Joe Theismann, Former NFL MVP

What's the strangest thing you're afraid of? Tails without fur on them, such as rats or opossums. I'm Larry Mullins, host of the podcast Your Weirdest Fears, where we dig into the crazy things you're afraid of. Everything from animal people hybrids, you know people who get surgeries to look like an animal, to giant statues.

If I ever saw one of those giant statues, I probably would poop my pants. Listen and subscribe on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your attention. your broadcast from. Let's head out to the guest line right now and welcome in one of my favorites, former NFL MVP and that of course is Joe Theismann, kind enough to join us on CBS Sports Radio. Joe, appreciate the time. How you been? Always my pleasure, Zach.

Great catching up with you. So, what was your reaction when you saw the news that Ron Rivera was going back to Carson Wentz and was benching Taylor Heineke? Wasn't really surprised. You know, Taylor in the last couple of games has made a couple of mistakes and I think he was on thin ice as it was. The football team is a different football team when Carson really started the season. The running game is more solid. Bryan Robinson's given a big shot in the arm. The defense has really found itself. The wide receiving core is as good a compliment as you're going to find in the league and I think, you know, there's a couple reasons. First of all, you gotta find, you're paying a lot of money and you gotta find out what you have to do in the future.

What are you going to do in the future? I think Taylor did a terrific job keeping this team in a position to be able to have the opportunity to be able to get into the playoffs and so, you know, I think Ron made the decision that he felt his best regarding what's going to be around the position. I'm not a big believer in Carson Wentz and I've been really critical of him. So, let me just get that out of the way but I look at these final two games. Cleveland is not a good team and then who knows what the Cowboys have to play for next week. It's almost as if you say with Carson now, if it's not now, then it's probably never but I kind of don't think this is going to be that much of a disaster these next two weeks.

I don't think so and I don't think you can say, I don't think you can say never. Just look around the league, Zach. I mean, there's 90 quarterbacks on rosters.

15 give you a chance to play. I mean, you know, evidently, he got run out of Indianapolis. What's their situation look like right now?

I mean, you know, you look around the league and you say, you know, where do you find places for people who can play? I think this is, I think it's important for Carson psychologically. I think it's important for the commander fans and for the football team. He certainly has the ability to get it done and now, you know, now the question is, is can you go out and deliver under duress and and the Browns, they've got two terrific running backs. Their defense is I think better than it was.

You know, Deshaun's starting the the rush seems to be coming off a little bit. So, this is a football team. You can't look and say, oh yeah, well, let's focus on the Cowboys. And by the way, the Cowboys, they catch an unbelievable break. Playing tonight, they get a mini break going into the last game of the season where they may be able to even rest more guys and they'll be very fresh when the first round of the playoffs start.

So, you know, from a commander standpoint, this is, you know, these are really the games you want to play in. Everything's on the line in this game. I actually like this commander's team when you look at the offensive side of the ball. We know what they have on defense but offensively, with Terry McClure and Jahan Dotson, you talked about Brian Robinson.

I'm a fan of Antonio Gibson. Just the quarterback once again is that unknown. So, like Joe, I'll just ask you, what do you expect out of Carson these next two games? I expect him to get the ball out of his hands quickly. I expect the running game to support him and I, you know, he's just got to avoid the mistakes that Taylor was making. When you get down in a place to score, you can't fumble the football.

You have to protect. You know, he may throw an interception, maybe two but it depends on where it happens and when it happens. That really depends on the future of quarterbacks. I mean, you look around the league, Derek Carr, Holy Mackel, who knows where he's going or what he's doing. You know, Atlanta's made a change.

Pittsburgh obviously went with the younger guy. You've got all kinds of things going on around the league at the quarterback position. I think that I think Carson just needs to be able to go out and get back in some kind of a groove and having a chance to play last week was important because the rust, you know, get the knock to rust off a little bit even though it's nine minutes and you know you didn't play a lot in critical situations.

At least you got back on the field. You have a feel how your your fingers going to feel. You have a feel how you feel getting knocked around a little bit and he'll be in a much better state mentally. You know yesterday when we got the news about Derek Carr, I started to think about teams that Derek Carr could be on next year and the first team I thought of was the commanders. Could you see that being an option next year?

It's hard to tell. I mean it's a lot of it like I say we've got you know you got these 2 weeks. I mean do they do they want to go with another veteran guy or do they want to bite the bullet? Look at the draft and say, okay, we're going to go find ourselves a young quarterback. You know like a candy ticket and like a Ritter, we're going to go look for that young guy that we feel like we can start to build the football team through.

There's been so many stop gaps in Washington. It's just find somebody to come in you know fits and you know different individuals to come in and sort of fill the role for a limited period of time. I think it's almost time that they have to make a decision on the direction they want to go in and say, okay, we're going to we're going to find ourselves a guy. They got Sam Howell last year don't know if he can be the guy, but I you know Derek becomes interesting.

