing that.

But in the moment, you're not ready to make that plunge. Look, I think it'd be fun because I root for the dramatics of it. If he did make a switch, if he got traded to maybe a team out east or something, you throw him in the mix there.

In the AFC East, you throw him to the Jets or something like that. I mean, let's get crazy, Zach. Let's have fun.

You're right there in New York. You'd enjoy it. Yeah, that would be something. Rogers against the New York media would be must-watch each and every week.

And then the recaps on McAfee would be great. I know you've got to run Evan Washburn. So last thing last year, NFC title game.

What do you think decides it between San Francisco and the Eagles? Wow. Hey, man, we were there together in Philly. That place was a vibe on Saturday night.

Strong vibe. I know the Brock Purdy thing's been unbelievable and it's been cool to watch. I love San Francisco. That defense is unreal. I just like Philly in this one because of that home field. Felt like they just were cooking with gas on Saturday night and you throw a rookie quarterback into that scene.

I don't know. It feels like at some point, the moment's got to stun them a little bit. But I think it's going to be a phenomenal game and like all the conversation about San Francisco's defense is warranted. But as we saw with our own two eyes there in Philly, the Eagles defense is no joke and they're going to make Purdy's life. I think, you know, living you-know-what over the course of four quarters. Well, enjoy the game coming up on Sunday.

Kick ass on the sidelines. You know, could we send you maybe a Zach Gelb show beanie if we get that made to get the pub on CBS? Beanie's going to be tough, man. You don't want to cover the lettuce, even 22-degree weather. You do have the lean hair. Yeah, that is true.

So, I don't know. Maybe we could come up with like a, I'm trying to think, like a pin or something. I mean, we're big on pins over the course of the season. I thought you were going to say boxers so no one could see them. I was running low on ideas when it came to visuals. Well, Ivan, we appreciate it. Thank you. You got it, man.

See ya. That's BetterHELP.com slash positive. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.

When you're at your best, you can do great things. Working with a therapist can help you get closer to the best version of yourself. Because when you feel empowered, you're more ready for life's challenges. BetterHelp is a great therapy option. It's flexible, affordable, entirely online and it matches you with a licensed therapist. Let therapy help empower you. Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive to get 10% off your first month.

That's BetterHELP.com slash positive. As he did get an interview on Tuesday. So I guess the names that have interviewed so far or were considered for the position. Steve Wilks, Jim Caldwell, Frank Reich, Shane Steichen. How do you say the Broncos defensive coordinators name?

Ejiro Averro. There you go. Ken Dorsey, Mike Kafka, Sean Paden and Kellen Moore. So those are the guys that have been interviewed. Now, we also know Ben Johnson did not take the interview. We know Gerard Mayo had that logistical interview and or they canceled because he got promoted in New England.

And then I think it was D'Amico Ryans who canceled due to logistical issues. So. You get into those candidates. Unless you get Sean Paden with the Panthers, doesn't it still make the most sense for Steve Wilks to be the coach? Unless it's Sean. When you go through Jim Caldwell, Frank Reich, Shane Steichen. Once again, the name pronunciation in Denver. Ejiro Averro. Ejiro Averro.

That's not that tough. Ken Dorsey, Mike Kafka and Kellen Moore. Why don't you think Sean, assuming Sean Paden does not get offered the job or they can't get a trade done with the Saints? Like Sean is is obviously the the guy that would get the golden ticket.

That would be the guy that you would want the most coveted. I'm kind of thinking it's going to be Steve Wilks. Especially for a man, David Tepper, who has gone down the route of inexperienced head coach for Matt Ruhl, did not work out, usually tend then to go to the opposite. And you already got not only Steve Wilks, obviously a former coach, but you already got a sample size of how their team response.

I'm with you. The only thing with when it comes to to Tepper, I think Tepper looks for the big splash. I think he looks for the big name. And the reason why I think it's going to be Steve Wilks, it should be Steve Wilks if it's not Sean, is I look at all those other names. Are any of those guys big splashy names? Caldwell isn't, Reich isn't, Steichen no, Averro no, Dorsey no. Kafka appears to be doing a really damn good job with the Giants and Kellen Moore. None of those names are are names that send shockwaves through NFL circles. Like, wow, they really want star hunting for a head coach.

