DeBoer’s Chances of Success (Hour 3)

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That's right. It is the Zach Gelb show, coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. The biggest news of the day. You know, probably when we walked into the newsroom, it was, oh, Gerard Mayo's going to be the next head coach of the Patriots.

And then it's up. We found out the next coach of Alabama. And that is Kalen DeBoer leaving Washington, where in his last two years, he did guide them to a 25-3 record and just lost the national championship game up against Michigan. And shortly after that happened on Monday, you find out Nick Saban, surprise, surprise, he's walking away.

He's retiring. And then 48 hours later after that announcement from Nick Saban, you do have Alabama tabbing their next guy in Kalen DeBoer. And they had to move quickly, too. And that's what you're seeing now. When you have a big prime piece of real estate, which Alabama, right, is the preeminent job, in my opinion, in the sport, you don't act quickly.

You allow this to linger. Like, you're going to lose players anyway because Saban is walking away. But to try to keep some of those players, you need a hire. And I think for most people, this is a positive hire. But I do believe that there will be a loud, vocal minority who will be a bunch of dopes and won't really make that much sense and will vehemently oppose this hire because of two reasons. One, it's not Nick Saban, alrighty?

And you got to get over that. We all know Nick Saban is the king. Nick Saban is the GOAT. Nick Saban has won seven national championships.

Six of them were at Alabama. But it was his right and his prerogative to walk away. He's allowed to make that decision.

He's allowed to retire. That's what happens in life. At one point, you're young. Then you become established.

Then you eventually get old and it's time to do what you want to do and retire and not have to work each and every day. For a job that even though it's Alabama and, right, the wheels practically spin on their own, but with how controlling Nick Saban is and how he has his hands in everything and his fingerprints all over that program to bring them back, you know that he operates a certain way. And even he said that he was starting to get tired this year and didn't feel like the same person. So I understand that it's not Saban. There's going to be an adjustment.

The board will keep something Saban did and also change things as he should. Because you got to put your own spin on it when you get this job. And also, you know, I hate this saying and I know we live in a world of sayings and cliches. Oh, you don't want to be the guy that replaces the guy. You want to be the guy that replaces guy that replaces the guy. Yeah, I know it's tough to walk into a job and you'll never fill the shoes of Nick Saban.

But it doesn't mean that you can't be successful. Like the board wins a national championship at Alabama. Are people going to be sitting there and saying, oh, my God, it's not Nick Saban. So there's still a level of success that Kalen DeBoer can have. It's just not going to be to the level where there's six national championships.

And let me just break some news to you. You're not going to see a run in this new era of name, image and likeness. And the transfer portal, like we got to see with Nick Saban, because that's the toughest part. I know Saban had four or five star recruits all over his roster and then some. But there's still a player development that has to happen. And when you're at Alabama, a big brand like that, and you're still trying to develop players that have never been told no in their life. When they're told they're not ready to get on the field, some players will embrace it.

Some players, I love the competitive environment here and others will say, I'll go elsewhere. It's just the nature of the beast. And heck, even Nick Saban grew tired of NIL. Because you look at some of these other schools like A&M, remember the whole fight with Jimbo Fisher?

Why did that start? Because Jimbo Fisher, the number one recruiting class, he was at a small business conference in Alabama, and he was basically begging people to donate more money. So I get what Saban walked away.

And I understand that's tough to move on from it, but it doesn't mean that DeBoer can't have success. And the other thing, as Emmitt Smith said on this show, when he's like, oh, that makes me hot. When talking about Ezekiel Elliott and why he's no longer with the Dallas Cowboys.

What makes me hot about this analysis and just some of the stupidity I hear from some people. Oh, DeBoer's going to fail. He's going to fail because he doesn't have SEC roots. He doesn't have Alabama roots.

Like, what are we doing? The coach that you love, Nick Saban, before he got to Alabama, let's go back to when he was at LSU, where he ended up winning a national championship. What roots did he have at LSU? What roots did he have in the South?

I get it. He was coaching at Michigan State. DeBoer's coming over from Washington. He just took Washington to a national championship game. He used the transfer portal, right?

Michael Penix Jr. and a bunch of other players. And he was able to beat Texas, a school that, oh, yeah, by the way, Alabama lost to by 10 points when Alabama was home this year. So this idea that just because you have no affiliation to the university, you don't have affiliation to the South, you can't recruit. In the South, that's a bunch of, it's a bunch of bullcrap. And I'll give you more examples.

And I'll give you two more, one which was years ago and one was more present day or current within the last five, six years. You know, you look at Urban Meyer. When Urban Meyer got to Florida, where were his roots in the South? What was his attachment to Florida? They were a huge force for five years when Urban Meyer was there.

