Sodfather Speaks (Hour 4)

It is the Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio. I guess we kind of have breaking news, Hickey? This is something that I forgot about, but if you're in Philadelphia, you definitely did not forget about it. Any idea what this breaking news could be?

No. Adam Schefter just posted an article that a former NFL groundskeeper, George Thoma, said that the Super Bowl field was over-watered. Ex-NFL groundskeeper says Super Bowl field was over-watered. So that is the big article from Adam Schefter right there.

Now, George is 94 years old. And according in the Schefter article, or it's via Josh, I don't even, have you ever heard of this guy? Winefuss?

Winefuss? Yeah. Okay. The 94 year old's reporter. Oh, okay.

Oh, and it makes sense. Gave us in Arizona. The 94 year old told ESPN that he believes the field was over-watered in the days leading up to the game, according to Thoma, who has been nicknamed the sod father. The field was watered the Wednesday morning before the game and promptly rolled into the stadium on the movable tray that housed the grass field for the last time before kickoff four days later. So that's from the sod father right there.

Hot take hickey. He's claiming the field was over-watered when the last time they watered the field was on Wednesday. How is that possible? Now, we are clearly not people that are experienced in this field. Which is why we don't have any nicknames called the sod father. But yes.

I do not know what the proper protocols are. Can you ruin the field by putting too much water on it on Wednesday? Logically, you would think no, but maybe that's why it was extra slippery there. That's the sod father.

Interesting. I know you're hot take hickey. You have a pretty damn good nickname. Are you really going to fight here?

The sod father? I mean, it sounds like a reach to be honest. Like that's the excuse. Well, the field did suck in the game. Oh, I'm not saying it was a good field.

I'm just, you know, I don't know. Like was over-watering really the problem? Again, you're talking four days between watering sessions? This is what Toma says. He says that the field should have been watered in the morning and kept outside to dry before being rolled in. So what he does, Toma said, referring to the guy that I guess was the field director who was in charge of the Super Bowl and worked under Toma for years, he waters the hell out of it and puts it right into the stadium and that's it.

Never see sunlight again. He can't do that. That's from a 94 year old man having a big fire right there.

Also this field is what, two years in the making, right? I believe so. How do you allow something- It had a rotten smell according to Toma. The sod father is basically telling you this. And the sod father, hold on, also said that the guy that was in charge of the field did not sand the field enough. He sanded it two weeks late, Toma said.

I love this article. He had only one sanding. He should have had two or three sandings, but he didn't do bleep. He said an expletive. Geez, he's fired.

He's fired up. And that was it. And not only that, he didn't take care of it.

He wouldn't listen to anybody. It's some big things right here. Now correct me if I'm wrong. Was it the sod father? Wasn't this the last game he was working? I have no clue.

I'm pretty, I have to look at it. I am pretty sure- It's 94 years old. He was working this game. I am pretty sure he was tasked with helping to manage this field.

Look at you. Super Bowl 57 was Toma's last. He retired after more than 80 years in the groundskeeping business. I can't take it anymore, said Toma, who said he hasn't been pleased with how the NFL responded to field issues at Super Bowl sites in the past. Me and the league are finished. Toma said, they can't tell me what to do anymore. We're done. You know, if Gudekunz isn't going to have the Cajones to tell Rogers he's done, maybe just hire the sod father. He'll say, we're done with you Rogers. So, okay.

This is some article. So either the sod father, the NFL either hired the sod father, didn't listen to him whatsoever. The guy's basically telling you the directions to get the perfect field. The NFL sounds like they're doing the opposite or having whatever guy that he's referencing there.

Only Sandy or something like that. Who's the NFL field director who's in charge of the Super Bowl field and worked under Toma for years. So either this guy just completely ignored everything that the sod father had to say, or the sod father had a chance to intervene, did not. And now he's trying to just poke blame at everyone but himself and throw everyone else under the bus for maybe what would have been his error or maybe him not stepping up to correct the problems in real time. Well, I'm just going to assume that at 94 years old, that the sod father would give his opinion, at least the way that he comes off in this article. He's not shy about telling you what exactly went wrong and not shy about telling you how he feels. Well, he did say he didn't take care of it.

He wouldn't listen to anybody. So he clearly voiced his opinion. I mean, for having two years of dedication to grow this field and to allegedly just botch it, fire the guy fire, apparently fire him if whoever, whoever this guy is.

