Ross Tucker: I Don't See Saquon Barkley Getting A Lot Of Touches Like Last Year

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For the ones who get it done. This is the Rich Eisen Show. With guest host, Andrew Siciliano. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. The Rich Eisen Show. Today's guest, host of the Ross Tucker Football Podcast, Ross Tucker. Baseball writer for the athletic, Levi Weaver. Six-time NFL Pro Bowler, Gerald McCoy.

And now, sitting in for Rich, it's Andrew Siciliano. What are we doing? Like, why are we here? What is the meaning of life? Hi, everybody. We're back. By we and me.

That would be a great show. Just three hours on the meaning of life. I mean, there are a lot of podcasts that that that is the only thing that they do. You know that. I can recommend a few.

Some books as well. Hi, hope you're doing well. My name is Andrew, but you heard that, including with the sultry Andrew Siciliano voice. It's good to be back here at the Rich Eisen Show. Thank you to Rich and the entire Rich Eisen Show crew for inviting me back, despite whatever happened last time. I don't remember. For two days.

Yes, two days of me before your humble host is back in his well-appointed studio. Thank you for being here. I'm guessing last time you were here, there were a lot of tangents. We lost train of thoughts and topics, and then we steered back on the right path. Welcome to my life. This is generally how I do it.

I've never taken ADHD drugs, nor ever gotten any kind of diagnosis, but I'm one of these people now as I age, where I'm thinking, you know what, maybe I could have been something if I had done that. Maybe I could have gone somewhere in life if perhaps I had, you know, phoned a friend. Chris Brockman, good day to you. Hey, Andrew, my good friend. Good to see you, man. How are you?

Good to see you. Everything good? Life good? Everything's great.

Yeah, life is good. Cage is good. Maybe we'll see you at the ballpark tonight.

Cage is a monster. Might be at the ballpark. We've been starting to play real golf. Dad, I want to play on a real golf course. Cool. My son's good at golf. He's five. That's amazing.

It's amazing. How about that 17-year-old that just qualified for the U.S. Open in Georgia? You see that?

He went 18 under or something like that. Maybe Cage could be that kid in a couple of weeks. That would be amazing. A couple of weeks?

Maybe a dozen years or so. The belly laugh of celebrity A1 Mike Del Tufo is here today. He's A1 and A2 today. He does it all. Del Tufo, Instagram famous. It is great to see you, sir. Good to see you, Andrew. Last time I saw you, we ran into each other.

Actually, a couple of times. We've run into each other in the South Bay, as we call the beach towns south of LAX here in Southern California. You on your motorized bike and me talking to myself posting TikTok videos.

Just beach walking talks. Quite a confluence. We love it. We love it.

Great job. It's good to see you, sir. Good to see you.

Good morning, Andrew. TJ George Pickens is wearing number three today at Cowboys OTA. It's the magic number. Yes, it is. Yes, it is. What does it all mean? It's the magic number. Dayla Sol said that.

We all know that. What's up, Andrew? It is good to see you.

Sup, G? I like when you come because randomly you and I will ultimately always go down some weird path of old school hip hop. And quite frankly, that makes me happy. Anytime you get to work Dayla Sol in on a Wednesday morning before 905 Pacific Time, I'm a fan.

It's a good day. And was able to see the remaining members of Dayla Sol this past year do the Tribe Called Quest montage of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for their induction. That was absolutely ridiculous. Man, to be a fly on that wall.

Yeah, actually I was. I went full Jeff Goldblum and I snuck in the Quicken Loans Arena. It was fantastic. Regardless, it is good to be here and thank you for having me here.

Everything is the same here. This is the Rich Eisen Show. What's the phone number, Brockman? Because I forgot that page. 844-204-RICH.

That's 844-204-7424. Call us, of course. Anything on your mind. We'll play the win-loss game if you want to do so.

