Expectations for Bama vs LSU (Hour 2)

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Find it wherever you buy laundry products. And away we go, our number two of our radio program. That's right, it is the Zach Gelb show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. I'm here in our Philly offices today as this city is getting ready for a big Sunday night or Sunday afternoon matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. And by the way, the NFL, they clearly all want us to watch that game. Because the four o'clock window, and I look how many games there are in the four o'clock window, because I do the eight hour ION football studio show on Sundays. And when you don't have four games, it's like, oh, you only got three games to talk about.

That's not a whole lot of fun. But here is the wonderful four o'clock slate for this weekend when we do have a game, you know, a window on Sunday where the games are awesome. It starts early in the morning, even though I don't love that the NFL is being a bunch of pigs and they're having this game in Germany, this game should be in Kansas City between the Chiefs and the Dolphins.

And it should be the return of Tyreek Hill to Chiefs Kingdom. But you have that game at 9.30 a.m. to really get the party started. And then throughout the rest of the day, you do have Cowboys and Eagles in that 4.25 p.m. Eastern Time slot. Sunday Night Football game is Bills and the Bengals. The one o'clock slate, Vikings, Falcons, underwhelming, Cardinals, Browns, not that great, Rams, Packers not that great, Commanders, Patriots not that great, Bears, Saints not that great.

But a really good game and a game that's not getting a lot of coverage. Seahawks and Ravens, the Bucks and the Texans is your one o'clock window. It's not an ideal one o'clock window, but you have that one marquee game at one o'clock between the Ravens and the Seahawks in Baltimore. You have a great 9.30 a.m. Eastern Time game in the Dolphins and the Chiefs. And then in the 4 p.m. window, you have the Colts and the Panthers.

That's a snooze fest. If you want to play up, and I don't think anyone cares about this nationally, the Frank Reich Revenge game, you could be my guest. Then you got the Giants and the Raiders, like, okay, Daniel Jones is coming back and now we're going to have to watch Aiden O'Connell quarterback the Raiders. But really, the NFL probably scheduled it this way. Let's schedule two teams that are eh in the Colts and the Panthers, two teams that are eh in the Giants and Raiders. And let's give you the Cowboys up against the Eagles, and I bet you the ratings are going to be absolutely massive for that game. And then it wraps up on Sunday night between the Bills and the Bengals. And honestly, Monday night is not a bad game. The Jets are now intriguing. They don't have a good quarterback, but they have a really good defense. And they welcome in the Los Angeles Chargers, who the Chargers, even though they don't have more wins than losses in their 3 and 4 in the year, like, every Charger game, even if it's bad, it's entertaining because you have all these big-time players and these players that have a lot of clout in this league. But either Brandon Staley messes it up or the Chargers are driving late, just like what they've done for the last 20 years, and they make a mistake at the end of the game. So Chargers-Jets, not the greatest Monday night football game in the world, but I'm actually going to be going to that game at MetLife Stadium in the sponsor jersey after we do the show on Monday.

Gonna check that one out. But that is an okay Monday night game for especially some of the games that we do get in football this year in primetime windows. So, definitely NFL is begging you and imploring you to just watch Cowboys and Eagles when the other two games in the 4 o'clock window are the crappy Colts and the crappy Panthers and the crappy Giants and the crappy Raiders. But right now, let's do a little college football here.

André Josivash from the Cincinnati Bengals, their wide receiver, their rookie wide receiver out of Princeton, is going to stop on by in about 15 minutes from now. But let's take a look at who's got home field advantage this weekend in our NCAA football preview sponsored by Fairfield by Marriott. Fairfield by Marriott is the official hotel partner of the NCAA with over 1,000 locations around the country. You'll always have the home field advantage.

Visit Fairfield dot Marriott dot com to book your stay. And Alabama, number 8 in the country, hosts 14th LSU on Saturday night at Bryant Denny. And Bama is 7-1 in the season led by Jalen Milroy QB who has 18 total TD's and 5 interceptions on the season. LSU meanwhile is 6-2 with Jayden Daniels who has 30 total touchdowns with just 3 interceptions.

This is the ultimate game of I don't have a damn clue what's going to happen. I don't care if you're a betting expert. I don't care if you're a college football expert. Nobody could tell me that they have a confident read in this game.

And even if you end up getting it right, it's really just luck. Because you look at LSU, they started off that season where they didn't even show up in the second half against Florida State. Florida State kicked their ass in the second half and they won the game 45 to 24. Then a team that had national championship aspirations for the year started at LSU. It's like okay you have one loss but it's to an ACC team.

