Luke Kuechly & Joe Montana Join! (Hour 2)

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 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. The Ring of Comfort coming soon to a Super Bowl new you.

Okay, picture this. It's Friday afternoon when a thought hits you. I can spend another weekend doing the same old whatever or I can hop into my all-new Hyundai Santa Fe and hit the road. With available H-Track all-wheel drive and three-row seating, my whole family can head deep into the wild. Conquer the weekend in the all-new Hyundai Santa Fe. Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details. Hyundai, there's joy in every journey.

2024 Santa Fe available early 2024. I'm like a big fat wet New York City subway rat. That's how I feel right now. If you're just getting into your car and you're just tuning into us, you're probably like what the heck is wrong with this guy.

If you're watching us on youtube.com slash CBS Sports Radio, you're probably saying the same thing. I am soaking wet right now. I have the towel over my head.

I look like I just participated in either a swim meet or a boxing match, but I'm soaked after we just did the ALS ice bucket challenge. Obviously with Matt Ryan. Appreciate Matt doing that with us.

Definitely a whole lot of fun. Luke Keakley is here with us now joining us live on set. We'll talk about Cute Collar in just a second. If you're thinking why I'm like crazy looking right now with a towel over my head. Did you get some water dumped on here or what? I did yeah.

The ALS ice bucket challenge 10 year anniversary with Matt Ryan. I'm actually, I've been a big fan of yours, but then I've heard you on the radio a bunch. So I do a weekly on one of our affiliates WFNZ with Mac and Bones. Yes, they're the best. I love those guys. They're so fun. They're exciting. They're entertaining. They have fun. They enjoy it.

They make it fun to listen to. Yeah, because the Panthers haven't, as you know, they haven't won that many games. So it gets tough when you're dealing with a losing team. But man, I'm so fired up to have you on the show and appreciate you doing this. You look back at it, right? A few years removed from your playing career. You're now here on Radio Row. I know you had like a little dabble in like the coaching world for a bit when Matt was there, but kind of where are you at as you try to kind of find this next chapter post football?

And I think that's the biggest thing you're trying to find it. So I'm exploring a lot of different options, but what I really enjoy, I love the game of football and I've been coaching. I've been coaching little kid football with Greg Olsen. We've got, we have so much fun with it. So I do that during the fall. I do the radio with the Panthers.

Like I said, I'm doing some stuff with Q30. So I'm staying busy. I'm trying to find a way to stay around the game and share a game with people that I love. So David Wright once told me that he was coaching his girl's softball team. It was like T-ball though version of softball. And one of the other dads is coaching and didn't know who David Wright was, you know, great baseball player. And he, the other coach goes, I know a thing or two about this game.

Let me show you how to do this. And then eventually someone told them it's David Wright. I think everyone right probably where you're coaching knows who you are and who Greg Olsen is, but have you had any of those situations? No, we're good. And the one guy that, the one guy that makes it happen is his dad, his dad, Chris Olsen was a long time coach in Jersey, a head coach and won a ton of state championships and he's our offensive coordinator. And man, it is so fun to just, to be around those guys and the passion and the energy. We spent so much time trying to figure out ways to win games and set up practice and get ready for it.

It's a blast and we're looking forward to do it again this year. So I think we're all super, super fortunate to have the opportunity to coach these kids and hope they're having a good time as well. I think there's a new wave of football coaches. Like you look around the league, D'Amico Ryans, Dan Campbell, Antonio Pierce, just guys that are not that far away from playing. They're player coaches, but sometimes when you say the word player coach or the words players coach, it's like, oh, does he really have the respect of locker room? But none of those guys are doormats and the players all go to bat for them. Is this something, cause like you were a great leader when you were playing, great teammate, right?

Everyone liked Luke Kuechly. Is this something now, getting a little taste of it that maybe one day you want to be an NFL head coach? I think that coaching would be a ton of fun just to have the ability to, I had so many people that helped me when I was playing, whether it was players, whether it was coaches, whether it was strength staff, equipment guys, trainers, I had a ton of help. And I think that's the one thing that's cool about coaching is the opportunity to give back and help guys and give guys the opportunity to try to succeed. So I'm very, I'm very happy right now with what I'm doing with, with the youth football side. It's a ton of fun. I'm still connected with the team in some areas and I just, I love the game and coaching, I think would be a lot of fun. I'm just not at the point right now where I'm ready to do that.

Gotcha. Luke Kuechly here with us. Let's talk a little bit about the Panthers. We know this year, unfortunately was a disaster. Bryce Young, everyone's going to call him a bus right now. I still think that's too early. They got to put him in a better situation and there's things obviously that he needs to improve on better, but give me kind of your bird's eye view of everything going on with Bryce Young.

Yeah. Well, there was, there's a lot of turnover last year, you know, you come in as a rookie quarterback, you got a couple of different guys calling plays. Obviously coach Wright, we moved on from him early in the season. He was, he was fantastic, a great dude. We just, we're trying to find ways to win games, but you know, Bryce, Bryce had some moments where I was like, man, this, this guy's the real deal. But the one thing that I think he did that, that I was really just happy about was his toughness. And I think that he's got a great mind for the game.

