Week 17 Begins (Hour 2)

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 10-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. 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. Zach Gelb here with you on CBS Sports Radio in for Maggie and Perloff. Let's head out to the guest line right now. Welcome in a Super Bowl champion, a Pro Bowl linebacker, played for the Seahawks and the Raiders. And that of course is KJ Wright, kind enough to spend a few minutes with us right now on CBS Sports Radio. KJ, appreciate the time as always. How you been?

No doubt, no doubt. Been good, man. How you guys doing?

Well, I'm doing fantastic. So you were in that Raiders locker room last year. When you see the news the other day that they're benching Derek Carr and we all know it's inevitable that this offseason they're going to split, just how did you process that yesterday? I was heartbroken for him. Just in the year that we spent together, I've grown to love the man, built a relationship with him.

Awesome teammate, awesome family man. As we all know though, this is a multi-billion dollar business and it's all about results, it's all about winning. And Derek Carr, you just look at his whole career, he hasn't quite done nearly enough to what a lot of people expected of him being that Raiders quarterback.

So I definitely feel for him, man, but they had to make that decision, man. The offseason they put together, bringing in Devontae Adams, bringing in Josh McDaniels, just building this franchise to get to the playoffs and actually make some noise. The results that we've seen from Derek Carr is nearly, you know, it's not close to what they expect to come into this season. I get why they're going to move on, but I just don't know what they're going to do next and with what we've seen from McDaniels this year, it's kind of tough for me to trust that they're going to be able to bring in the next guy and get it right this time around. Yeah, because you look at it like, what are they, do they trade them, do they cut them? You got a draft that's coming up with some phenomenal quarterback.

What do you do? And so I'm not sure what his trade value is going to be, but I know that with Josh McDaniels, he's clearly not the guy, you know, Derek Carr, the relationship is over with. So I'm looking over there in San Francisco by a guy by a guy by the name of Jimmy Garoppolo who could potentially come in, you make a trade for him. He comes in, you're familiar with the style of offense, still in his prime. He's potentially pairing him with Josh McDaniels.

They really make some noise. So where Derek Carr ends up, I don't know, but I do believe they're going to have to wait till after the draft with all these quarterbacks come up the board. Yeah, it could definitely would not be surprising to me if they go out there and they get Jimmy G, especially with the relationship he has with Josh McDaniels. I'm just wondering, since you were in that locker room last year and we know things that you couldn't even imagine did go on unfortunately with the Raiders franchise, but you guys found the way to get to the playoffs. Like how stunning is it that a year later, this team is in as bad as the spot that they're in right now? I mean, it only makes sense because I was there last year and we made the playoffs and it's another disaster.

So that's a big part of it. But I just honestly, I look at Mark Davis and I look at what was he thinking when he did not hire Rich Pasaccio. He was the guy that all the players loved.

He was the guy that had all the drama. We got 10 wins made the playoffs and we looked really dang good. And so I'm looking at him and like, man, what are you going to do going forward with this team? Because you, you, you know, did phenomenal when I was there last year, got 10 wins and you have a decent roster. You have guys in that building that can win ball games.

If you do not bring the right quarterback in, if you do not draft properly, it can continue being a mess over there in Vegas. If Rich Pasaccio was still there, what do you think this team would have done this year? They would have been phenomenal.

They would have been really good. They bought into his style. He held guys accountable. When we, when Derek Carr played bad, he put it on the board like, Hey, this is what you're doing.

I need, I need you to do way better in this aspect. He came into the defensive mean room season and the special teams mean rooms. That team would have still been great, but you know, we can't cry over still milk. Josh McDaniels is there and it's been a complete disaster so far. And so I do believe that he's McDaniels is going to be there next year. He just got to get his guy in a quarterback to make this thing look good. I'm sure you still know some guys in that locker room that you probably still talk to just what has been their view on this entire season and how Josh McDaniels has done. Because I'll talk to the guys during training camp and you, you know how it is with a Patriots way during training camp, they were tackling full speed practices were all day two days.

It felt like, and so it was definitely a culture shock when, when he came in there. And so I'm just talking to the guys over the years that's been, it's been frustrating. It's just to see what they put together, the expectations that they had and the results that they're giving.

It's heartbreaking to see, you know, what they put together. So I'm real close to Josh Jacobs and, you know, seeing how he's had a phenomenal year, but the results haven't shown. And so we'll see if he's there next year as well. And so it's, it's a lot of, a lot of holes to fill in that Raiders team.

KJ Wright here with us. It's kind of crazy how that division played out. Like Kansas City, people thought they were going to fall off a little bit. They've been as dominant as they've been.

