Pack It Up? (Hour 1)

The listening you love is on the free Odyssey app. Your trusted local radio stations, coverage of your favorite teams, live news from your hometown, and millions of podcasts on demand. Best of all, you can completely customize your listening experience. Follow topics you care about, like leagues and teams, pause or rewind your local sports and news, and add shows to your queue to catch up later.

There's a lot to listen to, so get started and download the free Odyssey app today. Throughout the 60s and 70s, cops hunted down key figures of the Dixie Mafia, including its enigmatic ringleader, Kirksey Nix. I'm in a rush to making money.

I'm not in a rush to hurting people. Fifteen years into Kirksey's life sentence, the Dixie Mafia was practically folklore, but that would soon change. I'm Jed Lipinski. This is Gone South, a documentary podcast from C13 Originals, a Cadence 13 studio. Season 2, the Dixie Mafia, available now on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Live from the police show, yet not overly ostentatious, studios of CBS Sports Radio here in beautiful New York City, sitting on top of the tenth floor of 345 Hudson Street, welcome on in to a Tuesday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all of our great local CBS Sports Radio affiliates. That's Sirius XM channel 158 and that free Odyssey app. 855-212-4CBS is numbered to jump on in. 855-212-4227. You can always get at me on Instagram where I'm straight flexing or via the good ol' cesspool of Twitter at Zach Gelb.

That's Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. We are coming to you live from the Rocket Mortgage Studios. Whether you're looking to purchase a new home or refinance yours, Rocket Mortgage can help you get there.

And for home-owned solutions that fit your life, well, Rocket can. Coming up at 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 Pacific, one of the greatest tight ends to ever play in the National Football League, has the most receiving touchdowns by a tight end, and one day will be in Canton, Ohio in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That, of course, is Antonio Gates stopping by. And as always, for the next four hours, producing this extravaganza is no other than hot take kicky.

I don't know about that hot take kicky. So last night, the Green Bay Packers in a very boring ending to Week 15, which was a very exciting weekend of football. But on Monday night, the Green Bay Packers in a game that I had zero care for, zero desire to watch.

Of course, I did watch it because it's a part of my job in doing so. But really, there was no juice for a Monday night football matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Los Angeles Rams. And the crazy part about it is, if I would have said that before the start of the season, and a lot of these matchups, you know, obviously, when they do schedule them, you think, okay, they could be big games. And sometimes Monday night gets the shaft a little bit. But going into the season, if you would have told me that heading into Week 15, Rams and Packers would mean nothing. You would have said, Zach, you're the biggest moron on the planet. Like, what are you sniffing?

What are you talking about? But last night, I have never been more bored watching a football game. And yeah, the actual play didn't really do any favors. And it wasn't like it was an exciting game.

But there was just zero meaning of that game. And I thought the Manning broadcast, too. I watched a little bit of the Manning cast last night, Hickey, because you know me, I hate the Manning cast.

I'm just not a fan of it. I get why people enjoy it. But I think the focus of the game gets ruined and taken away when you have the Manning cast. And last night, I go, okay, I'm in the need for a little entertainment. I'll go for some of the interviews. And I saw them interview Lil Wayne, which I laughed about. I saw them interview Demarcus Ware and then also Ray Lewis, which was fine. But you could even tell it felt like the entire time everything was just a waste with those two football teams. But the game needed to go on. And I found that laughable once I switched back over to the main coverage. And then I love Scott Van Pelt and SVP afterwards is doing the interviews. And they're talking about, and this has been a conversation on some shows today, how the Packers are still mathematically alive.

And now every cheesy radio host in America is going to start off their show today. Give us a call. 855-212-4CBS to the Green Bay Packers. Still have a chance to make the playoffs. Like, what football have you been watching this year? To any talk show host, television, radio that is trying to make a case for the Green Bay Packers, you just either can't have any conversations, you have no creative thought, or you're just caught up in the moment in a game against the Rams that meant absolutely nothing for both teams. Have you watched the Packers this year? They have been dreadful. And then, I don't know, maybe you want to look at the final three games of their schedule, because they would have to win out for there even to be an idea or a chance or a possibility of them going to the playoffs. They play Miami, they play the Vikings, and then they play the red-hot Detroit Lions. There is no way, 0% chance, that the Green Bay Packers win out and go to the postseason.

And I get it. I'm the same moron that when their over-under win total this year was 10.5 or 11, and we had Ariel Epstein in studio, I was like, oh, that seems too good to be true. You know, hammer the number on the Green Bay Packers. But what we've seen from Green Bay this year, there's zero reason, even after last night, or you want to say the last two weeks, or I guess the three because you had a bystander in between, because they beat the Bears and they beat the Rams, were those inspiring performances?