He's super accurate. His ability to process is, is, is off the charts. Um, but the one thing that I think everybody talked a lot about when he was coming out was, Hey, how is his size going to affect his game and his toughness and his resilience and his ability to get hit and get back up and go back out there was, was special. So Bryce is going to get better. We're going to get better. Um, I'm excited about what we're doing moving forward.

We've got a really good, um, common direction, you know, Dan and Dave, I think are going to be fantastic for us and they're going to be really good for Bryce, but man, Bryce is going to get better this off season. He's a great dude, never complains. And he got up, he kept getting up. He kept going back out there.

He never blamed anybody. And, and I, I think this is going to be a really good year for him. Talking to Luke Keakley, I just, I'm unsure what the Panthers are going to be moving forward. Cause I just don't trust, uh, David Tepper, you know, David probably a lot better than, than I do, but you just hear so many things about him.

Kind of what's your relationship like, uh, with the newer still owner of the Carolina Panthers and David Tepper. Super competitive wants to win. So he's going to do everything he can to help us win. And all the decisions that he's made is, is, is for us to go, to go out and win. So, um, we haven't found, we haven't found the magic bullet yet, but, but he, he's one of those guys, he's been super successful and there's a reason for it. It's because he's, he's competitive. He's tough. He's smart and he's going to do everything he can to help us go out and win football games. And, um, it's just, uh, it's just a matter of time before we're going to do that.

I get it. It's his team. He could run the team the way that he wants, but it seems like he interferes too much. You think he has to kind of find that balance on when to still give his opinion, but then also let the football people make the football decision.

And I, and I think some of it, I think some of it is, you know, people jump on that train and, um, I think there's, there's some of it that probably gets a little bit blown out of proportion a little bit and, um, curiosity by him and asking questions isn't a bad thing. And for him, it's for me, it's in him, it's, I think he loves the game. He wants us to succeed.

He wants to know what's going on and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. So he's hired some really good people. I think we've done a good job in the front office. They did a good job of hiring people, Dan and Tillis and obviously Dave Canales.

And I'm excited for everything. So yeah, I'll tell you is Luke Kuechly is here with us, but Dave Canales, you know, what he did in Seattle with Gino and what he's done this year with Baker, it is a hire that I'm not going to tell you that I think it's a slam dunk great hire. I don't think you could also say it's a horrible hire. It is one that it draws great curiosity and you kind of just hear him speak in the, in the introductory press conference, seems like a very easy guy for players to relate to an easy guy to kind of root for. Well, I think one thing you kind of look at is, you know, obviously, uh, what, what is the reaction from guys that he's been around?

Right. So Gino came out and sent a text out or a tweet out like, Hey, this guy's a stud, right? All the guys in Tampa that I've talked to quite a few guys just running around here. I'm like, Hey, what's the deal with Canales and very, all very positive things and not just positive as a coach, but positive as a person.

And I think that's half the battle, man. Football is all about relationships, treating people, getting people to kind of move towards a common goal, being able to motivate people, understanding when a guy's having a bad day, why is he having a bad day? And that all comes down to relationships and everything that I've talked to and all the guys that I've talked to say, Hey, he's a great coach. He does this, he does that. He's going to do everything he can to make sure guys are in the best position.

That's great. But I think what really separates him from what I've talked about with these guys is his ability to connect with the player. I gotta be able, as a head coach, to walk in and talk to all 53 guys on the team, the coaches, the players, the equipment guys, the training staff, the weight staff, the practice squad guys, and all be on the same page.

And to have a good person and have somebody that can just relate to people and form relationships, I think is a very positive thing. You'll be an NFL head coach when you want to be an NFL head coach. I feel like not that just an interview makes someone an NFL head coach, but just knowing what you were like as a player and then hearing you now, it definitely seems like something I would not be surprised.

It's the personal part of it because look, you put your body on the line. Your injury history is well documented and you've made a lot of money. You had a great career. Everyone associates Luke Keakley with greatness.

It's just, do you want to sacrifice the family stuff because it's very demanding. And I love the game of football. It's been so good. Think about everyone in here right now.

Football has been very good to them. That's the reason why we're here and I understand that and I love the game and I love talking about it. I love being around it and it's just fun to be here, so I appreciate you having me on. Yeah. All right. Tell me what you're doing today with Q Collar. Oh, so yeah, Q Collar. So I wore it for three years when I was playing.

A lot of the research was done in Cincinnati. We just got FDA approval prior to last season. And what we're trying to do is help mitigate sub-concussive blows.

So we're trying to- Drew Tranquil I know uses this. Yeah, Drew wears one. Tony Pollard wears one. We've got a bunch of dudes wearing them and we're trying to help guys play as long as they want to and not have this be the reason why they can't play anymore. So super simple, a little bit of jugular vein compression, trying to help guys play longer and mitigate sub-concussive blows. So it's been a ton of fun.

I've known these guys since 2017 and they're trying to help guys play longer. When you look at the game, I know that obviously you're very close with Christian McCaffrey, but from a whole, what stands out to you from the football side of it with this one on Sunday? I just, you know, you look at Mahomes, right? And everything that he's been able to do, I think he's a winner, man. The guy wins and it's hard to root against him. And when he's on the field, you got a chance to win. And I think it's the marriage between him and Andy Reed is special. I think Travis Kelsey is just, he's just really good. Yeah.