The Chargers now going to the post season. The Raiders we're talking about has been a disaster, but we all know you, you know, Russell Wilson pretty well for your time in Seattle. What has been your view on this season for the Broncos is you're number one for Russ out there in Denver has just been a disaster.

I know man. And just looking at it throughout the season, I was looking at Russell play. I'm like, Oh, Nathaniel Hackett has no idea what he's doing with Russ.

He's the reason why he's got to go. But as I watch Russ throughout the year, I'm like, it's Russ that's just playing bad. It's Russ not going through his progressions. It's Russ not able to complete a ball 40 yards down field. It's Russ's energy. And I played with a guy like I witnessed the hall of fame quarterback. I saw his passion jump off the, off the tape. Every time we stepped in to play, Russell Wilson was ready to go. And I just simply didn't recognize this guy this year. And so I do believe that he has to look himself in the mirror and he has to get back to the drawing board.

And so it was a complete disaster. I'm interested to see who they bring in as a head coach, because he has got to find a way to get Russell with him back on track. Is the ego though of Russell Wilson now too big for him to honestly look himself in the mirror and realize what he needs to change? Russell needs a really good friend right now. Russell needs his agent to be honest with him. Russ needs a head coach to, to, to put that ego to the side. Hey Russ, we, we know what you're good at.

You know what you're good at. If your ego is I want to drop back and throw the ball 50 times a game from the pocket, that it will be another disastrous season. So he needs to remove his ego.

Ego is the enemy. And so he needs people in his camp to be honest with him, to be brutally honest with him to say, Hey, let's get a really great head coach or a real good play caller to do what you do best. It also is pretty damaging when you look back at the entire thing and pretty telling now where Russ wanted to leave Seattle. And it's not like Pete, who was his most loyal supporter for years, really put up that much of a fight. It's like Pete almost saw some signs that Russ was about to decline.

Yep. And I believe coach Carroll also saw that Russ wanted to have his own philosophy. Russ wanted to have things his way and coach Carroll was like, no, no, no, we're going to do it this way. We've always ran the ball here in Seattle. We always use a play action game.

That's what you were great at. Hey, Russell, we're not going to run this hurry-up offense that you are presenting to the team. We're not going to go shotgun 70% of the time.

We're going to do things this way. And coach Carroll had to get his team back. Coach Carroll had to get control of that locker room. And I do believe that he saw, you know, throughout practices, especially with his entry that he had last year, maybe it is time for us to separate and rebuild this team.

And so to get two first round draft picks, two second round draft picks and, you know, potentially draft your quarterback of the future is one of the biggest deals in NFL history that we're seeing right now. Also, and you played on those defenses and we've talked about the dynamics in those locker rooms before, especially with Russ, when he was with the Seahawks, it seems like the, the former Legion of Boom and some of those guys at the defensive side of the ball, a little extra happy to see the way that this year played out. Is that fair to say?

I wouldn't say happy. I think we would say that. I think it just gave us further confirmation, like, Hey, we were the reason why all this success was happening in Seattle. And it's just so unfortunate that we let that, that, you know, divide our team, especially the biggest thing was the NFC championship game. When Russ threw all those interceptions and the defense, we held it down and we found a way to win. Then Russ threw the game with a touchdown. A lot of people were just upset over who got the credit.

I was like, who the hell cares? We're going back to the Superbowl. We're just little stuff that divided our team, media attention, favoritism from coach Carroll. There's all this unnecessary trauma that, that surfaced throughout the, throughout this time.

So no one's happy that he's struggling, but it did give some guys confirmation. Like we are the reason why that era was so special. You guys had such a great team and I know, and we've talked about this before. Once the interception happened at the goal line and Marshawn didn't get the ball, that was it for the Seattle Seahawks as we knew it. So maybe it's more than that, but why, why weren't you guys all able to get on the, on the same page after how that Superbowl and how that final year really where the Seahawks that we knew them were at, you know, get back to that form.

Just wondering. Yeah, we officially couldn't trust each other anymore. We thought there was some hidden agenda. Um, someone wants us to be the MVP. Um, you know, you just shattered our dreams to be called back-to-back Superbowl champion. And so this relationship we have, this cool, you know, Legion of Boom, you know, Marshawn, all this stuff, this is over.

Like, we can't, we can't even look at each other the same way. And so it was just a dark gray, rainy cloud hovering over that building for several years. And they had to potentially wash guys out.

Like there's so much bad energy in this building. You got to go, you got to go, you got to go to get this thing back to where we want it to be. And so we couldn't, there was no overcoming that. We were still talented. We still had guys in the building, but mentally and like, emotionally we were not connected.

