Zach’s NFL Free Agency Predictions (Hour 2)

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Alrighty, how we doing? It is the Zach Gelb Show on a Friday, CBS Sports Radio 855-212-4CBS 855-212-4227 could always get at me on Instagram, at Zach Gelb, Twitter, at Zach Gelb, Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. Coming up on Monday, my favorite phrase in sports. The legal tampering window is open. That just sounds wrong, that you have to call something legal to allow it to happen. It doesn't make any sense to say something is a legal tampering period, but that's where we're at. And I always find it funny when, I think it's 4 o'clock when it starts on Monday, 4 o'clock p.m. Eastern, when it's like 4-0-1, so-and-so has already agreed to terms with the team. So, how many of those conversations end up happening over the weekend to get you right at the door, or right on the phone with someone, and then get the whole contract ironed out and squared away at 4-0-1 p.m. Eastern?

And the new league year does start on Wednesday. So, since we are on the cusp of having the new league year start, I want to make 10 predictions for some players that are about to enter free agency. Stu, can I get the music por favor? Alrighty, Stu, what do we got? Kirk Cousins. Atlanta, the Falcons are a quarterback away from being a playoff team and a team that could win some playoff games.

Not going to be a Super Bowl team, their ceiling is going to an NFC title game, but I don't believe the Minnesota Vikings are going to give Kirk Cousins the contract that he wants. I think Arthur Blank will be desperate. He wants a veteran at the quarterback position.

I think he's going to get one. It's not going to be Justin Fields via trade. It's going to be Kirk Cousins, and you'll have Kirk Cousins handing the football off to Bijan Robinson, Tyler Algier, and throwing the football to Drake London, and you will see a massive improvement. From one Kyle Pitts, and they have a good young secondary.

Raheem Morris now coaching up the entire team, but more specifically the defensive side of the ball. I like Kirk Cousins to land in the ATL. Chris Jones. So, a few weeks ago when we were talking about potential Chris Jones destinations, I said the Detroit Lions.

I'm going to change that now. I ultimately think Lajerious Sneed, who got franchise tag, is going to get traded at some point this offseason, and I just take you back to last year. Right when the season started, there was all this drama. Oh, we're going to have a long Chris Jones holdout. He's going to the game, game one. He's sitting in the luxury box. They lose to the Detroit Lions, and they found a way to get him back on the field the next week, up against Jacksonville.

Well, the other day Chris Jones posted a photo of him lying on top of Andy Reid as they're celebrating another World Championship, and he's already starting to stir the pot a little bit. I think at times it's going to appear this offseason like Chris Jones is going to be going somewhere else, and he played his last snap at the Kansas City Chiefs, but ultimately I do believe Chris Jones winds back up with Santer's team, the Kansas City Chiefs, and they prioritize Chris Jones in getting that deal done over Lajerious Sneed, and Chris Jones is back with the back-to-back World Champions. Saquon Barkley. Not returning to the Giants, and he's going to be joining our pal, our boss, Spike Eskin, down the turnpike in the city of brotherly love. I would have said a few weeks ago, maybe Dallas for an NFC East team, or you team up Lamar Jackson and Saquon Barkley.

Imagine trying to stop the speed on that offense. But I know Howie Roseman, and this running back market is not going to be great. A few years ago, they found a way to pull off a trade for DeMarco Murray and get him from the Dallas Cowboys, and you have him with the Philadelphia Eagles. And we've seen that kind of move before maiden division for the Eagles years ago at the running back position.

I kind of think history repeats itself here, and Saquon Barkley walks right down the turnpike from the New York football Giants, and he teams up with Jalen Hurts. And look at that offense that you could have with AJ Brown, Devontae Smith, Dallas Goddard, and then the running back of Saquon Barkley with Jalen Hurts being a mobile quarterback. There's a lot of speed on that offense. There's a lot of explosiveness on that offense, and two things could derail that team. The locker room, and I don't know if that locker room is in a good spot.

It doesn't feel like it's in a good spot. And then also injury, something that has derailed the career of Saquon Barkley. Fly Eagles, fly Ives, Saquon Barkley flying to the Philadelphia Eagles. Derek Henry.

It's kind of funny how this one would work. The one memory that everyone remembers from what has been so far a really fantastic Hall of Fame career of Derek Henry is the jump pass when he was with Tennessee, the Tebow-type pass in like a Wildcat formation up against the Baltimore Ravens in the playoff game. Derek Henry basically already said goodbye to Tennessee. Like if you're a Titans fan and you think that Derek Henry's coming on back, sorry to tell you, it ain't happening. So Derek Henry is probably going to get a one-year deal. You know, maybe it's a two- or three-year deal that it's not really a two- or three-year deal because it's low guaranteed money.