Now, you know what this means was this in the NFL script that we're going to have a bad field, give Philadelphia a reason to latch onto something and be annoyed and feel like they got screwed out of a Super Ball and we'll let Patrick Mahomes slip and slide to a Super Bowl victory. I mean, I just saw this out there. The sod father is a cheese fan. Is he really? He's a cheese fan. Are you being serious? I'm being serious.

How do you know so much about this guy? Part of my take did a little deep dive conspiracy. Now I think they're being serious, but which, you know, you got to take them with a grain of salt sometimes, but they were talking about how, you know, he used to work for the chief selling a long time ago and as a cheese fan being crossing broad, which is a big gossip site in Philadelphia, the Super Bowl groundskeeper is a chief's fan and retired after the game, a conspiracy theory. That's some article now fear of the NFL. How do you screw this field up? Like seriously?

Wow. Cause the NFL knows regardless of what happens, we all watch and we're all suckers. We've seen a lot worse things happen and we always watch, but you're right. It's embarrassing when they've right. They, they tried to take a bow before the show was over about how this field was prepared and it was two years and all this great stuff. And then the field was a disaster.

I thought I was at like a slip and slide. Seriously. That was watching that game.

And I know, right. I got some skin in the game on, on, you know, when it comes with the son Riddick, but Hassan Riddick at one point looked like he was getting manhandled and I'm like, wow, he just got destroyed. And I went back and watched the replay felt down at the right off the snap. And as he's trying to get backed up, he was like sliding all over the place. Stupid that feel was horrible. So according to the over-watering every player's shoes should have been soaked that after the game show looked at the cleats. Yeah. Who knows like what that actually means.

I know, I know you're being a jackass, but you, you bring up a good point. Like they over-watered the field on Wednesday. Like it doesn't dry at all. Even if you're in a dome, which they were the last four days, if they moved it right into the stadium, as soon as they doused this thing, I guess he got to really sand it. That's what he said.

I mean, still that's you're in the warmth. It's going to evaporate eventually to see, you know, well, he's wondering, I guess in that evaporation process, like what, because he says he waters the hell out of it. This is the sod father talking about whoever this other guy is that was in charge of the field. He waters the hell out of it and puts it right into the stadium and that's it. Never see sunlight again.

He can't do that. So there must be something along with the process. It is a little funny. I don't really have a lot of expertise in the groundskeeping industry.

Neither do I. It is a little funny here. And just like some of the specifics like, Oh, this idiot, he watered the field and just threw it right in. Like, you can't do that. You moron, you got to let it be in the sunlight. Deep, deep dives on stuff that like I said, I have a 99.9% of people have no idea or interest on about grass and how that grows the best.

And what is the best for the footing? Yeah. Now, Brittany Mahomes, here's what I'm about to say.

She's not going to like this. Do we have to put an asterisk on the chief Superbowl? The sod father is clearly upset even though he's a cheese fan.

So like people think it's a conspiracy theory on the other end. This is a cheese fan who is the sod father coming out and saying, even I think the field was horrible. I know both teams are playing in the same condition, but we all heard about this great Eagles defensive line. It was neutralized because of that field.

Well, I will say you'd think if anything, the chief's offensive lineman would have been punished more. Backpedal, it's hard to get your footing on bat. You know, when you're going backwards compared to going forwards. Easy when the defensive lineman fall flat in their face and all you have to do is just pick your 300 pound belly up and fall on them. It's like ice skating.

It's easier to go forwards and backwards. Oh, I think it's a bigger advantage to the offensive lineman. If I'm standing, if I'm in my stance and someone's coming at you, I know where the ball snapped, you go at them too. But the player on the defensive side, that's trying to get to the quarterback is falling. All you have to do that you're the offensive lineman is just fall on top of them. It's clearly an advantage to an offensive lineman, but if you're backpedaling, it's hard to get, you know, your footing if you're going backwards. Sure. But at that point you're both falling.

Like if you're anchoring, if you're anchoring down that, that play like whether it's your left leg, your right leg, it's, it's not sticking to the ground. This is a stupid conversation. This whole thing is stupid, but I saw that coming out of break former NFL's groundkeeper, uh, George Toma said the super bowl field was over watered via Josh, a wine fuss. I like how he cursed.

He didn't do bleep. That is funny. Anthony Luzzi on Twitter says the sod father's act might be the greatest nickname ever. It is a pretty bad-ass nickname. I agree.

