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Anthony Richardson BENCHED! (Hour 1)

Zach Gelb Show / Zach Gelb
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October 29, 2024 4:03 pm

Anthony Richardson BENCHED! (Hour 1)

Zach Gelb Show / Zach Gelb

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October 29, 2024 4:03 pm

Zach's World Series experience and Colts bench Richardson I What are the Steelers? I Superstar Shoutouts

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Live from the play show, yet not overly ostentatious, studios of the Infinity Sports Network here in beautiful New York City, sitting on top of the 10th floor, 345 Hudson Street. Welcome on in to what is a Tuesday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all the great local Infinity Sports Network affiliates, Sirius XM, Channel 158, the Free Odyssey app, and of course, streaming live on YouTube. 855 212 42 27 is the number to jump on in.

That's 855 212 42 27. You could always get at me on Instagram where I'm straight flexing or via the good old cesspool of Twitter X at Zach Gelb. That is Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. We got a whole lot to do today. Jake Retzlaff is going to join us, the quarterback at BYU. He will join us at the top of the hour at 4 p.m. Eastern, 1 p.m. Pacific time today. And then a guy that I got to know a little bit when he was in double-A baseball, Reece Hoskins, is going to stop by.

Always enjoy when we get to catch up with Reece, and you will hear that conversation at 5 20 p.m. Eastern time today, 2 20 p.m. Pacific. I was at the World Series last night. I was 15 rows off the field. I saw that horrendous concert right before the game with Fat Joe, and I liked Fat Joe, but I was thoroughly disappointed with that performance.

Now, here's the thing. It's one thing to be in the stadium and understand the performance stinks like in the stadium, but the performances aren't made for people in the stadium. Like I've been to some Super Bowls where I'm like, oh, the halftime show sucks.

It's trash. And then I talked to some buddies or some people that I know and they're like, oh, no, it was the greatest halftime show ever because everything's the greatest halftime show ever. But those concerts are meant for the viewer at home. So I turned to the great Pete Morgan of Peerless Boilers, who was kind enough to invite me to the game last night, longtime friend and a sponsor me for a long time. And he had two tickets, took me to the game. It was awesome. We were like 15 rows off the plate.

It was great. And I turned to him, I'm like, this concert sucks before the game. And Pete was even mentioning to me how Fat Joe, he goes, he's on the mound with those Tims. And it was going to mess up the mound that immediately right when he finished after the five minutes of a disaster of a concert where my ears are like, why did you take me to this ballpark tonight? Yet the grounds crew right away, tripping away at the mound to try to restore it. So I did wake up this morning, you know, breaking news.

That's good when you wake up. And I watched the five minute or whatever three minute little concert by Fat Joe as bad as it was in the stadium. It was even worse on TV because in the stadium, like they're pumping in noise, they had the sound in the background, but you couldn't really hear his microphone on TV. You heard his microphone and just how off it was to the recorded songs, obviously, that he's produced.

So you know what? I'm actually happy, even though the game sucked. I had a great time with my buddy Pete Morgan, but even though the game sucked, the building had zero juice. Like, Stu, I get it, you're down 2-0 in the World Series, but the Yankees are bringing out their big gun and Derek Jeter, it wasn't even a thunderous ovation for Derek Jeter. The loudest that stadium got was actually when they were introducing the Dodgers, the Dodgers, and they introduced everyone associated with the team.

It's like enough. It's a little bit too much, but it's the World Series, the first home game for the Yankees in the World Series, so you got to introduce everyone. And there was just a loud for about 15-second Let's Go Yankees chant when they were introducing everyone with the Dodgers. After that, Freddie Freeman said night-night early on, Aaron Judge can't hit water if he thought of a boat right now.

He's batting like 140 in the postseason with 20 total strikeouts. This series is over. You knew that the Yankees had to get one in L.A., but once they dropped both of them and the series really felt like it was over after game one, but no series really over after game one. But with the lethargic effort the Yankees had in game two, you know, everyone will bitch about Aaron Boone and how he manages the bullpen. You know, people will talk about the starters, and that has always been a conversation with the Yankees for like, what, the last six, seven years? It's the same old story, though.

It always goes back to one thing, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out. You don't need a Ph.D. in baseball to figure this one out. If you can't score, you can't win. All right?

That's a very simple thing. And I get it. Giancarlo's had a good postseason. Soto's had a big postseason. But the Yankees lineup isn't deep. The Dodgers lineup, there's not a hole, one through nine.

