Oregon & Washington Going B1G? (Hour 1)

Live from the police show yet not overly ostentatious studios of CBS Sports Radio here on beautiful Long Island at the Gelb compound. This is a Thursday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all the great local CBS Sports Radio affiliates, Sirius XM channel 158 and that free Odyssey app. 855-212-4CBS is numbered to jump on in. 855-212-4227 you can always get at me on Instagram where I'm straight flexing or via the good ol' cesspool of Twitter at Zach Gelb.

That's z-a-c-h-g-e-l-b. Got a good show for you today Xavier Woods from the Carolina Panthers gonna stop by 20 minutes from now. Their safety will get a little feel on that football team of Frank Reich now as the head football coach and also Bryce Young entering year one in the NFL. J-e-t-s-jetsjetsjets says we do have football officially commencing tonight if you want to say that with the Hall of Fame game with the Jets and the Browns. And Hickey, by the way hot take Hickey back in our New York City studios, I'm actually shocked at the interest of Jets fans and Browns fans in this Hall of Fame game. We're gonna get to college football in just a second.

But I saw tickets earlier this morning our pal, I think it was Ken Karman or it may have been Adam the Bull, one of them though was tweeting out that on the secondary market today tickets to the Hall of Fame game were going for like $400? This is a preseason game. Deshaun Watson ain't playing. Aaron Rodgers isn't playing. Why would anyone care about the Hall of Fame game?

It's not as if you're going to have Durell Rivas and Joe Kleko of the Jets playing this game and Joe Thomas is gonna take some reps on the offensive line for the Browns. I can't believe that I saw tickets going for like $400 this morning. No one's actually buying that. I hope not and if so, instead of spending it and watching Zach Wilson play, give me the money. We'll split it, me and you actually. Just send us $400, we'll split it evenly, we'll have a nice dinner and we will get more out of that $400 even though whoever's sending it to us is not invited to dinner, then you will go into this game tonight watching Zach Wilson throw the ball and then three other backup quarterbacks coming in after him. Not worth it whatsoever.

You know what? I will actually make a declaration on this show. If you are someone that wants to spend $400 on the Hall of Fame game tonight, I don't even want to take your money.

I would not even be interested in taking your cash and taking your dinero because it has to be some bad money and has to come from some awful place if you're gonna be that level of a degenerate to go drop $400 on the stinking Hall of Fame game. But I have this PSA each and every year and I never know when it's going to happen. It's always at some point in the summer, but I guess it will start today with the Hall of Fame game. Stop acting like you actually care about preseason football. No one actually cares about preseason football. It is just basically a date that happens and a few games that happens where we start to envision and get excited about what is going to transpire for your favorite football team coming up in September when the actual season starts. I say this for spring training with baseball and I say this for preseason with football.

If you are trying to hype this up, if you are trying to make this a big deal, you are a liar and you are a fraud and you're not actually excited. The only thing that I look forward to when it comes to spring training baseball or with preseason football is just making sure at the end of the game, at the end of the preseason, at the end of spring training that all my players got out a-okay. We saw it with our Mets and I know that wasn't spring training, but it was that stupid world baseball classic Edwin Diaz season come to an end right there because he was celebrating with his teammates. I've had years where I've seen my football team, right, Julian Edelman, get hurt in the preseason.

There is nothing more frustrating in sports and I understand for some players they think it's imperative to get the body going and get some game reps, but there is nothing more frustrating, Hickey, in the history of sports as a fan when you have spring training baseball, you have summer league basketball, you have preseason in the NFL and a player that you're really looking forward to watching all throughout the season and help try to go win your team a championship or have your team be competitive gets hurt. Nothing annoys me more than preseason football and all the fake outrage and all the fake hype that people try to bring in this lame excitement of, let's get on the radio and say, okay, we got the whole game today. Oh, let's get fired up for the jets up against the Browns. Here we go, Brownies.

