AFC West Showdown (Hour 1)

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Home loan solutions that fit your life? Well, Rocket can. And producing this extravaganza for the next four hours is Elijah Stewart. Alrighty, I gotta start with week two of the NFL. It kicks off tonight. It's actually refreshing that we don't have to talk about the games anymore from last week. And I know Monday turned it into a totally different feel. Because Tuesday and Wednesday was just spent bashing Russell Wilson. Bashing Nathaniel Hackett.

And I think I've got all that out of my system by now. Where I'm ready for week two in the NFL. And week two in the NFL kicks off with a massive game, if you could find it, on Amazon Prime.

Now, luckily thanks to our boss Spike Eskin, he's on top of things. He got the Amazon Prime account, so we will have it in our studio tonight. So when the game gets to kick off at 8.20 PM Eastern, I can actually watch the game. Which is a great concept when you're hosting a national radio show coast to coast. But this game is enormous tonight.

And usually you would say, oh Zach, you're being a cheesy radio guy. Oh, it's an enormous game, week two in the NFL. Every single game that is played this year inside the AFC West, that just regards any AFC West team, is massive. Because this division could be the greatest division. And the greatest collection of four teams inside one division that we've ever seen.

Now it doesn't mean that everything is going to go smooth sailing. And that all four of these teams are going to be great. And I told you numerous times this offseason, I have the Chargers winning the AFC West. The Chiefs coming in second, making the playoffs, Raiders coming in third, making the playoffs. And I had the Broncos finishing fourth with a respectable record of nine and eight.

Maybe they get ten wins, go ten and seven, but be on the outside looking in. And after one week of football, and let me just emphasize that once again. One week of football where yes, we overreact. Yes, we properly react. Yes, we freak out.

Yes, we give you logical takes. But after one week, we have seen a separation inside the AFC West. Where the Broncos are not ready for the big stage. Fumbling the football with Javonte Williams. Fumbling the football with Melvin Gordon.

Russell Wilson not overruling his head football coach in Nathaniel Hackett. And it shows you that it's going to take time in Denver. And that's why Tony Dungy joined us in studio this year. You had James Palmer from the NFL Network who covers the Broncos.

They both said something that resonated with me and agree with me. That the Broncos will be good, but I still think they're a year away. And if they're going to want to be a playoff team, they're going to have to quickly rebound off the disaster. That was Monday night up against an inferior football team in the Seattle Seahawks. But you've seen with the Broncos and then you saw with the Raiders last week up against the Chargers where the Raiders offense was sloppy. Derek Carr threw three interceptions. He was a statue. His offensive line stunk. Hunter Renfro I thought was going to have a monster season still do.

They got to get him involved more. It was pretty much just Davonte Adams, Davonte Adams, Davonte Adams. But still, in some bizarre way, Raiders and Chargers games, whenever they go up against one another, it always comes down still to one final drive or one final possession. But I was disappointed with what I saw from the Raiders up against the Chargers because the Chargers came out swinging and they allowed you to get back in the game. And when you allow a team like the Chargers did to just linger and linger and linger and linger, I need to see that killer instinct from the Raiders to go punch and knock out the Los Angeles Chargers. But the Chargers did win.

The Chargers now will not have Keenan Allen tonight. But you look at that offense. It is a masterful offense. Herbert's a stud.

Eckler's a stud. That offensive line is really good and they invested in it the last two years, drafting Rashawn Slater two years ago, drafting Zion Johnson this past year out of Boston College. And defensively, Brandon Staley last year had a defense and he's a defensive minded coach and the defense wasn't good. Now, a lot of that, he was not able to get his fingerprints on that defense. Now he had a full off season. He worked side by side with the general manager and Tom Telesco and they brought in massive upgrades, whether it was acquiring Khalil Mack. We'll probably see the debut of J.C. Jackson tonight in a Chargers uniform if you follow his social media.