Absolutely not. And I think there's a better chance that the Packers go 0-3 in their final three games than they go 3-0. I usually never say this and watch that it will happen, that there's a 0% chance of something happening, but there is a 0% chance of the Green Bay Packers going to the playoffs this year. And there's a 0% chance that they're going to win out. But we get all caught up in the moment, we get all caught up in the take, and we have to give you a take, oh, let's have the conversation. Are the Packers going to be going to the playoffs this year?

Like, what? What football have you been watching this year to even make you think that there's a remote possibility that the Green Bay Packers could go to the postseason? Miami's better. Minnesota is better. And Minnesota already beat them 23-7 back in week one. The Lions, going back to the first weekend of November, beat them 15-9 when Aaron Rodgers threw three interceptions. Maybe at best, if everything goes right for Green Bay down the stretch, they win two out of three.

Quite frankly, I don't see how they win two out of three. Miami, better offense. Minnesota, better offense. And the Detroit Lions have the better offense. Like, those three teams, I trust a whole lot more. And on my trust issues with the Dolphins, on my trust issues with the Vikings, I do think the Lions are going to the playoffs. But in an isolated game when anything could happen, I trust those three teams more than I do the Green Bay Packers. And if Las Vegas, in any of those games, and I haven't looked at the spread for this week or a week ahead from now, if Las Vegas is going to make the Packers favorite in any of those games, I will plus the points with the other teams. And I would be surprised if they're a favorite in any of those games. Because we talked about how Minnesota beat the Packers, the Lions beat the Packers. Miami, with Tuatunga Vailoa and Tyreek Hill and Jalen Waddle, just have more weapons. So to kind of move away from this Packer nonsensical playoff push and all this nonsense, let's have a conversation about the two teams that played last night.

Because their futures are very intriguing to me. And I'm curious how we're going to be talking about them after week 15 next year. Let's start with the Packers and then we'll also circle in on the Rams because the Rams had some pretty big news today from their quarterback who is out for the season. The Green Bay Packers next year, they will have a shot to win the NFC North.

I think we could all agree on that. I'm not saying they're going to win the NFC North, but they will have a shot to win the NFC North and return to the postseason. Now the Lions are getting better.

The Vikings are getting better. And I'm curious to see a year from now, or even just in this offseason, what the Bears do to try to expedite the Justin Fields process, who individually Justin Fields gave you a lot of tangible moments this year, but that roster and the weapons around Justin Field really just aren't cutting it and are not these unbelievable weapons that makes you think that they could go from a team that was not even close to stepping the playoffs this year to them making the playoffs next year. But for the Green Bay Packers, you have to start off with the quarterback. I do think Aaron Rodgers, who signed an extension last offseason, is going to come back. And then maybe next year could be his final year in Green Bay after the dead cap does go down a bit. But after that, if you're a Packers fan and you've seen the development of Christian Watson, who has turned in to be a really good player and have a really strong last, let's call it six games or so, seven games or so in that ballpark, you need to get help on the offensive line, with Elton Jenkins now back, but he's been out of the lineup the last two years.

Same for David Bakhtiari. So maybe you want to add another piece to the offensive line. And I know we've been saying this and imploring the Packers to do this for the better part of, what, the last five years? I think they have to go out there and get a legit, another surefire weapon for Aaron Rodgers, because Devante Adams is no longer there.

We know that. And every time the Packers go make a move in the offseason, it seems as if it's a wishful thinking move, a hope move. Oh, maybe this guy could turn his career around. Maybe this guy could find the fountain of youth. Maybe this guy can stay healthy.

I believe you've got to get a known commodity. And if you can get a known commodity to complement Christian Watson and also the production of some of these young other wide receivers that they have in the roster, with also the quarterback that you have, who's still really good and won back-to-back MVPs, won't win it this year, I do believe you can make the postseason next year. And you also have to look at the landscape of the NFC. I know the NFC East is having a really good year. I think the Eagles are sustainable. The Cowboys, they're always going to be in the hunt to be a playoff team. I don't know what the Giants will look like a year from now.

The Commanders, they have a good young roster. You take a glance in the NFC South, all those teams are question marks. We don't know if Brady's going to be back next year. The Panthers, they have a good defense. They really have nothing on offense. The Falcons are years and years and years away. The Saints, we don't even know who's going to be coaching that team next year.

They don't have a quarterback. And in the NFC West, Kyle Murray going to be out for the majority of next season, maybe the entirety of the season. The Rams could bounce back.

We'll get into them in just a second. Seattle, let's see what they're going to be a year from now. And the 49ers, we know, just with the coach and the talent they have on that roster, we'll see who's playing quarterback next year, they're always going to have a chance to go on a deep run. So this NFC, it's really open compared to the AFC where you know who your known commodities are with Josh Allen, with Joe Burrow, with Patrick Mahomes, and you could go on and on and on with even some of these breakout stories, like someone like a Tua Tungavailo with the Miami Dolphins if they could continue to do what they've done this year.