And then, you know, I'll just speak from a personal experience. When Matt Ruhle left Temple to go to Baylor, a lot of people crushed that hire in Waco, Texas. They said Matt Ruhle has no ties to Texas. You're bringing a Northeast guy to Texas?

Oh, he's going to fail. And Matt Ruhle basically had no resources at Baylor because of the scandal that happened there and the disgusting things that happened under Art Brials. And Matt Ruhle had that team in a Big 12 championship game, had that team in the Sugar Bowl in short order. So you can end up having success even if you are in unfamiliar territory. And I do think it makes it easier now when there is a transfer portal where you could bring some of your guys in.

And then also when you could utilize name, image and likeness. And even though, right, Saban was getting fed up with the recruiting a little bit and name, image and likeness, DeBoer is going to walk in with more resources at Alabama than he's ever had before. And this guy has had a great rise. He's been around multiple jobs, whether it was a smaller job, a medium size, a big size job. And now he has the biggest job to exist in the sport.

And everywhere the guy has gone, he's won. So when you were like, I remember, you know, I had a conversation once with with Chris Oliveira, who runs, you know, our our company here. And Chris Oliveira, when Marc Chertoff, right, who's like the Nick Saban of program directors. When he retired, like Chris said to me, I'm looking for someone as much as we love Marc that was opposite to Marc, different than Marc. You know, it doesn't really have too many attachments than Marc, because when you're replacing a legend and you bring in a disciple or you bring in someone that was similar to that legend, I understand the theory. But sometimes it's it's good to bring in someone that was totally different to create this new era, to create this new wave and to try to have more success and put a different spin on it. Because if if you would have had a Saban disciple take over. Everything would have been compared to Saban.

Now, I get it. In some regard, the boar is always going to be compared to Saban because Saban was there before him. But bringing in someone new, bringing in someone different for a new era and new times of name image like this in the transfer portal. It makes sense.

It's not a bad thing. And like who were Alabama fans wanting? You know, Dan Lanning, is that was the guy that you wanted? Well, he wanted to stay at Oregon. You know, I don't think that they preferred Sark or Norvell or Lane Kiffin over Kaitlyn DeBoer. And as much as I love Lane Kiffin, I said this yesterday, when I think of Alabama.

I know Kiffin was there, but he just seems like a perfect match for Ole Miss. You know, and I would trust DeBoer more than I would Lane Kiffin, even with Lane Kiffin just winning 10 games this year in the SEC at Ole Miss. But that's the other thing with DeBoer. He is unflappable. You know, I know Kaitlyn DeBoer.

I've been around Kaitlyn DeBoer. This dude is going to have to with probably a vocal minority of people. He is going to have to deal with intense criticism from the start. I don't think this guy cares. You know, he'll pay his respects to Nick Saban.

He'd be a dummy not to. But we've had him on three times throughout this legendary season. You can never tell if it was after a win or a loss. And the guy didn't lose a single game this year up until the national championship game. This dude is just a coach that's made for this new era of college football.

And I don't know where else you would have gone or what else you would have done. And you could tell me Dan Lanning. I love Dan Lanning. Love him.

I said this to Dan Lanning's face that the reason why I like him so much is because he and I met this in a respectful way. He just has that football cycle kind of feel to him. You see him get on the on the football field. That's a sanctuary. You see him talk to his team. That's in his sanctuary.

And and he just is wired differently. So that would have been an excellent hire. But the board has to be at the top of the list, if not a top three name. And if you get your top three name for a job, I know you're Alabama.

What's wrong with this hire? So I don't have concerns. And I think the board will be able to survive some of the initial challenges. We're in a few years from now. We're looking back at it. And that gets to the timeline, too.

You know, what is the timeline for Kaitlyn DeBoer? They had to pay some money to buy him out. I haven't seen the details of the contract, but if Washington was offered to double up his salary, making about nine million dollars a year, he's going to make north of that clearly at Alabama. So I got to say. You know, it's three years. You know, you're in a 12 team like next year, you better be in the playoff. I'll say that you missed the playoffs this year when you go to 12, when Nick Saban didn't even have his best Alabama team. Maybe some people said it's the worst Nick Saban team that he's had that's ever won an SEC or got to a playoff. So even though there's going to be changes, you now expand from four to twelve. You got to you got to be a top twelve team in college football next year.

You know, I think that's the initial the initial bar. I know some Alabama fans would not want to hear that because they expect greater. But I think you give this guy three years and you see what happens after that. But why can't this guy in short order continue to have Alabama with the look of a national championship team? Heck, the guy was just at Washington.

