Deshaun Watson Experiment Already a Problem (Hour 2)

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Visit carvana.com to start tracking your car's value today. This is the Zach Gelb Show. Deshaun Watson was back when he was the quarterback when Clemson actually won some games when he was the QB with Dabo Swinney over with the Clemson Tigers. But the last three weeks, the Cleveland Browns have been without Deshaun Watson.

They were non-competitive against the Baltimore Ravens. And then not that this is just P.J. Walker, because P.J. Walker hasn't been playing great. He's been able to manage the game up against knowing in his back pocket his defense has not only been great, but his defense has been elite. And Myles Garrett, if it wasn't for T.J. Watt, would probably easily win defensive player of the year this season in the NFL. Like what Myles Garrett did yesterday.

I remember earlier in the season, he was running around from right tackle to left tackle, right tackle to left tackle. And the offense, it was up against Tennessee when Ryan Tanel was the quarterback, had to take a delay a game because they were that intimidated by Myles Garrett. But yesterday, to have two strip sacks, to also block a field goal where he just jumps up right over the lineman and blocks the kick. It was spectacular what Myles Garrett did up against the Indianapolis Colts. And I get it, the last two weeks as easily as the Cleveland Browns defeated San Francisco and Indianapolis, you could argue they could have just as easily lost both those games.

If Jake Moody does what a kicker is supposed to do and makes that field goal, the Cleveland Browns lose to the 49ers. If the refs didn't want to ruin the game yesterday and screw the Indianapolis Colts, they lose that game to Indianapolis as well. But if you're a Browns fan, you don't need to sit there and say, oh, we got lucky or oh, we got a break because for the entirety of your fandom, you haven't gotten the calls.

You haven't gotten the breaks. Everything that could go wrong has go wrong. And there's a reason why you see that photo each and every year of that jersey where you just add like 40 names of quarterbacks that have played for the Cleveland Browns in the last 20 years. So I'm not going to rain on the parade of Cleveland Browns fans and try to take away from their wins with further discussing Jake Moody or further discussing the bad officiating. The Cleveland Browns are four and two.

And as what Bill Parcells once said, you are what your record says you are. But being four and two and Deshaun Watson being hurt. And I know he started yesterday, was dealing with the shoulder injury. We thought he suffered a concussion. He clears concussion protocol.

And I give credit to Kevin Stefanski, who every Browns fan like wants to run this dude out of town. Stefanski did what he thought was in the best interest of his player, where, yeah, you got cleared from concussion protocol, but I don't think you're healthy enough to go in because remember last year. To a tongue of Aloha up against the Buffalo Bills, he got cleared. They told you that was a back injury.

We all know what we saw. It was a head injury and they like, I don't know the specifics of it. And there's clearly ways that you could fail concussion protocol and you get held out of the game.

But it may not be as tough as what we actually think it is. Because remember the team doctors, I know there's an independent neurologist that's employed. But if you leave the decision in the hands of the player, 9.9 times out of 10, the player is going to say, I'm ready to return. And yesterday it was one of those moments where, yeah, you're cleared to return. But the coach knew in his heart and in his gut, it wasn't the right thing to put his player back on the field. And now we don't even know when we're going to see Deshaun Watson next because this is going to be day to day.

This is going to be week to week. And I don't know if we're going to see him coming up on Sunday up against the Seattle Seahawks. But either way, the more the Browns win without Deshaun Watson, the more it doesn't make Deshaun Watson look good. And Deshaun Watson, the last, what, two years in Cleveland, six games at the end of last year, it was clunky.

It was sloppy. And to start this season when he's been on the field, Deshaun Watson has made throws at times that makes him look like Carson Wentz. Like that interception he had earlier in the season where he just tossed the ball up or it wasn't even saying he just threw it backwards.

It's like, what are you doing? And last year, the rust was a valid excuse. Because he was annoyed at the Texans, was implying with the Texans that we found out the allegations off the field and they were really ugly. But as you know, in the NFL, if a player is cleared or if a player is not charged or if a player is not in jail, teams will say, yeah, we care about off the field. We care about women. We care about this.

We care about that. But in reality, if a football team thinks you could help them win games, they're going to pull the trigger on that player over and over again. And that's what the Browns did. Not only did they give up a king's ransom for Deshaun Watson, they also then gave him a fully guaranteed contract.