However you want to present it, however you want to dress it up, fine by me. But I could see the physical, mauling style of Derek Henry joining the Baltimore Ravens who are going to need a running back, right? J.K. Dobbins, free agent. Mitchell looked like a good running back, but then he got hurt. Injuries have really hurt the Ravens in that backfield. And go into a goal line situation. First and goal at the nine. And you could either, through the legs of Lamar Jackson, get in the end zone or the physicality of Derek Henry.

It's very tough to slow down that type of offense. Give me Derek Henry going to the Baltimore Ravens. Calvin Ridley. Oh, that's a good one. Because a few weeks ago I said, the Kansas City Chiefs.

I don't think that's going to happen. And Mike Evans re-signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So now there's even more of a need for Calvin Ridley. And I saw a quarterback last year that put on maybe the most impressive rookie performance by a quarterback that I've ever seen by C.J.

Stroud. And his number one wide receiver, and I say this respectfully because he's a friend of show, was Nikko Collins. Nikko Collins is a good wide receiver. Nikko Collins put up numbers that showed he could be a really good wide receiver in this league.

But Nikko Collins shouldn't be your number one pass catching option. They already found a way to get Dalton Schultz to come on back and then he basically just destroyed and eviscerated that Cowboys locker room. This is the Texans now that have a good culture and people are going to want to join the Texans because of who their quarterback is. And I could see someone like Calvin Ridley jump ship in division and go from Jacksonville and then make his way to Houston and join the Houston Texans. And if you could line up C.J. Stroud throwing the football to where Nikko Collins becomes your number two wide receiver and Calvin Ridley's your number one, it's a pretty good trio in H-Town. So give me Calvin Ridley going to Houston, Texas. Josh Jacobs. Stu? Yes or no? Josh Jacobs back with the Raiders. I think so. I think at this point it's a pretty good chance.

I'd say more than 50 percent for sure. Now, I don't consider you to be, even though I know you're a Raiders fan, like you don't fit all the Raider fans stereotypes. Like, I don't think you dress up, right?

I don't know. But any time that you're in the presence of a Raider fan, you hear the chant Raiders. Do you do the Raiders chant? I do the Raiders chant.

Yeah, of course. Now, it may not be as great as you do it on Sundays because you don't have like six or seven beers in your system. But can I get a sober Stu big time baritone Raider chant? Raiders.

Yeah, it kind of went how I expected it to go. I don't have the baritone voice like you. You don't fit the stereotype Raider fan.

But I do agree with your analysis. Stu's Raiders are going to re-sign Josh Jacobs. It's like when the coach says, when he was the interim coach, you're going to be our identity piece on the offensive side of the ball, and the running back market isn't that great.

You have leverage, but how much leverage do you really have? Because the market is not going to be a great market this year for running backs just by the nature of the position. I think the Raiders, who have a good locker room right now, are going to keep one of their more popular players in that locker room and find a way to get it done with Josh Jacobs. Russell Wilson. Now, how about this one?

I don't know about you guys. Today when I saw, because this is how it was reported in order, that Russell Wilson was going to visit the Pittsburgh Steelers, and they said he was flying out of Newark Airport, I was like, why the heck is Russell Wilson, who played in Seattle and then played with the Broncos and just got released, why is he flying out of the Newark Airport? And I thought to myself, maybe there's some big event in New York, maybe Ciara, right, his wife had to go to New York and maybe they're going to go together in Pittsburgh, but then right after that, news was reported that he was on the plane, and also Russ not flying private? Anyone surprised by that? I was a little bit surprised that Russell Wilson wasn't flying private.

We know he's very much into his own brand. You walk in the airport, you'd be the common man, right? You'd be the man's man, you wear the sunglasses indoors, you take pictures with fans and the pilot and the flight attendant, like Russell Wilson knew what he was doing. But then it comes out that he actually visited with the New York football giants first, and that's why he was in the Newark Airport. So he takes that plane to Pittsburgh, they've met, I don't think it's going to come to a deal getting done, and ultimately I do believe that Russell Wilson is not going to be replacing Kenny Pickett this year. The place that I think Russell Wilson's going to, Domino's here. The first domino to fall, and Russ is going to have to wait for Domino's to find his destination, because according to James Palmer, he's not a priority number one right now for any team. So the domino of Kirk Cousins falls, then the Steelers say we're going to keep Kenny Pickett as our starter, then the Giants say maybe we're going to draft a quarterback at six, or we're going to sign another veteran, because we don't want to deal everything that comes with Russell Wilson.

And you just start to see the dominoes quickly fall. The Raiders make a different move, which we'll get to in just a second at the quarterback position. I then ultimately believe, Kwasi Adolpho-Mentz of the Minnesota Vikings calls up Russell Wilson and says, we got Justin Jefferson, we got Jordan Addison, we got T.J. Hawkinson. Yeah, we just ran Kirk Cousins out of town. Russ, we may take a quarterback in the draft, whether it's trading up or taking one, and I believe they're picked at 11th right now. We want you to be the quarterback for this year, and we'll make a one-year commitment to you for the veteran minimum of one and a half, $1.2 million, whatever it is. I think Russ in a dome, Russ with those weapons, he signs with the Minnesota Vikings. Austin Eckler.

