Tom Brady Back? (Hour 1)

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Thinks the handoff, looks right, throws right, hands up, clock, touchdown. Your playoffs, your Odyssey. Get in the game and download the free Odyssey app today. Live from the play show yet not over, the ostentatious studios of CBS Sports Radio here in beautiful New York City, sitting on top of the 10th floor of 345 Hudson Street. Welcome on in to a Tuesday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all of our great local CBS Sports Radio affiliates, 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 old cesspool of Twitter at Zach Gelb, that's Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. We've got two guests for you this evening. Coming up at the top of the hour, we'll go right down to Dallas, and we will talk to an elated R.J. Choppy after the Dallas Cowboys blew out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last night to conclude wildcard weekend. And Dallas, this upcoming week on Sunday, will travel to Santa Clara to do battle with the San Francisco 49ers at 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 Pacific.

We will check in with Jason Locke and Fora, who does a talk show now in Baltimore and still works for CBS Sports HQ as an NFL insider. So last night, and first off, producing this extravaganza for the next four hours, of course, is no other than Hot Take Kiki. Hot Take Kiki. I think a lot of us went into that game last night knowing the Cowboys were the better team on paper. But since Brady, even in what's been a bad year for Tampa Bay where they just limped to the finish line of the NFC South and won that division being a game under 500, I think a lot of us still looked at the aura of Tom Brady and said he's 7-0 against Dallas. Dallas is notoriously known for drama and for choking. There's a reason why I call them the drama Dallas-choking Cowboys. And even though it was obvious Dallas was the better team, you had a lot of people like Kiki and yours truly that said, I just can't have any confidence in the Cowboys. And even though my eyes and my brain, they tell me the Cowboys should win this game, I'm just going to go with Tom Brady, even though the Buccaneers have been a complete and utter dumpster fire this year.

And if you did that, you got burned last night. And I give a lot of credit to Dallas and we'll get into them more later on in the show for other than their kicker last night playing really a perfect game up against Tampa Bay. And that is something that in big moments we've been asking Dallas to do for what, the last 20, 25 years?

And most of the times they have failed to show up in a big spot. So you got to start the show off today giving Dallas credit for doing what they should do and then taking it to the next level. And Dak Prescott was awesome in the game.

He bounced back in a big way after that disaster finish up against the Washington commanders. Now, how far can Dallas take it? We will get into that a little bit later on in the show. But I think the bigger story today is was that the last time we've seen Tom Brady on NFL field?

And I'll tell you right out of the gate, I don't think that's the case. And I know a lot of you cockroaches in the listening audience that just can't stand Tom Brady and hate the man just out of pure jealousy have been wishing for the demise of Tom Brady for probably now well over a decade. And you've been waiting to plant that flag in the ground and say, he's washed. He's finished.

The fat lady is singing. His time is up. It's over.

It's done. And when that would happen, like 10 years ago, when Rob Parker, after the Patriots lost to the Giants in the second Super Bowl, said there's no way know how Tom Brady would get to another Super Bowl. You kind of rolled your eyes when Max Kellerman and Nick Wright would say that Brady's about to fall off a cliff like five or six, seven years ago.

You rolled your eyes. And really, the first time I thought you could have an actual conversation of is this the end? Are we getting to the end for Tom Brady was really after that 2019 season.

And I've said this to every single person that would listen. And even if you didn't want to listen, I would say this when Brady left the Patriots and people said, oh, he looked bad that final year in New England. He looks done. He looks washed.

He looks finish. I said, if he gets good offensive line play in Tampa Bay, he'll be back to normal Brady because I watch every game of that 2019 Patriots team. And that offensive line was absolutely abysmal and putrid. And Brady got frustrated.

I remember there was a game. They were either still undefeated, only had one loss on the year. And I want to say it was in November when they went into Philadelphia and they won, but they barely won.

The offense did nothing. And Brady was really and I mean, really agitated because the team on the offensive side of the ball was not performing well and he was getting hit in great frequency. We all know the year after that, he goes to Tampa Bay, wins the Super Bowl in his first year. The year after that last year, he leads the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns at the age of 45.

And then this year happened. And because Brady is 45 and because Brady did not look like this unstoppable machine that we're all accustomed to, the easy and obvious take today is all Tom Brady's wash, Tom Brady's finish. And even in some bizarre way with him being 45 and you could be following logic there and any other player, right? No one's ever done this this long NFL history at this level.

