Saint’s Aren’t Marching In (Hour 2)

Off and running our number two of our radio program, that's right, it is the Zach Gelb show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio.

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O-O-O-O-O-Reilly Auto Parts. So, huge game this weekend in college football between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Ohio State Buckeyes. And you have a Penn State team that we know that they're good, but everyone's wondering can they be great? And can this be a special season for Penn State? Because last year, this was a Penn State football team that they beat every team on their schedule outside of Michigan where they got slaughtered and outside of Ohio State. And bare minimum, with the talent that they have for this season and the way that people are looking at this program, they need to find a way, bare minimum, to split the Ohio State and the Michigan game.

When you look at those two games. And this is a weekend where we're going to see the first legitimate test for Penn State. Because even though Ohio State is perceived to be vulnerable this year, Ryan Day has not lost many games as the head coach of Ohio State. Kyle McCord, we're still wondering what he could be, but you still also have Marvin Harrison Jr. And this is a team, even after it got really bad for them last year, where they were undefeated and they lost to Michigan. And then everyone's saying, okay, it's a disappointing season for Ohio State. They had an opportunity to redeem themselves when they did go up against Georgia and they almost won that game.

They lost, but it was like, okay, ended up not being that bad of a season as we thought for the Ohio State Buckeyes. But for Penn State, if they lose both of these games to Ohio State and Michigan, you start to say, okay, you're paying James Franklin all this money. And James Franklin is a good coach, he's a tremendous recruiter, but is he just stuck on being good and having a program at times that looks like they could be elite?

And this is a huge game for him. Quite frankly, I think this is the biggest game of his tenure so far in Happy Valley at Penn State. And I say that knowing that he won a Big Ten Championship game, but that Big Ten Championship, I don't want to say it was empty. But in terms of other Big Ten Championships that have been won, just with the way that it drawed out that year in college football, they didn't even get to the college football playoffs.

So it's like, whippy you, whippy you, whippy iokaye, like whatever words you want to say, oh my God, unbelievable. Like we won a Big Ten Championship, but if you don't go to the college football playoff, what does that really mean? It's like when you win a Rose Bowl last year.

Yeah, the Rose Bowl used to be this tremendous event and it used to have so much meaning. But if the Rose Bowl is not in the college football playoff, which I believe it is this year, you won a bowl game. And you won a bowl game that has a lot of history and a lot of tradition. So that Big Ten Championship, it's not irrelevant because you still won a Big Ten Championship, you still should still be applauded for being the best team in the Big Ten and getting that trophy.

But if it doesn't result in a college football playoff appearance, it does feel empty. So now you have a team that has everything in front of them. You have a team that's undefeated, you have a quarterback that looks like a real deal, you have a good offensive line, and you have some playmakers on the defensive side of the ball and a lineman that's supposed to be a Top Ten pick in the NFL Draft going back to the offensive side of the ball. Now I need to see more explosive plays from Penn State, but this weekend there is so much pressure on James Franklin. Because this is a guy, as good of a coach as he appears to be, he's 3-15 at Penn State up against Top Ten teams. And if you get blown out this weekend, or if you lose this weekend, it's okay, you have another opportunity to make good on that and split, like I said, up against Michigan. But if you can't beat Ohio State, and if you can't win this game even though it's in the shoe at Ohio State, what would make you think, even though you're going to be home, that in a few weeks from now, in November, you're going to be able to find a way on November 11th to take down the Michigan Wolverines. I believe, not that it's by leaps and bounds, and not that it's like Michigan is a superior school and Ohio State is this inferior school, but what would make me believe that if Penn State can't beat Ohio State this weekend, that in a few weeks from now, they're going to be able to find a way to get the job done up against Michigan. So there is no coach in the country for this weekend that has more to prove than James Franklin, because James Franklin has done a nice job at Penn State, but when you're 3-15 up against teams inside the Top Ten, it's just not good enough. And you've got to be better, and you've got to find a way this year to prove that you could bare minimum split with Ohio State and then also Michigan, and I look at the way those two teams stand out to me, I think Michigan is a better team this year than Ohio State.

So if the Penn State fan goes down this weekend, it's going to be like up another year where they only get to two losses, but what did it really lead to? I believe we have Danny Connell right now on the line, excited to talk to the former college and pro quarterback, and he joins us today via our friends at BetOnline. And make sure you check them out for updated college football playoff conference, Heisman, and college football week 8 lines. Danny Connell, always great to have you on, appreciate the time, how you been? I'm great, I don't know if you can tell, this right here behind me, that is Ohio Stadium, I am in Columbus, very rainy, chilly, like it just actually rained significantly and then it just flew through, but I'm here doing some stuff with CBS Sports HQ as well.

