Russ & Pete Hate? (Hour 1)

Live from the police show, yet not overly ostentatious, studios of CBS Sports Radio here in beautiful New York City, sitting on top of the 10th floor of 345 Hudson Street. Welcome on in to a Wednesday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all the great local CBS Sports Radio affiliates, Sirius XM, Channel 158, and that free Odyssey app. 855-212-4CBS. I'm gonna jump on in. 855-212-4227. You can always get at me on Instagram. Where I'm straight flexing or the good ol' cesspool of Twitter, at Zach Gelb.

That's Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. We are coming to you live from the Rocket Mortgage Studios. Whether you're looking to purchase a new home or refinance yours, Rocket Mortgage can help you get there for home loan solutions that fit your life. Well, Rocket can and producing this extravaganza for the next four hours is no other than Hot Take Kiki. I don't know about that Hot Take Kiki. We got two guests for you today.

Coming up an hour 20 from now. He played for the Green Bay Packers. He also played at Nebraska. That is Amon Green. He'll stop by as we'll do a little double dip with him as the Packers are 0-1 after getting embarrassed by the Minnesota Vikings to kick off the football season. And his program and one of his former college teammates in Scott Frost is now out of a job at Nebraska.

So we'll chat with Amon Green coming up in about an hour 20 from now. And then at 8.20 p.m. Eastern, 5.20 p.m. Pacific, Chris Myrick from the New York Football Giants is going to stop by. He caught the touchdown that made the decision to be very interesting for one Brian Deball.

Do you tie up the game, kick the extra pointer, you go for two and the win? The Giants elected to go for two and they ended up getting it. And after the missed field goal by Tennessee, the Giants walked out of Week 1 with the victory up against the Tennessee Titans and you know Tennessee is his part. Or they're playing in probably the worst division in football in the AFC South because that division is brutal. The Texans stink. It's crazy how they blew that game. They should have never even been in the game but they were dominating the game.

The Colts had a no-show in Week 1. Jacksonville, you lose to the commanders when Carson Wentz was literally trying to gift wrap you the game. And I just look at that entire division, it's messy.

It's ugly. And probably if you win nine games, you end up being crowned AFC South champions. I want to start off though today talking a little college football. So there was a few hot button teams heading into the year. Texas A&M, I was a non-believer in. Clemson, after what I've seen so far for them, I'm not buying into this Clemson program. Don't like the state of the offensive line. I don't like the wide receiving unit.

And DJ Uenglele to me is just not what he was advertised as two years ago. So there was three other teams that was always intrigued by heading into this season. It wasn't Ohio State, it wasn't Alabama. Ohio State is 2-0. Alabama, they just survived to get to 2-0, finding a way to go get a victory up against Texas in a game that they could have easily lost.

But at the end, you had your two big players, Will Anderson Jr. and then also Bryce Young step up and make big time plays and play some complimentary football. But there was three teams that I have not mentioned yet that I thought could be college football playoff teams this year. But I was just curious how do we feel about these teams a few weeks into the season. Now, Georgia, I think a lot of people had going to the college football playoff.

I know I did. But Georgia right now is the best team once again in college football. And I know it's very early on in their season. They play South Carolina this weekend. That offensive line is in shambles.

I like Spencer Rattler. But Georgia should win this game. The thing that I was just curious about from Georgia, not that if complacency would settle on in, but how would they navigate losing all the defensive talent that they did. And then on the other side, Stetson Bennett is going to need a bigger role. And Stetson Bennett, what I think gets lost here is towards the end of the season, he stepped up and delivered in a big way for the Georgia Bulldogs.

And I think he is a disrespected quarterback and someone that is better than the way that he is perceived. At this point, I would be stunned if when we get to the end of the year that Georgia is not in the college football playoff. And then two other teams. One was a big time hot button team. The other, they just had such a successful season.

And I think people expected it to go back to normal. So let me start with that team because that team is Michigan. Michigan going into the season.

