Bears Failing Fields? (Hour 2)

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One-year upgrade requires financing, qualifying, device and upgrading in good condition after six months with half paid off. Alrighty, how we doing? It is the Zach Gelb show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. We have not talked about this story yet this week, but it looks like Mel Tucker is on his way out at Michigan State. He's suspended right now. If you're not caught up to speed on this story, USA Today had a big tell-all story about allegations of sexual harassment to a prominent rape survivor and activist Brenda Tracy committed by allegedly the, I guess still for now, head football coach who suspended at Michigan State in Mel Tucker. Now, to be fair, when you read the allegations, it's sickening, it's disgusting, but Mel Tucker did give a statement and responded to the USA Today story and he said that the allegations are completely false and the proceedings against him are devoid of any semblance of fairness.

I have been ripped from the team that I love without any meaningful opportunity to tell my side of the story. Other than this press release, Tucker's statement said, I ask everyone to consider carefully undisputed facts outlined in reserve judgment until the full truth comes out. So I don't know what the full truth is that Mel Tucker is claiming, but all we know right now are the allegations of sexual harassment and there's been multiple details of sexual harassment in this story by USA Today.

So we'll leave it at that right there. I don't think Mel Tucker is going to coach another game at Michigan State. I don't think this is going to end well for Mel Tucker and it's kind of crazy that this is the ending for Mel Tucker at Michigan State. You know, Mel Tucker had that one year at Colorado where he had success and he had that one big win early on the season.

I remember having him, I forget who it was up against, but I remember having him on the show and then in the middle of the night. And this is what happens when you're at a smaller school, you get a big time offer and you leave the university, even if you said that you weren't going to leave the university. And the first year for Mel Tucker, right, it was that COVID year was two at five at Michigan State.

You're not going to hold it against him. But then he had that monster season where he beats Michigan. That was the big Kenneth Walker game in twenty twenty one. And that was a team that was eleven and two. And after that one year, the contract went up in a big way.

I think it was like one hundred million dollars or something like that. It was a big time contract extension that Mel Tucker got at Michigan State. And ever since then, it's one thing on the field if you're an embarrassment and you're disappointment with this team being five and seven. But then, you know, that was what the record was last year. I know they start the year off two and oh, but you look at these allegations, it's a totally different scenario where who cares about the wins and losses anymore? Now you are embarrassing and disgracing the university, which we know that they've had their own fair share of problems going back to Larry Nassar's situation, which has been well documented and talked about publicly.

And it's one of the most sickening things that you're ever going to read. So at this rate, I don't see how Mel Tucker survives this. I don't know what evidence he's going to be able to provide, but I guess there are two sides to every story. And his word is right now that he did nothing wrong and the facts are going to eventually come out. So if you're going to say that, you better be proven right. I have a tough time believing that he's going to be proven right here.

And Hickey, I don't see how there's any way I would be stunned. I know that they've suspended him for now. People say, why don't you fire him out? Right. I would imagine that's because of the legal lingo of the contract.

You have to figure out how to do this so you don't have to end up owing him money and it's firing with cause. And there's probably a lot more litigious things that let's be real. You go into Penn State, myself going to Temple and none of us studying law.

We don't have the intelligence to really break down. But that's what I would have to imagine with how much money is on the line here. Legally, I would imagine that the first course of action is suspension and then inevitably he'll be fired as the head football coach at Michigan State.

100%. There's a hearing scheduled for the first week in October for Michigan State where they're going to lay out the evidence and lay out Mel Tucker's side of the story, Brendan Tracy's side of the story. And like I said, this suspension without pay, formality now, the hearing is going to happen, the firing is going to happen in a few weeks and Michigan State will be looking for a new head football coach for 2024. And I know there's serious layers here when we're talking about a rape survivor and an activist in Brendan Tracy and also what Mel Tucker is being accused of here. And we could talk about this at length and it would be a conversation that, you know, we could talk about the side of it from Brendan Tracy and then what is being said by Mel Tucker.