KJ right here with us. Did you see the gift that the Amazon prime crew got Richard Sherman by the way? That was hilarious. Okay, Sherm has that spin right next to his mantle on it, on his bedroom right now.

That was a good one. I would love to see an honest conversation between Russ and Richard Sherman, because it seems like there's a lot of unfinished business between those two. Yep. And then, you know, I see those guys. I saw Sherm when he went to Denver for the Thursday night game. You see them talking, but hey guys. Yeah, but you know what, KJ, let's be real. I thought that was a bad look for Richard Sherman.

We know he's not all buddy-buddy and friendly-friendly with Russ anymore. I said the same thing. I'm like, really Sherm? You ever having a kumbaya conversation? No, sir. One day, I tell you, I tell you one day, I'm going to get all the fellows in a room and we are going to lay it out all on the line. We're going to tell our own story and we're going to just lay it out all on the table. It's coming. It's coming soon. Well, would Russ accept that invitation?

If anybody can convince them, I think I can get them to sit down with us. It'll be like when we're all retired and done. So it'll take some time, but I believe he'll do it. Wrapping up with KJ. Yeah, go ahead.

Yeah. And I'll say I'll facilitate it properly to where we're going to be honest, but there ain't going to be no bashing and all this stuff. I'll facilitate it properly to where we're all having a very transparent and honest, hard conversation. Hey, by the way, I was listening to your radio show.

This was, I think it was two weeks ago. What was up with Sherm going after Mike Salk during that interview? I know I brought Sherm. I said, Hey, Sherm, I know you're not cool with the guy, but just do me a solid, do this for your guy. Okay.

I love you. I can't make any promises, but I'll come on the show. And we was moving and grooving. We was talking, Brock was talking, myself was talking. But as soon as Mike Salk jumped on, it was all downhill from there.

So it was good for radio, as they said, but it was hard for me to have my guy come on there and end at the end like that. Well, yeah, that was the thing because, you know, I know Richard Sherman's a great get by you guys, obviously, but it's Mike's show. What did Richard expect? And not to talk on his own show? And you cannot dismiss a man from his own show. They're going back and forth. I tried to stop and intervene.

It was just a complete disaster. I just know now, do not bring Sherm on your radio show with 710. Or maybe you keep on doing it, but you tell Sherm to actually talk to Mike Salk, maybe.

That would be good radio. Before we let you run, KJ Wright, Jets and the Seahawks, where's the confidence? Because early on in the year, you were telling me Seattle is going to be better than what people thought. Where's your confidence that Seattle is going to get the job done this weekend against the Jets at?

Before the season, I predicted my Seahawks to win nine games. Here we are at seven, and we're facing a Jets team who is also desperate. They're getting their quarterback Mike White back. They have a really good defense over there. They have a decent run game.

We haven't been able to stop the run in the month of November or December. I'm a little nervous. I'm a little nervous. It's a team that wants it bad is coming in. Our offense has been struggling. The writing on the wall saying it's going to be a really tough matchup.

And so we'll see. It's going to be a hard-fought game. I know that Jets team is going to want to get back rolling with Mike White coming back, being their quarterback. I know that you want to see the Jets lose this weekend, but that defense with Saus Gardner and Quentin Williams, man, they're fun to watch.

I know, and DJ Reed is coming back. My former teammate is coming back for a revenge game. CJ Mosley made the Pro Bowl.

They have some guys over there, and so it's going to be a hard-fought battle. Geno has a look at how he did early in the season. Made the Pro Bowl, but it's been a struggle lately.

And so it's going to be a battle, and we haven't necessarily played great at home, and so we'll see how it all unfolds. If you were the general manager, if you were John Schneider, if you were Pete Cowell, you're the brain trust of the Seattle Seahawks. Are you bringing back Geno Smith next year?

Yes. I'm waiting for the draft. If I can get my quarterback, we'll see if they get their quarterback. If they don't get their quarterback, absolutely. Geno has played well enough to earn himself a contract, but I do believe that they could find their guy. They won't reach in the draft. If they could find their guy in the draft, I do believe that they'll take him.

But Geno, for sure, he's put together a solid season enough to come back. Okay, J. Wright, always do appreciate the time. You and the family be well, and have a good start to your 2023, okay? Yes, sir.

Thank you. Throughout the 60s and 70s, cops hunted down key figures of the Dixie Mafia, including its enigmatic ringleader, Kirksey Nix. I'm interested in making money.