You got to go run the table. Because if you pick up a second loss, there's never been a two loss team in the history of the 14th college football playoff to actually make it. And in that game at the end of September, they lost in a shootout to Lane Kiffin's Ole Miss team. Now LSU is a really good offense. Like you just heard the numbers for their quarterback in Daniels.

He's a stud. And if he didn't already have two losses, he would be pretty damn near the top in the Heisman Trophy conversation. But you also have to have the team success. And we saw last year with LSU, LSU lost early, then got hot, then found a way in the SEC championship game before they lost to Georgia. They could still make the SEC championship game only having one loss in the conference. But this weekend, I'm not saying the appeal of this game has gone away. But imagine if this was a one loss LSU team going up against what is a one loss Alabama team.

It would feel as if this game would be a whole lot bigger. And this is the biggest game of the weekend. But if LSU wins, yes you're still alive to go get into that SEC championship game.

And you're in the driver's seat. But you do kind of, or we'll see how it does shake out the rest of the way with what happens with Ole Miss. But you look at this game, if LSU was able to win, it's not as if you walk away saying wow, like look at this LSU team.

Because what are you playing for? There is going to be some feeling of this being an underwhelming season even if you get to the SEC championship game. Just because of the sole fact, this was considered one of the top four, top six teams in the country before the start of this year with legitimate NCAA championship hopes. And now you know you're not going to get into, barring a miracle and chaos going down in the final three, four weeks of the season, the college football playoff. So for LSU, I know their defense isn't good. Offensively, they're a bunch of studs. And then you go on the flip side, why I say this game is a monster unknown is when you look at Alabama, Alabama this entire year it just looks like something isn't right.

And something's off. And they lost that game to Texas. Then Saban I thought had the outside noise which usually he never lets get to him.

It didn't affect him and get to him. You bench Milro and then you had a very pedestrian performance up against South Florida. And then after that you go back to Milro, you beat Ole Miss, you beat Mississippi State, you beat A&M in a game that A&M just gift wrapped to you, you beat Arkansas. And last week you kind of saw the definition of Alabama where when you watch them they almost give you like a football heart attack. Because Alabama, the first two quarters, they look dead.

They look done. You know I tweeted, I was watching that game in an airport and I tweeted out when I was eating some crappy airport pizza and having an adult beverage and having a beer. And I tweeted out the Alabama season was already on life support and we got to think about pulling the plug now. And then in the third quarter, boom, Milro plays his best quarter of the season, Alabama plays their best quarter of the season, and the next thing you know they're up going into the fourth quarter and they end up being beat in Tennessee by 14 points. So I don't know what LSU team is going to show up and I don't know what Alabama team is going to show up. Offensively, I clearly trust LSU more compared to Alabama's offense.

Defensively, it's not even close. I trust Alabama's defense more than the bad LSU defense. So games at Alabama, I can't really trust Milro, but I'm going to trust that the defense does enough here and for Alabama you got to keep this game in the 20s. If this gets into the 30s and if this gets into the mid 30s, I don't feel good about Alabama winning. But I don't like this game in terms of a game that I'm going to be gambling on, but it is a game as a college football fam. I'll definitely be watching it because it's the ultimate intriguing game of the weekend at 745 p.m. Eastern on CBS and Alabama is a three-point favorite. And that's what usually happens if you're the home team, you get three points, so for the most part they're looking at you and LSU as it just comes down to holding field advantage and this game could go either way. And I think it's the right line by Vegas because you look at that line and you're like, oh Alabama's only a three-point favorite, maybe they're begging to take LSU, then you take LSU and you end up losing. Or, oh it's only Bama minus three, let's just jump on that and then it ends up being the right play.

But both of these teams, I don't know what to expect other than neighbors is sensational on the offense side of the ball for LSU, Daniels is sensational on the offensive side of the ball for LSU, and then we know Alabama's defense just has a bunch of dogs on that defensive side of the ball. So that's one college football game to look at. Other college football games this weekend, where if you would ask me over the week, is this a good weekend of college football?