We know Lamar Jackson, if he could stay healthy and what he's capable in this league. Justin Herbert is always going to have the Chargers fighting for a playoff opportunity and maybe the development of some other teams that we could get to later on in the show. But when you look at the NFC, and we talked about this this year, the AFC, you have your known commodities.

The NFC, it's more wide open. So could a team like Green Bay go make a deep playoff run and go back to being the team that was 13-3, 13-3, 13-3, and then losing some time in the playoffs? Yeah, I do think they could do that next year, but if they run this back and just hope that more experience is going to benefit them, sure, Christian Watson, you now know what he's going to get, and he's getting comfortable in this league. But if you don't get another piece, I don't really fear the Packers, but can they go make the postseason next year? Yeah, they can because of who their quarterback is.

So I do think Rodgers will be back for at least one more year in Green Bay. And then on the other side, I saw that Kelly Stafford, big guest, she had her husband, Matthew Stafford. That's probably a tough guest. Now, Hickey, do you think we could get Matthew Stafford? If Kelly Stafford is getting Matthew Stafford on the show, I think it should be pretty easy for you to call up Kelly and get Matt on the show, I would think, right? They sound like they know each other pretty well. Yeah, aren't they married or something like that? Something like that.

That's right. So Matthew Stafford on Kelly Stafford's podcast, and I don't listen, but I guess Kelly has been saying that Matt's coming back next year, Matt's coming back next year, so she put her husband on the spot even though she knew what the answer was going to be, and Matt Stafford said he's definitely coming back next year. So the Rams, I think they're a little bit more confusing than the Green Bay Packers because for the Packers, you know you've got to go add one more wide receiver. You've got to think that Rodgers is going to have a great season, a big bounce-back season next year, but for the Rams, I just don't know who's going to be a part of this team.

Like, is Donald going to be back, or is he going to retire? Is there offensive line? You've got to think they've got to improve there, and they've got to bring in new names, but as you saw with the Bengals, even though it's working now, that takes some time to build chemistry and synergy up front with the offensive line. Cooper Cupp coming off an injury. I still think when healthy, he's a top-five receiver in the sport. Can Allen Robinson have a bounce-back year? Can they get anything out of the run game?

It seems like the Packers, even though the Rams just won a Super Bowl, the Packers are an easier fix than the LA Rams, but for the Rams, I don't know with all the injuries that have been piling up with Matthew Stafford. When you talk about a neck injury, in the past you've had back injuries, shoulder, elbow, all that stuff. You wonder, even though he's not an old man, with all the wear and tear that's on his body, can he make it through a full 17-game season? Can he do that? And that, I don't know if he can make it through a 17-game season.

I just don't. And the other part is, who's going to be a part of this team? And then the production up front with the offensive line. Like, can the Rams bounce back and make the playoffs last year?

Sure. But no one would have thought that they would have had this mega just fall from grace where they were in the Super Bowl last year. Like, if you would have told me over the year that the Packers, the Rams, one of them would have missed the playoffs, I would say, even though I think Green Bay is going to make the playoffs, I would say it would be inconceivable to me that it would be the Rams just because we thought the Rams were better than the Packers heading into the year and you don't have the departure of a Devante Adams like Green Bay did. But for the Rams to just be this dreadful, I wonder, especially when their problems mainly are up front in the health of the quarterback, how improved is the offensive line going to be next year? And then not only that, can the quarterback make it through an entire regular season with all the injuries that have piled up? So last night, I'm not going to sit here and bore you to death about a Packers playoff push because I just don't think there's any chance that it's going to happen.

Once again, I think it's more likely that they lose out than they win out. But I do wonder where your thoughts are at with both these teams and where they're going to be this time next year. Like, Hickey, when you look at both these teams, you would agree the Packers have to go get another weapon to compliment Christian Watson for Aaron Rodgers. And then for the Rams, I am concerned about the health of Matthew Stafford moving forward. And I wonder if they're going to be able to get the right people in an organization that does have your trust with what they've done the last few years.

And a lot of people like Lesneen, a lot of people like Sean McVay obviously as a head coach. But you just wonder in this one offseason if they're going to be able to fix this offensive line and get this offensive line to be better because that combination of a questionable offensive line and a quarterback who has now dealt with a bunch of injuries does get you a little bit concerned. There are obviously concerns with both, but I feel more confident in the Rams being able to turn this around than the Packers for sure.

