Hope in a Hopeless Place? (Hour 3)

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One-year upgrade requires financing, qualifying, device and upgrading in good condition after six months with half paid off. Alrighty, rockin' and rollin'. Hour number three of our radio program, Zach Gelb's show, CBS Sports Radio. You'll hear from Brady Quinn coming up in an hour forty from now in the final segment of the show. If you missed that conversation from earlier, a sensational chat with Brady Quinn, when we evaluate all the 0-2 teams in the league, is there any room for optimism with any of these teams right now? When we start with the Patriots at 0-2, the Patriots, if you want to play into the moral victory card, played well up against the Eagles, only lost by five points, and then in week two, technically only lost by a touchdown to the Miami Dolphins. I don't think the Patriots are going anywhere this season. I said that before the start of the season.

I made it abundantly clear last night. It's almost as if Bill Belichick just doesn't get it on the offensive side of the ball, what he needs to do to put his young quarterback in a position to potentially succeed. Last year, I messed it up with the two bozo offensive coordinators and the two defensive guys and special teams wide receiver coach were like running the team.

It made no sense. When you have Matt Patricia, who really made a name for himself in this league on the defensive side of the ball, being the OC, and then Joe Judge, who for the most part was a special teams coordinator, and then was like a wide receiver coach for a year before becoming a head coach, played a vital role and an imperative role in coaching up Matt Jones. And this year, you're bringing Bill O'Brien, but you just have no skill position players that really make you shake in your boots.

And that line is not good and they're having trouble running the football even with the good running back in Ramondre Stevenson. So like the Patriots go win seven or eight games, but the Patriots would be better off if they like kind of won only like four games or so. So you could get a better draft pick, but the Patriots are going nowhere this year.

Hecky, feel free to jump in if you disagree with anything that I say. The Chargers, I think it's almost we need to wait and see after this weekend up against the Minnesota Vikings, because the Chargers have so much talent on both sides of the ball. And I thought Sean Merriman, Ryan, put it perfectly yesterday where we've all been talking about the offense and the offense for the most part has played really well through the first two weeks of the season. But because we usually dumb everything down when we do this show to quarterback and coaches each and every Monday, we've all been crushing the coach.

We've all been saying, all right, maybe I think Justin Herbert's a really good QB, but eventually got to go out there and win more games. But that defense has been God awful. And it's not as if that defense doesn't have talent.

And the crazy part is Brandon Staley, who knows both sides of the ball, but the reason he got this head coaching job is what he did on the defensive side of the ball in the NFL. And to see where that defense is after you bring in a new offensive coordinator and a new defensive coordinator and your head coach knows both sides of the ball, but really made a name for itself in this league on the defensive side of the ball, you look at the Chargers, it's tough for me to really put lipstick on a pig right now and tell you that it's going to be good here and it's going to be pretty here for the Chargers. I still think they can make the playoffs, but in terms of taking that next step this year, which is winning a playoff game, you know, maybe going to the divisional round, maybe going to the conference championship weekend. I just don't see how you could sit there and make that case for Los Angeles Chargers, even with all the talent that they have on this football team. All the talent in the world, which should indicate they can make a turnaround, but they're not clutch. And honestly, until you make a big play and a big moment here, I'm not going to believe that this turnaround is happening.

Had plenty of opportunities this year so far in two games, both offensively and defensively, they come up small. Now, this doesn't really work out well for you because the next thing we talk about are the Denver Broncos, where you'll try to tell me that there's going to be optimism and there's going to be light here at the end of the tunnel with the Broncos, but the Broncos don't have anywhere close to the amount of talented names that the Chargers have. I know the Broncos have a sensational secondary, but on offense it pales in comparison to what the Chargers have to the Broncos. The Chargers are so much more talented on the offensive side of the ball.

The Broncos' season is already on life support, and I think the plug is going to get pulled this weekend up against the Miami Dolphins, and here's why. I don't want to directly compare the Broncos to the Patriots, but they are similar in terms of you look at the weapons on the offensive side of the ball, and there's not a lot there, and you do have two really good coaches, right, in Belichick and Sean Payton. And Belichick has said this for years, hey, players win, players win. It's all about the players. Players win the Super Bowl, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. The Broncos just don't have enough players on the offensive side of the ball to keep up with Miami, and Miami didn't even play their best game on Sunday night in Foxboro. Like, they kept on leaving the door open for the Patriots.