I would say, eh, it's an okay week, there's actually a lot of storylines this weekend. So I was just reading this right before we got on the air, Colorado, according to ESPN, has stripped their offensive coordinator Sean Lewis of his offensive play calling duties and is elevating analyst Pat Shermer, yes that Pat Shermer, the former NFL head coach, to an on-field role with expectations that he will take over as the team's play caller. That is what sources told ESPN. So I do think Oregon State beats Colorado this weekend. Is there going to be any impact though with Pat Shermer now becoming the offensive coordinator? And I don't think this is a move that you could criticize it, but just because you put Pat Shermer calling the plays, I don't think this changes much for Colorado because it's clear what the problem is for Colorado right now. Their offensive line is just not good. And Coach Prime even told you that after the game, where he's like, yeah, we're going to go get new offensive linemen in the transfer portal. So the key for Colorado to have a chance in this game, because we know Shadore Sanders is a phenomenal quarterback, the key for them to have a chance is you've got to give them some time to think.

And you've got to protect him better. Does a new offensive coordinator do that? Probably not, but I've seen crazier things happen. I don't think I've ever said these words in my life, but I'm actually intrigued this weekend with Ohio State and Rutgers. Don't get me wrong, Ohio State's going to win the game. There's no doubt about it in my mind that the Buckeyes will win the game.

But is this going to be a blowout or is this going to be a close game? Because Rutgers has been a team, quietly, they've been solid this year. And Greg Ciano's doing a fine job once again with that program considering what the standards are and being in the Big Ten and how much is working against you to actually be solid.

But for Ohio State last week against Wisconsin, and hey, I get it, it's Luke Fickle. I get it, it's the Badgers in year one. But the Badgers aren't this wonderful team. Ohio State showed you they have a great defense.

Maserati Marv, as Gus Johnson would call him, is the best non-quarterback in the sport. But offensively, their offense just seems like it's missing something. And there's a trust issue with Kyle McCord for me at their quarterback position. So I kind of wanted to see if Ohio State could blow out Rutgers this weekend. Or is this a game of halftime where you go, oh, Ohio State's underwhelming but you know they're going to find a way to win the game. Kansas State and Texas, all eyes will be on Malik Murphy.

What will happen for him in start number two? Texas A&M and Ole Miss. Hey, Ole Miss is the better team. Texas A&M may have more talent on paper, but Jimbo Fisher, can you go get a win up against a team that's playing better football than you right now? Because Texas A&M, they are one of the more loaded rosters in the country. They have a top six roster in the country when you look at the talent, even with Connor Wegman no longer being their quarterback because of the injury. But for A&M, they just don't win enough. And the last two years, you look at them and you go where your talent is and what your record is doesn't match up.

Because your talent should mean that you have a lot more wins and that's a reflection on the coaching with Jimbo Fisher. I'm also fascinated by Notre Dame and Clemson. Not that either of these teams are going anywhere where Clemson has no shot to make the college football playoff.

We know that already. And Notre Dame unfortunately already dropped two games. Notre Dame is the better team. But for Clemson, how do you respond in a week where Dabo Swinney was fighting with a radio caller? And now the standard and the image of Clemson has fallen.

So does Dabo have another punch left in him against a team that's just better and a team that should have beat Ohio State? And then a team that smacked USC in the Notre Dame fighting Irish. Missouri and Georgia. It's one of those games that people are like, oh, you're getting ready for Missouri and Georgia. And Georgia hasn't lost a game this year, still without Brock Bowers. Missouri is 7-1.

If Missouri gives me a game going into the fourth quarter, I'm very happy as a college football fan. Final outing, I guess you could say, of Bedlam, for the foreseeable future at least, with Oklahoma moving to the SEC along with Texas after this year. You have Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. I want to see Oklahoma State say to Oklahoma, don't let the door hit you with the good Lord split you for putting an end, for now, to this great rivalry. Maryland and Penn State.

There is a little intrigue here. Penn State's overrated. Penn State with James Franklin is now like participation state university where James Franklin's like, oh, you know, I'm not going to apologize for a loss. No one's saying that, but coach, your team didn't play well up against Indiana. And in the biggest game of the year, you guys did nothing offensively up against Ohio State. We know Maryland, with Mike Locksley as the coach, and Talia Tungavailoa as the quarterback, could put up points. And when Talia did go up against Ohio State, he did not fare well. But for Penn State, you have a dominant defense, you've done basically nothing consistently on offense. I'm fascinated by this one.

Can Talia Tungavailoa do enough up against what is? The one thing we know about Penn State is they do have a very good defense this year. And then finally, an upset alert to watch. Washington, I'm a big fan of their program. I love Kalen DeBoer. He joins us a lot on CBS Sports Radio. Michael Penix Jr. the last two years has been one of the better stories in college football. With that being said, USC had to struggle to win last week. USC lost two games this year so far.