You would say Father's time is finally catching up to him and Father time is always undefeated. But I feel very similarly in the way that I did in 2019 2020 before he went to Tampa Bay, as I do right now. That yes, Brady made an inexcusable interception last night. Brady looked afraid of pressure last night. Brady looked rattled last night. I get that.

But what does it all go back to? We've seen the only way to beat Tom Brady is to put him under duress all night long. We've seen that when the Ravens beat him in the playoffs. We've seen that when the Giants beat him in the playoffs. We've seen him when the Jets beat him in the playoffs.

Anytime you defeat TB12 and TB12 struggles, it's when he's under an immense amount of pressure. And going into this season, it was an ominous feel about that offensive line with the early injuries they had, and it only got worse and worse from here on out. So if Brady goes to a place, whether they have the offensive line now or in this offseason, they go get the offensive line. I still think Tom Brady, big take, I know, but it seems the way that the narrative is on Twitter and social media that this is me standing on an island. I still think Tom Brady next year can play at an elite level in the NFL. I don't think he's done.

I don't think he's washed. And I still think as it's a year to year thing next year, he could go out there and play at a high level. Now, the question is, will he be back? Does he want to come back? And where will he be? I think he wants to be back in the NFL. I think he will play next year in the NFL. Where?

That's a good damn question. Because last night in the aftermath in Tampa Bay, he basically thanked the Tampa Bay media as if that was it in Tampa. And if you've been following this all throughout the year, I think we had Rick Stroud on at some point in the offseason. And he said leading up to the season, I'm pretty sure it was Rick Stroud that he believes this will that Brady will play somewhere probably next year. But it won't be in Tampa Bay.

And when Brady gives his goodbye to the media and thanks them for covering him and how much he loved his time in Tampa. That shows me that the decision for Brady right now is either you retire or you play somewhere else. Now, is there a shot he goes back to Tampa?

I guess I would say that it's slim. But maybe the free agency market's not going to be as strong as he thinks it's going to be. Or maybe he's using his free agency and this idea that he's definitely leaving because they can't tag him as a negotiation tactic right now.

And a well thought out tactic right now where he says, I still got Chris Goblin. I still got Mike Evans. I still got players and coaches that I like in this organization, but I need X, Y and Z to change. Because remember whether it was more so dealing with Giselle last offseason and giving Giselle what she wants and then trying to figure out what was going to happen or trying to get Bruce Arians out. There was a reason that we may or may not know why Tom Brady last offseason retired and then shortly after that came back and Bruce Arians is no longer coaching this team.

So is there a path? Is there a door for Brady going back to Tampa Bay? I guess, but right now I think it's unlikely. However, if he goes to the Glazer family, if he goes to the general manager, Jason Leighton says, I need this, this and this to happen and I'll come back. I'm not going to say, no, it's impossible for Brady to go back to Tampa Bay in a division that stinks. He has some talent, maybe you have a coaching change, maybe you beef up the offensive line and maybe he looks at that as a destination where he could go on and win.

But if last night was a goodbye to Tampa Bay, which is the way that I think most of us do feel and I think most of us believe he's going to play football next year, where could he go? And you did see over the weekend from Ian Rappaport that there are three teams that Ian Rappaport knows of that will consider signing Tom Brady, the 49ers, the Titans and the Raiders. So let's just look at those three teams. The Raiders, do you see them going and making that move?

Absolutely. I know their offensive line struggled last year, which goes against my first point, but they have Josh McDaniels there. And I know for most people, I'd be like, oh no, it's Josh McDaniels.

He's horrible. Brady and Josh McDaniels are as tight as tight could be. You got Josh Jacobs potentially still there. You can franchise tag him, bring him back. You got Devante Adams, Darren Waller, Hunter Renfro. You got offensive pieces there for Tom Brady. In Tennessee, I think that is a tough sell, but his friend Mike Vrabel is the head coach. You have Derrick Henry still there. But other than that, it's not like that's a desirable destination.

Because I don't know what Robert Woods is going to be from here on out. I don't know where Traylon Burks is going to be moving forward and how quickly Brady and him would be able to develop a relationship. But Tennessee, you could look at it. The AFC South, other than Jacksonville, there's no one really good that you feel about in that division. You don't really feel good about any of those teams.