I don't know if Jalen Watt is going to play. I saw he was in concussion protocol, but just with a healthy two-a-tongue of Aloha, with Tyree Kill, and with Raheem Mostert, the Dolphins just have more talent than the Denver Broncos, and this game is in Miami as well. I think the Dolphins are going to put the Broncos to 0-3, and then their season would be over. I really hate to say it, but so far through two games, this 2023 Broncos team, it's a lot like the 2022 Broncos. Offenses really hit or miss.

Penalties, getting the play in late, snapping the ball right before the play clock at 0. Defense has regressed this year. It's early, but it's not been pretty whatsoever.

It is getting late early, and here's the one difference why it won't be as much of a clown show as it was last year compared to this year. I think the results on the field will be similar, but Sean Payton is going to hold these players accountable, and you saw him even say some things about Russ last week, and, hey, this defense, for how many names are on this defense, the defense has to play better. They simply have to play better, and last weekend, up against the commanders, you have a 21-3 lead.

Defensively, you're supposed to be able to close out that game, and then the commanders, especially Brian Robinson Jr., woke up in that fourth quarter, and he ended up having two touchdowns in that fourth quarter. Broncos going nowhere. Patriots going nowhere. Chargers have talent, but I don't think they're going to take that next step, so doom and gloom for those three teams. What about the Bengals? The Bengals, to me, through the first two weeks of the league, actually could be the most intriguing team in the NFL, and they're 0-2, because their offense, and I know they always struggle up against Cleveland, was a complete dud, and one of the more anemic offensive performances that you'll see on the season in Week 1. And then Week 2, going up against a decimated Ravens team, they just didn't have that fire. They just didn't have that jump to them, and then the quarterback re-aggravates that calf injury.

The one part, and we talked about this yesterday, we used the word hubris. The hubris of the Bengals is starting to concern me. I still think they'll find a way because of who the quarterback is, but if this calf injury ends up being more serious than maybe the way that Joe Burrow is presenting it, then any positivity that you have about the Bengals goes out the window. Even with Luann Irumo doing a great job defensively the last two years, even with the talent that they have with the Jamar Chase, who's not played well the first two games, a T Higgins, a Tyler Boyd, Joe Mixon still there, even though he's not a great running back in this league, because Burrow is what changed that franchise, where Burrow got hurt, then he comes back, gets him to a Super Bowl, first two years as a starter, when he gets through the entire season, the year after that during an AFC Championship game. If Burrow can't play through this injury and start to get this offense humming, then the Bengals are in a problem spot and in trouble, but until I see this a few more weeks for the Bengals, they do deserve the benefit of the doubt, but then you get into that conversation.

It worked last year. If you're just resting on that this year and assuming it will work, that is a dangerous game to play. My only concern with Cincinnati is just Joe Burrow's health. If this calf injury lingers and it's going to be a problem throughout the whole season, which, I mean, look, if it's already flaring up now in week two, It's basically been two months. It's not going to get much better unless he just stops playing for a month, and I don't think right now it's in the best interest of the Bengals to sit your best player when you're 0-2 for, let's say, four or five games, that's my only concern if he can't play through it or it hinders his performance. Now, he said he heard it, the second last play offensively in the game against the Ravens, next play threw a touchdown and kind of rolled out, so it wasn't like it truly hindered him, but as long as Joe is, I'll say, even 75% of him going forward, Bengals will turn it around.

Alrighty, let's keep it moving here. The Texans, we know they're not going anywhere, but if you're a Texans fan, even with this team expected to be bad, I still think there's a reason to tune in each and every week because you want to see what this young quarterback can do, and defensively, you gave away what's going to be a top-five pick in the draft to go get Will Anderson Jr., and you have a new coach in D'Amico Ryans. I think those three names, even though you know the Texans are going to have a ton of losses this year, there's a reason to watch that team because Texan fans were reasonable in their expectations knowing they're going to be bad, but this is the first step in hopefully trying to move in the right direction. So the trifecta of D'Amico Ryans, C.J. Stroud, and Will Anderson Jr. will make you want to tune in to see if you have something there or signs of something there in your number one with that trifecta. And unlike Justin Fields, C.J.

Strouding is already showing you you can have some bright spots and you can show some positivity when the rest of the team around you stinks. And in the Colts game, I was impressed, the guy dropped back 47 times, and you're playing with literally third- and fourth-string men on the offensive line throughout the entire offensive line. And a shoulder injury. And a shoulder injury in part because of the offensive line last week against the Ravens, but he was tough, he held in, and he was a gamer.

You could still have positivity even if your record is 2-15. You know what that performance reminded me of? Remember in Burroughs' first year, it was the second game of the season up against the Browns, and I don't think this was hyperbole. I think he threw the ball like 62 times, or it was some crazy number like that.