Well, right. But it is easier, we'll say, to probably sell a young hotshot guy if, oh, he's the next up and coming. Like you, I think it's easier to sell my Kafka or Shane Steichen than it would be even, frankly, you know. Even got Steve Wilks. I think the families really likes, though, and respect Steve Wilks. I don't think it's tough to sell Steve Wilks to the fan base. Sure. Will there be people that would be like, was it just a good second half of the season? Did he just go to do a good job, you know, in 10 plus games down the stretch?

Sure. But a young up and coming coordinator. How many times do people get excited about a young up and coming coordinator and they absolutely just flop in this league? Now, to be fair, for every Adam Gase and for every dirt cutter or whatever name you want to give out there. Matt Nagy is another classic.

That's probably like a great example, even though he did win one coach of the year, which I think a lot of people forget about. There's always a Sean McVeigh. There's always a Zach Taylor. So there's some good, but then there's a lot more bad than good, because that's just the nature of the hiring cycle. I don't think any of those names.

Go, wow. Like, look at what the Eagles just look at or look at what the Panthers did, like Nick Sirianni. That wasn't a popular name, and he's ended up being successful to coaches could have got that for Sean Payne, Jim Harbaugh. One is staying in Michigan and the other said, if he doesn't come there, then you're not then you're not swinging or you're not going big with a head coach. Maybe that means then David Tepper go big with a quarterback.

And then also this, too. But when you get to just directly the after effect here, if Sean Payne has taken a job, doesn't it seem more and more likely by the day? I saw he is going to interview with Arizonans. Maybe Arizona gets back in play. I know there was a feeling that once Monti Asenfer got the GM job that he wasn't going to go to Arizona after it seemed like Arizona was going to be the favorite. It really does seem like Denver wants Sean. They went for Jim Harbaugh, they swung and miss or Harbaugh just didn't want to go there or they didn't like Harbaugh, whatever it was. They didn't get Jim Harbaugh. Is that more on Harbaugh? Is that more on the Broncos?

I don't know. But with Sean, it seems like that's who Russ wants and it seems like that is who Denver wants. The wild card here is what does Sean want? And I would think that Sean is going to be on the sideline next year. But the longer this goes on, it kind of seems like it would best behoove Sean to wait another year and go back to Fox where he's very happy.

And it's a little bit of a of a stress free environment at Fox compared to an NFL. Is he happy, though? He looks happy. I'm sure he looks happy.

But it's like if you're a coach, that's in your blood. Do I think that's his first love? Do I think that is where he thinks he's going to be spending the rest of his career?

No. But if you pick the wrong job just for the sake of getting back into coaching as quick as possible, then you could be really miserable. Potentially, but I would guess he's back on the sideline. I'm thinking he's going to Denver. I think he'd be more tortured by sitting out one more year than going to Denver, going to Carolina, maybe not having the best start.

Yeah. And you never know how long that could linger, because once you leave the game, even if it's for a year, you're sure you can come back and you could have success. But you had something special. It was time to move on.

I think Sean could recreate that magic, but you never know. Anyway, I want to see if you could guess this. And then I got to get to maybe my latest favorite coach media member feud, which I've talked about this before. And I thought we would never talk about this again, but something else came about this. And for whatever reason, this is what I was listening to late night last night on a little retort from some of the actually works here at CBS Sports Radio that does local radio somewhere else.

And I think it's very fascinating, this whole fight. So there have been 20 quarterbacks that have started games in the NFC Championship Game, that started NFC Championship Game since 2014. Now, there's some people that double up or had multiple appearances, so there's 15 quarterbacks if you just do by one individual and not count all the multiple appearances.

There's 15 total quarterbacks that have started an NFC Title Game since 2014. You think you can name them all, Hickey? Yes.

Really? Oh, yeah. I think there's one, two, I would think there's maybe three you would not get.

I can get them all. At conference? Yes. Oh, yes.

Anything less than a perfect score will be disappointed in myself. Now, this isn't one of those moments where you're calling your shot and then you don't carry through and follow through with what you're calling your shot because you tend to do that a little bit. What?

Yeah. No, this is not one of those alleged times. When you say 100%, there's a lot of times you say 100% and it doesn't happen. Like, let me remind you, there's reports out there that Jeff Saturday is getting a second interview with the Colts.

A few weeks ago, you said I was a moron and there's no chance, zero chance, that he's going to get a second interview with the Colts. That's right. Well, it's also part of that. Well, actually, it's out of my control. I'm just saying, you know, I feel this is in my control, my own memory. I know I will get them all. But you 100% it.