Here we go. J-E-T-S, jets, jets, jets. Stop it. No one actually cares about the preseason and I just sit on the edge of my seat and I don't even like to watch it, but I sit on the edge of my seat and I go, please just don't give me a Twitter notification.

Don't give me a breaking news alert or a friend text me, did you see this player, your favorite player get hurt? Hickey, it drives me nuts each and every year and you were someone that was a fraud last year where you're like, oh, I'm so excited for the Colts third preseason game. This is an enormous preseason game, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And it meant nothing.

They mean nothing. The only thing that could happen in the preseason is that you have injuries and injuries are awful. So thank you very much.

That's my TED Talk today, Hickey. I would agree. Um, now last year, I think I would put a little caveat there. That was an important game. And guess what? The Colts sucked in that game and that was a sign of things to come.

There's no such thing that's an oxymoron. Gotta make sure now Anthony Richardson is looking okay enough to start week one. Otherwise I would agree. Preseason means nothing. Don't waste your money watching or don't waste your money going to the games.

Don't waste most of your time watching the games. Even if Anthony Richardson looks like crap in the first Colts preseason game, you really think that's going to be what Shane Steichen says? Yeah, we're not going to start him over Gardner Minshew. I hope not. There's no way Gardner Minshew is starting. If Gardner Minshew starts week one from the Indianapolis Colts, your football team is more lost than we already think they are lost, which they're one of the biggest jokes in the NFL. And they're a top three, top five clown show and circus right now in the NFL. Do you actually think that there's a legitimate chance?

And maybe it's because your organization always does everything wrong. That's why you think this way and maybe there is a chance. But you're not actually worried that Anthony Richardson's not going to start game one for the Indianapolis Colts this season. I think he will start week one.

They've been giving him every rep. I just, you know, I just hope that he's not bad enough where he's not the star. That's my one concern.

You know what, Hickey? I actually feel bad for you because I hear it in your voice. You are a tortured human being right now. And this football team recently has just sucked the life out of you. That I hear it in your voice and you love to be someone that's optimistic and see the good out of people.

And I think that's a great characteristic that you have. But sometimes that comes back to burn you. And I think now you're starting to realize that you have your antenna up where just when you think, OK, a simple decision like starting Anthony Richardson week one should happen. You kind of always just have the hair stand up on your neck thinking, how is Jim Irsay going to mess this thing up and make it a joke?

Since twenty nineteen, when Andrew Luck retired because of a calf injury, I, I really cannot truly feel at ease with this team. So I'll tell you, that was the last time I actually really remember giving a rat's ass about the preseason because I forget if it was was it during the week or was it or was it on the weekend? Do you remember on the weekend? It was, I believe, either Saturday night or I think it was a Sunday actually game. He's supposed to make the announcement on Monday. And that's when the league news leaked.

Thanks, Shefty. OK, so if that's true, then, OK, I was either filling in for Amy or I was hosting my own weekend overnight show because I remember I was in my apartment in New York City with a few friends and we were hanging out. And then I eventually said, when you guys go out, I'm going to go to work, because that was just my my state of living those days with the hours that I was working. I couldn't go drink a bunch of beers. Right.

And go out and have fun and then walk into the studio because I would host just a crappy show and you wouldn't be able to understand anything that I heard. But I'll never forget that there was a friend of mine got saw a tweet, the Adam Schefter tweet that it is expected Andrew Luck is going to retire. And I go, oh, that's got to be a fake Schefter account. And then it was real. And I remember tuning in, I want to say the NFL Network or something, and they had the game on or they cut right to the game. And then you had the impromptu press conference because the cat was let out of the bag.

The fans booing him coming off the field. And the first thing my friends and I did was right away. And at the time, I don't think gambling was legal and easily accessible. So we called up one of our other friends and we said, we all want to place a wager on the Colts under that year while the number was still pretty high up there.

So we got it. I forget what the Colts record was that year, but we ended up clearing the under by about like a game or two as it got a little dicey at the end of the year. But that was really the last time I actually I don't want to say excitement because the outcome in terms of Andrew Luck retiring, Colt fan or not, was just miserable for all.

