Packing Up The Season? (Hour 3)

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Download the Odyssey app today. That's what I'm talking about. Hour number three is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. We're coming to you live from the Rocket Mortgage Studios. Whether you're looking to purchase a new home or refinance, yours, Rocket Mortgage, could help you get there for home-owned solutions that fit your life.

Well, Rocket can. Late addition to the show coming up 20 minutes from now. Former Packers fullback John Kuhn will stop by.

I was just texting with him during the break. He's going to hop on 20 minutes from now on the Zach Gelb show. And at the top of the hour, played 10 years in the NFL Lige Duzebol, will stop by as well. But first up, it's time to get you up to date with all the latest in the world of sports with some audio. We call this segment the News Brief. Time for your Daily News Brief.

We get you caught up on the rumors, reports, and reconnaissance from the day in sports. Brad Jennings. He was on the Cardin show earlier today on Fox Sports One. He says that Aaron Rodgers is in the wrong for calling out his teammates. Aaron, you can't do this.

Now, you can't sit on a forum like the Pat McAfee show. And I love Pat. Pat is doing an unbelievable job. But you can't just vent about everything that's wrong in the locker room, on the field, and not talk about your lack of production. Like, you have to go out front before you pull everybody out in front of you to guard what your performance has looked like. I would not have a problem if he's calling out his teammates and he's been playing lights out. But he has not.

And that's the part that rubs people the wrong way. It's like you can't act as though your game has just been last year MVP level. Greg Jennings is 1000% right. It was one thing last week to say that, all right, we got to simplify the offense. Then it's another thing based off the simplifying the offense remarks that we could go to say, it's now time to cut the reps of the guys that just are not performing well and are making the same mistakes week in and week out. Because you see a pattern develop and that pattern. The only way that I can logically explain it is that Aaron Rodgers is annoyed with Matt LaFlore's offense. And then he's annoyed that Matt LaFlore is putting the same guys out there on the field.

And am I crazy or Ryan? Is there any other way to interpret that? Not really. And you nailed it. Because he could just be frustrated, right? You could say, well, maybe it's just him being frustrated.

You could be frustrated. But to say what he said publicly, the simplifying the offense, I didn't really have a big problem with. This one this week, this makes him look bad because it now develops a pattern where we've seen this now in consecutive weeks. And if you ask them, I don't know if he's been asked this, like, do you have any problems with Matt LaFlore? He would probably scoff at the question and talk down to you and make you feel like you're a POS, probably.

That would probably be the case. You, though, say the things that you said the last two weeks. There's no other way for me to interpret it differently.

And I threw this out to begin the show and I'll say it again. Is it to a point of a contentious relationship where he can't stand Matt LaFlore, that I don't know? In the offseason, though, does he wave that what his dead cap is? And if he just wanted to retire, how can he use that as a bargaining chip to try to threaten the Packers? Because if his dead cap is like ninety nine hundred million dollars and he retires or he and he walks away. That's a that's an organization that gets even an organization as great as the Packers.

It gets thrown into the hole and it sets you back for a few years. And I wonder if Roger, the end of the year, tries to blame someone and tries to say it's either me or Matt LaFlore and how the Packers would handle it if it did get down that road. So Robert Quinn, he gets traded to the Philadelphia Eagles earlier today. Howie Roseman with another brilliant move. Eagles are all in. Roquan Smith. I guess he was at the podium when he found out about this news.

And here was the emotional reaction to find out that Robert Quinn's going from the Bears to the Eagles. Sucks. Yeah.

I'm going to take a second for a second if you don't mind. No, I have a great deal of respect for that guy. You know. Crazy.

Isn't that crazy how that happens? Now they're getting a deal done. You got to he doesn't know that that deal is coming. But if you know that they're on the verge of getting a deal done, what you had to know if you're in that organization, right? With Ryan Poles and Matt Eberfluis and it's more so Ryan Poles. If you know that something's brewing, maybe you say, okay, we hold off. Tell the PR staff, guys, we're about to get a deal done.

Hold off and get Robert Quinn at the podium. I know it moves quickly. So maybe that's being critical. It's kind of nuts. So how that happened and plays out right in front of us. All right. I wonder if it's emotions because he loves Robert Quinn and also emotions of getting me out of here.

I requested a trade didn't work in here. I am stuck with even a worse team than it began. It's a good point. There had to be some tears of frustration there.

This is a frustration based in the news brief today. Rogers to then Roquan Smith negative Wednesday here. Russell Wilson.

