Notre Dame Could Reach Semi-Finals (Hour 2)

So, we were just talking about the Raiders and how obviously the Chiefs have Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes. The Los Angeles Chargers have Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert.

The Denver Broncos, which I'll give them credit. I thought Sean Payton was going to be a disaster this year. I thought they were going to be a bottom five team and I wasn't a believer.

But now I am believing in Bo Nix, who's not looking like Bo Pix. He's looking like the Oregon quarterback, not the way that he did look when he was at Auburn. And the last two years at Oregon was phenomenal.

I just thought he was more of a college quarterback than a pro quarterback. But those three teams, the Chiefs are the standard, even though they've been vulnerable this year, but they only have one loss. The Chargers, it still feels as if they're a year behind, but they're going to be in the postseason and they got to get more skill position players around Herbert. And I like Ladd McConkie.

Let me tell you what that Ladd McConkie. And then the Broncos, they still got a long ways to go, but you see what getting the right coach and the right quarterback could do for a team overnight. And then you have the Raiders where, Stu, would you say, and I ask you this every week, Antonio Pierce, I think he's going to be back, but out of 100%, I would say 78% chance that he's going to be back. Where are you at on a number perspective? I think it's 55-45 that he's back. That close.

I do. It's almost a flip of the coin. He's had some really, really bad, I guess it depends how you look at it. It's good if you want a tank, but he's had some really bad in-game management coaching decisions. And then if you look at it, like he doesn't call the offensive plays, he doesn't call the defensive plays. So what does he do?

I don't. And you fired the offensive coordinator, Getze. Baldrick and Getze both have been fired this year. And Scott Turner's been okay, I guess.

They actually moved the ball a little against the Chiefs, which was kind of nice, but I don't know. It's just getting to a point where if they finish 2-15, can you bring him back? Al Davis would have fired him after that. Definitely. Mark Davis, I don't think would.

But here's the thing. Right now, you basically have the number one overall pick because Jacksonville technically does have the number one overall pick in the NFL draft order, but you're two. Jacksonville's not going to be taking a quarterback. Now, in theory, could someone move up? Yes. Could the Giants move up from three to one? Could the Jets move up from six to one? Tennessee from seven to one?

Sure. But you're going to get a quarterback if you just keep on losing. Is there a game you guys could win? I know on any given Sunday, anything could happen, but is there a game on the schedule that you say, oh boy, I could actually see the Raiders winning that game down the stretch in the final five? Yeah, the Saints.

Oh yeah, that's true. And Derek Carr will give one last parting gift to the Raiders by losing to the Raiders. You want to talk about a game that I have no interest in watching? It is Derek Carr up against the Raiders.

That would be absolutely horrific. Now, he's been away from the Raiders. This is the second season?

Yes. They didn't play last year, right? No, this would be the first time they play. They also played the Jaguars too.

So that could be another... You guys get on a win streak. But seriously, that's going to be an insufferable game on December 29th because I want to see Derek Carr lose that game, but I don't want to see the Raiders win that game because I want you to get your quarterback. But if Derek Carr has a big game, oh, you know he's going to be treating that as if it's a Super Bowl, and that will be insufferable. When we're in New Orleans for the Super Bowl, oh boy, you know Carr is going to be pimping some product. Is there a chance we're going to get Derek Carr on the show at the Super Bowl?

That would be something. So Tampa, the Falcons, the Jaguars, the Saints, the Chargers, Raiders could win some games down the stretch, and you don't want to win right now. That's right.

I was rooting against the Raiders, against the Chiefs on Friday, and I will continue to root against the Raiders the rest of the season so they can have my pick. You guys almost won that game. Very close. Last year you won on Christmas Day, right? That was Christmas Day last year?

Yes. Close call. And now you're on that Thanksgiving Black Friday game. You should have won that game. How did you react to that ending, by the way? I was happy. I thought they were going to pull it out.

Are you numb to it, though? I know that you just said you're rooting for them to lose, but even in that moment, does it surprise you how they reinvent ways to lose? I actually laughed.

When I saw the ball go over his head and then I saw what happened after, I was like, okay, that's great. Perfect. That's sad.

That's really sad. So right now at the draft we're tomorrow, Saints 10, Bengals 9, Browns 8, Tennessee 7, Jets 6, Carolina 5, New England 4, the Giants 3, the Raiders 2, and the Jaguars in at 1. So you're in position to either get Cam Wardish to Doris Sanders. Those are the only two quarterbacks you really want in this draft, right?

Definitely. I don't want to touch Milro. I don't want to touch Carson Beck.