Hmm. This is another guy that he slowed down a little bit last year. There was a lot going on. He was deserving of another payday.

He didn't get it. I think with Harbaugh coming in and a new general manager as well, this is the end for Austin Eckler in L.A. I could see Blake Coram getting drafted in like the third or fourth round, whatever it may be, by the Los Angeles Chargers having Harbaugh in that building, and you basically replace Austin Eckler that way. I think Austin Eckler is going to go to a team that's ready to win a Super Bowl this year, and I could see him landing on a cheap, incentive-laced, one-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals, and I do believe T. Higgins is going to play one more year in Cincinnati, and then he'll go somewhere else.

I know he just got issued the franchise tag. You have Jamar Chase there, hopefully a healthy Joe Burrow. You throw Austin Eckler in that backfield, could be a difference-maker piece if Burrow could stay healthy for the Bengals trying to get back to that Super Bowl and finally try to hoist that Lombardi trophy. So give me Austin Eckler going to the Cincinnati Bengals. Baker Mayfield. Re-signing in Tampa Bay. It would be foolish of Baker Mayfield to go elsewhere unless it's perceived as an upgrade. I don't know how active the market's going to be for Baker Mayfield, but you still got Mike Evans, you still got Chris Gobbin, and you play in a god-awful division. I would continue to run that continuity and that chemistry, and you'll get a decent payday because of the nature of the quarterback position, and you just put up a very good statistical season as we just went through the stats.

Not elite like Mike Evans was calling him, but a very good season for a quarterback in the past year of 2023 in the NFL. And I believe this is the final one. Is that correct? Let's hear it. Justin Fields. Stu? Yeah. Stu?

Yeah. How we doing, Stu? I'm great.

I'm wonderful. I already had the Raiders re-signing Josh Jacobs. I know the Luke Goetzee situation could be viewed as a little bit contentious between Goetzee and Justin Fields, but I'm not going to let an offensive coordinator get in the way. I don't believe Russell Wilson is going to land with the Las Vegas Raiders. They could potentially try to move up in the draft, but if they aren't successful, and I don't think they'll be successful, then you have Justin Fields sitting there and waiting there and knowing that the Chicago Bears already used their first overall pick on Caleb Williams, and his time is done, over, and finished with with the Bears.

So guess what? You then join the Raiders. Give me Justin Fields with Josh Jacobs coming back. You have Devante Adams, and that's enough on offense to contend for a wildcard spot in the AFC, and actually give Raiders fans some optimism.

And when you get towards the end of the season, it's okay. We're in striking distance of one of those three wildcard spots. I believe it's not priority number one for them. It may not be priority number two, but when the dominoes fall, Justin Fields will wind up with Stu's Raiders!

Alrighty, that is some 10 predictions that we just gave you for the way that this offseason cycle is going to play on out. Is this the Ryan and Santa Barbara on the line with us right now? 855-212-4CBS?

855-212-4227? Just to remind everybody, and I lower the tone of my voice right now, because this sometimes could be a somber phone call, the San Francisco 49ers choked another Super Bowl on February 11th. And I think the next day, Ryan and Santa Barbara, he called in, but we were so jammed up with the show coming off a Super Bowl that we never got to him. We have not heard from Ryan and Santa Barbara since the Niners have lost the Super Bowl, and now he's calling into the show right now. Ryan, it pained me. I picture Niners.

It pained me to see them choke another game on the big stage. Man, I was miserable. Oh, man, you sound down and out today, Ryan. I'm in Santa Barbara, buddy.

It's 72 degrees out. I just picked up the 2024 Suburban Premier to add to my wine fleet, Wine Canyon Tours here in Santa Barbara. Can't wait to take you when you get a lady friend and Santa and his wife, and we'll get Stu, I don't know if Stu's married, if he's got a girl or what. Yeah, Stu's a sex icon, by the way, Ryan. Sexy Stu, he's a sex icon. Ah, he is. And I know you crushed that weasel ship.

I mean, what's that donkey talking about? Come on. I guarantee, though, this year, you know, now that the Chiefs are going to lose Chris Jones, because we left him open, and when we had Jennings wide open, we had a 10-point lead that we blew. We should have won that game. Well, death, taxes, and Kyle Shanahan choking in a big game. Come on, you still got the coach. I'm healed. We'll get a new defensive coordinator. We're going to keep all of our squad together. I agree with you.

I feel Justin Fields will end up at the Raiders or Atlanta. You sure you're okay, Ryan? I was really concerned about you in the last month.