Here for the game, cannot wait, there's already that electricity kind of pre-game vibes here on a Friday, but it's great to be here with you man. So I appreciate it, so all year long I've been saying Michigan's the best team in the Big Ten, then I put Penn State over Ohio State, but heading into this week, I kind of woke up and I go, I'm confident in Ohio State and I don't trust James Franklin to win a big game. Where's your confidence level at on Penn State maybe walking into the shoe this weekend and getting the job done? Well you must be a believer of history right, that it does have a tendency to repeat itself, James Franklin has not had success in games like this, whether it's road games versus top 25 teams, road games versus top 10 teams, or anywhere versus top 5 teams, he has not had much success historically. So I totally understand why you'd go back saying, you know what, Ohio State, they've kind of owned this game, James Franklin's won an eight straight up in these since he's been the head coach of the Nittany Lions, so yes. The other thing, both of these teams, I feel like I don't know too much about either one of them, like this will be a very revealing game for both of them, but I do feel like I've seen Ohio State tested more. They got on the road against South Bend, against Notre Dame, they did get the win, Kyle McCord needed that big drive late in the game, he completed that third and 19, that was a huge career defining moment for him and he completed that pass. Against Maryland, they were tied up in half, he had to come out through three touchdowns in the second half. So I feel like I know more about Ohio State, what they're going to do when they face some adversity, Penn State has been so good, they're blowing out their opponents, but they really haven't been tested in an environment like this.

And Drew Allard, first year starter, he's been solid, 20 total touchdowns, zero turnovers, but he hasn't been in an environment like this, so I don't know exactly what I'm going to get. This whole sign stealing scandal that's going on, your interpretation of it is what with the Michigan Wolverines? Doesn't it feel a lot like the baseball scandal?

I mean it really does because there's some similarities. For one, both sports have always been trying to steal signals, right? Stealing signals has always been a thing in college football, opposing coaches will try to do it on game day, they'll try to go watch the TV copy, even the broadcast copy of games to try to take notes. But then all of a sudden you cross this line that sort of, it is a rule, but it also is an unwritten rule, like you just don't send scouts out on the road and possibly with video cameras and try to take it to this level, and it feels like the Houston Astros. Always in baseball, we've always seen that sort of, you know, the game within the game.

If you're not cheating, you're not trying. If you have a runner on second, you're trying to see those signs from the catcher, but you don't use electronics, you don't use the broadcast during a game and bang on a trash can. It feels very similar where Michigan just took it to a level that you're not supposed to.

What is fascinating is we haven't seen this before. We haven't seen anybody gotten caught doing this before. So what does the NCAA do? Like what is the punishment for this?

How serious could it be? We truly don't know. And I'm sure you're aware of this, Zach, because the NCAA never moves quickly on anything. Does it impact anything this year?

I have no idea because we don't know. I mean, now I'm starting to see there's pictures out there of this analyst who is actually on the sidelines. They have pictures of opposing stadiums. But I really am curious to see what type of evidence comes forward and how significant a penalty could be for the Wolverines when I think they are the best team in college football. We're here at Ohio State. I do think Michigan is the best team in college football right now. You better be careful in the environment you're in when you say those things.

I don't need to see you get beat up on this show with nothing that I could do just being here with you on Zoom. So the Michigan thing to me, it's impossible to not just look at what happened this offseason with the recruiting violations and say, is this the NCAA making this a you-know-what swinging contest and trying to be petty here once again? Where the NCAA usually ignores a lot of things, and if this wasn't Harbaugh and this was another coach, maybe they would have just swept this under the rug and not made this that big of a deal. Your thoughts on that?

Initially, that was my hunch, too. Jim Harbaugh has been very combative with the NCAA, very critical. He's called him out. I think he thought the entire investigation was a joke. I have to go get a cheeseburger with a player, and I've got to worry about that. There were some other more serious allegations. Charlie Baker was quick to point that out, that it all wasn't over a cheeseburger.