Now you're going to get me for some positivity. Let's go. You want me to listen to Russell Wilson?

Mr. Positive. He's excited to get back onto the field.

I feel great. Ready to roll. You know, super locked in and ready to hopefully get a big win in London. Obviously, this would be a key game for us. A really good football team are playing.

I think both of our records don't necessarily represent who we are. And so I think that there's going to be a lot of great football. That'd be cool to play back in London again. I remember the last time I got to play here. It was pretty special. So, you know, the environment is amazing. You know, it's world-class. So I'm excited to get rolling.

Let's hear one more Russell Wilson. Because you have to get on a plane to get to London. If you're coming over from the United States, right?

Coming up from Denver. You got to get on a plane. You're not going to get on a boat, huh? No, no, no, no, no, no.

You have a hamstring injury, a shoulder injury. You can't get on a boat. You got to, you got to fly. And Russell Wilson said that he used the flight time to his advantage because he's Mr. Unlimited.

He always has to give you an unlimited percent of effort. Listen up. I don't really get jet lag too often. You know, I don't really, you know, I've traveled enough to get, you know, kind of get my system down. But yeah, for me, I was on the plane first two hours. I was first two hours by eight was eight hours flight here. That's the first two hours I was watching the film, watching all the cutups and everything else. And then for the next four hours, I was doing treatment on the plane. I was walking up and down the aisles. Everybody was knocked down. I was doing high knees and working on my legs and everything else, you know, making sure I'm ready to rock. So that was good.

And then the last two hours, the last hour of that, I watched, I fell asleep for one hour and I watched the film the rest. Do you believe that he's actually doing high knees? What did he say, for four hours?

I don't, I could be wrong. I don't think he's doing like the normal high knees like you're running and like high knees like we would think. Maybe stretches like we know you're walking.

You pull your knee up to your chest, stretching. He said four hours, right? He said four hours. Now is that, you know, you lose track of time. I don't even know if it was four minutes. He said true to me. It's, you know, includes a massage.

I mean, that includes, I don't know, like hamstring stretches. He's become so obnoxious. Some of his teammates are at least back in the story up on Twitter.

I see. But yeah, all of his teammates were sleeping though. I thought I'll probably woke it up here. We have some jackass doing high knees down the aisle. She's trying to sleep. You know what? If I was a teammate and I saw Russell Wilson trying to come talk to me on a flight while he's doing high knees up and down the aisles, I'm going to sleep.

I'm getting the blindfold, the mask out, put it over my eyes, and I'm trying to keep it simple. I have no contact with Russell Wilson right now. It's kind of crazy how much of a joke this guy's become. Guy was beloved. The Danger Witch commercials, failure. Bronco's country, let's ride, failure. His TikToks, failure.

Yeah, he's got a lot of money. Don't get me wrong. But he's just trying to be someone that he's not. Like keep it simple.

Get back to the basics. I used to really like Russell Wilson. He's now become an egomaniac.

He's become insufferable, and he's become really unlikable. And it's a shame, but that's just the truth of the situation. Matt Ryan discusses his reaction to getting benched.

Individually and personally disappointed. You know, as a player, as a competitor, you want to be out there. You want to go. And so it's part of the deal in this league. You've got to produce, and you've got to go out there and play. And, you know, frustrated that we weren't able to do that in the first seven games.

But, you know, you move forward. You know, life in this league is week to week, and the production has to be there. So obviously disappointed personally, but here for the team. I know it's commonplace at NFL locker room to play ping pong. But when you have a guy's career that's had a very good career, has been an MVP in this league basically come to a close, getting benched by Sam Ellinger.

My first reaction to that is I hear the ping pong ball slightly in the background. I'm like, that's just a sad ending to the career of Matt Ryan. Did you want the team to show up in all black to his funeral? That's not nice. That's not really trying to have some fun.

It's a Wednesday of a huge game against the commanders. They should put him at the podium. I'm assuming that was right next to his locker. Yes.

Yeah. That's got to be a podium because then you have the ping pong balls in the background. It's just not it's a sad ending guys laughing. Yeah, it's a locker room. Lock room's a Jovial place.

I know the cold stink right now Matt Ryan gets bench. Yeah, I'm not killing the guys for playing ping pong. I'm not this old man. Get off my lawn. But the Colts PR staff should have got that guy at a podium. You're not Mike McDaniel. Get those ping pong tables out of the locker. And the entire kills the guy. Yeah, Coach, it was just because we had a little dent in the ping pong table.