I'm not interested in 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 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 10-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 interested in 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. Zach Gilb here with you on CBS Sports Radio. So we know Derek Carr is getting shown the door in Las Vegas. He's already left the building. Derek has left the building, everybody, as he is still on the team. But he's not going to be a part of the team, as they're saying they have mutually agreed that Derek does not need to be there because the car has been parked on the bench.

OK, what you want to believe of that, that is fine. We know Derek Carr still wants to play. The Raiders don't want him to play because of the financial component of this, where if he does get hurt and he can't pass a physical three days after the Super Bowl, then they're going to owe him 40 plus million dollars guaranteed. And if we're just being honest about the situation like KJ Wright was, yeah, you could feel heartbroken for Derek Carr because there's nothing more that he wanted to be than to be the guy for the Las Vegas Raiders. But when you see all the moves that they've made this offseason and yes, you could be extremely critical of bringing in Josh McDaniels and saying that was a stupid move, but they still had a lot of talent on that roster. And the quarterback, it wasn't as if he was performing well in spite of Josh McDaniels. Now, I know both of them kind of work hand in hand, but he did not do enough well from what he could control to make you say, OK, this is a guy that we need to see again with the Las Vegas Raiders. Now, you could also argue that Josh McDaniels, you don't need to see anything more out of him as the head coach of Las Vegas Raiders and he should be showing the door. But once again, finances are involved here and Mark Davis is not someone that is bleeding cash like a lot of these other owners where he could afford to sign a new coach and then all of a sudden just get rid of that coach like it was nothing.

So you see that financial component, that's a major reason why Josh McDaniels is going to get another opportunity. But the big move that the Raiders made this offseason, where you know the guy's going to be good, is that they did one out there and they traded for Devante Adams as it's all well documented. Now, a lot of people think and it's maybe just the easy thing to say in the last 24 hours, well, Derek Carr and Devante Adams so close teammates together at Fresno State, even Devante Adams voiced his displeasure with what happened yesterday and said he's the reason why I'm here in Derek Carr, Devante Adams when he got traded to the Raiders.

He was talking about how he was a little bit tired about in Green Bay, where there was a lot of uncertainty and ambiguity surrounding the quarterback position just because the status was really week to week of how Aaron Rodgers wants to go about the rest of his career. Even though we know Rodgers is a heck of a quarterback, there was a lot of uncertainty if he was going to be the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers and the Packers were kind of held in a situation where you couldn't really take care of Devante Adams because you didn't know what was going to happen with Aaron Rodgers. Then they eventually get the deal done with Aaron Rodgers and Devante Adams is like, oh, I don't want to be second fiddle here.

I got put in the back burner for too long, so I'm going to leave now money actually on the table where I could have got more money in Green Bay and I'm going to go to Las Vegas, be closer to home. Not only that, I'll still get paid handsomely and oh yeah, by the way, I don't have to deal with the quarterback situation being year to year. And through all that, here we are once again where Devante Adams is in a spot, but now we know the quarterback situation is once again year to year where all we know for sure is that Devante Adams is not going to have Derek Carr in Las Vegas next year. And is it going to be Jimmy G? Is it going to be Baker Mayfield?

Is it going to be Tom Brady? I don't think they're going to trade for Aaron Rodgers through the draft. So it's a major question mark on who's going to be the Raiders quarterback next year. So some people have suggested, well, if Carr's leaving, maybe Devante Adams is going to force a trade. One problem with that. For a wide receiver, the dead cap next year for Devante Adams, if he is not on the Raiders roster, the Raiders will still have to have 31.4 million dollars in dead cap space allocated towards Devante Adams.

So let me just translate this for you. Even if Devante Adams went to Mark Davis or Devante Adams went to David Zeigler or Josh McDaniels, whoever, and said, I want out, I do not want to be a part of the organization. I think the organization is going to tell him tough luck. I don't think they are going to look at the dead cap space and say, OK, it benefits us to trade Devante Adams regardless of what you're going to get back. So Devante Adams will be with the Las Vegas Raiders next year.

How happy he will be? That, I don't know, will be kind of dependent on who they go on out and go get to be the quarterback of the Raiders for not only next year, but for the foreseeable future. Now, I will say, because this is not a great free agency class for wide receivers, but as we've seen throughout the years, it doesn't have to be a great free agency class for moves to happen in the NFL. Just in the last few years, we've seen Staphon Diggs traded. We've seen Tyreek Hill traded.

We have seen A.J. Brown traded. DeAndre Hopkins have been traded.