But there is a contentious relationship, so it felt like, really? You want to try us? Well, we'll show you. Charlie Baker, the new president of the NCAA, he has an opportunity to really put his foot down so that we're not going to get pushed around. But the more that I've heard about this, I do think, again, another similarity with an NFL scandal, similar to Deflategate, when the Colts told on the Patriots, you're starting to hear other anonymous coaches within the Big Ten saying, enough already. This is kind of ridiculous.

This was such the secret that everybody knew was taking place. My hunch is that it was another team that turned in Michigan. Or, think about the turnover on staffs.

Maybe there's a former staffer who was disgruntled, maybe didn't get a raise, or left somewhere else, and now they're a competitor. There's a ton of movement in college football coaching circles, so my hunch is that somebody handed this to Silver Platter on the NCAA, and then you talk about that relationship, the NCAA's like, alright, yeah, this is great information, we'll go ahead and act on it. So it's probably a combination of both.

Do you think that person has a very dark beard, and maybe walking around the campus that you're on right now, and name could be Ryan Day, potentially? It absolutely could be. It wouldn't surprise me at all. I mean, the rivalry runs deeper than just a little friendly trash talk. I mean, it is super competitive on the recruiting trails. There's a lot of negative recruiting that takes place. There's always animosity between these two schools. It wouldn't surprise me at all. And I'm sure you saw the circulated video. I think Greg Ciano has now, you know, Rutgers has officially kind of said, no, that was about the officials in that game, but it was kind of odd.

He didn't, you know, why not call out the officials, as opposed to saying, there are some weird things going on. That, to me, says that might have been Greg Ciano calling out the signals, you know, the signal stealing controversy that's taken on. But, yeah, it wouldn't surprise me if it was Ryan Day one bit. How about Florida State this weekend? I know Duke may be getting their quarterback back.

That's still uncertain. We know Florida State has had a really good season, but Mike Elko's done a good job at Duke. How do you kind of think this game will play out, Danny Canell? I've been telling Florida State fans, don't get cocky, don't get confident, you know, overconfident in this matchup, because Duke is a really good football team, and they have to overcome the perception of being a basketball school. It's just a reality of the situation, and they haven't been very good historically. I mean, this is the first time they've traveled to Tallahassee ranked in the top 25 since 1994, when I was the quarterback.

That's how long ago that was. So it's, you know, and Mike Elko, and they're trying to overcome that. But if you go watch the film and you see what they did against Clemson, you see what they did against Notre Dame, they went toe to toe, athletically, physically, in every phase of the game with those programs. So I think Florida State will have their hands full. I am very kind of, you know, relieved that Riley Leonard, if he does play, I still think he'll be limited with what he can do. And he is an athletic quarterback, like running is his strength.

And if he's, even if he does play, which I don't think he does, but even if he does, he will not be 100%. And if he can't run the way he was able to against Clemson, where he took over the game, I think he has limitations. So I like Florida State to win in a lower scoring game because I think Mike Elko is a really good defensive mind. I think he'll be able to slow down Florida State's offense a little bit. Florida State has so many weapons, but I think he'll be able to provide some sort of a headache for Jordan Travis and company.

So now with the Brock Bowers injury, Danny Kanell, and he'll be out four to six weeks, who knows if he does return for Georgia with winning two national championships and already having his NFL future set up. People are now sort of back in on Alabama. They play Tennessee this weekend. Does Alabama run the table and they are live to make the college football playoff in your opinion? I don't think so, but I've been sort of down on Bama this year, not believing their national title contender. And you know, after Texas, it was feeling pretty good about it, but it's still Bama. They still have so much talent, but my biggest concern was at the quarterback position when we didn't know it. It's like, man, if they have three quarterbacks vying, they brought in, you know, Todd Buckner from Notre Dame.

It just felt like there was some issues there. Now, Jalen Milro has settled in as the starter, but they're only averaging 30.1 points per game. That's the low, the fewest points per game since 2008 for the Crimson Tide.

So they are not the same team offensively. I think they have enough to win. Tennessee is not the same offense they were last year. I think Bama will win this weekend, but I do like Tennessee with the points. But then keep an eye out for the LSU game because Jayden Daniels is playing it as good as anybody in the country, even with two losses. I think he's playing good enough to win the Heisman Trophy. So I think Alabama will slip up one time before the season's over.

So I don't think they make the playoffs or win the SEC. By the way, what's going on with you and coach prime? Cause I love Danny Cannell. I also love coach prime and I see the two of you just going back and forth with one another.