Washington. Right. It was trending the wrong direction in the transition after Chris Peterson.

He jumps in there. He restores the program they lost outside the national championship game. Two games, two games in the last two years. Michael Penix Jr., under his tutelage, went from being an afterthought to a Heisman Trophy finalist. Right.

Right in that grouping of guys the last two years that people thought he should have won the award. So why can't he make it work? Why can't he be successful? And I'm not someone that always gets on the radio when a hire is made and throw the pom poms up and go, oh, yeah, wonderful job by Alabama, wonderful job by this school. If I like a hire, I'll tell you. If I think a hire is crap, I'll tell you that as well.

But I just don't understand, outside of it not being saved and coaching your team next year, why you would be against Kalen DeBoer coming in. And the future of the SEC, and really college football, but the SEC in particular, is fascinating. Lane Kiffin is Ole Miss rolling.

They have a wonderful transfer portal. LSU, Kim Brian Kelly. Right. You have three head coaches since 2000 and one national championship. LSU and USC were the two most disappointing teams in college football last year. Can LSU start to get going under Brian Kelly? A&M just brought in Elko. You have Hugh Freeze at Auburn. You know, Georgia, they've been the most dominant team as of late in college football, and they lost one game to Alabama, and they were on the outside looking into the playoff, and you return Carson Beck. You know, Missouri had a good year. Tennessee, good year two years ago.

You know, this year they were fine at nine and four. Can Hypo continue to move that train in the right direction? And you got guys like Shane Beamer who's got to get going.

Billy Napier, got to get going. Mark Stoops, I think he's done all he could at Kentucky. I think A&M fans were crazy to not want Mark Stoops, but they didn't want him.

And then also, oh yeah, by the way, you get those two mega brands coming in. Texas, Roland, Quinn Ewers coming back, Arch Manning right behind them, and Oklahoma makes their way into the SEC as well. This is a fun time, and Georgia's still going to be looked at as the kings of the SEC, but Alabama is still going to be right there, and when you look at all these conferences, like in the Big Ten, it's really been Ohio State and Michigan. Well, now you could reverse that flip-flop, but Michigan and Ohio State also sounds better and it's more true.

And then there's been people fighting for that third spot. It's been Penn State, been Wisconsin, Iowa, you know, people fighting for that third spot. And the SEC, the two teams for a long time now have been Georgia and Alabama, and it's out of everybody else in that conference now, Texas, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, LSU, A&M, Auburn, you know, Tennessee, on and on and on, Florida, who is going to emerge as that third team? And will that third team have enough to usurp Georgia, to usurp Alabama, whether that's for a year or for a few years? You saw us, you, with Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase and all those great guys on that team find a way to usurp them. You saw Auburn years ago find a way to get to the national championship. You know, you've seen it before, you've seen it happen, but can you consistently do it?

And in a new era of name image and likes of the transfer portal, not that the playing field is now even, but it makes it easier to do it, but it's one thing to say it's easier, and then there's another thing to actually do so. So congratulations to Kalen DeBoer. I'm thrilled for him, and I think it's a wonderful, wonderful hire by Alabama.

Zach Gelb shows CBS Sports Radio. We'll take a break. Come on back. We got NFL picks to get to on Wild Card Weekend.

Hopefully the picks will be super, but we will get to our picks. We return in five minutes. Selling your car to Carvana is as easy as... As easy as pie? Sure. All you have to do is enter your license plate or VIN. As easy as a stroll in the park.

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Actually, I find that kind of difficult. But selling your car to Carvana is as easy as... Can be. Go to Carvana.com or download the app to get an instant offer today. Alrighty, this is Zach Gelb's show on CBS Sports Radio. Now joining us from BetMGM tonight via BeckQL is, of course, Ryan Horvat in his weekly spot.

Stu, let's cue up the music. We will get right to it. We'll get some NFL picks music up in just a second as we have one, two, three, four, five, six games starting tomorrow. And wrapping up on Monday night with Eagles and Bucks to get to.

So, Ryan Horvat from BetMGM tonight via BeckQL. Let's get to it. We'll start things off. Browns and Texans. I think this is the toughest game.

I really do. I have no feel on this game. I'm gonna lean with the Cleveland Browns, lay in a point and a half.

I don't like it either way. I would probably stay away from this game. But if I have to make a pick on the air, even though that line started to move down a little bit, I will go with the Browns, lay in a point and a half.

Horvat, what do you got? Yeah, you know, when this opened up at three, I liked the Texans. But the more I look at this game, I just think it's a really bad matchup.