And that would be why? One, injuries. I think just get healthy. I think the Rams are still a good team. They still have talent there. Two, I trust the Rams to actually take action. To your point, your biggest thing for the Packers is go get a receiver to compliment Christian Watson. This is like the fourth offseason in a row we're talking about. Go get a receiver to compliment, at this point, most of the time, has been Devante Adams. Go get him a 1A, Devante Adams. Hasn't happened.

Didn't do so. So even though, yes, it's logical to say that the fixes aren't that drastic for Green Bay, their defense is not very good and I have concerns there as well. The obvious fix, I don't think Green Bay is going to do. It does change a little bit because in 2020 and 2021, and I could even maybe take you back as far until 2018 because you did have Devante Adams really go for, what, 1,300, 1,400 yards. That was his first unbelievable statistical season when the yards did compliment the touchdowns because he had double-digit touchdowns before that. But we know how good Devante Adams has been. I think he did have a safety blanket of Devante Adams. Now, after what you've seen this year, and you could question the approach in the offseason, but they were working behind a little bit because that was the first year where they were dealing with life without Devante Adams.

I would hope, and once again, I have zero expectation because you are right. We've been saying for this for years, and they brought in guys like Devin Funches. They brought in guys like Jimmy Graham who are either hurt, unproven, or guys that are past their prime. I would think with now knowing that Adams is out the door and seeing how this year played out and feeling good about Watson's future, that there's going to be more desire and more of a hunger to go get that legit weapon for Rodgers, not only because Rodgers is getting older, but you don't have the safety blanket anymore of a Devante Adams. So, I just wonder, now having Adams away from this team for a full year, if that at all changes the approach this offseason, because you don't have that great safety blanket of a wide receiver who, for the last four or five years, has kind of been perceived a top three wide receiver, at times the best wide receiver in the NFL.

Or when they knew that last offseason was going to be there, and they had two first-time picks and did nothing with it. And it didn't work, the approach. And the approach did not work.

So, you tried. Watson's solid. But now, knowing that you were not able to do this quick fix through the draft and through these younger players, I'm just wondering if they get a little bit more aggressive in the free agency trail.

That's all I'm saying. Or maybe they surrender the capital to go get a known wide receiver, whoever does become available on the market. So, where are you at with the future of the Packers and the Rams? 8-5-5, 2-1-2 for CBS. 8-5-5, 2-1-2, 42-27. When we come on back, we know, and I've been saying this for the better part now of a few weeks, the five teams that I could envision going to a Super Bowl, Philadelphia, the 49ers, the Bengals, the Bills, and the Chiefs.

When we get to everybody else, where is our confidence level with some of those other teams that we think are going to be in the playoffs, but they're questions about? We'll talk about that when we return to the Zach Gelb show in five minutes. There's a lot to listen to, so get started and download the free Odyssey app today. The listening you love is on the free Odyssey app. Your trusted local radio stations, coverage of your favorite teams, live news from your hometown, and millions of podcasts on demand. Best of all, you can completely customize your listening experience.

Follow topics you care about, like leagues and teams, pause or rewind your local sports and news, and add shows to your queue to catch up later. There's a lot to listen to, so get started and download the free Odyssey app today. The listening you love is on the free Odyssey app. Your trusted local radio stations, coverage of your favorite teams, live news from your hometown, and millions of podcasts on demand. Best of all, you can completely customize your listening experience. Follow topics you care about, like leagues and teams, pause or rewind your local sports and news, and add shows to your queue to catch up later.

There's a lot to listen to, so get started and download the free Odyssey app today. It is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Hot take kicky, by the way. A lot of people are asking me today if I run the NFL on CBS account, which I don't.

I have no affiliation with the NFL on CBS account, but I'm flattered that people would ask me this question. Did you happen to see a graphic that the NFL on CBS account did tweet out today? Do you have any idea what I'm talking about, why I would bring it up to you? I have no idea what you're talking about.

I'm going to guess it's not a positive, but I have no idea where they went. So let's hear it. There's plenty of different avenues for this team to, or this graphic to be. It's a photo of Jim Mora, and it says, playoffs?

How the 4-9-1 Colts can still make the playoffs. There's actually, well, what is the path? Oh wow, so you're a sucker. You want to hear the path. No, I'm curious.

I'm just curious. I'm surprised you're not going to say right away, there's no shot, there's no chance, they're not making the playoffs, I won Bryce Young. They have the sixth pick right now.

I am looking at Tankathon every day. I am not looking at the playoffs. The last I looked at the playoffs standings legitimately is probably before the Washington commanders game. That was like week 8, week 9.

Wait, now hold on. You still thought they could make the playoffs then? I just want to see.

I have to visualize it. They lost Tennessee week 7. I thought you said the season was over after they lost Tennessee twice. It was.

And I just checked before, right after the, I think it was probably before. See where they were, because they were 3-3-1. Yeah, they were 3-3-1, then they lose to the commanders in 3-4-1. They were in 1-5-1.

