Week 1 NFL Predictions (Hour 4)

Fall is just around the corner and home is the center of it all. At Ashley, seasonal decorating's a breeze with their range of designs and materials. Snuggle up on a family-friendly sectional or an ultra-modern sofa. Or gather outside and enjoy the crisp, cool air with a new fire pit or conversation set. From minor refreshes to total overhauls, Ashley has the essentials to make your home fall functional and fabulous.

Shop in store or visit Ashley.com today. At 24 monthly bill credits plus tax for well-qualified customers. Contact us before canceling account to continue bill credits or credit stop and balance on a required finance agreement due.

One-year upgrade requires financing, qualifying, device and upgrading in good condition after six months with half paid off. How we doing? Zach Gelb's show on a football Friday right here at CBS Sports Radio. We got some NFL picks coming up 20-25 minutes from now. Hopefully give you some winners against the spread. But now we do this segment every football Friday right at 9 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. Pacific. We give you one thought each on every game for this weekend in the NFL.

We start off at the Carolina Panthers at the Atlanta Falcons. My first thought is I want to see what Desmond Ritter is. We got to see him for a small sample size at the end of the year last year.

This Atlanta Falcons team that they have talent, a lot of talent, the skill position, spots, running back and wide receivers as well. I look at Desmond Ritter. I think he's an unknown where this team is my pick to win the division. We know what Desmond Ritter did at college at Cincinnati, getting them to a college football playoff. When you look at Desmond Ritter, I still believe more people believe that he's not a franchise quarterback or he's not a really good starting quarterback in this league.

We haven't really been able to evaluate him, but when you get drafted in the third round, it's not as if people say, oh, yeah, you're going to be a stud. So I want to see what Desmond Ritter could do, and it starts up against a team that, yes, has a good defense, but they are a team that's bringing in a new coach. They're a team that offensively does not scare you a lot outside of Bryce Young. I look at the state of the Falcons.

The Falcons are in a better state right now than the Carolina Panthers, and I just want to see and I'm excited to see how Desmond Ritter responds in Game 1. We won't get an answer for this in one game, but I am curious to see, is Bryce Young's size actually a problem? That's the only flaw people kept saying about him coming out of the draft. I don't think so.

I don't believe so. And I don't think the Panthers' record will determine that, but I'm interested to see now, finally being in his first game, look, Adam Thielen's banged up. I don't think they're going to win the game in Atlanta, but can he at least function in NFL offense and not have his size be the limiting factor that a lot of other people think it is? So Frank Reich did not win one first half last year. When he was the coach of your Colts, they were outscored 118-42 in the first half of games. Can you give me a prediction of what the first half score is going to be at the end of the first 30 minutes of play? I'll say 6-3 Falcons. I think the Carolina defense will hold strong. 6-3 Falcons, wow. 6-3 Falcons, yeah. That is an ugly game.

I bet the underhic is saying. Cincinnati at Cleveland. Give me some audio here. This is Jamar Chase almost calling the Cleveland Browns, Here we go, Brownies.

Here we go. The elves. It's like a regular game to me.

It don't feel no different. I mean, it's just the hooping and hollering about the Cleveland Browns. I'm about to call them the elves, but yeah. Are you tired of all the talk about Cleveland and how tough it's been for this team? I don't really hear it. If you ask me, I don't really pay attention to it because it's Cleveland, it's Cleveland.

I look forward to the matchup that we have when we're facing them, but other than that, I don't really be caring. Do you think the elf logo is silly? It's funny.

It's just different, I guess. Miles Garrett then responded saying Jamar Chase was out of line calling the Browns the elves. I didn't have to go there. The elves probably wasn't there. He knew better. We might have to have a discussion before after the game.

Maybe during if I see him, but the elves are a little bit too far. I want to see the physicality. Now, it's one thing to try to catch Jamar Chase, but we know how physical this Browns defense could be. They have a good second.

They have a good defense. I want to see the physicality in a great AFC North matchup between Jamar Chase and the Cleveland Browns and what happens after the game. Because of the Bengals win, Jamar Chase is going to be a great quote. If the Bengals lose, you know the Browns are going to run their mouths, as they should. I can always see what Deshaun Watson looks like.

I think last year, again, Rust, new system, trying to figure it out, trying to do too much. Now we will truly see here in week one against a good defense in the Bengals what Deshaun Watson actually will be as a Browns quarterback. I'm really excited to find out. Jaguars at the Colts. I want to see what Anthony Richardson is. You have no Jonathan Taylor. He hates the Colts right now because they're not giving him a contract extension.

He's on Pup with this Fugazi injury and he's out for the first four weeks of the season. We'll see when he ever returns. Anthony Richardson is going to be this entire offense. He's either going to be running the ball or he's going to be passing the ball. He is going to be, what, 98% of this offense for the Indianapolis Colts. I just want to see what he is because Anthony Richardson has been labeled that guy as the potential guy of this draft.