I thought they probably finished second in their division. Ohio State would probably beat them and Ohio State would probably win the Big Ten championship and then go to the college football playoff. The way that these schedules are lined up for Ohio State and Michigan, it would be embarrassing for both programs if they're not undefeated heading into that huge game, the game on Thanksgiving weekend between Michigan and Ohio State this year in the horseshoe. You look at the schedule for Ohio State. They already beat Notre Dame. They crushed Arkansas State last week.

You have a cupcake in Toledo this Saturday. Wisconsin does not fear me. Rutgers does not fear me. I know Michigan State, Mel Tucker is a good coach in the top 25. I don't like that team that much this year to go to throw in Ohio State. Iowa, they can't score. Penn State, now if they go play Drew Aller, then you can have some light to that offense, but they're still a year away. Northwestern, no good.

Indiana, Maryland. If Ohio State is not undefeated going into that Michigan game, it would be embarrassing. And the same thing for the Wolverines of Michigan. You have the first three games of the year, Colorado State, Hawaii, who are already both destroyed, and then you're going to just annihilate UConn this weekend in the big house. And then after that, we just told you the teams that Ohio State plays, pretty much all the same teams. Maryland, Iowa, Indiana, you get a nice little back to back stretch. Penn State, Michigan State, we know Harbaugh has struggled up against the Sparty party.

Rutgers, Nebraska, they've already fired their coach, Illinois, and then it's the game, noon Eastern on Fox, between Ohio State and Michigan in the horseshoe. And for Michigan, we know this week J.J. McCarthy is going to get the start. In game number one, they started Cade McNamara. In game number two, they started J.J. McCarthy. It is abundantly clear, and I've been saying this before the season, and you've seen it through the first two games, and this is no disrespect to Cade McNamara.

The guy should be treated, I don't want to say his royalty, but he should be treated with a great amount of respect if you're a fan of the Wolverines or if you went to that university because he won you a Big Ten championship last year. He played a monumental role in them winning a Big Ten title, but we know what the ceiling is for J.J. McCarthy, and we know what the ceiling is for Cade McNamara, and the ceiling for J.J. McCarthy is just better. And all throughout this offseason, I wanted to see J.J. McCarthy be named the starter, then when Jim Harbaugh comes out and goes, oh, we'll start one guy for the first game and another guy for the second game. That was him basically just telling you, I owe it to Cade McNamara since he just won a Big Ten championship, to have him be the starter week one. But if you win a Big Ten championship and you can't be guaranteed the starter for the rest of the season, right at the start of the season, that shows you who the coach actually prefers, and it's not the guy that won you the Big Ten championship last year. And I know it was only up against Hawaii.

J.J. McCarthy, though, and everyone could be surgical up against Hawaii, but he was flawless up against Hawaii. So for Michigan, I wondered if they were going to have a loss on their schedule before that Ohio State game, and I don't think they're going to. And think about it this way, we're usually accustomed to two SEC teams getting into the college football playoff, and I do think we'll see two SEC teams get into the college football playoff once again this year, just like last year, Alabama and Georgia. But could we potentially see two Big Ten teams get in the college football playoff this year?

We know Baylor just lost to BYU. We'll see when you evaluate the Big 12, a squad like Oklahoma, they definitely have college football playoff potential, Oklahoma State as well. But let's just say if all those schools get two losses on their resume and they beat up on one another, then the Big 12 is probably out.

The ACC, I don't feel great about any of those teams in the ACC. And for the Pac-12, their big darling heading into this season was Kyle Whittingham's Utah squad, and they already have a loss on the resume. Now, the other team that I've been really impressed by, and I know it's early, but they did a nice job up against Stanford, is USC. And I wondered if it'd all come together in year one for Lincoln Riley, who was a tremendous coach at Oklahoma, but if they could all have it come together and get to a college football playoff berth in year one, it's definitely possible for USC.

