Bills Need To Let Josh Allen Cook (Hour 2)

We all know cats are intelligent. Felix Cat Insurance was able to secretly record two cats on a hidden microphone.

Let's listen in. Did you hear the one about the three dogs at the park? That's old.

Like four lives ago. But did you hear about the new pet insurance just for cats from felixcatinsurance.com? Of course! What do I look like, a dog? When you're coughing up a furball.

Yes. Listen, Felix Cat Insurance plans start at under $1 per day and are as unique as you and me. They call it whisker to tail protection. Even furballs?

Even that. Remember the last time you had a furball? I made a TikTok. It went viral. Oh, that's good.

Wait, you're on social media? There you have it. Felix Cat Insurance. Customizable coverage exclusively for felines. Sorry, no dogs allowed. felixcatinsurance.com.

Get it? Meow! Insurance is underwritten by Independence American Insurance Company and produced by Independence Pet Group.

All existing conditions are not covered. For all terms and limitations, visit felixcatinsurance.com slash terms. I'm Tony Kornheiser and this is my show. My friends come on and you know them. We talk about the sports you care about.

Football and now basketball too, though we don't really pay attention until later in the year and the absurdity that is our lives. Line etiquette at your local pharmacy, the current phase of the moon, the importance of talking to a human being on the phone, and most importantly, the power of a box of that. Listen on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. People at O'Reilly Auto Parts.

O-O-O-O'Reilly Auto Parts. So the biggest news of the day, Joe Burrow done for the season after the injury that he suffered last night. That may have been a pre-existing injury as we all saw that video that transpired and that came out the other day where he's walking off the plane or walking off the team bus and he has that bandage around his right wrist.

We played you the audio. In the last hours, Joe Burrow had a press conference today after it was announced following their defeat to start Week 11 on Thursday Night Football that Burrow has done for the season with the torn ligament in his right wrist. And basically, Burrow said that had nothing to do with any previous injury.

It was just to prevent any swelling happening when you get up in the air with the increased altitude when you were flying from Cincinnati to Baltimore for the game last night. Let's play you a few more cuts here from Joe Burrow. This is Joe Burrow discussing his hand and wrist injury. You work so hard for seasons and moments like these so, you know, whenever you get hurt and it ends it early, it's tough to handle but, you know, that's part of the game.

Been through it before so just got to grind it out. Two things. One, it's crazy how quickly an NFL season could end. We saw it at the beginning of the season with Aaron Rodgers and the Jets. All the excitement, all the big time hype heading into a season. He runs out with the American flag on the field anniversary of 9-11.

Like what an electric atmosphere at MetLife Stadium and how emotional that was. And then four plays into a season tears the Achilles. And Rodgers knew it right away. He goes to stand up.

He sits right back down. He knew his season was over. Now, Rodgers will tell you that he's the world's quickest healer and he's still going to return this year.

I'll still believe that when I see it. But that went away and that hope and that optimism of Jets fans went away four plays into a season. For Bengals fans, you knew Burrow had a calf injury.

He still gutted it through. Team wasn't great to start the year. They were one and three and then he starts to get healthy. They win four in a row and they are hot and the Bengals are back and they are sizzling. They're on fire. You lose a tough game to the Texans and then you got to monitor something. You knew something was going on with the rest.

But how much of an impact would it have on the game? He's not on the injury report. And then during the contest last night, he goes to the sideline. You saw him in pain even after he threw the touchdown and he goes to sideline, tries to throw the football.

And right away, after two passes, we all saw it was good job by Amazon, get it on video. And we all saw it on the sideline. Him visibly frustrated, could not grip the football, could not throw the football and walking into the locker room when he slammed down his helmet and let out an expletive that I can't say on the radio. You knew that bare minimum he wasn't coming back to the game and it was something serious.

So it just stinks and you feel terribly and horribly for the player when your season ends that way, especially when there was so much hope and optimism and you know what the goal is. The other thing here is we talk about quarterbacks being injury prone, where we went through an entire offseason following the aftermath of the concussions with Tuatunga Vailoa. We've seen Lamar Jackson the last two years, his season end with injuries and not being able to get back on the field. Now with Joe Burrow, we're talking about a four-year career so far.