You exhale for a second, and then there's a ball that's hit into the right field seats, over the wall. But the Yankees lineup, they didn't fear Judge early on in the series. You could tell when they walked Soto to get to Judge.

And there's no reason to fear him now. But this series, when you look at blame on the Yankees part, it's really, I know you could say Aaron squared, where it could be Aaron Boone and Aaron Judge. But I think you start with Aaron Judge as he has just been absolutely abysmal for the New York Yankees. And you know what? I feel good for the Dodgers.

I know that they spend like drunken sailors, but I don't fault anybody for doing that. I'd be hypocritical if I did that as a Mets fan when I'm going to say Steve Cohen, go spend Stevie's spend and go get me one Soto, please. So I could take a photo with one Soto in a Mets uniform.

That would be awesome. But the person I feel the best for, you know, in this run is really Freddie Freeman. With what he has gone through with this family, obviously dealing with the injuries of pale into comparison on the serious family nature. But to see him just mash right now and he's going to win the World Series MVP, even though I'm a Mets fan and Freddie Freeman has tormented me for most of my life. You know, you don't have a heart if you can't feel good or you're just a Yankee fan. And I understand why Yankee fans wouldn't feel good about this. But, you know, it's very tough to not feel joy for Freddie Freeman.

Testing one, two, three, testing one, two, three. I never thought I'd say those words into a microphone. And also, I think the underappreciated story here is really Mookie Betts, which is weird to say, because like a year and a half, two years ago, I'm saying Mookie Betts is the face of baseball. But when you talk about the Dodgers, it's all Otani this and Otani that Otani this and Otani that.

And we all know the legend of Otani. And even though he's not playing at his best, the story, whether it's tonight or tomorrow or somehow this series gets back to L.A., you know, for a game six, whenever it wraps up. And I don't think it's going back to L.A.

I'd be surprised if it does. But the story is going to be the best player in the game won a World Series. But really, I think there's a bigger story here or maybe not a bigger story, but a story to me that is a little bit more of interest. It's Mookie Betts. You know, you look at Mookie Betts now, already won a World Series with the Boston Red Sox, then the Red Sox made one of the worst trades of all time. You know, the Red Sox have the two worst trades in baseball history with Babe Ruth, No No No Net, Harry Frissey and also with Mookie Betts. And Betts is now one win away from winning his second World Series, his second World Series with the Dodgers, his third for his career, as that is just a great career that obviously he will be a first ballot Hall of Famer. And he will have his plaque and his memory enshrined in Cooperstown one day from his baseball days. So that's where I'm at right now with the World Series.

But yeah, last time I checked, the Yankees still can't hit eight minutes after three o'clock here on a Tuesday early on in our week. OK, let's get to news today that I don't think it's stunning, but I do think it's a little confusing on why this was made. And until we hear Shane Steichen speak, I think there will be a little bit of ambiguity here. So yesterday, when you had the conversation with Anthony Richardson and if he's going to be starting on Sunday night up against the Minnesota Vikings, Shane Steichen was as noncommittal as a coach could be.

And basically, he didn't give you an answer, which told us it would be Richardson or Flacco, but with not saying it was Richardson and leaving that door open and saying we're evaluating everything, it indirectly or maybe even directly, if you have a brain, just told you that Joe Flacco was going to be starting either this week or shortly after that, or this would be the last ditch effort for Anthony Richardson. Now, here's what I'm fascinated by. Why? When you looked at this move and this move was made. Why was it made? Because there's a bunch of different answers and they all may be true. But I wonder what the number one reason was on why the move was made.

So here are the possibilities. One, after getting in front of the media the other day, when you take yourself out of the game because you're tired and you're the quarterback and you're supposed to be the leader of the team. Did the locker room lose faith in Anthony Richardson? Like, is this move driven because the locker room lost faith in Anthony Richardson? There's a question.

Second question, the culture at four and four. Now, we may look at a team and not view them as a contender. But in the building could be a different feel, especially when your marquee player is a running back.

And now he's back in the good graces in terms of health after having to miss some time. You know, you got Pittman, you got Pierce, you got some pieces there and you have a division now where Stefan Diggs is going to be done for the year. Now, the Texans, they just beat you last week, but they barely beat you.

It wasn't like you were afraid of Houston. The Jaguars stink. Tennessee stinks. So it's like at four and four, even though I don't think the Colts should be in win now mode. Indianapolis may think they're in win now mode.