They were bent. Let's hear from Sam Ellinger. He discusses his emotions after being named the starting quarterback. Yeah, I'm excited. I think as I've told you guys, I'm always preparing to be the starter. And regardless of when that opportunity was going to come, I was going to be ready and do what I could to be prepared.

And that's alleviated a lot of the stress of, I mean, I can't imagine if I weren't preparing the way that I was. And it's like, hey, you're up. And that's the thing about this business. So I'm staying on top of it.

Obviously, there's a lot of excitement for the opportunity and just going to, you know, take it one day at a time. Let's go to Bill Belichick. This was Bill Belichick before practice today. And he was asked if a decision is made on who's going to start at quarterback, the position of throwing the football. That's pretty important coming up Sunday against the Jets.

That's the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets. You know, we'll see how it goes here today. Do you plan on having a quarterback rotation again? We'll see how it goes today.

Is that something that would be sick? Look, we're not doing anything here. We haven't practiced. We're going to go out and we're going to see how it goes today. All right? What will you decide? We'll see how it goes today. But what do you have to see today?

We'll see how it goes today. It is smug. It is obnoxious, picky. I just, I laugh because it is funny.

I feel bad for the reporters because you know what you're going to get, but you have to do your job. I love his new thing. I love how his new thing is now stick to one line and just repeat it. New thing? This is not new. Day to day. Well, no, it's not time to change up.

Now he's just like repeating the same lines. Max Jones has ankle. Day to day. How is his day to day? Day to day.

It's been doing this for years. Day to day. We'll see how it goes in practice. What do you guys see? We'll see how it goes in practice. Coach, what are you looking for? We'll see how it goes in practice.

I love it. Now, there was a report out today that Max Jones got 90% of the reps today at practice, and he will start on Sunday up against the Jets. This is Max Jones after practice when he was asked if he'll be starting on Sunday. Yeah, I plan to start every game that I've ever played in. So whether that was, you know, in Pee Wee football or third string in Alabama, I always try to prepare as a starter. And, you know, like I always say, if it's one snap or 70, I'll be ready to go. And that's all you can do, right? You can't really control anything else. And, you know, I work really hard and put myself in position to do that.

And yes, I think I deserve that. And then Max Jones also after practice was asked if Bill Belichick directly told him that he's going to be starting against the Jets. Obviously, we don't really talk about that. And like I said, we're going to go through the week of practice. And Coach Belichick, just like every other week, he's going to tell you, you know, what you're doing and how you have to play the game and what we have to do to win. So he's done a good job, you know, being very open with me. And I think that's the important part. And that's all you can ask for, right, is just clear communication and going out there and putting all the other, you know, rat poison away and playing as best I can play and become the best quarterback that I can beat. So you haven't been told that you are going to be starting? Like I said, I think those are things that we want to work through as the week goes along.

Like, I don't really care whether they tell me or not. I think it's important that I'm ready to go. Just like, you know, Zappi's ready to go and Garrett's ready to go.

So it's the same way every week. You want to prepare as a starter. And when, you know, it's your chance to go out there and play, then you want to go out there and play really well.

He's so likeable and he's conformed to their way. But I really hope that this stuff is true, that he's asking why the heck is Joe Judge and also Matt Patricia playing an instrumental role in my development when they don't really have a background on the offensive side of the ball. And, yeah, can we get me number one wide receiver? I hope he's saying those things.

I really do. Because the kid deserves better. Let's get Matt LaFleur on if he agrees with Aaron Rodgers saying players need to be bench who aren't performing. What he was trying to get across, and you guys can obviously talk to him about that, but it's just, you know, everybody's got to be on top of their game. And it starts with us as coaches, first and foremost, making sure we're on the details, making sure that not only do we communicate the finer intricacies of whatever it is, the fundamentals, the plays, but putting our guys through those so that when you get into a game situation, it's not the first time they've ever seen it. So I think collectively everybody has got to pick up their game. And we're not doing a good enough job, obviously, as an entire football team.

And one more from Matt LaFleur. He says Aaron Rodgers wasn't out of line for publicly criticizing the Packers offense. We have to be truthful with one another. And sometimes the truth hurts, and it's no different than, you know, when your kids make a mistake, right, you tell them about it.

And you make sure that I don't think he publicly called out individuals. I don't believe I didn't sit there and listen to the whole thing. But so I just think that you have to get to the root of the truth. And that gives you an opportunity to learn and grow. And we can't run away from that ever. And no different than when we're in those team meetings.