Ooh, the win-loss game? Andrew is the voice of the Cleveland Browns, so Cleveland, react to me. I'm looking for a Browns call, a Browns call. I want colors. You on 271 North. We could do that. This is for you.

Rancho, Cucamonga. Do you do, what is it called again? Win-loss game. Do you play the win-loss game for, like, baseball, the second half of the season? Let's go through 81 games for the Dodgers?

That's a little too much. No one's ever done it. Okay. But, I mean, there's a first time for everything. Sure.

I'm willing to give it a go. There's a random Thursday in Miami, I don't know. You never know.

Getaway day. Tonight, Clayton Kershaw. Who knows?

Who knows? Was Kershaw McGill tonight? Kershaw McGill tonight. Okay. Mookie Betts returning to the lineup.

Yes. Mookie Betts, oddly, not pinch hitting last night. He couldn't put a shoe on, as far as I knew. I didn't have mine on either. I was fine.

With that fractured toe. Yeah, I don't know. Okay. But he's evidently good to go. Good to go.

So we played the win-loss game. Call us, tag us, FaceTime us. Do all the stuff. All those things. WhatsApp us.

Any of those things. Are we on WhatsApp? I don't think we have a number.

No, not a WhatsApp situation. Also, I don't think we're going to do a win-loss game for baseball. I'm just saying. It's the off season. But it's the off season. So if you need content for the off season, you could do win-loss game, like when the NBA schedules come out in a few weeks. Like, yes, it's already almost time for NBA schedules for next season.

You know we're only three hours already. I understand that you can do the win-loss game for, say, the Grizzlies next year. Let's do it. Right.

Do it for the Spurs with Giannis or without. Oh, hey. Hey. Maybe they have Jaylen Brown.

Maybe they have Jaylen Brown. I don't know. I don't know.

Just throwing it out there. NBA finals start tomorrow. Oh, by the way. Thursday. Thursday. Thursday. What's today? Today's Tuesday. It's Tuesday. Okay. I'm truly sorry. I did not remember it was Tuesday.

I have now come back to the United States for six days after some overseas travel, and my body is still screwed up. I'm still waking up in the middle of the night. What? I said bonne nuit. That's good. Yes. Good.

Yes. Okay. My French is awful. My Hebrew not good either.

My German not good either. I had a night in Munich on my way. We had like a week in Munich last year. It was great.

Shout out Pavel. So I had a night in Munich. I promise we're going to get to football. This is a football friendly show. There are many football things to tell you about.

Including not only George Pickens wearing number three. By the way, TJ, you moved earlier before the show. You were sitting over there. And so when I went to you before I was looking over there, but it was actually technically looking at the camera. I did not realize you were all the way over there. You know, I've been sitting here every time you posted for the last five years before you were over there. Yeah, I migrate over when anyway.

Yeah. Night in Munich. Texted Joe Thomas, who lived in Munich. Hall of Famer Joe Thomas, who lived in Munich last year, coaching the online for the Munich Ravens. He and Annie and the kids moved over to Munich and did the whole like amazing European adventure for eight months.

It was amazing. Texted Joe Thomas. Hey man, going to be in Munich for a night.

What should I do? Wrote back like, like, good Lord. Like what do you want to do? Like, do you want Bavarian food? Do you want like modern Bavarian food? Do you want beer hall? Do you want museums? Obviously. So I said, you had one night.

What do you want to do? He, he wrote me like an eight page text. God bless him. It's AI man. No, no. Believe me.

It was not AI. Like he had stuff in there. Like, and if you go to this beer hall, ask for Christian, right? Like seriously, I hunt with him.

Ask for this guy. Like, so like he had all of this. I'm like, how do I make sense of this? He's the ultimate tour guide of all time. Like you go to dinner with Joe Thomas. We used to do this on the road for TNF all the time.