I think it may have been 62 exactly. Now, Stroud didn't throw the football that many times, but what did you say, it was 47 that he threw in that game? That's a lot of time to throw the ball with the young quarterback, and I know they didn't win the game, I know the Colts were the better team in that one, but C.J. Stroud, you walked away from that game saying, okay, I could live with losing to the Colts and seeing what you got to see from that quarterback, especially when they were down big in that game early.

And Nikko Collins had a good game as well with the receiving touchdown. Other 0-2 teams, the Cardinals, they're not going anywhere. But I'll tell you, the Cardinals have been gritty. Their first two games of the season, they were in both of those games, right?

The first game of the season, toe-to-toe with the commanders. Second game, they were dominating the Giants and they blew it. I just don't understand what the draw is to watch the Cardinals this year. Like the Texans, I can at least sell you on Stroud and Will Anderson Jr. for the Cardinals. Maybe it changes if Kyler Murray comes back sooner than what you would expect, if he's back like week six, seven, or eight, or nine.

But until Kyler Murray comes back, there's really nothing to look at with this team that says, okay, I got to go tune in. Because you could mention a coach, but what does Jonathan Gannon really have to work with? And to be fair, Jonathan Gannon was like the biggest creep this offseason with the sound effects and always talking about Philadelphia and that end there.

And it was just a lot of cringe-worthy things. The guide to the first two games working with nothing has found a way to make that team look decent. Like the Cardinals are going to be bad.

We know they're going to be bad, but you could look decent and still be bad. And that's what the Arizona Cardinals have been through the first two weeks of the season. Yeah, I wouldn't say entertaining, but they've given you, they've hung tough. They've absolutely been competitive, kind of giving you a 2020 or I guess, yeah, 2020 or 2019, I guess, Dolphins feel where you thought this is going to be the worst in the league. And that team, 2019 Dolphins, we thought tanking for Tua won five games. Not that the Cardinals are going to win five games this year, but so far through two games, I believe both games, if I have the scores right, they're winning in the fourth quarter.

So they're at least giving you something. The Bears, no hope. There's no hope for the Bears outside of the draft coming up in April. The Bears, you know, are going to have a top five pick with their own pick and another top five pick with the Carolina Panthers pick because the Panthers are another team that stinks.

And you look at the Panthers, it's almost as if you don't want to watch them if you're a Panthers fan. And I know people will say, but Zach, you just said, oh, the Texans, you want to track the young quarterback with CJ Stroud, but Bryce Young is already dealing with that ankle injury. I know Stroud's dealing with a shoulder injury, but you look around the optimism outside of Bryce Young there on the offensive side of the ball. There's no other name that you could really latch onto.

That line stinks. There's no receivers that really get you excited. Miles Sanders, I think, is overrated. Like, you look at this Panthers team right now, you look at Bryce Young and he's a small quarterback. I just hope that he doesn't just get abused this year. And early on, and you saw in the preseason, it looks like it's going to be that way, where you want to see him play and it's smart to play him. But man, he's going to take a beating all year long, and if you're a Panthers fan, you're going to be putting your hands up across your eyes a lot, just hoping that you don't hear the announcer say, oh, there's Bryce Young down with an injury. Yeah, not really any sort of positivity or bright spot so far through two games.

It's been very ugly, and does at least right now not appear like help is on the horizon. Does he play this weekend with this ankle injury at Seattle? I think so. You do?

Yes. Now, I don't know the severity of the ankle injury. They're monitoring his ankle injury. That was from Mike Kay, who covers the Panthers. I would be careful here. I would be really careful.

And I would actually, it's tough to kind of comment on it without knowing the severity, but if he's in a good amount of pain, maybe I would rest him because he's going to be running. I know this isn't a great Seahawks defense, but with that line in front of him up against any defense, they'll make that defense end up looking like a solid unit. And then the Vikings. The Vikings are a team that we both thought were going to be good this year.

Not great, but a team that won 13 games last year, they were aggressive. They win like nine or 10 games. This weekend is what's going to determine what the Vikings could do. I do believe the game is more important for the Chargers up against the Vikings because the AFC is deeper. And I guess you could still say you could start owing through the NFC and still find a way to make yourself competitive at the end of the year. But with Kirk Cousins on the final year of his contract, and Kirk has played well through the first two games of the season. He's over 700 passing yards and only has one interception to like six or seven touchdowns. You will start to hear maybe the Vikings taking some phone calls for Kirk Cousins.

