Team Russ vs Team Payton (Hour 2)

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Learn more at discover.com slash credit card limitations apply. Been watching Todd Blackledge all throughout the year on his new home NBC along with Noah Eagle and they've been a tremendous booth. They even did an NFL game last week with the college football playoff right around the corner on New Year's Day. We're inching closer and closer. Todd is kind enough to jump on board with us for a few minutes. Also, just a reminder, this portion of the show is brought to you by Wesley Financial.

Stuck in a timeshare and want out, contact Wesley Financial Group now and get a free timeshare exit information kit at WesleyFinancialGroup.com. Todd, appreciate you doing this. How you been?

I'm good, Zach. Good to be with you, man. Well, thanks so much for coming on. That was pretty neat doing the NFL game. I know you've called so many games, but you and Noah have such great chemistry and I thought you guys did an excellent job getting into the pro booth. Thank you.

I appreciate that. It's been a long time. I mean, I think it's been over 20 years since I did a regular season NFL game and so, you know, the mechanics of just doing a football game are the same, but the game is different. The pace of the game is different. Obviously, the players are better and not, but it was a lot of fun. You know, it was fun to be back in Pittsburgh. My dad coached for the Steelers for 10 years back with Chuck Knoll and so it's a great NFL football city and it was certainly fun to call the game.

And I thought, you know, Noah and I just kind of did what we did, you know, and Katherine Tappan is excellent on the sideline too. So it was a overall, I thought it was a really good broadcast. When we get to the college football playoff, a big topic of conversation with Jim Harbaugh is there's no extension yet.

It was reported for a while that they were going to get it done. They asked him about the NFL. He basically gave a bunch of no answers one way or the other. I think this is it for Harbaugh at Michigan.

How about yourself? Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I earlier in the year, I thought for sure he was probably going to look to move on.

But I don't know at this point. I mean, obviously, Michigan is making a really strong effort to keep him. They're pleased with what he's done controversy aside through this season.

He has done a great job. And, you know, this team over the last three years has been as good as any in college football. And and I think this year's team is is the best that he's had.

When you look at this matchup going up against Alabama, if you had to make the case why Michigan can win this game, how do you kind of formulate that argument? Well, I think they're a team that is a very close knit team. They play for one another. They're a very unselfish team and they're very talented. You know, I remember earlier in the year talking to a couple NFL people and they said they thought this team had maybe 17, 15 to 17 draftable guys. I mean, that's that's a talented roster. That's the kind of roster we're used to seeing an Alabama house or a Georgia house.

So I think they're very talented. I think the biggest case for Michigan is if JJ McCarthy plays the way he's capable playing. If he plays a great game, Michigan is going to be tough to beat.

And that's the thing. Last year up against TCU, I didn't think the staff utilized his legs enough in the first half. I think, you know, why not at this point? Like, you got to let JJ McCarthy cook. And I think the mobility of McCarthy will be the difference in this game of Michigan finds a way to win or not. If they allow him to be the mobile quarterback that he could be. Yeah, I think he's going to have to. I mean, you know, Alabama defensively is very good. They've gotten better all through the year. They're not going to allow somebody to just sit in the pocket and be comfortable.

They're going to come after him. And so I think his mobility very much like Jalen Milro and his ability to extend plays and move in the pocket. That's going to be a big factor in this game for both teams. And then you saw it a little bit in the Ohio State game as Todd Blackledge joins us. They went to that other quarterback, the backup Alex Orgy to start the second half. And he gave them a little jolt of energy running the football as well. Harbaugh in these big games, you've seen him have some trick plays. I know he doesn't have a completion this entire year, but I feel like they're going to use Alex Orgy a little bit in that second half to try to catch Alabama off guard. Well, they might, but certainly Alabama will be prepared for that and be prepared for him to run the football if he comes in. I think if they do play him, I think that they should let him try to throw the football because that would be, you know, the thing maybe Alabama isn't as much ready for.

But they'll be ready for him running the football, certainly. When you look at Alabama, it's remarkable, like after the Texas game and that was all the way back in week two, Todd Blackledge. Everyone jumped off them because in this sport, if you have two losses, you're cooked, you're not getting into a 14 college football playoff. And I thought, even Ahmed, I thought it was inevitable they would have another loss.