The solid father, all hail the sod father's here. Although I guess no respect to the NFL circles cause no one listened to him anymore. Well, why did you retire? They didn't listen to me. I'm done with the NFL.

Screw them. We got to get this guy on. Let's let's do it. Sod father. Let's hear it. What happened? Do me a favor. See if we get in contact with the sod father. You know what? I want to hear one radio host that our network interviewed the sod father.

Any idea who that radio host would be? Shep? Cause he probably said I can grow grass faster or something like that. I'll fight the grass.

Trust me. Shep probably though knows everything about the surfaces because he somehow thinks that he could beat Mike Tyson in a fight. So I'm sure that he's going to come up with a way that Tyson would, would slip and fall and then Shep could take advantage of it. Like what Shep said last week was maybe the dumbest thing I've ever heard a human being say that he thinks he could dance around and survive a fight against Mike Tyson. I guess there's some video that surfaced from like five years ago of Mike Tyson, you know, training.

And I got a lot of tweets over the weekend of people saying, yeah, what the heck is Shep talking about? Even five years later, Mike Tyson, and we were on the record on saying this, I think anyone with a brain would be on the record saying this, Mike Tyson would destroy Shep. How many rounds would it go? One!

Yeah, I was going to say. It wouldn't even go one round! 30 seconds, 10 seconds in, one punch.

I don't care if Shep thinks he's like Fred Flintstone with the way that he like moves around on his tippy toes. He's he gets knocked out in less than five seconds. Whenever Tyson wants to move and punch him, he's done. My favorite part is from the clip when we played it initially, when he was on with JR, he asked for three months of training.

The next day, when he came in here on this show, he said, I need 10 years of training. When Mike Tyson is dead in the ground, then I'm going to fight him and then I'm going to beat him. All right, Shep, you haven't beat them. When Mike Tyson is dead in the ground, I still think Mike Tyson would beat Shep. A 95 year old Mike Tyson in a walker, Shep goes, yeah, I'll knock him out.

I'll beat him up. Mike, say what you want about Jake Paul. Jake Paul got to a certain level and then eventually lost to Tommy Fury. Like Tommy Fury would beat the living crap out of Shep. You know, he went for one of the greatest fighters of all time.

I don't care if that guy's 60 now, he'd kill Shep. But anyway, I don't know how we went off a, Oh, one CBS sports radio host that I would love to hear interview the sod father. No, Pearl off would do a lot of research.

You're thinking too hard on this one. DA. Nope. Mraz. Nope. Jody Mac.

Imagine a 25 interview, a 25 minute interview. Jody Mac. Oh, Johnny, that's the sod father.

Sod father, how are you? Breaking down the best types of grass. What do you mean by the fields was over water?

Versus Kentucky blue. That would be great. Yeah, that would be a, that'd be a fascinating one. We, you would learn everything about grass there needs to be known about sod from that interview.

That is for sure. And I got to give credit to ESPN because it is like a slow time of the year. I know the combine is in action right now and you have a LeBron injury too in the NBA, but this article was definitely done just to get that reaction out of the Philly fan again, like to get that Philly fan, something else to latch onto of, see, we got screwed out of a Superbowl. You know, this article is going to get a ton of clicks. Even chef didn't even write this article and he's tweeted about it. I mean, look, if you're a Philly fan and you're using this as defense, get a life.

Well, what do you mean? Both teams played on the same field. I don't want to hear about you complain about the field. If she's playing on the same field that had no problem. If this happened, Colts bears where the field was terrible, we would never have played the pouring rain.

We would hear about this forever. Can't play in the conditions. Allegedly. You've went up against a JV quarterback and Rex Grossman. I'm not apologizing for it. I am not apologizing, but if there was a way where you, and I'm not saying that the Eagles got screwed, but if there was a way that you thought your team got screwed in the Superbowl hickey with your delusional fandom, we would hear about it until I was in the ground. When it comes to something, even like weather, like playing conditions, I don't bitch about that. Both teams do a lot of bitches.

I do a lot of excuse making for your teams all the time. It is the Zach Gelb show on CBS sports radio, Jody Mack and the sod father. That would be great with Jack Stern producer. That would be wonderful. Alrighty. We'll take a time out. We'll come on back. We'll go to the combine next. Tony Pauline will join us. You're listening to the Zach Gelb show.