And I think that's tricky because you don't want to lose Justin Jefferson and make him get to a spot where he doesn't want to sign a contract extension. I do believe this game is more important for the Chargers. But then if you start the year off 0-3, even in a bad NFC, it's going to be tough to try to dress this up to make this as a football team that you can really have some confidence in that they're going to turn this around.

Absolutely. That first year, defense under Brian Flores does not look great. The offense has been not clutch at times and you need him to step up.

Turnovers go lower, which really has been the story so far. Sloppy play, which in year two of a head coach after you won 13 games in year one, I figured it would be cleaned up, but it's been a nightmare start. If you had to say, just give me the amount of teams that you think could win a Super Bowl this year. Just give me the number without backing it up with the teams.

Right now, after two weeks, and it's quickly how crazy that number could change where a team could have Super Bowl aspirations after two weeks, you're like, up, they're done, their season's over. If you had to just guess how many teams there are that you believe, just with a number on what that number is that could win a Super Bowl this year, what would your number be? Five.

Five. I think the Dolphins are one of those teams. I think the Bills still are one of those teams.

The Chiefs are still one of those teams. I'll still say the Bengals. I'm not going to say the Ravens. I'm not going to say the Steelers. I'm not going to say the Browns. I'm not going to say the Jaguars. No one in the AFC South, so that's four in the AFC, with it being the Dolphins, the Bills, the Chiefs, and the Bengals. Would you put the Ravens in there? I would not. No.

Not yet. Yeah, I know that they survived last week, and they played much better than the Bengals with all those injuries. They could win the AFC North. With how many injuries they already suffered, that always does concern me.

You know what? I don't think the Cowboys will end up getting to the Super Bowl, but they're in the conversation. The Eagles, definitely.

Commanders, no. Giants, no. 49ers, yes. Rams, no. Seahawks, no. Cardinals, no. Packers, no. Lions, no. Vikings, no. Bears, no. Falcons, Saints. Bucks.

Panthers, no. So I gave you seven. What was your number again? Five. Five. So who are your five? Chiefs, Dolphins, Bengals, Eagles, Niners.

Okay. Well, let's talk about the Dallas Cowboys on the other side. And the way that people are talking about the Cowboys after the first two games of the season, is it an overreaction, or is there some validity to now the way that people are very optimistic about the, let me call it the way that I usually call it, the drama Dallas choking Cowboys?

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Get guaranteed low prices and excellent customer service from the professional parts people at O'Reilly Auto Parts. The Cowboys have been dominant to start off the season where they destroyed the New York Giants 40 to nothing. And they destroyed the Jets last weekend 30 to 10.

They're going to absolutely just open up a can of whoop ass up against the Cardinals this upcoming weekend Sunday at 4.25 p.m. Eastern. I know the Cardinals have been gritty through the first two weeks of the season. But this is just a totally different level with the Cowboys team that you're going up against. The commanders and Giants who were their first two opponents are solid football teams. But they're not on the level of where the Dallas Cowboys are right now.

So I'm sure the Cowboys will be picked in a ton of survivor pools this upcoming weekend. Then you play the Patriots after that. You know what it is with the Patriots, Hickey? It seems like the media has not adjusted to what the Patriots are now. And I say that as a Patriot fan where people still try to mentally talk themselves into the Patriots being a better team than what they actually are. Like you look at the game up against the Dolphins last week. People go, oh, Vegas is telling you something's fishy here with the Dolphins only being a two and a half point favorite in this game going into Foxborough. And then how much people are basically talking about the Patriots performance up against the Eagles if they won the game when they ended up losing by five. So I do believe that's going to be a game where it's 4.25 p.m. Eastern time on Fox. I'm sure it's going to be the Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Golsan number one crew.

And it will have a big feel to it. But you look at the Patriots, I don't see how they're going to keep up with the Dallas Cowboys where the Patriots don't have a lot of offense. And you just look at the defense alone for the Cowboys, they're going to get after that offensive line. And when you're going up against Trayvon Diggs and you're going up against Stephon Gilmore, that offense is going to look absolutely horrible.

I know Belichick, right, when he looked at his defense, he still has a good job taking away the team's best player that you have on offense. But just based off the defense alone, you know the Cowboys are going to get a defensive touchdown or a big defensive play in that game that does swap field position. You see Dallas, their big test is the 49ers the week after that. If they are not 4-0 going into that 49ers game, then that's going to be a big problem because they absolutely should be 4-0 going into that 49ers game. And then that's going to be the big test on how different this team is from the team the last two years compared to the team this year with the way that people are talking about them after two games.