We've got, you know, you always call it how it is. And I don't think anybody's off limits. And starting with myself. With those comments, though, it raises the fair question, does Aaron Rodgers have a problem, Matt LaFleur, when he says last week they need to simplify the offense and this week we need to start cutting the reps.

I'll ask that question to former Packers fullback and friend of Aaron Rodgers, John Kuhn, next. I am legitimately terrified by demonic possession. Yeah, that's a real fear someone sent me. I'm Larry Mullins, the host of a new podcast called Your Weirdest Fears. We're going to unpack where these fears stem from. I was actually given two exorcisms when I was a child.

And with the help of experts how to manage them. Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast from. I am legitimately terrified by demonic possession. Yeah, that's a real fear someone sent me. I'm Larry Mullins, the host of a new podcast called Your Weirdest Fears. We're going to unpack where these fears stem from. I was actually given two exorcisms when I was a child.

And with the help of experts how to manage them. Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast from. Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast from. That is the former Green Bay fullback in John Coon. John, appreciate the time. How you been? I'm doing fantastic, Zach. Other than, you know, the little slide that the Packers are on right now. Everything's all good.

It was popping. The majority of the leaves have fallen. So we've gotten most of our yard work in. But always a pleasure to jump on and talk with you for a couple of minutes.

Well, I appreciate you joining us. Let me start you off with Rogers the last two weeks. Last week it was simplifying the offense. They need to do that.

This week the guys that keep on making mistakes need to get their reps cut. I interpret that as that's a message and an order kind of to Matt LaFleur. Where do you think their relationship is at right now? I would say they're probably on the same page. I'll be honest with you. I remember talking with you two years ago, I believe it was, or a little over a year ago and we were kind of trying to project.

I think the chances Aaron Rogers comes back to the Green Bay Packers initially last summer. And we had the conversations and what Aaron's like and what Aaron wants and what Aaron needs. And it was the communication. It was always communication.

It was always to be a part of the answer when answers need to be had. And now within the last year, 18 months, you've got to see a relationship between he and Matt LaFleur, he and Brian Gooding could mature and develop and turn into something where quite frankly, they have been on the same page for quite some time. I truly believe that if this is something Aaron Rogers is saying in the public, this is something Aaron Rogers and Matt LaFleur have had conversations about probably not this week, probably not last week, probably the last month, month and a half of the season. Do you think there will be any changes? Do you think we'll see anything drastically different this week up against Buffalo? Well, you know, they're banged with an injury bug right now.

So what's going to happen? Where is Alan Lazard sitting? How is Christian Watson? Is he going to come back? David Bacchiari, that was the shock of the Midwest world last week when he suddenly had to miss the game after practicing all week long. They're all fences in a state of flux right now. Randall Cobb is on IR.

So it's not like they can just start plugging players here, right? So I don't know how drastic the changes are, but when Aaron says shave some reps, and I believe he means that when it's the money down, when it's third down, he needs guys that he can trust. They're going to go in there and run the play exactly the way that it needs to be run. Now, I'm not supporting Aaron Rogers just because he's my friend or anything, but I can tell you Zach, this offense has been shaky at best. It has not looked clean. They have hardly gotten into a rhythm.

I'd say in seven games, Zach, they could probably add up enough quarters where they've been in a rhythm to make a game and a half. That's how bad the offense has been this year for the Green Bay Packers. How much blame does he get for that? Because a lot of people, they hear the reps conversation and everyone knows no one is going to see Aaron Rogers get his reps cut, but they go, maybe he needs to get some of the blame too. Well, he definitely deserves a bit of the blame, and I don't think Aaron Rogers would shy away if somebody would directly ask him that question.

But I want to be specific about what Aaron Rogers said yesterday and what got everybody all excited. It was talking about mental errors or missed assignments, and that's something that takes place because of the time you put in, the work that you put in. This has nothing to do with getting beat physically by your opponent. Everybody in the National Football League understands that the other team gets paid too, and you're going to lose from time to time.

Everybody also understands that to play a position in the National Football League, it's physically challenging. So sometimes you're not going to be able to physically withstand it or live up to what you need to do. In those moments, there are 70 plays in a game, you're going to lose a handful of those. But it shouldn't be because you weren't prepared.

It shouldn't be because you didn't know what to do, and it shouldn't be because you forgot the timing of a route or a blocking combination or something to that nature. So that's all Aaron Rodgers is simply trying to say in that aspect. I think most professional athletes, especially on a team sport, if their guys are giving them 100 percent and their guys are doing what they're coached to do and they're living up to what the expectations were going into the game, and you get beat by an opponent, most people can live with that.