You go to DeAndre Hopkins, I do think he's in his final two games as a member of an Arizona Cardinal, you know, being with the Cardinals. Because you look at the Cardinals, I hope everything's OK from a health standpoint with Steve Kine. It is tough other than just saying that both those guys got extensions with what they have failed to do so far recently with the Cardinals to make an argument they're going to be able to turn around. I think Kime and Kingsbury, I wasn't sold on this a few weeks ago.

I looked at the contract, I said, OK, they both just got extended through 2027. There's a lot of excuses there with with Kyler Murray now being out for the year, DeAndre Hopkins missing the first six because of the performance enhancing drug situation. I thought there was enough excitement for the I thought there was enough excuses for Michael Bidwell to say, OK, I'm just going to hold my nose and rely that Cliff Kingsbury and Steve Kime are going to be back. I'm starting to believe. And it's just a gut instinct.

This is no sources, no inside information. But I'm starting to believe that it's more likely than unlikely that Steve Kime and Cliff Kingsbury are done with the Arizona Cardinals after the season. So if that's the case and let's just entertain this thought, you're bringing in a new GM, you're bringing in a new coach, even if you're not. Kyler Murray is not going to be starting for the majority of the season next year. We don't even know how many games Kyler Murray is going to be starting next year because of how late into the season he did tear up his leg with the ACL injury. So maybe you get him back halfway through with two years left in that DeAndre Hopkins contract.

Why would it behoove you to bring DeAndre Hopkins back when this team, even though DeAndre Hopkins is still a great player, they're nowhere close to winning football games and winning football games at a level to get you back to the playoffs. And I know this team was just in the playoffs a year ago, but there wasn't really a sustained view that this was going to be sustained success with the Arizona Cardinals. And they brought in a lot of older players. I know Chandler Jones is no longer there, but he was there for a few years. He was there for a few years. JJ Watt is on the verge of retiring. Zach Ertz is getting up there in age. And now, unfortunately, he's out for the year with the injury. AJ Green is a receiver there.

They're an older football team now. So when I look at the Cardinals, if you're in this spot where you have all this money committed to Kyler Murray, we still don't know if Kyler Murray is the guy. I don't know if Kyler Murray is the ceiling of being a great quarterback, but you're paying him like a great quarterback. I've only really seen things to show me that he's only going to be a really good quarterback, not a great quarterback. But you've made the investment in your quarterback, assuming whether you reset on the coach or GM or not.

And I do think that they will. I think either way, it makes a lot of sense to get rid of DeAndre Hopkins, because you need to go bring in younger talent. And I don't know what DeAndre Hopkins would get in return in a trade, but you've got to think it's some pretty significant draft capital. I'm sure there would be a team that would give up a first round pick for DeAndre Hopkins, even though he's 31 now. But he's got two years left on that contract at a price tag that isn't crazy. His base salary next year is 19 million. The year after that, it's 14 million.

So you could restructure it if you want to maybe tack on a few years and you can even spread that out more, but it's not even something necessary that you got to do. And Hopkins is still showing he can play at a pretty high elite level, even without the drugs when he's come back. So if you're DeAndre Hopkins, why would you want to stay in Arizona? And if you're the Cardinals, even though we know how great of a player DeAndre Hopkins is, you're bringing him back for what? Because next year with two years left on his contract is a lost year. You don't even know when you're going to get Kyler Murray back. So why are you then bringing him back for next year from what? That at the end of 2023, or for the start of 2024, when he's in the final year of his contract, you get to team up with Kyler Murray again? I would look elsewhere, even though Hopkins is a tremendous wide receiver, I would try to get some big draft capital back because the chances or the odds that DeAndre Hopkins ever wins anything of significance with the Cardinals are slim. But the odds of him just getting back to the playoffs with the Cardinals, because you would think after 2024, I know they could franchise that, but like, why would he want to stay?

On his own accord, why would he want to stay? So you're looking at a player that if you keep him, he's just going to be there for the final two years in Arizona, then he'll go somewhere else. So I think you strike right now, when I guess you could say the iron's hot, where all the signs are pointing that this team is in a little bit of a rebuild and they got to retool and they got to reconfigure. So not that you're going to get maybe, you know, as many picks as like what the Panthers got for Christian McCaffrey, but look at that deal now. McCaffrey went to the 49ers, he could be a major part in a team that wins a Super Bowl this year, and the Panthers were able to get back significant resources, like multiple draft picks. And it was a win-win trade. I think there could be a win-win trade for the Cardinals this off season where you're giving a team that needs a number one wide receiver, a number one wide receiver, but in return you're getting back favorable, rich draft capital. So I do believe that Devante Adams this offseason won't be traded, but DeAndre Hopkins will be traded.