But to just get the sport side of it and the football side of it and I don't want to be, you know, I don't want to just feel as if we're brushing over here what is being accused here and what the allegations are. But to bring this into a football conversation of what is next for Michigan State since we're both in agreement that Mel Tucker's not going to be back as the head coach. I know the university recently hasn't had a lot of success in terms of wins and losses on the football field, but this is a job that pays well, right? When you look at Mel Tucker, what was it, nine or ten million dollars a year? So they're not afraid to ante up and pony up and give a big time contract. And I'm going to assume that and maybe this is, you know, I assume and I make an asset of you and me here, but I'm going to imagine that Michigan State's going to have to basically pay Mel Tucker nothing. So you're still going to have those resources and those dollars allocated to maybe go get a big time football coach and overpay someone where if you had to fire Mel Tucker and you didn't have cause. If it was just, let's say, because of wins and losses, you would have to pay most of his salary off. So now we're still having a lot of that money available, even if this team hasn't had a ton of success on the football field. Really, ever since Mark Dantonio left the program and towards the end of that tenure, right, they had the back to back seven win seasons. But this is a job that's in the Big Ten, which is going to be one of those super conferences with the SEC and the Big Ten. And you have a program hickey that pays a lot of money.

This is going to be a job that a lot of people are going to be interested in. And I know when you look at the Big Ten, the big schools right now are Michigan, they're Ohio State. They are Penn State as well. You could throw Wisconsin into that mix. You got USC coming in. You got Oregon coming in as well and a bunch of other schools joining as well. But the way that I look at this right now is this is still a job that there's a lot of work to do, but it is an attractive job if I was a coach because of not only what it pays, but also you still have somewhat of a big brand in a conference that is perceived to be one of these super conferences that are building. When you look at Michigan State, three Big Ten teams made the college role playoff.

Michigan, Ohio State, and Michigan State. Like they've had, I know it's been, like you said, 11-2, but really outside of that one year in 2021 with Mel Tucker, it's not been great, let's say, the last five, six, seven years, but there's a lot of recent history there, a lot of good historical success. I would say really easily a top 25, top 20 job in the country, especially now with, like you said, the $77 million that Mel Tucker's owed probably not going to get paid a dime of. So Michigan State saving money there that can spend on a big time coach, they can spend, good conference, now it's going to get greater with the additions of Oregon, Washington, USC, UCLA.

Big time job. So when we do like this for college basketball coaches, there's usually a bunch of mid-majors that have impressed in the NCAA tournament, and you know the coach that is ready for that next step. I think it's a little bit more difficult to do in college football, because you could be in a quote unquote big conference, in a Power Five conference, but not be at a school that is a big time job necessarily. So I'm going through this right now, and I've identified like 10 to 15 candidates, and some of these coaches, most of these coaches are at schools right now, there's one coach on the list, or maybe two or three coaches on the list, that don't have a job right now inside college football. But one of my first phone calls actually here, Hickey, would be to Kalen DeBoer, who I know is at Washington, and Washington's leaving the Pac-12, they're going to the Big Ten, but you look at a school like Kalen DeBoer at Washington, and he was at Fresno before where he did a really good job too, and Washington's been a good football program, we all know that, and they've been looking for their coach since Chris Peterson did leave, and now it looks like they have it in Kalen DeBoer, but with Michael Penix leaving after this year, you would get a bump in pay going to Michigan State, and you're going to the conference anyway, I think Kalen DeBoer is definitely one of the names at the top of the list that they need to call. And you look historically, Michigan State's never for the most part had an explosive offense, that's exactly what Washington has been in the two years he's been there, and two, you get a nice up close and personal look this weekend as he comes to your house, Michael Penix Jr. hangs a 50 spot on you, which he probably will.

Yeah, that's a good point. Almost kind of drives home the point more, let's get this guy on our team before we face him every year, like I said, when they come to the Big Ten next year. Alright, here's another name that was a hot name, he was banking that he was going to get the Wisconsin job, didn't get the Wisconsin job because a bigger name emerged in Luke Fickel, and now he's a senior football analyst at Illinois, so you know he's going to have a bigger job next year, the question just is, will he be a head coach, and that is former NFL safety, former Wisconsin Badger safety in Jim Leonard. Where do you think the stock of Jim Leonard is at right now, and I think a lot of people say that it's a little bit down because he didn't get the Wisconsin job, but I think he put all his eggs in that Wisconsin basket, and many people assumed he was going to get the job, but a lot of people didn't think it was going to be Luke Fickel leaving Cincinnati for Wisconsin, when that happens, I can't really say, oh that was a bad move by Wisconsin because Luke Fickel took Cincinnati to the college football playoff. I would still say down, just from the perspective of, I know it's tough in season, I think Paul Chris is fired after like four or five games, so I understand you're not like coming in with your guys and your system, and once the season starts you have a week to kind of get everything implemented, but it's not like that team was truly galvanized, I feel like they really rallied around him, I get like you said, it's a big name Luke Fickel coming in, so it's not like he was pushed to the side for Joe Smith, and they went and hired a no name guy.

