Von Miller Injury Impact (Hour 1)

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bluenile.com. The holidays are only a few days away. Are you ready? Find that perfect gift for someone special with jewelry from Blue Nile. Right now, during Blue Nile's site-wide holiday sale, get deals on their endless selection of bold gold styles, gemstone jewelry, and classic diamond pieces.

Need your piece fast? Order today and get free two-day shipping. Shop now and save up to 40% on the season's most stunning trends at bluenile.com. That's bluenile.com. bluenile.com. Live from the play show, yet not overly ostentatious studios of CBS Sports Radio here in beautiful New York City, sitting on top of the 10th floor of 345 Hudson Street, welcome on in to a Wednesday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all the great local CBS Sports Radio affiliates, Sirius XM, Channel 158, and that free Odyssey app. 855-212-4CBS number to jump on in. 855-212-4227. You can always get at me on Instagram where I'm straight flexing or via the good old cesspool of Twitter at Zach Gelb.

That's Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. And producing this extravaganza for the next four hours is no other than Hot Take Kiki. James Palmer from the NFL Network is going to join us at the top of the hour. Sal Cappaccio, Bill's sideline reporter, going to stop by at 9 20 p.m. Eastern, 6 20 p.m. Pacific. We got to start the show with some big NFL news that it impacts not only the AFC playoff race, but the chase to get to the Super Bowl. That is going to be that Von Miller is now out for the season. And I'm a little bit confused by this because on back-to-back days, we thought we had injury information that was set in stone, and then it changed. Because yesterday we opened up the show about that small sliver of hope that the 49ers have that they're going to get Jimmy Garoppolo back after he was ruled out for the season on Sunday. Then yesterday it was, oh, wait a second, the foot is not going to need surgery, and therefore he could come back potentially, assuming that it heals all right, in somewhere between seven to nine weeks, which the earliest that would be would be divisional round weekend. So that was that news. And then with Von Miller, last week, Kiki, we played audio from Von Miller himself saying, yeah, I'm going to miss the New England game, but I'm going to be back for the Jets game. That's the goal, to be back for the Jets game. And then today, because you never know what you could actually trust on Twitter anymore, with all these people paying for verification, and then all these parody accounts that are out there, and Musk just ruining Twitter and all that, and my account now will probably get canceled for saying that on a national radio show. But the next thing you know, you see a breaking news report that Von Miller's out for the season.

And I'm like, hold on, wait a second. Von Miller just said last week he was going to be back for this game up against the Jets, which is this weekend, and now, poof, out of nowhere, he has a torn ACL? So I was wondering if he was working out, did something happen? And then it was, oh, he went to go get exploratory surgery.

I didn't even know that was a thing. Now, I'm not a doctor, and clearly that's why I'm talking on the radio for a living and I'm actually doing some tough stuff. And when he was getting that surgery, they found out that he got the ACL tear. Now, Hickey, can you explain something to me here?

Because I like checks and balances on this show, and I'm not like every other jackass talk show host in America when they don't know something, they try to just ramble and tell you that they know something. I am legitimately lost here. I understand sometimes a doctor could get something wrong, but how is it that with those two injuries with Jimmy Garoppolo, one day he's ruled out for the season, then there's a chance he comes back, and then when it comes to Von Miller, it was, this is nothing. This is not a big deal. He'll be out only a week or two at most, and then he'll probably be back for the Jets game, and now he's done so for the season with the torn ACL. How are these paid medical professionals in the NFL getting these things this wrong, where it was set in stone that Jimmy G was done out for the year? Von Miller was saying he was coming back next week, and now he's out for the season.

I don't get this. This is very confusing if you ask me. Yeah, I have no idea. The Von Miller one is confounding considering it's been, you know, what, a week and a half now, considering almost two weeks going on the injury that he suffered.

Thanksgiving. Yeah, considering, you know, and then Jimmy G, at least it's been, at least it's relatively new. I don't know why they were so quick to rush to. He's out for the year two hours after the injury happened.

That's the thing. You made a great point. You know how meticulous these teams are, how they don't rule, how many times you see a player have a gruesome injury, and then after the game, it's all the initial testing doesn't look good, but we'll wait for the final results for tomorrow. He's day to day. On Sunday, and this was Kyle Shanahan, who you know a few years ago, he said, I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.

We could all be dead tomorrow. When he was coming back to that whole quarterback situation with Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo last year, he was definitively saying after the game that we lost Jimmy Garoppolo for the season. Now I don't put it on him. He got told that information. He said he got told it in the second quarter of the game.

So the doctors or someone on the team communicated that information through him. And then it's, oh yeah, wait a second. It's actually not what we thought it was going to be. Now it's good news, I guess, if you're a 49ers fan, but if you're a Bills fan today, you're basically saying WTF.

Like if I'm a Bills fan, I'm annoyed today because this was made to be nothing. And this is not a crazy injury. This is not something that we've never heard of before. Cause how many times, Hickey, do you hear a player get hurt and you're like, I didn't even know that was a body part. I didn't know you could have an injury like that.