It's really good. Pacheco can run the rock and it's a different, it's got a little bit different field than what they've been in the past. Obviously Pacheco was there last year, but he's so physical.

It opens everything up. They can lean on that a little bit. Obviously I'm a Niners guy, right? Wilkes is there.

Christian's there. I played against Kyle Shanahan since my rookie year when he was in Washington. And I love how they play football.

Shifts, motions, getting guys moving, putting your eyes in weird spots. I love them. I think their skill positions are good and they're a very, sorry to cut you off, but they're a very interesting example of rookie quarterback on a rookie deal.

Ayuk, Kittle, Debo, Christian, Trent Williams. On the offensive side of the ball, they're just, they're special. And Brock Purdy, man, that dude's fun to watch. All he does is win games. All he does is win games. And that's the thing with Brock. Don't get me wrong. Before the year, I've said this now every segment that we do, because it's inevitable that it comes up with Brock.

Before the year I said system quarterback. I don't care what people say anymore. The dude just wins. And as a football player, that's all you want to do. So who cares what people say about it?

You can call them whatever you want, but you go out there and the dude. He wins the Super Bowl. That's all that matters. The dude wins football games. He's been in the league for two years. They've been in the NFC championship game twice in the Super Bowl once.

I mean, at the end of the day, I don't know what else. He's in his second year. Yeah.

And only his first full season as a starter. Yeah. You can say what you want about, you know, he's got dudes around him. Yeah. He's got dudes around him.

Yeah. He's got a great coach, but it's not his fault. Here's a hot take. You need guys around you to win football.

You can't just win on your own. And I think, you know, he can sling it around. He's got great guys around him, but what he does a really good job of is his command for the offense.

And I was talking to somebody maybe last week. There was a play in that Green Bay Packers game. It was the big McCaffrey run. It was a 45 yard touchdown run right up the middle. It was kind of boring looking play, but there was, they were in like an eye formation. Titan was off the ball. There was a motion that was supposed to happen and it was going to be a typical Kyle Shanahan motion across motion back. Just get kind of guy's eyes looking, moving a little bit, but the guy went motion and Brock stopped him.

He said, go stand right there. And they snapped the ball. Basically what I'm getting at is if he comes across the formation and returns, either it's a delay game or timeout, that ball never gets snapped. He holds him there.

The plays still run that exact same way. He knows that. And he said, I just need to get the ball to 23 and 23 is going to take care of business.

So he gets the game of football. Yeah. So this is going to sound cliche, but defense wins championships. I remember a few years ago, Patriots and Eagles Super Bowl as high scoring as it was the biggest play of the game was the Brandon Graham strip sack.

Yeah. I'm not saying this game is going to be as high scoring, but I do feel like the Niners defense the last two weeks has not played great. The chiefs defense I've been in on them since week three. I know it's simple, but it's whatever defense in the fourth quarter is going to be able to create a turnover. I think create turnovers and get off the field on third down. I mean, you look with Mahomes, his ability to extend on third down.

How well can we keep them in the pocket and make them throw from the pocket? And then those dudes in San Francisco that they're paying a ton of money up front got to get there, got to get there, man, with four, if they can get there with four, I think they got a really good shot. You're taking the Niners, right? Man, I'm pulling for the Niners.

All my boys are there. Like I said, I love how I love how Shanahan does things on the offense side of the ball, but Wilkes has had a really good impact on my career. Obviously when he's in Carolina and then Christian is just, he's just special.

So I'm going to root for those guys. So Cam, he's, he's never going to play again, right? He's over there. Did you see him? Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. He's, he's, uh, he's doing his podcast, right? He just picked me up and I swear he's going to, he is enormous. He almost broke me and I'm like, Cam, man, like stop, dude, you're, you're gonna, you're gonna break my ribs and he's like, stop. But I love, I love Cam. Do you think he still wants to play?

I think everyone wants, but you think he still can't play camp. Look at him. Look at him. I think he just look at him how he's just, we were so lucky to have cam and everything that he did to affect our team was so fun, man.

His energy, his passion, his competitiveness, how much fun he had playing the game. And you, you watch him on Sundays, man. And he's like a, it was like an action figure.

Yeah. Slinging it around, running dudes over, smiling at people. I think when you watch cam, the one thing that my dad would always say is why is he, he's always smiling.

He's like stiff arm and a dude in the face. He's smiling. He's jumping over people into the end zone. He's smiling, scoring touchdowns. He's smiling, giving the football to children.

He's getting sacked. He's smiling. He's just man.

Anybody that played with cam, when you bring his name up, they smile. And, um, I love the guy. He's just, he's just one. He's one of a kind, man.

He's one of a kind. Awesome. Well, Luke, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Good to see you. Thanks so much for coming on. And it's Zach Gelb show on CBS sports radio. I got to change that during the break.

I'm like soaking white here. So we'll take a timeout. We'll come on back after these short messages. A peanut butter M and M's production in a world where Superbowl winners get the world's admiration and a fancy ring, but the runners up get nothing. One retired cop return. 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 and M's peanut butter, but you're on a roll. The ring of comfort coming soon to a Superbowl.