On the list, a little bit maybe on the B side of the list right now, if we're talking about A and B candidates. My next candidate, I think this is a guy that could be moving into the Brent Venables category, where he's a guy that you go, eventually he'll leave for a head coaching job, but he's going to be very selective, and he doesn't have to leave until it's the right situation. I know he doesn't have as big of a title as Brent Venables had at Clemson, so be understanding of that, it's not a direct apples to apples comparison, but what about Brian Hartline over at Ohio State, where he's been the coach at wide receiver U, they pump out wide receivers each and every year, and I feel as if that's a name hickey that we all would have thought he would have got a head coaching job right now, but there's a reason, you're in a very good situation at Ohio State, you don't need to go take a job to go take a job, but if Michigan State comes calling you, stay in the Big Ten, they're going to pay you a king's ransom, that would be a job that I would definitely consider. If I'm Michigan State, I don't see why you would not call Brian Hartline. And like you said, wide receiver U, Marvin Harrison Jr., Chris Oliva, we can go down the list of receivers, he himself has recruited and gotten there, this guy is the wide receiver whisperer. Now it's a little ambiguous, but it is believed he's calling plays this year for Ohio State, he's promoted to offensive coordinator on Ryan Days, I mean still involved obviously, but I think from the play to play aspect, it is Brian Hartline calling the shots, so maybe you want to see how he does this year, but from just a recruiting standpoint and his talent acquisition ability alone, put him on the list and give him an interview without a doubt. And from 2018 to 2021, the title was wide receivers coach, last year passing game coordinator and wide receiver coach, and as Hickey mentioned this year, we all know the mind of Ryan Day being an offensive minded coach, but the title is offensive coordinator wide receiver coach for Brian Hartline, and he's only 36 too.

And that kind of has a little Marcus Freeman vibe as well. Is he really only 36? 36 right now. He's been in the NFL for forever. He was in the NFL from 2009 to 2015, he was born on November 22, 1986. 2009, that's one of those, kind of like one of those guys in college where it's like they've been there only four years and you feel like it's been a lifetime. 09 to 20, you said six, 15? It's like six or seven, wow. Marcus Freeman's only 37. It kind of gives a little Marcus Freeman vibes. You are right about that.

You are right where it's just like wow, they look great, incredible. Next name. What about Deion Sanders, coach prime? If this continues to go this year where it's a monster year, you know eventually he's going to get a bigger job and leave Colorado. I'm not saying that's going to happen this year.

I think he will stay at Colorado for two years. But if you're Michigan State with what you've seen in two games with coach prime, you at least got to place that phone call. Oh, absolutely.

Phone's got to be called. Now, if he picks up, different story? I wouldn't say yes if I was him. I think Deion Sanders is eventually destined for the SEC. I said that last year, that if I was Auburn, I would have hired Deion Sanders.

Deion Sanders, he gives me SEC vibes. And maybe because Travis Hunter's going to be there another year, I know you don't want to hitch your wagon to one player, but because of how close the relationship is with them, maybe he stays for two seasons at Colorado. But you do have Shadore Sanders who's going to be leaving after this year, you would think, unless if he wants to come back for one more season. But he's going to be a top 15, he's going to be a first-round draft pick. Here's the other thing to think about. Shiloh Sanders, he's a senior this year, so it's not as if his other son is going to be staying there as well.

So I don't think he'll say yes, Hickey, but you definitely got to place the phone call. And with the transfer rules, too, I mean, if you're Michigan State, you're hiring Deion Sanders knowing Travis Hunter's not coming, Shadore Sanders, if he goes pro or stays, is not going. Well, yes and no. Who knows? I know that with the Tess Walker situation, you would think that you would be right, but the NCAA, it's almost as if they wake up whatever move they're in, that's what sets the tone with these rules. It's not etched in stone, let's just say.

Common sense they do not follow. So you're right, Travis Hunter, Shadore Sanders, Shiloh Sanders making it next year, just a hell of it. Bring them all to East Lansing. So remember when I said earlier you could be at a job that's in a big conference, but it's not considered a big-time job? This is one of those coaches. Mark Stoops may be the most underrated coach in college football. He is phenomenal what he's done at Kentucky.

Think about it this way. He was able to take a shot at the basketball program last year and go toe-to-toe with Cal when he was annoyed where Coach Calipari said that this is a basketball school. Kentucky basketball is what we're talking about. And all it was is, you know, he said they're a basketball school. Everyone knows Kentucky is a basketball school.