And Milro, even after getting bench, has just improved each and every week. I know they had that scare up against Auburn, but just when people start to doubt Nick Saban, he finds a way to show everyone who's the best coach. Yeah, I mean, I think this may have been as fine of a coaching job that he's done in his time at Alabama.

Because you mentioned the Texas game, but even the week after that against South Florida, it was an ugly win and they had a quarterback issue. They weren't sure who their guy was going to be. And after that point, Nick said, OK, we're going to go with Jalen Milro. We're going to stick with him. We're going to grow with him. And, you know, as he got better and more confident, more comfortable, their team got better.

And I really think that that's what you saw. And certainly the last regular season game against Auburn, they were kind of lucky, you know, to hit that play on 31 yards. They needed on fourth down, but they found a way and then they were good against Georgia in the SEC championship game. So I think this is a team that that got better as the year went on. And again, I think Nick Saban did a wonderful job coaching this group of players. Revisiting the four teams that got in Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama. Do you think the committee got it right? I do.

I really do. And I know it really stinks for Florida State. It was unprecedented for an undefeated conference champion to not get in. But with Jordan Travis being hurt, I just think that had to weigh into the factor.

There was some great quarterback play all through the season, and they certainly weren't the same team without him. And it showed up in the game against Florida. It showed up in the ACC championship game against Louisville. And so I do think they got it right. And unfortunately for Florida now, or Florida State, you know, they're going into this game against Georgia without most of their weapons.

Yeah. And so I don't think we're going to really see what Florida State's team was all about in this bowl game. But but I do think they got it right. I think that the committee's job was to pick the four best teams and not the foremost deserving teams.

And by doing that, I think they got it correct. And I'll never fault a college athlete for skipping the bowl game, you know, if they're getting ready for the NFL draft or if they're entering the transfer portal. But that was the one team that I really wanted to see play at full strength, even though they wouldn't have Jordan Travis because of the injury, to just see, OK, Florida State, can you beat Georgia? That was one of the bowl games where now a lot of times, Todd Blackledge, we really only care about the semifinal national championship. That was the one I was most looking forward to. But now there's really not a lot to look forward to there.

Yeah. And it'll be interesting to see just how Georgia approaches it and plays. You know, I mean, this is a team that, you know, is tough for Florida State, certainly. But here's the Georgia team that was one or two all year and beat it and they go all the way out.

So I think that they have a great football team. I was very impressed with how Carson Beck played. And really, the other thing to think about with Georgia is, you know, Mike Bobo took over for Todd Munkin, who took the job of the Ravens. And obviously he's doing a great job as the offensive coordinator for Lamar Jackson and that offense in Baltimore.

And Mike Bobo did an excellent job with a new quarterback in Carson Beck. And so I'm excited to see what Georgia looks like in their final game of the season. Could you imagine if Florida State beats Georgia? Like, could we have a UCF case on our hands where we start to have Florida State claim that they're the national champs being undefeated?

You know, there might be some noise. It can't happen. But I'll be very, very surprised if Florida State beats Georgia. I think they'll hang with them for a while. But I think ultimately Georgia will be, will prove to be a stronger football team.

All right. Get into the other game, Texas and Washington. I see Washington's a four and a half, five point underdog. They were a nine and a half point underdog up against Oregon before the Pac-12 championship game. I love what Kalen DeBoer has done with this program in two years, only having two losses. It's crazy, though. I still feel like they don't get the respect that they're deserving of this season.

Well, I don't know. I mean, I think a lot of people that watch football have given them a lot of respect. I think that what they've done is impressive. I think the Pac-12 was outstanding this year in their final year. The Oregon team that they beat twice is a really, really good football team.

So I think that they deserve to be there. And when I look at this matchup with Texas, they're very, very similar when it comes to offensive skill, power and, you know, positions. Where I think Texas has a slight edge is I think they're better in the trenches, on the defensive line, on the offensive line. And in games like this, having covered the college football playoff every year except this year, when you get to this level on this point, the teams that win the line of scrimmage typically are the teams that win the game. And so I think Texas is a little better at the line of scrimmage, but Washington has had a magical season. You know, much like Michigan had a magical season and great chemistry and belief in each other. You know what Michael Pennix Jr. and that offense has done and what that team has done.