Colts stink. You look at the Texans, they're years and years away. So maybe he says, OK, I could go out there and defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars and win that division.

The Niners are the one that you know he wants to go to. But if Brock Purdy continues to play like this, and I can't believe I'm saying this. I remember a few years ago when they had Jimmy G coming off a Super Bowl loss. Brady wanted to go there and they passed on Tom Brady for Jimmy Garoppolo.

Now you have Trey Lance who's done nothing in this league, but you invested a lot in him. And you have a guy in Brock Purdy where it's not crazy to say maybe Brock Purdy is a Super Bowl champion after this season. If they win the Super Bowl, I don't know if they're going to move on from Brock Purdy. Because it does take some of the pressure off Shanahan and Lynch who did put a big deal on the table and pulled off a big deal and gave up a lot of future resources to go get Trey Lance. You win a Super Bowl, I don't think people are going to criticize you that much if Lance fails because if you won the Super Bowl, it's because Brock Purdy was on the team. But if you don't win the Super Bowl this year, let's say you lose this weekend to Dallas or you lose next weekend in Philadelphia or you lose in the Super Bowl once again.

You could still make a case that Purdy should be the guy next year, but that could probably entice them to say we are so close and we've been so close. Let's get the greatest winner in the history of the NFL even at the age of 46 to go play quarterback. Some other teams that I would not count out, and I know that they were not mentioned in this report and the Rappaport report from over the weekend was the 49ers, the Titans, and the Raiders. I think the Dolphins could be in play.

I don't know if that will happen now after the whole suspension of Stephen Ross and the tampering, but he served his suspension so maybe that does occur. I can't see Brady playing for the Jets, but the Jets need a quarterback and they have a good roster. I'm looking around the rest of the AFC, that's probably where you draw the line in the sand, but some maybe outside chance teams, Dolphins, and then a really outside chance team, the Jets.

Would the commanders be interested? That's a tough division, but I guess that's on the table as no one's really brought them up and that's probably where you end the conversation barring some NFC South. Brady leaves the Bucks and maybe I saw Florio said Sean Payton and Brady would look pretty damn good in Carolina.

That's what he said today, but let's also remember this. Sean's rights are owned by who right now? The Saints for two more years. If Sean doesn't get a job that he wants this offseason and you look at the lay of the land right now, it's not the most desirable jobs in the world. I know he's talking up the Texans, but I don't think he's going to the Texans. The Colts for whatever the reasons are, they haven't extended an invite for him to get an interview yet, which is surprising to me. I don't think he's taking the Broncos job. I guess it's possible, but I'm leaning more so that it's not going to be Sean Payton. So you go through all these teams, Arizona's in play, but then you get Mike Jarecki who says hearing Sean Payton's people are disappointed that they hired a general manager before they would interview him. The word around the league is Bidwell wouldn't give him full power.

So that's another thing. So if you go through all these potential destinations that are open and you go through and he says no on Carolina, he says no to Denver or they don't offer him, he says no to Arizona. And you go through the Texans and the Colts, let's say the Colts never interview him. Well, it's either you go back to Fox or if you really are that addicted to coaching, you got two years left in the contract with the Saints. Maybe you say I'll come back for one season, maybe two, who knows how far you would go.

Tom, they don't have to trade for me. Come to New Orleans, we could team up together and play for the Saints. So all we know right now is there's a question of will Tom Brady be playing football next year? I think he will be playing football next year. Where? That's the even better question. Because right now I would lean no on Tampa and you could hear the speculation from Rappaport, the report that the Niners, the Titans and the Raiders will consider him. But where he will be playing, your guess is as good as mine.

855-2124 CBS 855-212-4227. Hickey, yes or no? Tom Brady will be playing football next year. Just yes or no? Yes. Tom Brady will be back in Tampa next year? Yes. Oh, OK. I was not expecting that. Back in Tampa with a man you're talking about, Sean Payton.

Now, hold on. I know we just talked about the possibility of Brady with Sean with the Saints or maybe Florio threw out the idea of Brady and Sean with the Panthers. I don't know, and I would lean it's more likely a no, that the Saints would allow Sean to get traded to Carolina or Tampa Bay. Now, you could double the price on what it would be, but I have a tough time thinking that the Saints, if there's ideas Sean's going to Tampa. Oh, well, why are you going to Tampa to go play with Tom Brady when you could get Brady out of the division and you could get Sean to go somewhere else in the future, whether that's this year or next year and still get compensation back for him? You tell me what you think the Saints would approve a trade for Sean to go to Tampa Bay. I don't really think there's that much leverage that the Saints have over Sean Payton.

