Braves In Trouble? (Hour 2)

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For home loan solutions that fit your life well, Rocket can. Coming up 20 minutes from now, Brad Lidge is going to join us. I believe that they're trying to start this Phillies game coming up at 7, what did I see, 37?

Is that what it is there, Hot Takeke? 737? I think 730 on the nose. 730 on the nose, okay.

I'm used to these bizarre start times. And this game was supposed to start at what, like 5 o'clock I think it was? 530? 430.

430? And it got delayed because of weather. So now we'll see if this game is actually going to start or if they're going to make it through. But I saw Ken Rosenthal a few moments ago say they are optimistic that the game will be able to start 30 minutes from now. So you'll be getting Phillies and Braves game number two. And the Phillies are up one nothing in this series.

And what a crazy game that was yesterday. Nick Castellanos with the three RBIs, flashed the leather late. Braves put on a late comeback. This is a tough spot I think for Atlanta. And we talked about a little bit with Ricky Ricardo last hour. That Atlanta team, and can they come back and can they win this series?

Absolutely. But this Phillies team has been underachieving for most of the year. They got rid of Joe Girardi, Rob Thompson, then the interim manager.

And now the interim tag has been removed. They got a two-year contract extension I saw the other day. But that team, the bats were never really clicking. And Harper was hurt. Castellanos wasn't as great as what they thought he was going to be. Schwarber's been having a good season.

He's been mashing, we know that. But this Phillies team, not that I think they're going to be in the World Series. But they could take down this Atlanta team. And you also got to remember, Nola hasn't even gone yet in this series. And you have Wheeler tonight.

The way that this is set up, this is a... The Phillies are actually constructed in a nice spot where you got two really good pitchers. Wheeler, and then Nola has been back to good Nola this year. And you got bats that could hit the long ball. Because how many years, Ryan, have we been kind of confused as to how you build a baseball team? Some people say you win with dominant starting pitching.

Some say you win with timely contact hitting. What we're seeing right now is that the long ball is winning in this postseason. So I look at a team like the Phillies. They have the starting pitching.

And they can hit the long ball. I know Atlanta is a heck of a lineup. Atlanta is a heck of a team, a heck of an organization.

This is a huge spot for Atlanta tonight. Now they have Kyle Wright on the mound. But the Phillies have the starting pitching advantage. And that Atlanta team, I thought they celebrated the NL East a little bit too much.

It's important to celebrate it. But for a team that has just won a World Series, it felt like winning the NL East, and I know it was a great comeback. But winning that NL East was a little bit bigger than what it actually was.

Don't get me wrong, it's important. You avoid the wild card and the Mets the entire year were in that driver's seat. And they came back and they did a great job. But I'm very intrigued when this game does get first pitch thrown at projected now, 7.30, how this does play out. And I'm curious to see what the life is of the Atlanta Braves early in this game. Because this was a Phillies team that they're just getting hot at the right time. And we've seen that in sports before.

Teams just get hot at the right time. I think the limit for the Phillies this year probably is just getting to the league championship series. Because I don't think the Phillies would beat the Dodgers.

But maybe we shouldn't get there first and see what happens here. Or get there right now and see what happens first in this game number two tonight between Philly and Atlanta. I hate to say it. I hate the Braves a lot. I think they're going back to the World Series. The Braves? I don't think they're winning it. I think they're getting back. This team is too good. Yeah, they are pretty damn good.

They are talent-wise. And now you have Acuna too. You didn't have last year. Line up.

Stacked. I'm not going to. I hate to do it. I'm rooting for the Phillies.

I just don't think even after game one. Cut that. This is why the message really just screwed you. Like this is where we're sitting here. Go ahead.

You haven't had any time to vent on this one yet. Here's what I've kind of been, what I've realized the last year. I've kind of been a coach here at CBO Sports Radio a little bit.

I saw Carlos Ortiz today. I was coaching him up before he was doing a fill-in somewhere. I've been helping coach you up as well in developing a little bit more confidence. Go ahead. I will allow you to vent because I don't feel like you have been right this entire week. And I got my frustration out on Monday, the minute that microphone was turned on at 6 p.m. Eastern. And you are still Debbie Downer. You just look like you're annoyed.

You look like you're upset. So go ahead. Get it out. You can vent on the Mets.

Go ahead. It's not. I hate to say it's not even there anymore. It's just still depression. But I have nothing to scream about. You look like a train hit you.