Okay. Picture this it's Friday afternoon. When a thought hits you, I can spend another weekend doing the same old whatever, or I can hop into my all new Hyundai Santa Fe and hit the road with available H-track all wheel drive and three row seating. My whole family can head deep into the wild conquered the weekend and the all new Hyundai Santa Fe visit Hyundai usa.com or call 5 6 2 3 1 4 4 6 0 3. For more details, Hyundai there's joy in every journey.

2024 Santa Fe available early 2024. I'm Tony, and this is the Tony Kornheiser show. Well, that makes it sound a bit more serious than it really is. So what exactly is the show about? It's been almost 30 years and I still don't know. Right now we have some of the best voices in football come on to explain to us what we need to know in the college and pro world.

And we get weekly picks from a monkey. Do you really need more than that? I might just tell you about my bunker game and the latest failed entry in my quest to find the best coffee ice cream. No schmutz, please. Listen on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.

All right. It is Zach Gelb show coast to coast on CBS sports radio. I'm still soaked from the ALS ice bucket challenge that we did. Michael Pennix Jr. probably thinks I'm like a crazy person as I'm like soaked from head to toe.

I got a towel on me right now. So what a way to finally meet Michael Pennix Jr. I've been a big fan of the last two years and what he's been able to do at Washington. You know, a lot of people know I picked Washington to win the Pac-12 this past year. And he's joining us as he gets ready for his next chapter.

And that's to be a pro quarterback. And he's here today on behalf of star and he joins us right now on the show. Mike, great to see you. How are you?

Yes, sir. Good to see you. I'm doing good. How about you?

Well, I'm doing fantastic. So you look back at this year, you know, I thought you guys could win the Pac-12. I didn't expect you guys to be in the national championship game before the start of the season to see the way that it came together the last two years when you transferred over from Indiana to Washington.

And now that chapter is over. Just how do you kind of reflect on it? Man has been amazing. You know, it took a lot of hard work and dedication. You know, there's a lot of people that was counting us out, you know, even towards the end of the season, we were still undefeated. You know, a lot of people didn't expect us to do what we did this past year, you know, but it's been great. You know, the journey has been fun and that team and that team has battled through so much adversity. You know, I knew that, you know, everything that we got, we deserve.

I said this to Roma Dunze yesterday. It made me so annoyed going into that Texas game. And I know you guys can't focus on the gambling lines, right? But how you guys were an underdog after we just saw the week before or a few weeks before the Pac-12 championship game, everyone was picking Oregon.

It made them a nine and a half point favorite. I never got what people were trying all throughout the year to just take away and discount your team and not just give them the praise that they were deserving. Yeah, I don't know where they come from, you know, but obviously that's stuff we can't control. I mean, we do see it. You know, we use it as motivation. You know, it's not necessarily we want to prove other people wrong, but we want to prove ourselves right. You know, since day one, you know, before this past season, I said that I wanted to win a national championship. You know, we fell just short, you know, but we made it. We had the appearance and we had an opportunity to do it. And nobody's seen us there.

You know, nobody saw us there at that point in the time. Whenever I said that, you know, some people might've laughed whenever I said it, you know, but for us to, you know, overcome a lot of hardship and, you know, adversity that we faced throughout the season, to be able to get to that point, you know, it just speaks volumes for our team. Now you have Kalen DeBoer leaving Washington and he's the new head football coach at Alabama. I've been a big believer in Kalen DeBoer, but what are Crimson Tide fans getting and how do you kind of think he's going to do? Man, you're going to get a winner. You know, that's number one.

You know, you're going to get a winner. And obviously, Alabama, they love to win. You know, they've been winning for a long time and Coach DeBoer everywhere he's been, he's won. You know, he's won championships at different levels and man, he's going to continue to do it. You know, he's going to continue to win. His record speaks for itself.

And man, he's just a humble guy and a guy that's going to work for everything that he deserves and that he got. Was that kind of crazy process, how that all did go down, where you guys are in the national championship game, all right, obviously you lose the national championship game, then shortly after that, out of nowhere, Nick Saban retires and then boom, DeBoer's going from purple to Crimson Tide red. It's crazy.

It's crazy, you know, but that's how the sports world is now. You know, Coach Saban, he did an amazing job, you know, throughout his career coaching. Obviously, you know, he would get looked at as one of the greatest of all time in college football. So, I mean, he felt like his time was done and Coach DeBoer, you know, he saw the opportunity, presented himself and he felt like that was best for him and his family, you know, and you can't fault somebody for that decision. What was the mental grind like for you? Because I remember when you were at Indiana, I love bringing up to Penn State fans, by the way, because they're all like, he didn't score a touchdown. I'm like, what does the scoreboard say?

So regardless, exactly. I remember you at Indiana, unfortunately, a lot of injuries and when you elected to go to Washington and team back up with Kalen DeBoer, no one was thinking, you know, or talking what you ended up doing, you know, into existence. So, how did you kind of, you know, mentally go through all the injuries and still find it a way to be playing your best two years of football when you needed to? For me, it's just keeping my faith, you know, it just keeps my trust in God, you know. Obviously, it didn't go how I wanted it to, like, as far as the injury part, but I felt like everything I've been through helped shape me into the person and the player I am today, you know.

