Lamar Jackson is The NFL’s MVP (Hour 1)

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Additional terms apply. Live from the play show yet not overly ostentatious, studios of CBS Sports Radio here in beautiful New York City, sitting on top of the tenth floor of 345 Hudson Street. Welcome on in to a Tuesday edition of the Zach Gelb Show across all the great local CBS Sports Radio affiliates, Sirius XM, Channel 158, the free Odyssey app, and of course streaming on YouTube. 855-212-4CBS is numbered to jump on in. 855-212-4227. You can always interact with me on the good ol' cesspool of Twitter or on Instagram where I'm straight flexing.

At Zach Gelb, that's Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. Kadri Ismail is going to stop by at 5.20 p.m. Eastern, 2.20 p.m. Pacific, and we have a Moist Mike and also Carlos with a K. Carlos Ortiz rocking and rolling with us all the way up until 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific. Hope everyone had a great holiday season. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas yesterday.

And let's just all be transparent right out of the gate. We're all feeling hazy today, right? We're all in a food coma today. The last two days, I ate like a fat pig. It was just really crazy how much food I consumed in the last 48 hours.

So, Sunday, I worked with Carlos. I get off of Ion Football at 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific. I take the train out to my folks' place, and it's about an hour train ride. So my mom, dad, they picked me up at the train station, and my mom's like, let's go see the Christmas lights.

And I go, Ma, I love you. As much as I want to see the Christmas lights, I am so hungry. Because during Ion Football, which is an eight-hour marathon, I really only consume one meal during that, and it's usually something light, like maybe a bagel with some egg whites or just a bagel with butter. And I wait to feast when I get home because when you're doing a show for eight hours and you eat all that food, it's just impossible to concentrate and impossible to formulate a sentence. So I was starving, and my mom wasn't too thrilled that we didn't get to go see the Christmas lights, but she did make a delicious meal as she had some short ribs, which were just unbelievable. I'm a big fan of short ribs. So had a very good meal on Sunday night, had a little dessert. There were some cookies that were made up by mom as well. And then yesterday, it was just football, football, football, family, and food.

And that's what it was. And I always have this take about football watching food, and there's so many different types of food that you could have with football, whether it's Italian, whether it's barbecue. You know, you could sit there and grill until the cows come home. But there's always something about Chinese food with football. Like when I think of Shaq and Kobe, right, a once elite, great, all-time great duo, Scotty and MJ, I also think like Chinese food and football. And I sat there for the first game, then the second game, and we saw right the Chiefs lose to the Raiders, then the Eagles beat the Giants, but it wasn't all that impressive. And there's issues with the Eagles.

We'll get to them later. And then the Sunday or the Monday night game was great anticipation. It was supposed to be this heavyweight fight. It was supposed to be this great game right down to the wire. And then the Ravens just opened up a can of whoop ass on the San Francisco 49ers. And I needed that last game to be a good game, because I was already just in the food coma, and I'm sitting on the couch, and I was doing like the old man thing on the couch, where your eyes start to fall asleep, and then someone changes the channel.

I am watching that. What are we doing? But we just ate a ridiculous amount of Chinese food last night. The wonton soup to start, boneless spare ribs. We had an egg roll.

There's nothing like a good egg roll, a pork egg roll too. We had some dumplings. Then we had some Singapore noodles. We had some chow mein. There was General Tso's chicken.

Like it just did not stop fried rice, white rice. It just never ended with the Chinese food last night. So my alarm went off this morning, and I had to get up, take the train back into the city, stop by my apartment, shower, and look like somewhat of a human being to get in here and do a radio show. And when I walk around these studios today, and I walk around this office that has what, five or six radio stations, and then us, the network here at CBS Sports Radio, I think I can count on one hand how many people are here.

Where it's Santa, it's Carlos, it's me, it's Pat Boyle, and then Marash is like down the hall. And that's about it. So I'm sitting here saying to myself, yeah, you know, it's the right thing, you come on in, you work, you're in the sports industry, you had a big weekend of football, you got the college football playoff games coming up this weekend, and then I look at the program schedule, and I think it's just out of the regular Monday through Friday lineup this week, it's myself and Amy Lawrence working. And congratulations to Amy, who I think it was two, three weeks ago got married, and she's finally getting back into the swing of things.

So congratulations to Alaw. So I'm sitting here and I feel like a moron today when we open up this show. I feel as if, and Carlos Ortiz is pointing and laughing at me, you're still here as well, dummy.