They're out of the college football playoff picture. They're holding on to try to get into a Pac-12 championship game. We know right now the two best teams in the Pac-12 are Washington and Oregon. The reason why this one's intriguing, we know USC's defense stinks, but offensively, they could put up points and they could put up a ton of points with the combination of Caleb Williams and Lincoln Riley. And seeing Washington up against two lesser opponents the last two weeks look human and not be encouraging, you know Washington's going to get up for this game. But I'm wondering can USC get up for this game and create chaos in the Pac-12 where a few weeks ago it was like Washington has the inside track to get to the college football playoff. And then if they lose that game, even though Washington lost to Oregon, I think the way that we would view it and we would cover it would be different. And maybe we end up getting that collision course of Washington and Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game still, but who knows. I want to see if USC has some fight even though they're not playing for a national championship anymore and they're going up against a heck of a Washington team with the college football playoff committee screwed.

Putting them in at number five with what we've seen so far in college football, they should be in the top four. So that's what I'm looking for this week and a lot to look for in college football where earlier in the week I was like eh, it's kind of an underwhelming weekend, but the more and more you look at it, there are some big storylines there. Andre Iosovas will join us, maybe the biggest game of the weekend, Bills and Bengals Sunday Night Football on NBC. We'll talk to the rookie out of Princeton who's getting into the end zone quite a few times this year for the Cincinnati Bengals when the Zach Gelb show continues after these short messages. We continue this at the Zach Gelb show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. We're all waiting for that big game this weekend, Sunday Night Football on NBC and Westwood One between the Cincinnati Bengals as they host the Buffalo Bills.

And let's go out to the guest line right now. I'm welcoming a man that attended Princeton, was just drafted this past year to the Cincinnati Bengals. Six pick, 206 overall.

Six round pick, 206 overall. Now has two touchdowns to start off his career and that's Andre Iosovas from the Cincinnati Bengals. Andre, I appreciate the time. Thanks so much for doing this and how you been?

Of course, yeah, thanks for having me. I've been good, you know, just preparing for this game on Sunday. I know that as a player you sometimes say, oh, it's one game and it's just another game, but this one feels different, this one feels bigger, it's in a prime time spot.

Just what are kind of the emotions and the vibes around the facility this week? Yeah, I mean obviously we're done with the NFC little run that we had and now we're back into the AFC and it's against, you know, I would say probably one of our rivals now. Or becoming one of our rivals in the AFC and so it's just going to be a great matchup between two powerhouses and we kind of know what's on the line from this point on going forward. You guys got off to that slow start. Borough wasn't 100%.

You started off one and three, now you're four and three. Big win last week against the San Francisco 49ers. People are still wondering who are the Cincinnati Bengals. I said it last week, I thought you guys were back and I think you guys are heading back into that big time Super Bowl direction. But what type of team do you think you guys have this year since you're a part of it? Yeah, I mean it's just a super resilient team and it's, for me when I'm in the locker room it feels like a bunch of, you know, just like, it feels like college. You know, everyone is super, super nice to each other, everyone is friends, everyone is, you know, friendly to each other. And we're really close and no one really, you know, if you're doing the wrong thing people will get on you but it's not like in a toxic way at all.

Everyone is super supportive and we all know what the goal is and so we always keep our head down and work. Make sure everyone is doing the right thing and hopefully that leads us to the path to the Super Bowl this year. When you look back at last week with Joe Burrow, up against that really talented 49ers defense and you made that defense look vulnerable, which many teams can't do. What would stand out to you the most when you look back at that performance of what your quarterback was able to do on the field last Sunday?

Yeah, I mean it's pretty indicative of where we're trending. You know, I think he had like, I forget his completion percentage but I think he didn't miss too many passes. So, you can see him going through his first and second reads and not being afraid to extend plays for as long as he did. I think that was one play where he scrambled for like nine seconds and you know, those are the type of things that X-Factor that help you win games on top of the game plan. And you talked about the scrambling. Late in that fourth quarter, he ran for a first down.

It wasn't a 20 yard run but I think it was like a 10 or 11 yard scramble. And he got up and he showed a lot of energy. I kind of interpreted that as, that was Joe Burrow basically telling the rest of the NFL that he's back and the Bengals are back. Did you feel that way as well? Oh yeah, I mean we all felt that way. You know, when you see your starting quarterback like that have so much emotion, you see how much those little things mean to him.