He's kind of chirping that he's going to play tonight. You know, you have Derwin James. So you got the contract done with Joey Bosa as well. Now, I'm a believer of the Chargers, but I do think there's a lot of people out there that even though people were questioning Kansas City and Kansas City week one showed you, you think we're going to take a step back because a Tyreek Hill's no longer here? Yeah, bleep you, we still have one of the best quarterbacks in the sports in Patrick Mahomes, who is a human eraser.

And any time there's a problem, he just erases that problem nine times out of 10 and he put up five touchdowns against a Cardinals team. That isn't great, but they made the playoffs last year. They're a good team and they made that look like the varsity up against the JV.

It was never a contest. So you have a Chargers team now that you could see after one week that there is a separation in the AFC West where, yeah, the Chiefs and the Chargers are the two best teams. Raiders have some work to do on the offensive line and on the defensive side of the ball.

The Broncos have to get everything to gel together, bring in a new coach, bring in a new quarterback. But for the Chargers, this is a massive opportunity tonight with it only being week two to send the big time statement. Because even though it was an encouraging victory and a wonderful victory last week up against the Raiders, it's still a win.

And that's important, especially in this division. So if you're the Chargers and you could start off this season 2-0 and those two wins come up against two AFC West teams, you put yourself in a very nice and advantageous position early on. And also, you send a message to the rest of the NFL and inside that division, this isn't the same old Chargers. This isn't when Phillip Rivers was here or the last two years even with what Justin Herbert has done when there's expectations and we fall short. This needs to be a new team.

This needs to be a new identity. And this needs to be a new version of the Los Angeles Chargers. And it really starts tonight.

Because tonight, you're going into Arrowhead. You're going up against a Chiefs team that was dominant last week with Patrick Mahomes. The defense.

Let's give credit to Steve Spagnola. Because that defense in Kansas City last year was not good. And we've seen ever since winning that Super Bowl, the defense take a step back in Kansas City and then take another big step back last year as well. And I remember that year where Spags won that Super Bowl with Kansas City. It was actually and he came on the show after they won the Super Bowl. And he said he thought the turning point in that Super Bowl season for the defense was actually the night that Mahomes got hurt.

And I think he missed like two or three games or whatever it was. And the defense made big plays and they capitalize off that momentum and knew they had to pick up their game because their quarterback was out for a few weeks. And you saw that defense mold into championship form where they were never a great defense.

But in the NFL, you need to make a timely stop. And that Kansas City defense was able to make timely stops in that Super Bowl winning season. The last two years, we have not seen a good Kansas City Chiefs defense.

And in week one, and it's only week one, they made Kyler Murray, who is not a below average quarterback, look like a below average quarterback. So when I look at this game tonight, it's a big time statement game, even though it's only week two, not only for the Chargers, but also for Kansas City. And maybe I don't use the word statement for Kansas City. Maybe I use a reminder for Kansas City where Kansas City could remind a lot of people in the offseason where some, like Lorenzo Neal, who was on this very fine radio program, was predicting that the Kansas City Chiefs were going to take a massive step back. Or maybe the Kansas City Chiefs will remind the talk show host, yours truly, Zach Gelb, shame on you early on for picking the Chargers to win the AFC West. This is a reminder game for Kansas City tonight to remind the rest of the league, just like they did last week, how good they are.

So that's why I'm fascinated by this. And also, let's be real, you know what sells in this league? Offense, points, flashy style of football, and big time quarterbacks. We got two top ten quarterbacks tonight. We know Patrick Mahomes is in the top three, and Justin Herbert is in the top seven.

Some people think after this year, he'll be in the top five. And think about that matchup that we have for probably the next decade, assuming these guys are able to stay healthy, that you will see at least twice a year, Patrick Mahomes go up against Justin Herbert. Now, I'm not usually this type of talk show host that compares quarterbacks and says, oh, this is the next Brady, this is the next Manning.