And obviously family, family and friends, you know, close ones around me always continue to keep me motivated, you know, keeping my head lifted up high and gave me that dedication that I wanted to continue to do what I love. And I knew that I was never going to quit, you know, that's nothing that ever crossed my mind, you know, but it did get tough at times, you know. But I knew that deep down inside, you know, I wasn't going to quit and I was going to do whatever I could to make sure I get back on the field. I don't know if you've heard this, but I want to bring it up to you to give you a chance to respond as Michael Penick Jr. is joining us. And I'll preface it by saying, I really hate the draft process and all the narratives that form with the draft process and people get told things and just because you get told something, you don't know where it's coming from, if it's to try to maybe hurt your draft stock so you fall down so a team could get you. But we had one of these draft guys on Tony Pauline a week and a half ago, two weeks ago, and he said, I hear Michael Penick Jr., people are concerned about his work ethic.

And I'm sitting there and I'm like, hold on, this is a guy who was at Indiana and he went through everything he went through and he was just one of the best quarterbacks in the nation for the last two years. So when you hear people call into your, you know, call your work ethic into like a little bit of skepticism and they try to say you don't have a good work ethic, do you even like understand where that stuff comes from? I don't listen to it, you know, I know myself, you know, I know what I've been through to get here and I know the amount of work that I put in to get here and I'm going to continue to put that work in, you know. The doubters and the haters, you know, it never goes away, you know, it never goes away.

So I can't let it control me and what I want to do and shape my future, you know. For me, I just got to continue to be myself and do the things that I've been doing to get here and continue to get better each and every day. Are you the best quarterback in your opinion in this draft, right? For sure. Without even question, I like the confidence like that. But when you look at some of these other quarterbacks, what stands out to you to like with the Caleb Williams, Drake May, Jaden Daniels, some of the guys that people talk more about? I mean, those guys are great quarterbacks, you know, I'm not taking nothing away from them, but I just feel like myself, I feel like my skill set is unmatched, you know. I don't feel like they can make some of the throws and decisions that I make, you know. But they do a lot of great things for their teams and on film, you know. Obviously, Caleb Williams, Jaden Daniels, they both won Heisman's, so they're respected in that way as well, you know.

So Drake May, he had, he played really well early, early, you know, second year, you know, third year. And so they see those things, you know, but at the same time for me, I can't focus on that, you know. I know the player I am and whatever team chooses to drive me, they're going to get championships out of me, so. Man, I love that answer.

Michael Pennix Jr. here with us. Do you get too caught up? Because, you know, there's going to be 9,000 mock drafts from now until then. Some days I see you in the first, some days I see you in the second round. Do you get caught up in all that just naturally as a human being? Nah, I don't.

I don't really be on social media that much and I don't watch TV, so it's like, I'm working, I'm working. Alrighty, how about Roma Dunze? This dude's a stud.

The best. Another guy, Washington guy, didn't get enough respect, I feel like, through the process, you know, people want to talk about who they want to talk about. What's a team getting in Roma Dunze? Man, he's going to get a worker, a hard worker, and obviously a guy that's going to make any play on the field, you know. I know I could put the ball anywhere and he'll make the play, you know, and just an unselfish guy, you know, a guy that truly loves the game and truly loves the guys around him and does everything for those people around him, you know. You see him in practice going 100% each and every rep, you know, run plays, pass plays.

If he got a block, he knows the ball coming, the ball's not coming, it doesn't matter, you know. He's going to be the same person and I feel like that's what helped our connection, you know, with me and all my receivers, you know. Those guys always gave me 100% effort each and every day and their work ethic is unmatched in that position, I believe. Growing up, who are some of the football players, quarterbacks, that you really like to watch? Mike Vick. Mike Vick as a lefty, obviously. Mike Vick, obviously, he did a lot of great things for the league as well and Teddy Bridgewater, when I was growing up out of high school, I seen him whenever he was dominating at Louisville and the things that he was doing, I like what he was doing at that time, so.

If he didn't suffer that knee injury, I really think he would have been a special player. For sure, for sure. So, tell me what you're doing today on behalf of Starry's. Yeah, so Starry, I'm partnering with Starry, you know, which is a lemon-lime flavored soda and it has a clear, crisp, and refreshing taste and, man, it hits different, you know. Every time you drink it, you know, it's like, it's refreshing, you know, for sure. They're making their first time, first Super Bowl appearance on Sunday with Ice Spice, as a matter of fact.

Oh, nice. Yeah, and so I feel like everybody should tune in, you know, just to see why it's time to see other sodas. So, man, I'm super excited for the partnership.

All right, here's the toughest question you're going to be asked in this draft process. We know what you're drinking. One meal left in your life. What's a meal that you're getting? Oh, spaghetti. Oh, you're a spaghetti guy. Yeah, spaghetti because it's not really bad for you.

I mean, it's carbs, you know, it's good. I love that. Give me a thought of the game coming up on Sunday. You got Brock Purdy, you got Patrick Mahomes, obviously, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. When you look ahead at this matchup, from a quarterback perspective, what really jumps out to you?