Well, you know, I tried to call in the day of, and I actually got through, but then I had a business call come in, and then I tried to drop you. And, you know, I was feeling all right. We were having a lunch pow-wow with all my Niner buddies, and, you know, we were just kind of going over the details.

Yeah, man. I feel good about this this year. You know, it must stink when you have a team that that's great, and you had Kittle not show up, you had Deebo not show up, and not throw the ball to I. Duke. McCaffrey fumbles the football. I'm telling you, you must have really, like, I felt really bad for you.

All that talent and a no-show on the big stage. I felt bad for you. I'm sure you were sad and tears for me. I was.

I wore black the next day to work. I was mourning your funeral. Anyway, Ryan, good to hear your voice.

Thanks so much. Man, that hello is depressing. It sounds like he's really down in the dumps.

I try to uplift, and I try to be positive, and I always try to get the best out of people, obviously. But, man, he sound down in the dumps, but you know who kind of got us all back moving the right direction on the same page there? The guy's name I'm not going to say on this show anymore.

That's Stu Nott at night. You mean the donkey? Yeah, he called him a donkey. And a weasel. Man.

Or just who your fellow coworkers that you work on a show with every night were just laughing at. Yikes. Man, it was good to hear from Ryan. We haven't heard from Ryan in a while. I sometimes get concerned with callers that are so confident their teams are going to win and we don't hear from them for a few months and then they call us.

It takes a lot of stress away from me. So good to hear Ryan. And hopefully he enjoys that new bottle of wine. But I will say, Ryan said he was going to see us in Las Vegas. We never ran into Ryan in Las Vegas. Well, actually, Ryan did approach us four or five times. I just kept him as far away from me as possible. Oh, okay. No, I wouldn't do that.

I would have loved it if he brought some Van Leeuwen ice cream that he sent to the studio one day. All right, Zach Gelb Show, CBS Sports Radio, we're coming on back. How many AFC quarterbacks are better than the best NFC quarterback? We'll give you my answer next. Yo, next round is about to start. You ready? Yeah, yeah, just shopping for a car in Carvana. For real?

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Call 562-314-4603 for details. Alrighty, this is that Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. So yesterday, we were talking about how many great quarterbacks or good quarterbacks there are in the AFC. And when you ask who's the best quarterback in the AFC, clearly it's the best quarterback in the NFL and Patrick Holmes.

But then after that, right, you have Burrow, you have Josh Allen, just for starters. And then I started to think to myself, well, who's the best quarterback in the NFC? And when I asked that question, I gave the answer of Matthew Stafford and Santer said no, Stu said no.

But then Santer towards the end of the show said, I was thinking about what you were saying there. And Stafford's actually the quarterback that is the most trustworthy in the NFC. And when you laid the argument out that you did with all the concerns about the other quarterbacks, I see where you're coming from.

So let's have a different conversation from there because of how uncertain it is in the NFC. And Stu, your best quarterback in the NFC was what, Jalen Hurts, I believe? It was Jalen Hurts, yes. And Santer, your best quarterback in the NFC was whom?

Same. Okay, so it was both Jalen Hurts. So you guys want to go Jalen Hurts, I go Matthew Stafford. When we asked the question of how many quarterbacks in the AFC would you rather have over your guy, what's going to be the answer, what's going to be the number? For me, Mahomes obviously, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, I'm even throwing CJ Stroud in the mix already with what he did in year one, and then Aaron Rodgers.

I have six quarterbacks that I would take in the AFC before my best NFC quarterback, and that's Matthew Stafford. Now, sometimes I say things on this show, and then I look at Stu, Stu gives me like, yep, okay, that makes sense. And I look at Santer, and it's always 50-50 with Santer. Santer either gives me the, yep, nope, solid point, I like working with this guy. And then there's other times where he's like, oh, I am appalled.

You had that Santer snob takeover where like your nose just goes up in the air. I am appalled that this man just said what he said on this fine radio program. You sound like an 18th century Englishman. Yeah, give me your tea and crumpet, sir. Oh, no, sir, what are you saying?

Oh, no. So before I get why you're so annoyed with me over what I just said, which I thought was a pretty generic take just looking by your reaction, I will say the stock of Santer is skyrocketing. When I first started to fill in on this show and then it eventually became my show, I would look at some of the comments about Santer, and they would be very negative. Now, I tend to parachute in on other shows and see what's going on in the chat room, see what other shows are talking about.

Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, you know, sometimes they're taking shots at us or whatever. And the other day, there was a frequent YouTube chatter of ours that used to be very negative of you that now all of a sudden is saying, I find myself agreeing with Santer a lot. Santer has won me over. I like Michael Santer. So I think working with me now has brought out a different side of Michael Santer to the listening audience where Santer may have been, let's be honest, not on the positive popular side of the popular vote. But now I think you're winning the popular vote, my friend. Listen, there's two sides of Santer.

There's the content and there's the delivery, right? Santer is loud. He's obnoxious. He's a ranter. He's a raver. Some people don't like that.

