Ben Johnson is Staying with the Lions (Hour 1)

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Um, that's claim a ring with diamonds made from M&M's peanut butter, but you're on a roll. The Ring of Comfort, coming soon to a Super Bowl new you. 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 10th 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. YouTube.com slash CBS Sports Radio. 855-212-4CBS, number to jump on in.

855-212-4227, you can always get at me on Instagram, where I'm straight flexin', or via the good ol' cesspool of Twitter. At Zach Gelb, that's Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B, got Carlos with a K, Stuart Kovacs rockin' and rollin' all the way with me up until 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific. Logan Ryan of the San Francisco 49ers is gonna stop by at the top of the hour. Two-time Super Bowl champion looking to win his third Lombardi Trophy two weeks from now. And then the final segment of the show at 5.40 p.m. Eastern, 2.40 p.m. Pacific will be joined by a man that just wrapped up his second year in the NFL.

He plays for the Buffalo Bills, had nearly, had over 1,500 all-purpose yards, and that is James Cook of the Buffalo Bills stopping by. So, I gotta start off the show today with the surprising news that the offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions, Ben Johnson, is staying with the Lions. Now, this is a shocker.

This is really a stunner. Everyone thought that he was going to the Washington commanders. It wasn't a matter of if it was going to happen. It was a foregone conclusion, and it was just dependent on when the Detroit Lions were gonna bow out of the playoffs. And now with their postseason run over and only two jobs remaining, the Seahawks and the commanders, and both of those teams were interested in Ben Johnson, today no one expected the domino to fall, that Ben Johnson was gonna take himself out of the head coaching market. And I get Ben Johnson can be selective. He's not even 40 years old yet. He is a well-accomplished offensive coordinator out of the guys that don't have experience out of a head coach.

He was the creme de la creme name. But it is stunning that he's not taking the commander's job. Now, you could say, well, why not Seattle? Seattle has it made pretty damn well right now with the two running backs that they have, the trio wide receiver with DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Jackson Smith, and Jigba, some of the younger players in that secondary, but Geno Smith's your quarterback.

So I could understand maybe Ben Johnson saying, yeah, you only need a quarterback, but they already have a commitment to Geno Smith. Maybe you don't want to go there, but I don't think Seattle's a bad destination. I actually think the Seahawks job is a very good one. But the job with the commanders, like you're looking to build from the ground up.

I don't know why you would pass on that job. There is positive momentum in Landover, Maryland with the Washington commanders. I know you don't have a quarterback, but you had the second overall pick. You don't have the negativity that comes with Daniel Snyder anymore because he's out of the NFL and good riddance to him. As now you have Josh Harris taking over that franchise.

And we know that the commanders have salary cap space. So it is perplexing to me that this is the decision. And quite frankly, I think it's the wrong decision by Ben Johnson. Like what is going to happen if you stay with the Lions, you get another opportunity to win a Super Bowl. So, OK, you may view that as a great opportunity and you think you're right on the cusp of winning a Super Bowl in Detroit. But that's not a guarantee that that's going to happen next year.

And how many years are you going to start to kick the can and continue to kick the can down the road? And when you keep on saying no, regardless of what the reasons are, you go from being the hot candidate to then the candidate of, well, he passed a bunch of times. Who is he and why is he passing? And is there an ego to Ben Johnson and he keeps on passing these jobs?

Or maybe you fall out of out of the being the popular guy and then teams just go up. I kind of had it with what comes with Ben Johnson. And now this is back to back hiring cycles. Last year, like I understand why he didn't want to go to Carolina. That was good foresight. David Tepper is an absolute disaster.

I don't need to say any more. But these two jobs, I would have to think, especially the commander's job, because everyone thought Adam Peters, the new GM, was hiring Ben Johnson. I don't see why you would turn down. I don't see what the upside is going back to Detroit, where now you are already the hot guy without winning a championship. Why you would turn down not only the commanders, but then also potentially the Seattle Seahawks.

And you know what? There was a lot of great anticipation with this hiring cycle, especially when we found out in the span of a week, week and a half of the names that were going to be available. Bill Belichick, Mike Vrabel, Pete Carroll, Jim Harbaugh. And we know Jim Harbaugh is going to get introduced two days from now on Thursday in L.A. as the next head coach of Los Angeles Chargers. But it is bizarre that in all likelihood we're going to go through this hiring cycle and Belichick's not going to get hired. Pete Carroll's not going to get hired.