I think Milro is going back to Alabama. And Carson Beck, if he has a good playoff run, that draft stock can improve. But I don't feel good taking a first-round pick on him with how lost he's looked at times this year. Quinn Ewers, you're not taking him that early.

To me, he's a second-round quarterback, really. So there's always going to be guys that get selected. But the two guys that I really feel confident are going to be top 5, top 10 picks are going to be Shador Sanders and Cam Ward.

And I'll tell you this, too. It's nothing to do what we're talking about, but just the draft order. Michigan could get four players or maybe even five in the first round.

They get four defensive players in the first round. Will Johnson's going to be in the top 10. Mason Graham's going to be in the top 10. Kenneth Grant, he's going to be in the top 20. He could be in the top 15. And Josiah Stewart could be a late, and I mean a late first-round pick. I saw Colston Loven, the tight end who didn't play this past weekend, he was projected to go in the first round as well. So even though Michigan's been up and down this year, they do have a lot of NFL talent on that team. But anyway, the reason why I'm bringing up the Raiders draft stock here is I just got to tweet during the break. Because just because, Stu, you're drafting a quarterback, whether it's Cam Ward or Shador Sanders, I think if you're drafting a quarterback up that high, you're going to play them right away.

But as we have seen, when you throw someone to the wolves too early, it could do some harm. So maybe the Raiders are going to be looking to bring a veteran in this offseason. I got a tweet during the break, and I'm just curious what your thoughts are here.

And it's from Zach No Longer in Cali, at pitmaster103181 on X and Twitter. Is it me, or is Jamis Winston destined to be the starting QB for the Raiders? You go win a few games down the stretch, and you don't want to take Carson Beck or Jalen Milro if he declares, or Quinn Ewers, whoever it may be, and you start to move further back like you did last year, right?

And you had six quarterbacks go in the top 12, who would have thought that? Jamis Winston on the Raiders? You in, or yeah?

I'm in. I wanted him over Garoppolo two years ago. You should have been the GM.

I guess so. But I think- Was it Ziegler who made that decision, right? David Ziegler? Yeah, that was the Garoppolo decision there, and then of course this year was Mr. Minshew. I would take him.

He'd at least be exciting. That was a McDaniel's decision. Remember that whole article? Now, who knows if it's true or not, but the moment Ziegler got let go, he basically said, I didn't want Jimmy Garoppolo. Sources close to Ziegler, Ziegler, whatever his name was, he didn't want Jimmy Garoppolo, which that did feel as if that was a Josh McDaniel's decision. It was the right move to move on from Derek Carr. They thought they were going to get Brady. For some reason, they didn't really pursue Rogers. Brady then retires, and Brady said, Josh, I'm leaving. This is it. It's over.

You put out the video of him on the beach. It's actually over, and then it was okay. We got to panic, and they panicked on Jimmy Garoppolo, which was stupid. But if you had Winston a few years ago, at least it's fun to watch.

He's a guy who could throw 30 touchdowns in a season, also since before in 10th base, thrown 30 interceptions. But even this year, instead of Minshew or Aiden O'Connell, Jameis Winston would have at least been easier on the eyes each and every NFL Sunday. That's how low the bar is for your Raiders.

More fun, more entertaining, for sure. All right. So the Raiders have you in a miserable existence. Your Devils beat the snot out of my Rangers last night, and I'm really concerned. I'm like 10 out of 10 concerned with my New York Rangers. Your Yankees blew the World Series, and your thoughts on the Lakers before I get to your college football team? What are your thoughts on the Lakers? The last few games, they're showing who they are. They are not a contender, and LeBron is starting to show his age a bit too. Now Rome, I heard earlier, said he's LaWash.

Do you think that's true? I don't think he's LaWash, but if you're expecting to be a top 10 to 15 player, he's not going to be that anymore, especially every night consistently. So where are you at on Notre Dame? Running backs, really solid. Riley Leonard has done a complete 180 from where it was earlier in the season.

Defense led by Xavier Watts, who's going to join us tomorrow. He was the big Nerick Award winner, a Nagurski Award winner last year. Should have been a finalist again, somehow wasn't. Had the big pick six up against USC. This is a Notre Dame team that no one remembers anymore. The Northern Illinois lost earlier in the season. They are definitely, they are a stone cold lock to make the college football playoff. They beat A&M back in week one to open up the season. They beat Louisville this year. They crushed Navy, they crushed Army, and they did a good job up against a team that those games are always fun headed into them between USC and Notre Dame. It's not as if those are any great wins.