It's just like we want some draft capital. They could say no. They could, but I don't think it's at a point where they would say no. If you go into division with Brady staying in Tampa and you get Brady and Sean out of the division?

They pay the price. I don't think they would object. So if it was a mid to late first round pick, what was being talked about the other day by Sean Payton on Fox Sports Radio. I would then need two first round picks. If if I'm the Saints, if you're if you're allowing Sean to go to Tampa Bay. If you're at Tampa Bay, I don't see why you say no to that. OK, well, that's a different conversation to have. So you're predicting Brady's back in Tampa with Sean Payton. That's correct. OK. Yeah, I have a tough time seeing that. If you tell me Brady's back in Tampa, that's one thing with Sean.

That's tough for me to envision. I would not have said this team a few weeks ago. But with the way that Brock Purdy has played, that was my choice ever since the 49ers traded for McCaffrey. I have now kind of put the Niners on to be determined when it comes to Brady watch, just because I got to see how the season plays out and how it ends. But the team that I'm starting to think more and more that maybe Brady goes to.

And maybe this is in the moment. And if I'm Brady, I would not go there. But it would not shock me if he goes to the Raiders.

McDaniel's his buddy. You got Devante Adams. You have Darren Waller. You have Hunter Renfro.

I know you can't stand the Raiders, Hickey, but you could see potentially why he would take the Raiders job or go sign with the Raiders. Right. Yeah. And there's some pieces there. So I don't know if it's all that much different than what's in Tampa Bay right now, but there are pieces there for sure.

Which is fair. But if that's a big thing that he wants new coaching, let's say. And who knows who he wants to be the coach, because I thought he wanted Todd Bowles and Byron Lefwich as the coach. And now he can't stand, I guess, Todd Bowles and Byron Lefwich from some of the reporting that you read. Maybe that goes, well, at least I'll know I'll have my guy Josh McDaniel's there if they won't allow, if the Saints, let's say, say we won't allow Sean to go to Tampa Bay via trade to make that relationship go on down. It is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Will Brady be playing football next year?

And who will Brady be playing football for if you do think he's playing in the NFL in 2023? 855-212-4CBS, 855-212-4227. When we come on back, something that I almost never do on this show, we will do on the other side. Listen and subscribe on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts from.

Your playoffs, your Odyssey, get in the game and download the free Odyssey app today. I'm Larry Mullins, host of the podcast, Your Weirdest Fears, the show that explores the odd things that make your heart stop. I am so scared of the Grinch. He is bad vibes. We talk to everyone from therapists to exterminators to lizard man. I was 25 when I actually got my tongue split.

I have one tattoo that covers my entire body. Listen and subscribe on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts from. Visit go.lamweston.com slash potato perks to download. So yesterday we found out that Monty Ostenfer is going to be the new general manager of the Arizona Cardinals. He was introduced today and he said we're not going to tolerate an ego in this organization.

We'll play you some of those clips later on from the news conference. But there is also another general manager that has been hired. And as we know, John Robinson is out with the Titans in the middle of the season when it looked like John Robinson did a heck of a job in Tennessee. But really, the AJ Brown deal, I think, was the move that got him fired. And also, you could say, even though they were having success on the field, a lot of times it was, oh, look at the way that Mike Vrabel won with less.

So you could argue if John Robinson did as good of a job as it is perceived, like when I just said coming back from break, that he's done a heck of a job. So we have a new general manager hire back to back days. Rand Carthon is now going to be the new general manager of the Tennessee Titans. He was the last few years since 2017 the director of pro personnel for the Niners. Before that, he was with the St. Louis NLA Rams.