And maybe this decision by Ben Johnson does open up the door once again in this cycle for a guy like Mike Vrabel. But I can't sit here in great confidence and say that's going to be the case because the hot name heading into the AFC championship game for the Seattle Seahawks job. And it dropped that morning and they didn't interview him yet was Mike McDonald, the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens. Now, I'm not someone that based off one outcome of one game.

I say, oh, this guy goes from being the guy to no one wants him. Seattle. Yeah, they understand Mike McDonald's defense in the first half of that AFC championship game did not perform well. But then they did a good job and then you saw it was the offense of the Baltimore Ravens that failed the Ravens season more than it was the defense. So I guess Mike McDonald is going to be the choice in Seattle. But then also I thought it was a lock and everyone that covers football said it was a lock that Ben Johnson was going to be the head coach of the commanders.

So what I'm saying is what the bleep do we know? Like what the heck do we know when it comes to these hiring cycles? But the point I will make, like look at Seattle and the commanders. You want to tell me you don't want to hire Bill Belichick because Bill is a my way or the highway type of guy. And you want to get a little bit like the Atlanta Falcons where people in your organization get worried if they're going to have jobs a year from now when Belichick comes in and wants to do it his way.

Even though I disagree with that, I can understand it. But you look at a guy like Mike Vrabel, why the heck won't he be the next head coach of the commanders or the Seattle Seahawks? Don't get me wrong. Ben Johnson may one day turn out to be a great head coach. Mike McDonald may turn out to be a great head coach.

But they're an unknown. We've never seen them, either of them, be a head coach. Mike Vrabel in Tennessee did not have a great roster.

They did not have these wonderfully talented players. Like yeah, they had some stars in Derrick Henry. But in a league where you need a quarterback to win, and when we're in a league where it's who's your quarterback, who's your quarterback, who's your quarterback, Mike Vrabel had Ryan frickin' Tannehill. And Ryan Tannehill under Mike Vrabel was a number one seed, and then in another year got to an AFC championship game.

You never looked at Tennessee's roster and said, oh, they're loaded with an abundance of talent. So this guy could coach, and he's young. So Seattle, you get rid of Pete Carroll, I kind of think Mike Vrabel is a mirror image of Pete Carroll, except he's younger. And for the commanders, now you don't get Ben Johnson, and that was your top candidate. So I can understand, right, the commanders starting over, they want to go with a bunch of guys that you don't know what their potential is going to be, or it's all sold off of potential. But now I look at the odds, and who knows what the odds mean, but your candidates right now are Bobby Slowik, Mike McDonald, Dan Quinn, Aaron Glenn, and Anthony Weaver. And don't get me wrong, Vrabel has odds of plus 900, Slowik's at plus 200, McDonald's at plus 300, Dan Quinn's at plus 500, Aaron Glenn's at 1,000, and Anthony Weaver's at plus 1,500, and Vrabel's 900. But for Vrabel right now to have the fourth highest odds to be the next commander's coach, that's ridiculous. But it just kind of gives you the foresight, and it kind of tells you and preferences it with saying he's not expected to be the next head coach of the Washington commanders.

And for the Seahawks and the commanders, all I'll say is why not? Why wouldn't you hire Mike Vrabel? Like don't get me wrong, what Bobby Slowik did this past year with the Texans was awesome. Mike McDonald has been really good at Michigan, and then also the Baltimore Ravens. Dan Quinn was a solid head coach, he's deserving of another opportunity. But I'd rather have Mike Vrabel than all three of those guys.

So the Ben Johnson thing, it's stunning, it really is, because he was the top name outside of the proven guys like Harbaugh and Belichick and Carroll and Vrabel. But now this is back to back off seasons, and whether it was salary, whether he didn't believe in those organizations, whether you want to believe that he's all in on chasing another Super Bowl for the Detroit Lions or their first Super Bowl for the Detroit Lions, whatever it is, it doesn't matter to me. I just don't think this is the right decision.