What you can't live with is repeated mistakes by what we used to call repeated violators, people that would make the same mistakes over and over. And I believe that's what Aaron Rodgers is speaking to. As far as him himself and the blame that he deserves, yeah, he has not been as sharp with his passes as he's been in years past.

I've specifically noticed it in London. It was a little bit of a lag at the beginning of the season. A lot of us considered those first four games to be maybe a pre-season, so to speak, of the regular season. But once you hit about week four, week five in London, he was missing on some of his outside passes, passes outside the numbers, which came to a shock to me. That's what happens when you get a little bit of a pass rush in your face consistently week after week after week. And I think Aaron Rodgers got a little bit happy for you. I think his technique slipped him a little bit. But I saw that technique come back this week at Washington. I thought it was one of his better games that he had played so far this season. So I think Aaron Rodgers is trying to do the necessary things. I think he just wants his teammates to continue to do the same things that he's doing, which is trying to master their craft.

John Kuhn here with us on the Zach Gelb show. You could tell me if I'm wrong for saying this. I don't see how the Packers win this week. I know it could be any given Sunday and you still have Rodgers, but going to Buffalo and trying to win a game there is going to be tough for any team these days. So if they get to three and five and the Vikings right now are five and one, you start to think, okay, maybe that NFC North is not going to go their way. How do you think, John Kuhn, we're going to be talking about the Packers at the end of this regular season? Where will they be at in your opinion?

Boy, I don't know, Zach, and that's the scariest thing. This is the earliest within a season. I would have to go back to about 2018. We felt like the team was on shaky ground. 2017, you had the injury with Aaron Rodgers. 2016 was the last time they made the playoffs. And about this point in time in the season, you could have flipped the coin and guessed whether they would make the playoffs or not.

I don't know. I don't know with this football team. To me, this defense is good enough that they could not only make the playoffs, but they could make a run. I feel like our defense, they come out, they fight, they have necessary adjustments. They know what they're doing in a run game. They can keep up with players in the pass game. But once they get to the second half, and they're just slogging along trying to battle and keep this team in a football game, the adjustments start getting made by the opposing offenses and they start leaning on them and they start getting worn out. This last game, the Washington commanders had more than 20 plays offensively, more than 20 plays than the Green Bay Packers. That wears on the defense. I think this defense is good enough. The offense, I just don't know. I don't know if they're good enough to get to the playoffs this year. And you ask me, do they have a chance this weekend? Well, I'll give you the cliche any given Sunday, but I can remember exactly a year to the week last year when the Packers were going into Arizona without Devonte Adams, without Marquess Valdez Scantling, without Jair Alexander, and the Arizona Cardinals were 7-0 on a Thursday night game, and nobody gave the Packers a chance then. I said, oh, there's a path to victory. Zach, I'm grinding on this film looking for a path to victory this weekend for the Green Bay Packers, and I'm struggling to find one. So just hear me out here.

This is a theory that I had, and I'm sure you're probably telling me that I'm wrong with what you said earlier. With the comments last week about simplifying in the offense, the comment about the mental mistakes this weekend cutting reps, I think there's some frustration there with Rodgers and Matt LaFleur. Is there any chance this year in the offseason, especially that contract, the way it's structured, where the dead cap is, where it would really kill the Packers if Rodgers retired after this year, that Rodgers goes to Gudakunz and say, we need a new voice at the head coach?

Is there any remote chance of that happening this offseason? If you told me Aaron Rodgers was frustrated with the game plan, I could probably buy into that. If you told me Aaron Rodgers was frustrated with Matt LaFleur, and I know it kind of goes hand in hand, I don't see it.

Their relationship is too good right now. They're communicating. They're doing all the necessary things that a quarterback is the leader of the football team and the head coach is the leader of the football team need to do in order to coexist.

I do not believe there's friction between the two of them. But it's clear, the game plans, that they're unveiling for these regular season games, they're just not up to snuff. Whether it's a focus in the run game, whether it's an attention to detail at practice, whether they need to lean more on run it runs and get out of the yard puging, there's so many different things that this could be. And yet, all we ever seem to hear from Matt LaFleur and some of the players is we need to execute better. Listen, I know the Packers are among the league leaders. Depending on the website you look at, they got between 15 and 17 drops, which would be a top two in the National Football League. But this offense doesn't look right.