You roll into dinner. And if you go to the hall of fame in Canton. So Joe is famous and there are photos of this where before a game, like, you know, he'd take all these mental reps and he would sit down in front of his locker and he would have like a note card, like honestly, not bigger than this. And he would sit there and he had all his notes on the guys that he was going to face.

Like, especially like, you know, right end pass rusher number one that he'd be facing edge one. And he had all his notes. And when Joe went into Canton and they have in the lobby, the pro football hall of fame, if you haven't been, you should go. They have these big displays for that year's class. And in that they had a, a photo of Joe in front of his locker before a game, looking at that note card. And they had one of those note cards square once Joe Colleen Wolf and yours truly roll into a restaurant in Houston on a Wednesday night before a Thursday night game. And we, you know, we used to rotate who's picking the restaurant every week. And this week Joe picked it grapes. I don't remember what it was, but it was a great spot.

We sit down. Joe takes out a note card. He had done the research on the restaurant, like he was facing TJ watt. Right. Wow. He had done the research on the restaurant, right.

Gone through the chef's IG. And he was like, all right. So I'm thinking like, I hear this is really good. I read about this and I read about that.

And I'm like, you're, you're doing like have at it. And it was an amazing meal. There's another time we roll into a restaurant in new Orleans. Again, the three of us, I picked the restaurant this time. We sit down, it's a small place in, in like in the garden district in new Orleans.

Can't remember the name of it either. And there's only like 10 items on the menu. Like a couple of, couple of appetizers, like five order, five entrees, whatever. And the three of us, I'm not a big person. I think I'm a big eater, Colleen, tiny person, Joe, big person. Joe, we're looking at the menu and he looks at us and he goes, do you mind if we just order the whole thing?

There's only 10 things on it. We should just order the whole menu. Go get it. That's fine to me, man. I'm like, I'm down.

It's new Orleans. Let's go. Right. So we ordered the whole menu anyway.

So Joe Thomas gives me that list. I get back to my initial thing for Munich. I'm like, how on earth, how on earth do I handle this? And I eventually picked a few out again. I had like 15 hours there at a layover and I went to a beer hall, one that he recommended and sat down and they said, I said, give me a beer. They said small or large said large. They brought me like a keg. It was like a pony keg. It's like one of those kids used to sneak into your dorm room. It was like that's like a foot and a half tall. Yeah.

And so I just sent Joe like proof of life. Just picture of the keg. Anyway, football.

Let's get the football. That was the last time. Yes. Look at that.

That might even be the beer. What? Do you remember which one this is?

That was a huff bra house, huff bra house. Yes. It was one of those. What TJ you're holding there. One of those.

Give me a flagging of mead. Yeah. I got one over here, Andrew. I actually, it somehow made its way from there to here. I don't know. It somehow made its way from there to here.

Somehow I got out there with glassware. We don't know how. Yes. That is. Yes.

Watch out. That is a weapon. That is a weapon. That is a weapon.

And then you have to declare that at customs. Like I said, I just showed up here. Wow.

Did, uh, did you also, did you also get fined for not buying a ticket for the train back to the airport? Oh no. For all intents and purposes, the we'll use Richard's favorite word, penultimate week of the off season.

Oh, okay. Most teams, many teams have their mandatory mini camps next week and then schools out for summer. And then there will be a month in which you will not be able to get anyone in any NFL building. Let's say 32 plus five, let's say 35 NFL buildings, right? NFL network, NFL films, three 45 park, uh, plus the 32 teams, maybe even throw in the satellite.

Sales office in Chicago, make it 36 offices. Nobody will answer the phone for a month, right? After next Thursday, some teams have mandatory mini camps after that, but pretty much after next Thursday. So teams have their OTAs this week, mandatory mini camps next week. And then that's it. And most teams will cancel the final day of mandatory.

Kind of charity activity. And it's a team bonding thing. And then school is out for summer. So if your team has not signed a veteran quarterback yet, you have to ask aloud. When is your team going to sign a veteran quarterback?