A&M win was good at the time, but I didn't think A&M was going to be great, and A&M ended up proving out to be better than what we thought they were going to be. And when you look at this right now, and when you see Notre Dame, there's always going to be that question, is this just what Notre Dame has been? Where they always have 10, 11 wins. And then when they go up against the elite competition in the college football playoff or back in the BCS national championship game, when it was Manti Teo going up against Alabama, then they get exposed. But this year, there's been a lot of teams that have been exposed. When you look even in a 12 team format in the college football playoff where we thought there were some great teams and a lot of those great teams have crumbled, and I don't know how many great teams there are right now. So Notre Dame, how far are you willing to go with the Fighting Irish? Because right now, they are a team nationally that they're getting a lot of words of extolment, and there's a lot of big time praise right now, which no one thought that was going to be the case after the September 7th loss to Northern Illinois.

Yeah, I mean, it depends on a matchup, right? If they play in Alabama or Tennessee or Georgia or someone like that in the first round, then it's going to be trouble. But if Oregon beats Penn State and Texas beats Georgia, there's a chance Notre Dame could get the five seed.

I think there's a pretty good chance of that. And then you have a home game against either Boise State, UNLV, or the Big 12 champ. That's a very winnable game. And then if you win that game, then you played a four seed. Look, if you can avoid the Oregon's and the Ohio States and those kind of teams, as long as you can, I feel good about winning a game or two. But once they get far enough and they play a team that has a lot of talent, I think they'll get exposed.

Well, here's the thing. Who are your big boy teams there that you just said? You said Ohio State and Oregon.

Is there anybody else? I'm assuming you throw Georgia into that mix still? Georgia, Texas, Alabama. I still worry about a team like Alabama. I think they're a lot more talented than Notre Dame. If I were you, I would not be afraid to go up against Ohio State. Because you just saw how up against a good defensive line and up against a team that's solid in the trenches and knows how to run the football with Kalel Mullings, that Ohio State had no answer for Mullings and their defensive line feasted on a offensive line with the McLaughlin injury. And also, you look at the way that Ohio State was trying to win the game. I think Notre Dame could beat Ohio State.

I do, especially with the way they're assuming love is healthy. The way the two backs run. Riley Leonard, who is a mobile quarterback. I could see them beating Ohio State. I'm looking at Notre Dame right now.

I'll say this. Do I expect them to get to the semifinal? No. But I do think they can get to the semifinal. If they're able to get to the five seed and they play the winner of the Big 12 like you just laid out.

Arizona State. I know Cam's been a really good running back. You know, I know that we had the quarterback Levitt on. Dillingham is just one of those coaches.

He's not afraid of anybody. And he has that program clearly moving in the right direction. But if you get Notre Dame up against a Big 12 champ, you should be able to beat the Big 12 champ. And then after that, you know, Ashton Gente up against that defense would be a whole lot of fun. And we saw how close of a game Boise State was able to play Oregon this year. They lost by three.

And quite frankly, they should have won the game. But if you tell the Notre Dame fan your road is the Big 12 champion and then the non power for conference champ, you would take that in a second. And then the other side of the bracket, even if you get to six and you have to go up against Alabama.

All right. Alabama has been hot and cold. But if you survive that, then you get the ACC champ. And SMU is a good team. Clemson just got beat by South Carolina, who's one of the hottest teams in the country. So we'll see who ends up winning the ACC and then where they would be placed.

But that's that would be only one game that you'd be nervous about. And it'd be Alabama. And it's not really anything that you could tangibly latch on to this year with Alabama. I know they beat Georgia. I know they crushed LSU. But when you look at Alabama, it's not the same way that we view Alabama in years past, but it's always the name of Alabama.

So that's why there could be some skepticism. So there is a way where Notre Dame can make it to the final four. And it's kind of crazy because when they made it to the final four, like the last time, right, they were in the 14 college football playoff.

No one expected them to do anything. Now there's still an avenue. Now there's still a path to make the final four in the college football playoff in a 12 team format.

Can I I'll ask you this too, Stu. I know they have an ACC affiliation, but they're not in the ACC. Do you want them to become a full time member of the ACC in football? Because Notre Dame's not in a conference full time. They just play some ACC schools. So with this new format and a 12 team format, there's a way for them to get in every year because a one loss, two loss Notre Dame team is going to get in every time in a 12 team format.

But it's going to be the highest they could be ranked as five. If they play full time in the ACC, then you could get a bye if you do win the ACC and you win that conference championship. Has there been a desire you'd be in the Notre Dame hunk on this show for Notre Dame to maybe full time member ACC? Yeah, I think it's time they joined a conference because one of these years, if they stay independent, like if they play a harder schedule than they did this year, they can easily lose two games and then if you lose two games that then it's, you know, you're putting yourself in a position where you can be left out of the playoffs altogether, where the ACC champ might have two losses and will either be the four or the 12 having an automatic, you know, birth in the playoffs.