Whenever you say 1000%. Yes, he's not going to be the coach. Okay. But that wasn't the conversation you had two weeks ago. Two weeks ago, he's not going to get a second interview. I'm like, I guarantee you he gets a second interview.

I'm not saying he's going to get a job, but I guarantee you he's going to get a second interview. So, let's see. I'd be very impressed here if you could get all 15 of these quarterbacks. Can you do them in year in order? Oh, absolutely. So, 2013 regular season. Wait, do you have one of those crazy memories now? I don't think so. My memory is actually scarily bad in some instances, but with sports.

Usually when we put you on the spot, you even to your own emissions say you're horrible at these things. For whatever reason, the sports stick. Everything else flies by sports stick. So, these are the last 10 NFC title games, including this year. You ready? Ready.

Go ahead. So, 2013 regular season, right? That would have been the Seahawks and 49ers.

Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick, Michael Crabtree, Richard Sherman. What was that? Get at me, bro. No, that was Tom Brady.

That was you can't go. Whatever. Whatever the whole thing was, Aaron Andrew.

Don't try to sorry-ass wide receiver on me like Michael Crabtree. All right. There was one of the three that I did not think you would get. I did not think you would get Colin Kaepernick. Okay.

Look at that. Already one for three. 2014, Russell Wilson taking on Aaron Rodgers, the infamous onside kick game. Very good. 2015, Cam Newton taking on Carson Palmer of the Cardinals and Bruce Arians.

Can I call a timeout? Sure. You are correct. Marco, he's getting all these. He's confident.

He is cruising right now. You got through the toughest part. I did not think you would get Carson Palmer.

There's one more that I thought you would not get. But now I'm going to retract that statement. I 1000% now think you're going to Sports Stick 2016 MVP or Matt Ryan taking on depleted Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.

Wow. 2017, Nick Foles taking on Vikings legend Case Keenum. Foles, Foles, Foles, Foles.

2018, no controversy here in New Orleans. Drew Brees taking on Jared Goff. Now, time out. I didn't think you were going to get Case Keenum. I figured I was gonna be the third one. Yeah.

OK, go ahead. 2019 was 49ers. Jimmy G taking on Aaron Rodgers. Jimmy G didn't really do much work in that game. No, no, that was for sure.

Yes. Was it Raheem Mostert? Two hundred and one. 30 yards by himself.

He's still running for touchdowns. 2020, aforementioned Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. Yeah, this is easy.

2021, Matthew Stafford and Jimmy G. 2022, Brock Purdy and... Joan Hertz. Very good. Never a doubt.

That's a job well done. Don't know why, but those random things stick in the old brain. Now. I will say.

I am fascinated by a I guess you could say. I guess this falls into like a sports feud. It's between a coach and a reporter.

Or talk shows, you know, Mark Ryan, who hosts the fan upstate and also hosts here on CBS Sports Radio. Oh, yeah. Now, this is from we talked about this back.

It was like 10 days ago. Shane Beamer, right? Shane Beamer, who we like. I don't really know Mark. I'm not saying I dislike Mark. Mark seems like a really passionate guy.

He's filmed it on this show. Seems like a good guy. But Shane Beamer has been on this show multiple times. And I always walk away when we have those conversations with Shane Beamer saying, wow, that's like a real genuine dude that you could root for. So this article from the fan upstate over 10 days ago on Twitter, the headline was Shane Beamer in South Carolina really wanted Garrett Riley. Clemson got him.

What does that say about the tier status of both of these two programs? Shane Beamer fires back. I normally don't respond to second rate JV radio programs I've never heard of.

And apparently no one else has either, considering you are in the upstate and have 8000 followers. Do you have a good source other than me? Oh, I don't know. Me? Happy for Garrett. We got our guy. So that was like a pretty big shot by Shane Beamer. Now, last night I saw and this was like 11 days later, I think Mark Ryan, from what I could gather, listening went on a vacation. He started off. I did not get suspended, so I don't get why they would suspend him either. This would be like great publicity. So I believe that he went on a vacation or maybe had something at home.

I don't know. He issued a 12 minute retort. It was fascinating. Like he's like, I'm going to apologize for absolutely nothing and then started doing all this data and all the other social media accounts in the area. And now they're like the number one show.

I don't know if that's true or not in the ratings. It was it was great. I got to give credit to Mark Ryan, even like the one thing I will take a shot at. I don't know what was happening.