Potential means you haven't done it yet and he's going to be starting right away and he's earned the respect of the teammates already. I'm just curious to see how many oh my goodness gracious moments Anthony Richardson delivers. I am fascinated to see what Calvin Ridley is like. Very good receiver. It's been a year and a half since he's played. Only rave reviews coming out of Jaguars camp. Now you got a really good quarterback too with Trevor Lawrence to make it even better. If he is as good as advertised, it's going to be a dangerous offense man. Tampa Bay at Minnesota.

What is the immediate impact of Brian Flores? This is a team last year that they won 13 games. Their offense was awesome. But their defense was the 31st ranked defense in the NFL. If they could just get to a top 20 defense this year, the Vikings will win a whole lot of games once again in 2023. I want to see what the immediate impact is of new defensive coordinator Brian Flores.

Come on, you know at this point. I got to see my guy Baker is full offseason. Mike Evans, Chris Godwin. Who's not happy by the way Mike Evans because he's not giving a deal.

That's fine. He'll be on the field week one still playing hard. Let's see if my Baker belief is going to come true right away. And just a reminder, if the Buccaneers do not win the division, Hickey's going to have to go Baker porno mustache. That's what we're going to see. The creepy mustache. That's right.

All right. Next game. Tennessee at New Orleans. I want to see how dominant DeAndre Hopkins can look. Because I think the conversation in the off season about DeAndre Hopkins was perplexing to me. Where I was surprised how many people are starting to doubt DeAndre Hopkins. DeAndre Hopkins came back from the six game PD suspension.

I thought he looked awesome with really like not great quarterback play. I believe DeAndre Hopkins still number one wide receiver in football. And I believe that offense.

Not that I love. I don't love the quarterback. But it could be a lot of fun when you have the physicality of Derek Henry running the football. And then what DeAndre Hopkins brings to a team. I want to see DeAndre Hopkins go off this weekend. I want to see the Saints overall.

Are they worth the hype? I feel like that's been the default pick for the most part. I know kind of the tide has changed a little bit now as we get closer to the season. But for the most part, been the default pick to win the NFC South. I know it's not a division game, but I honestly I don't have a great read on the Saints and Parks. I think they've been banged up the last two years. I'm interested to see what this team truly is going to be looking like.

Forty-niners at the Steelers. I want to see what type of game Najee Harris has. Najee Harris, his first two years in the league, you know, his personality is great. He's had two 1,000-yard rushing seasons, 1,200 in his first year, then 1,034 in his second year.

But I don't know how many people really believe that he's a great player. There's a lot of buzz that I've heard the last two weeks about Jalen Warren, the running back for them, out of Oklahoma State who's in his second season. Against a really good defense in San Francisco, I want to see if Najee Harris could shut some people up. Because I do like Najee Harris, and I wish him nothing but the best. I want to see which quarterback is legit. Like, obviously, Brad Prudy played really well in year number one.

Is that just a fluke, or can he show you this is actually who he is now going into year number two? And also on the flip side, Kenny Pickett's got a lot of hype this offseason. There's a lot of people feeling now starting to slowly believe in the Steelers. They looked really good in the preseason, but again, it's the preseason. Like, this is a great test here, week number one at home, it gets a really good 49ers defense. If you are as good as people are hyping you up to being, even if you don't win the game, you'll still play well. I want to see if that Kenny Pickett hype is actually truly legit or not.

You know why he's got a lot of hype this year? Why's that? You haven't followed the way that this works by now? You've been very critical of Kenny Pickett. I think people are starting to phage us. Where they go, oh, Hickey believes that Kenny Pickett sucks, so now all of a sudden, every pundit in America is like, let's just follow the odds here. If Hickey says it, probably the opposite is going to happen. Well, maybe I'll put the 49ers in my picks then.

Lock them up. Arizona at the commanders. Sam Howell, that's the thought. Ron Rivera has done a horrible job in picking the quarterback. Some people said it was Dan Snyder.

Regardless, it's been all over the place. You're going to build the team and then pick the quarterback, then you build the team, and then it's like, oh, we're still building. Now Sam Howell is going to be the guy. I didn't even know who Sam Howell was as a quarterback until he started the last game of the year, and it's like, oh, all of a sudden after going back to Wentz and then seeing Wentz crap the bed against the Browns, and then it's okay, you put Howell in and he was great against the Cowboys, and all of a sudden it's okay, that's your guy? Sam Howell at one point was thought to be a number one overall pick.

People forget that. Then went back to UNC, did not have both the running backs, both his leading wide receivers there, and then he fell to the fourth or fifth round. I'm curious, in a situation that's a good situation, like you have enough talent there, what Sam Howell is up against an inferior football team, and the Arizona Cardinals, they absolutely stink.

But, yes they do. They're not going to win a lot of games. So I'm interested to see what Jonathan Gannon is like as a head coach. Is he aggressive? A creep. Does he have good control of the game?