And you know, it's good energy all around the facility. Andre Iosivas here with us. So, this is your rookie season. You did play your college football for Bob Sarace at Princeton. How do you kind of look back at that experience at Princeton and how has it made you the player that we're seeing so far right now in the league? Yeah, I mean I was blessed to go to Princeton. I didn't have any FBS offers so Princeton and Dartmouth were my only two. But you know, it taught me how to keep my head down and grind and you know, just be resilient.

You know, the path to the NFL from Princeton obviously isn't as clear as maybe going to like SEC school or Pat 12 or something like that. But you know, it made me believe in myself, believe in the work that I did and the experience for me was just great. And it was a great, great family vibes with all of them.

So, I could have asked for a better experience to be honest. How do you explain your success? You know, growing up in Hawaii, landed at Princeton and now in year one in the NFL, not only making the roster but finding the end zone now twice this year?

I mean, it's been, you know, I'm kind of a guy that lives in the moment. Like I said before with the Princeton stuff, you know, I've always worked really hard to get where I want to be. And so, when things come my way, like touchdowns or you know, getting drafted, it's kind of, you know, I'm obviously super happy but it's always what I've worked for.

So, it's not necessarily a surprise and things like that happen to me. Andrey Osivash, when you got drafted by the Bengals, 206 overall, six-round pick, clearly happy to get drafted. But how do you look back at those emotions and what were some of the first thoughts that were creeping in your head?

Yeah, I mean I, you know, days three, I mean day one and two were very long. I knew I was going to get drafted on the first day but there's a possibility of the second, early third day. But you know, as the day went on, my anxiety kind of ramped up a bit and I'm not knowing if I was going to be drafted or to a team that, or like drafted to the Bengals who I was my only 30 visit, official 30 visit. They had drafted Charlie Jones in the fourth round so I didn't think I was going to go there. But you know, once they called my name, huge sigh of relief just knowing that I had the possibility of being on a 53-man roster. And my family was super happy and all my friends were happy so it was just a weight lifted off my shoulders. If there's a kid that's getting overlooked right now and not getting highly recruited, what advice would you give to him?

Just wondering. I would just say keep grinding, keep believing in yourself because you know, you're the only person that's going to believe in you. I remember back quarantine days I was lifting, all the, like every day, running routes every day, just thinking that I wanted to go to the league. And I remember someone saying like, bro, you want to go to the league?

Like those guys up there are different. And then I remember in my head, I mean I laughed it off, but I remember thinking in my head that I'm different too. So just keep believing in yourself and you know, if it doesn't work out then at least you can have peace of mind saying that you tried your best.

Well you say you're different, Andre Osivash. You tell me how you envision your career going and what type of player you think you could be in the NFL. I mean I think I could be a great player that's in the league for a very long time.

I never really like to say what I want out loud to other people necessarily just because those are things, like goals that I keep in my head and I just hope that the work will speak for itself eventually. But just know I want to be a great receiver in the league for a very long time. You've quickly have come into the league and you've found the end zone twice. You're building trust with Joe Burrow and you've been in the end zone the last two times you guys have been out on the field. How have you quickly been able to earn the trust of Joe Burrow where he goes to you when he's looking to find the end zone? I think it's just that the trust has been built from OTAs to camp, seeing me make plays in camp in the preseason and just being open when my name is called, doing the right thing when my name is called. And obviously if he's looking my way and I'm open it's going to be hard not to throw the ball to me if we're looking at each other right in the eyes and scrambled.

So I think all of that combined has something to do with it. Well by the way happy belated birthday to you because the last time I was talking to you I didn't realize it was your birthday when you had your first career touchdown. But you're going up against the Seahawks, you get that touchdown, Burrow gets you the football. Seemed like that was the perfect birthday right?

Oh yeah I mean that was the birthday I'm going to remember, birthday moment I'm going to remember forever. What did that mean to you when Burrow made sure he got you the football? Yeah it just showed how much he cares about the game, how much he cares about the little things. There was a flag in the backfield when I caught it so I thought there was definitely a holding on the offense so I kind of just threw the ball away.

But you could tell he was asking the ref for the ball and you could tell how much he knew it would mean to me if I got the ball and so I really appreciated that. You've been a youngster, you're trying to get a lot of information and build your career especially in that locker room. You go to a perfect situation, we talked about the quarterback and then you look at your wide receiving room with guys like Jamar Chase, T. Higgins and Tyler Boyd. What are some of the things that you've really been able to learn from those three wide receivers who have done some pretty big things in this league? Just watching them every day in practice, especially in camp when we were competitive during practices. Their techniques, what they're thinking, when a DB does this or when they see safety do something else. And pretty much just watching them to be honest.