So what are you laughing at? I have no choice. So yeah, I had one off day remaining. I guess I'm going to lose it because it wipes away at the beginning of the new year. And that's this upcoming weekend.

And I almost feel as if I am Will Smith, in the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, when everyone moves out of the house today, right, all the furniture gets stolen, all that I'm sitting there in the living room, and I got no one else here. So it's going to be a very lonely week. But this is what we do. We do a sports talk radio program because we have a great, passionate, loyal listening audience. And they expect us to be here this week in a off time for most. It is a working time the way that I look at it, because the football games only mean so much more when it's either in college, right, it means the ultimate.

And then for the NFL, it just keeps on picking up in intensity. So I'm here today. I'm going to be talking today. My brain, though, is probably functioning at I would say about 65%. So it's still better than a lot of other things you're going to watch and listen to in the next week or so.

So be patient with us, be bearing, and also be caring with us as well as we try to fight through all that just disgusting food that we ate in the last 48, 24 hours. So, alrighty, let's get to the game from yesterday. I was able to watch most of it.

The only time I missed any part of the game was when I was starting to doze off. And then I smacked myself across the face and said, wake up, you got a job to do. You got people to talk to tomorrow. You got to be all engaged on the Ravens and the 49ers. I'm thrilled today.

I am thrilled today because of one reason and one reason only. Today is a day that Lamar Jackson is going to get universal praise. And Lamar Jackson, it's always annoyed me as a Lamar Jackson supporter. Whenever you had Bill Polian say those ridiculous things, you know, Lamar won a Heisman. Just because you won a Heisman doesn't mean that you're going to be this great rock star quarterback in the NFL.

But for Bill Polian to say whatever it was, he's got to be a running back or he's got to be a wide receiver. I thought that was the definition of Jackassery, but that was really the start of the Lamar Jackson criticism. And even when Lamar Jackson is playing at this great level, there are people that still decide to talk about what Lamar can't do rather than what Lamar can do and what Lamar Jackson is doing. And he won a universal, a unanimous MVP, excuse me, his first year, his first true year as a starter. The guy has been really damn good as a quarterback. And for whatever the reasons are, Lamar just doesn't get that praise as if he's a top five quarterback in the league. And now today, you're not going to hear that from anybody because even though his stats aren't as great as the first time he won the MVP, you see the impact. And Bill Belichick, he once said stats are for losers and people like laugh at that because now we live in a world where it's stats, stats, stats, stats.

It's the truest thing that's ever said because sometimes you could see stats in a game and you could see stats from a player and they're either empty or the team was down a lot and then they're stat padding. But when you have consistently watched Lamar Jackson this year, he's by far and away the most important person on that team, but also he's the most valuable player in the NFL. And I've said this for years when it comes to Lamar, when are they going to get him a great bonafide number one option at the wide receiver position? Like we've seen Tua Tonga-Vilow in Miami get Tyreke Hill and Jaylen Model. We've seen Jaylen Hurts get AJ Brown and Devante Smith. We've seen Josh Allen gets the Fon Diggs.

And the Ravens have tried, but Rashawn Bateman can't stay healthy. Marquise Hollywood Brown was never a one, but they traded him. Zay Flowers looks like he could be really good, but he's a rookie.

There's going to be some ups and downs. You know, yeah, you get Odell Beckham Jr. this offseason, but Odell Beckham Jr., he's still a fine player, but he's nowhere close to being the great player that he once was and really his best options were Mark Andrews and JK Dobbins. And Mark Andrews got hurt this year, and JK Dobbins unfortunately has had his career just ruined and slowed down because he always gets decimated with injuries. And you watch Lamar week in and week out, and all he does is extend plays, he makes ridiculous jaw-dropping plays, and then he wins. And I know there's going to be a ton of people that are going to tell me, Zach, you say he wins, but the guy only has one playoff victory. Oh, the guy has never got to a Super Bowl. Like, do we forget some all-time great quarterbacks that struggled early on in their postseason career? Peyton Manning lost a lot of games before he won a Super Bowl. John Elway didn't win a Super Bowl, and Elway won two, but they were at the end of his career.

So I know we now live in a society where it's you either win a Super Bowl and you're praised, or you don't get to a Super Bowl, you lose in the playoffs, and then people try to make it out as if you suck. Lamar Jackson has been a great quarterback for a long time, and the only reason why people doubt him is because the last two years, he hasn't been able to stay healthy. But right now, he's healthy, and you look across that offense, tell me the other great players that are on that offense.