Oh, without a doubt. Anything less than 4-0 going into that week 5 game, massive disappointment. With how they played so far to start, offense, defense, clicking, two winnable games, two games you should easily handle.

So what is it going to take? I think there's a difference in saying you believe the Cowboys are going to win the Super Bowl and then calling them a Super Bowl contender. What will it take for you to say that the Cowboys are at least one of those teams that you could see potentially getting to a Super Bowl? Because in the NFC, it's the Eagles, it's the 49ers of the teams that everyone thought going into the year. After two weeks, you know I know the commanders are 2-0 but they're not going to a Super Bowl. The Giants aren't going to a Super Bowl. I know that the Lions went into Arrowhead and defeated Kansas City.

I don't want to sound like Mike Tirico here but there was no Chris Jones in the game, there was no Travis Kelce. The Lions haven't won a playoffs game since the early 1990s. I think there's a big difference in just getting into the playoffs, winning the NFC North, winning a playoff game then compared to being a Super Bowl contending team. I like Seattle going into this season but I got to see them play better and be more consistent. Week 1 they didn't show up and then week 2 they had a nice performance up against the Detroit Lions. You could maybe argue that right now people view the Cowboys as the best team in the NFC or the 2nd or 3rd. Personally I view them as the 3rd best team in the NFC because I still give the edge to the 49ers and the Eagles. But all it takes is for one of the 49ers or Eagles to go down in the playoffs and then the next thing you know the Cowboys could potentially be in that NFC title game. I don't love the Cowboys because I don't trust their quarterback in Dak Prescott but this defense is dominant. That offensive line is still solid enough. You know Tony Pollard's a good back, you know you got C.D.

Lamb and some other good weapons as well. It all comes down to just this quarterback. If he could just be, I hate to say it, like a game manager, if he could just be good which he's capable of being good. If he could then translate that into the big spot which he has not done the last 2 years up against the 49ers. The Cowboys are a team that could go to Super Bowl this year and you know me, I do not like saying that. And I expect Dak Prescott to still fail in a big game when it's week in and week out. But there's only 3 teams in the NFC that you could make a case for this year that you could see going to a Super Bowl. And right now it's the Eagles, it's the 49ers and for me still the Dallas Cowboys. So what will it take for you to at least put the Cowboys in the Super Bowl contending conversation? It will take them literally being in the game. Literally being in the Super Bowl for me to believe they are a Super Bowl caliber team.

So let me just throw one little argument this way. What happens if they beat the 49ers on October 8th? Not good enough. No, not at all. What happens if they then beat the Eagles twice when they play them?

Doesn't matter. So even if the 2 best teams in the NFC, if they go 3-0 against them in the regular season, you will still say Dallas Cowboys aren't a Super Bowl contender. When Dak Prescott has been healthy, when have the Cowboys been a bad regular season team?

That's a fair point. They've always been good. They've always won double digit games. They've always been in the mix for either the division or the wild card.

They are a really damn good regular season team. Their issues always pop up and they always fall short in the playoffs. Sometimes teams are better than them, they get smoked.

Okay, fine. Other times they play down in their competition and lose winnable games. Other times they're not in the game whatsoever against good teams. Every issue they have pops up and appears in the postseason. So there's nothing they can do in the regular season for me. You can beat the Cowboys, you can beat the Eagles twice, blow them out twice. Beat the 49ers in week 5, I got nothing. Honestly, I'm not taking the bait. I am not doing it. It's kind of like Texas football.

So you actually prove it, not believing it. They just beat Alabama! And I called it. Yeah, I was all over them. And now I broke my personal promise. That was also more about Alabama not being good.

Are you drinking on the job? My point is it took Alabama being the worst they've been in 15 years on a Knicks statement for me to actually believe in a team like Texas where I said and vowed I would never believe them until they actually do something. Dallas, the Cowboys are in that same exact category. No one enjoys the Dallas Cowboys choking in a big game more than they. But if they beat San Francisco in the regular season and the Eagles twice, I don't see how you couldn't actually believe in them.

Marco, I know you don't like the Cowboys, but you're a sane individual most of the times. If the Cowboys beat the 49ers in the regular season when they play on October 8th, and then let's say they go into Philadelphia on November 5th and beat them, and then at home at Jerry's World, beat the Eagles again, how could you not call the Cowboys a Super Bowl contending team? See, I think to not call them a contender is wrong. Of course they're a contender. They're a contender now.

I agree. To say that you would favor them in the game is a different conversation. I think that's where you're confusing this. They're a contender, but you don't believe that they would actually win the game.

That to me is two different conversations. But I understand his point of saying that I don't think they can get over the hump. I get it.