You got to issue a retort right away. This can't be like 10, 11 days later. But I like this feud between Shane Beamer, who I really do love. And then Mark Ryan, who I don't really know. I never thought we'd be talking about this after the Beamer tweet. I kind of thought that was like, OK, there goes Mark Ryan in a body bag.

But we learned a lot about Mark Ryan. He fired back 10 minutes, 10 minutes, this little segment that he did, it did a podcast. And obviously this is going to be the end of it because Beamer is not going to respond because he got already the kill shot. But I thought it was a good response by Mark Ryan. Maybe that's why I had 11 days off to get all the information, get all the data.

Sounds like that's not you can't put all that in a tweet or in a little two minute Twitter video. He was ready to his credit. He came out swinging and I guess Mark Ryan. He had some other story with the Panthers and he goes, this is what classy organizations do. He goes, I had a story about the Panthers. It was something along the lines of someone was not going to interview.

But D'Amico Ryan's turned him down or something. And the Panthers called me like, Mark, we really appreciate your coverage of the Carolina Panthers in the future. We just want to extend a hand that if you want to run things by us, that we can add context to your story.

Feel free to give us a call. And then like two or three days later, Mark Ryan saying he's sitting on his couch. And then Jay Glaser gets on Fox and says, oh, D'Amico Ryan's is not going to interview with the Carolina Panthers, which we just talked about a few seconds ago. There was some like logistical issue or B.S.

or whatever the reason was. So I was not anticipating for this great feud between Shane Beamer and Mark Ryan. Now, the question is, since Mark is really known for his work at the fan upstate, I think he's been hosting here for like the last year.

But that's not like his Monday through Friday job. Next time when we get Shane Beamer on. A, does he not even come on with us because we associate with Mark Ryan or B. Do we bring this up to him and do you think he still gets annoyed about Mark Ryan?

Shane Beamer, I bet you has zero clue that Mark Ryan works here. So I think we're in the clear there. Two. Are we talking?

I bet you August. He's probably still fuming. Yeah.

I remember the whole Dowell Loggins rant he went on just in the press conference to defend him. So clearly I was going on because he's like a petty guy and I for some reason, like people that are petty. So there you go. Good. Very.

You want to talk about something that has no life? Me. Two in the morning last night, I stumbled upon this. I didn't go to bed till three thirty.

I was like, listen, this and I was like, well, I can't go to sleep. That was electric. Good stuff there by Mark. Right. All right. Well, come on back.

We'll do a little news brief. This show is sponsored by better help. When you're at your best, you can do great things. Working with a therapist can help you get closer to the best version of yourself. Because when you feel empowered, you're more ready for life's challenges. Better help is a great therapy option. It's flexible, affordable, entirely online, and it matches you with a licensed therapist. Let therapy help empower you. Visit better help dot com slash positive to get 10 percent off your first month.

That's better help dot com slash positive. You're listening to the Zach Gelb show. Time for your daily news brief.

We get you caught up on the rumors, reports and reconnaissance from the day in sports. All right. Tell me Brady has asked if he's decided on his future in some contrived radio with Jim Gray on the Let's Go podcast. Tom, you're leaving everybody guessing. You said you'll take your time.

Do you have any type of a timetable as to what you might want to do regarding your football career? Jim, if I knew what I was going to do, I've already done it. I'm taking a day at a time. I sense you're antagonized by the question. You're scratching. It's only the question that everybody wants to hear. You're scratchy. I appreciate your asking.

Thank you. By the way, the Brady Jim Gray relationship, Hickey, is so bizarre. You know, he calls him scratchy. That's why he said you're scratching. You're scratchy.

Wait, I was just going to ask you about that. What is this nickname? I don't know if that is Jim Gray's actual nickname.

Scratchy? But that is what Brady calls him. I've heard him refer to him before.

That, I will say, maybe changed my opinion a little bit if it was contrived or not. I thought he was just like that was a new phrase for you're reaching or you're being annoying. Something like that where it's like you're scratchy. I couldn't tell if it was scratchy or scratching. Now, I don't think Brady gave him the nickname because when I googled Jim Gray scratchy, the first thing that comes up, Jim Gray explains his legendary scratchy nickname. Because that's because he used to get into it all the time with players. He used to scratch for answers and things like that.

I feel like if anything, scrappy would be a better word than that. Scratchy, this guy's always itching himself in the locker room. He would scratch his way to the top. Geez, long nails?

I don't know. I feel like there's nothing good that can come out of a nickname being scratchy. His voice is high pitched. All time great nick themes.