You can't. They don't have a great running back, they don't have a great tight end right now, and they have a good wide receiver or two, but they don't have great wide receivers. So what Lamar is doing right now is he's giving anyone that's doubted him before the draft, during the draft, after the draft, after he's won a unanimous MVP, after he's become one of the more electrifying players in the NFL, he's giving you a middle finger.

And I love it. And it's crazy to me. This guy was available in the offseason. All you had to do was give a contract offer and be willing to lose two first round picks if the Ravens didn't match it.

And no one even gave him an offer. Like, if I was a GM, I would just, even if I didn't want to sign him, I would give some ridiculous offer and you knew that the Ravens were going to have to match it anyway. Because there was no way the Ravens were going to actually let him walk, even though they appeared that they were fine with letting someone do it, it's different in appearing and bluffing that you were going to let Lamar Jackson walk off the door and then actually let him walk out the door. Because I get it, they have a great coach, they have a great defense that had Brock Purdy throw four interceptions last night, rest in peace to the Brock Purdy MVP push, and that defense is phenomenal, but that team goes as Lamar goes. It doesn't mean that there's not other essential pieces on that team, but the most valuable player on that team and the most valuable player in the NFL for this year of 2023 is Lamar Jackson. And I don't want to hear a damn thing today about what you think he can't do.

How about we start talking about what he has done, what he can do, and what he will continue to do. Because this dude is so easy to root for, he's one of the more electrifying players in the league, and he is awesome. And the only thing that slows him down are injuries. And I wish him nothing but the best, I wish him only good health, and it would really be something this year if the Ravens got to the Super Bowl, and we had to praise Lamar Jackson for the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, and then we had to praise him for the entire offseason as a Super Bowl champion. Because there's pressure on the Ravens. The AFC is wide open, and guess what?

They're the lead dog. And they just went into Santa Clara against the best team in the NFL, and they made the best team in the NFL look like they didn't even belong in the same field as them. So the Ravens deserve the praise that they're getting right now. But if you're someone that's still doubting Lamar, or is skeptical Lamar, I just want to know why.

Because it doesn't register with me. Because we've seen a lot of guys get into this league, put up big stats, win some accolades, and really have exceeded expectations, and they get praise, but for whatever the reason it is with Lamar, when those other guys had playoff shortcomings, it was, oh, it's eventually time. So Lamar Jackson, he'll never win a big game. He'll never win a Super Bowl. And it reminds me just identical of the way that we talked about Giannis Antetokounmpo and the NBA years ago. Giannis won two MVPs, they didn't get the job done in the postseason, and it was, oh, Giannis, because he's not the greatest shooter in the world, well guess what? He'll never win a championship. He'll never do so in Milwaukee. And with Lamar, it's because he's not your ideal prototypical passing quarterback. Oh, he'll never get the job done. It's baloney.

It's BS. You can't tell me that as long as Lamar is healthy, and that's a different conversation, but as long as he's healthy, you can't tell me he doesn't have a shot to win a Super Bowl for the next five to ten years. He is that dominant of a player, and he has never, never, ever, ever had a true number one wide receiver. And all this guy does is put the team on his back and continues to just prove people wrong day after day, month after month, and year after year. And I love it. The dude's a top five quarterback, the dude's the MVP of the league this year, the dude is a two-time MVP, and since my team won't be in the dance, even though they're winning too many games as a lady and they're screwing up the tank, it's very easy to root for Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.

All right, this is Zach Gelb's show on CBS Sports Radio, 855-212-4CBS, 855-212-4227. How do you view Lamar Jackson? Right now, I view him as the most valuable player in the NFL. Then you get to the flip side of the 49ers. I still think the 49ers are a heck of a team. I still trust them the most in the NFC, but last night reminds you when, I don't know, there were shows or there was talk show hosts, oh wait, it was us, it was me, that was saying 49ers are the field, and I went against my rule where I said 99.9% of the time I always take the field, especially in a single-elimination sport.

Why? Maybe we should go back to the field when last week I was spewing the 49ers. Hey, they are still dominant, they are still a great team, but the Ravens showed you last night, the NFL is as open as I could ever imagine it this year, because there's not a lot of great teams.