They've been at the doorstep how many times? I get it. But to say they're not a contender to me is wrong. But you could be a contender. A contender means you actually think they can do it. Not every playoff team that makes it, the 14 playoff teams, are Super Bowl contenders, right?

No. Not all of them are. So that's my point. You're putting them in the same category of team that I'm trying to... Who sneaks in at the seventh season.

Yeah, I am. Because every time they're in the postseason with all their talent, it never adds up to them playing well in the postseason. And I'm not going to believe it after seeing multiple years of the same thing. They're too talented.

They're too talented. The NFC is not deep this year. And if you're looking for that separation, yeah, the Eagles and the 49ers still deserve the benefit of the doubt. But I can't compare the Cowboys right now with what we've seen so far to the other potential wildcard teams like the Giants, the Commanders, even the Lions who had a nice week one victory, or even Seattle. There's a difference between the Cowboys and all those other teams that I just mentioned. Yeah. I mean, any of the teams that you could say that maybe, you know, if the Packers sniffed their way into the last wildcard, I can't put them in the same category as the Packers.

Like, it just doesn't work for me. There's too much talent. Now, do I think that they truly get over the hump? Yeah, you got to prove that to me. But do I think they're a contender to get that? Yeah, they are right now. There's so much talent on that roster.

So I asked you this question earlier. If you just had to give a number and not really think it through, how many teams are Super Bowl contenders right now after two weeks? Whether you think you're in the NFC or just totally NFL in the entire NFL, I'd have to go down the list. There's a lot more than we want to admit because it's early on.

There's more than we want to admit. My number was six. I could think of six right off the bat because I still believe that the as much as I'm not a believer in the Bills, I still throw them in that category with the Chiefs.

I still believe in the Bengals that they can flip this thing around. So that's three automatic. You just gave three in the NFC. That's six right there. I do think that there is more around the league.

I'm sorry, my number was seven. My seven teams were the Dolphins, were the Bills, were the Chiefs, were the Bengals. And then in the NFC, the three that we're talking about, the Cowboys, the 49ers and the Eagles. But like the Jets are now out of it. The Jets are no longer a Super Bowl contender. Not unless you get a quarterback that you're finding.

I don't know where you're finding. Raiders know, the Chargers know, the Broncos know. What about the Ravens? Like the Ravens aren't, it's just tough for me to buy into the Ravens even though they're 2-0 with all the injuries already. The injuries are a thing. But again, there's enough talent there and there's enough and you got coaching and horrible. Yes, I would put them in that category.

So then we could bump the number up to eight if you want to do that. Steelers know. No. Browns know, especially with Chubb out.

Jacksonville, I think they showed this weekend. No, no, no, I do. I don't care. I do. Yes.

Yes, I do. Because they got enough pedigree. But I was very optimistic in the Jag Zone into this season where I said, I think they could be the second seed in the AFC. But my question was, are they ready to take that next step where last year they were in the divisional round. Right. And then to go up against a vulnerable Chiefs team. I get it.

With an offense that still wasn't humming and you can't even score a touchdown in the game. I get it. That was concerning. I get it. It's also week two.

I get it. Again, you've got a Super Bowl winning coach. You've got a franchise quarterback. You've got weapons galore and you've got a team that had success in the playoffs that really pushed the Chiefs all the way to the end of that game.

Yes. And I can also see them possibly getting the one seed simply because they play in the easiest division. OK, so you make a lot of cases for teams in the AFC and the NFC. Can you make any case out of the three teams that we just talked about?

Outside of them? No. I mean, you back me up against the wall. Can I give you some cockamamie reason for the Saints? Because, again, in a bad division. But no, no.

When push comes to shove, no. By the way, if you're a Dallas Cowboys fan that is listening and heard our interview last week with Channing Crowder, which did like a million views, Channing saying he has no belief in Dak Prescott. And if he was on the Cowboys, you take him out to dinner and tell him he's the reason why they haven't won a Super Bowl the last few years. A reliable source has told me that Channing Crowder and the pivot crew of Ryan Clark and I believe Fred Taylor, too, they did a response video where they discussed Channing's comments on this show. It should be dropping later in the week, but I was told that they did a large chunk of the pivot podcast on our interview with Channing Crowder. So when that gets out there, we'll retweet it for you. If you were agreeing with Channing or disagreeing with Channing, I'm very excited to see when that does come on out. And they better included my mug on that. That was on video. Right.

It's the pivot pod. They better not just only show Channing in there. I better get some face time. Well, it's a video, so I would like to hope I don't think they're going to crop it out. Maybe they go too much of the frame.