They're blue blood. But for Mark Stoops, that's a guy that seems like he's happy at Kentucky and people know what he's done for the football program, but I wouldn't say Kentucky, even though it's in the SEC, is ever going to go win a national championship. Now, I'm not saying that's going to be the case at Michigan State, but I would say that Michigan State is a bigger job being the head coach at Michigan State football than Kentucky football would be. Oh, definitely.

Resources are better. Like I said, the priority of football, 1A, right? Because basketball is still obviously big at Michigan State, but it's like 1-1A compared to Kentucky where it's 1-2. All right, next name here. Chris Kleiman over at Kansas State, a coach that won a conference championship last year, and no one talked about them winning that conference championship with Kansas State.

That's another guy. I know they're in the Big 12, and I know they have a bunch of schools joining, but the resources at Michigan State and the contract, if he wants that job, I think it would be tough for Kansas State to keep him. I'm with you, and if you're Michigan State, Kalen DeBoer and Chris Kleiman both in the same realm of they win anywhere they go.

Sure, a lot of their success was at smaller schools, but now you're starting to see it at Washington and Kansas respectively, they flat out win. What about Chris Peterson? I don't know if he's going to join. He was at Washington. We know how great of a football coach he was, and Boise State too, but you've got to place the phone call. I just don't know if he's ever going to coach again.

Fair question. You talk about trying to repay your image. Mark Dantonio resigned under bad circumstances.

Absolutely. Looks like Mel Tucker about to get fired for bad circumstances. Chris Peterson has been one of the model coaches of doing things the right way.

Do you truly want to flip your image in a positive? Like I said, he may not answer the call. He may not want to coach again and like doing TV and relaxing in his new life. If he's interested in coaching, that would be a tremendous hire. I know stress is always a concern, and some coaches maybe walk away when you think they have more years left. He's only 58, though.

Those batteries got to be recharged by now, and I'm sure there has to be some itch right there that he probably wants to scratch and get back into it. And been out a few years, so it's not like it's still raw where he just left last year, and it's, oh, I'm still enjoying life. He's been out since 2019. He got out at a good time, right before COVID hit.

That was a smart time for Chris Peterson to get out. Makes you wonder, does he know something we don't? What are the lottery numbers, Chris?

Let me know. Patton Arduzi. I like Patton Arduzi. Big rah-rah guy.

Always makes a big headline for football matters. He's at Pitt. He's done a very good job at Pitt. And Patton Arduzi's another guy. You'd rather be in the ACC with the uncertainty of the ACC or the Big Ten if Michigan State offers you that job, but I'm Patton Arduzi.

I'm taking that in a second. I just don't know if they're going to be calling. That's the thing. If you're Michigan State, I'm not going to say, no, he was your defensive coordinator and there for a while.

So it's like you're going back within the family. I think right now they can do a little bit better. And that's the other thing. Dantonio's kind of role in this search, too, because that could play a role in it as well. And he was there from 2007 to 2014. You may say what ties are still there, but if Dantonio's going to have a role, maybe, if they're going to use him to try to maybe figure out who the next head coach is, maybe that's what leads them to Patton Arduzi. What about Paul Chris? Where do you stand on that one? He's not a bad coach.

No. It's not a splashy, sexy hire, but if you're looking for a solid football coach, he is a solid football coach. I guess the thing that it's hard for us to see right now from where we sit is how do coaches view that job? Is it a toxic job right now and they want someone else to come in, level it out, and then from there you kind of take it? Can I tell you how coaches view that?

Sure. Job's going to pay a whole lot of money. That's how coaches view it. That's what's going to make it an attractive job. I guess you're right.

You're probably right. I got three more names. And if you get fired, you're living well. Yeah, I got three more names here. What about Mike Elko at Duke? It's a good defense of mine to coach, someone that waited a long time to become a head coach. I would be shocked if Mike Elko is getting into many controversies.

Maybe there's something that I don't know, has been around the block for a long time, big schools, Notre Dame, Texas A&M recently. I could see Mike Elko kind of Big Ten style play defense, figure it out on offense. Mike Elko could be a solid hire there for Michigan State. I don't think it's a splash hire, but if you get him, I don't think it's the worst thing in the world. Still early, but it looks to be a little bit more of an upgrade, kind of the better version of right now Pat Narduzzi, similar style, but a little bit better offense and able to get a better quarterback there.

Finally, I'll give you two more names. Justin Wilcox? Cal needs a conference, right? He does need a conference. If I'm him and they come calling, I know, right, they maybe thought there was going to be a return to Oregon last year.

That was, or two years ago, that wasn't the case. And then here's the final one. This is a guy that's been to Oklahoma State forever. He's such a good coach. Mike Gundy. Is Mike Gundy ready to leave Oklahoma State? That's the name I told you before the show.