Really, the only two great teams I've seen this year in the NFL are the Ravens and the 49ers, and maybe this will be a different outcome, maybe we'll see them again in February, I hope we see them again in February, because those are the two best teams in the NFL, and we'll see from now until then who's going to be able to disrupt some of the magic in the postseason, as I can't wait for the NFL postseason, from the Wildcat round to the divisional round, conference championship weekend, and then with it concluding in the Super Bowl. Alrighty, we'll take a break, when we come on back, are you back in on the Dolphins, and what are your thoughts on the drama? Dallas, choking the Cowboys, man. I feel so bad for those cockroach Cowboys fans, it's Christmas, it's supposed to be a jolly time of the year, you know, we're getting ready for 2024, and it's the same old crap, even though we're getting ready to go to a new year, it's the same old crap with your football team. Zac Gelb shows CBS Sports Radio.

Alrighty, this is Zac Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Oh, what a wonderful time of the year it is. So the Dallas Cowboys three weeks ago, we're like the talk of the league. So many people were trying to issue me a copas with the Dallas Cowboys because of how much we make fun of them, how much we just speak the truth about them, and how realistic we are that they are the definition of just a good team, but not a great team, and come the big moments, they crumble, and then they beat up on a bunch of crappy teams, then give them credit. Right, they found a way to make up for a loss that they had in Philadelphia, and they beat the snot out of the Philadelphia Eagles when they had that rematch in Dallas.

And then once that happened, it was, oh, maybe the Cowboys are different. Maybe Dak's going to win the MVP of the league this year. Maybe he's going to win playoff games. Look at the talent that he has with CeeDee Lamb and Brandon Cooks and Michael Gallup and Tony Pollard, and then defensively, oh, this is a great defense. This is an unbelievable defense.

You have Stefan Gilmore, former defensive player of the year. Micah Parsons is an absolute stud, and you have all this talk. McCarthy, he's underappreciated, which he is, and he's won a Super Bowl, but there's all this talk about the Cowboys, and through all of it, I laughed. I said, because you know it and I know it, in the playoffs, and this is where I was wrong, I said, in the playoffs, the drama Dallas Chokin' Cowboys would reappear.

We didn't even get to the postseason yet. And all that positive momentum, all of that just really nonsense and hogwash and really just a joke that we heard for about a month from Cowboys fans goes right out the window. And it went right out the window after their complete and utter no-show up against the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo. And then I sat here on Sunday, and I felt like I was on an island, because so many people were picking the Cowboys up against the Dolphins. We had three betting experts, which is sometimes an oxymoron, but they are betting experts, and they're very good at what they do for a living, and they're usually more right than we are in the gambling world. I'm not going to sit here and toot my own horn about my gambling picks, because yeah, I had a great parlay over the weekend that won me $500, $600, but with my show picks, yikes, usually not good. But I had three betting experts all be in on the Dallas Cowboys to bounce back and defeat the Miami Dolphins.

And I sat there, and I just asked why. Like, that game was a coin flip, and I trusted the home team more in the Miami Dolphins, and then I also said I would lean more to it than Dak. Now, to Dak's credit, Dak played well in the game. Dak is not the reason why the Dallas Cowboys lost to the Miami Dolphins. Dak led that team down the field. He made a big third down throw.

He got the ball in the end zone, and he gave him the lead. And then that great defense, which is two defenses I'm really sick and tired about calling great. It's the New York Jets defense, which they are a very good defense.

I would like to see what they would do if they actually had a quarterback, because it would alleviate some of the problems that the Jets defense has, and then also the Dallas Cowboys. Like, those two defenses have been talked about at times this year as if they are the 85 Bears, as if they're the Steel Curtain, the early 2,000 Ravens, and then the Legion of Boom. Like, let's pump the brakes. And I think you guys have realized this about me. My biggest gripe and the biggest problem I have when people refer to just good defenses or good teams or good players as great players, I am extremely strict on calling a player great. Like, if I call a player great, I have the utmost respect for them. But sometimes I'll call someone good, and people are like, oh, that's offensive. Or, oh, you're trashing them. No. Just not everyone in the world is either the GOAT, the greatest of all time, or the worst of all time.

There are different sectors, there's different levels when we look at this. There are bad players, there are average players, there are above average players, there are good players, there are very good players, there are very good, good teams, and then there are great teams and great players. And it's amazing to me how we heard a lot of people call the Cowboys great. And that supposedly great defense folded and got just absolutely exposed by Tua. The run game, Jeff Wilson Jr. had some of his carries late, as they were just rotating backs in with the Miami Dolphins, and then Jason Sanders had a remarkable game.