So in title and in money, he's the guy in Cleveland. But the last two weeks when P.J. Walker is playing and he's just managing the game and not doing anything spectacular, like P.J. Walker is not going to take you to the playoffs. P.J.

Walker is not going to be this great quarterback. And trust me, I've seen more P.J. Walker than anybody because I'm a Temple Owl. I covered him.

I was a college classmate with him. P.J. Walker, it's amazing how this guy's in the NFL, if I'm being honest with you. And is actually playing games and making a name for himself in the NFL.

But the more and more he wins, regardless if it's P.J. Walker or not, it's not a good reflection of Deshaun Watson. And every Browns fan right now has to be wondering, was Deshaun Watson worth it? With all the backlash, with all the criticism, which was rooted from a good spot with people saying this guy shouldn't be playing, this guy shouldn't be getting a fully guaranteed contract.

That's not right. But then on the field, you know, the Haslam family is expecting a result from Deshaun Watson. And it's one thing where it's six games last year and it's you got to knock off the rust. But then this year there's been injuries.

Injuries are an unfortunate part of this game. But when he's been healthy and I used to be a big Deshaun Watson fan. I haven't seen a quarterback that makes me say he's worth two hundred and thirty million dollars guaranteed. Or he's worth all the first round picks that we gave up. And Cleveland fans have to be wondering, is he the guy?

Now, in the natural progression of the way that this goes. If it gets that bad consistently with Deshaun Watson, eventually Kevin Stefanski will be out of a job. But based off what we've seen through the first six games of the season, Kevin Stefanski doesn't deserve to be fired. This guy has lost Nick Chubb, who is their most valuable player. He hasn't had his quarterback in Deshaun Watson. And the last two weeks, you beat San Francisco and you beat Indianapolis. More value on the San Francisco game.

And Indianapolis, it was a fun game yesterday. So it's the fan scheme, I don't know, goes nine and eight this year and Watson barely plays and they miss the playoffs. You're really going to fire this guy? But, you know, Browns fans are going to be annoyed because Browns fans expect to make the playoffs this year.

And if you don't, someone's going to have to pay. And it ain't going to be Deshaun Watson right now because you can't move the guy. But really, you look at the two quarterbacks that were dealt for a king's ransom and then got paid a king's ransom. Russell Wilson has been atrocious with the Broncos. You know Sean Payton is done with him. He's done.

It's either going to be at the end of this year or a year from now. But we are entering the final stages of Russell Wilson in that quick tenure in Denver. And so far, if you go back to the Browns and say, would you want to do over?

They'd be foolish to say no. They would be foolish if they said, nah, we still believe in Deshaun Watson because he's not worth the headache. We know the allegations off the field.

They were horrific. And on the field. And this may not be the best thing to say from a human standpoint, but how many times have we seen in the NFL?

You could be accused of awful things off the field. It's a human emotion, though, when you watch a player score for your team to cheer. If Deshaun Watson provided moments of joy for Browns fans on the field, a lot of people would forget about what happened off the field as horrible as that is to say. But it's just the truth.

We've seen it over and over again. But Deshaun Watson hasn't provided any Browns fan with the reason to cheer so far. And the more and more they win without him, or if he comes back this week against Seattle and they lose the game to poor reflection on Deshaun Watson. And sometimes when you get out of rhythm with how much of a rhythm you need in the NFL, you may not never be able to get it back. And that's the thing I'm starting to wonder with Deshaun Watson. Is he ever going to be able to be the player that he once was? Because even in that final year where he was playing in Houston, they didn't have a lot of wins, had like four or five wins.

But he was putting up prodigious numbers with nothing around him. And we've seen him with the Texans get to the second round of the playoffs. We've seen him have a lot of success in the NFL. But after this year, your career is really on life support. Because I don't think we're going to be talking positively about Deshaun Watson at the end of this year. Maybe it gives you a little glimpse of hope at the end of the season. But next year, all the spotlight is going to be on you. Because now you can blame the injuries. But after these two years, I don't want to hear Rust anymore being used as an excuse.

And we start to distance ourselves. It's like three, four years since we've seen Deshaun Watson be a great player. Let me ask you this, Pat Boyle. Because I know Pat, I guess you could say you're a confused Browns fan. Where you used to be a Cleveland Browns fan. And then once they acquired Deshaun Watson, right, you were done with the football team?