It's not clicking. In years past, they would lean on that run game, Aaron Rodgers would set them up, get a big play down the field, and that's how they'd get rolling. I haven't really seen that, but maybe one or two times this year, Zach. When it gets to adding people in season, it's always tricky and you really have a week left to do it. I know Adele's different because he's a free agent. I feel like John Kuhn every year we say the Packers need to go get another guy. The Packers need to go get another guy. Do you even expect them to go get another guy at this point?

I mean, I anticipate something happening. I pray that maybe the phone rings one of these times and it's not somebody asking me to do a podcast so they can rag on Aaron and I can defend him or whatever. I pray that one of these times the phone rings, it's simply, hey, the Packers traded for Chase Claypool or the Packers traded for Elijah Moore or the Packers traded for, I pray it happens, Zach, because if it doesn't, I don't see how they pull themselves out of this hole.

I just don't. It's daunting right now and the offense just doesn't look like it has the players to spread the ball round enough because it's clear and evident that Matt LaFlore, in his efforts to try and save Aaron Jones for the end of the season, never wants to give him the ball more than 20 times in a game. John Kuhn here with us. So other than Rodgers, because I know that's been the majority of our conversation, the Bucks are also struggling. Do you see a path for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to turn things around? Yeah, I mean, they have a clearer path than the Green Bay Packers to the extent that their division is in disarray. The Atlanta Falcons are tied with them and they hold the tiebreaker because they beat them once. Atlanta is basically running an old school run at all fence, whether you call it Navy, Army or the Wing.

I don't know what they're running up there, but it's just keep the ball on the ground and keep it out of the hands of the opposing defense. The Saints can't get jump-started because their quarterbacks are both hurt and they're both struggling. So their division is so up in the air and who would have guessed in just two short years that the NFC South would have turned into the NFC East and vice versa and they would have changed places. It's wild to watch, but I think the Buccaneers have an edge there. Tom Brady has an edge there just because their division is so topsy-turvy. I will say if Hampton doesn't win that division, though, the Packers hold a tiebreaker from head to head. So in that aspect, the Packers have a little bit of an edge in that one when it comes to the log card because looking at this Bills game, the Packers don't somehow hit lightning in the bottle and shock the world this week. And they're going to be looking at probably a three and a half, four game separation between them and the Vikings. How good do you think Minnesota is, by the way, the Vikings? Because they're five and one. I don't think they're as good as a five and one team, but your record says you are to some extent.

Yeah, I think you're good, not great, right? So there is Smith, no doubt. He went up there. He had a purpose. He had a vision.

He had some demons. He wanted to exercise from leaving Green Bay. And he's got that defense believing. They are playing better this year than what they were as a Mike Zimmer defense before. And that influx there of that Kyle Shanahan tree of coaches where they use all that motion and they get everybody looking at different ways, that only opens it up even more for Kirk Cousins. If you give Kirk Cousins time and you give Kirk Cousins windows, Kirk Cousins is a very capable quarterback in this National Football League, as we have seen. He's got weapons all around him.

He has time now. He has receivers running open and he's not going to miss it. Minnesota looks dangerous. I don't see them as one of the top tier teams when you're talking about the Philadelphia Eagles, when you're talking about, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but the Dallas Cowboys right now. It's kind of wild to look at the NFC because you got the Eagles and then you got everybody else. You got some teams trying to prove themselves. And then you got some teams that have been hanging around the last few years that are sitting all looking at each other saying, which one of us is going to miss the party this year?

Because all these new teams are a couple steps ahead of us. It could be the year that good, not great, finds a way to get to the Super Bowl out of the NFC. Like in the AFC, I could only see Kansas City or Buffalo at this point.

In the NFC, I like Philadelphia the most, but if they get picked off and, you know, come out of a bye that we've seen from time to time happen, you know that. You know, maybe it's just the good team finds a way to get in and you don't have to be great this year. Yeah, it could be one of those years, right? We got the wild card in the National League going all the way to the World Series.

So you really just never know. That's what makes sports great. And that's really what we're looking at here in the NFC because I'll agree with you, Zach. I mean, you're around it.

You see it more every day. It still looks like a juggernaut right now with the trade for Robert Quinn. They really look like the team that could, I mean, they are pushed every chip to the center rookie quarterback contract. And they said, we are taking on everybody we can right now. It's our time. Where's Sean Payton, your old head football coach, coaching next year?

I seem to think it's going to be out there in L.A. I just have the feeling he loves it out there on that West Coast. He's got a young quarterback that he can mold. You know, they've had questionable decision makings out there with the Chargers. Very questionable.