Because a lot of times when you say, oh, that matchup, that rivalry is going to be the case for the next decade, people are usually wrong. And people have been in search of that ever since the Manning-Brady rivalry did go away. And another reason why that's a sensitive point for me, where I don't like to usually make comparisons to that, is because those two guys are two of the top five greatest quarterbacks to ever do so. Brady number one, and Peyton Manning easily a top five quarterback of all time. To see those two guys go up against one another, it's going to be tough, maybe ever again in my lifetime, to see two top five quarterbacks in the history of the game go up against one another for a decade and meet up in more than a few postseason games. But this case, and I know when Brady's first year as a starter, we took over Mo Lewis, the Pats and the Colts were in the same division, and that did change, but in this case, you have Mahomes who people do believe will become an all-time great quarterback. And Ryan Harris, who played with Peyton Manning, was on the DA show, and he said that Justin Herbert's the most talented quarterback that he's ever seen.

And that was a dude, even though it's a little bit of a laughable statement, and we love Ryan, but that was a dude that played with Peyton Manning. So this has potential to be a rivalry for ten years, where maybe, and you still have to accomplish it on the field, that we're seeing two of the top ten quarterbacks of all time, and you could say that a little bit more confidently with Mahomes and Herbert. Herbert's still got to make a postseason. But you could see these guys go up against one another for the next decade, and that's great for the game. And you look at that whole landscape of the AFC, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert. Like, think about the potential for some of these rivalries and some of these high-stake games that we've already seen or will continue to see into the future. So this really kicks off what, and I don't know how it gets better than this on Thursday night. You know, other than that, this week, like, Monday night I'm intrigued by Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings. Both those two teams are intriguing to me. But this is going to be the best game of the Week 2 slate, and it means the most. And for the Los Angeles Chargers, it's a time to send the statement, we're legit this year, we're 2-0, and we're winning this division, we're going to make the playoffs, we're going to kick your ass this year. And for Kansas City, it's a way to remind everyone, for the first time in the last two years, Kansas City has a little motivation. Kansas City has a little chip on their shoulder. Because after they won that first Super Bowl, everyone was saying, dynasty, dynasty, dynasty. They lose in the Super Bowl. Then they get shut out in the second half of an AFC title game, where Mahomes just got absolutely destroyed by that Bengals defense. So on one side, it's a statement game for the Chargers. And on the other side for Kansas City, it's just a way that you could wave and maybe flip off the rest of the NFL by saying, we're not dead yet, we're not going anywhere. But it's clear so far to me, Chargers and Chiefs are the two best teams in this division.

Two of the better teams in the AFC, Buffalo in that conversation clearly as well. And tonight, there's a lot on the line just for a Week 2 game. And I can't wait to see how it's going to play on out. Like usually I have a feel on how these games are going to go. If you call me up at 855-212-4CBS, 855-212-4227 and tell me, Chargers are going to win tonight, I can't tell you you're wrong.

You call me up and you tell me the Chiefs are going to win tonight, I can't tell you you're wrong. I think there's going to be a lot of points, there's going to be a lot of great quarterback play tonight. But ultimately, which defense is going to step up? Is Spags' defense going to be able to make a timely stop like they did three years ago? And will all these offseason moves that the Chargers made this year on the defensive side of the ball pay off? That's what I can't wait to see. When we return, it's only Week 1.

But I have a thought on the MVP conversation on a potential non-quarterback winning the award this year. We'll tell you who that is on the other side. Back to you on CBS Sports Radio, off and running on a very busy Thursday. All sponsored by AutoZone. Free battery testing, free battery charging, and replacement batteries that fit your needs.

That is what makes AutoZone America's number one battery destination. Get in the zone, AutoZone. We all know what Justin Jefferson did to the Green Bay Packers last week. He had nine receptions, 184 yards, and not only one, but two receiving touchdowns.

He was dominant. He was the best receiver in the NFL, that's no disrespect. Right now to Devontae Adams, that's no disrespect.

To Cooper Cupp, who just won the Triple Crown last year. That is how highly I think of Justin Jefferson. And the scary part is, he's only going to get better. This is a dude that in year one, 88 receptions, 1,400 yards, and seven touchdowns. And that was his rookie year where he told everyone, yeah, those four teams that took receivers in front of me, they're going to pay.