Correct. But even though you say you're done with the football team, that was the team you grew up rooting for. You still monitor them, right? You still watch them.

No, not at all. Every Sunday, I'm red zone. I don't pay any more or less attention to the Browns than I would, let's say, the Seahawks. So last week, when Jake Moody misses that kick, in a moment of Pat Boyle's silence. Like us, you watching the game by yourself. If we were to just put a fly on the wall on the Boyle residence, you're not jumping for joy. You're not going crazy. No, you would have saw me punch in air because I had the Niners' money line in a parlay. Really?

Yes. So I'm shocked that you could just remove yourself from a team and just not have still the emotional connection. Like Samter, he's a Jets fan. What's wrong with you guys? He gave up on the Jets. He says he's no longer a Jets fan. Now he's a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs. You two guys, you need like fan therapy here. You guys need help to try to reconcile with your old teams here instead of just ditching them. The thing for me is working locally here, having to cover or watch at least more so the Giants and the Jets and keep up with them constantly. That was what detracted the Browns fandom.

And then once they signed to Sean Watson, I was like, ah, all right. Now you gave me an excuse to officially not care about the team that much anymore. Okay. But objectively looking at this now as a neutral analyst that you are with no fandom anymore to the here we go. Brownies.

Here we go. What are your views on Deshaun Watson? Because he looks shot as a great football player ever becoming a great football player again. And I know there's still that ambiguity and that communist cloud hanging over the Browns organization. Well, we haven't really been able to see him much on the field, taking your emotions and the way that this organization has worn you down. Do you think there's any hope if you had to talk independently to Browns fans for the future with Deshaun Watson at quarterback?

I would say just knowing what his history is as a quarterback with his time with the Texans, I'd say, yes, there's hope. But right now he has been mediocre. He's been average and he's also been unavailable. You know, he's hurt again.

They are once again monitoring the shoulder. He got hurt yesterday. Only played what three series. So you look at the three full games he's played this year. He was horrendous against Cincinnati and the Browns defense totally won them that football.

Absolutely. He was good against Pittsburgh and moments and then hustle also had two big time terrible turnovers and couldn't hold on to the football. And then he had one of the best games he's ever played in his career against the Tennessee Titans where he couldn't.

He made every single pass, moved down the field with ease. So you have gotten the ultimate mixed bag and then all of a sudden the last three weeks, he's hurt. He comes back and he gets hurt again.

So I would say there's no short term hope in terms of the next two, three weeks, because I don't think he's going to be 100%. He might not be 100% of the rest of this year, but I would say long term, perhaps there is still hope. But without context, if I told you that the last great season a player had was 2020 missed all of 2021, 2022 in six games, had seven touchdowns, five interceptions. And then this year has been hurt. And when he's been on the field, it's been four touchdowns, three interceptions. If I didn't tell you the context, if I didn't tell you who the person was in his previous history, you would say, yes, that player's best days are behind him without question. And that's what we're seeing now with Deshaun Watson, because in 2020, he was great. 33 touchdowns, seven interceptions.

The other team was dog crap. He had almost 5,000 yards passing, completing over 70% of his passes. But that was in 2020. We've seen 2021, 2022, and now 2023.

And we're already at a point where there's no hope really for the rest of this season. And then we're expecting him four years removed to be great next year. I know he's still young, right? He's 28 turns.

I just turned 28 in September, but I don't think there's hope that he's going to turn around because we're banking on what he was three, four years ago. And not everyone right is Gino Smith where you basically take 10 years off and then you have a career defining moment. So I don't think we're ever going to see a great version of Deshaun Watson again.

Okay. And as much as I would like to agree with you, I disagree. I still think that talent is there.

And I think you saw it. Like if you want the Tennessee game, you see the talent is definitely still there. The thing is now one, can you keep him in the right mindset and in the right space off the field?

And also, can you then keep him healthy? And also, can you win without Nick Chubb? Because Nick Chubb is done for the rest of the year.

Who knows? Unfortunately, because Nick Chubb is one of the best players in football coming off that injury, another major injury. If he's ever going to be able to return, you get paid all that money. You're supposed to carry a team. I can't sit here and say that Deshaun Watson is going to be able to carry this team for the next three, four, five years.