And when you look at this and you ask who gives yourself a better chance to win? Is it Joe Flacco or is it Anthony Richardson? The better chance to win this year is without question Joe Flacco. And look at the schedule, folks. Sunday night Minnesota tough team. Then the following week you play the Buffalo Bills. Then you have the Jets.

They stink. But that's a Sunday night spot. And then you have the Detroit Lions. These next four games, when you sit there at four and four, you can't afford to go one and three. You have to bare minimum go two and two. And Joe Flacco gives the Colts a better chance to go to two and two than Anthony Richardson does.

Because if you go to two and two, let's just say, and four weeks from now you're sitting there at six and six, good mental math by me. After that, here's the rest of your schedule where you're going to need probably four more wins to make the postseason. You play the Patriots, you play the Broncos, you play the Titans, you play the Giants and you play the Jaguars. Winnable games.

All of those games are winnable. I know the Patriots just beat the Jets, but the Patriots aren't world beaters. I know the Broncos have an above 500 record, but they haven't really beat any team that's great. Tampa Bay's good. That's their best win of the season. Tennessee stinks. The Giants stink.

And Jacksonville, at least that game's out in Duval because you already lost there once this year because you can never win in Duval with Indianapolis. So when I look at this, these are the questions. Did the locker room lose faith in Anthony Richardson?

I think so. I've never seen a quarterback, by the way, get in front of a podium after the game and admit, you know, just lie in that spot. Like even if you were tired and that's why you took yourself out to say, oh, I thought I tweaked something.

I want to get checked by the medical staff. But once you say, hey, I needed a breather because I was too tired. That's not what a leader does. That's not what a quarterback does. I've never had a quarterback do that.

That's crazy. So there's probably guys in that locker room that are like, what the heck is up with this dude? He's the first round pick. You know, top ten pick, but he hasn't been able to stay healthy. He's out of shape and he's shown us nothing on the football field outside of like three throws because he's a social media quarterback. So, yes, the locker room could have lost faith in him.

The Colts could also think they're in win now mode. And also, I think the bigger story here is what does this mean for the future of Anthony Richardson? Because you could get bench or you could get sat down early in your career and you could still have a future. But I don't know what the Colts are hanging on to in terms of a cult fan thinking that Anthony Richardson is going to be able to turn it around. And really, it's a draft evaluation process that's flawed because there have been some guys that we see them make a few throws and they have the arm strength and they have the athleticism and they don't put enough of it on tape. But since they've done it for a minuscule amount of times and a few times we say, oh, if they could put this all together, you know, this guy could go on to be the next Patrick Mahomes or this guy could go on to be the next Josh Allen. And Josh Allen is a prime example because Josh Allen wasn't great to start his career. He had accuracy problems and then, boom, he put it all together. But those stories are rare.

There's not many examples of those stories and the tape don't lie. And when you see Anthony Richardson, you see a inconsistent quarterback, a more bad than good quarterback. He also can't stay on the field.

So there's not a lot of tape. But when you watch him even go back to college, it's like, what has this guy been able to do for a consistent amount of time? And that's why I never understood from a football logic standpoint why he went that early in the draft.

And I thought he had bus ridden all over him. And he was in a good spot, even though Indy sometimes could be dysfunctional with their owner. But he had a smart offensive coach around him.

You have enough talent around him. And this dude not only lost the team on the field, but he lost the team with what he said off the field as well. So if I had to take a guess, I think the Colts' number one driving force in this, even though I don't think they should be in win now mode, I'd like to see what you get out of Anthony Richardson, but I think they've already seen enough and they're there on a daily basis. I think the Colts made this move because they really do believe Joe Flacco gives them a better chance to win games in Anthony Richardson, which is true. And they want to salvage this season at 4-4 and navigate through these next tough four games before the schedule opens up. And they're trying to go for a playoff spot this year. Because remember, this team was 9-8 last year with Anthony Richardson hurt and Gardner Minshew in at quarterback.

So even though I don't think this is a great team, it's not a foreign concept for them to get into the postseason this year, especially when football is wide open. But long term, I think this is it for Anthony Richardson. Like, he may be able to start again. They may give him a few opportunities. You know, maybe if Flacco retires after this year, you know, he's the starting quarterback next year. But I don't think he's the long term guy. I don't think he's the long term dude in Indianapolis. Because if Shane Steichen thought there was a chance he could be the long term guy, regardless of whatever he says when he meets the media, they wouldn't be making this move today.