A pain in the ass. Is he running around the sideline like a chicken with his head cut off and not knowing what to do and being totally overwhelmed? He talks a good game, the athletic wrote an article this week, a profile kind of making it seem like he has a good grasp of what he's doing. A massage piece is what you're saying right there? A real sense, potentially. I mean, hey look, you're talking to the guy so he's not going to talk bad about himself or throw doubts out there, but I'm interested to see even what's going to be a bad year, what he looks like as a head coach. Actually, I fumbled this.

You know what my number one thought is? I'm going to change it. Those Commander fans had to suffer through through Daniel Snyder. They have new ownership. It's a home game. There's actually a reason now to go to that dump of a stadium and actually have pride in your football team and belief in your football team. I believe that that scene when they mention Josh Harris or just the scene before the game, I think is going to be very special for a great fan base that has lost its way because the old owner tortured them for so many years. Next one, Texans at the Ravens. Assuming Odell Beckham plays, I want to see what Odell Beckham looks like because it's been a while since we've seen Odell. The last time Odell Beckham was on the field, he scored a touchdown in the Super Bowl. I don't think Odell's the number one receiver anymore in the league, but I'm really curious to see how Odell Beckham and also Zay Flowers, who's drafted by the Ravens in the first round, perform coming up on Sunday. On a similar note, I can now wait to see what this Ravens offense looks like. They revamped it in the offseason, brought in Todd Monken, more of a pass first offense, which is counter to what the Ravens have done now for a while with Lamar Jackson. Lamar talking throne for 6,000 yards.

Right. How does he fit in? How does he look? Is there continuity with the receivers? I got a lot of questions and I'm excited to see if we get at least some answers on Sunday. I think I know how we're going on this Packers and Bears breakdown, so I'll let you go first here and I'll take whichever one you do not select here. I'll take Justin Fields. Can he back up the hype? Can he actually come in now with DJ Moore as a legit number one wide receiver and not just run for a million yards as he did last year? Can you pass to win games?

That's what you got to do as a quarterback. That's what I'm watching. This could be an enormous game for Jordan Love. No Christian Watson. We don't know how healthy Romeo Dobbs is. Yes, you still have AJ Dillon and Aaron Jones.

You probably should bet anytime touchdowns with those two running backs. But for Jordan Love, this is now finally your team. And after all this nonsense with Rodgers in Green Bay, we start to be able to evaluate and judge Jordan Love.

Like any of the other times he got in the game, you couldn't really evaluate him. Now, as long as he stays healthy, you get to evaluate him over the entirety of a season. Josh McDaniels going back to Denver to go up against the Denver Broncos.

Raiders and Broncos. It's Russell Wilson. And what is the immediate impact of Sean Payton on Russell Wilson with an offense that the offensive line is questionable.

The wide receivers are not great wide receivers. Does Russ start to look like he's a really good quarterback once again, or is it the crap that we saw last year with Russ? On the note of going back to Denver, I am very excited to see how the Denver Broncos fans welcome Josh McDaniels back in a very strong, long, successful stint he had as head coach.

I'm very excited to hear the big Denver cheer that McDaniels will get when he walks on the field. It's 2010. Do you think they forget? I'm sorry.

Do you think they moved on? I wouldn't. If you're going to that game and you're like, oh, I got to boo Josh McDaniels. You should obviously boo Josh McDaniels, you're a Broncos fan.

But if you're really getting giddy about that still, man, loser. Eagles at the Patriots. I want to see what this Patriots offense looks like. You have Bill O'Brien. You finally have an offensive coordinator. Small golf clap there, but you didn't get a number one receiver this offseason. And you have the GOAT who's at the U.S. Open right now, as my mom just texted me.

Hi, mom. You have the GOAT and Tom Brady after I guess he goes to U.S. Open, making his way to Foxboro to get honored. If the Patriots aren't competitive in this game, a lot of people are going to say, imagine if they got rid of Belichick and kept Tom Brady and maybe Tom Brady's still playing. So I want to see what this Patriot offense looks like when they did half of what I wanted them to do this offseason. Get the legit offensive coordinator, but still not get the number one wide receiver. Big game for Mac Jones against a great defense. Speaking of which, I'm excited to see this great Eagles defense. New defensive coordinator, no C.J. Gardner-Johnson, you lose Javon Hargrave in the offseason as well. And now you plug and play with Jalen Carter.

You're going to get Jordan Davis now, more reps in year number two. They got a lot of fun, exciting young players on that defense. They should kind of hit the ground running week one. I'm excited to kind of see them fly. I'm also excited to see Nolan Smith.

I know more people talk about Jalen Carter, but Nolan Smith looks like an absolute stud. And you have Sean Desai, that new defensive coordinator who, where did he go to college? You want to take a guess? Since you're bringing it up, I'm going to assume Temple. Three places. He went to three colleges? I have no idea.

You want to take a guess? Temple. Temple is one of them.

Okay. I got no clue on the other two. He went to Army.

I don't know. Columbia. Columbia. And Boston University.