Hot take hickey one, scratchy gray two. Aaron Rodgers says he is willing to rework his contract for next season. I don't think there'd be a scenario where I'd come back and that would be the number. I think definitely things would have to shift. There's a lot of teams because of COVID that are strapped. You're seeing a lot of different contracts. They're pushing more money out in deals.

They're creating certain kind of void years to allow for an easier cap hit. There would have to be some adjustments for sure. By the way, poll question. Should the Packers trade Aaron Rodgers this offseason, yes or no? Eighty-eight percent say yes. Ninety percent. Eighty-eight percent say yes. Twelve percent say no.

Alrighty, let's keep it moving. Jeremy Fowler reports that Jordan Love would request a trade if Rodgers returns this year. This is courtesy of ESPN. Really they've been public that they want him back. And so that leaves Jordan Love in a precarious situation. Former first round pick. He's going on year four. It would not shock me if he requested a trade at that point. Because from what I'm told, he wants to play. So something has to give.

The more and more I think about this now, Hickey. And I was not this way two years ago. I was not this way last year. I was not this way two weeks ago. I think the Packers are going to divorce Rodgers this offseason.

He's a goner. Third time's a charm for you. Finally going to get this right this year. That's right.

That's right. You got to take the wins as you can get them, Hickey. Let's go to Mike Hilton of the Bengals. He renames Arrowhead Stadium, Burrowhead. Courtesy of NFL Films. We'll see y'all in Burrowhead. That's a great nickname.

Now you got to win. And I know in the last three times they played only one time. The Bengals did go into Kansas City and win.

The other two times were in Cincinnati. But calling Arrowhead, Burrowhead, Hickey. That's a 10 out of 10 nickname. Agreed. Could you imagine getting trash talked by a guy that sounds like Steve Urkel? Mike Hilton's a really good player. But it's like imagine hearing that voice.

Say y'all in Burrowhead. And then they go in and win. It's like, oh boy. That's tough.

It's probably a lot of people like athletes feel when you're trashing them at like 3.30 in the morning on CBS Sports Radio with your high-pitched voice. Probably, yeah. Similar. Nice job, Scratchy. That is no.

No. It's like hot take Hickey over Scratchy. 10 times out of 10. Scratchy Jr. Twice on Sunday. Von Miller says the Bills championship window is wide open. I didn't feel like this would be my only shot this one year. I feel like I had multiple shots at the Super Bowl by the way this team was built. Our quarterback, our defense. I feel like I had multiple changes at the Super Bowl. And I still feel like that, man. I guarantee you this. If Von Miller was on the field on Sunday, which he obviously wasn't because he tore his ACL a long time ago in this season, they definitely would have got a lot more pressure.

Without Von Miller, there were times that defense looked lost. Alrighty, let's go to Stoner Sirianni, Nick Sirianni. He's asked about which pizza he ate during Cowboys 49ers.

We're also going to need an update on what your food of choice was for the Niners Cowboys team. Little Caesars. Yeah, Little Caesars this time.

He even sounds like a Stoner. Little, Little Caesars this time. Like, if he can't remember what the heck he ate.

Because he was puff puff and passing. Definitely what Nick Sirianni was doing which led him to back to back weeks. One week it was Pizza Hut and then this week it was Little Caesars. Alrighty, that's the Zach Gilp show on CBS Sports Radio.

That is a news brief. We'll be back. Manana. Big thanks to Ross Tucker for stopping by. Evan Washburn.

And to Kobe Dean as well. Big thanks to each and every one of you. Calling, listening, and tweeting. Always follow me.

Twitter and Instagram. That's Zach Gilp. Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. Hickey. Great job. As always. Scratchy Junior. Doing a great job.

Scratching away on the program today. Feedback. Manana everybody. We out.

Bye bye. Peace. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. When you're at your best, you can do great things. Working with a therapist can help you get closer to the best version of yourself. Because when you feel empowered, you're more ready for life's challenges. BetterHelp is a great therapy option. It's flexible, affordable, entirely online, and it matches you with a licensed therapist. Let therapy help empower you. Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive to get 10% off your first month.

That's BetterH-E-L-P.com slash positive. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. When you're at your best, you can do great things. Working with a therapist can help you get closer to the best version of yourself. Because when you feel empowered, you're more ready for life's challenges. BetterHelp is a great therapy option. It's flexible, affordable, entirely online, and it matches you with a licensed therapist.

Let therapy help empower you. Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterH-E-L-P.com slash positive. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterH-E-L-P.com slash positive.