You can't negate that. They're going to go into that game believing they're the best team in the country. Maybe you have a different opinion on this than I do, but it feels like Texas and Washington is going to be a high scoring affair.

Like maybe something 34-31 if not even north of that. I think it will be more high scoring than potentially the other game. I just think that, you know, those two teams are driven by offense and their ability to make big plays, explosive plays in both the run game and the pass game.

And so I think both defenses will have their hands full on that one. And you also have Washington now going into a new conference after this year, the Big Ten, and Texas going into the SEC. Do you think those programs, we all know the brand of Texas, we know who Sark is as a coach, we know what Kalen DeBoer has done, but can both of those schools succeed in their new conference, which is going to be a bigger challenge?

I think so. I mean obviously recruiting, you know, is paramount. And I think both teams are recruiting at a high level right now. And I think, you know, I'm excited working for NBC and the Big Ten for those four teams to come in to our league next year because not only are they big brands and successful teams, but they bring a style of offense that the Big Ten is not used to seeing on a weekly basis. The Big Ten is a defense driven conference. And I think when you look at Oregon and Washington and UCLA and USC coming into the league, they're going to challenge some of those defenses with a different brand of offense. So I think it's very exciting. And, you know, Texas and Oklahoma moving to the SEC. Again, I think their rosters are better right now and more suitable to go into that conference than they were maybe a couple years ago.

So I think they'll be able to compete as well. Who do you think, by the way, will be a better pro quarterback? Caleb Williams or Drake May? You know, I think they both have a chance to be very successful.

I really do. They're different. You know, Drake May is athletic, but he doesn't make the kind of wild plays, you know, with his legs that Caleb Williams does and the arm slots and all of that. I think a lot of it depends on where they go, what they're surrounded by.

And just how they're coached and how they're brought along. You know, I live here in Charlotte and Bryce Young. I think Bryce Young is a great quarterback, but it has been a struggle for him in year one. And a lot of that is not his doing. It's what's around him.

It's how he's protected the weapons on the outside. So a lot of that, you know, in terms of projecting, Caleb and Drake is going to have to do with, you know, things outside of their control. And I know Justin Fields right now is with the Chicago Bears. There's a good chance that they're going to have the number one overall pick from that Bryce Young trade with the Panthers that you just brought up. I would not have said this a few weeks ago, but I'm kind of in the mindset now, Todd Blackledge, that they should keep Justin Fields and they should find the way to go draft Marvin Harrison Jr. Because if you could put Fields with Marvin Harrison Jr. and DJ Moore, man, that's setting up Fields that maybe reaches potential in Chicago. Yeah, I think Justin Fields has shown something here of late. And I think that, you know, I think he maybe has garnered that kind of respect with Chicago. And look, Marvin Harrison Jr., I've covered him for a couple of years. He's the most NFL ready guy going into the draft. I think he's the best player in the draft. Yeah, I think he's ready to be a star from day one. He has everything you want in a wide receiver.

And so I could certainly see that being the case. Alrighty, let's get a prediction or two out of you. Who wins Michigan, Alabama? Who wins Texas, Washington?

What are you rolling with? Yeah, I'm going to go, I'm going to go with Michigan in that game. And I'm going to go because of JJ McCarthy. I just, I'm a big fan of his. I think that he will play an outstanding football game and manage the pressure that Alabama is going to bring at them. I also like Blake Korm.

I think he's a great football player. And, you know, so I think they will find a way. And then in the other game, I'm going to go with Texas. I just think that, I think that Quinn yours, and again, I think it's because of the strength in the trenches that will win the day for Texas when it's all said and done. And, you know, you never want to see an injury happen, obviously. But now with Malik Murphy transferred over to Duke, do you think Arch Manning at all plays, like, if he's on the field playing, you'd probably think it's because of injury. But does Sark maybe throw him in there for a play or two and maybe have something dialed up that Kalen DeBoer wasn't expected? I don't know if he will, simply because when you talk about Quinn yours and Arch Manning, they're the same guy, right? It's the same offense. So he's not going to come in and throw a kind of a curve ball like Orgy would for Michigan.