Geez, quite the background there. And then from 2006 to 2010 was a defensive and special teams coach for the Temple Owls. Next game, Miami at the Chargers. Ooh, this is a good one because there's so many just great skill position players. I'm actually going to go defense here. This Chargers defense was really decimated with injuries. Now you get a good test right out of the gate with Tua, Tyree Kill. And you also have Jalen Waddle. But there's a weakness on Miami this week. No tour on Armstead. I want to see if this Chargers defense could get after Tua this week and a lot of those guys that were injured last year make a big impact this season.

On the flip side, I want to see if Miami's defense can get some stops. The big off-season acquisition was who? Jalen Ramsey. Unfortunately, he's out now for... I mean, we think months. They say weeks.

He's a fast healer. We'll see. But he's out for at least seemingly a good amount of time.

Well, it's expected to... You do not expect to return until December. Right. But you had Mike McDaniel saying he's an alien.

He recovers so fast. Yeah, but... There was some hype.

It's going to be December. Right. But I'm saying it's going to be a good amount of time, even if he does return faster than normal. But either way, again, your big start position, the secondary is no longer there. That's a questionable area, too, because you think they're going to put a lot of points again. He stops.

Watching the Dolphins defense here. Do you think Brandon Staley goes vape pen like Mike McDaniel did in that playoff game up against the Bills? No, he can't afford to. Cannot afford to be under the influence. Could actually help him out because some people would assume maybe he's already hitting the vape pen with some of these bad decisions that he makes. Man's aggressive. Maybe that will soothe him out.

Maybe he'll putt more if he's hitting the vape pen compared to not. Rams at Seahawks, Geno Smith. Last year, right? Everyone wrote him off.

He didn't write back. I want to see if he can continue to write this excellent comeback story with the team that is loaded with offensive weapons. Rams, offensive line. They are getting trashed. They are getting dragged through the mud. They are just getting... Yeah, they suck. Totally, I think unfairly.

Oh, shut up, they suck. Talked about this is an opportunity to protect Matthew Stafford and at least to stand up for yourself and show you his more injuries last year than poor play. Who's he throwing the ball to? Matthew Stafford?

Even if you have the protection? Oh, that's 2-2 Outwell. The 150 pound wide receiver. Van Jefferson too? Van Jefferson. Solid. Solid 2-3.

Okay. Van Skeronic, I think. A Notre Dame and Northwestern legend. The Colts could use Van Jefferson. Cowboys at the Giants. I don't know if Darren Wall is going to play, late addition to the injury report. Saquon back with the Giants. I want to see if Daniel Jones could start to be the star of this offense because Saquon Barkley is not going to be there for the long term. But when you look at Daniel Jones, took a nice step last year. But can this guy be a franchise quarterback?

I know he's getting paid like one, but there's a difference in getting paid like one and actually being one. It was a positive review for Jones last year. Now can he show that he could be a franchise quarterback? Mike McCarthy's play calling. Big thing this offseason. Kellen Moore is no longer there. And anyone you talk to in Dallas says that's more of a good thing than a bad thing.

Let's see it actually in person now. And I actually agree. I think Kellen Moore, he got gifted a great situation with the Chargers, but I thought he was an overrated offensive coordinator. Jets in the Bills. Aaron Rodgers. Do I need to say anything more?

Nope, I do not. Go ahead. Bills chemistry between Safon Diggs and the offense is actually truly fixed. Big stage, big opponent, big game. We'll see right away. It is that Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio coming on back with NFL picks Bart Winkler, Ryan Hickey and yours truly. Well, I will try to give you some winners.

We'll see what happens and then you'll be able to judge us after all the games on Sunday and Monday. Facts are facts. Like how contributing to employees financial security makes them want to work harder for their company. In fact, according to a 2023 study by principal, 87% of employers say that better employee financial security means employees are more engaged and productive at work. The fact of the matter is that employees want to feel financially secure in their future.

So consider this. Principal helps you invest in your employees by providing customized benefits and retirement plans to help keep your employees more engaged and productive. When you take care of your team, they take care of business. That's a fact. Learn how principal can help you find the right benefits and retirement plan for your team at principal.com slash benefits products and services offered by member companies of the principal financial group, Des Moines, Iowa.

For important information, visit principal.com slash disclosures. Imagine you're looking at a balancing scale with everything you do for other people on one side and everything you do for yourself on the other side. If it isn't balanced, maybe it's time to spend a little more time on you. And therapy is a great place to start. BetterHelp connects you with a licensed therapist online who can help you find that balance and stick to it. Visit betterhelp.com slash positive to get 10% off your first month.

That's betterhelp.com slash positive. I'm here to tell you about Pom Pom at Home, where comfort meets elegance. Pom Pom at Home is offering 20% off site wide for a limited time. See why so many of the top designers use Pom Pom's luxury easy care bedding.

They have created a timeless, beautiful, coastal living look that incorporates subtle tones and natural fibers offering a unique touch. Create your dream bed now. Get 20% off sheets, duvets, throws, and more right now at pompomethome.com. Easy to use, easy to love luxury bedding.