I feel like I am the child in a parent divorce here between the two of you. So I'm going to clear something up because I have a lot of people that are like, why do you hate coach prime or why do you hate Colorado? I did not like, this was I think right in the preseason or week one when Deion Sanders kind of distanced himself from Florida State and wouldn't acknowledge that he was a Florida State Seminole. And I called him out for that and he kind of responded. There were some things going on. He wasn't happy that he wasn't given the opportunity to be the head coach at Florida State.

And you know, it's no secret now. So I was unhappy with the way he handled it. But then we kind of put that to bed. Then I was, you know, I don't think I was over the top, but I just didn't think Colorado was worthy of some of the attention they were getting. And Deion Sanders Jr. came out and kind of slammed me on social media, calling me a derogatory term that rhymes with a garden tool that you use out in the garden.

I cannot, you know, I don't know what kind of language you can use on here, but we'll keep it clean. So he came after me. And here's my thing. So I go back to, I love to talk trash in locker rooms. And I always thought it was fun.

And I understand why they like to talk trash, too. But I'll give it back. So when they lose or when they beat a team that's one in five and they're out there celebrating the other team's face and Shidor is putting up his watch and doing the celebration.

I'm going to call it out. And when they lose to a team like Stanford, I'm going to give it back, just like they give it out when they're winning. And for whatever reason, and I think this is mostly Colorado bandwagon fans who don't really follow college football because I'll get into the SEC fans. I've gotten into it with Oklahoma fans. I've gotten into it with even my own families, Florida State. I like to go back and forth and talk a little smack. But for whatever reason, the Colorado families does not take it very lightly.

Like they take it very serious. So I posted the video of the Saturday Night Live skit, which I thought was hilarious. I didn't think it was derogatory towards Dion.

I thought it was funny, but they thought it was me slamming Dion just because I reposted the video. I think Dion has been great for college football. I think Shidor Sanders has done a phenomenal job.

I think Shiloh Sanders is an incredible defensive player. I don't have any problem with them. It's the bandwagon fans that have hopped on board and are so sensitive. They've got to get some thicker skin.

That's who my problem is with. Alrighty, before we let Danny Connell run, tell me what you're doing today with Bet online. Well, just out here pumping the games this weekend, man. They have so many fun lines that are out there. Heisman odds, championship odds, you know, regular game time odds.

But they also get into some of the specialty lines, too. It's always fun, man. So check it out.

Betonline.com for all the different action. He is Danny Connell. Danny Connell, you be careful on that Ohio State campus, alright? It's starting to rain. I don't know if you noticed, I moved under the umbrella here. It's starting to rain. I hope the weather clears up.

I think it's supposed to. It is a nasty, ugly Big Ten fall day right here in Columbus. Well, here's the big thing. Is someone holding your umbrella like Rodney Harrison two years ago on Sunday Night Football?

Is this by yourself? It's on a stand. So I have no personal umbrella holder. Look at that.

A very bougie Danny Connell with this umbrella holder on his stand. Danny, appreciate the time. Thank you. You got it, Zach.

Have a good one. You got it. There he is. Danny Connell joining us on CBS Sports Radio.

We will take a break. We will come on back to five questions, five answers, little onsides, offsides. Zach Gelb here with you on CBS Sports Radio. Zach's taking on the most polarizing issues in sports. Which side of the line of scrimmage will he end up on?

Offside, defense number 69. It's onsides, offsides with Zach Gelb on CBS Sports Radio. You could stream the NFL on Westwood One for free sponsored by AutoZone all season long. You could listen to every Westwood One broadcast of the NFL Live on the NFL app by asking Alexa to open Westwood One Sports on the Odyssey app. Get in the zone AutoZone.

The free AutoZone fix finder service can help you find a fix for free. Get in the zone AutoZone restrictions apply. All right, Big Mike CBS. What do we got cooking today on onsides, offsides? Well, what we got cooking is Russell Wilson and the Broncos who are a mess right now. Yeah, he's burning the meal over and over again.

It is gross. Now, former Broncos great Mark Schlereth was talking with Colin Coward, had a startling prediction about the future of the Broncos signal caller. I would be shocked if Russell Wilson makes it past this year. If he's the quarterback of the Denver Broncos next year, I would be shocked. And it's not that Russell Wilson is playing terrible football, but he's not playing winning football and he's not elevating the players around him. From that standpoint, I think it's time to clean house. So onside offside, Russell Wilson will be the Broncos starting quarterback in 2024.