So if you put him in, you're going to be expecting the same offense, the same plays being called for either guy. He's Todd Blackledge, did a great job all throughout the years, but covering college football. You've seen him on TV for years, but really enjoyed the booth of Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge all throughout the year on NBC. Todd, appreciate the time. Happy New Year to you and your family. Thanks, Zach. Happy New Year to you as well. You got it.

Thanks so much. There he is. Todd Blackledge joining us on CBS Sports Radio. We'll take a break. When we come on back, we're going back to the Russell Wilson news. Are you Team Russ or are you Team Sean Payton after yesterday's just mayhem where you end up having Russell Wilson get him benched for the rest of the season?

Garrett Stidham is now going to be the quarterback and everyone's expecting that Russell Wilson is going to get released at the end of the year. Well, well, well. Shopping for a car? Yep. Carvana made financing a car as smooth as can be.

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Visit Carvana.com or download the app to get pre-qualified today. Alrighty, Zach Gelb shows CBS Sports Radio. I'm looking back at the last 24 hours. I actually have sympathy for Russell Wilson. And it's crazy because it's wild till you say one thing one year and then the next year it's totally different. Last year, I think we all enjoyed dancing on the grave of Russell Wilson. Heck, even his old teammates in Seattle did it. But this season, he has improved. You couldn't get any worse. If you got any worse from what you were last year, your career was over. And I'm not telling you that Russell Wilson is elite. I'm not telling you Russell Wilson is good. But Russell Wilson was serviceable this year. There's a lot worse quarterbacks than Russell Wilson with the way that Russ played this year. The guy that I'm really annoyed at is Sean Payton.

Because I think Sean comes off as a coward here. And I also thought he never really gave Russ a fair shake at it. And I think Sean went into that job with this idea that I'll try to smooth over the relationship with Russ. But Russ won't play at a level where everyone's going to say he's the long term solution.

And then I'll get rid of him. And my question just now is, where do the Broncos go from here? Like, I'm fine with moving on from Russell Wilson.

But where are you going and who are you bringing in? Because in all likelihood, you're not finding the answer this year in the draft. And we just seen a cycle where Matthew Stafford was traded. Tom Brady, right, walked in free agency down to Tampa Bay. You had trades with Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson. Like you had a lot of big name quarterbacks that just got dealt and that just made moves. So Daxil under contract for another year. Like you're telling me the grand plan in Denver is to bring in Kirk Cousins?

Like, is that the grand plan? Kirk Cousins is a solid quarterback. Kirk Cousins is a good quarterback. But you don't have enough talent on this roster to win with Kirk Cousins.

And I actually like Kirk Cousins more than most people do. So I don't see what the grand plan here is with Sean Payton. And that's what frustrates me here because he's blaming Russ when there's a lot of other blame to go around. Like this team got off to a terrible start, not because of the offense. It was because of the defense. And then there was a lot of questionable decisions that he made in that game in what was a blowout up against the Lions.

And he lost it on Russell Wilson. And we find out yesterday, according to Jordan Schultz in that report, that they went back to him when they started to get this win streak, right, back to back victories against the Packers and the Chiefs. And they said, Russ, we want you to eliminate the injury guarantee clause in your contract. And they kept on winning.

Then they cooled off, right, because they're just not that good of a team. And now it reached to this decision yesterday where Russ, we're going to bench you for the final two games of the season. And I just believe that Sean came off very fraudulent in this entire process because he never gave Russ a fair chance. And it was a marriage that never made sense from the jump.

But you at least have to try to make it work like when a couple has problems, at least try to go to couples therapy and find the solution to the problem. But it's almost as if Sean went into couples therapy and said, bleep you, Russ, you got to eliminate this clause in your contract or we're going for a divorce. And guess what? I hold the keys to this car.

You don't. And when someone says something like that, I wouldn't respect him. I actually respect Russ more that he didn't like punch Sean in the face after he was freaking out on him on the sideline up against the Lions when this was a guy that asked you to eliminate the injury guarantee clause in your contract. I actually respect Russ more. And last year I soured on Russ. I soured on Russ the last two years where I thought he was greater than what he actually was doing on the field. I did not like how Russ carried himself the last two, three years. But this year, honestly, Russ should thank Sean because I think a lot of people now have sympathy, I guess is the word for Russell Wilson.