I have a big name that I think it would be interesting. Is that Mike Gundy? Yes. Oh, okay. Because like you said, he's been to Oklahoma State now for a while. You played that well because I was going through who it could be, and you finally said Mike Gundy, and you were like, yeah, that's fine.

I don't want to ruin the moment there. But, yes, that's a name where, like I said, he's been there for a while. He almost left for Tennessee when Tennessee was going through that chaotic head coaching search that ended up with Jeremy Pruitt a few years ago. And if you are now Mike Gundy, new challenge, Big Ten, bigger money, I think that's a name, a guy who's had a lot of success with less resources in the Big 12, I would absolutely give him a call. Do you see if Stoops is available? I know I brought up Mark, but I don't think he's going to coach again. Oh, you're saying Bob? Yeah.

Oh, interesting. I don't think he would coach again. If I had to give you three names that you think is realistic and that would be good hires, who are the three names here?

We just went through about 15 of them. Mike Gundy, I'll say Kalen DeBoer, and I'll go one that was not mentioned, Jonathan Smith. Now, he went to Oregon State, so it's his alma mater, so maybe he's just too strong there, but you talk about Oregon State right now, uncertain of their future, and that's a guy who's, again, kind of building and winning now, starting to win with a lot less than other schools. He's able to get D.J. Uyong'olole. He's recruited well quarterback-wise.

They're young, but still up and coming. It could be a nice name coming on in there. Do me a favor. Can you say D.J. Uyong'olole 10 times fast? Just try it. I think we've done this before.

Let me try. D.J. Uyong'olole, D.J. Uyong'olole, D.J. Uyong'olole, D.J. Uyong'olole, D.J. Uyong'olole, D.J. Uyong'olole, D.J. Uyong'olole, D.J. Uyong'olole, D.J. Uyong'olole, D.J. Uyong'olole. Man.

I'm going to drive myself insane. What tongue exercises do you do? That tongue's moving 1,000 miles per hour. I hope you can understand.

I mean, I honestly could not even hear what I was saying, so I hope it sounded articulate, because I was just rattling off, and it just sounded like white noise. That tongue moves quickly. I'll leave that there. Won't take the bait on that one. Lolly may be listening. Hickey's girlfriend.

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AutoZone's free battery testing and charging is available for free at your local AutoZone. Get in the zone AutoZone. Restrictions apply. I said this in the off-season where I just asked a simple question. Are we setting up Justin Fields to fail? Because each and every year there's this few players that the hype train is so extreme. And some of it was coming from Justin Fields, easily going to throw for 4,000 yards this year. Be the first bear quarterback to ever do that.

And others was coming from people in the national media like Dark Horse Chance to be the MVP. And after week one, you're going up against a Green Bay Packers team for the first time in a long time. They don't have Aaron Rodgers. And you look at this Packers team, there's no Christian Watson as well. You get Jordan Love, his first year as the starting quarterback of the Green Bay Packers. And the game wasn't even close.

Like this was 38 to 20. And this was an off-season where the Bears went out and they got DJ Moore to go catch passes from Justin Fields. And there was just so many positive vibes with the Bears. And I wasn't buying into the Bears. Like I said, if the Bears finished third in this division, that would be a good year for them. I did not expect the Bears to finish third in the division. And at best, I saw this team being like a six-win football team. And after week one, they were a team where, you know, even though I didn't have big expectations for them, it's a bad performance.

It's an embarrassing performance. Because if you lose the game to the Packers, and let's just say you lose by a field goal 27 to 24, okay, I could live with that. Because a lot of people thought, and I thought the Packers were better than the Bears going into the year, but they thought that they were close.

They thought that they were comparable. But you look at the way that this game played out, for this to be an 18-point game, I can't say that I'm totally shocked because Chicago, it's always expect the worst with the Bears. But in this case with Justin Fields, I don't think it's all on him. And I don't think this is still an ideal situation. But this is a year where he's talked a lot, where the Bear fan has talked a lot, many in the media have talked a lot.

You gotta show me some tangible moments, even if you don't love the roster, where you make me feel as if you're that guy. And when the game wasn't even close, and this is coming from someone that's talked very positively, and someone that has been a believer for the most part when he came out of college in Justin Fields. But I just got a weird vibe about this in the offseason because people were setting the bar all the way up here, and the Bears and Justin Fields aren't ready to have the bar be all the way up here.