They wouldn't. They wouldn't be benching this young quarterback. But he lost this locker room.

There's no doubt about it. The Colts know that Flacco is better. And you add all that up, not only does it provide this move today where they sit down Richardson, but moving forward, you know, similar to like when they sat down Bryce Young in Carolina, it gives you that feel that this is it. For Anthony Richardson being thought of as the guy in Indianapolis, just like with Bryce Young, he may start again as we saw this past weekend because of injury with the unfortunate accident with Andy Dalton.

But, you know, even if you're getting another start, it doesn't mean that you're going to be the franchise guy for that organization or be thought of that way moving forward. Zach Gelb here with you. How do you react to Anthony Richardson getting benched by the Colts?

855-212-4227, 855-212-4227. We'll take a break. Who are the Pittsburgh Steelers?

We'll get into them next. Alrighty, this is Zach Gelb's show on the Infinity Sports Network. You want to know how bad it was if you are a Yankees fan last night being in that stadium. So my buddy Pete Morgan, right? Big Yankee fan. And we had a great time at the game outside of the actual game for Pete. Now, Pete is also a huge New York Giants fan still. So the game is so boring and the Yankees and Pete played college baseball.

So he's like a big baseball guy, but he lives and dies by the Giants as well. So there's no reason to cheer or get excited last night with how the game was going. Like even when it was 4-0, it was out of reach, but it didn't feel like it was only 4-0. It felt like it was like 12-0. You know, I was crazy. Like I turned to Pete, I go, it's only 4-0.

It feels a lot worse. You know, one swing and the swing came too late with Verdugo, hitting him with two outs in the ninth and he popped a two-run jack to right. But it's just one of those moments where it's like, wow, that's how gloomy it was in that building, you know, being Yankee Stadium and how a four-run deficit felt as if it may as well have been 100-0.

So I look over and I see Pete is on his phone. We're at the World Series, for crying out loud. But it was so boring the game on the field, Pete popped up on his phone, the Giants game. And the Giants-Stealer game, I never thought the Steelers were going to lose, but it's crazy like how the Giants were not good in that game.

You know, offensively Jones was fine, but when the big moment happens, of course he turns over the football. How many drops the Giants had, like that was just a real sloppy game. You knew the Steelers were going to win, and I'm not saying that game was entertaining, but if you had to pick what was more entertaining, even being in the stadium at the World Series, it was more entertaining watching and seeing the highlights and, you know, the delayed feed of Giants-Stealers on an irrelevant, let's be fair, Monday Night Football game to wrap up week eight of the season. Like that's how boring the Yankee-Dodgers game was last night when Freddie Freeman hit that home run early on in the first.

The game was pretty much over, even though there was still eight more innings of baseball to play. So I wasn't fully locked in and engaged on every play of the Steelers-Giants game. So Stu, let me just ask you if kind of my opinion of the game and some of the highlights that I watch is accurate. And that the Steelers defense is good.

T.J. Watt, obviously, when the game is on the line, he shows why he's the best defensive player in the NFL. But the Steelers, even though their record is 6-2, and you may look at it and go, oh, how about the Pittsburgh Steelers? They're a pretty damn good team at 6-2. My view of the 6-2 Steelers is that they're still a misleading, fraudulent football team. Where their record isn't as good as it indicates what this team should be.

And that's kind of been the same song and dance the last five, six, seven years with the Steelers. When the defense is really good, the offense isn't on the same page. When the offense is really good, the defense isn't on the same page. And defensively, like, they're good. But offensively, like, they're fine. You know, the offensive line is nothing to jump up and down about. Now, Pickens, it's an emotional rollercoaster ride type of player. Fryer Muth is a solid tight end.

We all know that. And you look at the run game, like, they got solid running backs. And the quarterback, you know, even though they've handed over the baton to Russell Wilson, you know, the quarterback is fine. He's not great. He's not trash. He's not good. He's not bad.

He's just like another guy. And I know they had the big special teams play last night as well. But, like, I look at the Steelers and people are like, oh, we got to start talking about the Steelers as a contender. They're six and two.