True. I think it's a mini miracle right now that they are four and two, and they've got arguably the best, if not absolutely a top three defense to thank because of that. So I don't think there's a lot of weapons on this team right now. You know, the receiving corps, Mari Cooper's nice vest receiver, Elijah Moore has some promise, you know, ever panned out as a jet. Uh, but right now with Chubb out for the year and Deshaun Watson has basically not played the last three games.

The Brownies are four and two. There's a lot to be optimistic about, if nothing else. And Browns fans want to get rid of some of them. I hear this with Ken Karman and Anthony Lima, 92 through the fan in Cleveland.

Some of them want to get rid of Kevin Stefanski even after being four and two, which is just the definition of Jack Asri. Alrighty, we'll take a break. You're on the Zach Gilp show on CBS Sports Radio. Will we see Arch Manning on the field anytime soon for Texas with the Quinn Ewers injury?

We discuss next. like the New England Patriots. So Monday Night Football coming up later this evening. You also got some baseball mixed in too. We got a Game 7 where somehow the Rangers are starting Max Scherzer.

I don't know why, but just when everyone criticizes that, watch Mad Max will have a vintage performance. I hope that's not the case. I actually want the Astros to win. Do you guys still hate the Astros by the way? I know the Astros are still polarizing with the cheating scandal with what they've been able to do since then and with Correa no longer being there and how great Altuve has been, buzzer or not, I do appreciate the greatness of the Houston Astros and also like the Dusty Baker got a championship last year. So the Astros don't annoy me anymore.

No, not me either. At this point, like as a Yankee fan, I was kind of pissed and that was more like personal. Yeah, because your team stinks. No, because it felt like the Dodgers cheated us. But now, not the Dodgers, the Astros, but now the Astros have won and won consistently since the cheating scandal. And let's be honest, they weren't winning because of the cheating scandal either.

It was just giving them an extra edge. This is a damn good team. It's like I'm not pissed anymore. At this point, if they win again and they win another World Series after the scandal, you have to start looking at them as being an all time dynasty type team. Yeah, and they still have to win another championship, like you're saying, because you got to get to three to be a dynasty. But as you've seen with other teams, when there's allegations you just keep on winning, you just eventually sound like sour grapes as you still hold them to the allegations and then just ignore when it has been a level playing field, if you want to say, them keep on pumping out victories over and over and over again.

And this is their seventh straight American League Championship Series. If I'm standing there still bitching and complaining about the allegations and the scandal of all that, I just feel like you sound like a bunch of sour grapes at this point. And at the end of the day, think about how many of like the elite teams that we've seen over the past two decades or so that have had scandals around them. Your Patriots scandals and not that the Warriors had scandals, but the whole Kevin Durant thing you bring in an all time great to it, right? There's just every great dynastic team of the past 15, 20 years has had some kind of controversy around them. Even my Yankees had controversies around them, how much money they were spending steroids, Roger Clem and Royd Rage, and they even had their own cheating scandal with the watches and the video and all that stuff, them in the Red Sox. So it seems like really there's nothing above ground in sports these days anyway. So if you're going to win, you might as well cheat.

I still hate the Astros. Can we put that on a T-shirt? Say that line again that you just said, Sam.

If you're going to win, you might as well cheat. I think Sam would be the perfect spokesperson for that as well. Go ahead, Boyle. No, yeah, I still hate him, I think they have a bunch of hateable players with a bunch of faces that are very punchable. So that's why I think they're actually great for baseball.

They are. Because they're polarizing and baseball for the most part, and I say this as a baseball fan and someone that loves baseball, it's become a very boring sport where the only time we talk about baseball is if some old person starts complaining, oh, you know, that player should have done a bat flip, like stuff like that. And how dare someone celebrate or if there's a brawl or if Shohei Ohtani does something which we've never seen before.

There hasn't been a lot of moments on the field that we're able to talk about in baseball. And here are the Astros in a World Series that could be up in the air where like the Diamondbacks, they're a fun story, but I don't think they resonate nationally. The Phillies, they have a lot of great players and that redemption factor could give you a little pop from losing the World Series to the Astros. The Rangers, they had a bunch of players in the All-Star game this year, but I don't have any reaction either way to the Rangers really outside of Max Scherzer, but that's just because I'm a Mets fan and I can't stand Max Scherzer.