He did, and he kicked the game-winning field goal. So, three weeks ago, it was, oh, look how great the Cowboys are. Oh, the Cowboys are different. And I'm sitting here, and I'm thinking to myself, am I insane?

Like, do I get a different TV feed than everybody else? Sure, the Cowboys were impressive. But, it doesn't mean I was ready to throw them into the party, even in a year where it's wide open in the NFL, where all of a sudden I would sit back and go, oh, yeah, this is why they're going to go. They're playing to a level where they should go to a Super Bowl where they haven't been since 1995 or an NFC Championship game since the 1995 season.

And I never thought that was going to happen. And the last two weeks, it just shows me either the entire team doesn't show up, or when the defense is on, the offense isn't. Or what we saw on Sunday, the offense was on, and the defense with the game on the line didn't show up. They just don't get on the same page.

The only time they get on the same page is when they no-show. That's the only time they get on the same page, but you never see the offense and the defense clicking up against a great team, or in a big spot. And that was an opportunity for Dallas to have people like me shut up and to have me be quiet until you get exposed in the playoffs by being able to bounce back after a complete and utter no-show up against the Bills. You almost had the game won. But I've been hearing about the Cowboys have been almost close for 20-something years. So just stop. I don't want to hear another positive word about the Dallas Cowboys until they're in an NFC title game.

Because until then, we're a bunch of fools. And I say this knowing that there's probably only one great team in the NFC, and that's the 49ers, and they just got the crap kicked out of them going up against the Baltimore Ravens the other night. But still in the NFC, I trust the 49ers the most. The Eagles have chemistry problems.

We'll get to that coming up later. The Lions are a really good team, but I think they're different when they are home compared to when they have to go outside of their building and it's actually in an outdoor game. Like you look around the NFC, the Rams are getting hot. I'll tell you, the Rams are going to be a tricky out. They get in the playoffs, they are going to be one tough out the LA Rams.

But I can see it now. The Cowboys will be going up against the NFC South champion in all likelihood. They'll be probably playing Tampa Bay, you know, they could probably be Tampa Bay, they probably should be Tampa Bay, and then they will either be in Philadelphia, they'll be in Detroit, they'll be in Santa Clara, and whoever they have to go up against, they'll fold. Because this team doesn't put consistently good efforts together enough to go win three playoff games.

And three playoff games that are all going to have to be on the road. And even if somehow, someway, they find a way to win in the wildcard round and win in the divisional round, you know, right when they start to think, oh, the Cowboys are going to the Super Bowl, here they come. You know the drama Dallas Choking Cowboys will show up in the NFC Championship game. And they will not win, and they will not go to the Super Bowl. So Dallas fans, Merry Christmas, you're stuck on being just a good team, you're not a great team, and that was reiterated to us the last two weeks. Show against the Bills, and then your offense, up back in a big moment, here he comes. Here comes the Cowboys, how about them Cowboys? And then your defense lets you down. It just never comes together for the drama Dallas Choking Cowboys. It's amazing. And I was laughing watching that game.

I really was. You know what? I actually may start rooting for the Cowboys. I maybe need to start to see the Cowboys turn around. Because this act is getting old.

It's actually not fun when we see the same story over and over and over again. And if you think that was a heartfelt comment, man, I got a nice bridge for you to sell to you coming up in about 30, 35 minutes. Now, on the other side, I got to give credit to Miami. Because here was my take about Miami all throughout the year. I picked them to win the AFC East before the year. I still think Buffalo can win the AFC East and maybe make my prediction end up being wrong.

You know the Dolphins though are in the playoffs, we'll see if they'll end up winning the AFC East. They got a big game coming up this week. Sunday, 1 o'clock.

How the heck is this game? Sunday, 1 o'clock. It's the Miami Dolphins at the Baltimore Ravens. So, that has enormous playoff implications for the number one seed. And also inside the AFC East is Buffalo.

It wants to see Miami go down and then have that final game of the season mean something in Miami. Where it would be win and you end up getting the AFC East division championship if, if, if, if the Dolphins lose this weekend to the Baltimore Ravens. But, in the NFC, I still do believe even after that loss that the 49ers are the best team. In the AFC, the Ravens are the best team.