Because Caleb Williams, we know how good he could be, and that connection has just been flawless so far with Jordan Addison. You thought it was good in week one, it got even better in week two. So I'm just going to throw it out there, and I'm starting to believe in the USC Trojans. We know they could score a ton of points, but what it comes down to is will the Pac-12 school shoot themselves in the foot like I feel like we've grown accustomed to each and every year. But you look at the schedule for USC, they play Fresno State this weekend, then Oregon State, then Arizona State, Washington State. Utah's their big game. Arizona, California, Colorado, UCLA, they get Notre Dame at the end of the year. Notre Dame's not looking all like that. So this is set up for USC as long as you beat Utah, and you may have to beat them twice to go win the Pac-12. So when I evaluate this, and when I look at the lay of the land this year in college football, I'm just going to throw it out there. Could we potentially see Georgia, Alabama, Michigan, and Ohio State in the college football playoff this year? Could we get two schools from the SEC and two schools from the Big Ten?

855-2124 CBS. Hot take hickey, you are Mr. College Football Aficionado. I have proclaimed you to be the most intelligent person when it comes to talking college football on the Monday through Friday lineup on CBS Sports Radio.

When it comes to talk to your hosts and producers, I think you have the most knowledge out of anyone here at the network when it comes to college football, and no one loves watching college football more than you. Is it out of the realm of possibilities this year? And I'm not saying it's going to happen, but it did just cross my mind that we have Alabama, Georgia in the college football playoff. You have Michigan, Ohio State undefeated before the game. The team that wins, we know, goes to the Big Ten championship, win the Big Ten championship, but the loser of that game, if they only have one loss, could we see and have this be the year where the college football playoff is just the SEC and the Big Ten, which it does feel like that would be one of the weird parts in the way that this is all moving in the landscape, that that is where college football is really moving to, is just towards the SEC and the Big Ten, with all the movement that we've seen in the last few years, with Oklahoma, with Texas, with UCLA, and with USC, eventually all changing conferences. Is that something that you think could be a possibility this year? This year I don't.

Two reasons. Number one, for Michigan's schedule, because you're going to need Michigan and Ohio State to have an elite schedule. Not their fault. The Big Ten's not very good this year. So let's just say, for example, if Michigan, they lose to Ohio State and that's their only loss, they're 11-1. Who else have they beaten to where you could say that's a team that their resume is good enough to get in? They played no one in the non-conference. Penn State is ranked right now. I don't think they'll be ranked for very long. Look at the rest of the Big Ten East.

It's not very good. The Big Ten West is not deep either. This is a down year for the Big Ten, so there's not, I think, a lot of wins that Michigan can hang their hat on outside of Ohio State and say, hey, our resume is good enough to get in, even though we lost our last game, and even though we're not in the Big Ten title game. And also, too, Michigan I still have questions about. I know you're sold on the Wolverines.

I am not. I still want to see it for them first, even with a weaker schedule. I'm not sold they'll get through it unscathed. Well, I'm sold just based off what their schedule is. And I like J.J. McCarthy.

I'm not going to tell you he's going to be the next great quarterback, but I do really like him. With that schedule, other than Penn State and Michigan State, there's no other games that really make you shake your boots on that schedule until Ohio State happens. I know Iowa can't score, but in Iowa it's a weird game.

It's ugly. I am not running off the Hawkeyes just yet. If you get outscored, though, by Iowa, that's a problem. You don't deserve to even get to the Big Ten championship game. But at least so far, Michigan's schedule, I just can't make a definitive judgment based on the fact they played Hawaii, and I honestly forget even who their first opponent was, but they played no one so far. They played Little Sisters of the Poor, and Ann Arbor, JV. JVB team. But here's the thing, though, that maybe this is the point to make.

I don't think the gap is as big as maybe a lot of people thought it was heading into the year with Ohio State and Michigan. That's the way that I think I say it. And by the way, I don't know if you can you hear that in the background right now? No. The TV in this studio just randomly started blasting audio, so it is what it is.

But that's what I think is a potential big takeaway. You know, this is a great moment here. I don't know if you could hear it. You probably can if you're listening, but I could hear it, and this thing is blasting loud in the studio.