But it's not my job, it's not my future, and he's still young, and maybe next year he'll finally leave. But is it really worth it to stay as the OC in Detroit, which you've done a rock star job, and that is an organization that's turning around, and even though it was a crappy end to their season, they had a great season with the Detroit Lions. But now your stock is as high as it's ever been.

And I know someone could call me up at 855-2124 CBS 855-212-4227 and say, Zach, well if he wins a Super Bowl, maybe the stock will be even higher and it'll be even higher, but what's the likelihood of that? Like the Lions are a really good team. The Lions are a Super Bowl contender next year. But Joe Burrow's coming back. Patrick Mahomes isn't going anywhere. You'll still have the 49ers in the NFC. Maybe the Eagles have a bounce back season. But to pass up on this now, and you're going to basically say the Seahawks and the commanders aren't appealing enough to you, then what job is going to be the right job for you?

And then what is the job that you go, okay, I have to go take that job? I just think momentum is a big thing. And it's funny that we talk momentum with the week that the Lions just ruined all the momentum that they had in their NFC title game. But you've now been the guy that's not proven as a head coach before the last two hiring cycles.

How many more times are you going to kick the can down the road? And it's bonkers to me how the commanders and Seahawks right now aren't going to hire from what it feels like and what it appears like Mike Vrabel. Like with two jobs left, I can understand, even though I think it's stupid, why Belichick isn't getting a job. I can understand why Pete Carroll isn't getting a job. But the Vrabel part where his age is, and I know he didn't get along with John Robinson, but Vrabel was right. Robinson wasn't right. It's almost like does Vrabel not want a job or do these teams, and I know there's been some connections with the Seahawks and Mike Vrabel, but these teams are really going to hire like Mike McDonald or Dan Quinn over Mike Vrabel?

That just doesn't add up to me. It is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Also, I was listening to a little local radio last night, and I heard Mike Valenti, who works here obviously inside the Odyssey family, and does a kickass job with Boomer Esiason on that weekend show previewing all the games, and his Monday through Friday gig is Afternoon Drive in Detroit. And I wanted to hear what the local Detroit station was saying, the ticket, about the Lions loss.

Mike Valenti made a great point, and I've never thought about it this way. He thinks that the Lions would have beat the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. And I know that we focused so much yesterday on just them blowing the game to the 49ers. And even though the Lions beat the Chiefs in week one, the Chiefs would have been a favorite, I would like to think, over the Detroit Lions in the Super Bowl. And even though I thought this Kansas City team was vulnerable, when you hear it said like that, and clearly I would have said that they blew a chance to go play for the Lombardi Trophy, but to say that they would have won the Super Bowl, I don't think he's wrong. Because the Lions put up a ton of points, and as great as Patrick Mahomes is, and it's going to be impossible to doubt Patrick Mahomes in the big game, that Chiefs offense this past week had no points in the second half. And if you get to like 24 points, even with Kansas City defense being really good, in all likelihood you're going to win the game. So I don't think that's nuts for Valenti to say, not only did the Lions blow the opportunity to play in the Super Bowl, but he really did think that they would have beat the Kansas City Chiefs. And I thought of one more thing from the collapse by the Detroit Lions, and it goes back to the aggressive topic that we talked about yesterday for pretty much the entire show, and we got some great phone calls at 855-212-4CBS, 855-212-4227. And I think the overwhelming majority of people believe Dan Campbell made reckless, stupid, idiotic, and dumb decisions in the second half of the NFC title game.

At least one, if not multiple. And I thought running the ball in third and goal and calling a timeout was dumb. I thought when you lost the lead and you're down by three and you have a chance to tie up the game with a less than 50-yard field goal, not taking that opportunity was dumb. The one that I defended was when they were up by 14 in the second half going for it, I was okay with that. But we did have two smart football guys in Ross Tucker and Mike Golick who both vehemently disagreed with that decision by Dan Campbell. So at best, like for me, I'm going to say two out of his three decisions were wrong. But then there were people that were saying, but Zach, this is how we coached all here.

Zach, this is his aggressiveness, and you got to live and die with it. Well, if that's the case, and this was just something I thought of, right before the end of the first half, they had a fourth and goal at the three-yard line. Fourth and goal at the three. One more play right before the end of the half.