And I believe in the Baltimore Ravens and I believe in Lamar Jackson. But the AFC still in some regards, and this may sound backwards after what happened last night, it appears to be just a little bit more open than the NFC. Because I would think right now, like those second tier teams in the AFC, when let's say in the AFC the best team is the Ravens, the NFC the best team is the 49ers. Those second tier teams, when we talk about Miami, when you, even though Kansas City looks shot, they still have Mahomes, and you do have the surging Buffalo Bills. Even though it hasn't always looked clean throughout the entirety of the season, I still trust them more than a Lions team outside of their own building, a Cowboys team who always chokes, and an Eagles team that has severe, and I mean severe chemistry problems. And what Miami needed, they needed that win up against the Cowboys, because all their big games this year were on the road, and they weren't able to get the job done. Now they're going to have to go on the road, maybe, maybe not after this weekend, and go win a big playoff game.

Potentially, they're going to have to go on the road and win a big playoff game. But with Miami's offense, especially in the year of 2023, an offensive team may be able to get you carried to a Super Bowl, and their defense, it did play better, and I think they're starting to figure it out without Jalen Phillips, which is an enormous loss for them. But that Dolphins team, I thought that their ceiling would just be win the AFC East and maybe a playoff game this year, they are a team that can go to the Super Bowl, and the short list of Super Bowl contenders this year, and there's not many on that list, they would now be in on that list, but health still scares the crap out of me with that team. Lewis not got hurt this year, but Jalen Waddle, now dealing with an injury, looks like he's going to be done for the regular season, probably will come back for the playoffs. We know that Tyreek Hill just came back from an injury, Raheem Moster got banged up, but then came back in. I just hope that team ends up staying healthy, because that was a late season, much needed victory for the Miami Dolphins, and it maybe changes the outlook of them, as them and the Cowboys are very similar, and the Dolphins showed you that they were better than the Cowboys. Let me just take Tony here in Toronto, who wants to chime in on my conversation earlier in the hour to open up the show about Lamar Jackson, who I said that a lot of people need to say sorry to Lamar.

Lamar right now is the best player in the NFL, he's playing like he's the best player in the NFL, and he's going to win the MVP award this season. Let's go to Tony. Tony, what's happening? Hey, Merry Christmas, buddy.

Yep, you too, what do you got? Thank you. About Lamar, you know what, he's a talented guy, wish him all the best, but if I was an owner, or a group of guys on the team, I wouldn't want him on my team. Why? And the reason is this, we're going to use Patrick Mahomes as the example of what I do want on my team.

Okay. You remember with the busted up leg and whatever, Andy Reid at a time, you couldn't keep him off the field. You wanted to be there with teammates and whatever. Lamar, he painted the picture to me, he's looking out for himself. You're talking about last year when he wasn't with the team, when he was hurt? Absolutely.

And when people tell me this nonsense. Well Tony, you don't think those guys play hard for Lamar Jackson in Baltimore? Did you see them last night, walking off the field with Lamar? You know what, it's irrelevant. What I'm saying is that... But it's not irrelevant, it's not relevant to your point, but to the overall conversation and wanting Lamar or not, you can't say that's irrelevant.

This guy's won, he's on his way to winning two MVPs in this league, he's still a young player. You're telling me that if you're a lineman, an offensive lineman, and you got a guy like Mahomes or any other player on the team that shows what he wants to do for the team, you're not going to have his back 100% of the time? And Tony, what happens if you take Lamar Jackson off the Baltimore Ravens? Then what happens to that team?

They suck. Let me finish my point, please. Let me finish my point, please. Well your point doesn't make any sense. No, maybe you don't, because you don't want to listen. Let me say my point, please. That's why you have the show, to hear somebody else's opinion.

Well yeah, makes sense. Make a good point. It's not a waiting room. Alright, if you're a lineman and you know that Lamar didn't want to play for the team, he wanted to be traded, doesn't show up to show his protest for a playoff game when he says his leg hurt, buddy, they have a wheelchair that you can sit in, you can take a bus, you don't have to fly, all of this stuff.

He didn't want to be there. You know what, if I'm one of those guys playing, I don't want Lamar. So how many quarterbacks would you rather have in the NFL over Lamar? Me? Yeah, no, who else am I talking to?

You. How many other quarterbacks would you rather have over Lamar? Seven or eight guys. Okay, name them.

Who are the seven and eight guys? Let's have this conversation. Okay, Patrick Mahomes.