But when it comes to my content, to the things I say, to the takes that I have. And by the way, you want to know the person was? Tell me, is it Delta 9? It's not Delta 9. I don't know Delta 9's thoughts on you. Delta 9 did have the quote of the day. He said Bart is the Don King of CBS Sports Radio. He was trying to set up that Shep versus Gelb fight.

I loved it. We're not talking about that. I'm just saying that was the line of the day. You know, I've actually I'm going to take away something from you. I used to say to work with you, I needed a fly swatter because sometimes you could be like a little gnat and sometimes I just have to hit you. We have given the fly swatter over to the evening show now for the 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. show, because I think Bart needs a fly swatter, even though Bart's in Milwaukee. And that other guy is here in New York City running around and being this great athlete that he could kick all of our ass and everything. But anywho.

Yeah. No, it was Daley. Daley has become a Daley fan of Michael Sandler.

So now back to the snobby Sandler. Why was your nose like going so high in the air that you were just appalled by the six quarterbacks that I gave? The six quarterbacks I would put in front of Mathews. No, the six you gave are absolutely correct. Oh, so I misread you. Yeah, no, but so but you missed some. Oh, you think there's more? Absolutely.

There's more. So I have a list in the AFC. So I have a list of those six and one more who are definite over anybody in the NFC. And the three other guys that are questionable, who are questionable.

OK, so do this. Give me one name at a time. You give me the name, I'll react. So here's the definite that I don't even think there's a question is Justin Herbert. I understand that his teams haven't won. Justin Herbert, just from a arm talent and an ability under center is as elite as there is as a thrower of the football. So I 100 percent you put him on a on a well coached team, which I'll now have, which will now have. And he's had talent, but he hasn't had a good coaching. You put him on a well coached team with talent. He's going to be incredible. So it is definitely one that I considered. I will like to let you know here that Justin Herbert is in my top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL. He is on the list.

So don't freak out. But even though I have been someone that has probably been not probably definitely been a huge critic of Brandon Staley and I could not stand him. I can't put all of it on Staley.

I hear you. I think Herbert's going to be incredible in this league. But Stafford has done it. And Stafford was in a worse situation at times in Detroit than Justin Herbert has ever been, even with the coaching of Brandon Staley. And then he finally gets a little better coaching and he goes to L.A. and he wins a Super Bowl.

So having that Super Bowl to his name and then also the redemption season this past year when the Chargers were down and they regressed. That's why I put Stafford in front of Harvard. Sure, I guess from a resume standpoint, but I'm putting the two of them on the field. Who do I think is going to be better on the same team? You put them both on the same team.

I say Herbert would be better than Stafford. It's definitely one that's in the conversation. It's not like a name that you threw out there and you said like Mac Jones or someone like that. Well, Mac Jones is also, no I'm just joking. I once had oatmeal with Mac Jones at a Super Bowl. He was my guy. He was my quarterback. We were texting when he was at Alabama and we sat down. We were in Jim Rome's green room at the Super Bowl and we both had some oatmeal. And I'm like, oh, this is going to be the start of a glorious friendship with my quarterback. And we texted a bunch out that year. Had a really good rookie season.

They make the playoffs and then... Splat. Then Bill O'Brien. Oh, no, sorry.

The Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. Then Bill O'Brien. That was ugly. So, sorry.

I don't think I'm going to text Mac Jones anymore. Once you go get oatmeal, though, and talk some crap about some of the coaching you got, be my guest. Well, you know, how about next time you hang out with Will Leviss, have some mayonnaise in your coffee and then you'll have all those weird kinds of food with all these quarterbacks.

Yeah. Oatmeal's a weird food now. You're not an oatmeal guy? You know, I like the old school oatmeal where it came with a little jelly in a packet and you, like, put a little swirl of jelly on top of it.

That was my jam. Yeah, and Santer won me over because I have some weird food. Like, I eat a lot of good food, but then I have some weird food cravings. Like, I love a rice cake with peanut butter. And then Santer this week pulls out a rice cake that's chocolate covered rice cake. Yeah, dark chocolate on top of a rice cake, a thin rice cake wafer. Oh, amazing. Yeah, you pulled that out right before the start of the show, the rice cake.

There's one left in my drawer. I don't want it now, but you had that rice cake and you want me to focus for three hours? I couldn't do it. I was so distracted the other day over that rice cake. Note to self, I'm just going to bring that rice cake in here and just wave it in front of the screen for you just so you can just kind of stare at it and drool the entire show. Yeah, but you're not an oatmeal guy? I enjoy oatmeal. I have to really be in the mood for oatmeal, but I can't. It can't just be plain oatmeal. It's got to be like flavored or cinnamon with it or some like jelly or jam like sprinkled on top, but it can't just be plain oatmeal. So rice pudding, rice cakes are my bizarre food that people go... Rice pudding is incredible.