And before that, he was with the Atlanta Falcons, played a few years in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts. And Hickey said this to me during the break, guy coming over from the 49ers, Tennessee needing probably a new quarterback. Maybe that puts him in the market for Jimmy G. But Hickey, as I said to you, and I'll say it on the air here, just because you're bringing over someone from the 49ers, since they did draft the replacement for Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lantzam are aggressive to doing so, you don't know how universally beloved one Jimmy Garoppolo is by all in that organization with the 49ers. And also, if you're a fan of the Tennessee Titans, if the big move this offseason at the quarterback spot is Jimmy Garoppolo, isn't it very similar to the way that you would kind of view Ryan Tannehill? A guy that you wonder if he could stay healthy, and even when he's at his best, even though Jimmy G has gone further into the playoffs, it's not as if you're looking at someone that you feel a whole amount of confidence about in this, you know, abundance of praise is going to be directed his way because you don't view him as a great quarterback. So that to me, I don't know, if they're bringing in Hickey Garoppolo in Tennessee, that just says we got to get rid of Tannehill. Obviously, I don't believe in Malik Willis. Tobs is not going to be their starter next year.

I think that's just another placeholder kind of guy. Which means, you know what, load up the first round picks, get Brock Purdy in the building. How many? Two?

Three? Just a reminder, this is the portion of the program that shows you that Hate Kickey just hates the football team that plays in Tennessee that are named the Tennessee Titans, just to remind everyone that you don't actually think that they're going to get multiple picks. Yeah, that's that's what I figured. But, you know, just going to ride the Purdy wave right now. If I'm Tennessee, wouldn't you, out of the realistic options, and I guess you could say Brady is a realistic option. Is that the best option for them this offseason? I don't know how desirable it is for Brady, but I would think Brady is their is their best option.

That's in reason, right? Would you say Aaron Rodgers is within reason? I guess I just do not believe that Rodgers is going to get traded this offseason. If he's in reason, I would say that is probably the best case scenario, just because his shelf life is a little bit longer than Tom Brady.

But it is year to year drama. Now, I think Brady, if it goes somewhere, it's one more year just to end the career on a right note. But if he, let's say, gets to an AFC title game or NFC title game, wherever he goes and loses, could that maybe say, OK, I'll go play another year?

I do think it's possible on that front. Rodgers, I really think your guess is as good as mine on Rodgers. Because the last three years has been all this drama and all this nonsense and nothing has ever changed. So I would say that Rodgers is going to stay. And I would rank that in order of Rodgers stay being one as most likely least likely him retiring to him playing somewhere else, probably number three. Now, if Rodgers doesn't get traded and Brady says no, if you're looking at the Jimmy G or the Derek Carr's of the world, I think you go just get Derek Carr and hope that there's more upside there. And there is more upside with Derek Carr as a quarterback in this league than Jimmy Garoppolo.

More stability with injuries, you know, he's in the lineup all the time. He's a better quarterback than Tannehill. Yeah, I mean, not that big of an upgrade.

Not like you're jumping for joy, but... Better than what you got. Yeah, at least slightly upgraded the team compared to what you have there currently where Tannehill, who's done a nice job in Tennessee, seems like that ship has already sailed. 8-5-5, 2-1-2-4, CBS 8-5-5, 2-1-2, 42-27. Let's go to Dave in Atlanta next up on the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Dave, what's shaking? Hey, Zach, love your show. I listen to you every night.

Appreciate it. Lifelong Bucks fan, what I saw last night was disgusting. The defense didn't even show up. The defensive line was invisible. Lavonte David and Devin Weiss, much as I love them and they're great, they cannot pass coverage.

They don't cover passes all year long. And that's the defense. Now let's get to the offense and Mr. Brady. I was against Brady when we were getting him three years ago, but I learned to fall in love with him, so to say. He won us a Super Bowl. He was Tom Brady. I mean, offensive line was not there this year, I'll give you that.

But all the weapons were there. Don't say Gronkowski because it saved him. Tom, if you watched him, if you watched Tampa play all year long, Tom was the problem. Tom is done. I don't want Tom anymore. Go away, we'll take Derek Carr, we'll take Lamar Jackson.

That might be a little more tricky, but I'll take Derek Carr. Tom is done. Why do all these teams want him? I understand his resume, all that stuff, but why do teams want him anymore? Did anybody not watch him play this year?

Can you help me, Zach? Well, Dave, as I said before and I'll say it again, I look at it and I think it's as simple as if you study the entire career of Tom Brady, the only time he looks like crap, the only time he looks like human is when the line just performs horribly. I know he made some bad throws this year. I know the connection with him and Mike Evans was absolutely off, but I think a lot of people view it, or maybe I'm wrong in saying a lot of people because when I say a lot of people, I mean NFL people, I think they view it as if we give Brady protection, this is a guy a year ago that did lead the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns, and what was the biggest difference from last year's team to this year's team?

