Put In Pickett (Hour 1)

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Major League Baseball trademarks used with permission. Live from the police show, you're not over the ostentatious studios of CBS Sports Radio here in beautiful New York City sitting on top of the tenth floor of 345 Hudson Street. Welcome on in to a Monday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all of our great local CBS Sports Radio affiliates. Sirius XM, Channel 158, and the 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. Coming up today, 820pm Eastern, 520pm Pacific. We are winding down our season preview with each NFL team. It is the Las Vegas Raiders day and we'll do a little first and goal with their former offensive lineman. Now does a great job on their radio broadcasts in Lincoln Kennedy, and always producing this extravaganza is no other than Hot Take Kiki.

Hot Take Kiki. I don't usually make mistakes, but when I make mistakes, I like to learn from those mistakes. And a year ago, I sat here and I said, I believe the New England Patriots should start Mac Jones week one, but they will start Cam Newton. And all throughout that process, I saw training camps and then also preseason games where my eyes were telling me Mac Jones is the better quarterback.

But I came up with this theory inside of my cabeza that Bill was going to be loyal to start to Cam. And not only that, he didn't want to throw his rookie quarterback right to the walls, right out of the gate. I was wrong. Bill Belichick was right. The Patriots ended up winning 10 games last year and Mac Jones got valuable experience.

So I fast forward to a year later where another big franchise, the Pittsburgh Steelers, have a very important decision to make. And I'm going through the motions again. And I keep on saying, and I've been saying this ever since he was drafted, that Kenny Pickett should, should, should, should, should, should start week one. However, Mitch Trubusky will start week one. And I'm going through the exercises.

I'm going through the motions again. I'm watching training camp or you're getting the reports of training camp. I'm watching the preseason games. And I look at these quarterbacks and it's clear, not by leaps and bounds, but it is clear to me that Kenny Pickett is ready to start week one. And when I look at Kenny Pickett and the Pittsburgh Steelers, I think it would be a mistake now if you're Mike Tomlin in starting Mitch Trubusky week one. I'm sick and tired, even though Trubusky hasn't fallen flat on his face, but I'm sick and tired of everyone trying to hype him up and trying to make him something that he's not. He was drafted number two overall to the Chicago Bears. He did not have a good career in Chicago, some of it his fault, some of it the fault of the incompetence of one Matt Nagy and also Ryan Pace. And a year pretty much on the sidelines in Buffalo, carrying around the clipboard and talking to Brian Dabel, talking to Sean McDermott, talking to Josh Allen, people this offseason were trying to sell me that Mitch Trubusky was going to have this big redemption season. And he's going to Pittsburgh where he's going to be the perfect guy to reestablish himself and show that he could be good in this league and be in a good organization and show you that he has the tools not to be a great quarterback, but a competent quarterback.

And this is what I'll say. If all of that was true, which it's not, this wouldn't even be a competition. Because when you're pinning a rookie quarterback who's never played an NFL regular season game up against a guy that's been in the league for a few years, the guy that's been in the league for a few years should easily win the quarterback competition. And we are now several weeks into this quarterback competition. And who gets you excited for Steelers football this year? It's not Mitch Trubusky, who hasn't been terrible, but this has been a close quarterback competition. And when I watch these games, and I know Kenny Pickett isn't starting, but neither was Mac Jones last year when you had all these preseason games, Kenny Pickett looks like the better quarterback. And it would be one thing if you had the Steelers who were a win now team. If the Steelers are ready to win a Super Bowl tomorrow, or if they were ready to win the AFC North tomorrow, and you had an established quarterback already there, I would 100% go with the established quarterback.

But when you're a team, it's more likely than not that you're going to miss the playoffs this year than make the playoffs. I think you do what is best for not only the future, but when the future is also best for the present, that's even another thing that makes me say, alert, alert, alert. Zach, why are you saying Kenny Pickett should start, but when it gets to the will, you're going with Mitch Trubusky.

So as I sit here today on the 22nd day of August in the year of 2022, I am ready to learn from my mistake from a year ago. I am ready to change my opinion that's been the case all summer long and all offseason long that Kenny Pickett, who was considered the most NFL ready quarterback in this draft class, should start week one, but he won't start week one. I am saying today that Kenny Pickett will start week one, and shame on the Pittsburgh Steelers if they go with Mitch Trubusky out of the gate. And I was watching ESPN earlier today, Adam Schefter goes the moment, the moment Mitch Trubusky stumbles. Now, I call him Trubusky, but Schefter calls him Trubusky. The moment Trubusky stumbles, they're going to go to Kenny Pickett. Well, if that moment happens right out of the gate, or through four weeks in, Mitch Trubusky shows that he's more of the Chicago quarterback than the quarterback that people are trying to paint him out to be this offseason without even playing, it's going to be a quick hook.