So I do think the best thing for baseball would be to see a World Series rematch and to see the Astros go up against the Phillies. I won't bet against the Astros today, and I do think the Astros are going to win, but it does concern me that everyone's assuming, Boyle, that Max Scherzer, who has been a bad pitcher as of late, everyone's expecting that this guy's going to be a bum tonight, and it feels like everyone is on the Houston Astros. Yeah, if he's got one like final stand, if Max Scherzer has one great last postseason pitching appearance in him, you think it might come tonight. Once, like you said, when everybody thinks he's going to be crap because he was his last start and basically every postseason start he's had so far. Nor any big game when going back to last year with the Mets. Yeah, but yeah, I think I still think the Astros being, it's going to take a while for me, and I would say most people, to not hate the Astros anymore as a neutral fan of baseball because of the cheating. Like this dynasty will have to end, they'll have to be bad for like 10 years again, and then they'll have to be good again for people to be like, oh yeah, like I don't not hate the Astros, especially their bullpen. I think everybody in that bullpen has a punchable face, especially the closer.

Presley, he looks like he cuts deli sandwiches for a living. What's wrong with that? Why do you have to go after the people that cut deli sandwiches? There's nothing wrong with it, I'm just, he looks like he shouldn't be a closer for a team that's on the precipice of the World Series.

I'm hearing out of Evan Neal right now, right? Going after the people who make your food, like what's the deal with that? There's nothing wrong with people who work at a deli or cut sandwiches.

It looks like Presley though should be doing that, not closing out baseball games. So Boyle thinks he's a lion or a bunch of sheep is what he's saying? Not at all. I just said that's what you're saying. I just, I don't like, I don't like Ryan Presley and I don't think he's very good. My people that cut pastrami and people that cut, I'm not a big fan of turkey, but turkey or any kind of cold cuts, I love those people.

I've never said anything about those kinds of people. All I said was Ryan Presley looks like he works at a deli and I hope he has a chance to save the game tonight. I hope he blows it. I hope, and I hope Adelise Garcia, who they hit on purpose, by the way, they absolutely hit on purpose in that game five.

I don't know about that. I don't want to hear that, oh, it wasn't intentional. He had every right to be angry. I think the Astros were planning on folding in that game and of course a little Jose Altuve saves him again. Little Jose Altuve saves him again. I wonder if he took his shirt off, if, you know, maybe he had another buzzer on his chest. No, his wife doesn't like that.

His wife does not like when he takes his shirt off. Remember that. This absolutely sounds like sour grit right now.

Listen, boy, I love you and everything, man. But like even as a Yankee fan myself, you got to get over it, right? Like you talk about the average MLB fan. Most baseball fans do not care about the Astros. The only ones who care are Yankee fans and Dodger fans because we were screwed over during the cheating times. Otherwise, like there's no reason to hate the Astros.

I mean, I get your point that like it's good for baseball to have a villain there. But at the end of the day, like, do you think that Brewers fans hate the Astros? Do you think that DBAC fans hate the Astros? Of course not, because they never had to deal with the Astros during that time. They probably hate them because they've won World Series and maybe they've lost a couple games in big moments to them. But like, there's no chance to me that the Phillies fans hate the Astros fans will find a way to hate anything for just losing in last year's World Series. They don't hate them for the cheating scandal. So let me ask this.

Let's go around the room here. Team more likely to not get to the World Series, Astros or Phillies? Phillies up 3-2.

That game's about to get underway at the top of the hour. Is it more likely that the Phillies don't get to the World Series up 3-2 or the Astros don't get back to the World Series with a Game 7 today? There is zero chance the Phillies lose two games in a row at home.

I agree. And they're 12-2 at home in the last two postseason. Those only two losses came to Boyle's favorite team, the Houston Astros.

I think tonight I give the slight edge to the Astros, but it wouldn't shock me if the Rangers win. I don't see how the Phillies lose two games at home. And if so, could you imagine that scene in Philadelphia where you have a team that's dancing on their own? They're convinced they're going to the World Series, and they're a heck of a team. I said this back in July when they were struggling. I go, until the Phillies are out, they're a force to be reckoned with with Bryce Harper, JT Riomuto, Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber, Wheeler, a stud, Nola coming into his own and getting more consistent. And the Phillies, I say this as a meth fan, they're actually a likable team. They're a fun group of personalities.