I'll give you that one. Allen. Yep, okay. Burroughs. Burroughs or Burrow?

Which one? Burrow. Okay, Joe Burrow, gotcha.

I didn't know who Burrow was. Go ahead. Yeah, I'm sorry, how do you call your name again? How do you say your name? I don't know, you're calling the show, you should know my name, right? No, no, I know it, I'm being sarcastic like you are.

Okay, continue. Yeah, three, come on. I take Rogers. Wait, so hold on, you think Lamar is selfish, but Rogers isn't selfish. You know what, I know what I'm dealing with with him. And I know what I'm dealing with Lamar Jackson. He's an MVP, a unanimous MVP, and the guy's still young. Tony, I don't even want to hear the other four or five names, because it was just like stuttering.

Oh, you know, this guy, that guy. Give me a break. Just say you don't like Lamar. But because he wasn't with the team entirely last year when he was dealing with an injury, and I'm not saying I even love that. You wouldn't want him on the team? You think his teammates are dissatisfied with Lamar Jackson this year? Give me a break. That team would suck without Lamar.

They would suck. What a joke. And that's the problem. For whatever reason, people just can't say, man, Lamar's playing great, Lamar's playing awesome, and this dude's a top five quarterback in the sport. And he's going to win the MVP again, and it's crazy to me. The guy's going to win two MVPs, and you got idiots like Tony, call it in, who was probably about to tell me what he'd rather have Jared Goff than Lamar Jackson.

Aye yi yi. What a joke. And how many teams do you think regret not giving a big time offer to Lamar to at least have the Baltimore Ravens say no? Or say, yeah, we'll match that. And we don't want your two first round picks. Come on.

You got to argue better than that. It is the Zach Gilp show on CBS Sports Radio. We'll take a break. When we come on back, the Eagles have big problems, and I am worried.

Update time first. Here's a hard hat guy. The great Pat Boyle. The defensive player of the week is sponsored by the Navy Federal Credit Union who proudly serves the armed forces, DOD, veterans, and their families. Their members are the mission.

Learn more at navyfederal.org. This week, it's the Ravens' safety who is just a stud at a Notre Dame Kyle Hamilton. I remember when he got drafted, and I go, of course, the Ravens land just like a Swiss Army knife type of player who's just phenomenal. And he picked off Brock Purdy twice in the first half as Baltimore tallied five total interceptions in their 33-19 win over the Niners. We will get into the Philadelphia Eagles who won yesterday, but you don't feel great about the Eagles. They are 11-4.

I'll tell you what's cooking in their locker room in just a second. But a lot of conversation about the NFL MVP and also my support for Lamar Jackson, where for some reason Lamar keeps on being a great player, keeps on providing jaw-dropping plays, and there's always just a section of critics, haters, whatever you want to call them, that never give this guy the credit he deserves because he doesn't have a Super Bowl yet. And the guy still has so much more career to go.

And we're saying, he can't do this, he can't do this, he won't do this, he'll never do this. And we never just praise Lamar for what he's done so far, which there's a lot of teams right now, and they had their chances to get him this year. Now, I do believe a lot of people thought they weren't just going to give him an offer because they knew that the Ravens were going to match, and maybe they didn't want to disrupt their current situation, but there's a lot of teams that would rather have Lamar Jackson. Just to Tony and Toronto's point, who he called up and didn't really have a point, if he's critical of Lamar, and he said he doesn't want Lamar on his team, I just realized this, his map didn't really add up, because he said he could name 7 or 8 guys that he'd rather have over Lamar. Alright, there's 32 teams in the league, so you still view the guy as a top 10 quarterback. There are a lot of people that would like to have a top 10 quarterback in this league, and that came from someone who was a hater in Tony and Toronto. Let's go to Jordan in Calgary. Next up on CBS Sports Radio is Zach Gelb.

Jordan, what's happening? So, I know you're going to call me crazy, but honestly, I believe Josh Allen is the MVP of the NFL season. And the reason I believe that is because... Are you a Bills fan, just wondering? I'm not. I'm a Seahawks fan. Gotcha. So, the reason I'm going to say Josh Allen is the MVP is because he leads the NFL in touchdowns.

That's one. Number two, he has one of the lowest turnover-worthy rates out of any of the quarterbacks in the NFL. He has like 15 interceptions this year.

Sorry, go ahead. Yeah, he also has like 15 interceptions this year. I love Josh Allen. My take is two weeks ago, three weeks ago, before anyone said it, the Bills go to the Super Bowl.