We're in year one, he tears an ACL, year two and three for the most part healthy, and then year four starts off with a calf injury and now we have a torn ligament in the right wrist. It just reiterates how protecting your quarterback and the health of your quarterback are the biggest things in this sport. Because when Burrow is healthy, he does things with the Bengals that were inconceivable. He does what a number one overall draft pick should do and that is change the franchise, change the vibe, be a perfect representation of the organization, be a perfect leader and galvanize a locker room and take them to the highest of heights. And he came close a few years ago. If their line just held up for another half second against Aaron Donald, and I was at that game at SoFi Stadium, he had Jamar Chase wide open down the right sideline, but Aaron Donald was all up in his grill.

So there was nothing you could really do when one of the most ferocious players on the planet is right in front of your cabeza. So you see how effective Burrow is when he's healthy. He is worth all the hype and all the buzz and all the palpable buzz that surrounds him. But now four years in, two injuries, two season ending injuries, and then one healthy Super Bowl AFC champion. And you never know how long or getting to another AFC title game, you never know how long the window is open. The Bengals still have a really good team, but the Bengals only go as far as the health of Joe Burrow.

And I hope that these are just two years that are anomalies. And when we look back in 10 years, when we look back a decade from now, 15 years from now, we're not saying, man, Joe Burrow showed you how great he could be. I just hope this doesn't turn into what could have been if these injuries continue to pop up and continue to impact and be detrimental to Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals organization.

And really last night was such a bizarre game. You had Lamar Jackson get hurt, but be OK. Mark Andrews get hurt as well. And that was a serious injury. Joe Burrow get hurt.

That was a serious injury. And you also had the drone issue last night. I don't know about you, Sam. I feel like you're a very big drone guy for some reason. I could see you on your weekend flying around your drones and all that stuff and having a whole lot of fun with that. Did we ever find out where the drones were from?

Did we ever get any clarity there? Because there was two different times in the game last night where Amazon had to where the game had to be delay and had to go to commercial break because of this drone flying around. Was that Connor Stallion still doing some scouting?

Was he getting hired by an NFL team already? And he was looking at the Ravens or Cincinnati Bengals signs because that was wild to me how. And we've seen drones pop up before. But how a drone caused the delay twice in the game. The drone was there once. And you think once you got caught and caused a delay, the drone isn't flying back. But the drone did fly back last night. Did you see anything, Sam?

In the end, no, you haven't. OK, in terms of the explanation of what was going on with the drone. We used to have a great NFL film highlights. What the hell is going on out there with Vince Lombardi?

Now it's like, what the heck is going on out there with the bleeping drone? That was just wild. All right, here is more Joe Burrow on how he hurt his hand last night. The play before it happened, I landed on on the wrist a little bit. And then the next play touchdown pass just felt the pop in the middle of the throw.

Tried to give it a go, but just couldn't couldn't get it done. So and obviously got the news today. So not great. And finally, Joe Burrow won't let his injury define him. You know, I've been through stuff like this before, so it's nothing new. You know, like I said, it's football stuff like this happens.

He's got to learn to live with it. And I've talked a lot about leaning on your support system. I got a great support system, great friends, great family. And I'll be around here. So not ideal. But, you know, I've got what it takes.

And the people around me got what it takes to get it done. It absolutely sucks. And quarterbacks is just dropping like flies this year. Rogers done for the season, more so you think. You also have Kirk Cousins done for the season with the Achilles injury. You look at the Sean Watson now done for the season as well. These injuries just keep on popping up and it just reiterates how you need the health of your quarterback. And if you don't have the health of your quarterback, you really don't have much in the NFL season. And, you know, you never look for an injury, you never root for an injury.

But I really do hope that this just ends here. But you can't say that with great certainty and great confidence because there's been a ton of injuries this year. And I'm talking about nasty injuries with teams that have high expectations.

And it's also right when things are starting to trend well. Like the Jets never have any optimism heading into the season. It's the most optimistic a Jets fan has been heading into a season this year in a long time. And then four plays in, boom, Rogers goes down. The Vikings, after a terrible start, they just get moving in the right direction, boom, Kirk Cousins goes down. Deshaun Watson finally looking like he's knocking off some of the rust, boom, he goes down for the season. And the same thing with the Bengals. People started to say a few weeks ago, yours truly, the Bengals are back.

Here comes the Cincinnati Bengals, Houdet, all that stuff, rule the jungle. And now Joe Burrow is done for the season. So hopefully all the injuries have gotten out of the quarterbacks now. And we don't have any more teams get derailed this year with injuries to the quarterback position.

Alrighty, I want to replay this from yesterday. This is a clip that we had with Leslie Frazier, who is the former head coach of the Vikings. Last year was the DC for the Buffalo Bills.