They kind of remind me of like 04 Red Sox vibes where the Red Sox called themselves the Idiots. This team just has fun. And as a fan, it's fun to watch, even though it's a team that I usually hate in the Phillies. I don't see the Phillies lose these next two games. Are you a Diamondbacks fan? Just wondering, because you lived in Arizona, Sam, they're like my third or fourth favorite team.

Like I liked them because I was there and like I knew people on the team and I knew, you know, people within the organization. But now I really don't care about the Diamondbacks. So are you with us that there's no way the Phillies lose one of these next to both these next two games?

No, no, no. I think that especially in the playoffs and listen, as a Yankee fan, I've seen the Arizona Diamondbacks do things that they're not supposed to do when it comes to playoff baseball. So I'm never going to count the DBACs out. Luis Gonzalez will forever be in my bleep list. Going back to the early 2000s and you're trying to lecture Boyle for holding a grudge about something that happened a few years ago. I'm holding a grudge.

I'm just Luis Gonzalez, the whole of the story. But the DBACs could win two straight. I don't see it happening, but I wouldn't be shocked if it did. I mean, it's playoff baseball. And in that building, they're 12 and 2 in the last two postseason. And they didn't lose the one National League team. It was an American League team. Anyway, let's get to Arch Manning or as some would say here on CBS Sports Radio, Arch Manning.

You could figure out who that person is. But anyway, Arch Manning, this was something that's been talked about before the season. You knew that Quinn Ewers was going to be the starting quarterback.

And it was Fosse Whitaker who said this to me in the summer. People don't realize how much they like Malik Murphy. And Malik Murphy is listed as number two on the depth chart. So I said to Fosse, you know, last year we did see Arch Manning get hurt and or it should be Quinn Ewers get hurt. And if he gets hurt again or isn't good enough, is that going to be the coach staying true to the depth chart? So now after the weekend when Quinn Ewers suffers a shoulder injury and he's week to week and isn't going to play this weekend, it's reiterated that Murphy's number two on the depth chart. But there was positive comments being said about the way that Arch Manning has been performing in practice.

So I just wonder here, how long of a leash does Murphy have here? And I don't know when Quinn Ewers is going to come back, but this is almost going to be Tebow-esque and I know that Manning is, you know, from an NFL projection is going to be a whole lot better, is supposed to be a whole lot better than Tebow was in the pros. We just all knew Tebow was an all-time great college football quarterback, was never going to be a great pro. But you remember the Tebow fans that just infiltrated all these stadiums and tried to get Tim Tebow on the field. The moment Murphy makes a mistake for Texas, you know those fans in Texas are going to be calling for Arch Manning. Because whether you're a knowledgeable football fan or not, we all are intrigued off the curiosity of what Arch Manning could be with how much he's been shoved right in front of our TV screens in high school, the recruiting process, and even when he's not playing right now. And I think the way that Sark navigates those waters is going to be fascinating, especially if Quinn Ewers misses a significant amount of time. Boyle, let me ask you this. How do you think Sark is going to handle that?

Because it's one thing to stay true to your depth chart, but the moment your quarterback doesn't play well, you lose a game or you throw an interception, you know the moment there's an opening, those Texas Longhorn fans are going to want to turn the baton over to Manning. Yeah, absolutely. So I think Sark and their home against BYU this weekend.

Yeah, on ABC2, national television. 17 and a half point favorites. I think if they are tied or trailing at halftime, maybe you see that decision happen because they obviously can't afford another loss the rest of this season, even if they want to have a chance to make the college football playoff and the Big 12 championship.

So, you know, we'll see. I think if they are, even if Murphy's not looking great, but they have a lead at the half, you probably don't see Arch Manning touch the field, but if they're trailing at halftime, it's a big decision that Sark's going to have to make. And also, let's be real, too, for Malik Murphy, this is an audition. With how highly touted he is, even though he gets lost in the shuffle of viewers and Manning, you play well here. I'm not saying you'll get the job next year. We all know Sark has to go to Manning next year.

But with the transfer portal, you'll be able to name your NIL price at another SEC school or, you know, with Texas leaving the Big 12 the SEC or another big school around the country, even if it's outside the SEC. So this is a big audition spot here for Malik Murphy, and I think the fan reaction is going to be fascinating. 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. All right, a little onsides, offsides action right here on CBS Sports Radio.