But when your team has been average for most of the season, and now we're just getting hot, it's tough for me to call him the MVP, Jordan. But, okay, wait. I understand that the turnovers look high, but according to PFF... Oh, stop. Wait, wait, wait.

No, no, you gotta... I like PFF, but you gotta take everything they say with a grain of salt. Sometimes I watch someone play great and they tell me they're not even a top 10 player at their position each and every week. But his turnover-worthy plays have been severely cut down from what it has been in the past. So, in other words, let's just say maybe Russell Wilson throws three passes that should have been intercepted in that game, not one of them got picked off. So then, now you're gonna sit here and say, and then let's say Josh Allen throws one turnover-worthy play, and then he gets two passes that are picked off. So now, are you gonna tell me that Russell Wilson protected the ball better, or Josh Allen protected the ball better? Jordan, to be clear, you could have an argument for Josh Allen, but when we start using PFF and we start throwing these stats... Let's just call it for what it is.

Josh Allen has salvaged this season. Josh Allen, yeah, if you ask me would I rather have Josh Allen over Lamar Jackson, I would. I would rather have Josh Allen over Lamar Jackson. I just supported Lamar Jackson for the last 40 minutes. But when it comes to the MVP conversation, there's a case to be made for Josh Allen, but Lamar Jackson has a better case. Because Lamar Jackson this year has been the better quarterback from start to finish. Now, the Bills, here's a hot take, would be screwed without Josh Allen. And Josh Allen is a phenomenal quarterback. But when your team for most of the year was 500, and now they're getting hot, yeah, you may end up going to the Super Bowl and winning the Super Bowl this year. But I can't make the case that you should be the guy to win the MVP.

You could maybe make a case, but not the case. Let's go to Jeff in Pittsburgh. Is this my main man, Jeff? Hey, happy holidays, season's greetings, my man. Jeff, you are the person I think of. And I only got two minutes here, but when I think of holiday spirit, there's nobody else that I think is better than Jeff in Pittsburgh.

Oh yeah, I definitely doge in the spirits. Hey man, these last couple callers might make even me seem like a genius, huh? And that's tough to do, Jeff. Hey man, I'm not a Cowboys fan, but I will stick up a little bit for them. If Miami is one of the better teams in the AFC, per se, then Dallas losing to them isn't a huge deal. I know the timing's terrible, it looks terrible, but they're just really hurting with the running game.

I mean, Tony Pollard couldn't get the ball over the line. It changes probably the outcome of the game right there at the goal line. I feel like Dallas is real close to breaking the proof clock. But Jeff, they've been real close for 20 years, and you know this, if they have to go into San Francisco and they have to go play the 49ers, they got no shot. More than likely, you're right, Zach. I'm just saying, I wouldn't be so surprised if Dallas is in that championship game, though, to be honest with you. I just wouldn't be surprised at all.

Yeah, well, if they do, we will give them a little golf clap here, and great to hear from you, Jeff. And we'll say, okay, great, the Cowboys finally got to an NFC Championship game for the first time since 1995, so I don't have to keep on repeating that, but they won't be getting to the Super Bowl. I just, I trust that team for maybe one game, but I can't trust them for two games or three games. And without having the number one overall seed, and without having home field advantage, they're going to have to go on the road in all likelihood for three games in the playoffs to get to the Super Bowl. And it's not just Dak, it's not just Mike McCarthy, it's not just a diva, right?

It's all of those things. And two weeks ago, they no-showed up against Buffalo, coming off a big win against Philly. Then, this past week, on Sunday, the offense showed up, and then when they had the game in their advantage, and they needed defense to stop, then their defense let them down. And it's been the same thing. When the defense plays great, like we saw last year in the playoffs against the 49ers, the offense let them down. And then, up against Miami, the offense did their job, and then the defense let them down.

And I just continue to see this team coming up short when it matters the most. Let's face it, most people aren't making massive turkey feasts on the regular. And after 364 days of not thinking about it, it can be hard to get that bird just right. That's where Instacart, the holiday rescue app, comes in. From getting all the ingredients to prep a full seasonal spread, to getting last-minute swaps in a turkey emergency, Instacart has everything a holiday host needs to save face and save dinner. And right now, if you download Instacart, you'll get free delivery on your first three orders, and delivery in as fast as one hour. Offer valid for a limited time, $10 minimum per order, additional term supply.