We had a really good chat with him. The Buffalo Bills, you know, that's a team with the injuries that we've just seen suffered this week to Deshaun Watson and Joe Burrow. You kind of start to think that the Bills are on life support. The Bills are very close to pulling the plug on the season. They're about to be dead. And back to back losses to the Bengals and the Broncos.

And it's like five and five and they're just missing it. Now you look inside the AFC. The only two teams that you feel confident about are the Chiefs, who still have not played their best brand of football on offense. And the Ravens, who as great as Lamar has been, I think they're, even at eight and three, they're still a level that they could even one up.

But outside of those two teams, you don't have a ton of confidence. Like the Dolphins are good, but they're not great. The Jets don't have a quarterback and they can't score a touchdown. The Steelers don't have a quarterback. Browns and Bengals both just lost their quarterbacks for the season.

The Jaguars are a good team, but they can't beat any teams that actually have expectations. The Texans are starting to put it together. You know, somehow, someway, Stu's Raiders are alive, alive now at five and five. The Chargers still have a chance at four and five.

I guess the Broncos still have a chance at four and five. So, you know, looking at the Buffalo Bills, they go from back to back losses, five and five getting shredded. Ken Dorsey is now gone and fired as the offensive coordinator.

He got relieved of his duties, as they like to say. And Joe Brady takes over as the offensive coordinator in Buffalo. And now, like the Bills get another chance. The Bills, it looked like they were about to get knocked out, right?

The referee was chanting and counting out to ten. He gets to nine and the Bills stand up. Because the Bills now still have a chance because so many other QBs are dropping like flies. And no one outside of Kansas City and the Ravens are taking this baton. And we know there's no questions about Kansas City in the postseason. But there are legitimate questions, even though I believe in the Ravens.

There's questions if they can get the job done come postseason time. Now, the Bills, outside of this week, they have a brutal schedule. Now, you play the Jets this week. I know you lost to the Jets earlier this season.

You should be able, at home, to take care of the New York Jets. But after that, they have the Eagles, they have the Chiefs, they have the Cowboys, they have the Chargers. That's a tough four-game stretch. You wrap up the season, Pats who stink, but you lost to them earlier in the year. And then you have the Miami Dolphins.

So the Bills have been miserable at 5-5. There's really not a ton of margin of error left with how close these teams are. But they could still be alive where earlier in the week they looked dead. But now with the latest developments of teams that were trying to make a playoff push as well with the Browns and then also the Bengals.

You now have a greater chance than what you did earlier in the week on Monday. And then also now later in the week on Friday because of some of the injury news. But Josh Allen has to play Superman. Josh Allen now has to take it to the next level. Because defensively, they lost Jernavius White, they've lost Matt Milano.

And offensively, there's just been too many turnovers. So I asked former Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier on what he's seeing out of Josh Allen. And how he would prepare for Josh Allen if he was at D.C. with another team in the NFL.

And this is what he had to say. Yeah, you know, in the past, people were always concerned with his mobility. And now he's running a whole lot less and becoming more of a pocket pass.

Now that may change under Joe Brady. It may let him get back to some of the things he's really done to put a lot of pressure on defenses. But if you don't have to worry about him running and making those splash plays with his legs, then you're just going to play coverage like teams are doing. And they've gotten some big plays just playing coverage without bringing pressure, sitting back and playing zone, saying he's not going to run.

And it's worked out well for teams. It really is a catch-22 here when you take a glance at Josh Allen. We've all said this. I said this the last two years. The Bills keep on saying Josh Allen needs to protect himself better. Josh Allen needs to know when to throw the football away, not take the big hit. And I said, well, how about Buffalo go get a legit running back? And how about Buffalo runs the football more with their running backs and takes the ball out of the hands of Josh Allen? But now you've seen, even though they haven't got this great running back, but James Cook has done a nice job and he shows some flashes. And you just hope it's not like Devin Motor Singletary, who I think, even though Motor had a good game last week, I do think there is more potential with James Cook than Devin Motor Singletary. But Devin Motor Singletary would be someone that would play like two, three good games and then would disappear, then play two, three good games, then would disappear. So there was no consistency with them. And at times that's been the case with James Cook as well. But they have made more of a commitment to running less with Josh Allen.

And now we look at the Buffalo Bills and we see them at five and five. You hear that answer. Our teams are adapting to Allen running less and then just saying, we'll go play coverage. And we don't have to be concerned about him running. And there's no threat of is Josh running?