So I think they should join a conference, but I doubt that's going to happen. I love, by the way, Cardell Jones on with this yesterday and I really did appreciate his time. One thing, though, as I'll transition it real quickly before we take a break that I vehemently disagreed with him about was when I said, hey, if Ohio State had a different quarterback on Saturday, would they have won the game up against Michigan? If they would had Kyle McCourt who lost to Michigan last year, would they have won? If they would have had Cam Ward, who I suggested when the transfer portal opened last year that, you know, would they have won? And I think if they had Cam Ward, they would have won the game. Cam Ward was going to put up more than the 10 lousy points that Ohio State put on the scoreboard.

And you know what? Even though last year and I think that this is going to be ironic because I said after that game up against Notre Dame still, which is more of the irony now with the conversation that even though Ohio State won, I saw enough in that game to tell me that McCourt was not going to be able to make the big throw up against Michigan. And then we know with the game on the line when they backed their way into that game and there was a chance that they go march down the field, he found Rod Moore and he got intercepted. But Kyle McCord, if he was the quarterback on Saturday with the redemption, with the redemption and revenge spot up against Michigan, I'm thinking he scored more than 10 points. And I know that Fran Brown and Jeff Nixon and also, you know, that whole coaching staff at Syracuse has done a good job with Kyle McCord and he's the leading passer in college football this year, most passing yards. But I do think that Kyle McCord would have defeated Michigan if he was still their quarterback. Will Howard, he was, I guess he could say demoted at Kansas State because they chose Avery Johnson over him.

That's why he ended up leaving. And he goes to Ohio State and he's had some moments, right? He beat Penn State, had a good game, you know, played well up against Indiana, even though that was more defense and special teams, in my opinion.

But in the biggest game of the season, he was an absolute zero. He was an absolute dud up against Michigan. And I know you could blame Kelly. I know you could blame Ryan Day. That's where it starts. But Will Howard was just not ready for the rivalry.

He wasn't. They celebrate a little too prematurely up against Indiana and it's like, oh yeah, we can just gloss over Michigan this year. We're definitely going to beat them. I know we lost in the last three years, but it doesn't matter. We're just going to beat them. We're a much better football team.

And then you get, and then you lost. But then also, Kyle McCord last year, Ohio State was able to put up 24 points in the big house. Ohio State at home this year at their house was only able to put up 10. So I do think that if Kyle McCord was the quarterback of Ohio State this past weekend, if they were able to get Cam Ward, I don't know why they cheaped out the quarterback position. Yeah, they would have beat Michigan. Ward and McCord would have found the way, but geez, Will Howard, that was embarrassing. It really was.

They lost to that team when Davis Warren had 60 something passing yards and two interceptions. I still can't believe that. It's glorious.

It's spectacular. I'm happy. You know, I'm thrilled that I didn't wear a Michigan top today, but I'm wearing my Michigan sweat pants. I'm a very happy that Michigan beat the Ohio State, but now to see what the revenge is going to be when they didn't deal well with the revenge up against Michigan.

But now can you go get a little redemption story here? When you look at the college football playoff, I'm curious what that team's going to look like in their first half, their first quarter of whoever they do play in the college football playoff. And I know you have some time that will elapse, but man, a loss like that could really mentally drain some guys on that team. And the only way that you could turn that negative into a positive this year is if you go win four games, you got to go win the open around game, the second round game, the semifinal game, and then the national championship game. If you don't do that, it's a disappointment. And then there's disappointments.

And then there's extreme disappointments. It was championship or bust. Don't get me wrong for Ohio State this year, but you thought you would at least bare minimum beat Michigan. So even if you didn't beat Michigan or you beat Michigan and you lost, let's say in the championship game, you could say, Oh, we beat Michigan. We took a step in the right direction this year. If you don't win the championship now and you don't, and you didn't beat Michigan, how can you spend this at all in a positive for the Ohio State?

The answer you can't. Alrighty, Zach Gelb show infinity Sports Network will do overreaction proper reaction next. Another NFL week is complete, which means it's another week to freak out about your favorite team, which kids are truly crazy, but sometimes the game can be so bad.

It's almost good. You know what I'm saying? And what you're so crazy.

They might be right. He's 6'5. He's 245 pounds. He's probably a Popeye's biscuit away from being a tight end. Zach, let you know in this week's edition of overreaction or proper reaction overreaction proper reaction time. Stu, what do we got cooking today?

As I sit in my nice, big comfy chair. That's right. She called this segment, maybe proper reaction or chef. Oh, well, that was me. That was me.

You know what? I apologize. I was wrong for that one. I shouldn't have said that.