Our TV just randomly, it was on mute, it starts blasting out audio. But I guess that's over the cards that we were dealt today. So I'm not saying that I think it's likely that the Big Ten sends two schools in, but if USC does not win the Pac-12, I know Utah could still get in, but let's say those teams have more losses than we think. The Big 12, Oklahoma, that's probably the school you got to bank on. If those schools falter, Hickey's probably right that with the state of the Big Ten this year, and it not being that strong, you probably don't get two in, but it's something that did just cross my mind. If Ohio State and Michigan are both undefeated and then one is going to lose that Michigan-Ohio State game, then who gets it?

Can we see two Big Ten teams get into the college football playoff? It is the Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio. When we come on back, Pete Carroll against Russell Wilson.

Who has more to lose from this divorce? We'll discuss. You're listening to the Zach Gelb Show.

And you can think of O'Reilly Auto Parts, how your car care needs guaranteed low prices and excellent customer service from the professional parts people at O'Reilly Auto Parts. It is the Zach Gelb Show Coast to Coast on CBS Sports Radio. I want to play you one cut. We have a lot of audio today, Seahawks related, from Pete Carroll. Obviously, their old quarterback and Russell Wilson, who just lost to the Seahawks as a member of the Broncos, and KJ Wright, who joined us the other night. Let's start off with Pete Carroll. We'll play you just one here.

Pete Carroll in an interview today with 710 out in Seattle hints that week one, the victory up against the Broncos was more special than normal. That's not validation to me. That's why I just didn't take that word. You're right about everything you just said.

What is the word? I didn't need the validation. I just wanted it. I just wanted to win.

I wanted to win for all of the reasons that come along with this one. Maybe as much as anything is representing the guys that have played before. It meant a lot to those guys. I was so thrilled to be able to hug those guys up and see them and look them in the eye. Why did it mean so much to them? You figure that out. But it was really meaningful and they really wanted it. I knew we were playing for a lot more than just the regular stuff.

So let's figure this out right now. And this is the way that I interpret this. For years, Pete Carroll was the biggest defender of Russell Wilson, even sometimes to a point where it annoyed some in his own locker room. Like KJ Wright, when he joined us last night, he said he got annoyed that the Legion of Boom was so great and you had Marshawn who was so great and then there was just some that all they wanted to do was talk about Russell Wilson because the nature of the business of him being a quarterback. So Pete Carroll was the first believer in Russell Wilson in Seattle.

Was probably, not probably, most definitely his most loyal believer and supporter. And there were times in the locker room where that even caused friction, even through all the winning and all the success that that team had. And I think what I view the perception of those two Seahawks teams that went to the Super Bowl and they got one championship was the defense was great.

At times look like all time great type of defenses. You had an unbelievable running back in Marshawn Lynch. And then at the stage of where Russell Wilson was at his career, I don't want to call him a game manager because that wouldn't be fair, but he wasn't the way that we view and perceive Russell Wilson like we do now. So I think Pete and then a lot of those guys in the locker room, some may not just like Russ to begin with, others will love him like even heard KJ Wright say the other day that he views Russell Wilson as a legend for the Seattle Seahawks franchise.

But the people that were in that locker room knew the dynamics of that locker room, knew what really made that team click and be great during the time period when they won and they haven't won since then. And I think a lot of people, Ryan, that are associated with that team, if you remove what their individual relationship is like with Russell Wilson, just said, man, we love Pete. And Pete supported you when a lot of people weren't willing to support you. Remember, they signed Matt Flynn that he quickly gave you the job even after that monster deal. He always defended you early on during the early stages of your tenure. And now you're turning on Pete and now you're saying to Pete, and what is the irony?