Is Josh strong? We know he's throwing and we know they're still going to ask him to do a ton. And now you see this team's offense not looking good. So now at five and five, there was a belief that I had before the start of the season, run fewer times with Josh during the season, get to the playoffs or get late into the season. And then you unleash the old Josh Allen and you preserve his body. Well, midnight is about to strike. You're in the 11th hour now.

You can't wait and still treat this as if it's five or six o'clock p.m. You got to go. And Joe Brady this week, now the new offensive coordinator who was in the coaching room in Buffalo, but Ken Dorsey was the OC. They just got to let Josh Allen run again. They got to let Josh Allen cook to the way that he was playing the last two, three, four years where everyone was saying elite quarterback, top five quarterback in the NFL. They have to go back to that style where they just say bleep it and they'll deal with the consequences that occur with Josh Allen and the potential injury risk as well.

Because if you don't let him go back to what he used to do, I still think we see the up and down play of Josh Allen. By the way, just one quick note, because everyone's trying to figure out like who replaces Deshaun Watson in Cleveland out for the year, who replaces Joe Burrow in Cincinnati. Right now, the Browns are going to be starting Dorian Thompson Robinson and the Bengals will rock and roll with Jake Browning. We did see that Joe Flacco was on a flight to Cleveland and he has a meeting is go work out for the team. We'll see if they sign him.

Ari Mirov from My Sports Update, tremendous follow, love Ari. Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill told reporters that he has a desire to play. Remember, he got bench for Will Love is the right move by Tennessee, but he never asked the team to be released from his contract. In a weird world where Ryan Tannehill is solid, but he's not good, he's not great, he's not sensational. But in a weird world where we all thought like, yeah, this is probably it for Ryan Tannehill. You know, he'll go latch on somewhere, kind of take a, you know, he's better than an Andy Dalton, but kind of take one of those roles where you're mentoring a young quarterback and then you'll maybe get to start a season and eventually will get replaced. I got to change that approach. You know, Ryan Tannehill should change that approach. He should go to the front office and he should go to Mike Vrabel and say, guys, you know, I've been a good soldier here. I know you guys paid me and I haven't put up a fuss here about getting bench even though no one likes to get bench.

You're not going to play me. You have Malik Willis in front of me. I know Will Love is this team starter for the rest of the year.

They should grant him his release. He should ask for his release because not that Ryan Tannehill is this phenomenal sensational quarterback. But Ryan Tannehill is better than Dorian Thompson Robinson. Ryan Tannehill is better than Jake Browning. Ryan Tannehill is better than P.J.

Walker. And Ryan Tannehill would be better than Joe Flacco at this stage of his career. So Ryan Tannehill needs to ask for his release and he could go walk into a Cincinnati Bengals organization or a Cleveland Browns organization and go contend for a playoff spot. And we've seen before right in Tennessee, Ryan Tannehill make the playoffs. He's not good. He's not phenomenal, but he's better than the other options right now that you have in New York with the Jets, with the crappy quarterback in Zach Wilson. And then also right now with the options, they're going to be trotting out in the next few weeks with the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals. So Ryan Tannehill, be selfish here. Think about yourself and demand and implore Tennessee to release you because you could go walk into a playoff situation because you don't have one in Tennessee right now. It is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio.

We'll get to the latest on the Michigan scandal next. Chime checking account with a two hundred dollar qualifying direct deposit. And don't stress. There's no annual fee or credit check required to apply and get started. Build your credit history and find new opportunities with Credit Builder today. Get started at Chime dot com slash build. That's Chime dot com slash build. The Chime Credit Builder Visa credit card is issued by Stride Bank and a member FDIC Chime checking account and two hundred qualifying direct deposit required to apply out of network ATM withdrawal fees may apply. Call one eight four four two four four six three six three for details. On time payment history may have a positive impact on your credit store. Late payment may negatively impact your credit score.

Results may vary. All right. It is that Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio stream the NFL and what's the one for free sponsored by Auto Zone all season long. You can listen to every what's on broadcast of the NFL live on the NFL app by asking Alexa to open was the one sports on the Odyssey app. Get in the zone auto zone. The free auto zone fix finder service could help you find a fix for free.

Get in the zone auto zone restrictions apply. So here is the latest on the Michigan scandal. Chris Patridge, the team's linebacker coach, has been fired and sources told ESPN that Chris is firing stemmed from his lack of cooperation with the NCAA investigation. If you were sleeping yesterday, Michigan accepted the Big Ten's punishment of a three game suspension for Jim Harbaugh.