Why didn't he go for it there? So it was fine to settle for the field goal there, but then you wouldn't settle for the field goal or attempt the field goal later in the game. And I know the Brainiacs will tell me, oh, well, the kicker hasn't been good all year, and that was a chip shot compared to the other two where the percentages haven't been great. Okay, I can live with that answer.

But don't then say, well, that's who Dan Campbell is. He's aggressive, aggressive, aggressive, and I'm not saying he isn't aggressive, but don't use the aggressiveness to justify your point on why it was the right decision. Because if he goes for it then all the time, he should have gone for it right before the end of the first half. But he took the points, and taking the points was the right decision.

And it's something that he should have at least attempted in the second half, but he didn't elect to do that. It is the Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio. Dan Campbell, Ben Johnson, the future of the Commanders and the Seahawks, all on the table for you.

855-212-4CBS, 855-212-4227. Logan Ryan going to another Super Bowl, going to join us at the top of the hour defensive back for the San Francisco 49ers in the final segment of the show today at 5.40 p.m. Eastern, 2.40 p.m. Pacific. James Cook will join us from the Buffalo Bills.

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Peanut Butter, M&M's Production. In a world where Super Bowl winners get the world's admiration and a fancy ring, but the runners-up get nothing, one retired cop returns... That's one retired quarterback. Read the script.

Oh, sorry. One retired quarterback returns to claim what's his. Um, that's claim a ring with diamonds made from M&M's peanut butter, but you're on a roll.

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That's Stamps.com code PROGRAM. All right, it is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. We will be broadcasting in Las Vegas all throughout Super Bowl week starting next week. Monday through Friday, we'll give you five kick-ass shows. We're getting some of the biggest names around the sports world to join us on Radio Row from 12 to 3 p.m. Pacific, 3 to 6 p.m. Eastern, right here on CBS Sports Radio. So going to be a fun five days in Vegas next week.

We'll get you a lot of content, obviously, on the air and then off the air as well. So I did go to Baltimore for the AFC Championship game on Sunday. And with two minutes left in the fourth quarter, they make an announcement in the press box. If you are a media member and you want to go on the field for the postgame celebration, line up right now at the south entrance. And I was like, you know what, I don't need to go on the field. And the reason why I didn't want to go on the field is because I actually didn't think there was going to be a trophy celebration on the field. Because my memory, at least, when I saw the Patriots beat the Chiefs and I was watching from home, my memory of it was the trophy presentation when a road team wins was kind of like done in the locker room. It wasn't done on the field. So I'm like, maybe the media people are wrong here and they're going to bring everyone down there and then they're not going to get, they're going to bring people on the field and they're going to be like, oh, it's off to the side, the trophy presentation.

Now, looking back, that was a massive mistake from your boy. Because it never crossed my mind in a million years that Taylor Swift, with just how many probably security is around her, was going to make her way from whatever luxury box she was in to then on the field. So I kind of blew that opportunity to be in the same area as one Taylor Swift.

Now, I ended up going to the postgame press conference room and was in the first row and got a lot of other content that's probably more important that way. But I think from the average person, right, because we're football people, but from people that necessarily aren't what we do, they probably care more about Taylor Swift than the actual football. And I don't know about you guys, I'll ask Carlos this because I know Stu is a Swiftie.

So Stu, everything he's going to say is going to be buys. Does the coverage of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's relationship, does it annoy you at all when you're watching the game? No, to be honest, I don't think I've really noticed it too much. I see a couple of extra shots that get her reaction, but I actually think this is great.

I love it. There are a lot of non-football fans, especially in the female demographic, that are paying attention to the Chiefs specifically, but the NFL overall. I have a goddaughter who's not interested in football at all.

I've tried to talk to her about it, I've tried to have her sit down with me, watch a couple of games, until a couple of weeks ago, she never cared. Now she actually told me, she texted me and told me that the Chiefs had beaten the Ravens in the AFC Championship game. I'm like, how do you know? And she's like, I was watching because of Taylor Swift.

And here's the thing, I don't understand people that are freaking out, losing their mind over this coverage. I just saw Awful announcing, put out a tweet, and it said how many seconds Taylor Swift was actually shown on the CBS broadcast. You want to take a guess?