Just enter code pompom at checkout. The venue's set. Family's coming in from all over.

It's your quinceanera. With all the excitement, it may be easy to overlook COVID-19. It's still a risk, and that's why it's muy importante 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. You're listening to the Zach Gelb Show. Time for some NFL picks right here on the Zach Gelb Show. I believe we're going to bring on a guest picker each and every week. I'll give my picks with whoever the guest picker is, and then we will get Hot Take Hickey's picks. And there's a lot on the line between Hot Take Hickey and yours truly. Hot Take Hickey refuses to try Escargot. So if he loses picks, he will be eating Escargot when we're at the Super Bowl this year in Las Vegas.

If I lose, I will have to eat this scorpion lollipop that Hickey got me when he did make his bachelor party trip for a friend of his out to the desert in Arizona. But Hickey, as Coach Prime would say, give me my theme music. And let's bring on a man that fills in on this show a bunch.

You can hear him on the weekends right here on CBS Sports Radio. A dear, dear, dear, dear, dear friend. The great Bart Winkler. Bart, how are you? Good. I'm prepping.

I got the 12 to 5 Eastern shift tomorrow on many of these fine stations. So I'm going to do these picks with you, get a great night of sleep, and then pretty much just do live play-by-play of Colorado, Nebraska tomorrow. And remember, you got to say, I can't do play-by-play, I'm not doing play-by-play. But here's what's going on with the game. Yeah, I know. I got all the tricks back. You're a veteran, obviously. I don't need to tell you anything.

You know everything. Who do you like in that game, by the way? I know this is not part of the picks, but do you like Nebraska or do you like Colorado?

I don't know why anybody would like Colorado. First of all, if it was anybody else, like I get the argument for, oh, you know, being the contrarian and too much hype after one game. But Nebraska sucks, Nebraska is like the worst one-score team in college football in the last five years. They blow leads constantly. They found a new way to lose against Minnesota.

Maybe if it was any other legitimate team. But I'm taking the Buffalo's, I'm riding with Deion till the very end. Do you have a cowboy hat, just wondering? Because Deion's been rocking that cowboy hat a lot. I got the cowboy hat.

I'm going to buy a Coach Prime shirt, for sure. Love it. Love it. I love it, guy. One more thing I'll ask you, then we'll get to your picks. And by the way, just so everyone knows, we make three picks each. One has to be an underdog, so we try to challenge everyone on this show.

And usually it comes back to bite us in the you-know-what, because we're not that good at picking games. Have you ever tried Escargot, just wondering, because Hickey is so scared to even try it. No, I haven't. I'm not even totally sure what it is, but I will try anything once. Yeah. It's snail basically covered in oil and butter, it actually tastes delicious. That actually sounds very good, yeah. You're not very convincing with that, but I've had meals before with Bart Winkler. If it's a lot of oil and butter, then at some point you're not eating snail, you're just eating oil and butter. Exactly.

I don't get why Hickey is so afraid of this. Alrighty, I'll let you go first, since you're the guest. Give me your first pick here against the spread. I like the Vikings as a five-point favorite at home against Tampa Bay. I think there's an argument to be made for Tampa Bay coming in there and maybe being like the team that everybody's dissing.

I know you had Ryan Horvath on earlier, the great prognosticator himself, he said there could be a case to make for Tampa Bay being this year's Seahawks, where the veteran quarterback knows that no one believes in some good weapons. But I think that Minnesota at home is going to get a convincing win, this NFC North is totally up for grabs, and I think the Vikings are going to match what Detroit did, get that opening week win, and I think there's going to be a lot of excitement in Minnesota. It will all be false hope, because they won't be that good this season, but they will get the week one win, so I like the Vikings over Tampa by the five.

So Bart takes the Vikings, laying the five points. I'm going to actually pick against my team this week. I don't think the Patriots have really much of a shot against the Eagles, maybe they could play a good first half leading into the buzz of the Brady halftime ceremony, but the Eagles are just the more talented team, the Eagles have a ton of skilled position players and they have the better quarterback. Eagles minus four, maybe that's Vegas just respecting Bill Belichick, but I believe the Eagles are the second or third best team in football. Give me the Eagles minus four points. Okay, you know I hate to do this because it's the biggest number of the week, and that's scary in week one, but I love everything about Baltimore this season, I love when Lamar Jackson says I'm going to throw for 6,000 yards, I believe him, and I think he's like undervaluing himself.

I have drafted this guy in every league I could, fantasy wise, I will ride or die with him in all the dailies. I think that Baltimore at home riding that incredible preseason streak, that got taken away from them, they need a new start, it's a first year coach, a first time quarterback coming in there with Houston, I like Baltimore to cover the massive double digit number. So Bart goes with the Ravens laying the ten points. My next pick, I'm taking the Jaguars, and I'm taking the Jaguars laying the four and a half points. The Colts on offense got like nothing.