When he said that on this show. Then last year, had 108 receptions, 1,616 yards, and 10 receiving touchdowns. Let me add, with the head football coach that was antiquated when it came to the offensive side of the ball, because he was telling you he's defense, defense, defense, his defense stunk. And we knew that the quarterback and the head coach last year were feuding all throughout the season. To kick off this season, we told you what he did on the field. And then after the game, the Packers are going up to him and just giving him words and words and words of extolment. Aaron Rodgers, the reigning back to back MVP award winner, he told Justin Jefferson that you were the best player on the field.

So I'm going to try to get ahead of the curve here. I know that no NFL wide receiver has ever won the MVP award. I know it's only week one. But there's no doubt in my mind, here's the hot take of the year, that Justin Jefferson is going to have a mega monster season. We haven't seen a non-quarterback win the MVP award since 2012.

I want to start the campaign today for Justin Jefferson winning the NFL MVP. And last year, we saw two non-quarterbacks have a shot in the conversation. Jonathan Taylor was magnificent with the Colts, didn't win the award, and Cooper Cupp won the Triple Crown.

I'm not a dummy. I get that this is usually nine times out of ten, a quarterback driven award. But if Justin Jefferson goes on to have the season that I think he could have, he will be the biggest reason why the Minnesota Vikings will make the playoffs this year.

And I think the Minnesota Vikings, I said this all offseason, are going to make the playoffs this year. So I want to start the Justin Jefferson for NFL MVP campaign right here on CBS Sports Radio. And I think it'd be wonderful if we finally have a non-quarterback win the award for the first time in a decade. If you're a Bills fan, you're probably saying, bleep this guy right now, we want Josh Allen. If you're a Chargers fan, you're probably saying the same thing, ah no, Justin Herbert. But I think it would be cool if we see a non-quarterback win the award. And this year, if I'm going to put all my eggs in one basket on one non-quarterback to win the award, how can I trust Justin Jefferson the most? You know, I think running backs, I don't believe the Titans are going to be that good. Jonathan Taylor just had a career year last year, didn't win the award. Wide receivers, the Rams just won a Super Bowl, so it's going to be then tough for this year. And I think the Rams, they're not going to take a massive step back at all.

I still think they're going to be a great team. But if Cooper Cup didn't win the MVP, and I know they won the Super Bowl MVP, but they didn't win the MVP last year, I don't think he's going to win it this year. So I'm going through the potential non-quarterbacks that have a chance, could have a seat at the table for this award. And the guy that I keep on going back to is Justin Jefferson. Listen up, this is via NFL Films.

This was a few members of the Green Bay Packers, led by Aaron Rodgers and Matt Lafleur, complimenting Justin Jefferson after the game when they were exchanging handshakes. You didn't have to do it like that. Hey, you know how to do it.

You're keeping the show. Appreciate you, man. You too, brother. What's up, man? What's good, Coach? How you been, buddy? I'm doing good. I'm where it's at today, man. I got to keep going. Best player on the field today. Appreciate you.

Appreciate you riding. How about that, Elijah? That is Aaron Rodgers, who you know he could not be happy with the way that game played out because Justin Jefferson essentially ended the game early on. Then you had Christian Watson dropping the football. And there was Aaron Rodgers, who's won the last two NFL MVPs.

NFL royalty is going to the Hall of Fame. He didn't have to go out of his way to say that to Justin Jefferson. And he did, and he said you were the best player on the field.

That's telling. Well, I think Aaron saw that play and said, wow, elite receiver play. Must be nice. Can we get Devante back?

Yeah, I remember this kind of play. Maybe I should have only taken $42 million a year. Right. Instead of $50 million a year when Aaron tried to dispute that. Oh, no, I'm not taking it.

I'm not taking $50 million a year. And then the next thing you know, breaking news, Devante Adams traded to the Las Vegas Raiders. How good do you think the Vikings could be this year? Because I think going into this season in the NFC, we said the Packers and no order, just these are the three best teams in the NFC, the Packers, the Bucks and the Rams. We've been searching for that fourth best team in the NFC. I've thrown the Eagles into that conversation. If Trey Lansky had his act together, maybe it's the 49ers.