I'm going to go onsides here. And the reason why I say that is I think it's going to be tough to get out of this contract. Now, I do believe they're going to draft a quarterback and maybe they'll have that quarterback sit for a year and give Russell Wilson one more year to try to win back his draft capital.

But they don't need to be committed to that plan 100 percent. And also, they got to get the right draft pick and then they also got to get the right quarterback. So I think contractually they'll try and usually when you do this, it ends up being a disaster because then you usually have to go to the quarterback because the fan base wants to see him. But I do think they're going to attempt to bring Russell Wilson back one more year. But it's clear that Sean Payton wants nothing to do with Russell Wilson, but that contract is a pain in the ass to move off of.

So not really because of play, but more so because of the contract. I will say onsides that Russell Wilson will be the Broncos starting QB in 2024. Now, finishing the season at quarterback, I probably would not have the same answer. Well, this weekend, the three and three Falcons had the Tampa to take on the three and two Bucks, with the winner taking the lead in the NFC South. Now, Baker Mayfield has thrown seven touchdowns, just three picks, and Tampa's only two losses came from the Lions and the Eagles. So onside, offside, the Bucks are the best team in the NFC South. Right now, yes, I do think the Falcons can win this division, but Arthur Smith needs to stop being a stew nod, and he needs to trust Bijan Robinson and Tyler Algier more. But what I've seen so far is that I trust the Bucks the most because Baker Mayfield, you know, he's probably the most competent quarterback in that division because I don't trust Derek Carr.

You have Mike Evans, you got Chris Goblin, you got a good defense, and for Atlanta, they could be better than Tampa Bay, but with the Falcons, their coach is trying to make Desmond Ritter this great quarterback, where Desmond Ritter just needs to manage the game. So, I'll hold my nose with this division, but I will trust the Bucks right now as the lead dog in the NFC South, so onsides. Now, your Patriots are 1-5, and they host the Bills this weekend. All sides point to Mac Jones remaining as the starter in New England at least this week. However, Jones has no touchdowns and five picks over his last three starts. So onside, offside, this will be Jones' last week as the Patriots' starting quarterback.

No, but it is coming to a close, and I do think we'll eventually see. It won't be Bailey Zappi happy for Zappi, it will be Malik Cunningham, and he could run around to try to save his life with no offensive line protection, but at least he's a mobile quarterback, and he did some electrifying stuff, I guess you could say, in the preseason. But when you ask me, this will be Jones' last week as the Patriots' starting QB, I don't think they're making the change after this week because the week after that they played the Dolphins, but after two games where they should be miserable against the Bills and the Dolphins, then I do think a change is going to be in play, but this won't be the last week for Mac Jones as the Patriots' starting QB, so I will go offside here. Now we've talked about this a bunch today, the NCAA is investigating Jim Harbaugh and Michigan for potentially stealing signals with the focus being on a Wolverine analyst who has now been suspended by the team. Reports say the signal stealing was so well known around the Big Ten that teams switched to using armbands to kind of curtail Michigan. Now, however, college football expert and analyst Paul Feinbaum believes the NCAA is actually targeting Harbaugh. In understanding the NCAA and its enforcement division right now, it's hard for me to imagine that they'll be able to make a solid case. It does look bad, there have been allegations out there in the past, but I sense that there's some piling on here to Jim Hall.

He turned his nose to them a couple of months ago, and I think if this had been someone else, this investigation probably would not have gotten to this point. So onside, offside, this is Harbaugh's last year in Ann Arbor. So the people that run the NCAA are a bunch of pigs. There's no other way to say it and try to make it be something nicer than how I feel about the NCAA. They are a fraudulent organization.

They are a joke. And I believe Paul Feinbaum here. If Jim Harbaugh just checked his ego at the door and bowed down to the NCAA this summer, I think they sweep right underneath the rug all of this stuff that's going on right now with the sign stealing scheme, which is such an overblown story and it's so ridiculous. And now it's going to become a big story. And if Harbaugh just played nice this offseason, then the NCAA wouldn't be going after him. If this was Nick Saban, if this was Ryan Day, if this was Lincoln Riley, the NCAA isn't making this a big deal. But the NCAA is petulant. The NCAA is going to drag their feet and they're going to cry because Jim Harbaugh did not play nice with the NCAA this offseason. This is a joke. This is a witch hunt.