I know Anthony Richardson could be good, but there's no Jonathan Taylor, Michael Pittman has proven that he's not a number one wide receiver in this league, and I was optimistic about him coming out of USC. I don't love Shane Steichen as a head coach, I just think he was a really good offense coordinator and sometimes guys have trouble adjusting and adapting to being the head honcho, but this Jaguars team, there's not many flaws. Offensively, they're loaded with Trevor Lawrence, with Calvin Ridley, with Christian Kirk, Travis Atn, you go out there and you draft the running back Tank Bigsby, there is a lot of names here for the Jaguars, and then defensively, if they're gonna be a great team this year, and not just be a team that wins that division and maybe wins a playoff game, they're going to need Trayvon Walker and then also Josh Allen to have monster seasons. I think the Jaguars are in position to be maybe the two seed in the AFC because that division's not that good and they'll win a lot of games this year, Peterson's a great coach, I like Jacksonville getting the season off to the right start with a blowout victory against the Colts. Give me the Jags, minus four and a half, and Hickey, what was the stat real quickly? The Colts haven't won an opening day game, is it since 2013 if memory serves me right there? That is correct, on the flip side, the Jaguars have won once in Lucas Oil Stadium since 2013.

Wow, look at you, conflicting streaks here at the at the precipice. Yeah, the Colts suck, so Jaguars minus four and a half, there's the analysis. Bart, all right, what's your underdog of the week? I'm pretty sure you could guess it.

Oh, I could guess it, ready, go, Pack, go! One and a half point underdog, they did rule Christian Watson out, their wide receiver, second year guy, but nobody was looking at this game and thinking Christian Watson was going to be the difference. I think the Packers defense is where we thought it was going to be a year ago, I think you got to remember they still have a great running game, I think Jordan Love is a capable, may I even say good, quarterback. Bears fans have been celebrating this victory for the entire summer, even though it hasn't happened yet, they think the king is dead. They thought the king was dead when Favre left, they thought the king is dead when Rogers left.

Look, Jordan Love, he may not be a Hall of Famer, he may not be a Pro Bowler, he may not be a top 20 quarterback, but one thing that is for sure is he will be a thorn in the Bears' side for however long he is the quarterback, because that is the destiny of each of these squads. Packers, go into Soldier Field, get the victory. I'm going to go with another team that not only will I plus them on the spread, but I think they win the game outright. Give me the Steelers at home against the 49ers, we do not know if Kittle is going to play, but I'm looking at this Steelers team this year, I think they could be good.

I know I didn't pick them to make the playoffs, but I think they're going to be a pain in the ass for a lot of teams with that defense, with Watt and Fitzpatrick and Hayward still even though he's getting up there in age, and offensively, I think that is going to be a dynamite connection this year between Kenny Pickett and George Pickens, and I do believe Najee Harris is better than what people give him credit for. I like the Steelers plus the 2.5, and they win the game outright. So I go Eagles minus 4, Jaguars minus 4.5, Steelers plus 2.5, Bart Winkler goes Vikings laying the 5, Ravens laying the 10, and then he takes the pack plus 1.5. 12-5 tomorrow, many of the same CBS Sports Radio affiliates, Bart, right? That is correct, and I want to tell you, if the Packers didn't play this weekend, I'm 100% with you with that Steelers pick, if it's mathematically possible, I think there is a chance every team in that division, the AFC North, could win double-digit games. That division is loaded, the Steelers are for real, the Browns, it's up to Deshaun, the Ravens are great, the Bengals are great, watch out for the AFC North. Real quickly, out of the three games you gave us, what's the game that you feel the most confident about? Probably the Ravens, I think they are going to destroy. Okay, and I will go with the Jaguars minus 4.5, we're going to build this up and do a little Zach Gelb show parlay after Hickey gives us his picks, but Bart, we appreciate it, thanks so much.

Thanks as always boys, you have a good one. There you go, Bart Winkler. All right, keep the music rolling Hickey, let's go with your picks. Pick number one. Monday night, the big one, Bills will remind everybody who still runs the AFC East, they go into MetLife, spoil Aaron Rodgers' debut, Bills do cover the 2.5 point spread and leave 1-0, they get the win. Now Marco Belletti is here, Marco I want you to analyze Hickey's picks here, Bills minus 2.5, would you also make that selection?

No. So Marco would go Jets plus 2.5, maybe could make this a little rivalry too. Hickey next pick. All right, I got it back on my guy, I've been all in on Sean Payton and the Broncos this year, taking on the worst head coach in the NFL, Josh McDaniels and the Raiders, you already have Chandler Jones out, one pass rusher, now not have to worry about if you're the Broncos, at home 3.5 point favorites, they start the Payton era off in a positive way, they win the game and cover the 3.5 points, they beat the Raiders, Marco, you got to be with me here. I concur.