If the Cardinals could weather the storm until Hopkins comes back, maybe it could be the Arizona Cardinals. But if you just have the Vikings, whose defense was trash the last two years, if they could just have a serviceable defense, I would still think the Packers are going to win the division. But imagine that Vikings team in the playoffs, even though there are trust issues with Kirk Cousins, because the last time we saw him in the playoffs, yes, he's thrown a game-winning touchdown pass one week. The next week, he's finding Richard Sherman, and he gets intercepted, and it cost him the game early on in the second half up against the San Francisco 49ers at the time. But you look at that Vikings team, I don't want to go all crazy and nuts after one game, but you see this Vikings team with Phelan and Cook, with Jefferson, Osborne, Madison, these guys that are on this team, if you could just get a serviceable and competent level of play out of that defense, this Vikings team could be damn good this year.

Absolutely. And I think when you talk about the teams that didn't make the playoffs last season, the Vikings probably have the highest ceiling coming into this season, because when you look at those skill players, when you look at, maybe besides the Chargers, I know the Chargers, I have them win the Super Bowl. But in the NFC, sure. In the NFC, definitely.

So when you look at the skill players, when you look at the ability, the rush to pass, we saw Hunter getting after it, they got a lot of good players. And why not? Why can't they make a run winning a game or two in the postseason? Because who's going to cover Jefferson?

And that's a thing. It wasn't Jerry. Jerry Alexander won the best corners in the league and he had problems.

And that's the big thing. When you look at the play of the Minnesota Vikings, it's similar to the way that we talk about Cooper Cup last year. Cooper Cup, he was unguardable last year. And you saw that in the Super Bowl when the guy won the Super Bowl MVP. So for Justin Jefferson, when you have Rogers that goes up to him and say, hey, you're the best player on the field today. That's a different level of respect when it comes from the mouth of Aaron Rodgers.

And it just shows how great of a player Justin Jefferson is. And I really think, too, I'm not telling you Kevin O'Connell is going to go on to be the next Vince Lombardi. I'm not telling you Kevin O'Connell is going to go on to be the next great NFL head coach. But Kevin O'Connell is someone that in one year could make one of the more bigger impacts to his football team. Because when you had a coach in there in Zimmer who just ran his course, you need a new voice.

And sometimes when you make a move, you usually see NFL teams, when they change their head coach, they hire the complete antithesis of the guy that they just fired. An O'Connell offensive guy, young guy, but also a guy that has a lot of fun. Now, I don't go crazy with these Nickelodeon awards and all that, but they released a video of the Minnesota Vikings of Justin Jefferson, I guess, getting the Nickelodeon MVP.

I don't know all the specifics, sorry, to the Nickelodeon folks on the accolades that Nickelodeon hands out. But Kevin O'Connell, when Justin Jefferson's walking around with the trophy, goes, oh, I'll take the slime, you put the slime on me. And it's just one of those camaraderie-building things that is that going to win you a Super Bowl?

No, but when you're excited to go to work and you wake up with new life to go to work, it does make a difference. And the Vikings are going to be a team this year that they have new life. And you saw that in week one, now for week two, you're going into a tough environment, you're going up against the Philadelphia Eagles, and that's a team. Eagles and Vikings are similar, where they both have a lot of potential. They both could be the fourth best team in the NFC.

There's questions about Jalen Hurts. There's excitement, though, with what the moves the Eagles made this offseason. Their defense is really good. This is a great task for the Vikings this week. Primetime game for Kirk Cousins, a Monday night doubleheader, and you're going up against another damn good football team. Like, we talk about the Chargers tonight, how they could start off their year 2-0, taking care of the Raiders and then also taking care of the Kansas City Chiefs.

If the Vikings start off their year where they already annihilated the Packers and then go into Philadelphia in a tough road environment, primetime game, and win, that's a team that is just going to start to really ascend in the level of respect that they're going to get. There's going to be people, and I get it, that will always say, doubt Kirk Cousins, doubt Kirk Cousins, doubt Kirk Cousins. I'm not sitting here telling you that Kirk Cousins is going to win a Super Bowl.