It was the health of the offensive line, and that's when Brady gets rattled is when he's constantly on his ass. I get that, and I agree with you. I agree with you. I agree with that.

I agree with that. But what does Tampa need to do now moving forward? Do we really need to chase Tom? Do we just let him go and start over? They're going to fire leftward, supposedly? Are we starting over now, the defense? I mean, the whole secondary needs to go besides Winfield.

Well, as long as you have Evans and Godwin, and I thank you for the phone call, Dave, I do think Tampa could be an attractive destination, but if Brady walks out the door, I do think it's going to be a big fall, unless you are quickly able to turn around and get a great quarterback that's available. Now, I don't think Raj is getting traded. Lamar, I think it's 50-50 if he gets traded this offseason, but I don't think he's signing a long-term extension with the Ravens. If you bring in Derek Carr, I don't think Derek Carr is making you this great team and an upgraded team from where you were with Tom Brady. So if Brady leaves, I do think you guys fall in a big way, unless Jason Leite very quickly is able to swoop in and get you that replacement that you feel good about. I don't feel great about Carr. He's the top 15 quarterback in this league, but I don't think he is this tremendous quarterback where you go, okay, Carr's in there, now all of a sudden this team is going to be great because you look this year, and I know McDaniels was not this great coach, but Todd Bowles is a bad coach as well. Derek Carr had Devontae Adams, Josh Jacobs having a career year, and where did they go? He got benched the last two weeks of the season.

I know a lot of it was contractually, but he did get benched, and it wasn't as if Derek Carr did this unbelievable job. Let's go to David and Charlotte next up on the Zach Gelb show. David, what's happening? Hey Zach, first off, thanks for putting up with our beloved morning show Knuckleheads every week. Hey, I love those guys. Mack and Bone, I love them. They're awesome on WFNZ, one of our great affiliates. But yes, I have a lot of fun with them, and even though Mack is sometimes zany, let's just say, I do appreciate how crazy he could get. Yeah, he sang the Whopper song all morning, so that was interesting.

You should tune in and hear him torture Bone with it. But anyways, after listening to your opening monologue, the first thing I thought of was the Panthers might actually be a good fit. I don't know what the PFF grade for the line is, but I know it got really good this year towards the end of it. Yeah, they improved. Based on everything that you were saying, they've got a pretty good defense overall. They've got DJ Moore, they've got the pieces, he gets to stay in that crappy division you mentioned, maybe make another run at it, and then that gives David Tepper the ability to say, hey, I made my big splash, my big name, maybe we keep Steve Wilks instead of trading all that assets, and then you just wait for Caleb Williams or Drake May next year, possibly.

Well, here's the thing. Yeah, well, if you get Brady, I don't think you're going to be bad enough or you're going to be in that position to go get a Caleb Williams or a Drake May. Now, could you trade up? Yes, but you're probably bare minimum trading up from the middle of the pack, and you'd be a playoff team with Brady, and Brady would win that division. I just don't think Brady, barring if he could get Sean there, and I don't think the Saints, just like I don't think the Saints will allow Sean to go to Tampa, they'll allow Sean to go to Carolina. I don't think, as long as Sean's not there, I don't think Brady's going to be that attractive.

I hear you. The defense is really good and young in Carolina. Offensively, they have DJ Moore. Other than that, I know Deontay Foreman had a good season, but will he even be back? That line is better than what it was from a year ago, but I don't think they have enough offensive pieces for Brady to say, okay, I have to go there, and I need to go to Carolina. Now, could you argue that if Brady goes there, other people would want to come and join him?

Yes, but that's a risk that I don't think Brady's going to be willing to take. It is the Zach Gilp show on CBS Sports Radio. We'll come on back, and as I've been teasing, we'll do something that we very rarely do on this show next. 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. You're listening to The Zach Gelb Show.

It is The Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio. I have to do something right now that we rarely do on this show, and we rarely do it in an elation. How about them Cowboys?

Wow! What a performance last night. Like, if you would have told me before the game the Cowboys would have won the game, I would not have said that you were crazy.