And I do think if you could get a cheap money line price, just the Browns to win this game, I think it's probably the right side. You have Joe Flacco going against a weak Texan secondary. You know, Houston's only faced one passing offense, ranked better than 13th this season. They have Amari Cooper, he's been resting for two weeks. Last time he saw Houston, he had 11 receptions, what, 265 yards, two touchdowns. And David Najoku is a nightmare matchup here. Like, Houston's linebackers and safeties aren't great in coverage.

And I would like Houston if they were able to get after the quarterback here, but Will Anderson was only able to play 31 snaps against the Colts, so I'm worried about his health. As much as I like CJ Stroud, if you look at this, since week nine, they haven't faced a whole ton of legit pass defenses. Just three pass defenses inside the top 15. And CJ Stroud is really good against cover three, really good against zone defense.

But he struggles against man defense, also struggles when he's under pressure. And the Browns are number two in pass rush win rate. So unless the Texans could hit some explosive plays here, I think Cleveland's the right side and I think they win this game on the road. So we're both on the Cleveland Browns, laying a point and a half.

If you're listening to the show, that means you probably should fade us right now. Because what Horvat and I usually agree, it goes the other way. Next up, Dolphins and Chiefs, we'll go in order here.

It's weird, this is the game that I'm buzzing on the most. Because sometimes you've got to be uncomfortable to win money. And every single Tom, Dick, and Harry in America is going to tell me Horvat, Chiefs are going to win, it's Mahomes, it's Reed, Chiefs, Chiefs, Chiefs, Chiefs, Chiefs, it's freezing cold conditions. Wind chill of negative 30, whatever's being reported. Oh, the Dolphins are coming up from Florida, no way they're going to win. And I say, the Chiefs receivers can't catch the football in 75 and sunny.

What makes me think they're going to be able to catch it on Saturday evening when it feels like negative something degrees? I know that the Dolphins defense is banged up, they have injuries on both sides of the ball. The Chubb injury just when they were starting to find life after Jalen Phillips is massive. I don't care, I don't trust this Chiefs team, I don't trust their offense all throughout the season. Not only am I taking the points here if you can't tell, Dolphins plus four. I'm picking the Dolphins outright, 20-17 over the Kansas City Chiefs. Chiefs go home on Wild Card Weekend.

Your thoughts? Yeah, we're on the same side. I like the points with the Dolphins. I think they win this game outright and I actually like the under as well. Everybody's going to talk about the weather, everybody's going to talk about Tua being a warm weather quarterback. But the reason I like Miami is Mike McDaniel's in that run game. The Dolphins are going to be able to run the ball here.

It looks like Waddle's going to be able to give it a go, it looks like Raheem Mostert's going to be able to give it a go. They're going to have both backs healthy. And the Chiefs right now are dead last in run-stop win rate. And you have Mike McDaniel's former run game coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers.

That's his bread and butter, right? And the Chiefs are 28th in EPA per rush allowed. That's their weakness. Miami has a top 10 offensive line, even with all those injuries this season. And they're number three right now in rushing efficiency. And they're battle tested, you know, they're number three in rushing efficiency. And that's against a top 10 schedule against the run. You know, I like the Chiefs defense, but they're built to play with leads. They have a bunch of solid pass rushers, they have a pretty good secondary.

I like Snead. And Tua's not good when he's pressured, but here's what nobody's talking about. Like when Tua's kept clean, he's a top five quarterback in the league. When he's under pressure, he's outside the top 20.

But the way to pressure Tua is natural pressure. Because against the Blitz, which Spags and the Chiefs love to do, they're blitzing at the seventh highest rate this season. Tua's actually graded the number one quarterback against the Blitz. So unless the Chiefs are able to get some natural pressure, I actually think he might be able to hit some of these short throws, some of these crossing routes. They're going to be able to run the football. I like Miami a lot in this game. I know they've only beat one playoff team.

I know, I think they're like minus 91 point differential against playoff teams. But I think they're going to pull off the upset here and Mahomes is heading home. And then we'll see what they do this offseason, man. The Chiefs need a wide receiver. I'd love to see them pick up T Higgins.

Talking to Ryan Horvat right now, Ben MGM tonight via Beck QL. The Buffalo Bills, going to be snowy. They're already saying fans will give you 20 bucks if you help us find a way to shovel out that stadium.

I know last time it snowed big, my buddy Dion Dawkins had fans lining up at his house to get him out of his driveway to make sure that the snowman got to the stadium to do some snow plowing on the field. I think this spread is tricky because I think it's begging you to take the points with the Steelers. Bills are a nine and a half point favorite.