Yeah. You know where your season really did, it was totally over. Well, two moments.

Actually, three moments. I thought the season was over when they lost to the Jaguars 24-0 to make them 0-1-1. Then when they lost both games to Tennessee, another moment where you think the season's over. But really, the last nail in the coffin was at 3-4-1 when you lose 26-3 to the Patriots at 3-5-1. I would probably say that was when even you, who's usually more optimistic than most people when it comes to your football team, that was probably the final straw that broke the camel's back. Oh, well before that game. The Patriots game at that point was your... You can't say well before. They were playing Sam Ellinger at that point. They already wait the... I know, but you can't say well before because you...

They waved the white flag. You were still believing in them until that Titans game. It was only two weeks afterwards. And it's not as if they would have won that game. Maybe things are a little bit different going into the final three weeks. Well, if they beat the Titans, absolutely.

Before 2-1, you come out of the stretch after starting off slow differently. And there'd be a whole different perspective on the Colts if you're 4-2-1 compared to 3-3-1. Because right after that game, if you remember, that's when they benched Matt Ryan. They went to Sam Ellinger and that's when the season went to hell. We're going too much into the weeds with the Colts, but I'll give you the graphic here. How the 4-9-1 Colts could still make the playoffs. Let's hear this after blowing a 33-0 lead, mind you. Whoever runs this NFL on CBS account, reach out to me.

I want to give you a personal Christmas gift this year or a Hanukkah gift, whatever you celebrate. Hold on. Before you get to the graphic, why aren't you tr... Why are you happy? Because I think this is funny. You should be trashing them that they are just... No, no, no, no, no, no, no. They're making the case as to... Sure, technically they're not eliminated, but they're making the case for a bad team to make the playoffs.

Everything I just said in the first segment with the joke of the conversation about the Packers potentially making the playoffs. But whoever did this, I would like to think that they listened to the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Maybe they do, maybe they don't. And you have probably annoyed them a little bit. Or maybe they're annoyed at me with how much I make fun at you because you're just a Colts apologist. It's ridiculous.

But maybe it goes one way or another where they're just annoyed at you and they want to just tweak you a little bit and make you believe that there's actually still a shot. Or maybe they hear how much I just trashed the Colts and they're trying to put a little lipstick on a pig here. But here's how the Colts can still make the playoffs. First off, they got to win out to get to 7-9-1.

Holy cow. For the Jaguars, they would need to lose to the Jets Thursday night, lose to the Texans, then beat Tennessee the final week of the season. That means they would be 7-10. And then for the Titans, they would need them to lose to the Texans this weekend, lose to the Cowboys, and lose to the Jaguars to get them at 7-10. Then the 7-9-1 Colts would get in over the 7-10 Jaguars and the 7-10 Tennessee Titans.

So lose out for Tennessee, then they need to have the Jaguars win that final game of the year, and then you guys would need to win out. That's how your football team could still make the playoffs. Not only make the playoffs, have a home playoff game.

Let's go. Get Jeff Sadre in the playoffs. Well, you wouldn't make it as a wildcard team. There's zero shot you'd make as a wildcard team. Well, I wasn't sure what the stipulation was, but I'm just saying, it's not only do you make it, you also get to have a home playoff game, which is kind of crazy. I would be fine with that if the Colts ended up winning the AFC South.

Because then Jim Irsay could sit at Lucas Oil Stadium and just absolutely see his team get shredded by whoever would walk in there. Imagine, this is not going to happen, but imagine like a 7-9-1 Colts team hosting the playoffs and the Buccaneers at 7-10 or 8-9 hosting the playoff game. There's potential to be some bad teams. There's a lot of strong teams, but then there could be two bad teams maybe in the postseason. Anyway, when we talk about football this year and you look at both conferences, we're in agreement and the AFC could only really see three teams getting to the Super Bowl. The Bills, the Bengals, and the Chiefs. In the NFC, I've been saying it's the Eagles or busts. The last week or two I have thrown now the 49ers in that conversation.

I just still can't envision the Cowboys and the Vikings getting to the Super Bowl. But, now with this injury to Jalen Hurts, and it seems like he will eventually come back. Maybe he plays this week, this Saturday, maybe he doesn't. I'm leaning probably on the side that it's going to be Gardner Minshew. Will he be back after that?

If he doesn't play the final three games of the regular season, is he going to be rusty coming then out four weeks of not playing? Because you've got to factor in the buy as well because they're going to be the number one overall seed. I know that Minnesota was down 33-0 when they came on back. Minnesota has had some fraudulent performances this year. I know the Cowboys, I don't trust them until I see them in the Super Bowl.