I'd never even heard of that. Remember what was it? The thoracic outlet syndrome with the Mets a few years ago. Who was the pitcher? Was that Harvey? I think it was.

Yeah. And I was like, what the heck is thoracic outlet syndrome? This is an ACL tear for Von Miller. How many times the NFL doctors look at a leg and they're able to figure it out. Oh, that's an ACL tear. This is not an injury that is abnormal. This is a very common injury in the NFL where we see so many ACL tears throughout the year.

And he needed to have exploratory surgery, Hickey. That's what he needed to have for it to be identified that this is a torn ACL for Von Miller. I'll tell you this, somebody's getting fired. Someone's getting fired for the fact that they couldn't figure this thing out right away. Cause it makes no sense to me, Ryan.

Absolutely no sense. Yeah, it just sucks for the Bills. I mean, obviously, you know, it doesn't sound like maybe they are too, too, too blindsided by this. But I mean, either way, it's a guy you bring in to kind of be the finishing piece. And now with what, four or five games left to go in the season, they weren't blindsided by this.

What do you mean by that? Well, Brandon B was talking today and he mentioned that, you know, he was aware of the surgery and he kind of knew that this was a possibility that they could go find it. So it wasn't like he was like, oh wow, I can't believe this happened. Like it was in the back of his mind that the ACL injury, which I have to also determine, I don't think it's actually a tear. I think it was that they saw it and it was like, oh, this may not hold up compared to just a flat out tear.

But I'm also a little confused. So I'm not 100% sure, but either way, he's out for the year ACL. Not great for a guy you brought to be the finishing piece in the final month of the season. Well, that that's the big part of this too, because injuries happen all the time. You bring in guys each and every year, and then unfortunately they do get hurt. Wait, you're telling me this is not a torn ACL. The report that I read today on ESPN was Von Miller is out for the season with the torn ACL. So let me circle back before I make up what you just said. What are you saying one more time?

Just clarify that for me, because you kind of threw me off there. I will find the exact cut from Brandon Bean, but in his press conference today, he said that the doctors were looking and they just thought it wouldn't hold up. So they said, we'll just clean it out now and basically get this going. Because if he came back, it doesn't sound like his knee would hold up. And basically it sounded like an ACL tear was inevitable if he was to return. Okay. So they kind of got ahead of it, sawing that it wasn't an actual tear, but that basically if he kept playing, it would, like, it's not strong enough to hold up to play a game. Gotcha. Regardless.

But the other way. He's out for the year. He had the surgery. He's out. I've seen it reported all day that it's a torn ACL. Maybe it's getting into semantics and who knows when you get into the medical world and that's far above our pay grade and our pay scale.

But you hit the biggest point there. Von Miller was brought here. We had Brandon beat on this show where Von Miller was brought in to win a championship. He was brought in for his championship experience, winning two Super Bowls, one being a Super Bowl MVP with the Denver Broncos, another this past year, winning a Super Bowl with the LA Rams. And that was the missing piece because you got to remember the way that this all did go down with the Buffalo Bills last year, you know, at 13 seconds, the defense collapse game gets into overtime. Mahomes goes right down the field and boom, they get it to Travis Kelce for the touchdown to go win and advance to the AFC title game before eventually losing to the Cincinnati Bengals. And now you just wonder with Von Miller not there, do you kind of look at the bills differently?

And my answer is no. Clearly you'd rather have Von Miller, but I'm not going to sit here and tell you today that they can't win a Super Bowl without Von Miller. I still think they could win a Super Bowl because they still have the most important player at the most important position for them to win a Super Bowl. I'm not saying he's the best quarterback in the league, he's one of, but Josh Allen. Now if this was Josh Allen, God forbid, he has an ACL tear that may or may not be torn and you get into all these semantics, but he would be out for the season, then they're screwed because Case Keenum is not coming in and winning you a Super Bowl. So as long as you can make a timely stop and they have a good enough defense you would think to do so, in addition, Josh Allen stays healthy, which he has been a battering ram this year, because they haven't had a lot of consistency in the run game. It's got better as of late with James Cook and Devin Motor Singletary and we'll see what impact Naeem Hines will make. I don't know if any at all, but you have Josh Allen doing so much on the ground and then obviously through the air with his arm, that's still the most important piece there and as long as Josh Allen is there, they will have a chance to win a Super Bowl, you would think, as long as you protect him for the foreseeable future.

You may, you may not ever end up winning one, you may end up winning one, you may have winning none, you may have winning three, four, or five of them, but as long as you have that guy and you protect that guy, you will have a shot. And you look at the AFC, Buffalo, Kansas City, Cincinnati, what do they all have in common? They have three great quarterbacks. Each of them have a great quarterback, in Borough, in Mahomes, and Allen. And I still think those are the three Super Bowl contenders and one of those three teams will be getting out of the AFC to go to the Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona.