We'll continue. So after his, I'm talking after his dirty hit on Trevor Lawrence, Texans linebacker as you saw, Shahir issued a candid heartfelt apology on Twitter. However, the NFL wasn't moved and today handed down a three game suspension for his hit overreaction or proper reaction. A three game suspension is too harsh for that hit. So once again, I talked about this yesterday, how I anticipated there would be a multi game suspension.

We'll get to some of Nick Casario's comments about it later on in the program. I was at the Pats game and I usually don't like to go to games when you have a full slate of Sunday games. I've been to a lot of Thursday night games, a lot of Monday night games, a lot of Sunday night games.

Like if there is an isolated spot, I go there. But when you do a national show, I think it's important to watch those games live as they're happening. So I'm at the game and you hear someone go, Oh, Trevor Lawrence is hurt. Max coming in. You got Mac is back. And I go, Oh, Trevor Lawrence got hurt.

That's unfortunate. And I didn't think much of it because the person next to me with the a thick Bostonian accent when he said Mac, um, I just didn't think much of it because if your first reaction was, Oh, Mac Jones is going to be the quarterback. All right, Trevor Lawrence got banged up and maybe they're just being precautionary because Jaguars are going nowhere. And then I looked at the head and I'm like, Oh wow, everyone's freaking out about this hit. The hit was bad, but I didn't think it was as outrageous as I thought it was going to be judging by the 30 minutes of commentary that I was seeing basically on Twitter before actually seeing the hit when I was in the stadium. And I thought that it's a bang bang play. The forum lean is not a good look and that does make it dirty, but it's a high collision game.

Trevor Lawrence is sliding and it's a bang bang play. Now I'm not saying that it was clean. I thought he was going to get a multi-game suspension. I thought probably two, three, I think is a little bit too much. I do. So I'm going to go a slight overreaction or no, you say at three games such as two hours for that hit.

I'm going to go proper reaction on that slight proper reaction right there. All right. Well, the bears, they fired head coach, Maddie Berfluse, one of the worst end game clock mismanagement tobaccos that we've seen. However, questions still linger about the future of GM Ryan polls. And yesterday the team president Kevin Warren made poll status quite clear. Next item I want to make sure we're clear about is Ryan polls is the general manager of the Chicago bears and he will remain the general manager of the Chicago bears. And as our general manager, Ryan will serve as the point person for our upcoming search for permanent head football coach.

So overreaction or proper reaction. It's the right move for the bears to keep polls around to hire the next head coach. What did you think of the Bears roster before the season started still? Pretty decent, right? Yeah.

What do you think of Maddie Berfluse before the season started? Pretty bad. Yeah. I think I usually don't like when they get rid of a coach and don't get rid of the general manager. Even though we overrated this roster, I think it's more of a product of having the wrong coach in there.

So I'm okay. Even though they're going to take a little bit of the power away, it seems like from, uh, from Ryan polls, I'm okay with them keeping polls. But if there's a head coach, it would not surprise me to put it this way. Whoever would head coach they bring in.

If eventually there's a power struggle between that coach and general manager, they win gains. But then the coach says, you need to get rid of Ryan polls. Wouldn't surprise me if next year is Ryan polls last year, but I don't think that it's wrong to keep Ryan polls as the GM. So overreaction, prop reactions, right move for the Bears to keep polls around to hire their next head coach. Even though I really think, regardless of what Kevin Warren says, it's going to be Kevin Warren's decision. I'm going to say proper reaction right there. I'm okay with polls.

Get it aside. The next head coach would be a part of that ownership decision or that committee decision. Jerry Judy was a highly touted prospect coming into the 2020 draft after a stellar career at Alabama, but the former 15th overall pick flamed out after three miserable seasons in Denver. However, Judy has seen a resurgence with the Browns and got some revenge on his former team last night scoring nine catches for 235 yards and a touchdown. Now on the season, Judy has 54 catches for 880 yards overreaction or proper reaction. Jerry Judy can still develop into a legit number one receiver. I think that's an overreaction.

I said this for a while. Jerry Judy will give you moments where he's looking like a number one wide receiver. He has the ego and he thinks he's a number one wide receiver, but there's too many moments where he looks like he's more of a number two wide receiver.

He's an in between her. How I talked about Juju Smith Schuster when he was with the Steelers. There's some years he looks like a one, but in more years you look like a two. He's a one and a half, so I don't believe that he's going to consistently be a number one in this league. I do believe he's more number two, so I do think it's an overreaction when you say Jerry Judy can still develop into a legit number one wide receiver. Now speaking of the Broncos, many wrote them off after an ugly 0-2 start.