This was Sunday's AFC Championship game. Chiefs, Ravens, how many times in terms of seconds, how long did CBS show Taylor Swift? You want to take a guess, Carlos? I'm going to go with seven. Okay.

Stu? I was going to go more than that, but not too much. Maybe like 25 seconds. Forty-four seconds.

Wow. So not even a minute, not even a minute of actual broadcast footage being shown of Taylor Swift on Sunday and look at the reaction that it causes. And I know that this has now been politicized, just seeing the cesspool that is Twitter. Like, I'm not saying I'm the biggest Taylor Swift fan in the world. I like her. I have no reason to dislike her. But the fact that she's dating Travis Kelce and she gets shown, what's the downside to it?

What is everyone freaking out about and losing their mind? Football's a man's game. This is where I come into my cave and eat my raw meat and my beer.

I don't want any Swifties around here. Sunday's is for me. It's just stupid. It really is.

And think about it. I go to the Super Bowl every year. That Monday night, the opening night of the Super Bowl, is a circus.

You have people dressed up in costumes. You have people asking the players, like, the craziest questions. We allow all that to go on. But then Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift are dating and it's, oh, this is disgraceful. You show them way too much of my broadcast.

This is not my football. Like, what? It was 44 damn seconds.

44 seconds. And that's what people are bitching and complaining about. Like, I think now we just live in a world where people like to just say they get offended and they like to slam people.

And don't get me wrong. I love a good rant. I love freaking out over something that is so trivial. But what makes you really get going and so fed up over Taylor Swift dating Travis Kelce?

I think it's great. And also, anyone, and I know now, especially with betting, everyone has a conspiracy theory. Everyone has a reason to try to justify their losing bets. You know, if betting was so easy, trust me, I wouldn't be doing this for a living.

And I love what I do for a living. I'd be sitting on a big bag of cash and a big pile of cash and I'd be laughing to the bank and I wouldn't be working. I would just be placing sports bets. But now, it's like people are going to say, the NFL rigged this.

And I know it's a cheesy joke. Everything's scripted in the NFL. No, Lamar Jackson just couldn't show up in a big spot. The Bills can't win a big game to save their life. That's why the Kansas City Chiefs are here. The Chiefs weren't even great this year. The Chiefs were like a fine regular season team. They know how to win. They have a really good defense that I've been telling you since week three is underappreciated. And Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback on the planet.

And here's the other thing. I was reading that there is a betting line out there of plus 9.20 that Travis Kelce is going to get engaged to Taylor Swift following the Super Bowl, like at the game. I don't think that's going to happen. I'm going to give you the hot take, the Zach Geld Swiftie take of the day. I do not think that Travis Kelce is going to pop the big question at the big game. With that being said, though, and I've said this from the start of this relationship, I do think he will one day propose to Taylor Swift. And it wouldn't shock me if maybe they were dating or seeing each other a little bit longer than when it was reported. Now, I don't know how Taylor Swift ever hides a relationship because she doesn't live that far from where we broadcast. And there are people outside her apartment like 24-7, but, you know, I know you're a big fan, but get a life if we're being real. So I don't know how she would hide anything.

And it's not like Travis Kelce is some small person that you could hide. So I don't know how they would hide it. But, you know, celebrities and meetups and inner circles, there has to be some private places. Maybe the relationship has been going on a little bit longer than we thought. So I am of the belief that one day they will get engaged. Now, we'll see if they make it to the aisle. We'll see if they end up having a happy marriage. I'm not going to guarantee that. But I do think an engagement will happen with Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift. It's just not happening at the Super Bowl.

And also, let me talk to the guys out there. And maybe some people have done this. I think if you propose at a sporting event, and I know it's a little bit different because it's Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift and they've been the biggest story of the NFL. Like, I liked Ian Johnson, the Boise State. It's the one stadium proposal that I actually liked after he won the Fiesta Bowl with the stunning upset up against Oklahoma when he got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend.

That was cool. But 9.9 times out of 10, you look like a loser if you're proposing to your significant other at a sporting event. And I can't see how the significant other would ever find that romantic. Now, I get it, it would be on the field after the game, all that stuff.