So how does this, this stinks? Like don't get me wrong, if you're a Bills fan, you're upset today because you know Von Miller can finish games. You saw it up against the Chiefs this year where he got the rush in the crucial moment that forced Patrick Mahomes to panic, throw the ball early, and then Terron Johnson had the game-winning interception when everyone thought Mahomes was going to drive right down the field. So that was the reason why you brought, you saw it in that, in that game, that isolated game, that was the reason why you brought Von Miller.

Does it make your road tougher? Yeah, but any team that wins a Super Bowl overcomes adversity through injuries, it's just the physical nature of this sport and the crappy part of this sport. You don't want to lose him, but if I'm a Bills fan, this is the reaction today. It stinks, but the sky isn't falling because you still have number 17. Would you agree, Hickey, the only three Super Bowl contenders right now in the AFC, still even after this Bills injury news to Von Miller, it's the Bills, it's the Bengals, and it's the Kansas City Chiefs? Yes, I'm with you.

I don't think this changes the outlook of what we kind of talked about yesterday. Now is the Super Bowl winner going to come from the AFC this year? Because you look at the NFC, I think the Eagles are the best team in the NFC. Doesn't mean they're going to get to the Super Bowl. I think they're going to the Super Bowl. You look at a team like the 49ers, really good roster. I can't trust their quarterback right now.

I know he played well against the Dolphins and Brock Purdy. You then look at a team like Minnesota. We have not seen the consistency of Kirk Cousins in the postseason. And then Dallas, we sat here last year and we told you how great Dallas was. And Dallas looked great in the regular season. Then come postseason time, they peed right down their leg. They were horrible.

They were not ready for the moment. So I would actually, I don't want to say I'd be stunned because anything could happen on any Super Bowl Sunday, you get to the Super Bowl, duh, clearly you're a good team. But just the trust and the belief in Burrow and Allen and Mahomes makes me think that the AFC, the winner of the AFC is going to win the Super Bowl this year.

I'm with you. I'll be very surprised if it's NFC team, whether it's Eagles, the 49ers, the Cowboys, the Vikings, I do think whoever comes out of the AFC will be your champ. And selfishly as someone that is probably going to be at the Super Bowl, because we'll be out there for the entire week. I will probably stick around for the game like I did last year. And I'm just going to assume, Hickey, that my football team will not be there. I think that's a safe assumption at this point that my Patriots won't be there. So I like how you're leaving the door open. No, no, no. I'm assuming. I'm just channeling my energy. I was just going to say it appears. It appears the Patriots will not be there.

That's all I'm saying. But it appears my football team won't be there. So if that's the case, take whoever you want, Bills, Bengals or Chiefs. If I had to look at the NFC and say, who's the team that would give them the best game?

I think it's easily Philadelphia. Philadelphia has fixed their run defenses in the process of fixing their run defense. Felt very good about what they did against Eric Henry. Yeah, they brought in Adamic and Sue. You brought in Linval Joseph. They beat up that defensive line that already had a lot of defensive line.

They're very good in the back end. And now they're getting Evante Maddox back. That offense. I love AJ Brown. Devontae Smith's good. They'll eventually get Dallas Gotter back.

And Jalen Hurts has been sensational. I think Philadelphia is the biggest threat in the NFC. The team that I would have the most confidence in. To give me the best game and have a possibility of taking down either the Bengals, the Bills, or the Kansas City Chiefs come Super Bowl Sunday.

Would you agree with that statement? Because I know you've been Mr. 49er. Dig your heels in deep. The 49ers are going to find a way still to get to the Super Bowl. Is your answer still the 49ers or are you going to start to pivot away from that with all this just unknown about when Jimmy Garoppolo could come back? No, I think in terms of winning the 49ers, I mean, again, they have what? How do you shut down a good quarterback? Good run game.

Get after the quarterback. I would say the defensive line that San Francisco has is better than anything Philly's got in terms of trying to sack Joe Burrow, trying to sack Patrick Mahomes. The secondary is very good. The linebackers are very good. The defensive line is not like a bunch of scrubs. You got some good players on that defensive line.

Brandon Graham is one of the 49ers. Defensive line over the Eagles defensive line any other week. OK, but the linebackers are better.

Right now it's Philadelphia with Jalen Hurts compared to perhaps Purdy with the 49ers. But you got a good Christian McCaffrey too. Well, if he's healthy, you got a really good run game. And again, his health thing changes more for me than Jimmy Garoppolo's health.

But again, if you have a good run game with a good offensive line, they have the pieces and they have the outline to make it a good game. I hate to say it, but with how much you're pushing the 49ers and sometimes you unintentionally, you just make me want to root against team just because it's you saying it. I'm not rooted against the 49ers this year.

That's fine. I'm going against the 49ers. I'm sorry to the Bay Area. I'm sorry to my dear pal, the program director on the game out in the Bay Area, Matt Hagan, who hired me in Philly.