But, if you're both those teams, and if you're a fan of both those teams, Hickey, you've got to feel, even though you got a little dose of reality recently. With the Cowboys not playing well against the Texans. The Cowboys then blowing the game to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Vikings, we've seen them lose to the Lions, lose to the Dallas Cowboys, lose to the Eagles, even though they're having good seasons. You've got to start to talk yourself into it if you're a Cowboys fan or a Vikings fan because the Jalen Hurts news, maybe we don't know how effective he's going to be when he comes back. And then you look at the 49ers standpoint, I know the 49ers have a tremendous roster and Brock Purdie's been playing well.

And he's been rocking out with his Brock out and he's been Purdie awesome, but it's still Brock Purdie. It's been a nice three game story, can it be more than that? Now I'm not going to sit here and tell you, Vikings, Cowboys, get your, one of those fan bases is going to be going to the Super Bowl. But in a year where you don't maybe need to be great to get to the Super Bowl and just maybe very good survives, I would imagine those fans, you know Cowboys fans are because they're delusional. But I would even think Vikings fans who have been tortured, even though they've got a dose of reality the last few weeks, I think they start to talk themselves into it after the uncertainty with Jalen Hurts. And still, we don't know what Brock Purdie's going to be in a big moment.

I think this is more about the, actually this is a little bit of both. The compliment to the Eagles and the 49ers is also a little bit of how Dan M and the Cowboys and Vikings. If you have Gardner Minshew basically played to the level Brock Purdie has, I don't think you have to worry about either the Eagles or the 49ers losing before the NFC Tyler game. Well, can't you then say for the Cowboys who survive a Cooper rush that, and now Dak is back, that when they play Philadelphia in a meaningful game, maybe, just maybe, I would still think the Eagles are a better team, but Dallas, it's not like they can't win that game.

I have given up hope for the Cowboys in terms of winning any big game, because they have not done it for how many years in a row now. I don't trust Michael McCarthy in the playoffs. I don't trust Dak in the playoffs.

I think Dak now is kind of becoming a playoff version of Kirk Cousins. I'm just going to stay back and say, you know what? I will trust teams that have been there that have won. I can't, the Cowboys, they have to prove it to me. I can't believe in them whatsoever. So I usually, I would agree with you, but just for the sake of this conversation, and this is the conversation we're having outside of those five teams that I just mentioned, Eagles, 49ers, Bills, Chiefs, and then the Bengals, if you had to pick the next team in the NFC, would it be the Cowboys or would it be the Vikings?

Because it can't be someone else. You can't tell me Tampa, I know they have Brady, but that team stinks. And you don't even know if they're going to the playoffs yet.

I would still think they're going to win the South, but it's not a foregone conclusion. So who would you trust more between the Cowboys or the Vikings, Icky? Between only those two teams, I would trust the Cowboys. Who eviscerated the Vikings when those two teams played.

I think that's the right answer. And I think the Cowboys are just a more well-rounded football team. Now in the AFC, when you move away from those three big teams, Bengals, Bills, Chiefs, after that, who do you trust the most? Chargers, Dolphins, Ravens, probably the three teams that come to mind first. I'm not going to say it's going to be Tennessee with the way that they're trending recently, but who would then be, if you had to go fourth team in the AFC, outside of the three that we just gave you, who then would be the fourth team in the AFC in your opinion? I would still go right now the Dolphins. Another one 0-3 against three playoff contenders, but I will not trust the Ravens whatsoever. Their defense is terrible.

And we don't know when Lamar is, we don't know how healthy Lamar is going to be and when is he going to be coming back? And the Chargers, who beat the Dolphins, two hit or miss, they're two hit or miss. They're two hit or miss, but I would think with the way that they're getting healthy, and I still don't trust the coach and Brandon Staley, but out of those teams and where they are for this season, Tua, Herbert, Lamar, I would trust the quarterback the most in that team getting healthier and starting to play a little bit better with what they've done the last two weeks. And I do think they're going to go to the playoffs. I don't feel great about either of those three teams.

If I had to pick one, I would put my eggs in the basket of the Los Angeles Chargers and I'll probably get burned by it at one point because that's what they always do. It is the Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio, so it is official. Coming up on Thursday Night Football will be Trevor Lawrence going up against Zach Wilson. Mike White will be out once again for the JTS Jets, Jets, Jets.

Let's look at that first round quarterback draft class from two years ago, Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Mac Jones, Trey Lance and Zach Wilson when the Zach Gelb Show continues. Throughout the 60s and 70s, cops hunted down key figures of the Dixie Mafia, including its enigmatic ringleader, Kirksey Nix. I'm in a rush to making money. I'm not in a rush to hurt people. Fifteen years into Kirksey's life sentence, the Dixie Mafia was practically folklore, but that would soon change.