Big Mike, CBS, what do you got cooking up for me today? All right, well, the first one will start with the Chicago Bears. They are 1 and 13 in the last 14 games started by Justin Fields. But after just one start, undrafted rookie quarterback Tyson Badgett has his one win under his belt, completing 72% of his passes with a touchdown strike in Chicago's 30-12 win over Stu's Vegas Raiders. That's why Stu's not here today. He could not handle the embarrassment of losing to the Bears. Onside, offside, the Bears should give Badgett a shot to win the starting gig, even when Fields returns.

Oh, no, this is the easiest offside ever. And what a shot of Pat Boyle that we have right now on the stream. I just see Boyle's like chest, and I don't know what you're eating. What are you devouring right now? What are you stuffing your face with?

I won't say fat face because you're not fat, but what are you stuffing your face with? A rib. A rib? We have ribs in the newsroom? Well, our pal Sean Marash, formerly Maraz, I think brought some ribs today. Did he? I think so. That's what one of the other guys in the newsroom is assuming. Okay, now they're okay.

They're very okay. The Bayou Bear, the great Bayou Bear smoked me ribs once. So if those are his ribs, I got to go stuff my fat face during the break. But to answer Santa's question, I thought Santa was running out of the newsroom.

He's just adjusting Pat Boyle's camera. I thought he's going to get some ribs. The bear should give Bayjen a start to win the starting gig even when Fields returns. No, you got to play Justin Fields because we all know this organization is moving on from Justin Fields after this year. So you got to keep on having him on the field to provide some positive moments like he did up against the commanders to make me say, alrighty, I'm a team like the Falcons or someone else looking for a quarterback. I now got to give up some draft capital to go acquire Justin Fields this offseason.

So when Fields is back, when Fields is ready to go, you absolutely play him. Alrighty, let's get to the next question here. Santa, what do we got here?

Question number two. All right, the Packers fell to just two and five after an embarrassing loss to the struggling Broncos. Jordan Love had just 47 yards passing in the first half, but is on pace for a respectable 3,600 yards and 28 touchdowns this season. So one side offside, you still have faith that Jordan Love can be the Packers long-term franchise quarterback. I wouldn't say I have a ton of faith. I do believe it's an unknown, but with what I've seen so far outside of that comeback that he had at home in their home opener when they were down 17 points and he put up 18 points there in the fourth quarter and had that crazy touchdown, which was more of a great catch by Romeo Dobbs. I haven't seen a lot of great moments. And when you lose to the Denver Broncos and your offense does not have a lot of pop up against the Broncos defense, which on paper is supposed to be a good defense, but it's been embarrassing and they're already talking about firing the defensive coordinator in Vance Joseph.

That is a cause for concern. So I can't say that I'm totally out on Jordan Love, but I can't say I have faith in him that I know that he's going to be the Packers long-term franchise quarterback. So for that reason, it's a no for me, dog, I'll go offside.

Number three. Now the Rams fell to the Steelers in a tight game and Matthew Stafford struggled completing just 48% of his passes with one touchdown. However, on the season Stafford is third in the league with 1,900 yards through the air. So onside offside, Matthew Stafford still has two or three good years of football left in him.

So I was watching that game. It's crazy that Puka Nakua is still being this dominant wide receiver with Cooper Cup back and Tutu Atwell has also been a solid wide receiver to a point where they even traded Van Jefferson and said, we don't really have a spot for you. I need to see more out of Cooper Cup because this team won't get back to being really good until they start going more to Cooper Cup. But Puka Nakua has been a nice surprise here in the NFL. No one was talking about him before the start of the season, but to get to the question, Matthew Stafford still has two or three years left of good football in him. I don't think so because I think a lot of people in that organization like McVeigh, like Aaron Donald, and also Stafford, they have one foot in, one foot out. Stafford dealt with the bad injury during the off season as well. And I don't think we're going to see that be consistently a good team for the next two to three years. So if the team is not playing at a good level for the next two to three years, Stafford will have some struggling moments as well. So I will go offside when you ask me if Matthew Stafford still has two or three good years left of football in him.

What I'm saying too is I don't think he's that far away from retiring as well. All right, what do we got? Now, speaking of the Steelers, star TJ Watt leads the NFL with eight sacks, and they have the crucial interception late in Pittsburgh's win, while the Browns' Miles Garrett added two sacks, two forced fumbles, and a blocked field goal to his monster resume. Now, you spoke yesterday to Denzel Ward, and you asked him how good Miles Garrett is and what he could actually do this season. Here's what Denzel Ward said. Boils stuff in his face with too many reds.