And I know it'll be good for his business. The 49ers are kicking ass and taking names. I'm now rooting for the 49ers for one reason and one reason only. It's because of Hickey. Because Hickey's not even given the Eagles the credit that they deserve for this season. He's looking at the Eagles like they're some JV team.

And I don't like that, and I'm not going to tolerate that here on CBS Sports Radio. You know what's going to happen if the Eagles are in the Super Bowl? Hickey, if I'm at the Super Bowl, do you know how many friends are going to reach out to me?

Hey, if you got an extra ticket and you want to take me, I'll be willing to go. I could already see those texts already starting to pile on in. But I think Philadelphia is going to get the Super Bowl.

I really do. Philadelphia's had enough success. Let's calm down, all right? You got through the World Series, congratulations. We don't need the football team now in the Super Bowl. Well, they just won a Super Bowl a few years ago. Oh, come on. You know, this was one of your teams. You'd be sitting, oh, we love all the success.

Keep up the good success. Yeah, absolutely. And when it's not my team having the success, I want to knock down anyone else who's having success.

That's how it goes. Also, Hickey today had an all-time bad take. Hickey was dissing on the oatmeal raisin cookie.

And Hickey was putting out some big-time fake news because I was walking into the office, and I see Hickey's tweet. And he's like, oh, there's cookies in the office today. The oatmeal raisin cookie is the worst cookie ever, and there was eight cookies left. And he goes, obviously, no one took those, and everyone took all the other cookies. Four minutes later, I, minding my own business, walk into the office, like, oh, let me see these cookies. And as I'm getting closer and closer to the cookies, I'm like, oh, there's no more cookies left. And then I quickly looked up, like, oh, there's one cookie left. So those oatmeal raisin cookies went pretty, pretty, pretty quickly, actually, from the tweet that you sent out. I don't think it's because you were alerting the masses that there were oatmeal raisin cookies there. You don't like an oatmeal raisin cookie? I'm not saying it's my first choice for a cookie, but it's a very good cookie. It's the worst cookie out there. It's not, and it's not even close. No!

It's not even close. I couldn't even tell you a second. Remember, folks, that guy who was talking is the same guy that doesn't like regular chicken wings, and said he likes that boneless crap. And he wouldn't try any escargot when we were in Las Vegas.

And every night, all he does is eat pasta because he's a three-year-old when it comes to food. What is the worst cookie out there right now? Not oatmeal raisin. Who cares? What's the worst cookie? What's the worst cookie out there? I don't know.

It's not oatmeal raisin. Anytime I ask this question, I assume a few of my friends saw the tweet. They're upset. And then you ask the same question.

Okay, what's the worst? No one has an answer. Hmm.

You don't have an answer. But it's not oatmeal raisin. Name me seven cookies. Chocolate chip, sugar cookie, cinnamon cookie, macadamia nut, you can go or it's not really cinnamon. Snickerdoodle, I guess, is the real proper term.

You can go, let's see, whatever that nonsense is. Chocolate chip, double chocolate. You can go, I guess, white chocolate, double chocolate chip, rainbow sprinkle cookies.

Oatmeal raisin better than a rainbow sprinkle cookie. What do you do? You know what? I'm going to get you for Christmas. I'm going to get you a sippy cup. I'm going to get you a bib. And I'm going to, you know, cut up all your food for each and every night. They're going to say an easy bake oven. Now I'm going to get you. Oh yeah, that too. That was a good line.

I'll get you a high chair too. And a little baby hickey every night. You got to expand your palate. You got to diversify your palate a little bit.

We're going to Glendale, Arizona for the Super Bowl. You better start trying things because if Samter and I, when we go out at night, we have to deal with hickey on the kids menu. We're at, remember in Las Vegas, the waitress was killing hickey. I'll just take a cheeseburger, no lettuce, no tomato, no bun. Just the cheese and the burger. No, I had the bun. I had the bun. I'm not one of those people. One of those people. You should offend people that are gluten-free. Jeez.

Not if I'm just saying, I love the bun. Hickey's not sensitive to any allergies. That's what I just learned. There's this hack yelp show on CBS. Ready to propose this holiday season? With just a few days left, Blue Nile can help. Blue Nile offers online tools to help you build a one-of-a-kind ring.

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Bluenile.com. The holidays are only a few days away. Are you ready? Find that perfect gift for someone special with jewelry from Blue Nile. Right now, during Blue Nile's site-wide holiday sale, get deals on their endless selection of bold gold styles, gemstone jewelry, and classic diamond pieces.

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Bluenile.com. You're listening to The Zach Gelb Show. This is Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio. Hickey, looking back at the whole Von Miller injury situation, you know when we should have known that this was pretty bad? When one day he comes out and says, yeah, I think I'll be back next week and probably only miss one game.

And then shortly after that, he got put on injured reserve. Now, from a Bill standpoint, the reason why I think that was downplayed, and the reason why I kind of downplayed it too, was you know what you're playing for if you're Buffalo. Even though Brandon Bean won't say it's Super Bowl or Bust, you know what the goal is. So there's no need for the regular season.