Why? We've seen the Steelers be undefeated before and you knew that they were fraudulent. And the Steelers, to me, are going to be a team when the lights are shining down the brightest and they're in the postseason, maybe at best, at best, the Steelers win a playoff game. But they're going to be playing wild card weekend. And we've seen since the 2016 season, you know, the Steelers don't win playoff games. Just the fact. They've won a playoff game since the 2016 season.

Think about that. For the Steelers, who are always in the mix, they're never bad. Even when they have a great record, you know, they're not great. They're just one of those teams that should be in the playoffs. In all likelihood, will be in the playoffs. But there's not a team, really, if they get the Steelers on a wild card weekend. You know, even if that's a home game, let's say the Steelers win the division.

And even if that's a home game, it's not people really walking into Pittsburgh like they used to be walking into Pittsburgh, afraid to go into the terrible towel country and afraid to play the Steelers. The Steelers are just a team now. They're not garbage. They're not great. They're not an elite team. They're an elite brand, but they're not an elite team. But they're just kind of one of those teams that, from the outside, right, they always look really good. But you know that they've had a lot of work done to make them look good and down to the root of their core, they're not this phenomenal football team.

It's like you know what they truly are when push comes to shove, and they will ultimately show that one time. I can't sit here and confidently say the Steelers are going to win a playoff game right now. So, Stu, from afar last night, being at the Yankee-Dodgers game and seeing some of the Steelers-Giants game, that's kind of my take on the Steelers. Good that they got the win. They're 6-2. You know, through the first eight games, they're better than what I would have thought in terms of a record standpoint. But I'm not going to be sitting here today, waving a terrible towel with my pom-poms out and basically saying, oh, here we go. Steelers are going to the Super Bowl.

No, that's not happening for me. If they're playing on divisional round weekend, they would be lucky, knowing the history of this team ever since the 2016 season. Yeah, they're definitely in that group of teams. Like, I would say the Vikings are probably in this group.

Maybe like the Falcons. There are a few, like maybe five teams, where you just don't, the Chargers are going to also be in this. Like, you don't, they have good records. They might make the playoffs, but you don't, like, I don't think they're making a run. Like, they're not beating the Texans. They're not beating the Bills. They're not beating the Chiefs. Like, they'll make the playoffs, probably. But even if they got to an AFC Championship game, I'm not feeling like they're going to, you know who they remind me of a little bit? Remember when Tennessee, a few years back, got to that AFC Championship game? Even when they were up, I think they were up like 10-0 in that game early on against Kansas City, you knew that Tennessee wasn't advancing to the Super Bowl.

Like, there's just limitations with that team. And so, like, if the playoffs started today, these would be your seven playoff teams. Chiefs, Texans, Steelers, Bills, Broncos, Ravens, and Chargers. Out of those seven teams in the AFC, Chiefs we could also get into the Super Bowl.

I like C.J. Stroud, but after losing, Staphon Diggs, we'll see when Nikko Collins comes back. Stroud, you know, just a few weeks ago in a big game had under 100 passing yards. And I'm not ready to say that the Texans are a team that I fully believe will be going to a Super Bowl. And I was optimistic on the Texans heading into this season. Steelers I can't see get into the Super Bowl. The Bills I could actually see get into a Super Bowl.

Maybe it's just Josh Allen's time. Maybe someone else takes care of Kansas City, picks him off, and then the Bills are able to go on a Super Bowl run. The Broncos I can't see them in the Super Bowl. The Ravens I can't. And I know that's going to annoy Steelers fans. Oh, but what do you think about the Ravens? The Ravens are a better team than you. All right, I don't care what the record says right now. They're five and three.

You're six and two. The Ravens are a better team than you. And the Chargers, I don't think they're ready to go make a Super Bowl run.

So it's like, do you agree with that, Stu? In the AFC right now, and those are the only seven teams that would be in. So maybe there's another team that's not in, but I don't see it. Out of those seven teams or the entirety of the AFC, if I say three teams that could get to the Super Bowl this year, the three teams you're most confident in in the AFC, it would be the Chiefs, it would be the Bills, and it would be the Ravens. Correct?

Definitely. I guess the Texans, even with the injury, would probably be the next team on that list. But they're a far way down after the Bills, I would say. Now let's do this exercise in the NFC.

This turns into a fun conversation. If the NFC playoffs were to start today, here are the seven teams in. You know what's crazy? Without even looking at the NFC playoff picture, we all talked about how the AFC was strong in the NFC entering this season. I said the NFC was picking up steam and closing ground, you know, and closing the gap. I think the NFC is stronger right now. You know, at least you had the Chiefs, who are a great team, and you got the elite quarterback play of Josh Allen.