You do? I think the Raiders are a hot mess. I think they're a disaster zone and I think this is actually a nice soft landing spot for Sean Payton and Russell Wilson, I don't know if this is going to work long term for the year, but for game one, I think it's a nice soft spot for them to be able to land against Josh McDaniels and who the hell knows what game plan he's putting together.

The hook scares me here. Yeah, you know what, the hook always scares me and not for nothing, we start this with the preface of week one is a pain in the ass, because we don't know who the hell is what, we don't know where we're going, we don't know who's playing who, it's a mess, you've got a lot of first year coordinators, head coaches, who's game planing for this specific, you have no idea what's going on with a lot of these teams in week one. And the research department reminds me that I went 0-3 last year in picks in week one. The worst, it's more difficult in my mind to say week one than it is to say, I'd rather have week 18 when you got guys playing backups, I have a better feel for that than I do walking into it with new coaches all over the place, new players all over the place, you're just not sure. Plus, no one's practiced, so this is not even pre-season, this is almost like week one is like a practice for everybody with pads, because no one practices with pads, no one does pre-season, it's really, no one does special teams at all.

Just the joint practices, that's it. I mean even the special teams, nobody practices that on a daily basis, a weekly basis anyway, so it's a mess right from the start. And Hickey, your underdog pick of the week? Joe Burrow is 1-4 against the Browns.

The Bengals are a better team in week 16, they are in week number one. Browns home dog with Deshaun Watson making his, we'll say true debut now, having a full off season, I'll take the Browns at home plus two. Now I usually say on this show, here we go, Brownies, here we go, hoo, hoo, you've been a big Cleveland Browns supporter, can I get that from hot take Hickey? Okay, here we go, now I get into character here.

Marco, he's not even drinking anything, I think Marco just threw up. I like the set up, I didn't expect the set up, I didn't expect the set up, good job, good job, I didn't expect the set up. I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it, I'm not just gonna say here we go, Browns. Well he had to take the glasses off, he had to do the whole big set, I like it, I like it, I like it.

I don't know why he needs the glasses to begin with, but get it, get it. The blue lights, I'm protecting my eyes. I'm gonna be like Peyton Manning and Lucas Oil Stadium, I'm just gonna have everyone hush, hush right now. Here we go, three, two, one, here we go, Brownies, here we go, hoo, hoo. Not gonna lie, without hearing it myself, I would say probably an 8.5 out of 10.

Like a 5.3, it wasn't as bad as I thought. Good beginning, your hoots need some work. See, I like that. You need to get a little thicker, you gotta get a little deeper. Now to be fair, when I was sick and I did that on Ion Football the first time, I did a here we go, Brownies, here we go, and then I felt my voice was about to crack because I was getting over a cold and I was like woof woof, and then DA and company made fun of me for the rest of the time, and it takes time to become a good woof woofer.

And I think I have perfected that with the hoo, hoo. So those are the picks, once again I go Eagles minus four, Steelers plus two and a half, Jaguars minus four and a half, Bart Winkler takes the Vikings minus five, Ravens minus ten, Packers plus one and a half, Ryan goes Bills minus two and a half, Broncos minus three and a half, and the Browns plus two, Marco, I think we'll incorporate maybe next week in these picks, is now going up against Hickey if you want to follow all this math. Marco likes the Jets plus the two and a half, he likes the Broncos minus three and a half, and then the Browns game, you'd like him plus two. Yeah, I'm in agreement at two out of three with Hickey, which is scary. Lock it up, folks, lock it up. You know what you are, Hickey, you are CBS Sports Radio's pinata, that's what you are. Everyone just takes swipes at you left and right, and I think I lead the charge there for being fair. Let's be fair, Hickey's pickies last year were a little disjointed, so I'm a little concerned. Why are you being disjointed? Eh, you had a really, really, really slow start. Oh, I sucked. Really.

Yeah, I'm not going to lie. I wouldn't say that's disjointed, I'd say that's just bad. I was terrible.

The fact that I'm concurring with you on two out of three, it makes me a little nervous, a little nervous. New year. I'm leading the blind here at CBS Sports Radio. New year, new pitch, Marco. I could have won the Super Bowl last year, it doesn't matter, new year, new slate. I'm aware of how it works, but again, I'm in agreement and that's scary, I'd rather be against you.

It is the Zach Gelb show on CBS. But I'm honest. No one will ever say Marco Belletti is a liar, I can guarantee that. We all know that you are a man of integrity and honesty, which is a ton of transparency. It's a good way to be old and a pain in the ass.

And a wise guy. Hi, I'm PJ Vogt, here to tell you about my new podcast, Search Engine. On Search Engine, we tackle the kinds of questions that keep you up at night, like why are drug dealers putting fentanyl in everything? Should we be worried that Elon Musk believes that we're living in a simulation?

And for the love of God, is it actually unsafe to drink the coffee on airplanes? On Search Engine, no question is too big and no question is too small. Listen and follow Search Engine with PJ Vogt and Odyssey Podcast, available now on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Selling your car to Carvana is as easy as? As easy as pie? Sure. All you have to do is enter your license plate or bin. As easy as a stroll in the park. Okay. Then just answer a few questions and you'll get a real offer in seconds. As easy as singing.