Me. Me too, but they improved to a surprising 8-5 after another strong performance from rookie quarterback Bo Nix. Now over in the NFC, rookie Jay Daniels has the commanders at 8-5 while Sam Darnold's Vikings are tended to despite losing their own rookie quarterback in JJ McCarthy for the season. So overreaction or proper reaction, the Broncos are the most surprising team in the NFL this year. They are surprising and I think the way you want me to answer this question is surprising in a good way.

There could also be surprising in a bad way. The commanders are surprising, but I did talk about before the season it wouldn't shock me if the commanders made the playoffs. I never thought the Broncos were going to make the playoffs, but the 49ers in all likelihood going to miss the playoffs, surprising. It's more surprising the Broncos making the playoffs. The Cincinnati Bengals, hello, 4-8. If you told me they were 4-9, I would say, okay, did Joe Burrow tear his ACL?

That would be my thought. Joe Burrow is playing MVP ball, leads the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns, and they're 4-8. So to me, those two teams, the Bengals and the 49ers, it's more surprising than the Broncos, just not surprising in a good way. It's surprising in a bad way for those teams.

So the Broncos are the most surprising team in the NFL, close, but I will go a slight Shep reaction, I mean overreaction as we continue. After the Lions went on Thanksgiving, Jamir Gibbs accidentally posted an image on social media showing many of the Lions play calls and offensive verbiage. While Dan Campbell was first asked about it, he seemed upset. Gibbs, he had a social media post where, you know, there was a bunch of plays or partial calls on the whiteboard behind him.

Who was that? I believe Gibbs posted a photo of Jefferson. Oh, I didn't know that. Okay. Yeah, I need to check on that then.

I did not know that. Yeah, I'd rather our stuff not be out there. So after thinking it over a bit, Campbell changed his tune while speaking with 97.1, the ticket in Detroit. I know what it is, but I'm like, you know what, I'm not, we might as well just put everything out there. I don't really give a crap. I mean, if we're going to lose because of code words, then we're not good enough anyway. So I think we'll just post the whole freaking playbook out there and every code word we've got and it's it doesn't matter. It's not going to hurt us.

It won't affect us. It's all good. All right. So overreaction to proper reaction.

The Lions should punish Gibbs for leaking internal information. I'll answer your question, but I'm asking you a question first. Okay. And proper reaction. That second cut that you played for me, Dan Campbell is still not happy. Yeah, it seems a little ticked off still because when you played the first cut and I saw the first cut before I had not heard the second cut until you just played it.

The first cut I go, okay. He clearly wasn't thrilled, but also he didn't, he genuinely did not know. So in the moment when I saw there was two cuts being played, I go, I thought there'd be some retraction kind of, or not even that retraction, but you say, Oh, I was kind of caught in the moment. Didn't really know what was happening. So I was more confused than annoyed.

The second one, he tried to play it off that everything's fine and it's no big deal, but he's still not happy with that. So should Gibbs be punished for leaking internal information punish in terms of sitting him down? Is that what you're saying? Uh, no. You know, you want to find him internally, you know, maybe make him run after practice. I don't even know if they still do that.

Do some up, down some burpees. Okay. But an actual punishment where you take them off the field, that would be an overreaction. Just be smart next time. Don't be stupid. Uh, when you're on social media already, Zach Yelp show infinity sports network, a little overreaction, proper reaction. When we come on back, there are three candidates for offensive rookie of the year.

Who should win the award? We'll get to that on the other side. And also is the Sean Watson dunzo in Cleveland. I got an opinion. I'll give you my answer on that when we return.

But first up, latest update. Here he is. The act man, rich Ackerman. This portion of the show is brought to you by Wesley financial stuck in a timeshare.

I'm on out contact with the financial group now and get a free timeshare exit information kit at Wesley financial group.com 8 5 5 2 1 2 42 27 8 5 5 2 1 2 42 27. Let's go to Mike in Las Vegas. Next up on the Zach Gelb show. Mikey what's happening? Thank you for coming back. Yeah, Mike, go ahead.

Hey, how you doing, bud? Um, I just wanted to tell you like the Raiders, we're all in for shadow or Sanders. I really like him.

I think he's been improving, improving, just playing great ball. So that's who we want. Or that's who I want anyways.

Um, I'm scared that we're going to win a game or two coming up though. Um, O'Connell's playing good and I don't feel you give him a fair shake. Zach, you know, you gave Matt Jones three years in, in, in, um, New England and he is awful. Matt Jones didn't make the playoffs one year. I wait, but I wasn't this huge Mac Jones fan. I, I thought Mac Jones in year one was okay.