You got the elite quarterback play of Lamar Jackson. And there's not that many, I don't even know if there is an elite quarterback in the NFC, if I'm being honest. But I think the NFC is a lot more intriguing and open than the AFC.

And let's be real, we just went through it. We could only see really three teams in the AFC get into the Super Bowl. But these would be the teams in the NFC doing this blindly, where I just made that statement. These would be your seven NFC playoff teams right now. Lions would be the one.

Commanders would be the two. Falcons three. The Cardinals right now win the NFC Westin at four. Packers five. Vikings six. Eagles seventh.

And then I'll give you like your first four teams out. Bears, Bucks, 49ers, and Seahawks. You know, you have the Rams at 12th. The Cowboys at 13th. NFC right now is deeper than the AFC. So if I had to ask you, Stu, three teams in the NFC that you're most confident to get to the Super Bowl this year, who would they be? Definitely the Lions and Packers would be one and two.

I would have trouble getting to a third. And I don't like the coach. But I would probably say the Eagles, based on the talent and the quarterback, would be my third team. Eagles over 49ers.

Why? I just don't like the vibe of the 49ers in terms of all the injuries they've had. This just seems like a year from hell. Even if they get McCaffrey back, I still struggle to see them get there. I hate to say it.

When McCaffrey comes back, I feel like he'll be injured within two weeks. Yeah, probably. You're talking about arthritis with Achilles? I think it was. That doesn't sound good.

I'm not a doctor, but that doesn't sound good when I read that. So I would agree with you that the Lions and the Packers have to be on that list. And I think for most people, the third spot would be a conversation between the Eagles and the 49ers. And when you say that, the Eagles right now are the seventh seed, the last team in.

And the 49ers would be out of the postseason if the postseason was to start today. So how far do you think, if everything goes right for the Steelers this year, Stu, as that was the genesis of the conversation, how far could you see the Steelers going if everything goes right? If everything goes right, I think they get to the second, you know, the divisional weekend, if you will. I don't think they get past that.

I don't think they can get to the AFC Championship game. Alright, this is Zach Gelb showing the Infinity Sports Network. We will take a break. When we come on back, it is a Tuesday, so we will get to some superstar shout-outs next. We will get to a player in the NFL, a player in college football, a coach in the NFL, a coach in college football that we want to highlight. But first up with the latest Sports Flash, the Ackman, Rich Ackerman. The defensive player of the week is sponsored by the Navy Federal Credit Union, who proudly serves the armed forces, DoD, veterans, and their families. Their members are the mission.

Learn more at NavyFederal.org. This week's players, Lions quarterback, Amick Robertson, in Detroit's 52-14 blood victory over the Titans. Robertson had two forced fumbles, has a tee in the Lions' force, four turnovers, and had four sacks on the day.

And we will get more into that in just a second with our superstar shout-outs. But I felt like every time I watched that game or moments of that game on Sunday, it was like some crazy big speed play where I was watching. I had patch jets on the big screen of my apartment.

Then on the TV to my left, I had a four multiview box. One was red zone. I think there was the Eagles and the Bengals.

I want to say Texans, Colts. And then there was one other game. It was Ravens-Browns, I want to say.

It was in the one o'clock window. So that was the games that I had on. And then I had an iPad up with the Lions and the Titans. And that game, it was close early. I said on Sunday that the spread is Lions Lane 11, which I took on the air.

I told Ryan Horvath that I would go up to Lions Lane 17. And even when the game was close, you knew eventually that was going to hit. And obviously it did, going away with the final score being 52-14.

But how that game was close for a while and ended up being as big of a blow as it is just shows you how dominant the Lions are right now. All righty, Stu. Let's get to a little superstar shout-out.

Another week in the books. Who stood out on the gridiron? We give you our superstar shout-outs right here on the Zach Elbe Show.

All right, let's start college. We will go to our college football player first. Stu, I'm going to mention a player for the Lindenwood Lions.

His name is Steve Hall. If you could tell me the last time we mentioned Lindenwood on this show, I will give you $100 in cash. If you have any idea, $200 in cash. $300 in cash. It could be $3 million. I'm not going to get it. $4 million! Just a reminder, this is not serious. Even if Stu got it, I would not give him $4 million.