And there's still going to be moments where they stumble if they're ever going to get to the top. And you know how quickly this moves in and moves out in the NFL, and Justin Fields is already on year three right now in the NFL season, and eventually you have big decisions to make with contracts and extensions along those lines. And there was conversations, right, when the Bears were picking right at the top of the draft of, do you take a quarterback? And last year, even though I like Bryce Young a lot, I didn't get to move off of Justin Fields, but if the Bears are picking towards the top again, it's going to be a totally different conversation this year with all the draft capital that they do have coming over from the Carolina Panthers, but their own pick as well. When you take a glance at Chicago right now, if they're in position to go get a Caleb Williams or a Shadore Sanders or a Drake May, and this is a conversation you have for the second year in a row, it may be different, and it probably will be different if you don't have a few moments this year where you say, okay, that's the Justin Fields, we're throwing and running the football, I could really believe in, Hickey. I think one of the worst-case scenarios for the Bears this year is still not truly knowing, and the reason why, like, if Justin Fields is any good or not, because, I mean, honestly, my biggest takeaway from Week 1 in that game was the O-line still stinks.

It does. Like, Fields did not have a chance in a large part of the game. We had David Hall on from the score, and he said the line's improved. And I go, okay, you say it's improved. I go, is it improved to be a good offensive line, though?

And he goes, that's the million-dollar question. And when I heard that answer, my heart sunk, and my heart goes, yeah, the Bears are not the way that the Bears are getting talked about nationally in the offseason. And, too, you look at, I mean, preseason, right, I think we've learned after Week 1, do not take a lot of stock in the preseason with how the Steelers played.

That's why I don't watch it. And with how the Bears played, but Justin Fields, I think it was the only preseason game, I forget who it was against, threw three passes, all behind the line of scrimmage, two and four touchdowns, and everyone's like, oh, my God, this offense is going to be tremendous. Look how good it is. And you actually see it come in game. Well, now he has to throw the pass behind the line of scrimmage because they can't block for him. They can't give him three seconds to look down the field. And if it's that all year round or all year long and you still don't know, they're probably, you're probably right, they're going to move off of him. But then it's like you bring a new quarterback, but he doesn't have any time to throw the ball, so you're kind of spinning your wheels on the same thing over and over and over again. He got drafted to a bad situation. But when you bring in D.J.

Moore, you've got to start to show me some signs of, as the kids would say, being him. And if he can't have some of those moments this year of being him, it means he's not him for Chicago. And if you put yourself in that position, oh, you could go get a Drake May. Oh, you could go get a Caleb Williams or a Shadore Sanders. It's like, who's the new flavor of the month? And that's the way that it works at the quarterback position.

And, you know, I look at my team and the Patriots. Mac Jones, I don't think he's great. I think he could be good. But imagine if Mac Jones had D.J.

Moore. That's what I've been bitching and complaining about. Get a number one wide receiver. And Justin Fields now has that. And it's not like the Patriots' offensive line is great. And running back's OK. Sure, they have Ramondre Stevenson, who's a solid running back in this league. And you got Belichick, but Belichick screwed Mac Jones last year because you put Matt Patricia and Joe Judge around him. So you could be like, as you say, the Sam Darnold all the time. Sam Darnold was in a bad situation with the Jets. But then when people would try to justify why the Jets should still believe in Sam Darnold and keep him, I would go, what makes you think he's ever going to get to that level? What are the five plays that you could tell me when you go, oh, Sam Darnold has the ability?

Like, I'm not excusing the fact that the organization is crappy. But if you're a franchise quarterback, you could still show me moments. Like, look at Trevor Lawrence. I know that's a different case because Trevor Lawrence is a generational quarterback. Trevor Lawrence got Urban Meyer, who was a catastrophe in the NFL.

He was a disaster. And there were still a few moments where Trevor Lawrence on a team that was the number one overall pick, you could at least say, OK, I could see the signs if he gets the right coaching and if they improve the environment. And they did that. And look, the year later, they're in the second round of the playoffs. And now if Justin Fields is going to work in Chicago, I'm not asking for 15 moments. I'm asking for five moments this year. We could rise up above all this crap and he could say, OK, this is my team.

This is my organization. And if he doesn't do that, they'll be drafted a quarterback next year in the first round early. No, he two targets of D.J. Moore's on him, but also does not help when you have Chase Claypool basically dogging it for an entire game. You're playing with one less receiver. You basically play with 10 guys on the field.

Not ideal for offensive success. You know what? We all have bad opinions. And a lot of times I like to highlight on this show the bad opinions of hot take.