Alrighty. Zach Gelb shows CBS sports radio. Let's go to the guest line right now.

We'll go to Indianapolis, the site of the combine, and we welcome an NFL draft analyst at pro football network. That of course is Tony Pauline. Tony, appreciate the time. How are you? I'm okay. Thank you for having me again.

Well, I appreciate you joining us. So how do you think after the combine is over that we'll be talking about Anthony Richardson? I don't know that it's going to be all that different than what we're talking about him now. I mean, I'm sure he better throw well in shorts and on the way, although the quarterback workout is a little bit different to combine because he's never thrown here before. And you'd be throwing a strange receivers, but I mean, you're going to have your, the people who love them are still going to love them.

And people like me who are just detractors are going to say, you know what? There's a lot of concern about Anthony Richardson at the next level. If you're going to take them in the first 20 selections of the NFL draft, what are your concerns? Just wondering with Richardson. I mean, the inexperience, the inconsistency, he's all over the place. He's never a real winner at Florida. It's not like he had one great year where he carried that team on his shoulders. I mean, they lost a Vanderbilt this year.

They didn't, they played subpar football. He got, he completed 30% of his passes against Florida state. I mean, I think it was absolutely a situation where he really would have been better served going back to college for one more year and developing his game physically. He's got all the tools to be a big time starting quarterback, but he's just so unpolished in every single area of being a quarterback and being a passer. I just think he's got bust written all over him. When you have to rank your top five quarterbacks in this draft class, how do you do it one through five?

Well, you know, it's funny because it's not like a lot of other people. I do have Bryce young number one. I do have CJ shroud number two, and then it gets a little bit, it gets a little bit different after that. I mean, a lot of people like Will Levis. I actually like Hendon hooker of Tennessee, the quarterback who had a terrific year, but hurt his knee. I think he's going to go second or third round because of that need. But I think when you look at him compared to Will Levis, he may, he does a better job reading the fences.

He does a better job seeing the field. I then have Will Levis and Anthony Richardson, not necessarily the way they're going to come off the board, but you know, listen, we get all wrapped up in what happens on draft day. We forget, you know, what matters is what's going to happen two or three years down the road.

Tony Pauline here with us. It was funny last year when we were talking about the quarterbacks, we all said this isn't a great quarterback draft class, but it's just the nature of the business that three or four will go in the first round. Only Kenny Pickett went in the first round, then no one in the second round. And eventually we started to see some quarterbacks come off the boards round three and on. How many quarterbacks will go in the first round this year? I don't know.

Three, maybe four. I mean, Bryce Young and CJ Stroud are going to go in the first round. I think Will Levis will go in the first round, though not as early as people think. And then, you know, wildcard is Anthony Richardson. Some people think top 10.

I think that's crazy. I think, you know, Seattle with that second pick, if they sign Geno Smith, I think Seattle with that second pick would be a perfect fit for him because I think Geno Smith would be a great mentor for a team that needs a quarterback in the future. That second pick in the first round, I mean.

So three, maybe four. Talking to Tony Pauline right now does a great job covering the draft for Pro Football Network. Bryce Young and CJ Stroud, you told me how you ranked those two quarterbacks.

Why is it Young over Stroud for you? Because I think he's the most NFL ready. I think he's a plug and play type quarterback. He doesn't have the physical skills of CJ Stroud. He doesn't have the physical skills of any of the top quarterbacks. But when you watch his film, it's an absolute joy. He's almost clairvoyant on the field.

He knows what's going to happen before it happens. He's in tune with his receivers. And remember, he lost a lot of pass catchers this year at Alabama after Jamison Williams and everybody else graduated or actually left for the draft. They didn't graduate.

They left for the draft early. So he was basically set up with a brand new set of receivers. He didn't miss a beat. He just gets it between the ears. And I really like that type of quarterback. Obviously, he's small. You're going to have to protect him. You know, everybody's going to watch the height and the weight and team.

You're going to wonder, you know, is he a guy that can put on 10 to 15 pounds? Because if you watch that Tennessee game earlier this year in the last season, I mean, he got pummeled in that game and he had to pull himself off the ground, which he did. He got back in the huddle.

I watched that game. I was like, wow, I just don't know if he's going to be able to take that type of beating on Sunday. So if he grabs Bryce Young, you better be able to protect him.