Let's go. Most dominant player out there. So, man, he's huge for our team, huge in getting this victory and our future victories that we're going to get. So, man, he's just a special player.

I can't say enough about Miles. You said MVP, there's one thing to win defensive player of the year. Do you think there should be a case for most valuable player in the entire NFL?

Oh, no question, no question. He definitely deserves it. He's showing that week in and week out. So, onside, offside, Miles Garrett will win DPOY this season.

It's going to be a great conversation because we thought Micah Parsons is going to be right in that conversation. I think this is now a two-dog race, and it's inside the AFC North where Steelers fans hate Browns fans and Browns fans hate Steelers fans. I give the slight edge to TJ Watt because TJ Watt, with his Steelers, outplayed the Cleveland Browns where Miles Garrett did not have a good showing.

Both these players are dominant. Right now, I believe by a half sack, Watt edges out Miles Garrett and also the interceptions, too, but I will say that Watt is the defensive player of the year, and he will just edge out Miles Garrett in what's going to be an incredible race. You asked me, Miles Garrett, when defensive player of the year this season, I will say this season, I will say offside. But yesterday was just ridiculous, what Miles Garrett did.

He's an athletic freak, and it's crazy how we've all forgotten about him swinging helmets. And who was the guy that he went after? Was it Mason Rudolph? Yeah, it was Mason Rudolph, which was one of the wildest things I've ever seen when I was doing postgame for Sirius XM NFL radio. I'll never forget this.

I went to the bathroom right before we went on the air, and then I go, you just missed the may light, and luckily they ran back the tape for me, and I was able to see it in the moment, but that was just wild, absolutely wild. Now, after Ohio State dispatched Penn State, you talked a lot about that and James Franklin, the top four teams remained the same, with Georgia, Michigan, the Buckeyes, and Florida State leading the way. Washington escaped with a shocking upset attempt by my ASU Sun Devils, who are terrible and should not have been anywhere close to that game. Your ASU Sun Devils?

Eh, that's where I was. Did you go to the college? Where'd you go to school? I went to school at Boston University, but there's no football team, and I lived in Arizona long enough, so... Like, I'm a template football fan. I've adopted Michigan because my two best friends went to Michigan.

There you go, and they are terrible. They should not have been anywhere near that, and Oklahoma survived a two-point conversion to beat UCF, so onside, offside, the top four teams in the rankings right now will be the four playoff team. Which is Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, and Florida State. Well, you have two Big Ten teams in there. I gotta think Florida State's gonna win out and get in. We'll see what happens with the Big Twelve. If Oklahoma doesn't drop a game, they'll get in, and whoever wins the Pac-12 should get in. There's an argument to be made, if any conference is gonna have two teams get in, it will be the Big Ten, but I think either Michigan or Ohio State will be on the outside looking in, and right now, both of them are in the top four, and I think it will be Ohio State that falls to Michigan, so you have to be the top four teams in the ranking right now will be the four playoff teams. I go offside. Offside!

And finally... Alright, so last one, we'll make this pretty quick. After Penix Jr. had a terrible game against my Sun Devils, J.J. McCarthy took the lead in Heisman odds, followed by Penix, Jaden Daniels, Jordan Travis, and Oklahoma's Dylan Gabriel, so onside, offside, J.J. McCarthy will win the Heisman Trophy. I said this after week one of the college football season, that everyone's talking about J'Dore Sanders, everyone's talking about Michael Penix, Bo Nix, Caleb Williams, J.J. McCarthy will win the Heisman, because I think they're running the table, I think they're winning the Big Ten, and they have so many weapons at Michigan. Corum's their best offensive player, but with how many weapons they have, he won't put up the numbers that he did last year, and they're gonna try to protect Corum too, and spread out the ball as well, because unfortunately he got hurt. The benefactor from that is gonna be the quarterback in J.J. McCarthy, who is ready to break out. Now, he has to dominate Penn State, he has to dominate Ohio State to win the award, but I think he's going to do that in the remaining games, so yes, right now I would say it's the right call that J.J. McCarthy is the Heisman favorite, and I do believe he'll win the award.