Why delay the inevitable? Even Schefter said it, at some point this year, Kenny Pickett is going to be starting games with Pittsburgh Steelers. There is not a valid reason to me why you wouldn't start Kenny Pickett week one. It'd be one thing if Big Ben was still there and playing at a great level, it'd be one thing if you had a great starting quarterback or even a good starting quarterback on your roster. But if you're going with Mitch Trubusky, you're basically punting the first three to four weeks of the season or however long they're going to allow that experiment to go. Because the upside is not good enough.

It's not great enough. When I look at the upside of Mitch Trubusky, what is it with the Steelers? There's nothing that you tangibly hold onto to say, Yahoo, that's going to be my guy for the next five to ten years. If there was belief, if there was some conviction that was going to be the case, I would say, all right, you go with Trubusky. But pretty much even from this NFL draft when we were in Las Vegas, even when everyone was hyping up, Trubusky this, Trubusky that, the Steelers even told you they don't even believe in him long term. And they knew he was a stopgap because if they actually believed in this turnaround project and this rejuvenation project for Mitch Trubusky in Pittsburgh, they would have never drafted a quarterback in the first round when QBs were not the strength of this draft class.

They really like Kenny Pickett. And you're starting to get a buzz in NFL circles that Kenny Pickett is ready. So if he's ready now, you start him now. You don't wait four to five weeks just for the sake of waiting.

And I haven't heard a valid answer yet. They have enough pieces there where Kenny Pickett should be able to get through this season and learn from this season and go through the growing pains and get the experience of being a rookie quarterback and playing. I know some people are going to tell me, oh, well, the offensive line isn't great. Well, is the offensive line going to change that much in four to five weeks when Trubusky sticks up the joint and then you're going to put Kenny Pickett in there anyway?

It's not going to be that much different. And you got some playmakers. It's not as if you're going to ask Kenny Pickett to throw the football 50, 55 times a game. Mike Tomlin's a smart coach.

Mike Tomlin is a top seven, top eight coach in the league. They're going to use what is the strength of that football team. That's going to be running the ball and running Najee Harris into the ground. And you have enough weapons for him to throw the football to when it's required for Kenny Pickett to throw the football. And he's mobile, too, so he can navigate some of the questions and some of the sloppiness that could be in front of him at his offensive line. When you have guys like Deontay Johnson, Pat Fryermuth, and then Chase Claypool, who's a good but not great wide receiver in this league. And every time I'm reading something about the Steelers online from this training camp, it's George Pickens this, George Pickens that.

So maybe he's going to have a very successful career if he could stay healthy. And you have a good defense. If you had a terrible defense and your offense is going to be on the field so many times because your defense is just allowing touchdown after touchdown after touchdown. And only on the field for a minute because the teams are just going up and down the field on the defense, then okay, maybe you'd have an argument. But this is the Pittsburgh Steelers.

You have a great organization. You have good enough players. You have a very good head coach. A Super Bowl winning head coach. A coach that's never had a below.500 season in well over a decade in this league. There's enough there to be able to assist and to be able to guide Kenny Pickett when you throw him to the wolves week one and it not ruin his career.

I just saw it happen in New England. Mac Jones was said to be the most NFL ready quarterback in the draft class last year. Once you got past Trevor Lawrence. And look how many quarterbacks won. He was the fifth quarterback in that draft class. And Mac Jones got in the field and boom, right away, he didn't do anything that was wow, like he's unbelievable.

He's great. I do think he could be a very good quarterback in this league. He made the Pro Bowl because seven guys rejected the Pro Bowl, but he was competent.

He did enough what was asked of him and they didn't ask him to do too much. So the Steelers could do the same damn thing. I don't want to sit here and I don't want to tell you anymore that Kenny Pickett won't start week one because he has already shown me enough to say he is ready to start week one. And if you go with Mitch Trubusky out of the gate, you're just delaying the inevitable and you're just wasting everybody else's time. There is no upside, there is no logic, and there is no reason why Mitch Trubusky should be starting week one for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The question just becomes, will the Steelers do the obvious and will the Steelers have the guts to start a true rookie quarterback?