For the size and the lack of it, like I agree with everything you just said. I watched Bryce Young the last two years. I was more impressed this year than the other year when he won the Heisman Trophy because of all the weapons that he lost. Do you think that size will prevent him from being the number one overall pick and maybe make it a team like the Texans or the Colts if they move up, take shroud over Young?

As a behold, it's not just the sizes. You know, like I said, is he going to be able to put on 10 to 15 pounds over the next year or two? And we'll be able to play at that size.

That's what's called gross potential. If teams think he can add another 10 to 15 pounds easily and he's not going to lose any mobility or agility, it shouldn't hurt him. You know, and again, I mean, he's got to be in a situation where, you know, he's got a good left tackle. That's what they have. They used to have a very good left tackle to protect him and keep him upright. So, I mean, there's going to be some caution there.

There's going to be some discussion there. But when you throw him the film with Bryce Young, it is just so attractive. It's so appealing because he does so many things so well. Talking to Tony Pauline, who's the best defensive player in this draft in your opinion? Jalen Carter is my number one, the number one player on my board, closely followed by Will Anderson of Alabama, two SEC kids at the top. For Tyree Wilson, but what's your report on him? Because I keep on seeing him getting projected as some places as high as five, maybe going to Seattle. Phenomenal athlete, an explosive pass rusher who can come out of a three-point stance or standover tackle. Texas Tech has also used him successfully off the modest scrimmage when they won interior blitzes or his own blitz. They'll drop him off the line and he'll get depth on his pass drops, play 10, 15 yards off the line of scrimmage.

Does a solid job of it, doesn't embarrass himself. I think he's a guy who's got a lot of upside. I think he's got to get a little bit stronger. I don't have him rated as high as Will Anderson, who's been phenomenal. I have Miles Murphy of Clemson rated a little bit higher because I think he's more of a natural pass rusher. But I think Tyree Wilson has got a great amount of upside. He's a good player now who could be a phenomenal player if he just gets a little bit stronger and he just completes the game. Do you go Michael Mayer or Dalton Kincaid as the best tight end of this draft class?

Depends on what you're looking for. I mean, I've got a couple other guys, Tucker Kraft of South Dakota State, who people are going to be talking about real soon after this weekend, a small school guy, and Luke Musgrave of Oregon State ahead of Dalton Kincaid. Now, you got to remember Dalton Kincaid's injured and there was some talk he may not even be able to work out before the combine. And Dalton Kincaid, I like his game, but is misused a lot by Utah because remember, he wasn't really even a starting tight end or the number one tight end coming into the season was Brian Queith.

And then Dalton Kincaid really took over when Queith went down. You know, Michael Mayer is the prototypical tight end of 30 years ago. Not a guy who's going to get down the field and stretch the seam with great speed, but a guy who will get in the middle of the field and make it difficult catching a crowd, and a guy you're going to put on the line of scrimmage, you know, on third and short or goal line situations, and you can use him as a blocker or you can use him as a short range pass catcher. He's not the move tight end, he's not the super fast athletic tight end.

I'd be surprised if Michael Mayer runs faster than 4'8", but he's really good. It's just a matter of having a need for that type of tight end. You keep on seeing Christian Gonzalez really shoot up in these mock drafts. What's your evaluation of the Oregon corner?

Very good. Needs a little bit of work on his game. I mean, really doesn't have a big body of work. I happen to like Joey Porter of Penn State and Devon Witherspoon of Illinois, ahead of Christian Gonzalez. Guy's got a lot of upside. He showed some tremendous flashes, shut down a lot of good receivers, but I'm just concerned that when you compare it to Joey Porter and Devon Witherspoon, the body of work is not there for Christian Gonzalez.

Wrapping up with Tony Pauline, who's in Indianapolis right now. Does a great job covering the draft for Pro Football Network. Wide receivers, talk to me about them. We know the big name, Jackson Smith and Jigba. You have Quinnen Johnson as well, Addison out of USC. Who are the wide receivers you really like and how do you kind of look at them?

Well, I mean, it's a grab bag of sorts. Jackson Smith and Jigba, you go up to 2021 film. I had him rated higher than CJ Shroud. He was that phenomenal. I mean, you look at the 2021 film, Chris Olave, who had a great rookie year that was a top 12 pick, was basically the forgotten man because Smith and Jigba was so good.