They're like, what are you, 95 years old? Stu, do you have a bizarre food that you like or something that people think is questionable? No, but I despise oatmeal. Oh, you do?

Yeah, I can't do it. It's too mushy. You're a giant mush all around here sometimes, Stu. Because you would like oatmeal. Boyle, is there a bizarre food that you like that some people question when you eat it?

Off the top of my head, I can't think of one, although I won't go out of my way to make them, but I could crush like a dozen deviled eggs if they're put in front of me. Really? I know some people don't like the texture. You sober when you do that? Yeah. Okay. I mean, I'll eat them drunk. I'm just asking. I don't know what performance enhancers are in that body of yours.

Alrighty. I couldn't crush a ton of deviled eggs, but I do enjoy deviled eggs. Like, give me one or two and I'm good, but I couldn't just like sit down and just plow through a platter of it. That's why Boyle's so buff all the time. He's just cracking open those eggs into those eggs all the time. That's a great Boyle impression. Honestly, when I closed my eyes for a second, I couldn't tell who was talking. I find it funny when you just talk to Boyle on them when Boyle does his updates. Boyle maybe does the most energetic update I've ever heard on CBS Sports Radio. You're like a news reporter, you sound like.

I got to give the people the information that they want, that they crave. No, but you know when a news reporter's outside in bad weather element and they're like streaming as they're getting like just destroyed by the rain? Alright, in tennis, Sunday that I can't pronounce, but I'm going to ace it anyway.

Three games to none. You kind of sound like Christopher Mad Dog Russo a little bit when you do the updates a little bit. Really?

Yeah. I'll tell you what, we got the Indian Wells, we got Russell Wilson's meeting with the Steelers, and I'll tell you what, he's a bomb. You sound like Russell Wilson, sorry, you sound like Christopher Mad Dog Russo if like he actually went through puberty.

Alright, if his voice got a little bit deeper. Alright, Santa, quickly, give me the other quarterbacks here. The other one for me, since I have hurts as my best in the NFC, I go Tua is better than anyone else in the NFC. And I know that Tua has his warts, but don't forget, Tua took over for Hurts at Alabama, sent him to a whole other school because he was that much better than him. And numbers wise, Tua is significantly better than Hurts numbers wise. And Tua has won.

He's won in the AFC East, he won last year, went to the playoffs, he falls in the big games. Yeah, but he hasn't won as much as Hurts has. Right, so Hurts has the leadership and maybe the wins, but everything else, when it comes to passing, accuracy, deep ball, everything, Tua is better.

I can't give you Tua over Hurts. He's a better passer. If this was at Alabama, and you were trying to say Tua over Hurts. Statistically he's better.

I would definitely say at Alabama, I would definitely, but now in the NFL, I'm more intimidated by Jalen Hurts. Who has a better roster without their quarterback? Who has the better roster? Dolphins or the Eagles? Better roster. Offensive. Just, who has a better overall offensive and defensive roster? I would say the Dolphins. Really?

Yeah. They have Tyreek Hill. They have Jalen Waddle. Tyreek Hill is better than AJ Brown.

I would say Jalen Waddle and Devante Smith give a slight edge to Jalen Waddle. And defensively you think the Dolphins are better than the Eagles? So that's one that is up in the air, debatable, but the Eagles defense. They had maybe the worst defense in the league in the final five, six weeks of the season. They really struggled at the end of the season.

I'm just saying. Like the Dolphins at least just got hurt. And Hurts struggled while the defense sucks. What I'm saying is when the Eagles roster was dominating and killing everybody, Jalen Hurts looked great because their roster, everyone was saying this is the best roster in the NFL in one of them. So both teams choked? Both teams choked last year?

Yeah. But the Eagles were with Jalen Hurts at a time, he was talked about midway through the season as an MVP candidate. So it was Tua. Tua was the leading MVP candidate midway through the season. But Tua's never really had a moment in the NFL. Like his best win was up against the Cowboys.

They're known to choke artists. So I can't give you a moment, but statistically he's better than Jalen Hurts. If your best quarterback in the NFC is Hurts, mine is Stafford.

I can't put Tua over either Stafford or Hurts. It is Zach Gelb's show on CBS Sports Radio. Wait for this entertainment. Here we go, an exuberant, energetic CBS Sports Radio update from Pat the Bat. Pat Boyle. You want me to sleepwalk through it?

Come on Pat, don't get him, Tiger. All right Zach, Warriors fans can exhale. For now, an MRI on Steph Curry's right ankle has come back clean. He's not expected to miss much time. This came after last night's game against the Bulls where Curry rolled his ankle at less than four minutes left to go and exited the game only for Golden State to lose by three. That would dampen the excitement after Golden State had won 12 of their last 15. After the huge news earlier in the week that the Broncos are releasing Russell Wilson, they gave him permission to speak to teams ahead of the opening of free agency next week. Russ met with the Giants yesterday.