I want more on my plate. And Pete was willing to give you a little bit more, but he wasn't willing to give you total control and the entire plate. And I think for Pete, that annoys him because of all the crap that he had to deal with, with the guys of the Legion of Boom, Marshawn Lynch, whatever. And then you have a lot of those guys that knew what the locker room was like. And all these years later, they're so loyal to Pete. And now they're going to turn on Russell Wilson because Russell Wilson is no longer a part of that organization and that team. And if you think about the Legion of Boom, when they're at their greatest and really when most of them are on the team, right? Mid 2010s, when really Russell Wilson got going, they were either all gone or almost all gone. So Russell Wilson, when they went to back to Super Bowls was what? Like, I don't know, the 10th best player on the team at that point? Like he was not like any, you know, you change the facade of the team.

That's what they did. Right. So when those guys are there, like if you're Richard Sherman, if you're Cam Chancellor, you're there like, well, we're winning because of our defense. We're winning because of Marshawn Lynch. Like, we should be getting more of the credit than we do. But like you mentioned, the nature of the quarterback play, the attention goes to Russell Wilson. And so when you're there in practice and you know, OK, we win more games with defense and Marshawn, we should be getting more credit. And then later on, when you leave and Russell Wilson starts to evolve his game into being that top five quarterback for a while that he was in Seattle.

You're not there. You feel different because what you remember is your experience playing with Russ. And it was this guy's not that great.

You know, we're kind of carrying him. We also need to remember how this ended, too, because K.J. even said it. The moment that Super Bowl went down the way that it did with Russ on the pick at the one yard line. It even adds more legs to the narratives that were built that all Russell Wilson had to do was just not throw a pick. And Pete didn't have to trust him as much as he was willing to trust him and just simply hand the ball off to Marshawn Lynch.

And that defense and that run game would have got praised even more than the way that they already did. And that did fester for a while and still does. All these guys still talk about it. Any time you have someone on for those teams, that Super Bowl, that decision, that dynamic of the relationship, it always comes up. And some guys are still bitter over it. Other guys, like I've had Cliff Averall numerous times, publicly, he said he's moved on from it. But I do believe for a lot of those guys that used to maybe feud with Pete.

They're finally maybe behind the scenes. Pete was saying, you guys were right, because Russ then spit in my face all the way at the end when he wanted out and he wanted to abandon the organization. You know what the sad part is, like K.J. mentioned, like kind of the genesis of this was that Super Bowl interception. It wasn't like it was Russ's fault either on the interception. Like Malcolm Butler made a great play. It's not like Russ had a guy open. He just overthrew him or made a wrong read and threw it to the defender.

He did nothing. That was all Malcolm Butler. Well, also, you've got to give credit to a former Seattle Seahawks 2, Brendan Browner, who did a great job getting the jam at the line of scrimmage and communicated to Malcolm because some of the Patriots somehow practiced that. And Browner turned to Butler.

He said, I'm going to jam and you go. It's not like Russ is really not to blame for the throw or even the decision. It was just a dumb decision to throw.

But it's just like it's funny that like if that's really like kind of like the final nail in the coffin and said, screw this guy, it really wasn't even his fault. Well, once again, it just goes into all those theories of, man, Russ should have been throwing the football. Oh, this is Pete just wanting Russ to have his moment.

And all the things that people have speculated throughout the years, it just added more fuel to the fire on that. And clearly organization made a move to stick with the quarterback at the time, even though there were some rumors that they were flirting with Drew Lock when he was getting drafted. And then that's when Russ came in with this hard deadline on the contract extension. But I think now those Legion of Boom guys and Russell and Pete Carroll, they all see eye to eye now. And since Russ left, it's OK. It's us against him. And unfortunately, and I'm sure still guys in the Seahawks that really enjoy Russell Wilson. I'm not saying that, but that's just the way that this is now played on out. And, you know, some of the more vocal guys on that team. Richard Sherman, I think it's pretty abundantly clear he's not the biggest fan of one Russell Wilson.

So I'll propose this question out there. Who has more to lose here? Is it Pete Carroll or Russell Wilson? Because even though they were attached at the hip for so many years, now this is like a boxing match. This is like in Ted Lasso. When Ted found Nate, Nate for the first two years of the series. Got all of really his start due to Ted Lasso and the bizarre decision that Nate's ego got too big.