And you have no clue how to respond. They did it to themselves. And now I'm sitting here rooting for the Phillies, a team I despise, to beat a team I hate even more in the Braves. Even though I think the Braves are going to go win the NL again, which is going to just kill me even more. And really, despite the fact there's, what, eight teams left, I really only want to see like three actually win.

So the odds are not even my favor of seeing the World Series. Three teams. Astros, Mariners, Guardians. Guardians?

Okay. So you're just basically rooting for the Astros because the Mariners are dunzo after last night. And the Guardians are not going to beat the Yankees.

That's it. So the odds are not my favor. So I'm going to be even more miserable.

So I can't wait. Why not the Dodgers? I'm talking about getting to the World Series again.

I like rooting against them. They're always so good in the regular season. They always find a way to choke in the playoffs. I love when teams that are always so domino, always, oh, this is the best team in baseball.

Always find a way to choke in the postseason. I'm just a hater by nature. So I enjoy that. So you trust the Braves more than the Dodgers? Yes.

Interesting. Even with the year that the Dodgers have had, like we talked about how great the Braves were. The Dodgers have been that great throughout.

Absolutely. Questions in the bullpen, questions in the back end of starting pitching. I think it's going to kind of rear their ugly heads if they go to the NLCS. If the Phillies win tonight, though, would you say that series is done? So only needing one more when you go back to Philadelphia for games three and four. They win tonight. Then I change my tune a little bit.

Yes. Down 0-2 needing to win three straight. You would think right with how good the Braves have been and how great the Braves have been that the Braves would win. But this Phillies team, man, they're just been on a run recently. And you have the pitching matchup advantage tonight. Like if you jump on Kyle Wright early, get him out of the game early.

You could ride Zach Wheeler. I know pitchers don't get, unless if you're Joe Musgrove, up against the Mets. You don't really get deep into games in the postseason. But I could see Zach Wheeler potentially even up against what is a very good, great Braves lineup. Wouldn't it surprise me to go seven and two thirds tonight? Would not surprise me whatsoever.

Seven and two thirds for the former Met. Why not? Pour it on. Pour it on. Let's go. Padres, Dodgers. And with that, I know you Darvish is going tonight. You got Clayton Kershaw. I got to think that the Dodgers are winning this series.

That was a bizarre game last night. Dodgers got out early. Padres started to slowly climb back at the home run. You got guys second and third. Got them both in.

You had the head first slide at the plate. I just think that the Padres are, on paper, they have a ton of talent, but it just shows you how talented this Dodgers team is. I would be surprised if this even gets past four games. That's how confident I am in the Dodgers in this series.

I think it'll be a tight series. I think four, but you sweat. Astros, Mariners. Four, maybe. This is going in four. Astros in four games, I would say.

At most. The Mariners have been a great story. I don't know how you come back from yesterday.

I think your heart just gets taken from you. Because if they could steal game one, you did your job, then you go back to Seattle, regardless of what happens after game number two, to be up 7-3. And not like up 7-3 in the second inning. Up 7-3 late. And then you go from being one out away from still surviving it.

And then the next thing you know, with two guys on, Alvarez goes deep to right and you lose the game. If they bounce back tomorrow. And I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing that they had a day off now. In this case, I see I could go both ways because I could say you want to just get that out of your system as quick as possible and get back onto the field. But I think to give yourself a day to mentally, yeah, you'll be thinking about it, but just decompress and try to do something fun. Maybe that's the only hope that they have because of the scheduling. That they could have a good day today. You know, have a few laughs.

Go out, get a nice meal. And then it just resets you for game number two. But if that's what I'm reaching for on this one, then let me just translate that to you in the Zach Geld method. They're shot, they're done. So you say that that Seahawks game might have to get moved, huh? Is that what we're saying? Oh, yeah. On Sunday. Which is a rare, rare feat to see where baseball would take precedent over the NFL, even though it's playoffs versus regular season. We never see.

Now, what is that? Game four Sunday? Game four Sunday in Seattle.

Then I'm hoping that the Astros winning in three games. Oh, selfishly. I do iron football for eight hours each and every Sunday. There's only three, four o'clock window games. Again? Wow.

Yeah. Again, it's like we're on like a two or three week stretch where there's only three, four o'clock window games. The NFL goes, Gelb has a lot of takes about the NFL. He's been critical of Goodell, even though I can't blame him to say this. I have warmed up a little bit to Goodell.