And this is absolutely ridiculous. And if I'm Jim Harbaugh, I'm giving the middle finger right now to the NCAA and I'm saying this is it at Michigan. And I'm leaving after this year and I'm calling up the commanders, calling up the Los Angeles Chargers, whoever it may be, whatever team needs a coach, the Chicago Bears. And I'm saying hire me because in the NFL, I went in four years to three NFC title games and a Super Bowl.

I'll be attractive there. I don't have to deal with the petulant, just nonsense and jackassery. That is the NCAA and the fights that they choose to have and how many other stories they pick to to ignore.

And this is something that they should have ignored because, quite frankly, I don't think it's that big of a deal. So you asked me this is hardballs last year in Ann Arbor. I think so.

Onsides on that one. Now, we just talked to Danny Cannell and his fourth ranked Florida State Seminoles host number 16 Duke this weekend in a key ACC matchup. The only team in the top 25 that FSU has beaten is number 19 LSU, who was ranked fifth at the time of the game, but obviously have disappointed since. After this weekend, FSU doesn't have another ranked team on their schedule.

Of course, things can change. Florida's on there. Miami's on there. But as of right now, they're not ranked. So onside offside, Florida State must run the table and win the ACC championship in order to make the playoff.

Oh, that's a great question. Now, they beat Clemson, but Clemson doesn't carry as much weight in overtime as they used to. Yeah, I actually think it's onsides to this one because here's the other thing. If they don't run the table and let's say they don't win the ACC championship game and that's their first loss, like we saw last year, TCU get in without winning the Big 12 and only having one loss. But if they're going to lose, you would probably think it's going to be the Drake May and UNC in that ACC championship game. And then if it's a one loss UNC team, they're going to get in if a team's going to come out of the ACC.

So I don't think you could play with fire here and I don't think you could have one loss and then see how the dominoes do fall. So you ask me, Florida State must run the table and win the ACC in order to make the playoff. They should and we'll see if they will. But I think they need to in order to guarantee themselves a berth in the college football playoff. Because here's the other thing, you know, probably Georgia gets in Michigan or whoever wins the Big Ten Ohio State, Penn State. There's going to be a spot for the Big Ten. There should be a spot for the Pac-12. If Oklahoma's undefeated and there's a good chance they will be, then they're going to get in. You got to put yourself in that conversation of not allowing any wiggle room and hoping for other programs to fall to put yourself up a few notches into the college football playoff. So, yeah, I think they got to run the table and been doing that win the ACC to make the playoff onside.

Alright, last one. The MLB League Championship Series continued today with the Rangers and Astros tied at 2 in the ALCS and the Phillies up 2-1 in the NLCS. The defending champion Astros are looking for their fifth AL pennant in seven years.

It's crazy to think how dominant they've been. While the defending NL champion Phillies hope to make their fourth World Series trip since 08. So onside, offside, a World Series rematch of Houston and Philly would be the best matchup for baseball.

Oh, that's a good question. I'm going to say onsides. I think the Phillies are a really fun team and I like the Diamondbacks.

I do. There's a lot of likable players there with Corbin Carroll and Gallin and the team that they've built and how bad they've been for so many years. But the Phillies are just loaded with offensive talent with Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos and JT Rio Muto. That's just such a loaded team offensively and 1-2 in the rotation is starting to become a very good 1-2 punch. We knew Wheeler was an ace. Nola was talked about being an ace. But he's been and he hasn't always lived up to that.

But he's been electric in this postseason. And I still think the Astros are good. Like I'm over the cheating scandal.

I don't really care about the cheating scandal. They've won after that. And I look at the Astros as a team where I don't believe that a lot of people share that same belief as I do that they're over the cheating scandal. So I do think they're good for a polarizing matchup with the Rangers. They're a really fun team. You know, they had a bunch of players in the All-Star game.

They're a good team. Bruce Bochy is one of the greatest managers I've ever seen with three championships. He's one with the Giants and then now has the Rangers two wins away from going back to the Fall Classic and have them go into the World Series. But I think the Astros being in the World Series, how dominant they've been and potentially becoming a dynasty is good for baseball. So, yeah, Astros and Phillies sign me up for a rematch. And the Astros are the only team that have been able to walk into Philadelphia the last two years and get not only one win, but then two wins at the Bank, Citizens Bank Ballpark.