And they're not going to go any further in court. And he has two more games remaining on that suspension you could coach during the week. And then he just can't coach on game day against Maryland tomorrow.

And then next week at a game that I'll be going to the game Michigan, Ohio State in the big house in Ann Arbor. So I said yesterday, right as this stuff was happening, that with this situation that was unfolding. Michigan continues to state, as does the NCAA, that Jim Harbaugh had no knowledge of this. Now, I think a lot of us roll our eyes and say he may not have been ordering the hit. It may not have been his idea. But when you are the CEO of the program, you have to know in some capacity.

I don't think that Connor Stallions and Chris Patridge maybe were operating rogue through the entirety of this. I'm not saying Harbaugh knew from the start, but at some point he had to know and there may be nothing that links him to it. And he just kind of turned the other way and allowed it to happen. But as I did say yesterday, there was going to be more to come out about a coach that was linked to this. Now, this article just states that Patridge, his firing just stems from a lack of cooperation with the NCAA's investigation.

I think you could do the math here. If he's not cooperating with the NCAA, why is that? It's probably because he had a big say in what was going on here. So Michigan, which has kind of changed their tune in the last 24 to 48 hours, they go from fighting this. They go from due process to now in some capacity, accepting the punishment and accepting pretty much some admission of guilt. And if you notice the wording from Michigan through the start, it's not been that they've been innocent. It's not been that they've done anything wrong. They just want a due process, aka they wanted the NCAA or the Big Ten to operate how they usually operate.

And that's like moving like snail so they could get through this season with Harbaugh on the sidelines. And as I've said this, even as someone that has supported Michigan, even as someone that believes this is being made and portrayed as a bigger deal than what it actually is. All I've said from the start is that Michigan clearly did something wrong.

But I don't believe the action needs to be as severe as others have, because Michigan really is guilty of being stupid here. That's what they're being guilty of, because there was no need and I don't think there was this great advantage to go and steal signs. I'll never forget in one of the books that Robert Kraft participated in, he said to Belichick, Bill, be honest with me, on a scale of one to 100. How much did Spygate help us?

I think Bill said like one or zero. And then Kraft looked at Belichick and said, wow, you really are the world's biggest schmuck. And I don't think with how often sign stealing happens, it was a big advantage. Now, where you get a little bit of a hairy situation is how Michigan went about obtaining those signs. Sending stallions to go to opposing team stadiums and using a video camera, even though I could sit in the stands and do the same things and get the signs, that is a violation of the rules. And Michigan needs to be punished. And now Harbaugh got a three game suspension.

But this doesn't mean this is where it all stops. This stops the Big Ten's involvement in it. But you know the NCAA is probably going to do something else in this regard. But now Michigan, I guess this week, is trying to once again get the toothpaste back in the tube. And you got now Patridge getting fired. And then also you have the acceptance of the three game suspension of Coach Harbaugh where he's already served one game.

And this won't continue to be a pending litigious manner. Now, the other fun detail here. Ross Dellinger and Dan Wetzel reported that a Michigan booster known as Uncle T helped fund the Wolverines alleged scheme.

In particular, ex-staffer Connor Stallion's advanced scouting operation. I want to know who Uncle T is. Some people said maybe it's Michigan alum in Tom Brady.

That has since been refuted and has been reported down. My one theory on who Uncle T is, is maybe Tony Soprano is still alive. Maybe he did not die.

Maybe he is still living. And there is a photo of Tony Soprano in a Rutgers shirt. Maybe he was on that Rutgers sideline doing a little scouting and the great Tony Soprano is still alive. That is my theory on who Uncle T is.

It's not Tom Brady. It's America's favorite uncle helping America's team in Michigan. And Tony Soprano, who knows a few things, getting behind the scenes and doing things a little bit dirty, is now aiding the Michigan Wolverines. Go Blue! Tony Soprano alive and well.

It is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Real quickly, what about the future of Jim Harbaugh? After all we found out this week where Michigan is kind of put in a pause on fighting back.

Right. They're put in a pause on due process. You just had the linebackers coach fired.

Now he's going to serve the next two games and complete the three game suspension. There could be something else coming around the corner from the NCAA. Remember, there was already that issue about the recruiting violations.

Now there's this issue. I don't know how quickly the NCAA will move. They could still kick the can down the road for three, four more years. But before any of this stuff came out, talk about the latest scandal. There was a belief and there were reports that Jim Harbaugh was inching closer and closer to signing a lucrative long term extension with the Wolverines.