It makes a lot of sense if you're the Cardinals to trade DeAndre Hopkins. Zach, I'll be with you on CBS Sports Radio. We'll take a break. Joe Theismann going to join us coming up at 5 p.m. Eastern. On the other side, there is really nothing to be excited about with this game coming up tonight between Dallas and Tennessee, but we'll spend a few minutes on it. Zach Gelb here with you on CBS Sports Radio. Joe Theismann going to join us coming up 20 minutes from now, but look who just crashed the studio.

It's my producer extraordinaire, Hatte Kiki. And the reason why I'm allowing you to crash the studio right now is usually you're able to find a positive kind of outlook or create a positive outlook when there's really no positive outlook to be had. You're a man of positivity, sometimes stupidity, but really positivity is the natural optimist more than stupid. But yeah, but sometimes your optimism makes you stupid. We've just seen that with some of the teams you root for and the belief and how you try to have this optimism and then it comes crashing and burning down just all on you. But I need you to try to give me a little optimism.

OK, glass half full approach on what? The game tonight. This is a brutal game.

You know, I wrote here, I will talk at 440 about the game tonight. No Tony Pollard, no Derrick Henry. Malik Willis isn't even going to start.

They benched him for Joshua Dobbs, who was on the Lions practice squad eight or nine days ago. And this game means nothing for Tennessee because they're in a win in your in game next weekend against Jacksonville, so it doesn't really even make sense to play your guys. And for the Cowboys, I know you're still alive technically for the division, but you're not going to win the division.

Philadelphia is still going to win that division and in all likelihood get the number one overall seed in the in the NFC. So like I'm sitting here and I'm trying to think what's a positive to watch this game. I can't even give you a good betting outlook on it because the spread's 14 points. Neither of these teams are really playing their guys, so it's like I'm going to lay the fourth team with the Cowboys. Maybe the under is the best play in this game.

So try to spin this. How when the show ends tonight and now I'm not hosting my show tonight at 6 to 10 p.m. Eastern and I'm going to watch the game because that's what we do. But why should I actually watch this game? What is the intrigue to watch this game?

You came to the right source. I have a reason to watch the entire game, not just like for the first drive or two. And by the way, all my fantasy teams, I don't know, but it cares about my fantasy teams are eliminated.

So I don't have any of that game in it. OK, so there's literally no reason to watch, but there is one reason under 40 and a half points. Yes, right. You kind of think, yes, I don't think there's going to be run the clock, run the clock. Let's get to next week.

That's what this is. Get half time and just kind of really breeze through this one. All right. But give me your positive outlook. This is the final chance and really the only chance Al Michaels unhinged. This is a game last game of the season, I believe, for Amazon. They don't have any playoff games. There's no Thursday night game next week. Call.

He's on. I don't know this for like I'm assuming he's able to curse. He just doesn't like if you actually really want to see any five by the FCC, it's like streaming.

I don't know. But if you wanted to curse on a broadcast, if you're Al Michaels, he won't. But like, you know, that would be the day to do so. Mad Dog Russo has been serious now for like almost 20 years. He doesn't curse, even though you're allowed to curse on serious because he has that old kind of traditional way. Al Michaels being like the king of traditional broadcaster and an absolute legend.

He's not going to be cursing up the store. So maybe won't drop any F bombs, but I think he'll be talking about the gambling angles a lot. He'll be I think like I enjoy like when broadcasters complain about the game and how boring it is, how they want to get out of there. I think we get a lot of that tonight. Like, remember, if you go back to unfortunate methods very well, Colts Broncos week five, it was like, what, twelve, nine tough in the eyes in overtime with with I think it's all field goals, I believe, at least from the Colts, all field goals. That was one game, right? Colts won that game. Oh, the Colts won the Colts won that game.

But that was a game where Al Michaels couldn't get out of there fast enough. And they're laughing at the Broncos fans leaving. I think they're laughing apart. It's like, man, I'd love to be with them and just get out of the stadium and leave this game.

Go hit up one of those dispensaries or something like that could be this game where he's just like, just doesn't even try to hide that he could care less. Yeah, this this is a rough one. This I don't know. What's the reason to watch?

Because otherwise it's it's actually pointless. I kind of give you like a 9.8 out of that. That was that was very creative.

Al Michaels. You did a decent job. All right. We've had 24 hours now, pretty much since we know that Derek Carr is not going to be back with the Raiders next year.

Two things on this. Was this the Raiders going to him, telling him he got benched and they gave him the option first that you could leave the team? Or is this him crying and saying, I want to leave? And the Raiders just go, OK, we're not that they're screwing this guy over, but we're not going to go after him and find him and suspend him for not showing up. Yeah, I think it's a little bit of both. Like I like Derek Carr and I think sometimes you're a little hard on them when it comes to him crying and showing his emotions and caring.