But I do remember that. And I said, man, that was the last time that there was something really memorable from the preseason where you go, oh, my goodness gracious. I can't believe that's happening and actually gave you a reason to want to tune into that game just to see how it was going to end, even though Andrew Luck was was was not playing in it.

Yeah, I can't say that was a preseason that I enjoyed or I was happy for it, to say the least. But I'm glad your bet hit. You know, that's I'm glad my pain resulted in you winning a few extra bucks. Yeah. Congratulations.

It was awesome. I won't take the four hundred dollars from the people that are paying that for the Hall of Fame game. But if we could have misery with Hickey and I benefit off that, I'm all good with that.

All righty. College football wise, we'll talk a lot about this today, but let me just give you the quick hitters here. When it comes to that report earlier in the week that the Big Ten was exploring Washington, Oregon, Cal and Stanford, I remember even saying it the other day, Hickey. You know, I don't really get Stanford. I don't really get Cal here. If you want to tell me Washington or Oregon, there's even been some pushback in, you know, in earlier times within this past year.

I go, OK, you can at least sell me, though, on Washington or Oregon. I didn't see why the Big Ten would be interested in Cal or Stanford. Now Cal and Stanford are out. And according to Brett McMurphy, the Big Ten is just trying to figure out financials at this point on only Oregon and Washington. That is what sources told the Action Network.

There is no more research or information needed on Oregon and Washington. Big Ten sources said we have everything we need. So whatever that is, it is obviously enough to eventually make a decision.

When that decision will come, I don't know. I guess they're just trying to figure out how all the money does line up and you have to get that communicated with other Big Ten schools and the TV partners as well. Also from Brett McMurphy, Apple's primary media rights deal with the Pac-12, that offer that we talked about earlier in the week, about 20 million dollars per school. And then it could go up in certain tiers based off subscriptions. That's going to expire at the end of the week.

So they put a deadline on that. And McMurphy adds, like I just said, proposals in the low 20 million figures per school and annually but can fluctuate and increase based on membership size and subscription incentives, sources said. Hickey, here's the one thing that I'll ask though on this Pac-12. With it looking like that they're going to lose Washington and Oregon at some point to the Big Ten. And you also did see that report from 24-7 Sports, Jason Scheer, that Utah, Arizona and Arizona State are likely to join the Big 12. If that's the case, what, you're down to seven schools I think it is? Or eight schools, whatever it is?

Are they even going to get the 20 million dollars then? Like when you say fluctuate, if you're the Pac-12 you're hoping that number would eventually go up. If you start to have schools bolting and schools leaving, and I don't think there's going to be an agreement made with Apple, but let's just say there were. And then you find out, OK, Oregon leaves, Washington leaves, you have Utah leave, you have Arizona leave, you have Arizona State leave. Could that number of low 20 million go in the wrong direction for these college football programs and whatever remains in the Pac-12? I am definitely assuming that that offer is going to be rescinded or has stipulations that everyone currently right now in the Pac-12 beyond 2023 is going to be there. Because if what we're seeing is going to happen, Oregon and Washington out, Utah, Arizona State, Arizona out, now all of a sudden the Pac-12 is Cal Stanford, Washington State, Oregon State.

That's it. Four schools. Can't have a conference with four schools. So that's either you merge with the Mountain West, the Pac-12 just disintegrates whatsoever. Either way, I'm assuming that that Apple TV deal that's out there currently right now is definitely going to be rescinded and or void as soon as one, if not all these schools start spreading out and leaving.

Because right now, what are we at? We're at nine schools moving forward because you have USC leaving, you have UCLA leaving, they're going to the Big Ten and you have Colorado going to the Big Twelve. So I said seven, that was wrong. They're at nine schools right now. Then once you get Washington and Oregon, which those schools seem like they're going to go to the Big Ten. It's just a matter of does the Big Ten want them?