Because that's what they need to do. It worked out fine for Belichick last year. Why can't it work out for Mike Tomlin? I'll get to our poll question today, at Zach Elbe on Twitter, at CBS Sports Radio on Twitter as well. The Steelers this year will win the AFC North, be a wildcard team, or miss the playoffs. 14% say win the AFC North, 38% on the early returns say be a wildcard team, and 48% say miss the playoffs. The apex this year for the Steelers is being a wildcard team. I cannot sit here and tell you they're better than the Bengals or they're better than the Ravens. Now, Watson's out for the first 11 games, so maybe they are better than the Browns because they're going to be going with Jacoby Bressett for the first 11. The apex, though, for that Steelers team is to be a wildcard team like they were a year ago, be a seven seed, and be one and done in the playoffs.

You show up, you get smacked by whoever's the two seed, and then you're going home. So even with that being said, I think it's likely they're going to miss the playoffs, and that would be my answer to this. It's still not a ship that is sinking. You could put Kenny Pickett out there and get a great advantage for having him start week one in the NFL. If this was a win now team and you had a win now quarterback, sure. I would understand giving Kenny Pickett a year, two years, three years, but you don't have a win now team. You have a team that if everything goes right, they just simply make the playoffs, and that's it. But they will not even have a prayer in sniffing the playoffs if they have to waste the first four to five weeks and going with Mitch Stinkin' Trubusky. It just can't happen. Imagine if Tauman makes that announcement, all right, we're going to go with Mitch Trubusky week one. Is there any excitement in the locker room? Is there any genuine excitement?

No, absolutely not. But if you go to Kenny Pickett, you say, wow, he's the future, and the future can also work in the present. It doesn't need to be Lombardi Trophy right out of the gate. It doesn't need to be AFC North Champions right out of the gate. But you can be a team that goes nine and eight, and you show some signs throughout the year where Kenny Pickett manages the entire season and does a good but not great job, and throws some bad interceptions, fumbles the football, but he shows you enough where you can tangibly latch onto it, and maybe it takes you to the playoffs.

I wouldn't expect it, but maybe it does. It did for the Pats last year, and then it continues to build that belief that the Steelers are moving in the right direction once again. Because as great as that franchise was, and as proud as that franchise is, we haven't seen in the last four or five years there be realistic Super Bowl expectations for a team that is defined by winning championships. So I'm done with playing nice here and saying, yeah, Pickett should start, but they're going to go with Mitch Trubisky. Mike Tomlin, do the right thing. Mike Tomlin, start Kenny Pickett week one, because he hasn't failed at anything that we could see that you've asked of him. So if he can't win this quarterback competition, what has Mitch Trubisky done that makes you say, wow, I need to go with him?

Because I haven't seen it. And when you are a veteran quarterback, you should demolish the rookie in a competition, and Mitch Trubisky has not been terrible, but he's not demolished Kenny Pickett, and there are times where Pickett looks better. Will the Steelers start Kenny Pickett week one, 8-5-5, 2-1-2 for CBS, 8-5-5, 2-1-2, 42-27.

I think they'd be crazy if they don't do so. When we come on back on the Zach Gelb show in five minutes, the drama Dallas Cowboys are talking again. Stephen Jones said something. Is it fair for Stephen Jones to say this, and what can we expect out of the Dallas Cowboys?

We'll get to that on the other side. Forget front row seats. We're taking you into the action on the field and in the dugout with season two of Play Loud. Follow some of the league's biggest stars as we mic them up and get the cameras rolling during some of the hottest matchups of the season. Catch real-time reactions from Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor in the field, and catch all the hilarious conversations between players off the field with unprecedented access. Watch episodes of Play Loud at youtube.com slash MLB. Play Loud brings you baseball like you've never seen before. No purchase necessary. Must be 21 or older to win or beat the streak, which ends at the conclusion of the MLB regular season or when the grand prize is won. Restriction supply.

CMLB.com forward slash play for official rules. You're listening to the Zach Gelb show. And you can think about the auto parts while your car care needs get guaranteed low prices and excellent customer service from the professional parts people at O'Reilly Auto Parts. I opened up the show passionately explaining why the Pittsburgh Steelers should and will start Kenny Pickett for week one of this NFL season. Now, hot take Kiki, this is usually a good barometer on our show. And I think some of our more intense debates occur when we discuss things that should happen and then things that will happen.