But this one feels like a little like this is honestly, it's pretty soft by Derek Carr. Yeah, he needs to at least stay in the you hat like you're the backup. It stinks. You got to two games left. It's embarrassing.

But right out of the storm. So he has a lot of reasons why he could play the victim card. But the only reason why I had a problem with him crying after the game is it's kind of woe is me. You know, I just care. And with Derek Carr, when I hear more about how much you care and I don't see enough positive results on the field, that's a that's a problem for me.

So that's why I get on a little bit for the crying. It's not that I didn't think his his heart was in the right place, but it comes off a little bit fake at times. And up to this point, he's always been a team first guy. And I think like he projects that, but also backs out for the most part. This is a very like, again, it's a soft move.

It's it is. He's not going to be it's there's two games left. Like he's a distraction when he's there or not.

So the questions aren't going away because he's at home the next two weeks compared to he's a backup quarterback or an active and just on the bench at third string. Do you think he just didn't want to speak about this? Oh, I think my that potentially, I guess he's still like, I guess you would have media available.

They just go to your locker and ask it compared. He may, he may cry actually for that one. He would, you know what would happen?

But I think the media would be respectful, but maybe he would have like his Giovanni Bernard moment where he would refuse it at first and then make the media look like the bad people, which by the way, the media, that was not a good look for them in that whole situation. And I've always said this and I've been in locker rooms. I'm not a beat reporter. So I don't rely, like my job does not rely on these guys talking or not. But if a player says, Hey, I don't want to talk, even though like they're contractually obligated to do so.

And they could pay a fine for, for, for not speaking to the media. I've always respected if a player said like, okay, I don't want to talk when I, when I've been in the locker room, I guess Derek Carr, he can always, you know, the reporters can't pull the old, well, we haven't had a reason to talk to you all season long. That's why I haven't talked to you, Derek, with the way like some of the reporters talk to said that about Giovanni, you've been injured all year.

What have you done? They can't say it's a Derek Carr. That's for sure.

Alrighty. Um, who started next year? Because I have an idea for where Derek Carr is starting next year, but we've had 24 hours to let this kind of marinate. Who's the one team that rises to the cream of the crop for Derek Carr. I think it's the jets. I think the jets will make a trade for him.

I think that is a good landing spot. Yes. I don't think he's going to get traded because he control. He, he's one of the few NFL players that has a no trade clause. I know you could kind of control then where you go, obviously, but I, if I'm him, wouldn't you rather just get cut and then you could go through a natural free agency process and see how many, how badly teams want you and all that. Yeah. I think either way though, cut or trade. I think still if I'm him, I have the jets at the top of the list.

Really? What, what, what, what would you say is better? Commanders, especially for Derek Carr going from one chaotic organization. I don't know about going to another one is the, the answer for me, but they have a good draw, sir.

Sure. They have a really good roster. And I think the roster is why I would go there. Daniel Snyder, we all know is scum. We all know Daniel Snyder should not be in the NFL as an owner. It's trending in that direction that he's leaving. Now, how ugly does this get? How much of a fight does he put up where maybe then Derek Carr has to answer for that, but the team spokesperson with the commanders is Ron Rivera and Ron Rivera is well respected.

He has to address everything. I just think the commanders would be a better situation where I fully get, where you look at it from afar, you're like, Oh my God, he was in the toxic situation with the Raiders. And now you're going with Dan Snyder.

Just why would you want to put yourself in that situation? But I look at that roster for me. I think that defense is really good. Now the jets have a phenomenal defense.

We know, but offensively with Terry McLaurin, Johan Dotson, Antonio Gibson and Brian Robinson Jr. That's why I would go there. And even though the NFC East has been really, really, really good. I don't know what Dallas is going to be next year. Like Philadelphia is great this year. Are they going to take a step back next year? We know Buffalo's not going anywhere inside the AFC East. Right.

But I would say the two divisions are comparable. I guess the one thing, the risk, even with a new ownership, you got to think about if you're Derek Carr is, do they want you? Like it's a new owner. Do they want Ron Rivera? Do they want Derek Carr? Do they want to make their own imprint on the roster and blow it up?

I have no idea. Like it's, that's part of the risk of bringing a new owner in. But I still think you're very, not that I want to say very far away, like we're years and years away, but until they kick Snyder out, find someone right to, I know he has the team up for sale now, or they're exploring it right. If you believe that or not, until you finally find someone, you're going to at least get a season under your belt. Well, you'll get a season, but then also you have a season under Dan Snyder's ownership, which is also not too fun either.