But let's say the regular person, what do you have? Some guy that has a beer belly standing next to you in the stadium puking up his guts as you're getting down on one knee and asking your significant other if they'll marry you? You got like popcorn getting thrown all over you? It's just, I'm not big on the stadium proposals.

Never have, never will. And I don't think the person you're proposing to is great about it as well. And here's the other thing, like you got to know if the person's going to say yes when you're getting down on one knee. But I wonder how many times someone gets proposed to at a stadium.

And because it's always a big deal and they always show you in the jumbotron and there's always a crowd of people around you. I wonder how many times the gal just says yes and they get into a car and they're like, yeah, that's a no, like Randy Jackson from American Idol. That's a no from me, dog.

This ain't happening. Because imagine how much of, let me say this in a polite way, a not nice person you would have to be to embarrass the person that's proposing to you at a live sporting event and say no on the spot. And I even think doing so in a restaurant is a little bit much like there's probably a space where you could go and things like that.

I think that should be more of a private moment, but to each his own. Right. So Stu, I'll ask you this, you being the resident Swifty of our show, Taylor Swift, Travis Kelsey, are they going to one day get engaged? I don't think they get engaged at the Super Bowl.

That's plus nine twenty. But you're a believer in this relationship. Yeah, not Super Bowl, but maybe like a year or so from now. Yes, I do see that coming. And like I understand people that question the relationship up until this part. But when she's on the field with them after the game, crying, calling Ed Kelsey dad, walking around with Donna Kelsey everywhere, they're smoochy smoochy in on the field. She's pointing to Andy Reid like you can't be pointing to Andy Reid and then break Travis Kelsey's heart.

You can't do it. Carlos, you're shaking your head. You don't think that they're ever going to actually get engaged? I hope not, because that breakup album is going to be lit. Well, if they get engaged, why can't they live happily ever after? Well, then no one's going to want to listen to that song.

It was like, hey, everything worked out. No, you've got to have the Travis broke my heart song. So you want this to end in the worst way possible?

Oh, because you know how many Grammys she's going to win from that? I don't want to listen. Do I want to wish ill on either of them?

No, they seem like pleasant people. So you're rooted in evil is what you're telling me. But yeah, I'm an agent of chaos. You're a jackass. I love good music, man. So if you tell me I can get a kick ass album out of that, I'm all in for it. I'll sign up.

Alrighty. Very selfish that I've learned about Carlos Ortiz. Carlos Ortiz doesn't want to see other people happy.

He just wants to see them miserable to benefit his own personal satisfaction. Yeah, come to my level. Alrighty, Zach Gelb shows CBS Sports Radio. We'll take a break. We'll come on back. We'll update you some of the biggest stories in the world of sports with some audio.

We will call it, as always, the news brief. But first up, with the latest CBS Sports Radio update, here he is, the act man, Rich Ackerman. The defensive play 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's player is Chiefs defensive back, Legerious Snead. His crucial force fumble in the beginning of the fourth quarter on Sunday prevented a Ravens touchdown and gave Kansas City the ball back.

The Chiefs, as a team, held Baltimore to just three points in the second half. Alrighty, time to update you on the biggest stories in the world of sports with some audio. Let's get to a news brief. Time for your daily news brief.

We get you caught up on the rumors, reports, and reconnaissance from the day in sports. So there was a lot of just bizarre reporting, and I don't know what was true and what was false, with Kadarius Toney, but Kadarius Toney did not help himself over the weekend. So he was inactive for the AFC Championship game, and they were talking about an injury that he had, and he's been on the injury report, and then it also came out that there was personal reasons, and we found out that Kadarius Toney and his significant other had a kid.