And we've had a laundry list of those kinds of debates. So now you heard what I had to say for the first 15 minutes. I know for most of the summer we've been in agreement that it should be Pickett, but it will be Trubusky. Today I am changing my stance and I'm saying Kenny Pickett will be the week one starter for the Pittsburgh Steelers. With what you've seen so far, I'm assuming your should has never changed.

Who will be starting week one for the Pittsburgh Steelers? I still think it's Mitch. Again, I thought I was really convincing the first 15 minutes. I thought I was passionate. I thought I was intense. And I thought I could do enough to change the way that you think. And last year, you were a guy, and I'll give you credit, you were a good prognosticator one time in the NFL season last year, when you tried to talk me off the ledge, when I'm like, oh, they're going to go to Cam week one.

Why, why, why? It's obvious. It should be Mac Jones, but I think they will go with Cam, and you go, come on, don't doubt the greatest head coach of all time. Don't doubt the great New England Patriots. They're going to make the obvious decision.

And now a year later, the roles have been reversed. Where I'm trying to convince you, and I'm trying to speak it in existence to you, that it will be Kenny Pickett week one. Why do you still think it will be Mitch Trubusky?

I think because, number one, I do think the Steelers are interested to see what they have in Mitch. He sucks! I think he's better than you're giving him credit for.

Stop! I think he's better than you're giving him credit for. For two, three games, okay. But over the span of 17 games in a season, he's not going to be good. He's been fine in the preseason.

He has not fallen flat on his face, but he's not making it through the entire season as their starting quarterback. He's not going to do enough to keep the fans from chanting, We want Kenny! We want Kenny! You know that.

It's kind of pointless. I kind of like, Put in Pickett. Oh, that's good. Put in Pickett. Yeah. Steelers fans, there you go. That's yours.

Or you get a few drinks in your system. Hey, Tomlin, you moron! Put in bleepin' Pickett!

Let's go! That works just as well. You know those will be raining down. Those are the times where I wish we were exclusively on serious.

Then I could actually drop the curse word here and there. Now, a few weeks back, you said that Kenny Pickett, when we went through the Steelers' schedule, won't get in until the game against Atlanta on December 4th. That's what you said. That's when they're going to officially hand the baton over. If, let's just say, in one of the rare occasions, that hot take hickey is actually right, that it is going to be Mitch Trubusky, Yuck! Week one for the Pittsburgh Steelers, which I would actually be okay with even though I just laid out the argument why it's not going to be the case because you play the Bengals and then you play the Patriots. Selfishly, you want to give me Mitch Trubusky up against the Patriots?

Thank you, Mike Tomlin. We'll beat you again. Which, by the way, that could be a really bad Monday for me. If it's week two and Mac Jones can't beat that bum in Mitch Trubusky, I may use one of those terrible towels to just wipe up my own tears that could be occurring.

So if they want to go Trubusky and do the wrong thing, there's nothing really I could do about it, but it would be a mistake. But let me just go through your scenario for a second that he is starting week one. Can I convince you that he's going to get on the field?

Is there anything I can say right now, hot take hickey, that will make you move off that date of December 4th? Yes or no? Probably not. I'm open-minded, but I'm going to still say probably not.

Probably not. Do we have the Schefter audio? Yes. Can we play that audio? This was Schefter earlier today on ESPN talking about Mitch Trubusky and Kenny Pickett.

Go ahead. I think the feeling around the league has been that Mitch Trubusky was in line to be the opening day starter, the favorite to be that guy. And when you talk to people now, here's what you keep hearing, that the young kid is quote-unquote coming on, and he's coming quick. So I don't know when they're going to get to Kenny Pickett, but they're going to get to Kenny Pickett at some point in the season. I think essentially as soon as Mitch Trubusky has a stumble early in the season, that will open the door to get to Kenny Pickett and give Pittsburgh a chance to go to the quarterback that seems to get better at practice every single day, that seems to impress them more and more all the time, that seems to be, to use the words that I've heard over and over, coming on. And so when you look at this Pittsburgh class, rookie class, Kenny Pickett, George Pickens, Calvin Austin, quarterback, two wide receivers, Pittsburgh has found some young playmakers on the offensive side of the football that look like they're going to be in fixtures in Pittsburgh for years to come.