And some of the game management scenarios. And I can just see Sean Payton, the way he has taken Jamis Winston, you know, for a couple of years and kind of molded him back into a realistic starter in the National Football League, what he did for Drew Brees and what Drew Brees did for him, I guess it's hand in hand. But there's no doubt that he can take a quarterback, he could take an offense, and he can find ways to take it to the next level.

I got a feeling it's going to be L.A. next year for Sean Payton. And last thing I'll say to you, if you were a teammate John Kuhn of Russell Wilson right now, what would you say to him? Because everything he's doing right now is so cringe-worthy, and it seems like he's becoming one of the jokes in the NFL for a player that's so talented.

But this has been a disaster in Denver. And that's what trips me out about all the conversation and the conjecture that I have to partly debate when it comes to Aaron Rodgers. But I also listen to with Tom Brady, because these are two guys, they do some questionable things. Aaron Rodgers missed the offseason program. Tom Brady went to a wedding, flew separately to an away game, took 10 days off in training camp. And then when they want to try and lead, when they want to try and coach, when they want to try and guide players and organizations, they're seen as the bad guys. You've got Russell Wilson out there.

I don't know what he's doing. I can tell you right now, from a player who's been in the locker room many, many years, he is the quarterback we'd all be looking at sideways. What Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady do, those are the guys we want to get behind and we want to follow their lead. John Kuhn, always great to have you on. It's been too long. We appreciate it. Maybe next time we have you on, it's something positive to talk about. No, we can find some positives. Give us two weeks. We got the lines after the bills.

I'll come back on after the last. You know what the positive is? It's Halloween coming up on Monday, and we probably both love candy. That's the positive right now. There we go, Zach.

A couple of big guys liking kid's food. Yeah, no doubt. Thank you.

I always enjoy talking with you. Thank you, John Kuhn right there. Let's get an update in. We'll react to that on the other side. I am legitimately terrified by demonic possession. Yeah, that's a real fear someone sent me. I'm Larry Mullins, the host of a new podcast called Your Weirdest Fears. We're going to unpack where these fears stem from. I was actually given two exorcisms when I was a child.

And with the help of experts, how to manage them. Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast from. I am legitimately terrified by demonic possession. Yeah, that's a real fear someone sent me. I'm Larry Mullins, the host of a new podcast called Your Weirdest Fears. We're going to unpack where these fears stem from. I was actually given two exorcisms when I was a child.

And with the help of experts, how to manage them. Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast from. You're listening to the Zach Gelb Show.

Zach Gelb Show, CBS Sports Radio. Hickey, Packers-wise, what was your biggest takeaway from our conversation a few moments ago with John Coon? I would say the fact that he's already, I guess, doubted the fact that through seven games they can turn around and make the playoffs.

I thought the biggest takeaway, and it was clear with the way that this team has been playing, that this offense has been crap. But the line where he goes, if you take all their games and you just look how many good quarters of football that they played, like you couldn't even get through a full game or a game and a half is the way that he put that. It shows you how bad it's been for the Packers.

And then it's like, how do you fix it? And it goes, well, the team's banged up right now. And every time someone pretty much calls him and you say how the Packers are going to get someone, it's like, oh, yeah, I hope we get Jerry Judy. I hope we get Elijah Moore. I hope we get Odell, whoever it is.

And they never get any of those guys. So I really don't see a way how to fix this situation in Green Bay unless it fits through a trade. And even if it is through a trade, sure, right away, a guy can come on in and play 15 plays and give you a better boost than some of the guys that they've been putting out in the field. But that player's still got to get acclimated.

And Jerry Judy hasn't looked all that hot to start off his career. Elijah Moore was good the first year, but this guy only cares about his individual targets when we get the targets, at least in Green Bay. But is Elijah Moore going to come save the day for the Packers? Not to an extent that they would be a Super Bowl team, but to maybe get them to the playoffs potentially. And I don't think Odell is going to Green Bay. Odell would have the most buzz, but even as Peter King said, remember when he got hurt?

It was in the Super Bowl in February. She didn't even know how reliable and how full speed Odell's going to be at that point. They're screwed. They're not making the playoffs. There's no turning around this offense. Because again, you talk about, okay, they're going to acquire someone.

They'll beat the Bills this weekend. The acclimation, like you said, like this is an offense that you just, it's not plug and play. And that's the reason why through seven weeks they can't get anything going.

You need time. Sparky's right. They got to run the football more. Wasn't that was the plan? Wasn't that when they traded? Wasn't that supposed to be the idea? Even right. Go back to when they hired him in 2019.

