Drew Brees, Former NFL QB

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$10 minimum per order. Additional terms apply. All right, we continue. This is that Gelb show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio.

We'll go out to the guest line right now. Welcome in legendary NFL quarterback Drew Brees, who's playing some pickleball these days with the new owl paddle, which reduces the sound of hitting the ball by more than 50%. Drew, appreciate the time as always. How you been? Yeah, I've been really good.

You? Been fantastic. I got to start you off with the game last night.

Eagles 9-1. They still haven't played their best football, and the record speaks for itself. But on the other side, you look at Kansas City, that's three straight games in the second half where they have not scored a point and have been shut out.

Where's your concern level, even with how great Patrick Mahomes is, when you look at the Chiefs offense right now? Yeah, you know what? They've had moments over the last few years.

I mean, look, you know this. At any moment, they could just go off, right? There's as explosive an offense as there is in football. They've got, you know, arguably one of the best quarterbacks and a guy who's just so dangerous, right? Like, no game is ever out of reach with those guys. I mean, their defense has been playing really good this year. So, it's one of those things where they're always dangerous, but from week to week, you just don't really know what team you're going to get. And so, they've had these moments where there's been a little lack of consistency.

You know, I can remember a couple years ago, it was actually the 2021 season. Ironically, they went on to go play well in the playoffs, but nonetheless, they weren't getting the ball to Kelsey. There wasn't a commitment to the run. They kind of lacked some creativity with some of the things that they were doing. They were turning the ball over a bunch. It was really uncharacteristic stuff, the stuff that you would just sit back as an experienced coach or experienced offense and say, hey guys, we're kind of beating ourselves.

So, I think that's what they're going to see is when they turn on the film. It's like, man, we're kind of beating ourselves here. It's not necessarily what defenses are doing to defend us. I mean, look, of course teams are going to try to double Travis Kelsey, right?

I mean, that's what I would do. I'd be the number one guy I'm taking away if I'm playing that offense, right? He is the key to that passing game. But when you've got a guy like Mahomes who has the ability to run around and make plays, when you've got a defense that's playing at a high level, there's no reason why you shouldn't win all the games you're supposed to win. And then, you know, when you play against arguably one of the other better teams in the league in the Eagles, you got to find ways to make the plays at the end in order to win.

Talking to Drew Brees right now, I got to get to your old ball coach and Sean Payton got off to a slow start with Russell Wilson, but now they're rolling winning four straight. So, they've shown together they could be really solid. They could be good. You know, there's a difference to eventually achieving greatness. Do you think this is the start of a great duo with Sean and Russ?

Yeah, you know what, Dave? You know, I think I knew, you know, early on the season was a bit of an aberration, you know, because I think everyone felt like, man, coming off of last year, hey, the defense had been really, really solid last year and that was just going to continue and then it was going to allow the offense to, you know, kind of slowly ramp up steam. You know, unfortunately, defense really came out in struggle and I think there was, you know, they lost some edge players from last year and so they just needed a chance to kind of take what was the new scheme and just develop a comfort level with it.

You know, offensively, I think they started off better than what I expected and yet, you know, on the other side of the ball, it just wasn't enough. So, now you've seen them start to kind of hit their stride. I mean, you can definitely feel like, man, everybody's bought in, everybody understands the direction and the expectation level that, you know, I'm sure Sean has put into place there, you know, knowing him as a head coach and I'm interested to see how the offense continues to progress because they definitely have some weapons. You know, I think they've made a big commitment to the run game here over the last couple weeks, especially. I think that really helps out what I think is one of Russell Wilson's great strengths, which is the play-action passing game and his ability to push the ball down the field.

It doesn't feel like they've done that a lot. So, I think there's still a ton of room for growth there, which would make them even more explosive. So, if you can get there and combine a great run game and explosive play-action passing game with the defenses playing well, then they become a really dangerous team. Talking to Drew Brees right now, we'll talk about what he's doing today with the Owl Paddle in just a bit, playing a lot of pickleball. I know that you've seen Joe Burrow go down for the year, unfortunately, Deshaun Watson as well. I know you haven't played since 2020, but if either of those teams called you, would you be interested in joining the Browns and Bengals for the rest of the way?

Well, you know what? My wife was born in Cleveland, so is a bunch of family there, you know, that would be tempting. No, I'm just kidding. No, I'm very happy, you know, coaching my kids and just being bad. I'll tell you though, Cleveland has a damn good team, great defense, offensive line is solid. I think they just need a quarterback. Like, if you're interested, even if Tom Brady wants to un-retire again, I think you guys could really go win something this year in Cleveland.

I'll tell you what, that fan base deserves it. I know that. Well, let me ask you this. Have you ever thought about maybe un-retiring through the last three years?

I know you're happy now. I respect what you just said, but has there ever been a moment where you were close to coming on back? Well, you know, there was back my first year in retirement when I was actually working for NBC and, you know, it was still kind of the crazy COVID stuff. And, you know, there was a moment where all the Saints quarterbacks were out either with injury or with COVID. And Sean asked me to come back and play in the Monday night game right after Christmas against the Dolphins. And I came really, really close to doing it.