And I have given him a lot more praise in the last year or two than I usually do. But besides the point, I think that they now knew I was doing iron football again. And that's why they only have these three games in the four o'clock window for like three or four weeks.

And potentially the Mariners win a game. You could have two for like an hour. Because the game that would be what, five thirty? I think it is. Yes. Five thirty Eastern.

Yeah. The NFL game would kick off because I believe the baseball games at three or seven Eastern. I'm not sure that how an hour difference is going to make, you know, for that. But this game's tomorrow, Thursday, right? Astros in two is Thursday. OK, I'm I'm getting on a plane after the show. I'm going to Houston. I'm going to be sitting in the outfield, banging the trash can, helping the Astros out. We need the Astros in game two. And then we're doing the show.

Well, it'll be over the weekend, but we'll go on remote and I will be in Seattle and I will be banging the trash can again in favor of the Astros. I don't for eye on football. That would suck.

I know it's Bill's Chiefs. That's a game that everyone cares about. But to just have two games from a stretch of four to five thirty would be absolutely brutal.

And then I also feel bad if I leave at 8 p.m. after being here for eight hours. And we wouldn't know the end result of that game yet for the Seattle Seahawks. Yeah, I guess.

Yeah. Every game has ended right. Obviously, well within eight o'clock for the most part. If management comes to me and they go, Zach, we need you to stay until the conclusion of the Cardinal Seahawks game. That gets moved to five thirty. That didn't happen. Does Jody go to the stringers, you think?

Well, only be one stringer at that point or stringer. Yeah. Jody will do like a 40 minute interview with the guy. We will do a legal hopefully.

Hopefully, illegally. You won't be doing play by play. You know, I'm not doing play by play. They told me I can't play by play, so I'm not doing play by play, but I'm basically doing play by play. Is it play by play if Jody asks a question? It's second down and seven.

What happened? Yankees-Guardians? I just don't think the Guardians have the offense to keep up with the Yankees. They don't hit enough home runs.

We know that. This Guardians team, it's amazing that they're in this spot and they always find the way. And they got some talent on that team. But when you're up against this big dog kind of team like the Yankees, even though I don't think the Yankees are going to the World Series this year, I just don't see, even in a game last day where they actually got a home run, the Guardians, I don't see how they're going to have enough offense here.

They'll get a game, the Guardians. I would say it's probably Yankees in four of that series as well. It seems inevitable we're getting Yankees-Astro's. And then in the NL, Dodgers will definitely be in the NLCS. This Phillies series for me has got a lot more compelling than I thought it would have been going in. It's because just more so out of the respect to the Braves and what they've been able to do recently. But there's always that one team that just gets hot and they get hot late and we know they have the talent in the starting rotation. We know they have the talent in the lineup and they can hit a ton of home runs.

This game tonight is enormous. And I would actually say in a weird way, there may be more pressure on the Phillies tonight than the Braves. And yet the Braves go down 0-2, you feel like you're screwed. But for Philadelphia, you go up 2-0 in this series and you haven't even played a home game yet. I think you basically guarantee that you win the series. If you lose tonight and it gets to 1-1, then I think for sure, and then it can happen in a game five that we're going to get a fifth game. Because Atlanta will go to Philadelphia and they will at least, at least get one game. So that's why I kind of think there's more pressure on the Phillies side even though they're up 1-0. I was going to say the Braves season is kind of over. They lose tonight.

You would think so. But if I tell you that the Braves, if the Braves tie this up tonight at 1-1, you're definitely thinking it's going to a game five, right? If the Braves even up this series at 1-1. I mean, I still may say Braves in four, to be honest.

Okay. That's where we differentiate. If the Phillies though go up 2-0, I don't see a way in where the Braves are going or where the Phillies aren't finding a way to just get one in Philadelphia. So I'm just talking about the quickest road to end the series.

You could play that argument both ways totally and it kind of plays into one another. But for the Phillies, you have an opportunity to knock out the defending champs tonight or throw a big time punch. And if you miss that punch, you give them life again and you give them their heart back at 1-1. And it's a brand new series. It is the Zach Yelp Show on CBS Sports Radio.

Brad Lidge will join us next. There's a lot to listen to. So get started and download the free Odyssey app today. The listening you love is on the free Odyssey app. Your trusted local radio stations, coverage of your favorite teams, live news from your hometown and millions of podcasts on demand.