I ask them for little skill tips here and there about breaks and leverages and things like that but just watching greatness makes you want to be good as well. When you look at this Bills team, especially their defense, what stands out to you when you get ready for the game coming up on Sunday? They play really hard. I think we can make some plays on them to be honest but we won't dive too deep into that but they play really hard.

They have good DBs, they have an aggressive line and so we can come out and make sure we protect well and take some shots. Before we let you run, one of the storylines entering this game clearly is going to be DeMar Hamlin. I know you weren't on the Bengals last year but everyone knows the story and saw what happened last year when these two teams did meet on I believe it was Monday Night Football in Cincinnati. And then you did guys go on to play and have that playoff game but when you look back at the whole DeMar Hamlin situation, just being a player that's in this league and I'm sure it was talked about this week in the facility, just how do you recall what happened last year?

Yeah, I mean it's obviously a super touchy subject. We haven't really talked about it much in the facility but I just wish all the best for DeMar when he steps on that field and I just hope he has peace of mind with that and that's all I can pretty much say about that. Andrei Osivash, appreciate the time. Good luck this week and continued success in your NFL career. Let's get the latest CBS Sports Radio update in with the Act Man, Rich Ackerman! Onsides, offsides with Zach Gelb on CBS Sports Radio. Alright, the onside offside time right now on the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. We do this segment every Monday and Friday. Big Mike, CBS. Moist Mike, CBS.

What do we got? I'm definitely not changing my Twitter handle to that one. After missing it another week. Did you know this by the way?

Yeah, tell me. If you are verified on Twitter now and you change your profile picture, you lose your verification and you have to get reapproved or you get monitored again if you should be verified. I don't get this stuff anymore. Well on Twitter it doesn't matter how you're verified as long as you pay for it, right? I don't think it matters. So now, everyone pays now for verification or most people pay for verification.

If you go to change your profile picture, you immediately lose the blue check mark and then they review even if you paid for it. Which makes no sense whatsoever. Not that it's a big deal. A lot of things don't make sense with X or Twitter these days and I don't usually bitch and complain about it but that makes zero sense to me.

That makes absolutely no sense. If you're paying for it, you should be able to do whatever the hell you want to do. Especially if you're putting money into it but you know what, I'm not going to question it.

I'm just going to use it, utilize it until something better comes along. Yeah, or until they lock you out again for going after me for just giving the obvious take that lasagna is so much better than turkey on Thanksgiving. I think our poll results seem to poke a different picture. Who gave you a poll?

Don't believe it. I don't trust those poll results. You had a bunch of bots that were just voting on that. We all know that. I know, I hate those bots. All those sampter, moisty bots were just voting on it.

Oh my goodness, I mean 84% of them voting on it against the hate for turkey. But let's go to the actual onside offside. After missing yet another week of action, Deshaun Watson will start for the Browns this week against the Cardinals. On the season, Watson has passed for 700 yards, 4 touchdowns, 3 picks but he's missed 4 games with injury. So onside offside, Deshaun Watson can return to pro bowl caliber quarterback. So this one's so difficult because I used to think really highly of Deshaun Watson the football player and also used to think very highly of him as a person. Because we didn't know what was actually going on with Deshaun Watson and then a lot of those allegations came out and no one could defend right now Deshaun Watson the person nor should you. But Deshaun Watson the football player had that it factor when you saw him at Clemson. And then early on with the Texans, even if the team success wasn't always there, he put up monster numbers and did have that year where they made the playoffs.

They had the big lead up against the Chiefs and then they squandered that game away. But the last 2 years he's pretty much or 3 years he's been without football because when everything was going on off the field even before that he wanted out of Houston. So he missed that entire year, basically missed all of last year besides the final 6 games of the season.

And then you did have this year where he's been in and out of the lineup because of injury. When I watch Watson play now, I just don't look at a guy that I feel comfortable giving up all the draft assets that you did. And then also the money that you gave him guaranteed and feel inspired that he is going to be one of the better quarterbacks in the league. And what concerns me, even though I still look at him and say, alright, how much could really change in 3 years, he should still be able to find the fountain to use somewhere and he still has a lot of good years left. But with that being said, when we start talking about 3 years away and now next year because he's not going to do anything that salvages this season in terms of individually, even the Browns are having some success this year. It's going to then go on to year 4 without seeing him at this great level. And I think the further and further you distance yourself and get away from that self, I think it's less likely that you go back to that Pro Bowl form. So you say that Sean Watson can return to a Pro Bowl caliber quarterback, I just don't believe it.