I do not like that hook. I look at that and I say to myself up, the Bills could kind of cover it with a field goal or touch at the end where it's close and then it ends up being a 20 to 10 game. I know that the Steelers have looked better under Mason Rudolph, no T.J. Watt in this one. I probably should take the points, but I think that there's going to be a score late that ends up covering the number for Buffalo. Give me the Bills laying nine and a half. What say you?

Yeah, so I'm going to pick the Bills, but if this weather is as bad as it looks, I could see the path for the Steelers to cover here just because you could also run the ball on Buffalo, right? I love the under, by the way, of 33 and a half. Love it. Same here. Same here.

I don't care how low this goes. And that's what scares me a little bit laying this big number with the Bills, you know, nine and a half, 10 when we're looking at a total only 35 and a half. And also, you know, the Bills, like we just talked about with the Kansas City Chiefs, you know, that's a team that's built to play with the lead. They're 24th at EPA per rush, 17th overall rush defense, but they do get Daquan Jones back and the splits are much better with him on the field.

So I'm going to pick Buffalo. Everybody's going to talk about T.J. Watt and what he brings for the pass rush, but he's also really important as a run defender. Last year when they lost him, the run defense kind of fell off a cliff. Teams were averaging 100 more total yards against the Steelers. I think Buffalo is the better team. You know, they're the more talented team, but if the weather gets crazy and Josh Allen turns the ball over, this could get ugly. But I'm going to go with the Bills just because I think when they get in the red zone, they're going to be able to lean on that run game. And I think Josh Allen is going to use his legs. So I like him over eight and a half rushing attempts. I like him to score a touchdown. And I'm going to go Bills at nine and a half.

Ryan Horvat here with us on the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. So three games down, three more to go. And we agree so far. Browns playing a point and a half, Dolphins plus four and Bills lay nine and a half.

So hopefully we're on the right side of things or not. We're going to have to make up some money in the final three games. Once four thirty p.m. Eastern Time hits on Sunday, it's the Danette then and then and go pack go up against those drama Dallas choking Cowboys.

Seven points is the number here. This has been a super duper successful season for the Packers. It's been a good look for Matt LaFleur. It's been a good look for Jordan Love.

All good things come to an end. They will be a team that's alive for next year. The seven points, you know, you can't get a little uncomfortable there. You know, Dallas, you always expect them to choke it up on a big stage. I think the Cowboys are going to find the way to win this game by 10 points. Give me the Dallas Cowboys lay in seven.

You all right. So I played Green Bay at eight and I still like Green Bay at seven. I think the angle here is I like Dallas in the first half. They're four point favorites just because Green Bay is the youngest team in playoff history.

And it's going to be an electric crowd, obviously, in Jerry's world. Jordan Love, wide receiver room in the league. Maybe he makes a mistake or two. I think Dallas definitely has a four point lead going into the half. But then I'm a little worried about Dallas, man.

I have some Dallas futures in the NFC. If you look since they're by 48 percent of passes, 44 percent of runs have graded successful against their defense. The reason we consider them a top defense is that pass rush. They're number one in pass rush win rate.

That's what Dan Quinn does. But here's the problem in this matchup. The Packers offensive line is very good. They're number two in pass block win rate.

That's even without David back to Ari. And all of a sudden, Jordan Love since we twelve has been a top five quarterback. He's getting rid of the ball quicker.

He's taking the underneath stuff. Everything's not just him hunting the deep ball and he's going through all of his progressions. And the Cowboys also 30th against the run. Aaron Jones, three straight one hundred yard games. I think Green Bay could be able to keep this game close if Joe Berry doesn't get exposed.

That's the issue. Barry's defense allowed Tommy DeVito to be NFC player of the week. Baker Mayfield had a perfect QB rating at Lambeau Field.

Bryce Young had his first three hundred yard passing performance. But I like what they did last week. Last week on third downs, they played more man coverage. You know, usually they play a bunch of soft zone. They're going to need a healthy Jair Alexander if he's not able to go or if he's not one hundred percent. They have to play soft zone against C.D.

Lamb and Jake Ferguson. I think that's going to have a big game here, but I'm going to go with the Packers plus seven. But I do like Dallas in the first half. And I do think they win the game.

But that's a tricky line. All right. So the first game we disagree with, I'll take the Cowboys lane seven. Ryan Horvat goes with the Packers plus seven. He's back in the pack.

All righty. Sunday Night Football. Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum. Rams and Lions on NBC. Rams, Lions matchup, Lions three point spread. I want to take Detroit.