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So get started and download the free Odyssey app today. You're listening to the Zach Gelb Show. Baseball postseason rolls on tonight coming up in about 10 minutes. You got game number two between the Phillies and the Braves. Phillies did take game one of that series as game number two is obviously tonight once again in Atlanta. And you got game number two between the Padres and the Dodgers. Dodgers are up 1-0 after their game one victory last night.

Let's welcome in a man that won a World Series in Philadelphia. And that, of course, is Brad Lidge. Brad, appreciate time as always. How you been? I've been great, Zach. How about you?

I'm doing fantastic. So let's start you off with this Phillies team. I've been impressed. We know they can hit the long ball. You know what Nola and Wheeler are capable of.

But all throughout the year, it just wasn't clicking. How dangerous is this team and how, I don't know if I want to say fearful should the Braves be because they've seen everything. But how much of a dangerous spot are the Braves in?

Well, I think they're definitely in a dangerous spot because I think all of a sudden the Phillies are playing very differently than they did for most of the regular season. Or at least, you know, until Rob Thompson took over. Now, you could argue that they've been a lot better, obviously, since Rob Thompson took over.

And that's certainly true. But they've never been as healthy as they are right now. They've never played, you know, the small game as well as they're doing right now. And, you know, quite frankly, you know, Bryce hasn't been in there. And they haven't, you know, I think the bullpen has been a disarray for a lot this year.

So it seems like everything is clicking on all cylinders right now. And if you look at the Phillies roster and you're going to tell me, hey, this team's also going to play great defense right now, which they hadn't done all year. Then all of a sudden it's a very scary team capable really of beating anyone.

Top to bottom, they have a great squad. They just haven't played whole and collectively like they are now the entire year. Do you think maybe, and I know it could be a five-game series, but tonight determines who's going to win this series. Because if Atlanta ties it up at one apiece, you've got to think eventually we'll see a game five in this series. But if the Phillies go up 2-0, I don't see how this gets to a game five. Because you know the Philadelphia Phillies will find a way to win one on their home turf.

Yeah, I would agree. I think certainly if the Phillies go up 2-0, there should be no reason to suspect Atlanta could come back from that. That just doesn't happen. Especially when the Phillies have great starting pitching. If the Braves win tonight, buckle up.

We're in for a five-game series for sure. And I don't think, certainly the Braves will probably have an advantage in that. And probably most people would still favor the Braves. But I think at the end of the day, you look at these two teams and the way the Phillies are hitting right now. The Phillies always have the players.

They have a really good offense. The Braves have an elite offense. But the Phillies' starting rotation and the way it's pitching right now with Wheeler and Nola and Ranger Suarez is obviously tough to hit. They're pitching every bit as good as those great starters in Atlanta. So that means it's going to come down to the bullpens. And I think ultimately, yes, you would give an edge to the Atlanta Braves. Of course, when it comes to the bullpens, Kelly Jansen's been telling the ball really well. The guys before him are great.

You know, the Phillies are still mixing and matching. Still trying to figure out if Zach Efland is the answer in the ninth inning or not. I think he can be. I think he showed a lot of poise and kind of like whatever when Matt Olsen hit that home run last night. He got right back on the mound and got the next guy out.

So I think he's fine. But honestly, I think Sarampini Dominguez is the guy you'd want closing. But if he can throw two innings, then probably you're going to want him before Efland. So long story short, the Phillies, their bullpen isn't quite as good as the Braves.

That's just a fact. But it is throwing the ball well right now. I think if the Braves win tonight, they probably still are the favorites, yes. Brad Lidge here with us. There's so many different ways to win in baseball.

And I understand it could be a mixture of all the three things I'm about to say. But I'm just curious, what's the most important thing to have to win a championship? Because we've seen a team like the Royals win being contact timely hitters. This year it seems like home runs is really what's winning. And then we've seen other years where teams just have dominant starting rotations. Yeah, I think honestly it depends on the nature of your team.

You have to figure out what the nature of your team is and then you have to maximize that. So sometimes it will be dominant bullpen. Sometimes it will be just dominant starting pitching.

Other times you're just going to beat up on teams offensively. I think in the game today, you obviously have to have a great bullpen. Because as the series progress, as you get to five games and then seven games, you start to see the other teams bullpen a lot.