He's meeting with the Steelers right now as we speak. College football will have our first 12-team CFP this upcoming season and college football playoff governing leaders are reportedly inching closer to a 14-team playoff that would start in the 2026 season. But plenty of pushback after the Big Ten and SEC both reportedly requested that their conference champions receive the two auto buys in the first round each year regardless of other team's ranking or record.

The details of the 14-team format are unlikely to be hammered out ahead of the new TV rights contract which is expected to be finished in the coming weeks. And the first Masters Tournament of the Year in tennis, second-round action underway in the California desert at Indian Wells, men's side Australian Open championic center one in straight sets, world number two Carlos Alcaraz in action later tonight on the women's side. Right now American Danielle Collins taking on the world number one, Igor Svyatek.

I'm Pat Boyle. Zack's taking on the most polarizing issues in sports. Which side of the line of scrimmage will he end up on? Offside, defense number 69. It's onsides, offsides with Zach Gelb on CBS Sports Radio.

Alrighty, Santa, what do we got cooking today? Alright, well as teams trim salaries to get under the cap before next week's free agency, the Bills let go three key players including All-Pro safety Jordan Poyer, All-Pro corner Tredavious White who obviously was injured, and Pro Bowl center Mitch Morse. Outside offside, the Buffalo Bills will be worse in 2024 than they were in 2023. I'm gonna say something that probably doesn't make sense, but in football when everyone's expecting a team to regress and a team to fall, it's usually the team that ends up being better than what people think. Like with the Dolphins, people thought I was crazy last year when I picked the Dolphins to win the AFC East. They didn't ultimately win the AFC East, but they made the playoffs once again and they led that division most of the year.

And one of the points I said is everyone's saying two is not gonna make it through the season, and two did make it through the season. I think they're gonna put everything on Josh Allen, and then I gotta see what they do in the draft, but I think Brandon Bean's gonna be aggressive, and he's going to get another wide receiver. And you'll have Steph Diggs and probably a top 15 wide receiver, and then James Cook came on strong last season. So I think on offense, they'll have enough to win the AFC East and be one of those teams that could be close once again with Kansas City or Cincinnati, and then probably don't find a way to punch through and break through. So I think they're gonna kind of stay the same. I don't think they're gonna get worse. I think they're gonna be the same here, like 11 wins, 12 wins or so, and they're sailing as a playoff game winner too.

So I'm gonna go, the Bills will be worse in 2024 than they were in 2023. I'm gonna go offside on that one. Now some sad news out of Kansas City, as dozens of Chiefs fans who attended that sub-zero freezing playoff game against the Dolphins could be facing amputations from the frostbite they suffered.

Dozens of them. In the past, obviously games have been moved... We may have to go delete some of the takes that I had and lead it up to that game. I was like, oh, I'd go to that game.

That's crazy. Now in the past, obviously we've known games have been moved due to hurricanes, snow concerns, but not necessarily temperature. So onside offside, the NFL should move games if the temperatures get too hot or too cold.

Oh, I'm going to say offside on this one. And I hate to sound like an old man because I'm not an old man, but back in my day when the Patriots were actually good, I went to a lot of cold weather games. Now I also look like I was like a sumo wrestler or something with how many layers that I was wearing to those games. But I was dressed properly. Actually, back then, I was just really fat back then for being fair, but it didn't make myself look any better when I was wearing like six or seven layers as well.

No, I don't think you should move the game if the temperature gets too hot or too cold, because like, how do you then decipher that? Like there's some times where people say, oh, it's not healthy to be outside and you go outside. It's like, what's not healthy about it? Then there's other times where you listen to the weather and they're saying, oh, it's going to be great.

And then it ends up being horrible. So I'm going offside on that one. The Steelers released eight-time Pro Bowler Patrick Peterson after just one season. The former LSU star made three first team All-Pros, but sits 118th all-time with just 36 career interceptions. So onside, offside, Patrick Peterson is a Hall of Famer.

He is. He will not be a first Ballot Hall of Famer, but he's one of those guys, I know he's never played with like organizations, you know, outside of Steelers because end of his career, but he's mainly known for being with the Cardinals. I don't think that's an organization that like you look at and you go, oh, wow, like this is an organization that has a ton of legendary players and there's going to be a big push to get someone in the Hall of Fame, but he was always perceived as one of the best corners, if not the best corner, and he's a three-time first team All-Pro, eight Pro Balls on the all-decade team, like you were saying. I think that gets you in the Hall of Fame, but because there's not a lot of fanfare when you play with the Cardinals, I do think you may have to wait a little bit.