Even though seeding is important, even though trying to get the one seed is important, you could still win a lot of games without Von Miller. That's how I kind of interpreted it last week. I think it was like five, six days ago when we found out, even after that audio, that he was saying on his own podcast that he would be back for, the goal was to be back for the Jets game. When it came out that it was IR, and he was going IR and he has to miss at least four games, I thought, oh, they're just being extra cautious. I never thought we were going to get to this point where the ACL is not going to hold up or it's an ACL tear ever they want to report it from the semantics of it. Right, because usually, like I said, ACL tears, you know pretty fast and pretty quickly, oh, this is not good and he's done. It's like almost two weeks later, the fact that, like you said, up until today, it wasn't even a thought. And it's like, yeah, I'm with you. The IR move was not really that alarming.

Just because, okay, yeah, you play it safe. He'll be back before the playoffs. He's a veteran.

He doesn't really need a lot of time to get ready and then he'll be kind of ready to go for the final push. You have the Brandon Bean audio. Let's hear from Brandon Bean, explain how this whole thing did go down that Hickey was trying to tell us about in the opening segment. He went, he flew to Dallas on Monday and saw Dr. Cooper down there. And, you know, I was aware that, you know, it was a possibility, you know, all crossing our fingers, but that, you know, you see more when you go in there and, you know, you're hoping it's just a clean out of a scope and get him back. And that's my comments last week where we were hopeful. That's why we went ahead and put him on IR to start the clock in hopes that he could be back.

But yeah, once Dr. Cooper got in there, he felt, you know, it wasn't going to hold and he needed, you know, a repair. So there you go. That's the way that Brandon Bean does explain it.

And that's what Hickey was trying to say. Then we get that right on the record from the Bills general manager and Brandon Bean. Whole thing is unfortunate, but the Bills could still win a Super Bowl.

They were close last year of going on a run. You know how great Josh Allen was playing. He just had one of those bad decisions by the coach not to kick it and then Patrick Mahomes happened.

So yeah, it stinks. It's a bad injury. It's a bad injury. It's a bad loss because of what Von Miller was brought in to do and what he showed earlier on in the season.

But as long as you have number 17, the Bills should still have a shot to get to the Super Bowl and could and maybe will still win the entire thing. 855-212-4CBS, 855-212-4227. Let's go to Keith in Tucson, Arizona. Next up on the Zach Gelb show.

Keith, what's happening? First and all, first and foremost, a gingersnap is the worst tasting cookie ever. A gingersnap cookie? Is that like a gingerbread cookie? It's just nasty. Who wants a cookie that burns your tongue? It's nasty. Hickey, are you familiar with the gingersnap cookie, by the way? Yes, it's a little strong.

I would not say it's the worst. Okay, but I'll get back to you in just a second, Keith. Hold on. I just gotta have a conversation about this cookie that you brought up. Is it similar to a gingerbread cookie? Yeah, maybe a little bit more ginger.

Maybe a little more pop, but very similar. I hate gingerbread cookies. Oh, really? I like the presentation of them and the holiday feel of them, but the actual taste of them. A homemade gingerbread cookie is solid.

Not great. Well, Christmas is coming up. Tell your mother to make me some cookies or tell your girlfriend to make me some cookies.

Well, you hate him, so why would I do that? No, but D-Ben, when he was the producer board op of this show, his girlfriend, Gigi, made me cookies and they were delicious. So how about we get some cookies into the show and have a celebrate a little Christmas around there? My girlfriend is not a cook.

That's all I'll say. She used to make charcuterie boards. She used to put meat and cheese in a beautiful pattern together. All right, so tell your mother to make something.

Get in there in the kitchen, make cookies from scratch. All right, anyway, Keith, what else do you got for us real quickly? Go ahead. So I have to ask, how come the people who talk about sports and that always say defense wins championships, but they keep putting the Niners down saying just because if you look at that game, there was so much footage of Greenlaw and Warner telling Purdy, we got your back. You do what you do. So I think they miss a small step, but I don't think the Niners are going to miss that big of a step.

Too many weapons, too many weapons. Yeah, but if you don't have a quarterback that could manage the game, and I know Purdy played well, if he can't manage the game, which is still to be determined, then that's going to be a detriment for them in a big spot. Go look at his Iowa State footage.

That kid is something else. And there's a lot of quarter, and maybe you're right, but there's a lot of quarterbacks that end up being really good college quarterbacks, and they get to the league and they don't have it. Brock Purdy played well the other day. I'm not taking anything away from him, but I'm not going to sit here and tell you that when I look at the NFC, even though the 49ers are a really good team and they're probably a team that you don't want to play because they have all that experience, and they have a great defense, but they're not a team that I'm now shaking in my boots.

Yes, they have Deebo. Yes, they do have Christian McCaffrey. It's because of Brock Purdy, and that doesn't scare me. And the point on defense doesn't win championships, whatever the call was trying to make. You got to also have a good quarterback too. You know, it's very rare that it's just the defense that gets the job done. Now, on the other way, you do need a defense to get it done. Like, look how many big defensive plays just the last few years has determined Super Bowls.