So, yeah, that matchup, Astros and Phillies would be the best matchup for baseball in the World Series on sides. OK, Zach Gelb shows CBS Sports Radio. We'll take a quick break and we will come on back. But let's first get the latest CBS Sports Radio update with the act man, Rich Ackerman.

All right. It is that Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio, Stu. I'm just wondering when you were watching that Saints game last night where Al Michaels is an absolute legend, but he wanted no part of that broadcast on Thursday that football to open up week seven. But when you're watching that game and you see the the the Saints not show up for the first half and then they start to make that run in the second half, then it's like, wow, this is going to be a major choke job by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

And what a great comeback this is for the New Orleans Saints. And even though Foster Moreau dropped the touchdown, Derek Carr is just too up and down as a quarterback. Was that deja vu for you watching Carl those years with the Raiders and you're like, wow, I'm not even surprised that something like that happened with Derek Carr with the Saints last night?

Yeah, it really was. Honestly, I was sitting there and I'm like, wow, I'm glad I don't have to be on the supporting team rooting for Derek Carr. And it's not like they really upgraded with Jimmy G, but it's just they were going nowhere with Carr. And you could just kind of see the you know, the change of, you know, going to a different team didn't really help anything. So it's kind of the same Derek Carr that I've really seen for seven, eight, nine years. And nothing's really changed. And it's it's the same thing.

It's strange. So I don't know what your feelings were about Derek Carr, because because part of me did have a little sympathy for Derek Carr because the organization was so bad. And he at least embraced being a Raider and wanting to be a part of that franchise and be that guy. But with that being said, I do think he plays the victim card a lot and he plays the woe is me card a lot. And he tries to make it out to be that he's this legitimate star in this league and how he's always battling and he's always competitive and he's always a fighter. Now, seeing him away from your organization and you not being forced to root for the guy, he's just so emotional, you know, during the games, after the games. And he makes everything so like more dramatic than they need to be. And earlier on in his career, I kind of appreciated that.

And then the middle of the way of his career, I respected it. But now it's like when you hear the same story and the same card being played by Derek Carr over and over and over again, it's like enough already with this guy. And you should just be fortunate with the money that you're making and that you're somehow still a top 15 quarterback in the league. But you're just a guy.

You're not the guy. And you'll never be a franchise quarterback in the NFL. And he keeps on trying. It's almost as if he's a poser.

And I don't mean that in a bad way, but he makes it out to be like he is all the way up here in terms of the way we should view him. And I just don't see it consistently from Derek Carr where he looks back to that season where he thought he could have been an MVP and he was playing like an MVP and then at the injury. And we've never seen that dominant version of Derek Carr ever again. Yeah, we really haven't.

And you're right. It's kind of gotten old. I feel like early in his career, he really wasn't this emotional.

I think it's kind of grown, increased each year. And last year especially, there was obviously that famous outburst when he was still with the team. And then obviously when the team moved on from him, he was very emotional about that. And then and then now last night was kind of the icing on the cake. I mean, if I'm a teammate of him, if I'm one of the guys, I mean, he was getting mad at guys like the whole night, teammates, the receivers and the coaching staff.

So, I mean, that's probably not a great idea for him because these are the guys that are kind of playing for him, if you will, as the weapons for the quarterback. But yeah, I'm over it. I'm just glad I don't have to root for it. And I like Derek. I don't really hate Derek Carr, but it was time. It was seven, eight, nine years and it was time to move on, I think. And you hit the nail right on the head. It was time to move on from Derek Carr, but the Raiders didn't find the next guy.

No. Jimmy G is just a placeholder for the Las Vegas Raiders. And I don't even know if they upgraded. Like I've been very critical of Derek Carr. I've also been very critical of Jimmy Garoppolo, where they're just not guys that I could believe in to lead my team to the direction that I want to go to. And the Raiders just would have been better off if they would have traded up for CJ Stroud. And that's without even knowing what CJ Stroud was going to turn into through the first six games of his career.

But you could have sold me at least on the unknown and the hope and the potential of CJ Stroud being a first round pick. It's like Jimmy G, I've seen this story so many times. He's a fine quarterback, but he's kind of like Derek Carr, where he's a guy that even when it looks like he could be a top 10 quarterback in this league, he never gets there consistently. And I do think there's a higher ceiling with Derek Carr, even though Jimmy G has more team success in the NFL, but it helps when you're playing for the 49ers.