But then he hurt that hamstring last season, third degree hamstring injury, basically played part time in three games. You know, you don't know what you're getting with him. If you get this Smith and Jigba from 2021, you hit a home run. Jordan Addison, not the biggest guy in the world, probably won't be 180 pounds, may run under 4'4", but just a great receiver, a great route runner who separates in and out of his brakes, catches the ball very well.

And that's what teams like these days. Quinnen Johnson, he's big, he's athletic. He can win out for the, for the contested pass. He can beat you downfield, but he's not a real good receiver at this point. He doesn't run good routes. He doesn't catch the ball cleanly with his hands. He does a lot of body catching, a lot of poor fundamentals there, but he probably has the greatest upside.

Just a matter of, you know, there's a bit of a boom or bust factor there. And let's not forget Jalen Hyde out of Tennessee, who basically was forced into the role of the number one receiver and people could not stop him. I mean, he is the purest home run threat of any of the top receivers. He's the type of guy that when he steps to the line of scrimmage, safeties and cornerbacks are going to have to take a step or two back just to guard from his ability to break the big play. Is Zay Flowers a first round pick in your opinion? You know, I have him like right on the cusp. I have him as a first round, early second rounder. A lot rides on how fast he runs this weekend.

He told us at the Shrine game he's going to be in the four threes. You know, the thing about Zay Flowers is he's a great route runner and he separates very well, which is what the league wants these days. He catches the ball very well. And he was a force at Boston College that had a lot of problems with the quarterback position last year, had a lot of problems with their overall offense.

But he's not the biggest guy in the world. I don't know, he doesn't present himself as a home run threat. I mean, he could go late first round. If he doesn't go late first round, he'll be off the board within the first ten selections of round two. Running backs are always tricky because we've seen so many running backs go second rounds or later and end up being some of the better running backs in the NFL. Bijan Robinson is, I guess, the only running back that's considered here in the first round. How early can you see him going? You know, I don't think he's going to go that early.

I mean, when you look at it on the board, he's the number five player on my board. But, you know, you see what's happening with the running back now. Fournette's going to be gone. Talking about Ezekiel Elliott, you know, basically his game is over. And there's not a lot of value put in running backs. I could see Bijan Robinson going to the Buffalo Bills. There was a lot of talk that the Buffalo Bills were going to take Greece Hall.

I don't know that he's going to go much earlier than that. I do think that there's a chance Ymir Gibbs, the running back from Alabama, also goes in the first round, maybe to the Philadelphia Eagles as the first round closes out. So we may get two running backs in the first round, though I doubt either of them break into the top 20.

Before we let you run, who do you think stock is really going to rise after this week at the combine? Deontay Banks, the cornerback for Maryland who doesn't get a lot of talk. I mean, here's the guy who's over six foot tall, had a tremendous season. He's going to run in the very low four threes. He's going to vertical jump over 40. He's going to prove he's a real good athlete. But at the same time, the film matches the athleticism.

You can see he's a real good player. Mozzie Smith out of Michigan, one of my favorite players, defensive tackle. In the past, he has run under seven seconds in the three cone. There are a lot of defensive backs who come to Indianapolis to combine and hope to run under seven seconds. Mozzie Smith at almost 320 pounds has run under seven seconds in the past. I don't know if he's going to do it here.

I mean, even if he runs 7-1 or 7-2, that will be phenomenal. I think a lot of people are not talking about him. They will as a potential person on pick. And I mentioned Tucker Kraft, the tight end from South Dakota State, plays a tight end position like he's a receiver. He's big. He's physical.

He can also block. I expect some very fast times from Tucker Kraft. And again, people will start to talk about him as a potential late first round choice when the weekend's over. Last thing I'll ask you, we know Caleb Williams and Drake May are still at USC and then also North Carolina. If they were in this draft, where would you rank them with the quarterbacks that are currently in this draft?

One and two, probably. Now, again, with Drake May, I want to see him do it again. I want to see him prove that last year was not the exception to the rule. But when you look at both of those guys, when you compare them to, say, Bryce Young or CJ Stroud, they've got the size, they've got the arm strength, they've got the physical skills over Bryce Young. And when you compare them to CJ Stroud, I think they're just more polished.

They're more NFL ready. CJ Stroud, he remembered for two outstanding games, that Georgia semifinal game earlier this year and then the Rose Bowl. A lot of times he struggled. I think he was over coached. But both of those guys, I think, would go. If either of those were in this draft, I think Chicago would probably try and trade Justin Fields and take one of those two quarterbacks with the first pick. How about that? I lied to you.