Last year, Aaron Donald. How about in one of the more high octane offensive Super Bowls you'll ever see the Patriots and the Eagles, Super Bowl LII, biggest play of the game was Brandon Graham, strip sack and Tom Brady, Malcolm Butler at the goal line. So defense plays an enormous role, but if you don't have the quarterback to keep you in the game, then a great defense will probably have you come up just a little bit short. Not everyone could be the 85 Bears. Not everyone could be the early 2000 Baltimore Ravens. You look at the teams that have won Super Bowls, most of the time they have great quarterbacks in the last 20 years of the NFL and quarterbacks that are, for the most part, going to the Hall of Fame.

Not all the time, but for the most part. It is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. We will take a break. When we come on back, we will look back at the year of Clemson football and chat a little DJ Uwe Ungolale, who is now in the transfer portal.

And did Dabo Sweeney make a mistake keeping Cade Klubnick on the bench as long as he did? We get into all that on the other side. The holidays are only a few days away. Are you ready? Find that perfect gift for someone special with jewelry from Blue Nile. Right now, during Blue Nile's site-wide holiday sale, get deals on their endless selection of bold gold styles, gemstone jewelry, and classic diamond pieces.

Need your piece fast? Order today and get free two-day shipping. Shop now and save up to 40% on the season's most stunning trends at BlueNile.com. That's BlueNile.com. BlueNile.com.

Ready to propose this holiday season? With just a few days left, Blue Nile can help. Blue Nile offers online tools to help you build a one-of-a-kind ring.

Choose from thousands of diamonds and settings. Order now to take advantage of Blue Nile's site-wide holiday deals and get free two-day shipping just in time for that holiday proposal. Go to BlueNile.com and use code radio to save $50 on purchases of $500 or more.

That's BlueNile.com code radio. The holidays are only a few days away. Are you ready? Find that perfect gift for someone special with jewelry from Blue Nile. Right now, during Blue Nile's site-wide holiday sale, get deals on their endless selection of bold gold styles, gemstone jewelry, and classic diamond pieces.

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BlueNile.com. You're listening to The Zach Gelb Show. It is The Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio. By the way, congratulations to Dion Dawkins, as he's been nominated by the Buffalo Bills for their representative for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, as each team gets one representative. And the showman, Dion Dawkins, is the Bills selection. So congratulations to him, as it is The Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio, where 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 can help you get there for home-owned solutions that fit your life well, Rocky can.

And also, you could think O'Reilly Auto Parts for all your car care needs, get guaranteed low prices and excellent customer service from the professional parts people at O'Reilly Auto Parts. I just want to peel back the curtain a little bit here. Hickey said to me during the break that if you want to send him a Christmas gift this year, you could send it to Ryan Hickey, 345 Hudson Street, 10th floor, New York, New York. What's the zip code around here? I don't know.

Look it up, folks. Do you know the zip code to this building, Hickey? There's no shot you know the zip code, do you?

Uh, 1-0-0, I think 2-2. I don't like that. Regardless, just look up the zip code to 345 Hudson Street. Hickey would love for you to send him oatmeal raisin cookies. Hickey, what I found out is a big oatmeal raisin cookie fan and he's been lying to everyone for the last 45 minutes. So if you want to send Hickey some oatmeal raisin cookies this year to kind of lighten up his spirits a little bit because he's been a Grinch around this office. He's been miserable. He's been moping around. You know, his ego has become so big ever since he got that Colts podcast and he got the weekend overnight show. Hickey doesn't have time for the regular folks in this office and his ego's just too big right now.

It's as big as the Atlantic Ocean. So we want to kind of sweeten him back up a little bit. Make him be that old little innocent kid that we all fell in love with. So make sure you send him some oatmeal raisin cookies to kind of just uplift his spirits a little bit. You know what I don't have time for? Bad cookies.

Not yet. And a lot of people in America, I think, don't have time for bad cookies, which is why they were there. But an oatmeal... Not there for long. Four minutes later.

I guess vultures get hungry too. No, no, no, no. Here's what you're not getting. I'm not telling you that the oatmeal raisin cookie is the creme de la creme cookie.

That would be nuts. But to say it's the worst cookie ever, that's just too far. And again, when I asked you, what's worse than an oatmeal raisin? I got crickets. I got nothing.

I gave you that answer once I did my proper evaluation. Snickerdoodle, which is very... No, no, no. That's controversial. Anything with cinnamon in it, just terrible. Which would be a snickerdoodle for this discussion.

Okay. In terms of just baking cookies. We're not talking like Oreos or chips or whatever. Any of those other stuff. Just pure cookie.

What did that caller say? That cookie in the last segment? Ginger snaps. Yeah, those things stink though.

I'm like you, I've never even tried it, but I'm just going to say it stinks. Oh, that's... That's what you do though. That is not true.