And since that has started to fade away, then pick back up some momentum, then fade away, we haven't heard anything else about it. Yes or no? I'll go around the room here. Stu, do you think Jim Harbaugh is back next year as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines? I do not. I still think he goes to the NFL. Samter, do you think Jim Harbaugh is back next year as the coach of the Michigan Wolverines?

I do. Okay. Ack, next year where's Jim Harbaugh? Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor.

Alrighty. Well, hold on. I mean, he could be just living there and having fun. Are you talking about like being the head coach of Michigan or just living there? At the university. Yes, I think Ack is assuming that Jim Harbaugh- As a professor of biology or, again, head coach?

What are you talking about? Maybe he'll work at the Brown Jug where he got popped for that cheeseburger violation. Hey, Jim Harbaugh is serving me my iced latte. I love it. Zingerman's. Yeah.

Oh, there we go. Ack knows a thing or two about Ann Arbor. One of the great delicatessens in America, Zingerman's in Ann Arbor.

Absolutely delicious. And that's actually become a big dilemma when I'm there next week. I fly in early Friday. We had dinner already booked.

A bunch of friends and yours truly. And we're wondering with the game on Saturday and then it being at noon and probably we're going to be having a few adult beverages and then leaving early Sunday morning at 7 a.m. when we get the Zingerman's fix in. But I think it's a must stop. But we got to work on the load management of trying to get Zingerman's.

But anyway, I'll give you my answer. I think Harbaugh's preference is to stay with Michigan, but he has dipped his toe in the NFL waters the last two years. No one has taken him up on that right. Had that long meeting with the Vikings, a long interview of over 10 hours. Didn't get the job. Last year was begging for a job.

Didn't get a job. I do think there's going to be interest in Jim Harbaugh this year. I said Buffalo going back to September.

The commanders are going to be making to look to make a big splash. Maybe the Raiders end up getting into the services of Jim Harbaugh, which they didn't really two years ago. Chicago with the Bears handing the keys to the franchise over to Jim. I do believe there will be enough here where Jim looks at it and goes, do I want to deal with the eventual suspension from the NCAA? Do I want to deal with the never ending change in college football, which I think is for the better in NIL and also the transfer portal? Or do I want to go back to the NFL where, yeah, I don't want to leave my alma mater, but in four years I went to three NFC title games and I also went to a Super Bowl. So I do believe that Harbaugh, even though he's odd, even though he's quirky, even though when you think he's going to turn right, he turns left. And most people think he's going to the NFL. So that would indicate maybe act is right that he stays.

I do think that Harbaugh gets a job offer from the NFL this year, and I don't think he's going to turn it down. All right. It is that guilt show on CBS Sports Radio. We'll take a break when we come on back. We got some questions. We'll give you some answers. We do this segment every Monday and Friday right here on the show. It's called Onside Offsides. Next up with the latest CBS Sports Radio update.

Here is the act man, Rich Ackerman. Fairfield by Marriott, part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio of hotels is the official hotel partner of the NCAA with over 1000 locations around the country. You will always have the home field advantage.

Visit fairfield.com to book your stay tomorrow. Number five, Washington travels to Corvallis to take on number 11, Oregon State. The Beavers are eight and two on the season behind 26 total touchdowns from D.J.

Uwe Ungolalay, while Michael Pennix looks to solidify his Heisman candidacy as he has 30 total touchdowns and over 3500 passing yards. We got some questions. We got some answers.

We do this segment every Monday and Friday. Let's get to a little Onside Offsides. Stu, hit it! 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. Alrighty, Big Mike, CBS, Moist Mike, whatever the kids call you these days, what do we got?

The kids don't call me anything. I'm a blur. The Texans host Arizona having won five of the last seven, including a 20-point win in Jacksonville back in week three. Houston sits just a game back of the Jags and hosts the defending South champs next week. So Onside Offsides, you actually have more faith in the Texans right now than you do in the Jags.

They've closed the gap. The Texans still have a while to go and a long ways to go, but they've been very impressive. And as you pointed out, that's got the Texans their first win of the season and really started this run when they spanked the Jaguars. I still think the Jaguars win the rematch.