I'm Jed Lipinski. This is Gone South, a documentary podcast from C-13 Originals, a Cadence 13 studio, season two, the Dixie Mafia, available now on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. The listening you love is on the free Odyssey app, your trusted local radio stations, coverage of your favorite teams, live news from your hometown and millions of podcasts on demand. Best of all, you can completely customize your listening experience, follow topics you care about like leagues and teams, pause or rewind your local sports and news and add shows to your queue to catch up later.

There's a lot to listen to. So get started and download the free Odyssey app today. The listening you love is on the free Odyssey app, your trusted local radio stations, coverage of your favorite teams, live news from your hometown and millions of podcasts on demand. Best of all, you can completely customize your listening experience, follow topics you care about like leagues and teams, pause or rewind your local sports and news and add shows to your queue to catch up later. There's a lot to listen to.

So get started and download the free Odyssey app today. You're listening to the Zach Gelb Show. It is the Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio.

We will get into some of these quarterbacks in just a second and the second year quarterbacks that were drafted in the first round two years ago in Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Mac Jones, Trey Lance and Zach Wilson. But first, let me go out to Scott in California next up on the Zach Gelb Show. Scott, go ahead. Hey, Zach. I love your show.

I love your content. I'm a Minnesota Vikings fan. Last I checked, we're 11-3 and every single show I listen to, we just can't get... I don't know what we call respect. We're just going to be one and done in the playoffs.

I just don't understand. Are we beating the Bills? Are we beating the Dolphins? Yeah, we got beat by the Cowboys, but that does happen. We got shut down pretty hard.

But then, you know, come back, great game. The NFL record to come back against the Colts. Why are we down 33-0? That's a good question. But I think we're discounting the Vikings a little too hard.

And it bothers me. You mentioned earlier, you said that the Vikings have won some fraudulent games. So I was just getting your definition of what a fraudulent game win is. No, I think I said the losses mean that they've been a little bit fraudulent. If I said win, I apologize, but you look at the Dallas game, I just can't pooh-pooh the Dallas game. You guys lost 40-3. Are you saying you think the Vikings are better than the Cowboys? No, no.

I'm saying any given Sunday, things can change. And I think Kirk Cousins, you know, I wasn't a big fan of them signing him to that long contract. But I think he's realizing where he's at in his career, and he doesn't have a lot of shots. And he's, if you look at his stats the other day, they were pretty impressed.

So I think he takes it, he gets back up. I think they're a little bit better than... They're a good football team. They're a very good football team.

I thought they were going to be the playoffs before the start of the year, but I can't be sitting here and saying that they're a great football team. And they've had some fraudulent games that have showed you that they're not as great as what their record says they are. I don't get it, like they're 11-3. But when you're 11-3, you're looked to be this dominant force.

They have a lot of deficiencies on defense. And offensively, Kirk Cousins in a big spot? We've seen this a few years ago in the playoffs. I know it's a little bit different because now you have Kevin O'Connell instead of Mike Zimmer.

And that message got stale with Mike Zimmer. But one week, Kirk Cousins is the hero in 2020. Where he's throwing a touchdown pass in New Orleans in a game that no one thought they were going to win.

The next week, he's throwing a pick to Richard Sherman. So if the Vikings win three games in a row to get to the Super Bowl, yeah, I'm not expecting it. But you look at the performance against some of the elite teams in the NFC, Eagles, they lost 24-7. The Cowboys, who I think are very similar to the Vikings, it was 40-3. It wasn't even close. And then Vegas two weeks ago said, even with your great record heading into it where they were 10-3, that they were going to make the Lions a 2-2.5 point favorite.

And everyone said, and I think Scott even called then and said it's disrespect. And what did the Lions do? They won 34-23. Honestly, I have not seen the Vikings, Hickey, play great football ever since they won that game up against Buffalo.

And you take the wins as they come and going into Buffalo and winning, I tip my cap to them. If Josh Allen doesn't fumble that football, they do lose the game and they had a lot of disasters at the goal line. They would have lost that game to Buffalo if Josh Allen does not fumble the football.

Now he did. But after that, you get your doors blown off by the Cowboys, you just beat the Patriots where Mac Jones and that offense finally showed life. You go up big against the Jets and then if Braxton Berrios doesn't drop the football, you may have lost that game too. You lose to the Lions and then I'm not giving them credit for coming back against Indianapolis. I know it's the greatest comeback in terms of the deficit, 33-0. But if you're down 33-0 to the Colts and you think that's going to happen against a good team come postseason time, you get off to a sloppy start, be my guest. They're not going to come back from a game like that. They got a good team, but they don't have a great team.

And I think there is a difference here. So if I said that they've had some fraudulent wins, I meant it's more so that the losses show that they were fraudulent. But then you look at some of their wins and they had a lot of close games against some teams that are not that good. And you wonder when the competition gets picked up a little bit of intensity in the postseason, even in a wide open NFC, if they look like the way that they've looked for most of the last few weeks. I don't think we've been disrespectful.