I don't believe that. But with that dude, Justin Jefferson, the sky's the limit. And there's not a lot of times we look at receivers. There's a lot of great receivers that haven't won a Super Bowl. But that dude's a game changer, and that dude has the potential to be an NFL MVP this year. And we've never seen a wide receiver win the award. The last time a non-quarterback won the award was Adrian Peterson. But he has that potential to be MVP type of good.

That's how great he was on something. What kind of numbers do you feel like he would have to put up to be an MVP? Because we saw what Cupp did last year, and he didn't win it. That's the question I have.

So that's a great question that you bring up. So you're going to have to be in that Triple Crown kind of conversation like Cooper Cupp was last year. So Cooper Cupp last year had 145 receptions, 1,900 receiving yards, and 16 touchdowns.

Be like 130 catches, close to 2,000 yards receiving, and get double-digit touchdowns. It's a possibility. But maybe this is a year where, yes, we're all salivating over Josh Allen. Yes, we're all salivating over Justin Herbert, Patrick Mahomes. Maybe these quarterbacks kind of beat up on one another, where it's like a tiebreaker.

We don't really know how to separate them. And then that maybe is what opens the door for a non-quarterback to win the award this year. Because you look at the quarterbacks, I give you four or five quarterbacks that's like, oh wow, that guy's great, and those guys are going to be on playoff teams. When I look at the receivers, yeah, Cooper Cupp's going to have a great year. Justin Jefferson's going to have a great year, we know that. And then Devontae Adams, on the fence of the rate, is going to make the playoffs. So Jefferson could be just way over the top and clearly out in front the best wide receiver in the sport this year. With the quarterbacks, it could be splitting hairs. Now, if that's the case, it may still go to a quarterback, but I would love to see it go to Jefferson this year if he keeps on doing what he did in week one. And he has one advantage that Cupp didn't have last year, is that he doesn't have Aaron Donald on his team.

There isn't this idea that there's some unbelievable defensive player that changes the game on that side of the ball and therefore lessens the value of Cupp as great as he was. And not only that, still the story last year was Cam Matthews Stafford get the job done. So, you look at Kirk Cousins, the story still will be, can Kirk Cousins get the job done? But no one thinks Kirk Cousins is this great quarterback. So if Jefferson maybe makes his team to go win the division, and then Jefferson puts up these monster numbers, he's going to get all the flowers thrown his way.

This is Zach Gelb's show on CBS Sports Radio 855212 for CBS 855212-4227. If a quarterback is not going to win the MVP this year, who's someone that you would maybe put a few dollars on right now? I'll put a few dollars on Justin Jefferson. When we return, a quarterback who's retired, who maybe could be quarterbacking the Cowboys?

I don't think it's likely, but let's get into the conversation next. He was a game time decision, big news tonight. Chargers and Chiefs at Arrowhead, according to James Palmer from the NFL Network, J.C. Jackson will play tonight, per source.

So we have another big AFC West showdown tonight to kick off week two of the NFL season. We've seen a lot of great quarterbacks recently retire. We saw Phillip Rivers walk away from the game after spending one year in Indianapolis. We saw Drew Brees this past, last year was the first full year without Drew Brees as he went to TV.

And then that wasn't all successful with NBC. So there was still a push though, and a lot of it's because of injuries, but happens all the time, for Drew Brees to make a return. And last year when Jameis Winston got hurt, that played out live on television when he was at NBC.

Are you going to come on back? Phillip Rivers, there was a push to potentially have Phillip Rivers return to the NFL. Especially if you recall, when Carson Wentz got hurt in the offseason, and there was doubts if he was even going to be able to play early on last year when he was a quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts. People thought, okay, maybe Phillip Rivers would come on back. We just saw an injury where, I guess you could say it's a little bit ambiguous on when Dak Prescott's going to come back.

Because at first, the timeline was six to eight weeks. Then Jerry Jones, who always loves to just dump drama onto a situation. Mr. one plus one equals three was saying, yeah we're not even going to put him on IR. And maybe he's back within four weeks. So with that thumb injury that Dak Prescott has, that needs and got surgery, I would be surprised if Dak Prescott is back within four weeks. Now, it's easier said than done to just bring in a quarterback because a quarterback has to run the entire offense. This is not a wide receiver where you go, okay, here's the route tree, here's a few plays, run that way, we'll get the football to you. It's not a running back where they'll give him 10 to 15 plays for the running back when he gets on a new team.