And now he's coaching. That's what's going to happen here in season three up against Ted Lasso. That is what act. Come on. Don't throw your hands up in the air.

If you haven't watched the first two seasons yet. That's on you. No, I'm busting your chest. Yeah, I know. Act like throws his head there. I just spoiled it for him.

But that's pretty much what it is now. Ted Lasso and Nate is now Russell Wilson up against Pete Carroll, where it turns out to be they were once mentor and the student of the pupil. And then it becomes the guy that you gave so much knowledge to.

He wants to go try to do this on his own. And now he goes up against you. So it really makes for a fascinating relationship. And when I asked the question of who has more to lose here, is it Russell Wilson or is it Pete Carroll? I think it's an obvious answer. It's Russell Wilson. Pete Carroll's already won in college. He's already won in the NFL. Russell Wilson, when he won in the NFL, fair or not, he wasn't one of the first people because you wanted the organization to be yours.

You wanted everything to be relying on your arm. You don't go win another Super Bowl. It's a massive failure. And honestly, not that and Russ is a heck of a player, but he's not a top three player in the sport like Kevin Durant is. But it could become very similar to Kevin Durant, who Kevin Durant leaves Golden State after having a lot of success, wants to go do it on his own. And so far in Brooklyn, it's been an unmitigated disaster. So there's a lot more here on the line for Russell Wilson than I think Pete Carroll.

How about you there, Hickey? Who has more to lose there between Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson? I'm with you on Russ in large part because he's going to be playing longer. So we'll see a longer sample size where Pete Carroll, I mean, he may retire after this year. He may retire in two years.

Like the sample size is very small. But I will say that I think that it's closer than you think. And Parks, I'll go to your team. Brady Belichick. Now, it's not it's the same. And Brady was, you know, better than obviously when Russ won the Super Bowl.

He was not exactly featured. But you are seeing now Belichick struggle when Brady's left. You see Brady win a Super Bowl.

Time out. I think you also have a lot of Twitter idiots that make it seem like Belichick's been a disaster ever since Brady left. They did just make the playoffs last year with a rookie quarterback.

No, let's say it's been a disaster. Let's say Brady's had more success. The Buccaneers have been more dominant.

He's won a Super Bowl. So I'm saying you are seeing even pushback to Bill Belichick despite him being the all-time best coach. If Pete Carroll, let's say, let's say three more years, he coaches three years, and they're not able to figure out the quarter position. And let's say this season, despite the win with Geno Smith, Geno Smith and Drew Locke are Geno Smith and Drew Locke.

And this team is like, I don't know, 5 and 12, 4 and 13, they're a disaster. And let's say Russell Wilson turns it around. I think then all of a sudden the narrative, even though it's just one game and we're like, oh, Pete, Pete, Pete. The narrative quickly changes to, well, you ran him out of town, this team is a disaster, and Russell Wilson is having success. If this happens in Denver, I think the narrative will change very quickly. That only changes if Russell Wilson wins a Super Bowl.

Because I'll use the same analogy like you just did. Belichick and Brady, that first year when Brady was in Tampa, there was weeks where we say up. Brady should have stayed with Bill. There was other weeks, up. Bill should have kept Tom Brady.

So you got to go win. If Pete does not win another Super Bowl, he'll still be viewed as a great coach because what he did in college and what he did in the NFL. If Russ doesn't win another Super Bowl, there may even be some on his own team when he won that Super Bowl that are going to say, yeah, he wasn't as great as what you made him out to be. It is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. We'll take a break when we come on back. Where do the Cowboys go from here? The only good news is I guess he could only go up from here because this is a disaster of a week one. You're listening to the Zach Gelb show.

This is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Are we overreacting to the demise of the Dallas Cowboys? Because I don't think they're going to make the playoffs now. I had them as a playoff team before the season started. Then after one game, you lose to Tampa.

It was expected that you were going to lose to Tampa. But now you have Dak Prescott out anywhere from I guess four to eight weeks is now the time frame that we should use. Because Jerry Jones said they're not putting him on IR because they're hopeful that he's going to be back within the next four weeks.