Let's just put Channing on there. The prettier face. And then the next thing, you know, you just hear my voice and it's almost as if I didn't exist. Well, maybe they could just take your voice out to the other. Ask the questions. This was the question that was posed and then just get the answer from Crowder. Then Channing is going to really regret agreeing for me to come on his radio show in Miami weekly because I will be a force to be reckoned with on next Wednesday if I'm not included in this. That's all I'm going to say.

I'm going to be throwing haymakers. Who knows? Maybe the entire interview is completely redone in AI. We don't know. We don't know.

Let me ask you this. Do you think we will end up getting replaced by AI? Like your job, my job, Hickey's job, will we all get replaced by AI? I'm holding on by my fingernails as it is.

AI, anything else? Anybody else that want to come through there? I'm barely gripping on as it is, yes. Eventually we're all going away. Skynet, man.

I thought I was looking forward to a career, maybe a 30-something years the next 30 years. We're screwed. Take it a day at a time. All right. I got to go back to school. Got to get out of here. Good luck with that.

The School of Media and Communications. I got to go try something else. Maybe I'll become a doctor.

Dr. Gelb has a nice ring to it. Yeah, just give that a shot. Yeah. I can't focus.

Too many years of school there. I'll just be a doctor. Oh, okay. Steady hands, right? I could do some surgery. Nice and simple. I could do a nice little incision on someone's leg and bring it back and make sure that everything's okay. Good for you. I'll bring the seaweed with you and see how it works out. That'll be your snack.

I'll patch up your leg with some seaweed that we were snacking on earlier. Apparently. Why not? Yeah. If you ever see me as a doctor, I would run.

I would be like, I don't think my insurance is going to get accepted with Dr. Gelb. Well, come on back. We'll do a little news brief update. Some of the biggest stories in the world of sports with some audio. When you need to know what's happening, it's time to get in the huddle. The big question is Desmond Ritter. The problem that I think a lot of fans are having and looking at Desmond Ritter is they just haven't seen enough. They want to trust him. They want to believe. But I will tell you this, Jason, in the training camp sessions that I had a chance to go check out.

The one thing that bothered me was his aggressiveness to throw the football when he needed to. Listen and subscribe to In the Huddle, available on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. The venue set. Families coming in from all over.

It's their quinceanera. With all the excitement, it may be easy to overlook COVID-19. It's still a risk. And that's why it's important to get this season's COVID-19 shot ahead of time. It helps protect against COVID-19, which can cause severe illness and hospitalization. So let's set the date, vaccinate and celebrate. Check eligibility and schedule this season's COVID-19 shot on the CDC site vaccines.gov. Sponsored by Pfizer and BioNTech.

The United States Postal Service. We'll start things off with Coach Prime Deion Sanders. He says Chador Sanders doesn't want to be QB 2 in the upcoming NFL draft behind Caleb Williams is courtesy of Bleacher Report. Chador don't want to be 2 to nobody.

He don't get down like that. So, you know, people projecting him behind, you know, Caleb Williams and Caleb Williams is phenomenal. But Chador ain't no backseat rider. He ain't, you know, he drives his Maybach. He don't have a drive in.

He drives it. I think it's tough when everyone has said that Caleb Williams is the guy and you talk about him in the way that we've talked about other transcendent talents for anyone else to usurp him in the draft. But I would say to Coach Prime, if Chador doesn't want to be number 2, then go be better than him this year. You're playing the same conference as him. So go prove that you're better.

And I don't know, I think that would be kind of weak, Hickey, if Chador says, I'm not better than Caleb Williams and Caleb Williams get to go first. That's why I'm not going to go to the NFL and then make it easier next year. If you play again at a high level and then be the number one overall pick. Deion is truly, I think, maybe the greatest motivator in history. He is now basically almost goading his son in a way to come back to Colorado next year when he has millions on the table in the NFL draft. And almost, not even guilty of like putting it in a way where it's like, oh, you look bad if you go out and you're a QB, too. Could you imagine going out in the draft and having another guy take him before you?

Couldn't be me. And now Chador is going to come back even a hunger next year, anything better next year, ready to go and delay the NFL draft entry. Coach Prime's calling actually shouldn't be a football coach. He should be the next president of the United States.

I'm being serious. With the candidates that we have for this upcoming election, I'm all in for Coach Prime being the next president of the USA. I'd vote. I'd vote for him. He has my vote.

Who else is he going to vote for right now? Let's go. Fire me up, Prime. Get me ready. America, I'm coming. I'm coming. Rest of the world, I'm coming. We coming.