And they're like, oh, Russell Wilson got the short end of the stick here. Russell Wilson, he got mistreated by Sean Payton. And yeah, Russ didn't hold up his end of the bargain to make himself untouchable in Denver.

No crap. He sucked last year. And then this year he was fine. I don't think he was the long term solution. I know he wasn't a long term solution.

But you can't look at the Broncos this year and say that Russ is a top three problem why they're not going to make the playoffs. And I understand money is dictating this decision, but I go back and I just ask this question. Why did Sean take this job? Because he could say what he wants. He could talk about how he needed to retire and take a year off and needed to refresh his batteries.

And right. He was ready for something else. The reason why you walked away is because you didn't have a quarterback. Drew Brees retired. Drew Brees broke down because of his injuries. And you were going through Taysom Hill, Jamis Winston.

Right. You were going through those names. And Sean, who's a really good offensive minded coach. They thought Taysom Hill was going to be the answer. I had Mike Westoff, who's on Sean's staff now and was with them in New Orleans. Oh, he created a storm here on CBS Sports Radio. He came on the show and he said.

Once again, let me just preface this. This is what Mike Westoff said. This is not what Zach help said. He said Taysom Hill is similar to Lamar Jackson, except he throws the ball better. We also had remember Brady Papinga, who went to BYU, said that Taysom Hill was going to be a top five quarterback in the league in short order. So Sean was spewing all these things about what Taysom Hill could be.

And he had a lot of people believe him. And Taysom Hill is what? A gadget player, a Swiss Army knife. You run a few trick plays with them like there's a role for Taysom Hill in the NFL. He could throw a football for a touchdown.

Right. He could catch a football. He could run.

He could run. But he's not a starting quarterback in this league. So all Sean Payton's got in the last two years was a job with Fox.

Then he left that job for Fox with Fox for a big bag of cash. And now you still don't have a quarterback. So you left New Orleans. A place where you were a legend because you didn't have a quarterback.

You go to TV. We all know you wanted the Chargers job. You take the Broncos job.

No one thought that was a good fit for you. You basically just take shots at the quarterback every chance you could get. Now you're not going to give Russell Wilson another year. OK, fine. That's your decision.

But what are you doing? Like Kirk Cousins isn't winding up in Denver. Justin Fields probably isn't winding up in Denver.

But even if you bring in Justin Fields, it's the same damn thing in Chicago. You don't got enough around him like this Broncos roster. We all got tricked. And when I say we all I mean like everybody but myself, because when I looked at the Broncos and they were winning games, I remember saying it in this office and people were getting furious with me.

I'm like, they're not actually that good is what their record says they are. You had people like Kiki. I told you the Broncos are going to make the playoffs.

You had people like Anthony Gallo. It was a big Broncos fan. Oh, you were dead bro. You were dead wrong to the Broncos. Right. That's what I was telling you. Pretty good impression.

Yeah, it is. If you don't know Gallo, he's just like a big burly guy with a big beard and deep voice. And they're all like, oh, look at the Broncos. Here's come shot. Here comes Ross.

And I'm like, let's pump the brakes. Let's see if they beat the Texans. All right, Texas good matchup. And they lost to the Texans. And I'm not defending Russ.

Russ didn't play well in that game. But this team just isn't that good. So it takes two to tango, unless if you're drafting someone. But if you're trying to get someone in for agency or a trade, why would they want to go to Denver right now?

Where the coach, the moment he doesn't believe in you or the moment he sees a problem with you is just going to berate you. And you got guys like Jerry Judy, who thinks he's like Jerry Rice. And you know that like he's just an above average, like solid wide receiver in this league. Like this team outside of Patrick Sertan and Justin Simmons, they really don't got a whole lot in Denver. And I think this Denver stock moving forward, I am buying it. No chance. And now I am going to be actively rooting against Sean Payton.

I am. I just don't like the way that he handled this. I'm not saying he's wrong and moving on from Russ. But to not even give Russ a chance and then basically demand that they take away the guaranteed clause in the contract because of the injuries that would make the 2025 salary guaranteed if you can't pass a physical sometime in March of 2024. And then every step of the way, you just took shot after shot after shot at Russell Wilson.