Yeah. But with the pieces that they have with the commanders, I know it's tough to say that you just get, like you just push Dan Snyder aside, but in this case, I don't think Dan Snyder's a reason. When you look at this roster that it's going to really impact Derek Carr that much, but the part why I just can't see him going to the Jets and everyone's saying him with the Jets. Can you see Derek Carr handle in the New York media? Yeah, I think so. That guy does not come off to me as someone that could be at a big market like New York, because he says the right things. Okay, this is our time to shine.

It's boomer boss right now, but he's not been saying that for a few years. I don't know if the personality and ultimately winning cures all, but I just don't know if Derek Carr could handle New York. That's my biggest concern is if Carr could handle the pressure and the spotlight of New York.

And I get it, the bright lights of Vegas and all of that, but that's a newer city that got a football team. And I know that he went through a ton of crap a year ago that no one should ever have to go through, but I'd be really concerned about the circus. That's always just inevitably with New York, even though the Jets are in a better spot, but with Derek Carr going into that New York media environment, I don't know if he could handle it. Well, I'll say this for Derek Carr. The good thing for him is that you're taking over a spot.

Let's just assume he's with the Jets. Are you taking over a team where their former number two of a quarterback said, I'm not the reason why we lost the game, which they lost 10-3 and had 103 yards of total offense, something like that. So he's not going to do that. I promise you that next year, if they lose a game three nothing, he'll be saying, you know what? It's not my fault.

I feel no remorse after how I played, which is terribly in a loss. At least he'll handle it professionally. So that he is for the, I think there's a good honeymoon period for a year or two, at least where I think he'll be on the good side for the New York media, where he'll be a competent quarterback, which something Jets have not had in a long time. And I think he will bring him a playoff berth. But then, you know, then the question is, you know, once you get to the playoffs, it's okay.

How can we do more and more and more? That's what I think. It's always get a little dicey with him not being able to get over the hump. Would you want Derek Carr in your Colts? No.

Because? That's the worst case I have for the Colts because they're not a quarterback away and getting Derek Carr would signal that you are a quarterback away when in fact they're not. Maybe the same cycle of Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan, and a younger version, yes, than Matt Ryan and Derek Carr, but same similar quarterback with the same belief of, oh, we're not that far away.

When in reality, the roster right now is not ready to contend for a division, a playoff spot, or a Super Bowl with Derek Carr next year. You're feeling yourself by the way today. I'm feeling myself.

Yeah. You have like a different confidence about you because you were hosting today for Bill Rider from what, 10 to 12, I believe. You know, a little BP in before coming on here yesterday came in ice cold. You have like a different aura about you today.

You seem like more confident than normal. I'll take it. Okay. That's, that's good. There we go. You got to stop.

You got to stop though, with the clapping and like whenever someone gives you a compliment like, yeah, yeah, let's go. Here we go. Fire it up. Because then that just ruins it all for me. Oh, okay. So the excitement is, is the buzzkill.

Okay. So yesterday I was laying out the path and I think this will surprise you laying out the path for, yeah, I'm the biggest Carson Wentz critic there is, but with these next two opponents, the, uh, the commanders this weekend going up against the Browns and then the Cowboys were, they really have nothing to play for. It's now we're never obviously for Wentz, but I don't think this is as impossible as what I felt like in the other years with Carson. And going back to the entire Derek Carter to Washington theory that you have, I am, I'm nervous for the commanders as someone who went through the Carson Wentz experience and you being in Philly, covering them in Philly, went through the same thing as well. I wonder if he, again, two bad opponents and two gimme games here that they should make the playoffs. If just making the playoffs fools, the commander's thinking, you know, Wentz got it, figured it out.

Like that benching did him well, and he's going to kind of be our guy. Now we're going to back them in 2023. That's the worst case scenario. If that is the case, that's bad. The commanders are dumber than what we all, and you may have to root against your team. If you're the commander, if you're a commander's fan, cause you want to get into the playoffs, but next year he, he literally has no dead cap. There's, there's nothing you could get rid of him for no cost. I know you gave up capital to get him, but if now I think you wait to release them and you've got to see who you end up getting. But just cause this guy is the quarterback.

If you make the playoffs of these final two games, you shouldn't have any confidence then over the span of a full 17 game season, but they did in the first place. I know, I know, I know. That'd be a bad job by Robert Rivera.

You know what? I'm hoping we see Rivera at the Super bowl this year on radio as he joins each and every year. Cause I got to plead to him to not bring Carson Wentz back. 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 sixties and seventies 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. 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 C13 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.