Yeah, what really jumps out to me, you seen that? Pat Mahomes, you know, obviously, a Hall of Fame quarterback, you know, he's been doing it, you know, at a high level, you know, for a long time. And, man, it's hard to bet against Mahomes, but obviously, Brock Purdy, you know, a guy that a lot of people feel like, you know, he still has to prove himself. And he's been playing very well, you know, he brought him to a Super Bowl.

And I don't feel like that's easy in this league. So, for him to be able to accomplish that, to even be here in this moment, you know, I feel like that just speaks volumes on what he is as a player, and as a person as well, you know, but, man, it's gonna be a great game. I don't really have a team that I would say will win, but I wouldn't bet against Mahomes, personally, but, yeah, it'll be a good game.

This could be an interesting time for you, as last one with Michael Penix Jr. So, you're getting ready to embark on your NFL journey. You're here right at the site of the Super Bowl, and you're getting ready for Super Bowl Sunday. You know, when you're here, do you start to envision yourself, okay, that this is reality, like, next year, I'm gonna be in the league, and I'm gonna have this task, you know, at hand of trying to go win a Super Bowl?

For sure, man, I'm super excited for the opportunity, you know, whatever opportunity I get, wherever I end up, you know, I know I'm gonna make the most out of the opportunity, and, you know, one day I do want to win Super Bowl, so I'm looking forward to it, and I'm super excited for it. Now, I could just feel the chip that you have on your shoulder. When people continue to doubt you, what do you say to people that are saying, oh, Michael Penix Jr., it was a great two-year run, man, he's too old, he's not gonna be a successful NFL quarterback?

What do you say to those people? Just watch. Just watch. You've got to light it up for the NFL, I feel it, and your accuracy is just, I mean this in a positive way, it's just flat out stupid. I appreciate it. Especially that Texas game, man, you owe me some good money in that Texas game, so I appreciate that. Alrighty, I appreciate you doing this, thanks so much, good luck. Yes, sir, I appreciate you. He is Michael Penix Jr., Zach Gilp show right here on CBS Sports Radio, we'll take a time out, Joe Montana gonna join us on the other side. Update time first. Here is the act man, Rich Ackerman.

An Odyssey and paper kite production. Listen on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Alrighty, back inside the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, this is Zach Gilp show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. Super Bowl week is here when you talk about the Super Bowl. This man knows a thing or two about winning it all quite a few times, four times to be exact. He's one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, that of course is the legendary Joe Montana. On behalf of Pfizer, Joe, always great to see you, thanks so much for doing this.

My pleasure, thanks for having us on. So I'm so excited to talk to you because I'm so tired and I've been saying this all throughout the week and even going back to last week, how people refer to Brock Purdy. How do you kind of look at the conversation surrounding Brock? Because say what you want about him, all the dude has done is win games. Exactly, you know, people get caught up in where he's drafted and all it does is go back to say that the draft is not perfect. You don't know who's going to make that transition and look at Tom Brady. And they're saying, oh, he's got all these weapons. Well, hey, so what?

You can have all the weapons you want, but if you don't perform, it doesn't matter. I mean, he's delivering. He's delivering the ball to the right places. He's making the right decisions. He's not making big mistakes. And like you said, all he does right now is win, and that's all he needs to do. He doesn't do anything different coming in here on Sunday.

Just go have fun. That's why you play. And, you know, having the trust and the belief in the locker room is the biggest thing for a quarterback. And I was talking to Steve Young before the season, and he just said about Brock, he has the force. And we kind of looked the last few years, right?

They had Jimmy G, they had Trey Lance. You could really tell that there was a genuine belief from how last year ended moving into this year that when Brock got on the field, this was a team that just really rallied and believed in their quarterback. Yeah, I think the way the season ended last year was tough on everybody, obviously, especially Brock. But he did prove that he knows how to play in that offense, and that he can do it. And so coming into this year, everybody had high expectations, and rightly so. And I think a lot of people were waiting for the falter and say, ah, see, we told you so. But he just went out and said, hey, it doesn't matter what you people think. I'm going to go play football and have fun.

And that's what it's all about. Go out there and perform, and you can't question that. So I think we're on the same wavelength, Joe Montana, because I feel that way about Brock Purdy. And the other conversation, and my bosses probably won't like when I say this, but I'll say it anyway, I can't stand the GOAT conversations anymore in sports, right?

It was you, then it was Brady, and now Mahomes, people are already making the case. It's like, can we just enjoy his career a little bit? He's phenomenal. See him win a few more Super Bowls before we already say he's better than Joe Montana and Tom Brady. Well, I appreciate that.

But I mean, he's fun to watch. And I always, everybody says, well, who's up there? And well, Tom obviously had a tremendous career and deserves to be up there.

I go, go look back. And I'm pretty sure it was Otto Graham at 11 championships before there were Super Bowls, right? I mean, how do you compare him to even when we played and even to now in today's game? It's almost impossible to try to do it. And like you said it, let's enjoy people who are playing now and have fun. And I don't know, people like to make these lists, right? It doesn't matter. If you played in today's football, like it's so quarterback driven and every single rule outside of the fumble that if it goes out of the back of the end zone, it goes to the defense and it's a touch back for the team that forced it. Every rule is catered to the offense now.