I would give him about $100. The last time I mentioned Lindenwood, because I remember when I read this story over the weekend about Steve Hall, and I'll get to why I'm shouting him out in just a second. I'm like, Lindenwood?

I go, we talked about them at one point. And it was over the summer when we were doing our coaching spotlight, as we would talk to a coach around the country. And Kansas' first opponent, when we were counting down to kickoff, was Lindenwood. And that's when I looked at the Lindenwood schedule. I was like, oh, we had Lance Leipold on, and we were talking about the opening game, Kansas against Lindenwood, which Kansas ended up winning 48-3. It hasn't been a good season for the Jayhawks, though. But in this game, Steve Hall, as Lindenwood the Lions beat the Western Illinois Leathernecks? That's the name of that team?

Okay. I've never heard of that before. But Lindenwood with Steve Hall, 13 carries. I almost did a double take when I heard Kevin Naganzi mention this. Temple guy. 13 carries for 259 yards and four touchdowns. Here were the distances on his four touchdown runs. So he had a 75-yard touchdown run, then a 12-yard touchdown run, and he had a 93-yard touchdown run as well. He opened up the game, I missed his first one, with a 9-yard touchdown run. So you would think his longest run in the game would be that 75-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Well, with 131 left in the fourth, he crossed the goal line, one play 93-yard drive in 17 seconds with a 93-yard touchdown run. So I would assume this is the last time we talk about the Lindenwood Lions this year.

Steve Hall is the player that I'm going to shout out. Once again, a ridiculous stat line. 13 carries, 259 yards, and four touchdowns. And I'm not good at math, so let's just see.

259 divided by 13, that's 19.9 yards per carry. Now, Stu, let me just see if you could get this accurately. Do you have any idea where Lindenwood is, if you had to take a guess? If I had to guess, I would say Tennessee.

Good guess. I believe it's Missouri. Okay. I looked it up during the break, but I believe memory serves me right. It is Missouri.

Okay. Get me your college football player that you want to shout out. I am going to go with Dylan Gabriel, the Oregon quarterback. They absolutely dominated a ranked team in Illinois over the weekend. Really just played in the first half. They put up 35 points in the first half on them. That game was over pretty quickly. 18 of 26, 291 yards and three touchdowns.

He has 18 touchdowns, just five picks on the season. And Oregon, as you discussed yesterday, one of the best teams in the country. I think right now the best team in the country. Oregon against Georgia would be my national championship pick today. Alrighty, let's go to the college football coaches.

I don't know about you, Stu. The coaches are tougher than the players, picking out a coach that you want to shout out each and every week. So when Coach Prime got to Boulder, he was taking over a football team that was 1-11. Year one, he started off 3-0, only had one win down the stretch.

He was 4-8. And early on this year, with an underwhelming performance against North Dakota State and getting blown out in Lincoln, Nebraska, up against Matt Ruhle and the Nebraska Cornhuskers led by Dylan Riola. And that team being 1-1, I wasn't expecting them to go to a bowl game.

We fast-forward, though. They are now 6-2. And over the weekend, they were able to snatch up bowl eligibility, taking care of Cincinnati. So give a superstar shout-out to Coach Prime, who in year two, not only is he going to be going bowling, but they're alive in the Big 12. And they have two players who are going to be top five, top ten picks in the draft, with Travis Hunter and Shadore Sanders. And at least one of those players, maybe two, but at least one, are going to be going to New York City as the Heisman Trophy finalists. And maybe Travis Hunter or Shadore Sanders end up winning the award. But Coach Prime gets my coaching superstar shout-out.

All right, I'm going to go with someone who I believe you nominated a few weeks ago. But I just think that this team has done a really good job, especially over the last six or seven weeks. And that's Mike Elko at Texas A&M, now 7-1, undefeated in the SEC. Big win over LSU. And I don't know if they have a quarterback. They kind of have two quarterbacks.

And I don't know if either one are that amazing. But I think the job Elko has done has been pretty damn good. You ride the hot hand.

That would be my advice. I know they didn't do that a few weeks ago, but you ride the hot hand now. It's Marcel Reed's team until he gives you a reason to make you go back to Connor Wegman. But he saved that team's playoff dreams when he was inserted into the game up against LSU. Go Tigers! The LSU fam.