You hear that audio? That sounds like a quarterback that's going to be riding the bench all the way until December? Yes, because I don't think Mike Tomlin is going to run Mitch Trubusky out there and then in week three at halftime say, you know what, screw it, we'll put Kenny in. I think he's either going to start week one or you're going to sit him on the bench for a while because Mike Tomlin's not a guy that's just kind of willy-nilly, we're going to change this and that. Even you heard him on Saturday after the game.

He said, I thought Mitch played well, but we've got to give him a chance so he's have, you know, a chance to have a balanced offense and run the ball and he's already blaming other parts of the offense, not for Mitch. Why? What is the upside? You beat Mike Tomlin. You tell me the upside on starting Mitch Trubusky. I want to hear it. There is no upside.

You don't have anything. I think there's talent there. I think he's better than Kenny. Oh, stop it. You think he's a better quarterback than Kenny Pickett?

Yeah, I want to see him play. Give me a break. That's just because you hate Narduzzi and Pitt. No, that is not true.

That's not true. Anyway, let me give you a route where let's just say Tomlin does the stupid thing and the stupid thing would be starting Mitch Trubusky week one. Let me give you a little road where you mix in what Schefter said that goes against you, that is, oh, I'm hot take kicky and Kenny Pickett's not going to start until the Falcons game. And also, before I get into the road and the path that I want to lead you down, if you think Mitch Trubusky is better than Kenny Pickett, why do you then have Kenny Pickett eventually replacing Mitch Trubusky this year? If he's so much better and he's going to be good and he's going to be this great redemption story in Pittsburgh, why does he then get on the field on the fourth day of December? Well, let's say Mitch Trubusky is great.

I don't think either option is very good, but I think he's better. He's better than Kenny Pickett, though. I'm not very high on Kenny Pickett. So if Kenny Pickett doesn't play one game this year, what are the Steelers this season?

What's their record? If you had to just give me a... Nine and eight. Nine and eight? Eight and nine, yeah. And that's with a quarter... Wait, hold on.

Really? You think they're going to be nine... And I'm not disagreeing in terms of I think the Steelers could finish nine and eight, but you've been someone... I'm surprised to hear that record come out of your mouth because you've been someone that says the Steelers aren't that good. You don't like their offense.

Have you changed your tune a little bit? Because how does Trubusky with the team that you like to bash a lot get to nine wins? Well, I'm saying if Kenny Pickett doesn't play, that means that Mitch Trubisky is playing better than even I anticipate. And that means that this team is going to be in a playoff hunt and in the mix. No, nine and eight's not going to be the postseason this year. I would agree, but you're in the mix and you're not going to be making a quarterback change, you know, midway or halfway or later in the year when you're in the midst of a playoff run with a quarterback that at least has gotten you close. Stupid. It would be stupid if they start Trubusky week one.

But anyway, I'm going to lead you down this path now. There's a chance that if they start Trubusky week one that he could be done by the end of week three. Week one, you play the Bengals, probably a loss. Week two, you play the Patriots. That could be a close game, but the Pats should win. You start the year off 0-2. And let's just say you beat the Browns led by Jacoby Brousset.

But Trubusky doesn't do anything positive. Week four against the Jets. Wouldn't that be a perfect time? Even though I think the perfect time is week one. But wouldn't that be a really good time to usher in a new quarterback?

If the way that it goes, Hickey, is the way that I just said that you're one and two after the first three games. And Mitch didn't really give you anything tangible to say, wow, this guy was really damn good. Or this guy is going to be our starter for the entire season. But then it goes, if you're going to do that, just play Kenny Pickett week one.

Don't even waste your time. I think Mitch will be better than that, but it's like, if you're going to pull the plug that early, don't even waste your time on a guy that you clearly are not all in on. What makes you think Mitch is going to be better than that? Because the way the Steelers are going to play football this year, it's going to be Najee Harris first. So there's going to be a limited sample size for Mitch Trubisky to even be really good or even be effective.

Because they're going to run the ball, run the ball, run the ball. And I think in a big spot, that guy's throwing a pick. Or when they ask him to throw the football 21 times in a game, there will be a pick or two that are going to be thrown by Mitchell Trubisky.

It's not even my belief. My thinking here, my logic is more about the Steeler way, if you want to call it that, than the quarterbacks themselves. The Steelers are someone, an organization that had a ton of winning years, but they don't exactly rush to make a decision or cave to public pressure. Let's not forget, the last time they were in this position was when they drafted Big Ben, I think it was 7 overall or whatever he was in the 2004 draft. The only reason why he played is because Tommy Maddox got hurt.