And if they're not great out there, they're going to start to get exposed. That is the one kind of troubling thing for the Phillies. In Game 1, they had to use all their high-leverage guys to go out there and to stop the Braves. And so the Braves have already seen them one time.

So that's going to make things a lot more difficult. Honestly, you've got to play great defense, of course. You've got to have timely hitting.

Those things are true regardless. But every team's identity kind of lets them know. It's funny because we see maybe the Guardians are playing small ball. And if they go on and have a great postseason, next year everyone's going to want to revert back to small ball. But if a team that gnashes wins, everybody next year is going to say, oh, you've got to get the offense.

In truth, it's just a matter of a team playing to their identity and playing and maximizing that. Is this Dodgers-Podgers series going to be Dodgers quickly or does it maybe go longer than what people are thinking? I think it's going to be the Dodgers quickly. I think the Padres did a hell of a job against the Mets, and that was fun. But at the end of the day, you're not beating the Dodgers. I do think the Dodgers get the—Udarvish is going to throw great, but I just think the Dodgers will have his number.

My guess is he's going to have a lot more of a difficult outing. And I just think that, honestly, the Dodgers lineup just doesn't stop firing top to bottom. They're just too good. And the bullpen is probably a lot better than people realize. Even if Craig Kimbrough isn't closing, they're still really tough to hit and they match up really well. And then ultimately they've got incredible starting pitching, too.

So that's why they are who they are. And I think the experience and the confidence they have in the postseason speaks for itself. So I think they'll dispatch with the Padres pretty quickly.

Brad Lidge here with us on the Zach Gelb show. Devastating loss yesterday for the Mariners, up 7-3. And then you had the Alvarez walk-off home run. I feel like they're cooked, but I'm just curious since you have a day off now. When you have a devastating loss like that, do you just want to get back on the field as quick as possible? Or maybe this day off, you go out for a nice dinner on the road, but the guys could actually help that team just clear their mind from Game 1. Well, it might, but ultimately I guarantee you for Robbie Ray and probably for Scott Service, too, they want to get back out there as soon as they can and right the ship. Nobody likes to have, you know, if you're pitching out of the bullpen or you don't do well or whatever the case, you want to get back out there.

Well, hopefully you want to get back out there as soon as you possibly can and do a whole lot better. So honestly, it'd probably be better for Seattle to play tonight. It would probably be better for them to get right back out there. You know, it's funny, if Jordan Alvarez doesn't hit that home run, you know, the only thing we're talking about today is how Seattle's offense has just exploded in the postseason and they beat up anyone that goes out there, including the great Justin Berlander. But instead, we're not talking about that.

It doesn't mean it's not still true. It's just that obviously the magnitude of that home run last night, you know, trumps everything. The Astros are going to be tough. They are absolutely the power in the AL, and I don't even think the Yankees are close to the Astros. What would that series be, assuming they meet up inevitably in the ALCS, Astros then in how many games? I think the Astros take it in, they've got home field advantage.

I think they take it in five or maybe six. When you look at the Yankees, I just want to get your thoughts on their Aldis Chapman situation. So I guess he got the sense that he wasn't going to be on the roster, and then you don't show up for the mandatory workout. There's no way they could bring him back for the rest of the postseason, right? No, I don't think you do.

I really don't. I mean, we'll put it this way, if the bullpen throws like, you know, terribly and they barely survive, then you consider it, of course. But if the bullpen throws the ball well, I think you just say thanks, but no thanks. I mean, honestly, his command and control issues in the high leverage situation for the angst this year, and even prior to this year, have always been a little bit troubling. You'd rather have him wanting to be out there, but if anybody is going to say, you know, they don't really care if they can't guarantee they have a spot, they don't want to be there, you know, Craig Kimball didn't get a spot either. And I guarantee you he's not doing the same thing Aldis Chapman is out there in L.A. with the Dodgers. I was just so extremely disappointed with the role of this Chapman who, if he ever had a Hall of Fame case, has sealed the coffin on that, that will not happen now.

And quite frankly, I don't see how any other team would want him on their squad either at this point going forward. So, I think the Yankees did absolutely the right thing by leaving him off the roster, and it is just really, really disappointing. It's just such a lack of respect for your teammates. Even if there was that case that you were going to be left off the roster, it's like, have respect for the other guys in the locker room.