Originally though, the reports right before Jerry Jones said that was six to eight weeks. So I don't have a damn clue when Dak Prescott's coming back. Cooper rushes your quarterback.

That's a big time problem. You're going to lose to Cincinnati this weekend. And I know everyone's going to be focused on who's the quarterback, who's the quarterback. Doesn't really matter who the quarterback is when your line's playing the way that that line is.

And it's not as if the schedule is Murderers Row the next few weeks. Yeah, you'll lose to the Bengals. Then you're at the Giants.

You have the commanders. Rams are tough. Eagles are tough.

You get the Lions, the Bears. So you look at this schedule, it's not that brutal. But when you have a team that has deficiencies and it's not built properly, when you're relying on Zeke to be all that and he's not all that anymore.

There's a reason why Tony Pollard, they expect a lot out of him. That line is in rough shape and it took even a bigger hit right before the start of the season with the Terron Smith injury. Yeah, defensively they made big time strides. They made big time movement in the right direction with Diggs and Micah Parsons.

But they did lose pieces there. And Randy Gregory's no longer on that team. So I look around at the state of the Dallas Cowboys. I can't give you any optimism. If you're listening to us and one of our one of our many great affiliates in the state of Texas and you're a big Cowboys fan. And you're saying, Zach, I need you to give me something positive. I got nothing for you. And I ultimately say and I feel like we go through this conversation each and every year that Jerry Jones, your biggest problem.

And you can't really do anything. He's not going anywhere. He's the owner of the damn team. And last year I thought Jerry Jones got a lot of praise because this team was built the right way or we thought they were built the right way. Heading into this season, though. Even if Dak did not get hurt, it's crystal clear this team is not built to be a winner this year. If Dak was healthy, they're built to be a playoff team.

But there's a difference in being a winner and then just simply being a playoff team. And Mike McCarthy is also back as the head football coach. I don't think Mike McCarthy is going to be back next year. But now what I thought was a foregone conclusion that McCarthy wasn't going to be back.

I wonder if the equation does it all change because Dak probably going to be out for what, half the season at this point? You would expect unless Jerry has the timeline pegged down correctly. But I can't trust Jerry Jones with that.

The guy just tried to tell me 1 plus 1 equals 3 last week before this season started. It ultimately comes down to when we look at the future of Mike McCarthy, does Sean Payton want to coach the Cowboys? If he does, McCarthy, you're gone. But other than that, if McCarthy still, let's say if McCarthy wins in terms of Sean Payton doesn't want to go coach the Cowboys, does Jerry even feel compelled to then go make a move after this offseason of, okay, McCarthy's not all that. Let's just promote Dan Quinn and have Dan Quinn be the next head football coach of this team. My gut tells me that McCarthy won't be back next year. Now, though, with this Dak dynamic, Ryan, I wonder how it does change it in the eyes of the man that runs that entire organization for pretty much the worse. I don't have money from a money standpoint, but the way that this team is constructed and the way that it's all about drama and not success on the football field for one Jerry Jones.

I actually didn't think about it till you mentioned it, but I think you're right, because I'm with you. I think Dak's going to be out longer rather than sooner. Like, I don't trust Jerry's timeline whatsoever. So if he's out even, let's say, six to eight weeks now, let's you know, you're talking about a week, eight or nine now, the best. That's almost, again, half the season.

And you can just kind of use that as an excuse right away. I thought Mike McCarthy was a foregone conclusion to be fired. Well, Sean paid him once a job.

He's gone. True. True. But I thought either way, whether he wanted it or not, I thought there'd be a change. This does give me a little bit of pause.

I still think there will be a change at the end of the year. Now, you're using logic. Jerry Jones doesn't use logic. He's illogical. That is very true.