Alrighty. Lions, NFL player shout-out. I'm going to give it to Jameer Gibbs. I went with the running back that had 11 carries. I'll go with another running back that had 11 carries. Now, not the same yards as Steve Hall had. But Jameer Gibbs had 11 carries for 127 yards and a touchdown in a high-octane offensive type of game. Lions beat up on Tennessee 52-14. So my superstar shout-out goes to Jameer Gibbs.

Right. I will go with Jameis Winston. I don't think a lot of people had the Browns beating the Ravens on Sunday, but he came out. He looked great. 334 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and he looked better than Deshaun Watson looked all year. So I think for him, it's nice that he gets a chance to start again in the NFL.

And I think he deserves a superstar shout-out just for leading the league in the best pregame speeches. I don't know about you, Stu. Have you ever tried to eat a W? Did you ever emulate that?

No. At home, you know, lights are off. You're in your room. You're under your covers. Did you ever try to eat a W and say, hey, let me see how stupid this is?

I actually have not, but that does sound like something I should have done in the past. You want to eat a W live on the air right now? Imagine we get Stu to put his fingers in his mouth.

I don't even know how you make the W with your fingers, to be fair at first. I think that's the most difficult part. Right. Yeah.

So we're not even going to try that. All right, let me get to my coach. People have realized the luster has worn off this guy where he was really respected a few years ago. And he took this team from down and out, restored this team, made them habitual playoff contenders. But when you are habitual playoff contenders, eventually it's one thing to just get into the dance.

Then you got to go try to take home the prom king or queen title. Right. You got to go win a Lombardi.

So when you're just there and there and there and there and there, eventually just getting there isn't good enough. And that's why the luster has worn off Sean McDermott. But with that being said, Sean McDermott, with all the injuries that he's had to suffer, with the team, right, looking like this was a retooling year through eight weeks of the bill season, they're six and two. And this was a good test this past weekend up against the Seahawks, where you knew that the Seahawks weren't this great team. But you would have thought that would be a competitive game, grinded out game that the Buffalo Bills would end up winning and maybe win by like four to seven points. That's what I thought.

I laid the number with the Bills minus three. But that game was an ass kicking. And usually when we praise Buffalo, it's James Cook and it's Josh Allen.

It's Dalton Kincaid, now Amari Cooper, Keon Coleman. The offense, though, which it was good, was not the story. It was the defense where they held in the first half the Seahawks to three points and the Seahawks didn't get a touchdown until the fourth quarter.

That was a heck of a defensive performance by Sean McDermott's team. Geno Smith, yeah, he was 20 of 29, 21 to 29 for 212 yards. They were able to pick him off and only 17 carries for the Seahawks for 32 yards. They bottled up Jackson Smith and Jigba. No D.K. Metcalf in the game.

Tyler Lockett was a non-factor. It's a heck of a defensive performance by the Bills. So, Sean McDermott, you get my NFL coaching shout out of the week.

Snoop? I will go with another Sean and that is Sean Payton. I think we talked about last hour about teams that we don't really believe in, despite their good records. I think the Broncos definitely fall under this category based off of who they've beaten, the Bucks, Jets, Raiders, Saints, and Panthers. But, five and three, I don't think if you told me before the season that they were going to win five games, I probably would have taken the under on that. I did not see this being a good team at all. They've beaten who they've had to beat on their schedule and I guess, you know, for now they look pretty decent.

So, I'll give my superstar shout out to him. Yeah, like I don't anticipate them to be in the playoffs. I don't think the Chargers are the second best team in that division. But, they are at least a team now that you're like curious about. And, you know what, I think they have thrown our friend Anthony Gallo into like a mental pretzel. Because he doesn't like Sean Payton. He doesn't believe Bo Nix is the guy. But, they're exceeding his expectations and they're winning games. And, Gallo's not someone that usually likes to omit when he's wrong. He will take his idea of being right all the way down to the wire until it's proven that he's wrong and even then he still may think he's right. But, man, Gallo in the newsroom, you would think with the Broncos being well, he'd be like a little bit more obnoxious. But, I think he's actually upset that his team, which is the worst type of fan when you're upset when your team's doing well. Because he's just waiting for this to all come crashing and burning like Stu kind of alluded to.

Not that it would crash and burn, but just not be as good as what their record says they are right now. Alrighty, we'll take a break when we come on back. How a Jewish quarterback landed at BYU. A member of the tribe, Jake Retzlaff, will join us next right here on the Zach Gelb Show.
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-10-29 18:54:48 / 2024-10-29 19:13:25 / 19

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