There's a there's a lot of guys out there again that you can recycle, but do you really want to do that? What do you think Derek Carr could be in this league? I felt like he was a pretty darn good quarterback.

I don't know what happened. I mean you got a new coordinator. You know the fact that they got Devonta everybody said well, what a difference it's going to make one receiver doesn't make a difference.

It does if you lose them. I don't think it necessarily makes a difference if you get them and I say that you know you look at Aaron Rogers how they've adjusted towards the end of the season. You know a lot more guys have stepped up. Watson stepped up and so you know I think it's trying to get used to the system that Josh McDaniel runs. You know it was an adjustment period and then you know I mean the Raiders shouldn't even be in a position where they are if it wasn't for that craziness against New England, which is the most bizarre play I've ever seen in my life to be honest with all these years I've been watching football 60 plus years never seen anything like that.

You know I still think you know I think he can play and you know guys have to get right mentally. You know it's a it's the toughest position to play in professional sports. You don't get time off. You're getting beat up mentally physically. You're under scrutiny on a constant basis.

You have to you know you really have to think your way through it. A lot of guys can throw the football, but you have to mentally get yourself tough. I've always said this time and time again and I've asked different guys around the league.

What do you think is the most important element that an individual possesses to play professional sports and constantly they say mental toughness and that's that's that describes the quarterback position. You know I mean so he got benched. I mean I don't know did he just did he just leave the team?

That's the thing that no one knows. I'm going to assume that he left the team and the team was just okay with it because they're going to split with him anyway at the end of the year. Well, you know, but you don't leave.

I agree. So you so you got benched alright. So so what are you going to do? Oh, I got benched so I don't want to be here. Hey, you know you signed a contract didn't you? You have you have a contract for this year. I mean that's my feeling you have a contract for this year fulfill the obligation of the contract. You know you you go to you go to the meetings you sit there.

Maybe you're not going to dress. So what you know you've been you've been benched. Are you the reason why the team's losing? Yeah, probably a contributing factor, but not the whole reason there's so many other factors why teams lose games, but I you know to just when I saw that that he wasn't going to be around for the next 2 weeks.

I'm scratching my head going. Why is he? I mean was he hurt was he physically unable to perform? What's the reason why he's not going to be able to be on that football team for the last 2 weeks? Yeah, I think it's clear Joe is his feelings got hurt a little bit and that's why he's no longer a part of the team.

Don't don't play quarterback in the National Football League. If you want your if you worry about your feelings, two more two more before we let Joe love you. Yeah, two more before we let Joe Theismann run should to apply again this season because now we're talking about multiple concussions.

I know they said it's only two it could have been three as well. If not more, do you think to play again this year? I you know for the young man's sake I hope not if he's medically cleared and able to go that's up to the doctors to decide and certainly there'll be enough neurologists and different doctors that will look at him. I when he when I was reported that he had another concussion, I started to worry about him going forward because now it's not just one or like I say it may be not even possibly two could be more and so if you start to become susceptible to that, I worry more about the young man than I do about the guy playing quarterback down in Miami. Last thing I'll ask you Joe Theismann Monday Night Football Bills and Bengals who you're leaning towards on winning that game coming up on Monday. The game's in Cincinnati. You know Buffalo's defense has been susceptible.

Cincinnati seems very very complete. I'm going with Buffalo. I think they have to contain obviously Josh Allen, the monster the monster quarterback, but I'm going to Cincinnati and then one final thing I lied to you. I had to ask you one more thing and then we'll let Joe Theismann run that happens in our business talk to say one last thing and it's like nine more things. I promise this is the last one the Patriots when you look at what they're doing on the offensive side of the ball it. I know that we all give Belichick the benefit of the doubt, but it hasn't worked. It makes zero sense their approach with Matt Patricia's the offensive coordinator. Do you don't get what they did this year? I don't I know you know sharing anything sharing the quarterback position sharing coordinated positions. Thanks guys sharing quarterback positions.

Those are you know you need you need one voice once you know one one play caller. Let's face it. New England wound up in the most unusual situation you could possibly be in they'd have you know. I mean they're almost a lot for the playoffs had it not been for that play with the Raiders. I mean it's just let's face it. I mean it's just something like I've never seen so, but it's football. It's crazy, but you know having dual coordinators to me. I think there needs to be one person and then the others contributing Joe Theismann. We appreciate it.

Thanks so much great being with you. Happy New Year throughout the 60s and 70s. Cops hunted down key figures of the Dixie Mafia, including its enigmatic ring leader. Kirksey Nix. I'm not in a rush to making money.

I'm not in a rush to hurt people. 15 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. So my biggest fear is there's going to be sneaks in the toilet. We're all afraid of that one strange thing. I'm Larry Mullins, the host of a new short ten-minute podcast called Your Weirdest Fears. We unpack where these fears come from. A rat climbed into my toilet and learn how to manage them.

Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. 15 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.