And that's also part of the reason why I'm a little skeptical now if I will be right or not, because of the guy we are dealing with and talking about, aka the guy who thinks one plus one equals three. Yeah, Jerry Jones is a big time problem. From a money standpoint, if I want to make money, hey, Jerry Jones, come on here and come run CBS Sports Radio. Now, Jerry Jones would be a great program director. He's all about drama. He's all about creating chaos. He would be a wonderful radio programmer.

And he does 9,000 interviews to begin with and makes a headline off every single interview. If Jerry Jones is running a radio station, I'm all in. Jerry Jones is running my football team.

From a dinero standpoint, yes, I'm in. When he, though, is running the construction of the roster, more years than not, he does not put that team in a position to go win a Super Bowl. And that's a problem.

That's why they haven't won a Super Bowl since 1995. And you're Randy Gregory out the door, you place him with? No one. Amari Cooper out the door, you place him with? No one. Cedric Wilson out the door, you place him with Kavante Turpin, okay, a USFL or XFL, I forget.

Legend. AAS at this point. Right, anything. Punt return, there you go. But basically nothing. And now you play games at the back of quarterback where you cut them all last week and now you're sitting here where it's doomsday and it's Cooper Rush trying to save your season.

You're 100% right. The roster construction is anything but sound, and it's the biggest reason why that they're going to miss the playoffs, despite being in an advantageous situation in a down conference with an easier schedule than you would think for a first place team. And it's not as if you're division, this is great division. I think the Eagles are a good team, don't get me wrong. I'm not believing in the commanders, even though they probably will start 2-0. You see the Lions for the first time in like, forever?

Do you remember the last year, I think it was 2019 I think I read? It's the first time since 2019 that they're actually a favorite, which is bonkers. Good for them. I think they're going to lose this weekend, too.

Ironic. Yeah, because I can't stand Carson Wentz, but I'd much rather have Carson Wentz than Jared Goff. I think the commanders are a better team than the Lions. Would you disagree with that?

No. I think you're right on both. But we get to the spread this weekend of the Bengals and the Cowboys game. If you had to take a guess, the game is in Dallas. What do you think the spread is? Bengals... 24 consecutive games as an underdog, the Lions were, just by the way.

Wow. Good for them. Back on top, sort of, if that means anything for once. Getting back on top of the Lions is finishing in third place. Dan Campbell has this team in the right direction.

They're gritty, though. I will say Bengals minus five and a half. Which is a pretty big number for a road team. Yes. Even with the Cowboys starting Cooper Rush, seven and a half.

Wow. Seven and a half the Bengals are favored by. And I know we've seen some crazy things. Didn't Cooper Rush beat the Vikings last year? He did on Sunday Night Football.

Yeah. We've seen some weird spot starts by some quarterbacks. The Bengals coming off a loss. I got to think the Bengals will roll the Cowboys this week.

That's the 4 o'clock window this week. Falcons Rams. I think the Rams will roll the Falcons. Seahawks 49ers. That has become an intriguing game. I think that's a close game.

I don't know what Trey Lance is. Bengals Cowboys. Bengals are going to kill the Cowboys. Broncos Texans. Yeah, I would not want to be the Texans this week. And then you get another game that I can't really predict how this is going to go. I would lean Raiders. Raiders and Cardinals this week. That's a 4 o'clock window where I think we'll have a few blowouts. But that Seahawks 49ers game and that Cardinals Raiders game. Those to me are two intriguing games because I don't know what Trey Lance is. I'm not buying into Geno Smith. Kyler Murray. You got to go be a stud this week and deserve that contract and for the Raiders. They had a lot of mistakes offensively and they still almost won the game up against a damn good team in the Chargers. That 4 o'clock window and eye on football.

I could be laughing maybe for all the wrong reasons. Depending on which team you do root for. It is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. And we have a monster Monday night double header this week. Tennessee and the Bills.

Which? Buffalo. They're a 10 point favorite. And then Tennessee won last year. And then you get the Vikings and the Eagles. That actually could be the game.

Not could. That is the game. Other than tomorrow night Chargers and Chiefs that I'm most fired up for. And this week two slate Vikings and Eagles. That's going to be a real fun one.