Trevor Lawrence needs to play better up against great teams, but he's still a good quarterback. The Jaguars are still a good team. And I do think they are just more ready now than the Texans, where the Texans have taken a big step. And maybe they make the playoffs now with all these quarterbacks going down and CJ Shroud's playing like he's the MVP of the league. But I will still trust, even though I love what I'm seeing from Shroud and D'Amico Ryans, the duo of Doug Peterson and Trevor Lawrence to find a way to be better than the Texans. You ask me, you have more faith in the Texans right now than the Jaguars to go both ways, but I'll lean more offside than onside. Number two, the Raiders have won both their games under Antonio Pierce, but those came against Tommy DeVito and Zach Wilson. Yeah, this week they get a real test and travel to Miami to take on the Dolphins.

So onside, offside, Stu's Raiders are legitimate playoff contenders. That's a no for me, Doug. Like, you could make the argument, oh, they're five and five. Like, they have a chance, sure. Like, that's like me saying, I'll use this reference once again, I have a chance to maybe like date Margot Robbie or Beyonce.

You could talk yourself into it being better than what it actually is, but you know you don't really have a shot. I just can't see Aiden O'Connell making the playoffs and starting a playoff game. Stu, who was your quarterback the year where they played the Texans when Carr got hurt? Do you remember who that quarterback was that started for the Raiders? Yes, so it was supposed to be the former Penn State quarterback. Oh, McGloin? It's supposed to be McGloin. He started the last week against the Broncos.

He got hurt, so they had to use Connor Cook, who was a rookie, like a fourth or fifth round draft pick, whatever round he was in, and he played and they got wolfed by the Texans. Like, if I say Aiden O'Connell, can anyone envision him playing in the playoffs this year? No, cannot.

Yeah, neither can I. So there's your answer, and also, are we really going to hype up a team after taking care of business against the Giants and the Jets? Like, is that really what we're going to do here? It's like, what are we? It's like the way we talk about the Cowboys. They cross the Giants and the Jets, and then they actually play a good team.

It's like, oh yeah, not that good. So let's pump the brakes a little bit on the Raiders' love. Good to see Antonio Pierce get back-to-back victories, but now you're going up against the Dolphins. The Dolphins are going to smother them this weekend. So the Raiders are legitimate playoff contenders. I go offside.

Offside. Now, I sent a quick note this morning. I was going through some mock drafts, and you know, they'll say team needs, offensive line, quarterback, you know, defensive back. Real quickly, before you continue this story, I did not read that. I saw that there was some message that you sent with the picture.

I was in the dentist's chair, and I forgot to go back to it, but I saw that you said, sorry, Stu, or something like that. So what was the pick here? So I was on one of the mock drafts, and this was pick number 16 for the Raiders, and like I said, you know, you'll always see in a mock draft, team needs, and then who they're going to draft. Team needs for the Raiders, quote, literally everything. I vehemently disagree because they do not need a punter. They have one of the best punters on the team.

Other than that, though, I would agree. You know who he sounds like, Sam, when he does that creepy laugh? You sound like Dr. Evil. 100 million draft picks.

Now you just need a mini-me. Now, we've talked a little bit about this now with the Joe Burrow injury, but the Browns host the Steelers, and will do so with Dorian Thompson-Robinson under center after Sean Watson went down for the season. DTR was a mess in his only other start, throwing three picks in a blowout loss to the Ravens. So onside-offside, it is a mistake starting DTR over P.J.

Walker. Like, when you say a mistake, could this be like you spill some milk or something like that, or you forget some eggs? This is a 6-3 team fighting for a playoff spot. But like, there's different levels of mistakes. Like, can I just say a small mistake?

You're not burning the house down, but maybe you're, you know, burning the kitchen. Okay. I don't think it really matters, but P.J. Walker did play in two games that they won, and I don't know if they necessarily won because of him, but that's why I would go back to the well with P.J. Walker.

It does seem bizarre, and now you know what's going to happen. Dorian Thompson-Robinson's going to get on the field, and he's going to light the field on fire in a good way, not burn the entire house down. I'll lean more so P.J. over DTR, so you say is it a mistake starting DTR over P.J.

Walker? A minor mistake. So yeah, I would go onsides there. Now, to facing backlash over her comments about making up quotes from coaches, Karissa Thompson issued a statement on Instagram saying, quote, she chose the wrong words to describe the situation, quote, never lied, and quote, never attributed anything I said to a player or coach. And quote, onside, offside, Thompson's statement is enough for you to forget it and move on. So I actually think the statement was worse and made it worse because you said what you said, and then you're like trying to backtrack and go, oh, you never made anything up from the coaches or whatever and said it was from a coach.