But if you would have told me that Dallas was going to blow out Tampa Bay, even with how abysmal Tampa Bay has been the entire year, that outcome to me would be extremely unlikely. And other than your kicker and Brett Maher, that was a perfect performance by the Dallas Cowboys. And I got to give a lot of credit, a lot of credit to Dak Prescott, because Dak led the league in interceptions this year, or shared the league in interceptions this year, and missed five games. And that performance against the commanders last week was brutal.

And that's being kind, saying it was brutal. To see the way that he bounced back with the early touchdown pass to Dalton Schultz, them running the football and getting the entire Bucs defense to fake, I got to applaud Dak Prescott last night. And I also have to applaud Mike McCarthy. Because last year, Mike McCarthy didn't have that team ready for the playoff game. At the end of the game, it was embarrassing. And up against a team and a player that the Cowboys usually struggle with, I know McCarthy's only been there for two years, but he's lost to them two other times, Brady 7-0 in his career, up against the Cowboys up until last night.

McCarthy, a lot of times, the narrative in going into that game was, if he loses that game, he's going to get fired. For him to have his team ready to go, and for him to have his team end up blowing out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Hickey, I got to applaud, and I got to give credit to Mike McCarthy and Dak Prescott for a job well done last night, and you know it and I know it, and I don't think it's us being haters. Like, I had a lot of those Cockroach Cowboys fans last night slide into my DMs on Instagram, send me tweets, Oh, what do you say now? You're going to keep on calling the Drama Dallas Choking Cowboys? Last night, they were not the Drama Dallas Choking Cowboys.

And I'll even go a step further, Hickey. I'm not ready to say they're going to beat the 49ers, but as we sit here in the immediate reaction on this Tuesday, I think they are very much alive for this game. I'm not telling you it's an automatic win. I got to do more thinking about that, and the Niners haven't lost ever since going to 3 and 4 in the season. But right now, I think that spread, and if you judge my gambling record this year, if you're a Cowboys fan, you probably want to say Fade Geld.

And no, no, Geld, please don't do it. But right now, on this Tuesday, I see that line as, depending on what book you look at, 4 and a half, 3 and a half, I would heavily contemplate, plus in the points for this weekend, your thoughts on what you saw last night with the team that I usually refer to as the Drama Dallas Choking Cowboys. And for last night, there really wasn't any drama other than the kicker, and they did not choke that game away, and they did not choke what was a golden opportunity to continue playing their football season. and be in the divisional round this week.

Let me start with this. I was wrong. I picked the Buccaneers to win the game. I did not believe in the Cowboys.

I was wrong. It's really stupid that, by the way, we both picked the Buccaneers. Like, on paper, we all knew Dallas was the better team.

We just expected Dallas to do what they usually do, and that's fold under pressure. But this Tampa team, with the way that we've been talking about them all year, we've all acknowledged, well, I've acknowledged for two months that they're a bad football team. And I think that's, like, to a bigger point is, yes, the Cowboys did what they were supposed to do, but in reality, they beat an 8-19 that was not very good, and yes, picking the Bucs was more about not trusting the Cowboys, having this team last year at home lay an egg, and be nervous, and not thinking that they're going to fix anything, and not having any faith in Dak or Mike McCarthy.

So yes, in a sense, it was very impressive. Also, at the same time, the Buccaneers are not very good. Buccaneers are maybe the worst team in the playoffs.

There is a difference here. If that was the game where they won 17-13 and had to grind it out, I don't think you are jumping for joy today if you're a Cowboys fan, and yes, you want to win, but you kind of leave with a bitter taste in your mouth, because it's, oh, we won, but Tampa Bay stinks, and they were below.500, but we won 17-13. They didn't make that a close game. They didn't even allow that to be a game last night, because if it wasn't for the kicker, they literally played as perfect of a game that you could play for the Dallas Cowboys. The defense was good.

Offensively, Dak Prescott led that team. So I would hear you, and I would agree with you if it was a sloppy close game, but the fact it was a blowout, that's what makes it impressive for Dallas, even with the opponent being who the opponent was. I guess, and maybe it's because the Bills played closer games than they should have, and the Bengals played a closer game than they should have against the teams and the quarterbacks they were playing against, but look, again, I was wrong. Are you a Debbie Downer on the drama Dallas Choking Cowboys nation today? I mean, it's just like if you think about what they did yesterday, like again, you take away just the veil of doubt that a lot of people, and including myself, had with the Cowboys just playing one, a big spot. It's like what they accomplished against a banged up Buccaneers team, which they lost to early in the season, eight and nine, it's really like, there's no parades being thrown here.