It doesn't sit well with me. And this is coming from someone who danced on the grave of Russell Wilson last year. I went from thinking Russ was insufferable. And part of me still thinks there are parts of Russ that are insufferable. But now enemy number one in my eyes between Sean and Russ, it's Sean.

Like, oh, he has really bothered me. And I usually don't root for guys to fail. But this is something you guys will learn about me when I root for people to fail. It's when they don't take accountability.

And that's all I sense from Sean Payton. He is the guy when I'm winning. It's me, me, me, me, me, me. But when I'm losing, it's like hot potato of where you're throwing the potato on who you could blame. And you're never taking the potato and just say, OK, this is all me. This is my fault.

Like yesterday. Oh, we can't just replace an entire wide receiving unit. We can't just replace an entire running back unit. So we'll just change the quarterback. Like, just be honest.

It's financially driven. That's why you did this. You don't believe in Russell Wilson. At least have the guts to say that instead of just benching him and then hiding behind, you know, all the excuses that you make. I'm rooting against Sean Payton. I don't even see. It's weird because Russ was the pinata for everyone last year.

Everyone. His old teammates even took a few swings of that pinata. And now, even though he's going to get released at the end of the year, maybe he latches on with Steelers, the Cardinals, Atlanta, whoever it is. Atlanta, not the car. I don't know why I said the Cardinals, but whoever it may be. I kind of hope that he has like a year or two where he goes to the playoffs. And then Sean sit in there like six wins, seven wins, just stuck in that pit of misery without having a quarterback. Because I just really, I thoroughly, if you can't tell, I thoroughly do not enjoy the way that Sean Payton has approached this. And now I have someone to actively root for for the next like two or three years because I don't know what's going to happen with my football team. My football team's a mess.

I don't know when they're going to turn it around and go back into the NFL penthouse. But yeah, Russ, maybe you should send a thank you note to Sean Payton because now people are going to give you a pass and may actually be polling for you. Are you Team Russ or Team Sean?

855-212-4CBS, 855-212-4227. We'll take a break. When we come on back, we'll update you on some of the biggest stories in the world of sports with some audio. We call that segment a news brief. But first up, with the latest CBS Sports Radio update, here is Dexter Henry. This portion of the show is brought to you by NHTSA. Whether you get pulled over or get into a crash, drinking and driving will change your whole world.

Drive sober or get pulled over, paid for by NHTSA. Alrighty, time to update you on some of the biggest stories of the day in sports with some audio. Let's get to a news brief.

A news brief. The Baltimore Ravens not only beat the San Francisco 49ers, they beat the snot out of the San Francisco 49ers. Here is their quarterback, Lamar Jackson.

MVP, MVP, MVP. On the best team talk. Keeping the level head is the most important thing for us right now, you know, because now it's the narrative is changing. You know, it was just, you know, this team is the Ravens. We don't know about the Ravens. Now it's the number one team, so we're not playing no mind into that. You know, I feel like that's bait. You know, that's click bait.

And like I said, we're trying to make it to February, so we're going to take it a game at a time. I think it was that caller Tony in Toronto two days ago. I'll call him a ding dong, I guess. That's the nicest way that I could refer to him.

What was that? He's a ding dong, eh? But Tony in Toronto, he was saying that you can't trust Lamar because Lamar quit on the team last year.

And I was like, alrighty, you got to get over it. Like whatever happened before Lamar got the contract, clearly the Ravens thought he was great enough to give him the contract and he has the respect in that locker room. But I don't think people praise the leadership skills of Lamar Jackson enough. Like you hear him at the podium and he always gives you the right answer where you don't try to get too high.

And then when things don't go your way, you don't try to get too low. And then you go into that locker room, it's inconceivable to me that guys like Odell and Zay Flowers and Patrick Queen and Roquan Smith, that they wouldn't go to war for this guy. Because Lamar, he's one of one. He's not the best quarterback in the league.

That's Mahomes. But he is so explosive, he's the quickest quarterback in the league. And there's no one else that's even close to what Lamar Jackson does. Like right now in the league, like there's some Russian quarterbacks, some mobile quarterbacks.

Lamar has improved as a passer and then he's so elite. Like it may not even show up on the stat sheet sometimes, it usually does. But just the way that he runs around the field to extend plays to prevent a negative player, then turns garbage into gold.