He gives me so many potential opportunities to do that. I have to now highlight one of my own bad opinions because this this offseason, you asked me right around the NFL draft. Would you rather have the second round pick or would you rather have Chase Claypool, the one that the Steelers ended up getting, which I think ended up being. Wasn't that the first pick in the second round? They eventually I think they traded was Joey Porter Junior's in the second, however, JPJ. But at the time, that was the first pick in the second round, right? Yes, it was the Bears. And I said, yeah, I'd rather have Chase Claypool.

Wrong. And this is surprising because I got on Chase Claypool a lot with how he conducted himself after that loss to the Browns. He was like, oh, the Chiefs will get him.

It will excuse us. Blah, blah, blah. So there were signs where I didn't like Chase Claypool, but he was so good in year one.

It's like, OK, can you get back to that spot? Clearly wasn't happy in Pittsburgh. But if you can't be happy in Pittsburgh, you're not going to be happy in many places.

That's like a gold standard organization in the NFL. So I will raise my hand and I'm a man of fairness here. I'm a man of checks and balances on the Zach Gelb show. If I'm going to go after Hickey over and over and over again for his dumb, idiotic, stupid opinions that usually end up always being wrong and hexing football teams and jinxing them. I was dead wrong on Chase Claypool because Chase Claypool isn't a dog. He's dog in the NFL. He's dog in the season.

So I was wrong on that one, Hickey. And now in the doghouse may get benched for week two. Yeah, he's brutal.

Absolutely brutal. 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. Well, well, well, shopping for a car? Yep. Carvana made financing a car as smooth as can be.

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Visit Carvana.com or download the app to get pre-qualified today. Zach Gelb's show, CBS Sports Radio. Let's get into the game tonight. Week two kicks off the Philadelphia Eagles going up against the Minnesota Vikings at Lincoln Financial Field, which for the most part has been a house of horrors for the Minnesota Vikings. So, Hickey, I think if people listened to the show yesterday, they would think that I'm picking the Eagles tonight, I'm picking the Eagles big, and sometimes you say something one day and then you wake up with a different feeling. I still believe the Eagles are going to win the game, but I think Minnesota is alive in this game tonight, where yesterday I felt as if the Eagles probably wouldn't buy 10 points or more. I think this is going to be 27-24, right down to the end of the game. Jake Elliott maybe makes a big field goal at the end for the Philadelphia Eagles. I'm still going to pick the Eagles tonight, but I do like the Minnesota Vikings to cover. So, I'll go 27-24, but plus the six points with the Minnesota Vikings. I hope I'm wrong and I hope you are right because you are predicting a good game. I'm with the Masters, though.

I think the Eagles win, Eagles win big. Two reasons. Number one, I mean, look, it's obvious, Kirk, prime time, right?

I get it. It happened last year in week two as well. That game was a blowout. That was not close whatsoever.

What do you have? Three picks, I think, off the top of my head, but at least two in the end zone that were really bad, Kirk did last year in Philly. But also, two, what I'm nervous about from a Vikings perspective is the Eagles offense did not play well last week whatsoever. They were sloppy. They almost gave the game away to where you fumble late in the game. It was very weird.

Nick Ciorani is going for it on fourth day out of midfield and it made no sense. They were so sloppy. I think now more than ever, even on a short week, they'll be focused on the details.

They're really kind of coming out, trying to make a point. I think they came out sharp and I think they went big. So, two things from that game last year. Who do you think was the leading rusher for the Minnesota Vikings in that game?

You were right. He threw three interceptions. He was 27 to 46, 221 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions. Who was the leading rusher for the Minnesota Vikings last year up against the Philadelphia Eagles in that 24 to 7 loss? If you're asking me that, it's going to not be Dalvin Cook. I'm going to say not Alexander Madison.

I'll go Mike Boone. No, he didn't even get a carry in the game. Oh, okay. That went on a limb. Kirk Cousins.

He's probably running for his life. Two carries for 20 yards. Ten yards carry.

It's pretty good. Jalen Rager was one carry for 17 yards, Dalvin Cook six for 17 and Alexander Madison two for eight. I'm going to go on a limb here. Alexander Madison is going to have more than eight yards rushing tonight. And he's going to have more than two carries. Yes.

Lock it up. Take the over. The other thing from that game, Minnesota's defense, I know new defensive coordinator Brian Flores. They weren't embarrassing up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in terms of a point-allowment production. But with that being said, Baker Mayfield said he knew all the signs of the Minnesota Vikings defense at halftime. We all know Jalen Hurts is a much better quarterback than Baker Mayfield. Last year, Jalen Hurts in that game was 26-31.