Wasn't that supposed to be the idea? Run first. And then when they traded Devonta Adams, especially now we're doubling down on the run. You draft AJ Dillon.

In the second round. And it's like, not been the case. Also, when you get down in these games, not that they've been down in every game, but when you get down in these games, like the Jets, or when you get into a close game against the commanders, you go to what you know best. And that's Rogers. You know, when they get down early to the Vikings, you have to throw more than you want.

So maybe that's part of it as well. But this is just a mess right now. Well, they're not even getting blown out. I guess, you know, like outside of the Jets game, you're right.

Like it's, they should be in the situation where. The Vikings game and the Jets game were the two that, that got away. Even so, it was 21-7, right? 23-7. But once, but that's a, that's a big deficit for this team. This team can't get to, it feels like getting to 21 points is a, is a big time. Like you look at the last few games, 21-10, 22. Over time against the Patriots, they scored 27, 12, 14. They scored 27 and seven. Like, it's really not, they're not a lock to go get three touchdowns.

For Aaron Rogers. I know. Yeah.

Thanks. How many wins the best of the way? I'll give you the win loss right now.

Just give them, we got to go quickly here. Buffalo this week. Loss.

Well, I didn't even ask that. Three and five. At Detroit the following week. Win. So that would be four and five Dallas. The next week that game is at Lambeau field. That's probably game.

They'll win. Really? Yeah.

Wow. So that makes them five and five Tennessee on Thursday night football. I hate to say it. I'll go loss. I hate to say five and six and they're in Philly Thanksgiving weekend. Loss. Five and seven Chicago in Chicago. Lock that up, baby.

Free space. If you can't win that game, then that's a problem. So six and seven by week coming out of the Bible is that one Monday night football. Well, some teams get Monday night football against the Rams. Oh, I will say the Rams at that point are cooking or better than the weather right now. Loss. So that puts them.

What did I just say? Six and eight now six and eight at Miami. Loss. Six and nine Minnesota. Probably a win late in the year on the road.

Kirk cousins can't trust. It's a four 25 game. That helps you.

Oh yeah. That's tough. They lost. So seven wins and then seven wins. And the last one is Detroit final week of the season eight and nine.

So eight back in the plus at eight and nine. Now, like you could debate the win that you set on Dallas. Like you could debate. You gave them a loss to Tennessee.

Like those are debatable, but it's the rest of what you like. Maybe the Rams is debatable. But at best this this seems like a nine win team at best.

That's if everything goes right. Now, what about his answer on on Russell Wilson? Because like Brady and Rogers, they have problems right now. And we know Russ has problem. But there's that are around Tom Brady.

Is that are around our Rogers? Russell's doesn't even have that are. Remember that bad as it is for Rogers and Brady. They never become the punchline to every joke.

And I think it has to do with the setup. Well, yeah, we know Brady's the greatest ever Rogers top ten quarterback. Russell's not that for Russell Wilson. Now, when he won, it was Legion of Boom getting all the credit. Marshawn Lynch getting all the credit.

Pete getting all the credit and those teammates. A lot of them from the Seattle teams aren't as fond of him as we thought. And I think now at the ending and all those questions throughout the years, unfortunately for Russell Wilson, it's getting exposed. And he's doing things that are just like corny.

Like, don't get me wrong. Brady has things that are corny sometimes. Rogers has things that are corny. But they never become the big time joke that now Russell Wilson's becoming. And a lot of that stuff that he's doing is avoidable.

Less is more. That's what Russell Wilson needs to learn. He's got to get out of spolly a little bit and just focus on football right now.

Coming on back, Legion do the ball. Zach Kelp, CBS Sports Radio. 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. Get real time updates on everything you care about.

Miss your show? Jump back to their awesome re-wide feature. The Odyssey app is NFL football. Live and on demand. Wherever you are, whenever you want. And do we mention it's all free?

Download the Odyssey app today. I am legitimately terrified by demonic possession. Yeah, that's a real fear someone sent me. I'm Larry Mullins, the host of a new podcast called Your Weirdest Fears. We're going to unpack where these fears stem from. I was actually given two exorcisms when I was a child.

And with the help of experts, how to manage them. Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast from. 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. Get real time updates on everything you care about.

Miss your show? Jump back to their awesome re-wide feature. The Odyssey app is NFL football. Live and on demand. Wherever you are, whenever you want. And do we mention it's all free? Download the Odyssey app today.