There's a moment each and every week. And he's not stupid. Like he knows what the perception is going to be. Oh, you're either going to get hurt or you're going to choke in the playoffs. So even though now people are praising him, he's still got to create that doubt and not have people get complacent. Because ultimately, this team, if they don't get to a Super Bowl this year, it's a failure. When you look at the AFC, you know, I've made the case for Buffalo recently. People have made the case for Miami. You know, Kansas City will always get an opportunity because of who their quarterback is.

But it will never be easier. And I know it's never easy, but it will never be easier than this year to get to the Super Bowl in the AFC than it will be now. And then you flip it, the other team that everyone loves are the Niners. Well, they just beat the crap out of the 49ers. I really hope, you know, if I can make one wish for the rest of the NFL season. Joe Flacco winning a Super Bowl with the Browns would be pretty cool. The Lions getting to an NFC championship game would be pretty cool. But I would actually like to see Lamar Jackson win a Super Bowl. Because I just think the hate that this guy gets is so unwarranted. And I know it's a society where it's like each and every game you're great or you're terrible.

But for people to like doubt Lamar and actually think Lamar is like some bum is just so patently ridiculous. Here is Antonio Pierce on why he should get the Raiders full-time job. My resume is on the grass. I can put up a fancy presentation.

I've seen that before. I can put up stats. I can put up my resume. But the best thing that happened for me was opportunity. And hopefully Mark Davis sees improvement and growth within our team. He sees the style and play that he wants from the Raiders. He sees a fan base that's behind us. He sees a building that loves coming to work and loves being here and people that's covering the team and enjoying covering the team. And at the end of the day, we got to win.

And right now, my record, our record is four and three. This is not the first time I said this, but it takes a special person to change an organization that is usually marinated with just dysfunction all over it. Dan Campbell, different, quirky.

Sometimes you think, oh, he's just the meathead. He was the right person for the Lions. What Dan Campbell is to the Lions, I think Antonio Pierce could be to the Las Vegas Raiders. They're both former coaches, right? They just have this presence to them. They know how to say the right thing.

They know how to lead. And most importantly, they know how to connect in the locker room. And the days of my way or the highway type of coach, it just doesn't really fly anymore in the NFL. That's another reason why I don't think Sean Payton's going to succeed with the Denver Broncos.

And I do think it's an advantage, not that you have to be a former player, but to be a former player that's not that far removed from actually playing. And those guys in that locker room, like if you want any hope of keeping Devante Adams, you better bring back Antonio Pierce. If not, you know a Devante Adams trade request is coming. The only way I would not give Antonio Pierce the job is if Jim Harbaugh wants it. And I don't know if Jim Harbaugh's going to be interested, like he may be interested in the Raiders if that's the only job that they're going to offer him.

But I do believe there's better jobs out there than the Raiders. I really think Mark Davis needs to learn from what he messed up the last time. Like, you could talk yourself into hiring Josh McDaniels, right? Josh McDaniels we thought was deserving of another opportunity.

Turns out the guy, when he had another opportunity to show that he changed, he didn't change when he got the power. But you need to have a slam dunk, surefire lock of a guy if you're not bringing back Antonio Pierce. And Belichick's not going to be the next Raiders coach, we talked about that.

And then after that, Jim Harbaugh's a guy, four years, three NFC title games, and a Super Bowl appearance. If it's not Jim, it needs to be Antonio Pierce. Let's go to Justin Jefferson on if he will talk to the front office about Kirk Cousins. Kirk Cousins is a free agent at the end of the year.

I really don't have to voice my opinion that much. I mean, you can just really look at the stats and look at the play, especially before he went down this year. But I definitely will always give that extra word or two for Kirk, for sure. So I've talked to Justin Jefferson a few times. And Justin Jefferson is always given a positive answer about Kirk Cousins.

But there are some times when someone says something positive and you're like, I don't really believe him. And the first time I heard Justin Jefferson talk about Kirk Cousins, I was like, I don't really believe him. And Justin Jefferson's one of my favorite players in the NFL. Now I think Justin Jefferson, who's been hurt this year, knows what it's like to have life without Kirk Cousins.