He was not going to start that year, and he probably wasn't going to play at all if Tommy Maddox didn't get hurt. But just back to the whole philosophy of, they're not going to throw a rookie quarterback out there that if they feel he's not ready or gives them the best chance to win, even if it's, let's say, the best thing for their long-term future, which I 100% agree with you with, they're not going to do it. Well what is Kenny Pickens showing you this preseason so far that he's not ready? Because every time they put him out there, he's looked competent. And sometimes he looks better than Mitch Trubisky. My thing is, I'm not taking a lot out of the preseason.

So he's playing against mostly twos, congratulations. But Matt Jones did the same thing last year, and that was the guy you were advocating to start over Cam. What do you mean, that was the truth? They rotated, and Cam's not, Cam's not, Cam's not very good at all.

He sinks. Not to brag, I was way out in front of that. Way out in front of that one. But he was an MVP at one point. Oh no no, I'm just saying last year, there was no hope for him, in general, with the Patriots. What hope do you have with Mitch Trubisky? What hope?

Sell me, I'm asking you to sell me. Tell me what hope there is to Mitch Trubisky to make me say, Kenny Pickett ride the bench in year one. I think he can get you around a playoff spot, but I don't think either quarterback is getting you to the playoffs. And again, this is more about the stealer way than anything that either quarterback has shown so far.

Well then, this would be one of the rare times that I'll say this at the stealer way then is stupid. If you're telling me that they need to start Mitch Trubisky week one because they're going to be steadfast on their belief, don't start the rookie quarterback right away, give him time, don't cave to public pressure. Do you have a genuine quarterback competition, or is it just a farce? And if this is a genuine quarterback competition, once again, Mitchell should have blown out Kenny Pickett. And this door is not even slammed shut yet, and there's more and more and more people advocating to start the kid week one. Kenny Pickett should be starting week one.

Zach Gelb shows CBS Sports Radio. We'll take a time out when we come on back. We'll get into some of this Brady nonsense and also some nonsense coming from the Dallas Cowboys.

We'll be right back. Must be 21 or older to win or beat the streak, which ends at the conclusion of the MLB regular season or when the grand prize is won. Restriction supply. See MLB.com forward slash play for official rules. Forget front row seats. We're taking you into the action on the field and in the dugout with season two of Play Loud. Follow some of the league's biggest stars as we mic them up and get the cameras rolling during some of the hottest matchups of the season. Catch real time reactions from Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor in the field and catch all the hilarious conversations between players off the field with unprecedented access.

Watch episodes of Play Loud at YouTube dot com slash MLB Play Loud brings you baseball like you've never seen before. You're listening to the Zach Gelb show Ackerman. The Ackman is stirring up the pot this evening. Hot take Kiki. You were there during the break and I don't think you see it whatsoever. And I just put it out on Twitter at Zach Gelb. Ack goes, there was a moment when we were talking and Ack was waiting to do his update where they were showing Baker Mayfield who was just named QB one for the Carolina Panthers.

Surprise, surprise, not really. And he saw Hickey speaking and Ack glanced up and then he looked at the TV screen that's in front of us and saw Baker Mayfield. And he thinks you and Baker Mayfield resemble one another. And it's a spinning image is what Ack said. You don't see that whatsoever. I do not know.

Can I go to the people on Twitter? They say James Cason, I can see the resemblance. And then this guy, Carmen DeSantis on Twitter, says, nope, Baker won something here. Now, can you do me a favor, Hickey? That's a shot at you.

Nope. Baker won something here. What the heck does that even mean? And it's a Steelers fan. Maybe that he's better looking than me, which that's like that's like probably a shot like Baker couldn't win in Cleveland. So now at least he's won one off the field. But Baker did win a playoff game in Pittsburgh. So I guess that would be coming from a Steelers fan.

That's a little bit bizarre. Congrats. He's better looking than me. Like no, no, no surprise there. You're not a bad looking dude.

I guess Steelers fans are down that bad. You got to take whatever victory you can right now. Wolf. I'm trying to see what the resemblance would be other than you guys both have a beard, black hair and black beard. That's it. Yeah.

You know what? She is a little similar. Ears are similar ears.