For 333 passing yards, had a touchdown and a pick and also had two rushing touchdowns, 11 carries for 57 yards. This Minnesota defense tonight is really going to determine how close of a game it's going to be. Because the Eagles last week offensively were not good. And you gave Belichick the whole offseason to prepare for them. But you look at the Eagles, you got Devontae Smith, you got A.J.

Brown. You got the best offense, arguably the best offensive line in football. You look at Dallas Goddard, who didn't even have a catch last week, plus 210, plus 215. I already hammered it for tonight. We are getting, I'm speaking it into existence, hopefully.

Knock on wood, knock on wood, knock on wood if you're with me. Dallas Goddard is getting a touchdown tonight. Look at that, I was not expecting to make a John Gruden analogy here or a John Gruden reference on the show. But that stat line last year, Hickey, for Jalen Hurts was enormous. And we'll see how improved this Vikings defense is.

Last week, not a great first impression, wasn't horrible. But they got to start to show their way that they could be a top 20 defense this year. Because that's all I'm asking them to be is a top 20 defense where last year they were 31st. Because this offense should still be able to score a bunch of points. And honestly for tonight, forget about the point total, forget about the yardage total. Just do not have Jalen Hurts and co picking up your signs. Do not have them pointing to the linebacker and say, he's dropping here and this guy's blitzing there. And they're in cover three like Baker was doing.

And then just really dissecting you. If we can at least get these signs changed and disguised in a short week, I think that's a win even if they get blown out again. In a short week, how much are you really changing?

That game ended on Sunday. You have Monday, Tuesday, you travel Wednesday to Philadelphia. What are you really able to change? I don't know how easy it is to change the signs. But if you're talking about getting an entire defense caught up to speed in what I would say probably two days, if that. Because if whatever the signs were and you realize that was an issue after the game on Sunday, you got to figure out what the new signs are on Monday.

You can't just teach everything to the team on Tuesday and what's studied on the flight on Wednesday? I guess the only thing is if you're Jalen Hurts, you have to give Baker a call, right? I don't know if Baker's going to give up the information. Oklahoma connection?

So you think, right? You give him a ring and say, hey, what signals did you pick up? What are you seeing here? I mean, change two signals. Baker, did you really have their signs or was it a bunch of bull junk? That's what's happening when Jalen Hurts gives them a call.

I mean, hey, I mean, second half, they move the ball better. So you think maybe they picked up and knew what they were doing? Well, also going back to Rashad White. Rashad White was the player that said that too. Something so obscure about getting someone's signs. I don't even think you could, like sometimes people say things, you go, how true is that? I don't think you could just make that up. Oh, we had their signs.

That's why we figured out. It wasn't as if it was a moment of sarcasm. He was being dead serious.

And what makes me even believe that they really did have their signs, not just Rashad White saying it, but the. I don't want to call it arrogance, but the Baker bravado that did occur when Baker Mayfield afterwards was saying, what do you say? I'm a Texas Rangers fan.

I'm not a Houston Astros fan. When he ended up saying that and and taking a little jab at the Houston Astros. So that kind of even doubled down with Baker basically admitting it with not admitting it, but by the response, practically admitting it. And that response to it makes you seem like, hey, it was above board, right? We're not videotaping no Spygate here. Two point oh, it was all organic. Please. There's a Spygate reference.

Everyone in the in the camera. But you're still caught up on that because you're a loser. Colt fan.

No, I don't know. It's like a loser. Like a big fat loser. That would be the comparison to what Baker Mayfield was talking about. I don't think he's referencing the Astros.

If he himself was stealing signs like we've seen other teams and had coaches do in the NFL before. It's all I'll say. I'll beat her on the bush. How about you worry about your own football team and Jonathan?

I am worried they get an ankle injury. Get him on the field because he hates your owner right now because he won't pay him. All right. Worry about busy enough. Don't go at other people's messes when you can't even control the mess that's in your own home right now. You're going to cheat next time. Don't have the video guy in the Patriots shirt videoing the Bengal sideline again. Make it more discreet.

When are you going to stop talking about this? You can't even describe what the infraction was on Spygate if I gave you five guesses. You couldn't even you couldn't even tell me the truth what they actually got nabbed for. Cheating.

That's all I need to know. Wasn't the actual recording was where they were recording. They were recording in an unpermitted zone. They're like 15 yards over.

It would have been fine. Follow the rules, Bill. 15 yards, 15 yards. Hickey and Rob Parker. Can't tell the difference between the two of them. It is the Zach Gelb show. CBS Sports Radio. This QB or that QB. Next!