You know me. Yesterday, you were ready to just freak out and lose your mind, Santer, and you're like, oh, that's going to set back the sideline reporters 30 years. And I go, what she did was wrong and she shouldn't say what she did. But I didn't have this passion like everybody else where I was freaking out over this story. It was stupid. But it's not as if I need to hear from every other reporter here as you need to go after Karissa Thompson because I don't call then your work into jeopardy.

What she did was dumb. I'm ready to move on from this, but I don't think her statement helped here. I actually think the statement made it worse. So when you said Thompson's statement is enough for you to forget and move on, the statement is actually the one thing that has annoyed me here.

So now it brings a little extra fuel to the fire. So I will actually say offside, even though I was ready to move on yesterday and I really don't care still today. But the statement was like, well, you were all about it when you said the quote and you said, I've said this before and nothing's ever happened and I still have a job. And now it's like, oh, it was taken out of context or I never misquoted a coach. What are you talking about? You said what you said. So I will actually, in a surprising way, go offside on this one.

But I do hope that this goes away very quickly. Were you surprised that she was on Amazon last night? I saw Michelle Tafoya thought that they were going to pull off Amazon.

Now it's a different role. She's a studio host and no one acknowledged it from my knowledge on Amazon last night. I didn't watch the postgame, so maybe they did.

And if they did, I apologize. But Al Michaels, you missed the golden opportunity. When you had the borough injury, all Michaels needed to say was, I'm sure Karissa Thompson's going to be talking to the coaching staff at halftime. And she'll have all the latest for you on the halftime show in regards to Joe Burrow. I would have loved if Al Michaels did that.

And he has the clout to be able to get away with something like that. You know, Twitter did it for him because it was just lighting up with fake Karissa Thompson reports. Who was the anchor from CNN? Brian Williams, was it? Who was the guy? NBC, I believe. NBC, yeah. Brian Williams. Yeah, remember he kept on saying he was at things and then he got fired? I'm pretty sure that was him. Yeah. That's Karissa Thompson, Brian Williams. Never seen them in the same room together. Yeah, a little bit different.

Yeah, they're the same person. After last week's big win over USC, Oregon QB Bo Nix became the new odds-on favorite to win the Heisman, followed by Jayden Daniels, Michael Pennix, and Marvin Harrison to round out the top four. So onside, offside, Bo Nix should win the Heisman Trophy this year. I can't say that right now because I don't know if he's going to win the Pac-12 Championship. If he wins the Pac-12 Championship at Oregon and they're in the college football playoff, it's going to be tough because I do think right now three people that have a really good chance of winning the award are Bo Nix, Michael Pennix. One of them going to win the Pac-12, you would think.

We'll see what happens after this weekend. And then somehow, I don't believe Ohio State's beat Michigan, but somehow if Ohio State does beat Michigan, then there's going to be a big push for Marvin Harrison Jr. as well. But right now I have to say offside just because I don't know if he's going to be in the college football playoff with the Ducks.

Offside. Shohei Ohtani won AL MVP in unanimous fashion yesterday. His second win in the last three seasons and fifth for an Angels star in ten years.

Obviously Mike Trout had his three. Now a free agent, Ohtani has apparently told teams that any leaking of information, including contract size or even that he's visiting that team, will be held against them in his decision. So onside, offside, Ohtani is the biggest free agent in sports history.

So could we like hack Jeff Passan's Twitter, unblock me from Jeff Passan's Twitter and just start tweeting out? Hey, he wants to go to the Dodgers. Hey, he wants to go to the Giants just so we could try to alter the decision making from Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani is the biggest free agent in sports history. Baseball history, sure. Sports history, I will go offside. Just in my lifetime, remember the daily reporting about LeBron James and then the show, the decision? That was bigger than Ohtani. And baseball, I hate to say it, I love baseball. But in the year of 2023, even though Ohtani is the biggest draw to the sport, it just doesn't have the coverage and the buzz as it once did.

So I will still say LeBron is a bigger free agent in sports history. And then what came with that chase than Ohtani right now. So I will go offside here. All right, that's some onside, offside on the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. We'll take a break when we come on back. We've seen Ken Dorsey get fired this week. Is Matt Canada with the Steelers next? Big game for the Steelers. We know their defense should be able to show up, but how about their offense, which has pretty much been nonexistent all year, as Kenny Pickett only has six passing touchdowns on the season. Could Matt Canada be showing the door if the Steelers don't get a victory on Sunday? We'll discuss when we return in five minutes.