If that's the case, that goes to seven. But even if Washington and Oregon, Hickey, are not wanted by the Big Ten and you know the SEC wouldn't be interested, worst case scenario, don't you just go to the Big Twelve? If you're Washington or Oregon and you have Utah, Arizona and Arizona State also follow as well? I would say so, because 31 million dollars that Colorado is getting next year from the Big Twelve is a whole hell of a lot better than maybe the bare minimum of 20 million dollars that they would get right now from the Pac-12. So yeah, if you're Oregon and Washington financially, from that sense makes zero sense for you to stay right now in the Pac-12 beyond 2023. There will be a landing spot for Oregon and Washington. So let's just say if you don't even get Utah, Arizona and Arizona State, you're down to seven.

What is really attractive about that? And you know, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State are going to say, well, if Colorado just left, we definitely have a leg to stand on to leave as well and join the Big Twelve. So the Pac-12, we were all waiting to see what conference was going to fold, it's going to be the Pac-12 now.

Can you find a way to dress it back up with those four schools and go snatch like a few more schools to get you up to eight, I guess? But what TV deal and who is going to want to go get a re-modified version of the Pac-12 if you don't even have Washington and Oregon, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State in it? So the Pac-12 is going to just slowly fade into the night and that will be it. And then finally, because I know we got to take a break here, Florida State has done a lot of talking the last few days and they basically made it seem like they definitely want to leave. And it's not a matter of if they're leaving, just when they're going to leave.

Well, a lot more has come out here in the last few days. They're going to have to pay Florida State $120 million. The school is going to have to pay that to leave the ACC. If they want to go get that money, you'd probably think from a geography standpoint, but who knows, because it doesn't really matter anymore, the SEC or the Big Ten. You do probably think it would be the SEC where Florida State would be going. But if they're going to leave, they've got to pay $120 million and that just is for them to leave. They also don't have control of their TV rights until 2036. So I understand the appeal of the SEC TV money and wanting to be a part of that and you want to kind of be proactive here rather than reactive because who knows what the future of the ACC is going to be. And will some of these bigger brands go, let's go be with the haves rather than the have nots when you look at the Big Ten and you also look at the SEC. But for Florida State, I know that you can get a big booster that can get involved in multiple boosters, but just paying $120 million to leave Hickey doesn't even get them control of their TV rights until 2036.

You have to figure out those negotiations as well. So everything that's Florida State right now, it's almost as if they're a toddler that is getting told that they can't get the piece of candy that they want in the supermarket. And you know they want the candy, but they're throwing a tantrum and it doesn't mean that mom and dad is going to all of a sudden just because you're throwing a tantrum, grant you the candy. I understand why Florida State wants to leave. I understand why they want the candy, but I don't see how they're going to find the way to get this done with all the money here.

Making noise, don't think it will actually result in a whole lot of movement. Alright, this is the Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio. So that's how we lay out the college football latest. We'll get into a lot more later, some stuff on Notre Dame and a whole lot in the never-ending, moving landscape of college football.

We'll take a break. When we come on back, we'll talk a little Carolina Panthers with one of their safeties, Xavier Woods, who also did play with the Dallas Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings. Join us when the Zach Gelb Show does continue in five minutes.

Alrighty, we continue. This is Zach Gelb Show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. Now joining us is a man that has played in the NFL since 2017, Cowboys Vikings.

Last year was year number one for him with the Carolina Panthers, and he's back in Carolina, and that is one of their safeties in Xavier Woods. Kind enough to join us on the Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio. Xavier, first off, appreciate you doing this. How you been?

I've been great. Thank you guys for having me. So Carolina, right in the NFC South this year, some intriguing level of interest with them, with a brand new quarterback in Bryce Young, but also a new football coach in Frank Reich. You were there last year, now a new coaching staff coming in.