I got one more for you. Jordan Love, I guess we're leaning or inching closer and closer to him seeing the field. I think Rogers is going to get dealt, but we'll see how that plays out. What's your evaluation on Jordan Love going back from a few years ago? Well, I mean, there were two different Jordan Loves. The Jordan Love, his sophomore season looks phenomenal. I mean, he was a knockout player, you know, and it looked like he was going to be a top 10 pick. And then his junior year, he sort of took a step back and he's never been able to get it back. And for me, that's always a warning flag. When you get a quarterback coming off a bad year, entering the draft early, that's something that usually doesn't work out.

You got to be careful of. He's got the physical skills. Obviously, he's been able to observe and learn from one of the best.

So it's going to be now or never for Jordan Love. Tony Pauline, enjoy the combine. Appreciate the time. As always, make sure you check him out at Pro Football Network.

Thank you. Thanks for having me. You're listening to The Zach Geld Show. Another day is in the books and we're taking stock of the sports world. It's time to find out who's up and who's down.

Let's end the day right and hit the closing bell. Only on The Zach Geld Show. Just asking, Hickey, before I ask you a question and then you already seen the answer to it. Did you see my tweet today at all about Connor McDavid?

No, I did not. If you have to think in the entire history of the NHL, how many unanimous heart trophy winners, the MVP and the NHL have there been? I will say five. Two. Wow.

Really? Wayne Gretzky and Connor McDavid. McDavid did so during the COVID year and then Wayne Gretzky back in 1982 when he just happened to have 92 goals and 120 assists and 212 points with unanimous MVP. And that was in the span of his eight straight MVP awards.

What are you laughing so much about? Like that is literally insane. That is insane.

Over a goal, a game. My goodness. Like he won eight straight and did not win more than one unanimous is also shocking.

Wow. So McDavid has 50 goals this year in 61 games. And I pointed out that the heart trophies only been handed out two times unanimously with Wayne Gretzky in 1982. Once again, 92 goals, 120 assistant had 212 points and McDavid in 2021. McDavid, what do you think his odds are right now to win the MVP? Plus 300.

I didn't close. Minus 10,000. Minus a thousand to win it.

Books. No. And like other than David Pasternak, like you got to think it's like maybe there's a Boston. I don't know the whole voting process, but I would have to think that he's going to win it unanimously this year. That's 27 games left. He got the second closest odds. So he's minus a thousand.

Do you know you don't have it? Okay. I'm just I would be curious to know like it's a plus 300 plus five, but like just the gap, what it would be.

I want to say it was a pasta. Let me just see. I'll pull it up real quickly for an award like that. Minus a thousand.

I mean, you talk about a lock obviously, but that'd be pretty crazy. Plus 1600. Oh my goodness. That's second. Yeah.

Let me just, I want to double check that that was just on one site. Plus 14. Oh yeah. And another book. It's plus you go from minus a thousand for the leader, David to the second place. Anyway, give a stock up to Connor McDavid.

I got to give up. We're going to go another hockey one, a stock up to Chris Drury a few years ago when the Rangers made the move of getting rid of Gordon and also JD. I thought it was a horrible decision. And Chris Drury everyone thought could be a good GM one day. And if it wasn't with the Rangers, he was obviously going to get a job somewhere else that felt like they had to make that move. The last two trade deadlines, he's done a masterful job last year on a smaller scale, got vitrano and then also cop. And this year goes out and gets Tarasenko and then adds Patrick Kane today. And everyone thought the range got to give up prospects to get Patrick Kane.

All they had to do was give up draft picks. Chris Drury. You may have ruined my life as a child when you scored that goal up against the Rangers with the Sabres and eventually did go on to become the Rangers captain somehow, but done a good job last two years.

Give him a stock up. Let's hear Eli Manning earlier this morning on Good Morning Football. Jason McCordy is the co-host and his brother, Devin McCordy has been joining the crew all throughout the week on GMF. One of the McCordy brothers got his first interception off of you.

Do you know which brother it was? His first, I mean, I threw so many of them. I can't, I can't remember everybody's first interception off of me. I feel like there's so many people that could say that.

I'll go Jason. He's correct. How awesome is that by Eli? Eli is funnier than Peyton Manning. Hickey, like for years we always thought it was Peyton with the personality.