Quarterback, you're in control of the entire offense. And this is the first year without Big Ben Roethlisberger. I'm surprised, and it's just such low hanging fruit. Like the dude's done.

His arm is finished, his arm is cooked. So maybe that's why, but I'm still surprised with how low hanging the fruit is. That there wasn't a big push this week for maybe Big Ben to go join the Dallas Cowboys for a few weeks. I saw it in one sports book, that's where I saw the article.

And that's how the idea just crept into my mind. That there was odds that you could put money down for Big Ben to take a snap for the Dallas Cowboys this year. But it really just shows you what the rest of the NFL world thinks of Big Ben now.

Guy is easily going to be a first ballot Hall of Famer. Great quarterback, two time Super Bowl champion. You know the resume and all the accolades that Big Ben has.

It is though crazy, and I guess it's all because of loyalty that the Rooney family has. That the Rooney family let Big Ben go on a year or two longer than what they should have. And I know that Ben had to make some sacrifices that final year to get back onto the field and return to Pittsburgh.

And now you're going with eventually Kenny Pickett who you drafted in the first round. And Ben, I guess he's doing some podcast because I saw some podcast quote come out last week. And it was, I was reading that it was Big Ben's podcast. But that's a guy that you know didn't want to end his career. When he speaks, even though his arm is shot, I still think if it was up to Ben, he'd be quarterback in the Pittsburgh Steelers this year.

So that's why it's just, it was a little bit surprising to me, EJ, that you didn't hear a little bit more noise. Especially with how low hanging fruit it is, especially with Jerry Jones being the king of leading drama. That there wasn't a little bit more buzz on Big Ben this week maybe to go quarterback to the Cowboys. Now you're a big football historian. I'm a big football historian. I've actually never been told that I'm a football historian. I feel like you are. I feel like when I've listened to you, you talk a lot about the history of the game and stuff like that.

Oh no, I appreciate the compliment. You made that sound so sophisticated. I'm a football historian. I may put that in my Twitter bio. Zach Gelb, professional jackass, professional bloviating jackass. And according to Elijah Stewart, a football historian.

I like that. Zach Gelb, a football historian. I bet you will have callers who say that you are a football historian. But we both appreciate the history of the game. And there is a part of me that wonders when it comes to Ben and Cowboys. Is it a Steelers Cowboys thing? Steelers and Cowboys, that is a massive rivalry that people don't really know or don't remember because all those games were in the 70s. But whenever the Steelers play in Dallas, it's a massive game. A lot of Steelers fans. Yeah, not in the year of 2022 though. But I wonder because of his love with the Rooney's and that relationship with the Rooney's, I wonder if there is some aspect of that's not even gonna be a conversation because it's the Cowboys.

No, because it's a business. Like not, I'm not comparing Steelers Cowboys to Yankees and Red Sox. But we've seen a lot of Yankee fans probably wish this never happened. Jacoby Ellsbury go from the Red Sox to the Yankees. We've seen Johnny Damon go from the Red Sox to the Yankees. Roger Clemons was once a Red Sox. Then, you know, a lot of people remember him as a New York Yankee. So we've seen that in sports.

We've seen people change teams frequently. And I don't think that there'd be any animosity if you're a Steelers fan. That Big Ben, yeah, you like to see one guy, you know, that guy play his entire career in one uniform. But if he was given the opportunity and took it when your football team is going with Mitch Trubisky right now.

And then they're gonna eventually hand the baton over to Kenny Pickett. I don't think there would be any resentment or animosity to Big Ben. I think it just is kind of the reflection of what Big Ben is at this point. No one thinks he can actually play.