Just kind of give me the vibe around the Panthers with Frank Reich now as the head honcho. Just excitement, man. We got excitement with new coaches as well as Bryce just having a new quarterback as well, first pick. Just excitement around. Yesterday we had FanFest, and the crowd was great.

It was a great turnout. What could you guys take? I know the season didn't go the way that you wanted it, but down the stretch you guys turned that corner. You were 5-3 in your final eight games. What can you guys take from the way that you played in kind of the second half of the season? Defensively, just the way that we played at the halfway mark to the end of the season, only losing to Brady. Just the way we played. Defensively, we just think that we could win ballgames. We have the confidence that we can win ballgames just on us. We just put it on us, we could win ballgames. That was one of the big takeaways that we took from last year. Offense was good here and there, but we as a defense believe that we could win ballgames and the confidence that we gained from last year.

I saw the way that that defense was playing. When Steve Wilks was the Internet coach, I go, he won't be back next year, but he made me change my opinion on that quickly. I thought he should have been the head coach. Was it at all disappointing, even though Frank has been around the league for a long time, with the connection you guys had with Steve, that he didn't get the job?

That's above my pay grade. I'm just happy that he gets the opportunity with the 49ers. You know how great that defense has been. I'm excited for him for that, but we've been excited with Coach Frank and all the coaches that he's brought in, just the defense and the offense. We can't speak highly enough of them. It's a job they've been doing with us.

It's a scheme that we've been putting in and everything. Talking to Xavier Woods right now, safety for the Carolina Panthers. Looking at your secondary, Jeremy Chin has been a really good player the first three years in this league. Then you look at J.C. Horn, he just hasn't been able to stay on the field, but he has all the talent in the world.

There was a reason why he was the top 10 pick in the draft. You being around that group and knowing what it takes to play at a high level in this league, what have been your impressions so far of Jeremy Chin and also J.C. Horn? I would say those two guys are kind of the cornerstones, the pillars, the blue chips of the defense. We've got J.C., Jeremy on the defensive side. You would say some more would be Dave Brown and definitely Brian Burns. Everyone on the defense plays a role, but the defense can only go so far as your best players.

We definitely know that those are some of my best players on the defense. J.C., I feel like J.C. is going to have a big year this year. He's done everything in his power to make sure that he can get healthy. Sometimes injuries are a bug of the draw, sometimes it happens, but he's done everything in his power just to be healthy. When he's on the field, he's a difference maker. We call Jeremy a superhero.

He wears different capes. He can play anywhere on the defense. Just having him be on the field is a plus for us. When you look at a guy like J.C. and you brought up the injuries, how about the mental side of it when you've been given a tough blow to start your career?

How do you fight through that mental adversity more than the physical adversity? He had his rookie year. I think he got injured early.

Last year, he played all the way up until the last couple of games. At the end of the day, that's a broken bone. You can't have a broken bone. It wasn't a soft tissue issue.

It was a broken bone. As far as his mentality now, he's moved on. He wants to be up there. He feels disrespected. He thinks he's the best.

I feel that too. His mentality is to go out and be the best. He's going to accept every challenge we throw him this year. I think he'll excel.

I know he'll excel. This NFL Top 100 list, I don't know how much you pay attention to it, but I did see the rankings have started to come on out. Brian Burns was in at 54. You talked about him. For me, that's the most notable name on your defense. I still feel like 54 is a little low for him, a little disrespectful. Do you think the national folks, and I know this is a player list, just don't give them enough respect still?

Definitely. When you act old-armed or you act of the defensive ends, they have Brian up there as one of the better pass rushers. I think that may be motivation for him, but in the NFL circle, we know that Brian is one of the best pass rushers in the league. I absolutely love Bryce Young back when he played at Alabama the last few seasons. You getting to see Bryce Young up and close each and every day in practice.

Just kind of give me the vibe right now around Bryce Young and what you're seeing. Man, I remember I watched his first freshman game at Alabama and how smooth he was out there. I forgot who they played, but how smooth he was out there, it's translated to how smooth he is with us in practice.