Yeah, your ears. And I zoom in on your ear and I zoom in on Baker's ear. Now, you're a lot tanner than Baker Baker. So pale. If you put in the world, if you were pale, if you didn't go on 9000 days of vacation this summer and we got winter hickey and not vacation hickey. Maybe, maybe I didn't see the resemblance at first.

And maybe just because I'm looking at a picture and wanting something to be true and it's not. Maybe if we got a pale version of hickey, you guys could be comparable. Any time we're talking about ears being similar. I think that goes to show, you know, we are grasping for straws here.

Yeah. Actually, you guys have similar necks that you guys look exactly like. OK, well, I said your girlfriends look similar pretty much. He thinks both of you guys outkicked your coverage. That's fine with me. I think I think my girlfriend doesn't hear that boy that you have kicked your cover.

Have her wise up and go get someone better. I don't know. I feel like that that's a marriage that's inevitable.

I don't want to put you in a weird situation, but I would be very surprised if you and Lolly don't end up getting that. So would I. I would be very surprised at this point. How many years has that been? Three, four years, right? Four and a half, almost five. Oh, wow.

Five in October. There's some pressure on you soon, right? To pop the question.

I don't think so. Take it easy. We're young. Well, the last time I started up the pot, you were actually on vacation. Now, you may say which day?

Because you've been on vacation this entire summer. I would say it's also a shock, but it's really not. When you were in Ireland, Ack was walking around the newsroom and Ack goes, is this the time where hot take kick? He's going to pop the question. He thought this was a potential engagement trip when you guys went to Ireland. And I asked Marco because Marco is really the El Capitan of CBS Sports Radio and Marco is like a fatherly figure. I think to all of us here at CBS Sports Radio and he'll shoot you straight. Marco goes, yeah, I'd be surprised if he comes back engaged. He said to me, he goes, are her parents on this trip?

And I go, no. And he goes, yeah, I'd be very surprised. Marco's got a pulse of the people. Yeah. He knows the newsroom very well. Look at you just stealing bits from other people's radio program. That's just that's just a common phrase that's thrown out there. Pulse on the nation.

It is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Oh, the other thing. When it comes to Ack and Ack saying that you resemble Baker Mayfield. Do I have to then go back to this in December if you're if you're pale and then maybe we'll see it? Or is this something we just throw in the trash can because you don't see the resemblance whatsoever? Yeah. I mean, there's there's a shade of skin like if I'm less tan in December, is that going to make all of a sudden now it's a spitting image? I don't think so.

Baker went to a tanning salon tomorrow. We got to look more similar. Yeah, I would say so. I think I think it would be another. Quality, I guess, or physical trade or character?

I don't know what the right word is where people go. I could see a slight resemblance. Now, Buckeye Pat, who I don't know if he's ever sober when he listens to this show and Ohio State season has hasn't started yet.

So I don't know if he's drinking an excitement or just drinking a misery yet. Buckeye Pat says definitely. He definitely thinks you look. Like Baker Mayfield, which if Buckeye Pat, who I like, is saying that you definitely look like Baker Mayfield.

I'm going to take the opposite there. But Buckeye Pat is good for one good observation throughout the year. He told us last year the Bengals were going to win the AFC North and we all laughed at him. He ended up being right. We just thought that was the drunk guy at the bar. And the next thing you know, when the AFC North turned the Super Bowl and I wasn't the only one that laughed at that hot take, Kiki, you did as well. Oh, 100 percent laughed him out of the off the show.

We haven't heard for him in a while. And now he's right. Does Ross Tucker, though, have a point?

Because I said this phrase or I relayed the message that ACK said this phrase. Oh, heck, he outkicked his coverage. Ross Tucker once joined us on his anniversary, which this is two years ago. I'll never forget. I don't know why he's calling into our show on his anniversary. And I go, yeah, you outkicked your coverage, Ross.

And he goes, we need to retire that phrase. He goes, my coverage was appropriately kicked. I played in the NFL.

I went to Princeton. My wife is very good looking. I'm good looking. The coverage was kicked appropriately. Is that something that you're in agreement with?

I would rather outkick my coverage than than appropriate. You know, you always want to do better looks wise than spoken like a man in a relationship right now. Am I wrong? I'm just saying you and your girlfriend never break up. I start to hear all these negative things, you know, just go through the process of break up. The next girlfriend you get. Yeah. If you are better looking than her.

Is that a problem? Like if if like male and female, we just say it's about appearance. And that's true.

I'm just I'm just saying I agree. But don't you always want to be with someone that's attractive? Some people do tell me that I'm a catch these days.