That is great. Like just out of nowhere, just hilarious from, from Eli right there. I threw so many interceptions.

I can't remember everyone's first interception. That's a great job. Nothing does better than self-deprecation. That was great. That was quick on the feet. There's so many.

How could I remember? It was funny. Now, you know, someone's going to call in and say, see, even Eli knows he's not that good. He shouldn't be a hall of famer. You know, there's those people out there. You're one of them that doesn't think Eli Manning should be a Hall of Fame.

That's right. Two Super Bowl MVPs. Should get in the Hall of Fame. Anyway, stock up to Eli Manning for actually being funny. The defensive player of the week is sponsored by the Navy Federal Credit Union, proudly serves the armed forces, DOD veterans and their families.

The members of the mission learn more at navyfederal.org. Jimmy Butler continued to be the thorn in the side of his former team as he got the job done on both sides of the floor in the heats, 101 to 99 win over the Sixers on Monday night. Butler recorded force deals and 11 rebounds in addition to the go ahead bucket with 128 left in the game as Miami snapped a four game losing streak. Give a stock up to Jimmy Butler.

Now, I do have to question this read for just a second. He got beat late. And James Harden was open. And James Harden missed that shot. It looked like right he overcommitted and then Harden got that look off. And Harden missed it. I would say it's good defense, fooling the Sixers into thinking James Harden's open, let him shoot the ball instead of Joel Embiid.

Worked to perfection. Let me just remind everyone, hit get right to the defensive player of the week is. It's a great job by Jimmy Butler, great game plan by Eric Sprolystra. Well, I'm giving a stock down to James Harden.

And it right isn't everyone shocked. And that's not even a big moment. But you're in a, I guess you could say a game winning scenario and James Harden comes up with the ball. So stock down to James Harden.

And I need a big moment. I wasn't a playoff game, but you just know, he's not going to show up. Alrighty, let's get back to the positive. How about the Knicks? Remember everyone that was trashing Leon Rose before the start of the season?

Oh, he doesn't speak to the media. Oh, the Knicks right now are the fifth seed. They've won six in a row.

They beat the Celtics last night at 36 and 27. So give a stock up to Leon Rose. Let's go out to the NFL combine. This was Brian Gudekunz from earlier today when asked if Aaron Rodgers is going to be back next season. Yeah, I think, you know, those discussions have to happen and making sure that it's the right fit. But obviously we know the kind of player that Aaron is.

And you know, once we had those conversations, we'll, we'll be able to move forward with a lot more to say. You know, what's funny about that hickey? Like if I asked you a question, do you like ice cream? What's your answer? Yes. Do you like steak? Yes. Do you like Chinese food? Yes. Do you like Chinese food on a football Sunday? No, no.

All right. That's a stupid take, but at least I know your take when it comes to the quarterback. Is he going to be on the team next year? It's a very simple answer.

It's either a yes or it's a no. And it wasn't even if he's going to be on the team, if he wants Aaron Rodgers back next season. So like, isn't the easy line to say there hickey, we know what Aaron's done for this organization. We love him. And if it's up to us, we would love to have him, but it's so clear. He doesn't want to have him anymore on the team.

So you get that bull crap at the combine. Even if you don't believe it saying it just would have helped and made your life a lot easier than saying basically not answer, which is a big answer. Give a stock down to Brian. I want honesty. That was the farthest thing from being honest. And then finally the sod father is annoyed. He's very annoyed. The 94 year old believes that the field was over-warded in the days leading up to the game. He trashed the guy that was in charge of the field says he doesn't know bleep and doesn't listen to anybody said the field had a rotten smell. And this was someone that had 80 years in the groundskeeping business and had to say DSP and I can't take it anymore. Thomas said he hasn't been pleased with how the NFL responded to field issue of the super bowl sites in Pat in years past me and the league are finished.

Thomas said they can't tell me what to do anymore. We're done. A legendary career by the sod father ends in frustration because the NFL and whoever this other clown is, didn't listen to him.

So stock down to the people that didn't listen to the sod father. And that will conclude the Zach Gelb show. We have Ryan Hickey in tomorrow hosting this show. Then Bart Winkler on Thursday and Friday, I will be in Barcelona, but I will be back on Monday.

Big thanks to Ryan Wood for joining us, Dwight Freeney, and then also Tony Pauly. I'll talk to you Monday. Listen to the rest of the week. We out. Bye bye. Peace.