I want to see Detroit win their first playoff game since the 1991 season. But nobody's talking about maybe the second best team in the NFC right now. And that's Los Angeles Rams, who have won seven out of their last eight games. They had the experience with McVeigh, with Stafford, with Cup, with Aaron Donald. And they also have the youth in Williams and Puka Nakua, who would have won offensive rookie of the year. If it wasn't for that guy, C.J.

Stroud, who is unbelievable. I think this has like a thirty one thirty game written all over it. You know, I think that this is going to be like a one point game, maybe a two point game. I like the Rams, though, plus the three.

And I'll even say it right now. I like the Rams outright. Give me the Rams. Matthew Stafford, I'm coming home. And he's going to be reckoned that homecoming party for Lions fans that are going to boom or cheer him. Before the game and then boom during the game. So give me the Rams.

All right. So I feel like, man, I like the Rams to everybody likes the Rams. I feel like they're almost becoming like too trendy. I did bet them plus four. And I think they win the game. I mean, you said it all, man, like their number two offensively by DVOA the second half of the season. The only offense better is the San Francisco 49ers. They've won seven of eight games since their by their only loss was an overtime to the Ravens.

And that's actually probably their best data point. I know they haven't beat a bunch of great teams, but they've scored thirty one points per game over their last six. They've scored at least twenty six in all six games, except for last week when they started Carson Wentz. But man, and that's the path to beat in the Lions right as you throw the ball on him. That piece that pass defense, I believe, is like twenty fifth in the league right now. But the case I can make for the Lions is their top five against the run. If they could shut down Kyron Williams, the other thing they could do is get after the quarterback.

And Matthew Stafford is great when he's got a clean pocket, but he struggles when he's under pressure. Also, Detroit loves to run the ball. The Rams, they're trending better against the run, but they're still outside the top 20. I don't love that Rams defense, but yeah, I'm picking the Rams, man. But I could also see where Detroit does end up winning this game just because it's becoming so trendy.

But that was the first bet that I placed. And that's my biggest bet of the weekend. I like Los Angeles to beat Detroit in the Matthew Stafford revenge game.

Nobody knows Jared Goff better than Sean McVeigh. So I think I think Goff and Ben Johnson might get exposed here unless they're able to run the ball like four or five yards per carry. So as we go into the final game, we both have the Browns lay in a point and a half. We have the Dolphins plus four.

Bills minus nine and a half. I am on Buffalo. You're on Buffalo as well. I'm on the Cowboys lay in seven. You're on Green Bay plus seven. And we're both on the Rams plus the three. Final game.

I'll let you go first here, Horvat. Eagles and Bucks. The Eagles with Jalen Hurts, who supposedly can't throw the football all throughout the week with this finger injury.

And everyone can't stand Nick Sirianni right now because he can't have any order in his locker room. The Eagles on the road against the NFC South champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a three point favorite. Is Philly on upset alert or do you like them covering the three?

All right. So the better the week other than the Rams for me is actually the first half under twenty one because of what you said with Jalen and Philadelphia's run game really hasn't got going. And I mean, like what we learned about the Eagles, I think this season a on the defensive side of the ball, they really miss Jonathan Gannon and CJ Gardner Johnson pass defense outside the top twenty five. They could still stop the run and they could still get after the quarterback. So I think this will be a lower scoring field out process in the first half. But, you know, I still think, man, at two and a half at three now, the Eagles, this number is short.

I'm waiting to fade them. I just don't know that I could do it this weekend with Todd Bulls in a beat up Baker Mayfield. You know, even at home here, I like the Eagles in a lower scoring game. I just the other thing we're figuring out about the the Eagles, man, they really miss Shane Steichen. This is a completely different offense, not even just the injuries, the A.J. Brown into Jalen. Like they walk up to the line of scrimmage last season.

They were top ten in tempo this season. They're moving into Snell's pace. I do think that they win this game and then they get bounced next week. So I'm going to wait to fade the Eagles just because it's Todd Bulls and Baker Mayfield, lower scoring game. I'll take Philadelphia, but I love the first half under here. I don't know why when I see the spread as Eagles lay in three and I've been as critical as anyone can be the last few weeks.

I think it's begging you to take Philadelphia. But I just I can't trust that locker room right now. I can't you know, A.J.

Brown deleting social media today. You've heard things even before then. You know, I don't have a great football analysis on why the Bucks are going to win this game. Other than they have a good defense, you know, on offense. I like Mike Evans. He's a big game player. We know that. A thousand yards each and every year. Like if you would have told me before this season, I would have picked the Eagles to lose in the first round.