Absolutely. I mean, it's the ultimate selfish move. You know, I kept waiting for something to break, like, you know, he got in trouble with some kind of authority or something happened with his family. Just something that wouldn't make me think he was just so selfish. But at the end of the day, it's really troubling to see that. And even if the issue is, you know, weak apology, whatever, like, it just doesn't matter anymore. You're right, it's about the other guys in the clubhouse.

It is shocking to me that somebody can be so selfish this time of year. And, yeah, I don't know what else to say. You leave the rest of the guys, your bullpen mates hanging, everything else. So, unfortunately, he got what's coming to him, and I can't see him getting back on that team. Is Aaron Judge back with the Yankees next year, or does he go somewhere else? Oh, I think he's back with the Yankees. I think, you know, he upped his salary quite a bit this year.

But at the end of the day, two things are inevitably true. The Yankees understand, that front office understands, how important he is for that team, for the fan base to come and watch. He can't go.

There's nobody that can replace him. And I think Aaron Judge wants to be a Yankee. He wants to be a legend in that city, the way Derek Jeter was.

So, you combine those two things, I think ultimately he goes back to these. Last thing for you, Brad Lidge. Who's winning the World Series this year? Boy, I think it's going to be the Dodgers and the Astros.

I feel pretty confident saying that. I think it's going to go to seven games. You know, I think the Dodgers win it this year. I think they have, well, they do have home field advantage.

And I think that will ultimately click into this thing. So, I think the Dodgers win it in seven games in L.A. Does the cheating scandal matter anymore? Or, like, has everyone moved on from that? And we've just realized, yes, the Astros have won a World Series again, but they show they can still be a damn good team still. Well, I think that's part of it, right? Because when you're the Houston Astros and you continue to go out there and you're as good as you are year in and year out, it starts to dawn on people that, okay, yeah, they did that that year, but actually they're just a super great bunch of talented offensive players and that maybe helped them on that year, but they're going to be there every year.

I think it did make people move past it a lot quicker. If they weren't the same team or something like that, then that would be different. But they just keep reloading and they keep playing great. And the front office and that organization have done an incredible job reloading. They're going to be great for, like, the next five years, or as far as we can see, they're going to have an incredible team and an incredible staff. So I don't see the Astros going anywhere.

And I think as far as the cheating scandal goes, we'll remember it forever, but they've absorbed it and they've moved on by playing great baseball continually, and that kind of silences everybody. Brad Lidge, always appreciate the time. Thanks so much. All right, Zach, you bet.

Have a good one. You got it. There's Brad Lidge joining us on the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. We'll come on back. We'll date you on the biggest stories in the world of sports with some audio.

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Download the Odyssey app today. You're listening to the Zach Gelb show. I thought that prey aged pretty well there, hot take kicky. Sometimes you play some of these rejoins and I go, okay, kind of right. Yeah, a lot of times right. That one, though, hit that out of the park.

That was the easiest prediction I've ever had, that eventually, if they did not start Kenny Pickett week one, that Mitch Trubusky was going to be, well, Mitch Trubusky. I don't know. Kind of tough to see where you come down on that one. Sounds pretty split. Sarcastic hickey is back.

Think of rally auto parts where your car care needs get guaranteed low prices and excellent customer service from the professional parts people at a rally auto parts. Let's get to a news brief time for your daily news brief. We get you caught up on the rumors reports and reconnaissance from the day in sports from one quarterback. I love and Mitch Trubusky to another quarterback that I love Carson Wentz. And we know that Carson's career came and wentz. But it's still somewhat ongoing with the Washington commanders, even though Ron Rivera threw his quarterback underneath the bus and only threw his quarterback underneath the bus. He then backed it up on one Carson Wentz. Carson Wentz responded to the comments by Ron Rivera, saying the difference in the growth of these teams in the NFC East is, well, quarterback play. Coach addressed it, handled it.

Nothing for me that I'm overly concerned about. Coach is a very straightforward, upfront guy. And he addressed it in the team meeting, which I thought was really cool and what he meant by it all. So I feel very confident in that on a scale of believable or not believable. How believable is Carson Wentz in that response? If one is believable, 10 is non-believable, I get like a 13.

I was going like 82. There's I mean, it's pretty cool that he said it in the meeting. Give me a break. Yeah, it's cool that he trashed me to all you guys, even though he probably wasn't wrong because I do suck. And then it was nice how he took ownership of the situation to the team and coach and I were good. Hickey, let's say you were out one day and I got on the radio and I'm like, the difference between us being a good show to a great show is that my producer is just not as good as the other producers here at CBS Sports Radio. The producer. Yeah, the producer.