No, I agree with. But still, just because you don't think someone could still play does not mean your name doesn't get thrown out there. Like Drew Brees for the last two years was holding the Saints back and it was exposed in the playoffs where he became a turnover machine. People forget because everyone likes to talk about the call that was missed up against the LA Rams. Drew Brees threw a pick in overtime. And then in that playoff game up against the Vikings, like Taysom Hill was making big plays.

Not that I'm a big Taysom Hill guy. And Drew Brees was fumbling the football and throwing a pick to their team. The last playoff game, which was the final game of his career up against the Buccaneers, that was not a clean game by Tampa. But the Saints gave Tampa the game away because they couldn't hang on to the football or Drew Brees was throwing the football to the other team. So I think it's and Drew Brees name got thrown out last year.

Yes, it did. A bunch of times. Now, it also helps when it's inside the same organization you were just playing for where the injury does occur. And if I don't know, let's say that inside Mitch Trubisky and week one Kenny Pickett got hurt. I'm sure that Big Ben's name would pop up. But look, like Andrew Luck's been gone for years now. And everyone still throws up Andrew Luck's name.

Oh, maybe he'll come back. And I know it's for a different circumstance, but everyone still and even Michael Irvin said it needs to stop. People still throw out Colin Kaepernick's name and he hasn't played in what, five years? So just because you haven't played or just because people may not think you're good anymore for whatever the reasons are. With Kaepernick, it's obviously a lot more complex than just simply do you think he could play or not?

But these guys' names get thrown out. I think with Ben, I think when it comes to not being able to play, it goes beyond that. I think there's an aspect of this guy's been beat up.

Yeah. Like when you think about Brees, he's a guy who, you know, that's Saints offense. It's a lightning fast offense. Yeah, but he hit a lot of injuries, Brees.

He did. But, you know, we know the toll that Ben went through. There were those years in Pittsburgh where he's holding the ball long. He's missed a lot of games, you know, throwing guys off of him while he's trying to throw the ball. So we've seen him take a lot of punishment. I think there was an aspect of that guy's taking too much punishment to be back out there in the football.

And you know what it also may be? I don't even know if Ben would. Here's the thing. I think Ben wants to play football.

I do. But if you're telling Ben, Dax, let's be honest, could be out five, six weeks. Is Ben going to want to go play five, six weeks?

And what happens if he has success? Right. You know that you're going to hand the baton back over to Dak Prescott because you just gave him, as the kids would say, the bag. And that was kind of why I thought about the Cowboys steal thing, because to me, I think that there's an aspect of it's not just, oh, OK, Ben's going to play another season because he wants to play.

This is you saving the Cowboys season. Yeah, but that's a little different. Yeah, but not in twenty twenty two in Pittsburgh. Don't get me wrong.

Two legendary franchise. Right. But I don't think Big Ben would care about that. And I don't even think the Steelers would be that annoyed about that because you had an opportunity if you wanted to, to bring the guy back and you didn't. And it's a business. But I would have thought that just a few people would have advocate or at least, you know, ask Ben, hey, Ben, you want to come back?

Right. Like, isn't it the easy, low hanging thing, fruit part of it in football? I'm surprised no one got Ben on this week or Ben on his podcast. Someone didn't ask him, Eddie, you want to go? Would you go play for the Cowboys?

Like, put it this way. RG3 when he was on television and played in a year. I texted RG3. Would you go play for a few weeks with the Cowboys? And RG3 got back to me right away and he goes, yeah, they could use a playmaker.

I'd be interested if they want to call me. So you don't have to be great anymore to get a phone call is be talked about. And there was no push for Ben to go to Dallas. And I think that's just because everyone knows that arm is shot. And we've seen that the last three years with Big Ben.

But the Steelers just kept on giving him opportunity after opportunity after opportunity. Viator is the world's leading travel experience marketplace, offering everything from simple tours to extreme adventures and all the niche, interesting stuff in between. Extensive options, ease of selection and flexibility at your fingertips help make sure your time is wonderfully spent. Viator is the place to go to book experiences that will create long lasting moments that make lifetime memories. And Viator has over 300000 bookable experiences to choose from in over 190 countries. In fact, just last year, Viator helped my family put together this amazing adventure on the island of Kona.

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