Yeah. Oh, it always is. And they're just adding more of them as the league moves on.

And the game's still fun to watch, fun to play. But playing today, the quarterbacks today, I'm going to say it's easier, but it's only easier to guys who are playing at that level when you know you're not going to get those big hits. And so I always say, let's just go, let them hit the quarterback. Just don't compress them into ground. And they should be able to get hit like anybody else. But the only reason you can't compress them, those guys usually are hitting, you're outweighed by a hundred pounds or more.

And you're the only person typically being hit standstill, right? You don't have any way to avoid the blow because now you know, because you have to focus down and delivering the football down the field. So I just say, yeah, let it go.

Let's go back to that. Talking to the legendary Joe Montana on Radio Road Niners, obviously in the big game, as we're talking about, how do you kind of think this one is going to play out on Sunday? Well, I think it's going to be an interesting game and a fun one to watch. You got two defenses that are playing well. At the same time, you have two offices that are playing well.

And so I can't wait for it to get going. I like to see the 49ers win. I mean, I love the Chiefs.

I love my time in Kansas City. They won a couple Super Bowls recently. And it's been like 30 years from the 49ers.

So I'd love to see them get back on track. Is that a bizarre Super Bowl for you to watch with, obviously everyone remembers your playing career with the Niners and it ended up in Kansas City. Is that a conflicting feeling for Joe Montana? Well, yeah.

I mean, if you look at it, I mean, the first time they played in the Super Bowl, it was crazy. Two years ago. Yeah.

And then now here they are back. So hopefully they'll get it done. But it's, yeah, like, can we have a tie? Probably not. That wouldn't be good.

But that's what I'm fascinated to see. Because that Super Bowl a few years ago, they're up 10 with seven and a half to play the Niners. And they should have won that Super Bowl. The Mahomes does what Mahomes does. That's that's what I want to see. The Niners with the lead in the fourth quarter.

And can they find a way to get over the get over the hump? Yeah. I just want them to have a lead when it when the game bell rings. See, I knew the 49ers. Stop with this cheap stuff. Before we let you run.

I remember a few years ago, we'll talk about Pfizer in just a second. You actually used our green room here for CBS Sports Radio and CBS Sports. And Justin Herbert was there. And you wanted to have like a conversation and pull them off. Got all the cameras rolling everything.

I thought that was really neat just to say that they're like, hey, do we mind if you use the room? And then it was Joe Montana and Justin Herbert walking right around the corner. Who are some of the quarterbacks now in football that when you watch, you're like, man, I just love the way that this guy plays? Well, he's one of the guys I like to watch, you know, and you got Mr. Allen up in Buffalo.

Obviously, the two guys that are playing in this game. And now I'm really curious to see Aaron when he comes back with Rogers and how he does in New York. So I because I think he still has the ability to play and it's going to be fun to see what if he can make a difference there. Well, you know, this and either this if he wants to have success in New York, they better find some offensive lineman. No kidding. You know, that's when I went to Kansas City. One of the reasons was we were looking at another team that and my agent said, no, you're not going there.

And I said, well, why not? He said, because you'll never make it through the season. They went through four quarterbacks that season, that team. I won't mention it, but they ended up going through four guys.

Three guys got hurt and they got to a fourth quarterback. So he goes, I told you. Yeah. Well, the lines in Kansas. How about the lines in the Barry Sanders documentaries? Is that accurate that you wanted to go to Detroit? Was that true?

Well, anybody who wants would want to play with Barry Sanders. Right. And it was just he was just fun to watch. And it looked like it was a fun place to go.

And I tried a bunch of different places before he settled with Kansas City. Great organization, great, great fans, fan base. And the people around us were just phenomenal.

And where we lived and we had we had great experience there. I only said that we didn't make it to the Super Bowl that year. And we screwed up and lost the game late in the season that we should have won. You still got the competitive drive. It's amazing. We had to go to Buffalo.

We'd already beat Buffalo once. How much you missed the game still? Like just hearing that answer right there. You still miss it. You still wish you could play, right?

Oh, yeah, for sure. That game's crazy fun. Like I always say, I wish everyone had a chance to go out and play on a Sunday one time. Doesn't matter. Win, lose just for the feel, the excitement, the adrenaline rushes, the ups and downs.

It was nothing like this game. Tell me what you're doing today on behalf of Pfizer. Yeah, I've been a partner with Pfizer for a while and we're talking about this serious lung disease called pneumococcal pneumonia and how vaccination can help it. For people at risk, especially like for me, 65 and older, you're at a higher risk.

And even younger people who have underlying symptoms like asthma and diabetes can also be at a higher risk, which can be handled by vaccination. And so we're telling to get people out to say, hey, look, if you want to know more about this, go to pneumococcal pneumonia.com and it's KNOWpneumonia.com for a lot of great information they put on that site and just trying to keep people aware. Oh, there we go.

A little Drew Brees, Joe Montana connection on Radio Row. That was some pretty neat stuff. Well, hey, always great to see you. Thanks so much for coming on and best of luck. All right. My pleasure.