So, alright, you have a kid, maybe you're going to miss the AFC Championship game, like that's understood. But then it must have been hours before the AFC Championship game started, because I'm in the press box, and all the media are like, did you see this Kadarius Toney video? Did you see this Kadarius Toney video? And Kadarius Toney, you can't see him, like there's no video of him, but it's on his account, and I guess he was live, and he's just cursing up a storm saying that there's no injury. So, is this just like, don't get me wrong, the first thing that I thought of, was maybe the Chiefs just don't trust him, because he can't catch the ball. And I understand last year in the Super Bowl, he made two of the bigger plays in the Super Bowl, but this year he's been a disaster, and you know that Kadarius Toney always puts his own foot in his mouth, so maybe they're just fed up with him, but they know what the talent is, so they don't want to get rid of him, and it's not like the Chiefs have an abundance of wide receivers, so if you have an injury in the Conference Championship game, maybe you'll end up needing him in the Super Bowl. So this has turned into a whole lot of something, and like think about it, Andy Reid is a Hall of Fame coach, right? The last thing he needs to be dealing with is Kadarius Toney getting all caught up in his feelings, and when you're not producing, and you're being a pain in the ass, that's a recipe for you not to have a job with the Kansas City Chiefs in short order, or quite frankly, like anywhere in the NFL moving forward. But here's Andy Reid yesterday saying Kadarius Toney actually does in fact have a real injury. Yeah, well, I mean, you know, obviously he's been on the injury report, so I mean, that part, that's not made up by any means, but he's been working through some things, and he'll be back out there.

Not all that convincing. Oh yeah, he's obviously been on the injury report. Like what? Now, I think part of that is just him being disgusted that he even has to answer these questions, but man, today's word of the day on this show is bizarre. Ben Johnson bypassing the commands in the Seahawks, bizarre. Kadarius Toney and his injury, bizarre. We'll see what else happens in a bizarre way for the next two hours right here on CBS Sports Radio.

Let's go to Andy Reid. He said the loss to Stu's Raiders on Christmas turned their season around. That was a good wake-up call for us. They came out with great emotion.

Antonio had them ready to go. But that emotion was the thing that jumped out at you that they played with. I think it gave our guys a nice little, for a better term, a wake-up call. Listen, we need to step things up here. Things aren't just going to fall in our lap.

Stu, I actually feel bad for you. Here you are minding your own business, innocent Raider fan that you are, and now your team is the reason, according to Andy Reid, why they were able to turn their season around, and the Raiders were basically the Chiefs' coffee to wake them up and make sure that the Chiefs end up playing the way that the Chiefs usually play. Yeah, now they get to use the Raiders' home locker room in the Super Bowl and all of the Raiders' facilities and all of that and probably win a Super Bowl in the Raiders' stadium. Their 49er rivalry is nasty.

They had to cancel those preseason games because there was shootings and stabbings for all those years, and I know you being a Raiders fan, you also hate the Chiefs because they're your divisional rival. Yes. But there is really bad blood between the 49ers and the Raiders.

Yes. Who are you rooting for in the Super Bowl? 49ers, so it's different for me because I'm not from the Bay Area.

That's true. I think that's part of it, and also the fact that the Raiders moved, I think, maybe lessens that a tiny bit. I think it's definitely the Chiefs are hated way more, though.

49ers are probably top five for Raiders fans, but I think Chiefs are number one for sure. Let's go to Justin Tucker. There was a little kerfuffle before that AFC Championship game where Travis Kelce, in a bizarre way, was kicking Justin Tucker's helmet and throwing it out of the way when Patrick Mahomes was trying to warm up. Here is Justin Tucker after the NFC title game and his altercation with Travis Kelce before the game. For those that don't know, the way it works is each team's kicker goes to the other team's designated warm-up area on the field. For me, it's usually about 90 minutes before kickoff, so I've been doing the exact same thing for 12 years, never really had a problem with anybody. That's just kind of the way we've always done it and the way kickers around the league have always done it. I saw Patrick there trying to warm up and get some drive-backs, so he asked me while I was on the ground stretching if I could move my helmet, so I happily got up and I moved my helmet out of the way. At least I thought it was enough out of the way. Then Travis comes over and he just kicks my stuff and he throws my helmet. I just thought it was all just some gamesmanship, all in good fun, but they seem to be taking it a little bit more seriously. I'm totally willing to let it all go, but I just wanted to explain that that's just what I've done for 12 years. It's not like I'm out there trying to be problematic.

I'm just trying to get ready for the football game just like they are. I think Justin Tucker's actually in the right here. I saw James Palmer from the NFL Network who's joined this show a bunch. He got the video and he put the video out there. I quickly commented underneath it. I did the Taylor Swift line where it's what? Karma is the guy on the Chiefs as she changed the lyrics.