So I do believe he'll get in, but I'll just have to wait a little bit of time. So I'll go onsides. Now this is insane, an NBA record fourth consecutive game, Luka Dontric netted a 35-point triple double, dropping 35 points, 11 boards, and 11 assists in Dallas' win over Miami last night. That's four straight games. Luka now leads the NBA in scoring, though the Mavs are eighth in the West. So onside, offside, obviously Jokic is the best player in the NBA. After Jokic, Luka is the next best player in the NBA.

That's offside. It's Giannis Antetokounmpo. He's stolen the league last time I checked, so I have to put Giannis Antetokounmpo, the multiple-time MVP award winner and world champion and finals MVP, in front of Luka Dontric. So after Nikola Jokic, Luka Dontric is the best player in the NBA, offside.

The Timberwolves have the best record in the West. Do you hear that sound, by the way? You hear that sound?

Yeah. Those are people doing somersaults in the streets in Milwaukee. Remember, I am one of Milwaukee's favorite sons, even though I'm not from there. You certainly are.

The Timberwolves have the best record in the West and second best in the entire NBA. You know, I used to be the most popular person in Milwaukee on national radio, and then I got a guy hired here from Milwaukee. So now it's probably Bart, I would say. I love Bart Winkle.

Good dude. Well, I mean, Bart, I think, is just beloved everywhere. He's just a very likable human being. Yeah. And now we just need his producer to start loving him a little bit more. Well, he has to endure on a day-to-day basis. Now, the T-Wolves...

They call Child Protective Services to help Bart out. Now, the T-Wolves got some bad news as Karl Anthony Towns will be sidelined until early in the playoffs after undergoing knee surgery for meniscus injury. Onside offside, if Kat returns early enough in the playoffs, the T-Wolves can win the NBA title.

You could have asked me this when he was healthy, and I would have said offside on this one. Best record in the West still offside? There's a lot of teams that have the best record in the NBA some years, and you go into the postseason, you go, yep, that's just not it. Still the Denver Nuggets get into the NBA finals. So when you ask me, if Kat returns to the playoffs, the T-Wolves can win the title? I'm just talking about getting to the finals. Win the title? Yeah. As Randy Jackson would say, that's a no from me, dog.

Offside. Now, the college football players are already looking to expand to 14 teams in 2026. Fans seem particularly upset with the idea that the SEC and Big Ten champions would get automatic buys.

Now, after the backlash, that idea appears to be losing some steam, thankfully. Inside offside, the Big Ten and SEC champs should get buys. I don't know why you'd have to guarantee this or guarantee any spots, and why it'd be such a big sticking point for the Big Ten and the SEC. By design, you're going to get all the tie breakers, and you're going to get the benefit of the doubt, because right now, the haves and the have-nots for most teams in college football are the teams that are in the Big Ten and the SEC, and then it's everybody else.

There's a few exceptions when you get into that. So I don't see why the Big Ten or SEC champion, when four teams get buys in this new 12-team format, would never get them. And then especially if you expand to 14, I don't know if you have to add another buy or not, I don't know, I don't see how the Big Ten or the SEC would ever, would ever, even if you only get four, would ever be left off a buy. I think it's more if there's a big upset in the title game. Like if Wisconsin beats Michigan in the Big Ten title game or something like that. Okay, and then Michigan doesn't win the Big Ten championship. So now Wisconsin gets a buy, even though they were like ranked 26th or something.

But who knows? That won't seem to happen. No, I think if you're going to 12, just take the 12 best teams. I don't need all these teams to get guaranteed.

So I'll go offside. Now Zach, what the hell's going on with your alma mater, man? Seriously, last night's Temple UAB game was flagged by a gambling watchdog for having unusual wagering. Give me UAB, give me UAB minus the points, hammer it. Now before UAB drubbed your owls 172, the line moved from UAB minus one and a half to minus eight before TIP. It moved six and a half points in less than 24 hours. And the source says watchdogs have been monitoring Temple games for a while.

Those dirty, dirty owls. I wish someone gave me a TIP or two to make some money. Maybe you're the one getting all the TIPs.

No, it's not me. I don't have many connections anymore with my alma mater. I mean, you did take us out for steaks, so who knows? Maybe there's some extra cash flow in it.

My alma mater, they do a 30 for 30 list, 30 under 30. And there's some people in the media world that I look there and I'm like, man, I should be in there before those people. So I think my university is just like forgetting about me. Maybe they're saying that I'm the one here. I don't know.

I have no information. I did read your name a couple of times in these articles when talking about Temple. Trust me, if I had TIPs, I'd be using them to my advantage.

I have no TIPs. But anyway, you're concerned about college programs getting caught in cheating scandals. I've always said this is where it's going to happen. It's in college. I'm going to say onside owls. Let's hope this stuff isn't true.

I'll maybe give you the benefit of the doubt, maybe. Old Man Winter here. If I had it my way, it would stay winter all year long. Short days, wind chill, black ice and a good polar vortex.

Heaven. Wait, is it getting warm in here? Your cold snap is over, Old Man Winter. Spring has arrived.

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