Thank you for having me. There he is, Joe Montana, the legendary quarterback, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time joining us on Radio Row. It is the Zach Gelb show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. By the way, Super Bowl 58 on Westwood One is streaming for free sponsored by AutoZone on Super Bowl Sunday here every minute of Westwood One's broadcast live on the NFL app by asking Alexa to open Westwood One Sports or on your Westwood One affiliate stations digital platform and get in the zone with AutoZone.

AutoZone's free battery testing and charging is available for free at your local AutoZone. Get in the zone, AutoZone restrictions apply and appreciate Joe saying that at the end of the conversation about my grandparents. I was having a little chat with him before we got on the air. I was in New Jersey last week visiting my grandmother and grandfather.

My grandfather is 96 years old and my grandmother is 92. And my grandfather said to me, you're going to Super Bowl next week. Who's the one person you think I would really like that you're talking to with all the plethora of guests that do stop by? And I said, Joe Montana, and he couldn't believe it. He was like, Holy smokes, you're talking to Joe Montana? That's so cool. And then he said to my grandmother, like, do you know Joe Montana?

Do you remember him? My grandma gave him like the most sarcastic look and then was like, no, I've never heard of Joe Montana. And clearly she was kidding. So I told Joe that when we were sitting here before he got back from commercial break and got on the air. And at the end for him to bring that up means a lot, especially when your grandparents only keep on getting older and older.

And obviously very blessed to have on my dad's side of the family, both grandparents living at 96 and 92 years old. Alrighty, Zach Gelb shows CBS Sports Radio. We got a whole lot more cooking here on Radio Row coming up at the top of the hour.

I'm really excited for this conversation. CJ Stroud is going to join us for a full segment, about 20 minutes with CJ Stroud, who, you know, in the same day we've had on Pukunakua and CJ Stroud to see the impact that both of those guys have made in the NFL so quickly. I'm sure that there have been other moments in history, but to see the way that both of those guys have come into the league and have dominated the league in year one, that's, that's pretty special. And when you look at CJ Stroud, you know, I don't want to make it as if it's an underdog story, because it's not. The guy was the second overall pick in this past year's NFL draft, but a lot of people were down on CJ Stroud, or at least presented that, of being down on CJ Stroud in this NFL draft process. And you know Bryce Young was the number one overall pick, and then CJ Stroud ended up going number two. And a year later, if the Panthers could redo that, they would absolutely redo it because, you know, they made the trade to get up to number one, and had to give up all those picks, and DJ Moore to Chicago. So if they're going to make that trade again, they would clearly have selected CJ Stroud. But I'm fascinated to see, and I know Bryce Young and CJ Stroud are close, how we're going to be talking about those guys for the next five years.

Because year one, it wasn't even close. CJ Stroud, by a mile, and then some, was clearly the better football player than Bryce Young. But to see what CJ did in Houston, where you take over a franchise that's just been synonymous with bad decision after bad decision, and you go from that in year one, where they draft you, then after that they trade back up to the number three pick, go back inside the top ten, they get Will Anderson.

And oh yeah, by the way, before that, they hired D'Amico Ryans to be the head coach. That's the nucleus of this group, the nucleus of this group, that if they stay healthy, they're going to win a lot of football games in Houston. And you look around in Houston, you know, Niko Collins right now is their best wide receiver. He's a good wide receiver. He, you know, I don't know how many teams, when you look at their number one wide receiver, he's not Tyreek Hill. He's not Justin Jefferson. He's not Cooper Cup. He's not Jamar Chase.

He's not Stefan Diggs. Like, he's a heck of a player. But you still feel as if that the Texans have a lot more to add. And look what they did this year with not a lot around CJ Stroud. And that's what happens when you make a good hire in D'Amico Ryans, and you have two guys, one on the offensive side of the ball, one on the defensive side of the ball, that turn that franchise around.

And those are enormous, and I mean enormous, foundational pieces moving forward. And for two years, Nick Casario was just waiting, right? You had the Lovey Smith hire.

You had the David Cully hire. Now, everyone knew those guys weren't going to be the long-term head coach, but they pounced this past offseason. They get their coach.

They get their quarterback. Everyone's crushing them for trading up into the draft to get Will Anderson Jr. And look how awesome Will Anderson Jr. was in his rookie year in addition to CJ Stroud. So CJ Stroud going to join us coming up in five minutes. And as I was saying, pretty awesome that we've had Puka Nokua and CJ Stroud on in the same day. And I was blown away to open up the show with that conversation with Puka Nokua because to see what he did this past year, and you know the whole story, fifth round draft pick, going to BYU, transferred over from Washington, and he told the emotional story there with his family. And to be an All-Pro after year one man, pretty special.

So Texans, sensational rookie quarterback CJ Stroud joins us on Radio Row in five minutes. 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.

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2024 Santa Fe, available early 2024. I'm Tony and this is the Tony Kornheiser show. Wow, that makes it sound a bit more serious than it really is. So what exactly is the show about?

It's been almost 30 years and I still don't know. Right now we have some of the best voices in football come on to explain to us what we need to know in the college and pro world, and we get weekly picks from a monkey. Do you really need more than that? I might just tell you about my bunker game and the latest failed entry in my quest to find the best coffee ice cream. No schmutz please. Listen on the Odyssey app wherever you get your podcasts.