Could be true. Hold on, no, no, this is still make believe, right? Yes, yes, yes. We're still like in character here.

I don't need to go. Ron Rivera. Come on, Jack.

And then the next day it got it went viral that everyone's like Gail Blass. Hickey, the producer of CBS Sports Radio, says he's the difference. Why they're not on the same level as D.A. and Jim Rome and Bill. Right. Right.

The other shows that we have here in the line about need to go to the whole lineup. And then the next day I go to you. Hey, Ryan, my bad.

I should have said that. And then someone asked you and he goes, yeah, it's pretty cool. Zach, talk to me. We had a good relationship.

We still do. And we'll be fine. There's no way you actually you're saying it's fine, but there's no way that you are actually fine. To be fair to cars, I think he has to say it's fine to put the story to bed. But you're right.

There's no there is zero, zero chance deep down. He actually feels anything like like how he is trying to portray that he feels. And also Carson.

I don't know if head case is the right word. But he is the guy that lets the outside noise affect him. Did so in Philadelphia.

Did so in Indianapolis. And now when your coach basically says, yeah, you're not that good. And his defense was, well, you know, he struggled in a couple of games. He only played a couple of games.

There was nothing positive in that answer, even when Ron was trying to be positive. The competitor of Carson Wentz should just say, F this, we're one in four. This is my third chance in the league.

I got to go survive and I got to go prove everyone wrong. I don't think he's capable of doing that, though. Let me ask you this. So we know his career spiraled, especially once Jalen Hurts was drafted, right?

He's very soft. You had just mentioned, you said your head coach said the quarterback is the reason why we suck. Carson Wentz has been bad. How bad can this get?

Family wise, it's tough to go much further. They put the ball in the two yard line. The first throw, he almost had an interception. The second throw, he almost had an interception and the first throw, he almost had an interception throwing the ball away. And then the third throw, he did get picked off. So how bad could this get? Yeah, really damn bad because his plays get a stink. And then everyone now in the media knows that Ron Rivera doesn't believe in the guy anymore.

And it only took five games. Ron, what were you watching the last few years that you wanted to swap twos where you get the lesser two, then give up two third round picks, one that could become a conditional second. And now you're like, oh yeah, we're screwed.

You don't actually believe in this guy anymore. So the longer Carson Wentz continues to stink up the joint, then it's just going to get uglier and uglier and uglier. I'll tell you this, I'm rooting for Carson Wentz. Seriously. Why? Because we need the call to get a second round pick.

We've placed 70% of the snaps. I'm worried if this goes south, who cares? He'll get benched. Put it this way. Need the draft assets with how bad your football team looks.

Exactly. They need the draft assets. You'll be picking early in the second round anyway.

Don't worry. Load them up and let's get ourselves Bryce Young. We're going to dream big. You may get Bryce Young just based on where you finished this year.

You also might be right. They are the worst offense in the NFL. Hard to get much worse than that. I really hope the Bears win tomorrow night.

Give me a Bears win. Oh my. I totally forgot.

That's, oh boy. National stage for Carson Wentz coming now off these comments. And his numbers against the Bears are, someone put the tweet out today. The numbers against the Bears have been great.

Oh, I thought you were going to say horrible. How is it for when he's got in the league, how can you bet against the Bears? He has dominated, dominated the Bears.

Tell you who's happy right now. Matt Eberflug, that's for sure. All because he knows him? Well, I was going to say, cause he's the coach and you know, if anything's going to throw Carson on his game this week, it's Carson's own head coach saying he's stuck. If anything's going to throw Carson on his own game this week, it's going to be Carson Wentz. Well, that's also true. But Ron Naveri's helping him out there. I saw this stat today too. This from Stat Muse.

This account I usually like. Carson Wentz this season. More completions then. Mahomes, Burrow, Rogers. More passing yards then, Hertz, Rogers, Stafford. More touchdowns than Rogers, Brady, Kyler Murray. Are they really trying to pump up Carson Wentz here?

This is what the guy does. He puts up touchdowns, but he also throws picks. He's kind of like Kirk Cousins. A worse version of Kirk Cousins. You look at the box score, oh, 3-50 yards.

Okay, not bad. And then you watch the game, it's like, oh, this. He puts up with the first quarter.