What's the original lyrics to that? Stu, do you know? You being Mr. Swifty? Karma is the guy on TV. Oh, is it? Okay. Wow, that's crazy. You could have told me anything there.

I probably would just shake my head yes. I just tweeted underneath it, bad karma is the guy on the Chiefs. Like clearly being a joke. I can't tell you how many meathead Kansas City Chiefs fans after the game were like, oh, how about the bad karma now?

Look who won. And I was just like, joke you. Joke flying right over the head.

You just can't be funny anymore. That's what I realized. Here is Art Rooney II and what he thinks of the Steelers QB situation. This is courtesy of Steelers.com. Well, I mean, number one, Kenny. I think we still believe in Kenny and think he has room to grow and look forward to, you know, the new coordinator, the new staff coming in and helping him take that next step. And then, you know, Mason came in and showed what he can do and really, I think was able to show what our offense is capable of and did a great job. And so, you know, love to have Mason back if everything can work out. Yeah, when Mason Rudolph has made this into a conversation that even gives me further proof that Kenny Pickett is not that dude.

Okay? You can't tell me Kenny Pickett's going to be the franchise quarterback. You could say, oh, yeah, it was Matt Canada all you want.

And don't get me wrong, I eviscerated Matt Canada on the air. I called for him to be fired like 9,000 times throughout the football season. But when Mason Rudolph makes a case to be the guy and the owner has to talk about it and your coach has to talk about it, I don't care what happened with Kenny Pickett.

I know that's not the guy. And now they're hiring Arthur Smith to be their offensive coordinator. Deontay Johnson and George Pickens are going to lose their mind. Because Arthur Smith, all he had to do was run the ball and they would have won the NFC South.

Instead, he tried to make Deserter someone that he's not. And he clearly annoyed Kyle Pitts, Bijan Robinson, and then also Tyler Algier in the process. Here is Draymond Green reacting to Grant Hill saying he left him off the Olympic team because of his antics. When I came into this NBA and I've publicly said this before, there was two guys I was starstruck by. One was Kobe Bryant and the other one was Grant Hill. I grew up in the state of Michigan, Grant Hill, Detroit, Pittsons. And so I wish that he would have just said that to me, you know, especially if you're going to say that publicly. And so it hurt me a little bit, like from a fan standpoint as well.

I'm a big fan of Grant Hill. And if I got a call because some guys drop off that list that's just unforeseen for whatever reasons, and then I need to fill a spot on that team, guess what? I'll be ready with my bags packed and go play in the third Olympics because I'm not too big to beat second. Yeah, here's the thing. I don't even know if it's the antics. I don't think it helps. But the juice just isn't worth the squeeze anymore, even for Team USA with Draymond Green. I don't think he's a great player anymore.

I don't think you need him on the Olympic team. So last night the Rockets beat the Lakers. Jared Vanderbilt got provoked, I guess you could say, by Bum Brooks, Dylan Brooks.

But it wasn't even anything crazy. I think Bum Brooks, according to one player, called him the P word. I don't think that's a reason why you get a double technical and you kind of pointed Bum Brooks a little bit from Jared Vanderbilt. Here is LeBron James after the game.

He doesn't want to talk about Dylan Brooks. Let's just be real. The Lakers suck.

There's no other way around it. The Lakers suck and they're a soft team. And how you allow, once again, Bum Brooks to get under your skin is crazy. And then you also have the drama of LeBron James giving Darvin Ham the side eye, another coach that LeBron's just not going to accept and he's going to want to get him fired. The Lakers are a mess. And how they still allow Bum Brooks to get under their skin is wild. Just absolutely wild to me. What a soft team and what a weak team the Lakers are this year. All right.

It is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. But hey, at least they had that mid-season championship that they won. Hang that banner. Celebrate that. You won a championship this year. So what does the rest of the season mean? Absolutely nothing.

All righty. Logan Ryan going to be playing the Super Bowl next week. Forty-niners from Cruz to a Super Bowl. We'll get that story next. A peanut butter M&M's production in a world where Super Bowl winners get the world's admiration and a fancy ring.

But the runners up get nothing. One retired cop. That's one retired quarterback. Read the script.

Oh, sorry. One retired quarterback returns to claim what's his. That's claim a ring with diamonds made from M&M's peanut butter.

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