Nothing really bothers me. You can see his technique, his sound. He has a quiet type of demeanor, but you can tell that he's very confident in himself offensively.

They've spoken highly of him as far as him just being a leader over there. Just as a team, he definitely stole the show when we made the rookie sing. That was our first time him standing in front of the room with all the eyes and ears on him. He stole the show, man. What did he sing? The Fantasia song. I forgot the name of it. He's a Fantasia or a Keisha Cole.

One of those two songs. He definitely did a great job. Standing ovation. So you were impressed with how he was as a singer. You didn't think he had that in him?

I did, man. I think he's been the best rookie singer so far. Guys like that are just so obnoxious. Because Bryce Young, he's perfect. I know some people say, oh, he's not tall enough. And I go, I watched him in Alabama and never thought that his height or lack of it was a problem. There's nothing this guy could do wrong, it seems like.

He's just fine. I think that he knows his height. He knows his limits or whatever.

He thinks he has a limit. But he knows how to get up in the pocket, find those windows, find those scenes in the pocket to where he can throw the ball. So far, he hasn't been a problem. So hey, you talked about it earlier, how confident you are with what your defense is able to do. Now you get a franchise potentially changing player in Bryce Young and the offensive side of the ball. This NFC South is wide open. I'll ask you since you're here with us Xavier Woods of the Panthers, what do you think your football team could accomplish this year?

I would feel that we can definitely win. I would say just as a team, just what we went through last year and how we were playing for the playoffs. The second game of the year, we were actually playing for the playoffs.

And just how dysfunctional it was and everything. But we won't be seeing Brady again anytime soon. So that just gives us another little confidence to where you know how bad we were at the beginning of the year last year and just how we put everything together. Have we still had a 50-50 chance to make the playoffs? It was all on us.

We didn't have to rely on anybody. It just gives us a confidence to think that we can make it this year. You gotta be happy Brady's no longer there in Tampa because that's the biggest roadblock.

I think the whole league is just happy. For you individually, going into now year 7 in the NFL, you've seen almost everything. What are you hoping to prove this year individually as you go into a new year? I just want to make the playoffs. Win and make the playoffs. That's my main focus.

Everything else will fall in line. But just win and make the playoffs. I haven't made the playoffs since my second year in Dallas.

That's my main focus. Just making the playoffs and having a chance in advance. You have a unique story attending Louisiana Tech and making three all-conference USA teams when you were there. When you look at this journey, what do you want to tell us about it? What it took for you to get to this point of not only getting to the NFL but being able to clearly stick around and play in this league?

Just perseverance. Once you get there, just taking advantage of every opportunity that you get. I was a six-round pick. It wasn't looking too good as far as my spot on the team my freshman year in the OTA. Something just clicked and I just took advantage of all the opportunities that I got. I can say that ever since about the halfway mark, I was playing in packages. The first half of the year, my rookie year, then the halfway mark, I started. And ever since then, every game that I've dressed for and not been injured, I've started. So that's just perseverance and just taking opportunities by the horn and just not letting them go.

Of course, you've got to have a little bit of competitive nature in you to not. I'm getting up there and the team, the guys call it and see the rookies coming in and just being maybe sometimes faster but just having the IQ and to just learn the game and learn the ins and outs of it. I know he was already in the league for a year when you got there in Minnesota. He was entering his second year. But when you first got to see Justin Jefferson up close and personal being a teammate of his, your reaction was what? This guy is special.

This guy is special. I was around Dez my rookie year in Dallas and that was just like a, that was different with him just because I looked up to Dez. Dez was much older than just being in high school and watching his highlight tapes and just looking up to Dez and seeing his work ethic and seeing how he practices, how he plays and then going to see. That's about the best receiver that I've seen.