Then in year two and year three, he didn't play well. Um, O'Connell, I know you weren't, but I feel like you're still giving him a better shake. Please go back and look at O'Connell's college stats.

We're off the charts. He owns the single season completion percentage at produce 71.8 and they've had some good quarterback Zach and um, he, I just, he's only played 13 starts and I just, I just, I really want to do her. I want to make that clear, but I don't think you're giving O'Connell a fair shake. Well, let me just ask you that this is my stance on Aiden O'Connell. Do you think he could be a franchise quarterback? I think he's very good and I don't think he's, I don't think you can put, um, I don't think you decide yet. He's only had 13 starts, but he's, he's got a great arm.

Okay, so Mike, did you do this for me? Envision a world with whatever you think the apex is for Aiden O'Connell. Aiden O'Connell from a number perspective could be a what quarterback in this league?

Top five, top 10, top 15. I think he could be a top 10 quarterback and take, take a team to a Superbowl surrounding a Superbowl. Well, did you ever hear of a guy named Neil O'Donnell? Very similar stats and very similar height and arm and arm talent. And he took the Steelers to the Superbowl and should have won.

So yes, I believe in him. My question for you today though, is do you think the Jags could trade Lawrence and actually take one of the top two quarterbacks? No, no one. Here's why.

Because the dead cap would be astronomical and they just paid him all that money. Appreciate the phone call, Mike. Oh boy. So if you want to tell me that Aiden O'Connell could be an okay quarterback.

All right, fine. If you think he could be a top 10 quarterback, let's look at the guys that are in the NFL right now. Hey Stu, yes or no? Could it be better than Josh Allen? No.

Could it be better than Tuatunga Vailoa? No. Can he be better than Patrick Holmes? No.

Can he be better than Justin Herbert? No. Can he be better than Lamar Jackson? No. Can he be better than Joe Burrow? No. Can he be better than CJ Stroud? No.

Okay. Can he be better than Jalen Hurts? No. Can he be better than Jayden Daniels? No. Can he be better?

Well, Stafford's a little bit up there in age. Brock Purdy? No. How about Jared Goff? No. How about Jordan Love? No.

How about Caleb Williams if he puts it together? No. All right. That's like, that was at least 12 to 13 right there. Yeah, that's close to 20 guys. Yeah.

If you wanted to tell me maybe top 15, I still don't think so, but be my guest. But that's what you just had for all those years. So this is the thing. It's not that I give Adrian O'Connell an unfair shake. I just don't understand what the Raiders are doing right now.

So if he's their starting quarterback next year, it's not because they believe in him. It's because they won too many games on the stretch and they couldn't get your Doris Sanders or Cam Ward. If you want to tell me you don't get your Doris Sanders or Cam Ward, all righty. And Adrian O'Connell is your starting quarterback next year, be my guest.

But here's what I would counter. Is it me not giving them a fair shake? Or is it the Raiders not even give him a fair shake? They went to Gardner Minshew to start out the season instead of Adrian O'Connell. They thought Gardner Minshew, who is not a top 15 quarterback, is not a top 20 quarterback in this league, was better than Adrian O'Connell. So just because I'm a Patriot fan and Mac Jones was my quarterback for three years doesn't mean that I thought Mac was the franchise guy. Now, I did not like what happened with Mac Jones in New England.

I thought Belichick, it felt like he was trying to sabotage him at times, but Mac did not play well. And I'll say this after seeing a few games with Drake May, Drake May is easily going to be better than Adrian O'Connell. So I just don't understand. There was a lot of, oh, you said this, you said that a lot of you're giving him an unfair shake.

Really? Me? I haven't, I couldn't say I've been unfair to Adrian O'Connell.

I can't say I've been fair. I really haven't talked about Adrian O'Connell a lot because the facts are he's kind of been a nothing burger. You know, I had Max Crosby on the show. Max Crosby said we believe in him. He could be, he could be a franchise quarterback.

Okay. So at least we gave you that. And I said this off season that the Raiders should start Adrian O'Connell over Gardner Minshew. And he played well up against the Chiefs, give him credit.

But what are you getting at long term? The goal for the Raiders is to get a franchise quarterback when you're in a division right now where you have Mahomes, Herbert, and Bo Nix is looking like a pro. You need to get a franchise quarterback. The chances of Adrian O'Connell becoming a franchise quarterback are just not that good. If we're being honest, they're not that good. It's not me being too harsh, but the Raiders even want to give him a chance before the season started. So I was not anticipating that phone call to go there. And I always love when someone else who wasn't great goes on to have success somewhere.

That's always the premise to try to hype up someone that isn't that good. Yeah. Well, Trent don't forgot to a Superbowl.