That's the hickey line. You do that all the time. It is. I just accurately judge things sometimes by their cover. They say you always want to judge a book by its cover. That's what I was raised on.

Yeah, but please. You know, you're lying to everyone right now. I also heard that you were a man of integrity and honesty. You've just become a man full of lies. Oh, I am honest, Abe. I will never, never say a lie. Yeah, including oatmeal raisins is the worst cookie. Well, it's a lie, so it's fine.

Facts only. You know, I'm going to have my mother make you an oatmeal raisin cookie and you're going to eat it and you're going to enjoy it. You're also the same guy that thinks Skippy peanut butter isn't good. So like... Skippy peanut butter. Forget it. Not good.

It's fresh. I wanted to jump through Twitter yesterday and I wanted to rip your eyes out and just cut off your hands or make you like Edward Scissorhands. When I saw you respond to someone that was praising peanut butter.

I see everything. That was praising peanut butter and saying Skippy is good. You're like, oh, I don't want that stale crap. I'm like, you're so stupid when it comes to food.

No, I'm accurate. Skippy is not good. You don't try anything. Oh, unfortunately, I've had Skippy. I have tried it multiple times. You eat the same thing every night.

Second, third opportunities. And it's still just as bad as I remember when I was like 11. You just eat pasta. There's no diversity in your diet. That's why you're like a stick. I made a deconstructed burrito myself for lunch for dinner this week.

I didn't see that. All I've seen is pasta. Mexican corn, some ground beef, peppers, some cheese, some torn up tortillas.

Stop lying and stop trying to make everyone think that you actually try a bunch of things. You try pasta and that's it. You bring in pasta. I eat pasta because I can't eat my hands. I got to keep my hands free because, you know, I have a job to do. Push buttons and make sure the show sounds as good as possible.

So I want them greasy. Great job. Great job.

I'm doing a tremendous co-worker. And he goes, I forgot to give you the reeds 45 minutes late. We're supposed to do reeds right at the top of the show. I just think that those reeds would be greasy if I was eating, you know, a burger or wings like, you know, you want me to eat during the show.

Do you know how many slobs work around here? That fingers are covered in grease? You think I care if you give me a greasy paper? Show some respect. That's all. Show some respect. Show some respect to you in the show. I don't want you, you know, reading a reed that has my grease on it.

Who cares? Or wing sauce on it or whatever. I'm a man's man. I can handle a little grease. I'm not like you who pretends to be something that he's not. Okay. I'm not pretending. I can't handle grease. I told you.

That's why I like the boneless wings over bone in. I told you. I'm not hiding from it. Dirty. Yeah. I don't want my hands dirty. You're getting my mouth dirty. And a high chair this year.

I go for ease of access. Light beer and chicken and boneless wings. Can't go wrong with that. Oh, my God. Folks, if you want to apply for a producing job at CBS Sports Radio. Send me out of work now. Perfect time to trim a little fat.

Tight budget is here, huh? Sorry. It is a Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Clemson. Has the team ever won a conference championship in the power five? And it's really not had much reaction than Clemson winning the ACC Championship last week. That ACC Championship game was just such a dud. Clemson destroyed UNC, but it just meant nothing because you knew neither of those teams were going to go to the college football playoff.

And I don't think he's going to say that's why we want expansion, because I don't mean something. No, I don't need to see any more of Clemson football or UNC football. But for Clemson, they had so many opportunities to back their way in. And that game against South Carolina, they blew it.

Now, D.J. He didn't have a bad season. Like, I can't say he was awful. And that stretch where he played well, because I remember us talking about it. That stretch of Wake Forest and then NC State, he played really well. And we thought, OK, maybe this is a different D.J.

Uenglele and this was the D.J. Uenglele that we thought he was going to be. And then in that game against Syracuse, they won, but he didn't play well. He almost lost them the game. And remember, he got benched and it was like, OK, shouldn't they have gone to Cade Klubnick earlier in the year? And then the irony of all that is that after getting themselves back into the conversation, they lose to South Carolina where they had so many leads. And it wasn't, you know, it was multiple reasons why they lost that game. And then the UNC game, you see Cade Klubnick play that well.

And Hickey, it's almost impossible to say if the floor was so low this year. Were all Clemson had to do, and I know people are going to say the ACC is good because how many top 25 teams there were. This was not an ACC that really intimidated you. But if you were a one loss ACC champion, you would have been in the college football playoff. They would have put you in over Ohio State with the way that this shaked out. So when you see Cade Klubnick go 20-24 against UNC for 279 yards and a touchdown and also seven carries, 30 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown. I know that DJ survived that stretch of Wake Forest and NC State.

And we were saying, OK, something's different. But now it's almost impossible after what we saw against Syracuse to then go, man, only, only, only, only if you would have had Dabo Swinney pull him a little bit earlier or get Cade Klubnick in the game a little bit more and kind of divide up those reps a little bit. But he refused to do for most of the year. And I don't get why, because he's had no problem in the past, you know, benching quarterbacks at one, you know, Kelly Bryant took him to a college football playoff.