There you go. A lot of moms tell me I'm a catch. You and Zach Olson may be hanging out a lot this season. That's not a bad one, actually. I'd say I should start a friendship with you. When I went through through my breakup, a lot of mothers on Long Island were telling me your catch, your catch. You want to go with this person, that person, this person, that person.

And I'm saying, what the heck are these mothers looking at? I needed to be born like 30 years ago. Not in 1994. Maybe I have to text Zach Wilson. I'm Zach. You're Zach.

Moms like us. I'm a patriot. You know, you're a gentleman. Patriot fan. You're a Jeff fan. Maybe we should start hanging out Zach Wilson. We did sit near each other at a Mets game this year.

Mets Cardinals. He was three rows in front of me. See, I'll tell Zach I don't need to be front and center in the entourage.

I'll take a backseat. Just we got to hang in the same social circles. That could be a possibility. Probably not. No way Zach Wilson's hanging out with me. He's been on the show, but there's no way he's hanging out with me.

No chance. Well, you never know how many of his friends are into the same kind of woman he is. I imagine trying to go to like a 50 and over bar. All right, guys, who's going? Crickets in the group chat. Who wants to go to the 4 30 p.m. early bird special, boys? Crickets. Crickets. There's Zach.

I'm in. So actually, you know, he may need you. Yeah, I don't know. I have some commitments usually during the dinner hour.

So that could probably show. Hey, Spike, I'm taking off. I'm going out with Zach Wilson.

We're going on a mom hunt. Every every Tuesday in the NFL season. Players off day. I'm off. I'm going to have a load management day. How about a half day?

In more ways than one. Half day. How about that? You'll come to the final two hours when the early bird special ends at 8 o'clock. It is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Stephen Jones recently said, talking about Dak Prescott, quote, I think he's had the best training camp he's ever had. Close quotes. Did Stephen Jones need to say this hot take, Kiki? He said that to the Dallas Morning News. Did he need to say it?

I will say no, because it should be obvious. The last two off seasons have been filled with injury. There's no need to say this, but this is what the Cowboys do.

They just add more drama when drama could be avoided. Because if you pay you're paying this guy 40 something million dollars a year. If you say he's had the best training camp he's ever had and the Cowboys don't meet their success level that we think they could, or some people think they could this year, isn't that kind of an indictment that the quarterback's not as great to the level that you're paying him? Now, there could be other excuses, not all on the quarterback.

The line's not good. Michael Gallup's just getting back. We'll see how C.D. Lamb, and I'm a believer of C.D. Lamb, how he will be his number one wide receiver.

No more Maury Cooper. Not a lot of optimism around Azekia Elliott. You look at the Cowboys, for them to have a successful season this year, and for Mike McCarthy to be back next year, I think they got to make the NFC Championship game. And I don't see the Cowboys, Hickey, making the NFC Championship game, and I know you're the king of the hot takes. I don't believe though that's a hot take. No, I am 100% with you. Could not agree more.

I don't like what Stephen Jones said. And it's weird because this is probably more so out of support, but with what the Cowboys are all about, and I said this once in Jess, but in a weird way, I think it's starting to become true. It's almost as if the Cowboys evaluate success based off of how much drama they could stir up.

Where a lot of teams base success, and most teams, the majority, and almost all the teams base success of how many wins you have and how many losses you have. But for the Cowboys, whenever there is a path or a door that's slightly open to making statements or having a little drama, they kick that door down. And hey, you should put all the pressure that you need on your franchise quarterback when you're paying him $40 million. And he should be able to survive this, and he will because Dak has a good head on his shoulders. But when you say that he's had the best training camp he's ever had, that is once again setting the bar all the way to the tippy tippy top. And I don't view the Cowboys as a team that got to reach all the way to the tippy tippy top this season. When we come on back, what the heck is going on with Tom Brady as he makes his return?

And did we find out who maybe the mother bleeper was? And I'm not talking about Zach Wilson. I was talking about a quarterback that one team said, yeah, I'm going to roll with that guy instead of the great TB12, the GOAT. It's the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. I'm Mandi Bell and I'm Sarah Langs. We're reporters for MLB.com and our new podcast Fielding Questions will explain why baseball players are so superstitious, what separates the best ballparks from the rest and all those other things you always wanted to know about baseball. You know, the greatest sport in the world. You can subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, Odyssey or wherever you get your podcasts.

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