But, you know, I had obligations, you know, other places that I felt like I needed to follow through with. By the way, what are your view of the Saints right now? What do you think they could accomplish this year with what Dennis Allen and Derek Carr are doing?

You know, I think they've had their moments. You know, they went up to New England and had a big game offensively. You know, they went to Indianapolis and had a big game offensively. You know, came back home and had another big game against the Bears offensively. And then, you know, go to Minnesota and, you know, Tampa and you can point to some of these other games where it's like, man, it just didn't feel like they had great rhythm.

You know, just kind of got, you know, just a lack of consistency, I'd say, you know. So, look, I think that's a team that has all the pieces in place. And they've got great veteran leadership that goes on to play and they've got great veteran leadership. They've got some talented young guys. Defensively, it's certainly a top 10. It's not a top five defense. Offensively, they've got a lot of weapons.

You know, you got a guy in Derek Carr who's, you've got command of the offense. So, there's really no reason why, you know, every time those guys step on the field, you shouldn't expect them to win or be highly competitive. The record doesn't reflect that right now. But, you know, I'd say the latter half of the season here, they got a bunch of divisional games. You know, they're gonna play Carolina again. They're gonna play Tampa again. They're gonna play Atlanta twice, you know. So, in a division that's pretty tight right now, that'll be the determining factor. But I'd be surprised if they don't win the division. When you watch the Chargers get into the other team that you played for, is it just as simple as Staley isn't the right guy for this team right now?

I wouldn't say that. You know, for whatever reason, they just, they haven't been able to get over the hump. You know, it feels like there's those games where, man, offensively, they're just super high-powered. They're scoring a bunch of points and they can't stop anybody on defense. And then there's those games like last week where I felt like, you know, all in all, the team played well. They just had, you know, two or three plays where, you know, you drop a ball that should have been a touchdown. You fumble the ball inside the five going in and, you know, so you have three red zone possessions and you got six points, you know. So, like, stuff like that in the NFL when most games are decided by one possession, you know, and you lose whatever that score was, 23-20 or whatever, you know, they lose by field goal, you know, you drop a ball at the end of the game. You know, rookie receiver drops a go ball that probably should have been a touchdown, maybe the game winner. Like, you know, you just, you get frustrated because it's a loss, right? At the same time, you turn on the tape and it's like, guys, there's like four or five things that happen here that if we just do one of them, we win this game. So, they've got, I mean, they got the quarterback, right?

I mean, that's priority number one. I'll tell you, I think they need Drew. I think they need Belichick. There's all these rumors about Belichick maybe being done in New England.

That would be a perfect match because Bill needs more talent right now. Yeah, you know, there's always fireworks in every NFL offseason. I mean, shoot, we've gone to where we're firing coordinators mid-season. You know, we got two in a row these last two weeks, right? So, there's always going to be a coaching shuffle.

It'll be interesting to see how that plays out. Alrighty, Drew, before we let you run, always appreciate you and jump on board. But thus, tell me about your pickleball game these days. I know you're heavily involved in that in this new Owl Paddle. Yeah, so I'm an owner in an MLP team called the Los Angeles Mad Drops Pickleball Club. We actually won the championship this year, which was awesome, and look forward to seeing the league grow and continue to progress. So, Owl Paddles is a hit.

I'm actually here in New York right now with John McEnroe. We're about to play pickleball inside of a library, believe it or not, with these Owl Paddles to show just how quiet pickleball can be. The only negative with pickleball right now, or perceived negative, is that it can get a little noisy with all the dink, dink, dink. Owl has done a great job with engineering a paddle that now reduces the sound by 50%, so it's significantly quieter. It's actually the only paddle that is USA Pickleball Quiet category designated, so this is a great option. You don't lack any performance, you know, power. It really kind of provides all those things in addition to being nice and quiet. I know you're probably always looking to enhance the scouting department on the pickleball team.

I'll just make a recommendation. I have a hidden gem for you. My uncle Kenny, he may be in his 70s now, but he really is moving and grooving on that pickleball court. You know what? Those are the kind of guys that sneak up on you. You know, you step on the court, a couple old guys, you know, like, oh, we're about to, you know, we're about to run these guys, and all of a sudden, you know, it's like, it was, it's like a kung fu match.

You don't know, you don't know what hits you. Drew, I know you got to run. Appreciate the time. You be well. Happy Thanksgiving. All right, man, you too. I'm Snoop Dogg, and I'm giving up smoke.

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Go to solostove.com. Tell them big Snoop Dogg sent you. Hey there football fans. I'm Brian Baldinger, and I'm thrilled to introduce you to the Best Football Show, a podcast that's an exhilarating journey through the world of the National Football League. Join me each weekday, breaking down those spine-tingling moments, dissecting top players, and offering my unique perspective. Prepare to get smarter about the game we all love with every episode of the Best Football Show, where the game comes to life. Huddle up with me for a football experience like no other.

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