And when someone's taken away from you because of injury, you appreciate them a little bit more. And it goes back to my Dak point earlier. I don't think Dak, right, should be a 55 or 60 million dollar quarterback. But what are the Cowboys doing if they get rid of Dak Prescott? What are the Vikings doing right now if they get rid of Kirk Cousins? Because if you don't hit on the quarterback, that core, whatever core you have, eventually slowly starts to go elsewhere or slowly starts to give up on the team. And I think the Vikings should bring back Kirk Cousins.

Let's go to Jim Harbaugh. He was doing a little press conference as we get set for the Rose Bowl, Alabama and Michigan. And he gets asked about all the rumors with him going back to the NFL.

It's December, NFL rumors again. How do you respond to that? It's such a one-track line. That's the way we're going about things, literally. Whatever day we're in, looking to get the most out of it, dominate the day. Then we'll go to sleep tonight, wake up tomorrow, see if we can't dominate that day.

It's a single-minded group. Huh? Santa, let's just role play here for a second. I'm going to be Jim Harbaugh. You ask me about my NFL future. Excuse me, Zach. I'm sorry, Jim.

He looks so similar. What is your NFL future now that it's December and the teams are calling? You know, I'm just a single-minded guy. I just think of one thing and what I could do to get the most out of each and every day. Thanks for the question.

I didn't answer your question. If I had to predict what's going to happen with Jim Harbaugh, follow the information. For three months, we've been told this long-term extension was going to get done. Ian Rappaport reported over the weekend it was a 10- or 12-year deal for $125 million. And then whenever there's been a contract up, it's, oh, well, there's a clause that he can't go back to the NFL that offseason of taking the deal. Jim Harbaugh, the last three years, has done a magnificent job at Michigan. Jim Harbaugh stays at Michigan. It's better for college football. But you have two potential suspensions coming and two fights with the NCAA, and who knows how quickly they'll move.

The thing from over last summer, I think that will reach a resolution quicker than the sign-stealing scandal. But you have all this potential suspension. You now got Michigan back to a big spot. You've just been waiting for someone to come calling. Like, if Minnesota would offer you that job two, three years ago, you would have taken it. No one offered you a job this year. And I have to imagine someone's going to offer him a job this year.

Actions speak louder than words. So even though he just kind of blove you to there and gave you nothing, if you really want to stay at Michigan, you would sign a brand-new contract and put an end to it. But he hasn't signed that contract yet. And that means he's going to entertain the NFL offers.

And if he doesn't get an NFL offer, he'll go back and say, oh, Michigan, man, this is where I want it to be all along. Let's go to Kalen Deloach of the Florida State football team. He's a linebacker, and he was asked if Florida State beats Georgia, where Georgia is now an 18-and-a-half point favorite, because I think it's easier if we tell you who is playing for Florida State than who isn't playing for Florida State. Their starting running back is their backup wide receiver.

That's all you need to know. Even Rademacher, the quarterback that was hurt, and they were down to the third string quarterback of the A.C. championship game, he entered the transfer portal. He's not even playing in the damn game up against Georgia. So here is Kalen Deloach on if Florida State beats Georgia, should we refer to them as national champs if they're the only undefeated team left?

So let's say, you know, Michigan goes down and Washington goes down as well and doesn't win the Natty. It's only right we're here today. There's nothing else we can say. We're the only undefeated team. Just to go out there, you know, 13 games straight and just do what we do. There's no more else that we could have did. So I just feel like we're definitely going to take advantage of this opportunity. Make it one more.

That'll look better too. It's so tough for Mike Norvell. Because it does come off as loser talk if you don't win the Natty but then you're claiming that you're national champs because you'd be the only undefeated team left. But I would actually run that playbook. I would.

I would run that playbook if I'm him. Because you're doing that and you just further gain more clout in your fan base because you have a fan base that is still PO'd and annoyed that they got screwed out of the college football playoff. Like we put a lot of content out through the last four or five years. The emotional response that you read in the comments from the Florida State fans whenever we post anything about Florida State these days even like a month removed from the decision, it's still there.

So I don't think they're going to beat Georgia but if they do even though I thought what UCF did was very lame I would kind of take that play out of their playbook and just claim that you guys are national champs. Alrighty, this is that Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. We'll take a break. Could Russell Wilson, who says he can't go home, could there be a reunion? Is Russ going to entertain going back to Pete Carroll and the Seahawks?

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