So I'll go offside. Now the Seahawks travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens on Sunday. Lamar Jackson has been resurgent this year, going for 1,700 yards on pace to shatter his career high in passing yards, but is well behind his pace of 1,000 yards rushing in a season. So onside offside through 8 weeks, Lamar Jackson is the NFL MVP. So you look at the two top teams right now in the AFC and the NFC. The Chiefs, I don't think Mahomes is the MVP. Jalen Hurts, he's good man, really good, great. But I don't think he's the MVP right now, just too many turnovers.

So you go around and you look at the other teams. Miami can make the case for Tyree Kill and Tuatunga Vailoa, and I think they'll split votes. But you look around the rest of the league, there's not a lot of great MVP options. And oh yeah, there's Lamar Jackson. And with that performance that Lamar Jackson had up against Detroit Lions, it's one of the best individual performances this season. And also you look at the rest of their offense, a lot of underwhelming pieces on that offense. Outside of Mark Andrews and Zay Flowers, they could put Lamar Jackson in a better position to succeed, and still he produces week in and week out. So yeah, through 8 weeks right now, I would say Lamar Jackson is the MVP.

I'll go onside. Now after starting 3-1, the Bucks have dropped 3 straight and sit just 3-4. During the losing streak, Baker Mayfield is thrown for 3 touchdowns and 2 picks, but is completing just 58% of his passes. So onside, offside, if Baker struggles again this week against the Texans, the Bucks should start Kyle Trask next game. I don't need to see Kyle Trask.

I don't think Kyle Trask is all that good. You made this commitment for this year to Baker Mayfield. Even though Baker is not playing at this great level, clearly, I believe you gut it out and you go through the ups and downs of Baker Mayfield. Because you gotta remember, you don't need a great quarterback, you don't need a good quarterback to win this division.

You just gotta be average. And are there moments where Baker Mayfield looks good? Sure. There are moments where he looks like he's terrible?

Yes. But I think you let this thing play out. You look at that division. We know the Panthers have no shot at winning that division.

The other 3 teams, it's up in the air. Atlanta making a quarterback change going to Taylor Ham Heineke. Now we're talking about the Bucks maybe making a quarterback change. Derek Carr played well last week, but there's always a lack of trust with Derek Carr as your quarterback. I think you ride it out with Baker Mayfield and I would not change quarterbacks even if he does not play great up against the Texans this week. So you asked me if Baker Mayfield struggles again this week.

The Bucks should start Kyle Trask next week. I would go offside on that one. Now we talked about Lamar and the MVP and obviously QBs usually win that award, but 2 receivers are having historic seasons in Tyreek Hill and A.J. Brown.

Hill is on pace for over 2,100 yards while Brown, who is also on pace for a round of 2,000 yards, just set an NFL record with his 6th straight game with 125 plus yards receiving. So onside offside, A.J. Brown is more valuable to the Eagles than Tyreek Hill is to the Dolphins.

Oh, that's a great question. I would say offside, and the reason why I would go offside is I do believe Jalen Hurts is the better quarterback compared to Tuatunga Vailoa. So we all know A.J. Brown is dominant. We all know Tyreek Hill is dominant. But when you look at the quarterbacks, that's the tiebreaker to me. And I do believe that the Eagles could win in other ways because they have Devante Smith, they have Dallas Goddard.

You look around and they have a great offensive line, maybe the best offensive line in the league, and DeAndre Swift has been good for them this year at the running back position. And I understand the Dolphins have Jalen Waddle, who is a phenomenal wide receiver in this league, but because the Eagles have the better quarterback, I think that increases the value of Tyreek Hill compared to A.J. Brown. So you say A.J. Brown is more valuable to the Eagles than Hill is to Miami.

It's a great question, Samter. Good job out of you, but I will go offside on that one. Now Lane Kiffin has Ole Miss ranked 10th in the nation with their only loss coming on the road against his nemesis Nick Saban in Alabama. Now the Rebels host Texas A&M this weekend and Jimbo Fisher, who I know you love, and sit right behind the Tide in the SEC West. So onside offside, Ole Miss with their one loss is a legit playoff contender.