I know it's Trevor Lawrence. But there was a different feel about who was coming in. Now Cade Klubnick is supposed to be a stud, so I don't want to downgrade him there. But no one ever viewed Kelly Bryant the same way that we were thinking that D.J. Ungollet was going to be when he came in for that one game against Notre Dame when Trevor Lawrence was out with COVID.

Right. But also, too, since that game, we've seen now two years of him starting. Maybe you just want to go to the Syracuse game a year and a half from starting at that point.

It's not been very good. Look, Cade Klubnick, let's just say he pulled onto the Syracuse game, right? They won the game. They're so defeated at that point.

Let's just say that was the time you make the move. Maybe Clemson still loses two games. Maybe they don't make college football playoff. Because there's ups and downs of a young quarterback. But I think it's still a better option just because you kind of knew what D.J. was at that point, which is a guy who's sure, he has some flashes, but he's too inconsistent and his lows are too low that you could give him the benefit of the down. It's almost as if the loyalty of Dabo Swinney came back to hurt him. In one part, like, I respect the loyalty of a coach to a player that he clearly believed in in D.G.W.

Ngolele. But eventually you have to pull the plug. And you know what? I know we talked about the Syracuse game where Klubnick came in and really didn't do much other than that one throw. I think it was on a two-point conversion that he had that one throw that was nice.

You know when you should have benched him. It was really after the Notre Dame game, because when they lose to Notre Dame 35 to 14, that's when you should have named him the starter for the rest of the year, because at that time, Hickey, we thought Clemson was out. We didn't even think Clemson was going to be able to get back in it. But then all these other schools just fell down and tripped over themselves.

At that point, that's when you should have put him in for that game up against Louisville and you had Miami, South Carolina on the stretch and UNC. And I can't tell you that it definitely would have been a different outcome. You know, maybe they would have lost one of those games. Maybe they would have.

And then it was a mute point in terms of you didn't get into the college football playoff, but I can't tell you for sure that you would have lost one of those games. Because Klubnick is a better player. You know who Davo channeled this season? Go ahead. Yours truly. You? Oh yeah.

Dog his heels in. Because remember last year. I'll shut up.

Go ahead. They what? They lost two of the first four games. I think it was, I lost the opener in Georgia. I think the NC State was either the third or fourth game of the season. So they were out of the cultural playoff race in September. He was the least exciting coach to ever come on after a big victory.

Yeah, he was boring. You would have never known that they just beat Clemson. That was for sure.

You would have thought they lost by 45 in that game. Holy smokes. But somehow it works. So credit to him, he won.

But it's like right then and there, everyone's criticizing DJ Wounga-Lei in September. It's like, he's like, oh no, he's fine. He's our court. He's our guy.

And it's almost like you already got blind to the fact that he's just not playing well because he dug his heels in and defended him so much that it I think potentially cost his team of cultural playoff appearances. You know, we're making progress. You're starting to realize that you do get stubborn with your takes. I'm just saying what you say.

That's all. Just equating that to a very successful cultural ball coach this season. It's almost as if you wish the Syracuse game happened when Wake Forest and NC State happened. Because if that would have happened earlier in the year where he didn't play that well, I think that it would have been different. Because eventually there just would have been more time for it to linger, linger, linger.

And then it really just being defensible while you keep on trotting the kid out there. Like it wasn't horrible this year, but he wasn't good enough in a down year to get to the college football playoff. And that's the standard for Clemson is to get back to the college football playoff each and every year, fair or not. And I'll be curious. I think it's intriguing. Is he good enough to start at Clemson and get you to championship?

No, but I wonder where he's going to go next because he could be a solid quarterback in every redemption story. The holidays are only a few days away. Are you ready? Find that perfect gift for someone special with jewelry from Blue Nile. Right now, during Blue Nile's site-wide holiday sale, get deals on their endless selection of bold gold styles, gemstone jewelry, and classic diamond pieces.

Need your piece fast? Order today and get free two-day shipping. Shop now and save up to 40% on the season's most stunning trends at BlueNile.com. That's BlueNile.com, BlueNile.com.

Ready to propose this holiday season? With just a few days left, Blue Nile can help. Blue Nile offers online tools to help you build a one-of-a-kind ring.

Choose from thousands of diamonds and settings. Order now to take advantage of Blue Nile's site-wide holiday deals and get free two-day shipping just in time for that holiday proposal. Go to BlueNile.com and use code radio to save $50 on purchases of $500 or more. That's BlueNile.com code radio.

Ready to propose this holiday season? With just a few days left, Blue Nile can help. Blue Nile offers online tools to help you build a one-of-a-kind ring.

Choose from thousands of diamonds and settings. Order now to take advantage of Blue Nile's site-wide holiday deals and get free two-day shipping just in time for that holiday proposal. Go to BlueNile.com and use code radio to save $50 on purchases of $500 or more. That's BlueNile.com code radio.