Up until that point was Dez and then Elmarie Cooper and then I got to see JJ and man, that guy is just special. You also got to see Dak Prescott as your quarterback when you're with the Cowboys. We know Dak Prescott is a good quarterback but everyone wonders, does he have it in him to win a Super Bowl one day? What do you say to people that question Dak Prescott if he could one day hoist that Lombardi Trophy? Man, Dak is one of the better quarterbacks in the league. The media can say that. The media can have all these negative things to say about him but Dak is one of the better quarterbacks in the league. If a team didn't have a franchise quarterback, any team would take that that didn't have what they would call their franchise quarterback. When I was there, I thought he was one of the best.

Even now, some of the stuff that he does, just watching him, he's definitely up there. Xavier Woods from the Carolina Panthers. Good health, good luck this upcoming season. Excited to see your football team play. Thanks for doing this.

Thank you. There he is. Xavier Woods joining us on the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Fun conversation with him. We will take a time out.

We'll come on back. We'll continue the Bryce Young conversation when we evaluate rookies in the NFL for this upcoming year. Alrighty, this is Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. So I'm reading this breaking news from Ari Mirov at My Sports Update. Major change. The NFL has modified the personal conduct policy, granting them the ability, if they choose, to investigate and take disciplinary actions against incoming draft prospects for incidents that may have occurred before a player enters the league. The incident with Jalen Carter would now fall under this category. This alteration could potentially impact the way teams approach drafting prospects.

Pro Football Talk did first note the change according to Ari. Two things off that. Number one, I wonder what would qualify for the NFL to pursue if they're going to investigate. Like the Jalen Carter thing, obviously serious. The Joe Mixon thing, serious.

And Hickey, I hate to say it this way, but it's probably the truth. It would be how much public outrage there is or how much conversation or if a video does emerge where it really gets the attention of the public if they're going to choose to investigate and maybe take disciplinary action for incoming draft prospects. Oh, without a doubt.

I mean, that's right. How the NFL has operated. If there's a big stink about it, if there's video, like you said, then they'll investigate. If they're able to sweep it under the rug, they do that as much as they can for the most part, as long as it doesn't impact their bottom line.

And yeah, going forward, that's kind of how they usually do operate. It's sad, but it's true. And we've seen it in really two certain situations. It was the Ray Rice where if the NFL the NFL saw that video, I will take that to my grave. The NFL saw that video before the public got to see it.

They just thought they could sweep it under the rug and they did not choose to react until afterwards. And then I forget the name of the kicker at the Pro Bowl. Remember who had all the domestic violence incidents? I think his name was Josh Brown.

Josh Brown and the Giants. Yeah. And his wife, the league, had to remove the wife from the Pro Bowl hotel to a different location. And they knew that was going on. And what they give him. I forget the specifics. I think it was like a measly one game suspension at first or nothing. And then the guy never was in the league again. So the NFL, it doesn't matter how great. And then sometimes it does matter if you're a bad player, then they just get rid of you pretty easily. But in the case of the kicker, for some reason, they were just giving him the benefit of the doubt, which made no sense. And it was just heinous and disgusting by the NFL. But they try to give the players every reason to kind of for them to turn an eye and not have to pursue this and not get into all these hearings and litigious situations that they could sweep it under the rug, which morally isn't right. But that's just the way that the NFL operates. Now, the other thing that I'm curious about where if you see what's going on at Iowa and Iowa State now, the quarterback is not a big name quarterback that's getting caught up in this entire gambling scandal. And he was betting on games and using his parents identity because he wasn't 21 to create an account and all that.

And I don't know about this, Hickey. Did you see the video that surfaced online yesterday where I'm pretty sure it was the quarterback and he's talking to a lady in the in the bar and I don't know, maybe he's trying to hit on her or something. And she starts saying, oh, we'll beat you in like week one or week two. And he goes, yeah, you want to bet on it? And then the lady goes, yeah, let's bet 500 bucks on it. And she's recording him. And he goes, oh, you can't record this because that's illegal. And and I'll get it.