I wouldn't have ever believed it. I would say like, what are you smoking? What drugs are you doing in your spare time? But I like the Bucks in this one. Plus the three. So here are the picks. We're both on the Browns laying a point and a half. Dolphins plus four, we're both on them. Bills minus nine and a half. We are both on them. Cowboys laying seven.

That's me. Horvat goes Green Bay plus seven. Rams plus three. I'm taking the Bucks plus three.

And then Horvat goes the Eagles minus three. Sounds good to you. Did I get that all right? Sounds great to me.

Hey, is that like if the Eagles do get bounced. Sirianni fired. Sirianni fired.

Wow. And what we're figuring out, man, is the brains kind of left town there, right? Like I said, Shane Steichen, Jonathan Gannon.

Those were the brains behind the operation. But it's crazy from coaching in a Super Bowl to maybe not having a job. I mean, it's been a mess for Philadelphia the last couple of weeks. And that defense is bad.

Even when Tommy DeVito came in in relief last week driving up and down the field. So I am worried about Philadelphia. I think he should be fired. I don't know if he'll actually get fired because Howie Roseman and Jeffrey Lurie like that puppet.

And it's clear that Nick Sirianni is a puppet right now and they enjoy being the puppet master. So we'll see from there. Anyway, Ryan Horvat from Ben MGM tonight and Beck QL. Thanks so much, my friend. Thanks, man. Enjoy the games this weekend. You got it.

All right. We'll talk about Nick Sirianni's job when we come on back. And are we starting to see the close of the Chiefs championship window?

We'll get into those two topics when we return. But first up, with the latest CBS Sports Radio update, here's the Ackman, Rich Ackerman. It's time to answer our Ask the Pros question of the day. And it's brought to you by O'Reilly Auto Parts. Thomas in Kansas City says, Zach, how do you see the rest of the Chiefs window being in terms of winning a championship?

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O'Reilly Auto Parts. I still think the Chiefs window is open. I don't think they're winning a Super Bowl this year. I just predicted that they're going to go down to Miami this upcoming weekend. But even if you do see a Kansas City win this weekend, it's not like I'm going to have all the confidence in the world starting to brew with the Kansas City Chiefs.

But they still have an open window because you have 15. And sometimes you need these years and I can't call the Chiefs a dynasty yet because they won two championships. They win a third one. They're a dynasty. But when you are going through the makings of a dynasty or the looks of a dynasty, sometimes you need a year where you have to get things to be reset a little bit. And when I say reset, it's not a rebuild because there's nowhere close to rebuilding. It's just a reset where you go, OK, let's see what the problem is because our defense has been good enough. The problems on the offensive side of the ball. We know 15 isn't the problem in Patrick Mahomes. We know Andy Reid isn't the problem.

So what's the problem? And the problem is, all right, you won a Super Bowl without Tyree kill. Travis Kelce, the last year, it was dominant this year, even though when he slows down, he's still really good. He's not as dominant as he once was.

Maybe he'll return to that form next year. But I do believe to get the Chiefs back into a championship form, they need to go get a number one wide receiver. They need to go get someone that actually sparks legitimate fear into the defense because as great as Kelce's been, I don't think Kelce this year is someone that you're shaking in your boots or, you know, if you slow him down, no one else on the team is going to be able to catch the ball. Now, I like Isaiah Pacheco when he could stay healthy, but he's a running back. You need a pass catcher to get to Kansas City. And I said this from the start.

I don't think it's their fault. I think it was more so what DeAndre Hopkins prioritize. It would have made so much sense in the world for DeAndre Hopkins to be on this Kansas City team like they probably would. They probably get to the Super Bowl if they have DeAndre Hopkins this year, but they just like Rashee Rice has been their best wide receiver as of late. You can't have Rashee Rice be your best wide receiver if you're expecting to go win three playoff games to get to the Super Bowl. So I saw I heard Horvat say T. Higgins.

That would be great. Could you imagine T. Higgins with Mahomes? And also you factor in all the animosity between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals. You have someone flipping the rivalry and then we get that number one wide receiver status that you can't get in Cincinnati because of the greatness of Jamar Chase. But you've got to find a way, whether it's in the draft or whether it's in free agency like Mike Evans. They may franchise tag him. They could, but he's a free agent. Might as well get Mike Evans. Mahomes, Mike Evans. Hello, Super Bowl.

Right? I know it probably won't happen and I don't want to give Stu a heart attack in the final five minutes of the show. But Devante Adams, if like let's say the Raiders don't hire Antonio Pierce, he gets ignored.