We've been pretty fair. I said they were going to play us before the year started. I mean, the reality is the defense is dead last in the NFL. They are the worst defense in the NFL. And their point differential thing is plus two, plus two in the season, despite the fact that they're 11-3. I just can't take you seriously as a Super Bowl contender, take the record away as a Super Bowl contender, when you have such a unit that's a liability in the defense, you can't get any stops. And anytime you play a good team, like I said, they're going up and down the field. You know, the Colts, who've been an anemic offense all season long, just scored 33 first half points. You can't do it. With Jonathan Taylor getting hurt.

I can play the game, yeah. So, sorry. That's reality. And not only that, I know that this is not the exact number, but when they were down big, someone tweeted out, and it was in like the 40 or 50 range, I forget what the exact number was at their point differential, if let's say they weren't going to come back and they just got blown out, like they would have been minus 40 or minus 50 for a team. But if they would have lost that game, they would have dropped to 10 and 4. Like you're 10 and 4, you shouldn't have a point differential in the negative.

But that's what it would have been. And that's why you don't get the respect that you maybe should deserve with an 11-3 record, because it's just, it's tough to believe anytime you see a unit that's just so bad. And I'm just trying to figure out from Scott's point, and I appreciate Scott for listening, and I know he's a passionate Vikings fan, he's called us a bunch, how are we being disrespectful? Because he just said that he doesn't think they're better than the Cowboys. And I think that they are closer than what that score said, but then if I'm putting them as the fourth best team in the NFC, how is that disrespectful? The 49ers are better. The Eagles are better. The Cowboys are better. So what are we being disrespectful about?

That to me is what I don't get with the phone call, is how we're being disrespectful. Anyway, coming up on Thursday night, you have Trevor Lawrence against Zach Wilson. That's a 1-2 draft picks from two years ago in the NFL draft.

We will get into this a little bit later because we are up against it, and we do have to get to a news brief on the other side. But I do want to delve into the evaluations of those five quarterbacks that did go in the first round, as Trevor Lawrence is really starting to take off in year number two. No more Urban Meyer. Justin Fields is playing well, and you're seeing him improve as a thrower. As a runner, he has been phenomenal, but he doesn't have a lot around him. And I'm just questioning his durability because he basically has to put the team on his back, and you'd hope they would invest in him in this offseason to get some more pieces around him. Mac Jones, the Patriots have not invested around him, and we're seeing his play in year number two drastically fall back. You then look at Trey Lance, and what Trey Lance has been has been a big question mark.

He's been hurt and really hasn't been given much of an opportunity. And you start to get a bit of a sense that even Kyle Shanahan, who had his doubts I think before they picked him, is maybe now even having more of his doubts with the way that Jimmy Garoppolo played this year and then Brock Purdy as well. And then you get Zach Wilson, who the only reason he's still playing is because Mike White can't get cleared to play with this rib injury that he has. So this quarterback draft class, there's a lot of question marks here. And you feel good about Trevor Lawrence, you feel good about Justin Fields, but you don't really trust the Bears.

And then other than that, it's like, all right, Trey Lance, now you're going what, three years without playing? Zach Wilson looks like if you're going to have success, he's going to be with a different team. And Mac Jones, can the Patriots get an actual offensive coordinator?

I'm not asking for much. And they get an actual offensive coordinator and number one wide receiver because even though I like Jacoby Myers, I don't like what he did on Sunday, but I like Jacoby Myers as a football player, he should not be a number one wide receiver on a team or a number two wide receiver on a team. Like maybe at best, some weeks he could be a number two, but he's really more a hardworking number three wide receiver on a team.

It would be a wonderful option if he's the third wide receiver on a good football team. This is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. When we come on back, we will update you to some of the biggest stories in the world of sports with some audio. We call that segment the news brief coming back in five minutes.

So get started and download the free Odyssey app today. Throughout the 60s and 70s, cops hunted down key figures of the Dixie Mafia, including its enigmatic ringleader, Kirksey Nicks. I'm in a rush to making money.

I'm not in a rush to hurt people. Fifteen years into Kirksey's life sentence, the Dixie Mafia was practically folklore, but that would soon change. I'm Jed Lipinski. This is Gone South, a documentary podcast from C-13 Originals, a Cadence 13 studio.

Season two, the Dixie Mafia available now on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. What makes your skin crawl? No matter how absurd I want to know. Tails without fur on them, such as rats or opossums. I'm Larry Mullins, the host of a new podcast called Your Weirdest Fears. You send me your fear. I'm just so weirded out about the texture and how they can just move around and flop. And then I go to the experts to learn how to overcome them. Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts from.