I'm in trouble. I'm assuming that was the Iowa State quarterback as I saw that video going viral. But based off that, let's just say if the Iowa State quarterback actually was a player and could have been a quarterback drafted in the first round or the second round. I wonder what the NFL stance is going to be, because you know how seriously they take gambling where they'll take all the money they could get from gambling, but they have no tolerance because the rules are the rules and players gambling. I wonder if a player gambled in college and we know the NCAA would immediate ban them, but if they had their eligibility up and let's say that was their final year and they're eligible for the draft next year and they were supposed to be a big time player. I'm really curious what the NFL would do. Would they add on more to just send that message because they have no tolerance for gambling? I wonder that part of it as well.

And you think right bare minimum now that they're adopting this policy, it's one year, right? Just think normal player, whether it's college in the NFL, you want to come to the NFL, boom, one year suspension and you would you would assume I know it's dangerous to assume the NFL, but you would assume his rookie year would be wiped out bare minimum. And you move through that and you continue to then view how teams would would have that impact their the draft stock of this guy's it would impact the draft stock in a big way. Because remember when Laramie Tunsel, that video got out where someone was just sabotaging him on on draft night, and they released that video of him hitting the gas mask and was smoking a bunch of pot, and he fell. And look at it now how marijuana is viewed in the world. That happened before the 2023 draft when we were sitting out there in Kansas City would be like, what's the big deal? Who cares?

He wouldn't fall whatsoever. But anytime you have something that gets put out there serious or not, and clearly Jaylen Carter, Joe Mixon, those are serious incidents. Laramie Tunsel smoking a gas mask and smoking pot isn't a big deal, but even his stock did fall and he went further down the draft. A lot of guys are going to fall in the draft as they right as they should you do disgusting things off the field. I understand teams, for the most part will turn their eye, and they will say, okay, we'll give them a second chance and if you can put butts in the seats and if you can win his football games teams really have no morals and they'll do that but you see it the one time in the draft where I don't want to say that teams have morals, but all the sudden, you start to wonder if you could trust that person and if you want to do that. And if you want to use a big draft pick on them, and then you start to see guys to fall so if you're already going to have guys and I don't know how how inclined the NFL is going to be to actually pursue this but it gives them the power to do so, if they choose, but this will definitely impact prospects because once you have a red flag on a player in the draft, nine times out of 10 Hickey that player does fall. And again, rightfully so in the case where if you do something in college that is questionable illegal morally wrong whatever you should not have basically a get out of jail free card in the sense that okay that was in my past life. Now I'm in the NFL now it's all good because that was you know, we're going to leave that in college and now I'm a pro player. I mean, I think the NFL is doing the right thing here in the sense that if you do something wrong doesn't matter if it was in our league or not if you're coming into our league with a history that's not great. You should still get punished for it, and it 100% is all going to be dictated on if there's going to be public outrage and if people are annoyed, and if the story that happens whatever horrible infraction off the field happens if it gets a lot of, you know, buzz in the media, then that's when the NFL will say okay we'll investigate and we'll see what the punitive action is going to be, you know who's on your side actually just going back to because we were supposed to talk in this segment about rookies in the NFL will do that coming up later on in the show and I'm actually curious to see what Anthony Richardson is but someone that's never on your side Hickey is actually coming to your defense, and is actually hyping up Anthony Richardson Did you see this tweet by any chance. No slick Reynolds, who always trashes you. Wow, he says he's in Indianapolis. I don't know if he lives there, but Richardson is going to be better than advertise, and then you're going to have a problem Zach Hickey will be insufferable. Hickey responded to that. Well the Colts had paid a Manning, who was like one of the greatest quarterbacks ever only one one Super Bowl. So I could never trust the Colts, even if they end up getting their great quarterback because you look back at those Colts teams you also had Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Bob Sanders, Dwight Frini, Robert Mathis and still Hickey only one Super Bowl for your Colts but slick Reynolds of all people who can't stand your guts is saying he's leading the charge that Anthony Richardson is going to be the next great quarterback in the NFL.