Wait, now hold on. Are we seeing a change in the power structure on the Zach Gelb show for the drama Dallas Choking Cowboy bandwagon, where it's you and I usually leading the charge, telling you the Cowboys are going to blow it, the Cowboys are going to suck, the Cowboys are going to find a way to lose. I'm saying they're alive for this weekend up against the 49ers. I can see them covering. They may outright win.

I'm not predicting that yet, but I think there is a chance of that happening. You telling me where you at a hundred percent confidence wise that the Niners are going to win this game this weekend? Ninety-five percent. Ninety-five percent. There's no chance the Cowboys are winning this game.

And that's not, it's Tuesday. So why is it a hundred? A hundred percent. It's luck.

There's no way they're losing. Okay. No way. I will now have to scoot back a little bit. I am no longer in the first row, the second row, the third row, the fourth row, the fifth row, which is a stunning development of the drama Dallas Choking Cowboy bandwagon of the ship. Because right now, maybe this is the moment.

Maybe I'll acknowledge. Yes, this is Tuesday. It's early. I'm not saying for sure right now that Dallas is going to win the game, but I would plus them on, on the spread right now of plus three and a half, four and a half, depending on what book you get. And we'll see as the week goes on, if I have the cajones or as Ross Tucker would say, the cajones to take the Cowboys outright, your reaction, you are shot. It's like, to be honest, I feel a hundred percent forget winning the game, covering the spread too.

I, I hundred percent, hundred percent this and look, and if I could be honest, you saying a hundred percent makes me feel even better. The last 18 hours, let's say it feels like there's been a parade of sorts being thrown for the Cowboys. That also has me feeling great about the 49ers.

Because again, remember everyone's talking about again, there's been a lot of doubt. So I understand that the pressure going into this game, they haven't won a road game in the playoffs since 1992. We've, we've seen Michael McCarthy and Dak Prescott on the stage last year, getting embarrassed with the 49ers. So there's doubt of can they actually, you know, play one of Plavican big spot, but it feels like Jerry Jones included, Michael McCarthy included, Dak Prescott included. Everyone's like, ah, mission accomplished.

We did it. When in reality you won a game against an eight to nine team in a wildcard round. And now you're going against what I would say is the best team in the NFC. But couldn't you say this is the monkey on the back? Couldn't you reverse that the other way?

Monkey off the back. And now you feel a little at ease. And now you go into the 49ers not feeling that pressure. I would say it's more them feel like mission accomplished and happy to be there rather than, oh, now we're playing loose because we got past the biggest hurdle.

Now we can just go let it rip. By the way, the Niners have won 11 in a row. Does that at all concern you in a weird way that they haven't lost since being three and four? Because you know how tough that is in this league to keep on a winning streak up like that.

They are doing what good teams do, peaking at the right time. I don't know who's winning the game yet this weekend, but right now I'm thinking 34-31, 27-24, something in that realm that this is coming down to a field goal. And wouldn't it be so fitting for this year of football where you expect the unexpected if Brett Maher next week is in Santa Clara and he boots like a game winning 54 yard field goal to send the Dallas Cowboys.

Oh, I can't believe I'm saying it. The Dallas Cowboys in the NFC title game. Imagine that if that's the way that it goes down. If you're Mike McCarthy, you get the opening kick in San Francisco next week. You go right down the field touchdown. Do you go for two?

No. What are we talking about? You put Brett Maher on the field? Yeah, you got to trust him. You got to trust him. And if he misses one, is that it?

Is it one and done? Big game, Brett. He's coming back next week. Oh, boy.

Resilient. He's going three for three on field goals, making all of his extra points next week. That's what's happening this weekend. It's going to be 27-24, 34-31. I don't know who's winning yet.

I had this entire week to figure it out. But I think this is a close game. And a man who usually hates the Cowboys, a man who usually trashes the Cowboys, a man that calls them the drama Dallas choking Cowboys. I can't believe I'm saying it.

I have some belief that the Cowboys are going to cover the spread this weekend and just maybe win the game outright. 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.

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