I don't believe they are. And I look at Ole Miss, I give a lot of credit to what Lane Kiffin has done there. But when I see Ole Miss, even if they get a victory this weekend and they beat A&M, which they're expected to beat A&M, I'm still going to look at Ole Miss and go, I'm going to trust the winner of Alabama and LSU more, even though LSU did go down to Ole Miss this season. But even if Ole Miss finds a way into the SEC Championship game, which is possible, especially if Ole Miss wins out and you see Alabama lose this weekend, let's just say to LSU or even vice versa, I am still going to trust that Georgia is going to beat Ole Miss. And in order to get into the college football playoff for Ole Miss, you're going to have to find a way to beat Georgia in the SEC Championship game.

And I just don't think that's going to happen. So when you say Ole Miss is a legit playoff contender, they're very good. I just don't believe they'll be in the CFP. So I will go offside.

Offside. Now speaking of the SEC, Georgia has a brutal schedule coming up, starting with No. 12 Missouri this week, followed by... Well, about time. It's been a bunch of cupcake teams for Georgia throughout this year.

It certainly has been. No. 12 Missouri this week, followed by the aforementioned Ole Miss at No. 10, then going on the road to Knoxville to face No. 17 Tennessee. Onside, offside, Georgia will lose one of these next three games against ranked opponents.

So they got No. 12 Missouri this week, and you said that's No. 10 Ole Miss and then No. 17 Tennessee. I have been impressed, though, with Georgia recently. They're starting to get back in my good graces, especially with the performance that they put up against Florida. I know it's Florida, but without Brock Bowers, people thought that was going to be a little bit of a tight game. I'm not going to pick Georgia to lose until they do so. So when you ask me, Georgia will lose one of these next three games, I will, I guess you could say, be a coward and not be bold. And not be crazy like most radio hosts are, and I will go offside here.

Offside. To be honest, saying that they're going to go undefeated during that stretch is fairly bold, especially considering how quote-unquote down Georgia has been. But I guess we're still buying them. But they're kind of like Kansas City, where even when you think they're down, they're not really down. It's just that we look at them at a totally different standard because of how perfect they've been the last two years. Touche.

Now, last one. Spurs rookie phenom Victor Wemenyama had looked solid through his first four games, but finally broke out last night, dropping 38 points in 10 boards as San Antonio beat the Suns, oddly enough, in back-to-back games in Phoenix, which makes no sense to me. But anyway, onside, offside. Wembe is actually better than you expected he would be based on his high expectations. Yeah, I don't know what the reason is for that, why they played back-to-back games in Phoenix, but I said that to Sampler before the show and he's like, are you sure of that?

And I'm like, yeah, I'm sure that they played back-to-back games in Phoenix. So I don't know what the actual reasoning was, but that is a little bit bizarre to say the least. But to get to your question, I always thought Wemenyama, where the hype was, I wondered like, are we setting this guy up to fail? Because I'm not going to pretend to be an expert here on Victor Wemenyama, because up until these last few games, I'd barely seen him play outside of YouTube highlights.

So when you had people getting on radio shows and saying, or TV shows, like Chris Broussard, and said that, oh, even if he goes on to be like Hakeem Olajuwon, or if he goes on to be Kevin Durant, his career would be a disappointment, I go, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard, and it's absolutely ridiculous. So I thought Wemenyama would be good, I thought he had potential, obviously, with what you've heard, for him to be all-time great. I'm not ready to go there yet and say that he's going to be all-time great, but where the expectations were and where the hype is, you see the signs and you see the ability. So even though he hasn't been sensational night in and night out, I will say he's better than what I expected because I just didn't know what to expect other than what you've heard from other people.

When I've watched him, and I've seen him in person too, just standing next to him, he looks like an alien, and he looks like he is a video game type of character. Defensively, he impacts the entire court. I saw earlier in the year, a few games ago, even though he didn't block Kyrie, he had Kyrie hesitate just because that Wemenyama put his long arms out there. Offensively, he loves a three-point shot, but then you see the athleticism right by the rim as well.

I want him to put on more weight, but he seems like he's refusing to do that right now. So I would actually say yeah, because I didn't know what to expect. Wemenyama is better than expected because I had no clue what to actually think he was going to do on the court outside of just seeing what others and hearing what others were saying. So onsides there. This is Zach Gelb's show on CBS Sports Radio. We will take a time out. Football Friday coming on back. Ryan Horvat is going to join us 25 minutes from now for some college football and NFL picks.