But Jimmy G just gets injured so much. So it's like one of those things where they made the push to the Raiders and they tried to sell you on they were getting Brady or fans thought they were getting maybe Brady or Aaron Rodgers via trade. And then it's like you wind up with Jimmy Garoppolo. If you're the Raiders, it's like maybe we should have just kept Derek Carr, but you knew you had to move on from Derek Carr as well.

So the whole thing's a mess. And I said this going into the season. The Saints can really only lose this year. And people are like, hold on, wait a second.

What do you mean by that? And I go, well, the Saints are expected to win the NFC South. The NFC South going into this year was viewed as a dumpster fire. And I would have never trusted the Carolina Panthers entering this season.

Their roster just stinks. And then I looked at the Buccaneers and the Falcons. And personally, I had more confidence in the Falcons. That's why I picked the Falcons to win the NFC South.

But I just went into this year whenever Derek Carr is expected to take a team somewhere, they just don't ever find a way to get to that destination. And that's why I was out on the Saints before the start of the year. And also the Saints try to sell you on all these players. And a lot of these players, unfortunately, have just had their careers derailed because of injuries. And you look at Michael Thomas, how many more times do I have to hear about Michael Thomas could be this, Michael Thomas could be that?

The guy is always hurt. And don't get me wrong, their defense, that's a damn good defense in New Orleans. But on the offensive side of the ball, I like Olave. Alvin Kamara is a good player.

You know, Williams, you know, come back from the injury, he's a good player. But there's just certain guys, when you say the name of a quarterback, like the hair on your neck just stands up because you know he's not that guy. And that's Derek Carr. So Carr is a fine quarterback. Carr is a solid quarterback. Carr is a guy that at times looks like he could be a top 10 quarterback, but in reality, he plays more consistently like quarterback 14, quarterback 15, quarterback 16 in the NFL. And if you only show a glimpse of being a top 10 quarterback here and there, a throw here or there, it's not going to turn into a guy that you believe in.

And we've seen the story for years with the Raiders, now he's somewhere else. And quite frankly, you know, how much we talk about quarterbacks and head coaches, what the heck does Dennis Allen bring to a football team? You know, you told me Dennis Allen's your defensive coordinator. Fine, I could live with that.

I'm all good with that. But when Dennis Allen and Derek Carr is your head coach quarterback combination in the NFL, does anyone expect that you're going to win anything and win anything of significance? So they had the target on their back where they're supposed to win the NFC South. And if they don't win the NFC South, outside of the contract obligations that you have to Derek Carr, it's like what gives me confidence as a Saints fan to want to see more of Derek Carr?

I have none. And you know you got to get rid of Dennis Allen if this team doesn't win the NFC South this year. And for years you had Sean Payton, you had Drew Brees, you knew what you were getting with New Orleans, even though they only won one Super Bowl. And then they had some shortcomings at the end of their tenure.

But they were always there. They were a team that you had to be concerned about. Now with the NFC South being miserable and not being, you know, great and us thinking 8-9 may win this division before the start of the year, heck, last year 8-9 won this division, it's not as if I'm asking the Saints to be this great team. You know, people are just asking the Saints to be solid.

And if you're solid, you could win this division. But I haven't seen anything from the Saints this year where what the highlight of their season is blowing out the Patriots 34-0. Newsflash, the Patriots suck. They're a horrible football team. And I say that as a Patriot fan.

So that's also another barometer. When we were praising them for a great victory up against the Patriots in New England, you're praising them for beating a bad football team. Now you can only play who's on your schedule.

But when you're praising someone, and that's the only really praise you have this year for beating a bad football team, it means you're not that damn good either. And last night, car going at it, where he had the bad throw and then he got annoyed with the larvae, it was just a bleep show. But that's a Derek Carr experience. It's a rollercoaster ride. You know, sometimes it starts off slow, then you think it's going to be really good. And then at the end of the night, it ends and you're just like, eh, I don't really need to see that again. You know, this was a rollercoaster ride that I'm good and I could live without.

And it's not something that we want to go through. And it had a crash at the end. And it wasn't all Carr's fault, but you got to show up better in the first half. And also, Kirk Herbstreet, and I like Herbstreet a lot, but after the game saying, oh yeah, we got to really praise the Saints for a good effort when they went down.

What? This is the NFL. Here's a participation trophy. The game sucked and then you made it a game. So we need to hand out a participation trophy to the Saints for showing up.

That's a bunch of bullcrap. The Saints have been disappointing all throughout the year.