Why not? Get a Angela pickup or drop off and Carvana will pay you that amount right on the spot. As easy as playing guitar. Actually, I find that kind of difficult. But selling your car to Carvana is as easy as? Can be.

Visit Carvana.com or download the app to get an instant offer today. You're listening to the Zach Gelb Show. Zach Gelb Show CBS Sports Radio. Real quickly, got some big college football games this weekend as we've been talking about. Alabama and Texas. You also have Colorado and Nebraska. I think Colorado is going to win. I also think Alabama is going to win. I believe that Alabama game is going to be close.

But all eyes are on Jalen Milro. And what he's going to be able to do for the Crimson Tide going up against this Texas defense. And we know Texas' quarterback is Quinn Ewers. And a lot of people are talking up Texas going into this one. They're my pick to win the Big 12. But I feel as if a lot of the doubt about Alabama in this one means that Alabama is going to win the game. Even though the Crimson Tide is a 7 point favorite.

But here is former Alabama safety and current SEC network analyst Roman Harper who was on with us yesterday on his confidence in Jalen Milro. It's rising. I would say it's rising. That's the word I'll use to describe it in my best Will Bond. It's impressive.

Rising. And that's because starting off, we didn't know. We knew he was athletic. We knew he was an athletic guy that could try and play quarterback. But now he's trying to be the quarterback that is athletic. And last week he showed some really good throws on some good touch.

Some technique things can be cleaned up. But it's going to come down to, you know, I think allowing him to kind of get started in the run game early sometimes allows guys to get more in the rhythm throwing the football. So there you go. Those are Roman Harper's thoughts on Jalen Milro, the quarterback at Alabama. Let's get to the closing bell. Another day is in the books and we're taking stock of the sports world. It's time to find out who's up and who's down.

Let's end the day right and hit the closing bell. Only on the Zach Gelb show. With eBay Guaranteed Fit, you're the MVP because when you see that green check, you'll know that part fits your vehicle. eBayMotors.com, let's ride.

Eligible items only, exclusions apply. How about Lions quarterback Jared Goff? He came up huge for Detroit, throwing for 253 yards and one touchdown as the Lions beat the Chiefs 21 to 20.

Goff didn't turn the ball over and made some clutch third down throws to lead to the impressive road victory. Stock up to Jared Goff. I had to pause after let's ride because all I can think about is Broncos country.

Let's ride. Maybe Russell Wilson should do some endorsements for eBay. Alrighty, let's hear from Coach Prime.

This is his speech to his team today, right before the big game tomorrow against Nebraska. It's our house, man. Look around. Ain't nobody whooping us at the crib. I don't know what kind of man would let somebody come in his house and whoop him. I don't know where y'all come from, but where I come from, ain't nobody coming to your house. Ain't nobody coming to your street. Ain't nobody coming to your block. Ain't nobody coming to your crib.

It's gonna whoop you. Understood? You know why? It's personal. It's personal. It's personal. It's personal. It's personal. It's personal. It's personal. It's personal. It's personal. It's personal.

It's personal. I love that speech. I love everything about Coach Prime so far.

Give him a stock up. Kedarius Toney, all off season long, he was fighting with giant fans. I don't get why. You won a Super Bowl. You made some big plays in that Super Bowl, but then to open up the season where there's a lot of expectations for you, you dropped the ball over and over and over again. And you were the biggest reason why the Chiefs lost the game.

Stock down to Kedarius Toney. How about the referees last night? I like to usually bitch about the referees in week one or game one, but Juwan Taylor was offsides every play and then called until late in the game one time.

Terrible. Give a stock down to the referees. And finally, the NCAA. The NCAA never follows logic, and now they're deciding to enforce this rule up against Tez Walker why he can't play for UNC. It makes no sense. Everyone in America could say you should do something, and the NCAA does the opposite, and they're screwing over Tez Walker here, especially when you have eight-year seniors playing with COVID-year eligibility and guys that have been at multiple different schools.

It just makes no sense. I know what the transfer rules are, but in this case, this guy should be eligible to play. I don't like what the NCAA is doing to this young man. Give the NCAA the biggest frauds in America a stock down. And finally, who is more important to the Chiefs winning another Super Bowl this season?

That's the poll question. You can always find it at Zach Galbell on Twitter, also at CBS Sports Radio. Travis Kelce or Chris Jones, 87% go with Travis Kelce, 13% go with Chris Jones. Fun week of shows? I'll be on ION Football for eight hours Sunday on many of the same CBS Sports Radio affiliates take you around the league from 12 to 8 p.m. Eastern. I'll be hosting that in football season all throughout the regular season. Catch Hickey tonight from 2 to 6 a.m. Eastern on CBS Sports Radio. Have a great weekend. We'll talk to you Monday at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 Pacific. Be safe, everybody. Enjoy the football. We out.