And I'm bringing my own Louis. Here's Boomer Esiason, who's, I think, going into the Ring of Honor this weekend in Cincinnati. Bengals Hall of Fame, which, whatever they came up with a few years ago. So congratulations to our quarterback, Boomer Esiason, saying most analysts of the NFL today thought the Jets should sign Carson Wentz on Boomer and Gio. Most guys thought that Carson Wentz would be the answer because you wouldn't have to give up anything. And I know that Carson Wentz has a perception about him. But, you know, Frank Wright did not want to cut Carson Wentz in Indianapolis. He didn't. The owner did, because the owner overreacted the two losses at the end of the season. Carson Wentz sucks.

Now, it would cost you nothing. There's no harm there. But Carson Wentz hasn't been good in the NFL for, what, three or four years now? And also, I know Boomer and Frank Reich are very close.

They were college roommates together at Maryland. But I don't think that's a good look for Frank Reich if he wanted to keep Carson Wentz after Carson Wentz basically screwed him over in Indianapolis. Let me get your cold propaganda comment on this. Carson Wentz is a loser. I'd rather give up a first-round pick right now for Kirk Cousins than sign Carson Wentz for free.

I'd rather give up for Kirk Cousins than have Carson Wentz pay me to play quarterback for the team. I remember when you were saying, oh, the Colts robbed Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia Eagles. Remember that?

Yeah, I remember the Week 18 game against the clowns in the stands, and he looked like the clown on the field. Yeah, I remember that. I tried to warn you.

I tried to warn you. Do you remember that? You should remember that.

Don't recall. Tom Brady has asked if he could play for the Jets this season on the Let's Go podcast. So, Tom, we know you're on a lot of Jets for Delta in your leadership role. Jim Gray sucks. The question everybody has been wondering is, have the Jets called, and are you considering the Jets? Next question.

Asked an answer? You already know. I love being with you guys on Mondays, and I love what we got going. That is so contrived, and Jim Gray is so corny. Get in the Delta plug, and then also, it's like, the only reason Jim Gray's on that podcast is because Tom Brady wants him on that podcast. I don't think that's the journalistic integrity of Jim Gray asking that question. Brady knows the question's coming, you would think, right?

Yes, he's not being surprised by it. And Brady also knows that he's above the Jets, clearly, and he would never play for the Jets, so I kind of like it by Tom, but you should just say that instead of next question. I interpret that as Brady's like, I'm not dealing with this, I'm not saying anything about this, but we all know Brady will never play for the Jets, so just go out there and say it.

Never say never? No, he will never. He just said last weekend that he'll forever be a Patriot. He is not playing for the Jets. I know that you have problems accepting who your quarterback is because your quarterback embraces more of Denver than Indianapolis. There's a better chance that Tom Brady plays in the XFL or arena football than Tom Brady ever playing for the Jets. And did you hear who would not want Tom Brady playing on the Jets? Did you see this clip today?

No, I did not. Who doesn't want him on the Jets? CBS Sports Update anchor Peter Schwartz said the pain that Tom Brady has caused if he would not accept Tom Brady on the Jets. He can't be serious.

He was dead serious, let me tell you. All-time loser take. All-time loser take from Peter Schwartz. I am with... Loser! Big-time loser.

That is pathetic. Justin Fields on why he's playing robotically. You know, could be, you know, coaching. I don't know.

I don't think. But at the end of the day, they're doing their job when they're giving me what to look at and stuff like that. But at the end of the day, I can't be thinking about that when the game comes.

I prepare myself throughout the week and then when the game comes, it's time to play free at that point. So thinking less and playing more. That's the bus backing up on the coaching staff even though Justin Fields took no accountability. Here's Justin Fields quickly clarifying his comments.

When you take my quote out of context, when we just say that, if you take the picture on the inside out, like, y'all are trying to split us up at the ceiling. I'm not blaming anything on the coaches. I'm never going to blame anything on the coaches. Never going to blame anything on my teammates. I will take every, whatever happens in the game, I will take all the blame. Never will you hear anything come out of my mouth to where I will blame it on somebody else. In this organization, my teammates, never will you hear that.

So, I just want to clear that up and just know that, like, I need to play better. That's it. Point blank. That's what I should have said in the first place.

That's a bunch of bull junk. You messed up. You blamed the coaching staff. You took no accountability.

And then you just try to blame the media and then try to take accountability. The Bears are a mess. We didn't even talk about whatever's going on with the defensive coordinator. Zach Gilb shows CBS Sports Radio. It's a Take 5 Wednesday, Top 5 teams college football in the NFL. Next!