All right. Is Adrian O'Connell going to be Trent over? Probably not. So sometimes it takes time. I just don't think the Raiders have time right now. You have a coach who's already on the hot seat and you got a GM who's not all that popular to begin with. They got to go get a quarterback because now it's been two full years since Derek Carr's left who was not great and they still have not found their long term replacement. By the way, Stu, we're doing a lot of Raiders today. I think for most of the year it's been a two man race for rookie of the year offense or get here for most of the four. Well, let me say this way. For the first half of the season, it was Jaden Daniels in Daniels in Daniels. Then the command has lost a few games where they bounce back last weekend and Bo Nix has seared himself into the conversation up until last week.

I did not hear a single soul that at least I follow. Say Brock Bowers. Brock Bowers leads the NFL right now in receptions and has 884 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns. He is the fourth most receiving yards in the league. I don't think Brock Bowers is going to win the awards, Stu.

I still believe it's going to be Jaden Daniels and I'm fine with that. But you look at Jaden Daniels compared to the rest of the quarterbacks in the league, 12th in passing yards, commendable 13th in passing touchdowns, Bo Nix 11th in passing yards, tied for 10th in passing touchdowns. And then you look at Brock Bowers first in receptions, fourth in receiving yards.

And you know, yet by the way, sorry, Mike in Las Vegas, he's not playing with good quarterbacks and Gardner Minshew and Aiden O'Connell. So who should win the offensive rookie of the year award? It should be Brock Bowers. I don't think your team has to be a winner in order to do that, but who will win it when you factor in the quarterbacks getting the edge in these awards and then also the commanders and the Broncos are going to the playoffs, both in all likelihood. I still think Jaden Daniels is going to win offensive rookie of the year though. I agree. I think Daniel should win it too. I just think that it's easier said than done, but the fact that he's a quarterback on a team that's probably gonna make the playoffs and has had such an impact in that regard, I think you have to credit him a little bit for that.

Yeah. Bowers stats are great. And if he had a quarterback, they'd probably be even better, but they're kind of empty at the same time where it's just stats and not a winning team. And we know how great Bowers was at Georgia. He's one of the greatest tight ends of all time in college football. But then we saw him at the Super Bowl. I'm like, who is that guy? He looks familiar. And he looked at the Super Bowl. I'm looking, I'm like, this guy just doesn't look like without pads that he's an NFL player. And man, has he been an NFL player and then some this year.

And it's been really impressive. 855-212-4227. Let's go to Nate in Iowa. Next up on the show. Nate, go ahead. Hey Zach, how you doing?

Thanks for having me on today. I want to just kind of follow up with the, the follow the previous caller's conversation on Aidan O'Connell. Everyone's bringing up, you know, these guys, you know, like Shadoor Sanders, Cam Ward, you know, next year's draft class really doesn't look that great. You know, what about, you know, and I, you know, being a Vikings fan, what about Sam Darnold going out there? The guy's going to get a massive contract, you know, and you, you think about the quarterbacks that have kind of resurrected their careers out of that Sean McVay, you know, camper, that offensive system. If you were the Raiders and you went after Sam Darnold or, you know, better. Yeah.

Why not even the Rams, you know, cause Dapper's not getting any younger. Yeah. The only way that Sam's going to get money. Yeah. No doubt about it. But looking at the quarterback class from the end of the upcoming NFL draft, you've got these, I guess you could say reclamation projects all up, you know, I know hearing that right now, but Zach Wilson, Zach Wilson's another one, Trey Lance, all these guys that I'm up against it.

So I got to let you run. I'll answer your question. Sam Darnold. He didn't play with the Rams. He's with the 49ers, but I get the point with the McVay and all those guys close to McVay. Sam Darnold is, has been good this year.

I just think it helps him. Kevin O'Connell is your coach. You have Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison.

I know TJ Hopkins and just got back and you got Aaron Jones. So if you put Sam Darnold in the Raiders, I don't think Sam Darnold is going to be that successful. Now if Stafford retires after this year, then the Rams should presume cause you got Pukanuku and you got Cooper cup. So for Sam, it's important who the coaches and how much talent they have. But with all that being said, I've been saying this now for two months, it's gotta be.

And I say it at least five times every week. There's only two quarterbacks. I feel really confident about this year in taking early in this draft and it should Doris Sanders and Cam Ward. If you don't get those two guys, yes, Sam Darnold is going to be an option, but it depends where he's going. Cause we saw Sam Darnold on the jets.

He stunk. Sam Darnold goes to Minnesota uptown around him and he could be good. So Sam goes to the Raiders. Not all that confident. Sam somehow was able to go to the Rams. Stafford retires. Yeah, I think Sam Darnold could tell you to be well.