Then like I said, the fourth quarter game on the line, he's throwing three near picks where two should have been. Yeah. Belichick says what, stats are for losers? Stat Muse. Losers.

No, no, no, I like that. It's not a lie. It's a great account. That account.

But in this case, stats are for losers. They're 1-4 and the quarterback just threw the game away. Mike McCarthy's asked who was likely to start at quarterback Sunday for the Cowboys. We were preparing for Cooper to start against the Eagles. That was quick. Quick to the point. If you asked Jerry Jones that question, he would still be talking, then times that for about six or seven minutes.

Mike Tomlin says the Steelers' struggles start with him. We were a disaster counting in all three phases and we have to own that starting with myself and I do. And equally as important, we got to build a plan in which to move forward. Like I also mentioned after the game, you know, all things are on the table when you perform like that and I wasn't just talking tongue in cheek. I mean it. I just think when you're up against it, man, you got to really look at all components of what it is that you do.

Not for the sake of changing, but for change for the better. Here's the bottom line. The Steelers have no offensive line and right now we don't know what Kenny Pickett's going to be and it's unfair to determine what Kenny Pickett's going to be based off of one game. They're basically rebuilding. The defense has taken a step back and now they're without T.J. Watt. I don't think Mike Tomlin's in danger of losing his job, but as I said earlier, Mike Tomlin's in a similar spot where Harbaugh was a few years ago when you know Joe Flacco's no longer the answer. They knew Big Ben was no longer the answer. He's no longer there and you bring in this new quarterback and that new quarterback's going to determine, because it's a quarterback-driven league, if you're going to be able to find that next chapter. For Harbaugh he was able to, we'll see if Tomlin can do so, but if the Steelers ever thought of moving on from Mike Tomlin, he would have a job in a minute and I said this earlier and I'll say it again. If the Steelers moved on from Mike Tomlin at the end of this year, which I don't think they will, it would benefit Mike Tomlin more than the Steelers because the Steelers have a lot of work to do and Mike Tomlin is a very good coach and Mike Tomlin then could maybe upgrade jobs if let's say the Cowboys came open or the Broncos came open or the Chargers came open. Let's go to Steve Wilks, the new head coach of the Carolina Panthers, his mixed emotions about becoming the interim head coach of the Panthers.

I stand before you excited about this opportunity, but also disappointed in how it came about. Coach Rule is a great coach, a great man, and as I stated here yesterday to the players, we didn't do our job as coaches and players. We didn't coach hard enough, we didn't win enough football games to keep him around. But I also stated as well that this is part of the business and one thing I do know for sure, they're not canceling our season. So we had to do a great job of coming together collectively and finding a way to turn this thing around quickly. And finally, let's hear from Steve Kerr on why Draymond Green wasn't suspended for punching Jordan Poole despite getting suspended in the pass for a verbal altercation with Kevin Durant.

Every situation is totally different and we don't look at everything in a vacuum and say alright well now we did that here, we got to do that there. We would hope that we've developed enough equity with the experience we have with our fan base, with the people watching over the last decade that people can trust us that we've really put a lot of thought into this decision. As I said, we feel like this is the best way for us to move forward. The discussions have been really important and in particular those that involved Draymond and Jordan together. So when Bob and I assessed everything, we decided that this was our choice.

And one more quickie from Steve Kerr, he says not issuing a suspension is the best way to move forward. We feel like we have a great feel for our team. We've got a lot of continuity on this team so Bob and I know our players extremely well. We feel like this is the best way after assessing everything for us to move forward. It's never easy, no matter what decision you make in a situation like this, it's not going to be perfect. So they obviously think Draymond and Jordan Poole will end up being okay.

I'm not going to say good, but just okay with one another I guess. And I did see that Draymond Green is going to return to team activities coming up tomorrow. I don't get how you punch another player in the face.

I know people are going to tell me, oh, just practice, just practice. If you punch another player in the face, especially when he's on your own team, not that you should do it to another team, but it's almost, it is worse when it's on your team. I don't get how you suspend, how you don't suspend the guy for at least the game.

If not longer than that, but I have, I have no clue when it comes to punitive actions in the NBA, because a lot of times it's just very inconsistent, but this one for the life of me, I don't get how they don't suspend them. Football season is here. The new Odyssey app lets you stay connected to your NFL team, your station, your shows. Follow your favorite stations and come back again and again.

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