He wants that. Everyone says, oh, he'll probably get traded to the Jets, team back up with Aaron Rodgers. I know it's in division, so it would be tough and you'd basically be handed in the Chiefs another championship. But you could run up that price. You could double that price from what it'd be for any other team with the Kansas City Chiefs. Like, Stu, let me ask you this. Would you be against trading Devante?

Like, let's say Devante Adams comes to you. I want nothing to do with the Raiders anymore. You guys are a pathetic disgrace to football. We've got to get rid of you. I'm sick and tired of being on this team. It drives me crazy and I want it to be here.

I want out. Would you be okay with them trading him to the Kansas City Chiefs? Yeah, there'd be a tax on it. Like, they'd have to get like three firsts or something like that. It'd be the Stu tax. Yeah, the Stu tax, yeah.

But definitely the Chargers or Chiefs would have a tax on him for sure. But what if you guys trade him, what, a second round pick, right? Was it a second? Yes.

Was there anything else? A second and a fourth, maybe something like that? It was second and a mid-round, like a fourth or fifth or something. So let's say the Jets are willing to offer a first-round pick, which would be the 10th pick in the draft I'm pretty sure the Jets have. So that's a pretty prime real estate pick.

Like, I don't know. What can the Chiefs do to top it? Because the Chiefs, bare minimum, are going to be picking late 20s or in the 30s. Yeah, that's the problem. You're not going to get like a mid-first or something.

It's going to be late first every time unless something crazy happens. Now, what happens if it happens this way? The Jets offer Adams a second-round pick, right? The Raiders a second-round pick, and then some. Like, they basically give the same deal that the Packers did. Kansas City calls you up, they say, we'll give you a first and a three, though. Would you do a first and a three? Or is it not that big of a difference where you just go, okay, I'd rather see him with the Jets?

I'd probably rather see him with the Jets. It's just tough when it's in division like that. I think it's too, I think you're right. I think it's tough. And I don't know if there's going to be a deal that is going to overstep everybody else. When it comes to getting Devante Adams to the Kansas City Chiefs.

So, I think the Chiefs still have a window, but they got to find their next explosive player. Whether you still believe in Kelsey or not, long-term. His career, like I know he says that he's not close to retiring.

It's one thing to say it. I don't know if Kelsey's playing three more years. So, you got to find someone to eventually replace that explosive production on the offensive side of the ball. And then finally, let me just circle back on what I said to Horvat about Sirianni. I'm running the team. I'm getting rid of Sirianni.

He loses this game. Especially when you have guys like Belichick, Pete Carroll available, Jim Harbaugh, Mike Vrabel too. Those four guys are four tremendous names to have on the market.

And Sirianni is a good coach, but he's also a doormat. And this year, they were 10-1. You know, I had a friend that had a ticket of 11.5. He took the under. The under on the Eagles. He hit because they only had 11.

They only went down the stretch. He thought the ticket was toast. Thankfully, it was online. If it was old school and it was an actual ticket, he would have ripped up the thing.

And he wouldn't have been able to cash it. But this has got so ugly so quickly. I've never turned on a coach quicker than I have with Nick Sirianni. Just because of the way that it played out. But ultimately, I think Roseman, Howie Roseman, and Jeffrey Lurie, the team owner, this is by design. They like a coach that they can control. And the moment Doug Peterson had a little pushback and said, Guys, I want a Super Bowl.

I'm the only coach in the history of this franchise that wins a Super Bowl. They said, Doug, you're out. Goodbye. Gone. So I don't think Sirianni is going to oppose enough of what Roseman and what Lurie want to do this offseason.

So he probably will be back. But like I look at this, you put on an Eagles cap. He loses this game to Tampa Bay, which I think has a good chance of happening.

And you see how ugly this has got down the stretch. You've got to think about Belichick. You've got to think about Harbaugh. You've got to think about Carroll. You've got to think about Mike Vrabel. Because I do think all four of those guys are better options than Nick Sirianni.

Alrighty. Fun, busy week. From Carroll to Saban to Belichick to Jarod Mayo, Kaelin DeBoer, and oh so much more. I do appreciate you listening in to us right here on the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. We'll be back on Monday to recap all the Super Football that we're going to see on Wild Card Weekend.

Who knows what else is going to break loose. Big thanks to Moist Mike, Michael Samster, Stuart Kovacs, each and every one of you for calling, listening, and tweeting throughout the week. Follow me on social media to interact over the weekend.

Twitter and Instagram at ZachGelb, Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. Enjoy your weekend, everybody. Enjoy the football. We out. Bye-bye. Peace.

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