Because if your team is on the practice field today, say like a team that calls Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania home. And you realize there's, there's a practice tomorrow to practice Thursday, OTA practices that is stage three. Next week. But again, cancel Thursday.

Every team does only Monday or Tuesday, Wednesday. There are only five more days on field left in the off season. So if not now, then when I realized Aaron Rogers is clickbait. I did a walk and talk on the beach yesterday saying exactly that it's clickbait, but hear me out.

You just told us right off the top. The hook brings you back. Look, look, look how greeny does his teases classic ESPN radio style. Having worked at ESPN radio, they coach you on this back in the day.

And greeny does it every morning on get up. It'll be this coming up next. There's a player at Patriots mini camp that is going to have a massive impact this year. You can have the break. Well, it may not actually surprise you at all, but I'm going to tell you, you're going to be stunned here, coach.

You're not going to be stunned. Right. But that's how you do it.

So yeah, my thing on Aaron Rogers is Aaron Rogers is clickbait. Where is a Ron right now? Great question. But hear me out. Right.

Listen, it's made the rounds. It's been implied that he has some family stuff going on. Right.

People close to him or a person close to him that is battling a major health concern. Totally respectful of that. There was also an issue I would think of professional courtesy. Now I don't know the conversations behind the scenes. Maybe he has, meaning Aaron told the Steelers, listen, I am coming. I cannot tell you when, but I will be there at some point. And part of me truly does believe that that is what has happened.

Right. I'm coming. I don't know when I'm going to get there.

Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding with this situation. I think that's what's happening. But I don't know that for certain. And I also don't know if it ever will happen, but you are almost to the point now where the off season's over. Right. Even if he were to show up today and sign, you're not going to really do anything on the field tomorrow.

You're going to get your three days of mandatory mini camp next week. But by that point, OTAs are used for install. Right. DK Metcalf install.

Roman Wilson, who missed all the last year as a rookie wide receiver out of Michigan. Right. Install all the new stuff. So you're coming in, never having worked with Arthur Smith. And you are kind of starting from square one at training camp. There's the ramp up period. There are no more two a days.

They ease you into camp. Right. It's going to be an uphill climb. It ain't going to be easy. And you have to ask if not now, then when.

And if not now, will it be ever? And I've said repeatedly that if he doesn't want to go there. And to me, if you haven't said yes by now, at least publicly, then you probably don't want to go there. Tell them, let them be free. Let them live their life. And I will go home and wait for the phone to ring. Just wait. It's going to ring eventually.

Injuries, unfortunately, and sadly are inevitable in this business. And maybe you'll get a better offer. And then be content with the fact that if it doesn't happen, you're fine. Like be at peace with the fact that you're not going to play again. And that is okay. That is okay.

I just don't know what the actual answer is. And without him, that division looks a heck of a lot different. And the Steelers' place in the world looks a heck of a lot different. Would you have signed DK Metcalf if you didn't think you were getting Aaron Rodgers? I say signed, not only traded for, given up draft capital, gave up the second, and then you paid him all that money.

Would you have done that if you didn't think you were getting Aaron Rodgers? That seems like a big fat no. The Steelers are not a cash rich franchise. The Steelers fans don't get angry. They can pay their bills. They're not poor.

Okay. But there is a big, there's a wide spectrum when it comes to the 32 NFL owners as to how much cash you have on hand. Salary cap is one thing.

Cash is another thing. Vastly different world among NFL teams. The Steelers paid DK Metcalf. They will have to pay Aaron Rodgers. It'll be a short-term deal, but they're going to have to write him a check. And TJ Watt is currently not at OTA. TJ Watt will come to training camp, I all but guarantee you. But I all but guarantee you as well that without a new deal, he ain't getting on the field.

It's going to be one of those hold in things. And you maybe don't see him until August. The Myles Garrett contract changed things for not only Micah Parsons, but for TJ Watt. Right? That number now has to begin with a four if you're TJ Watt.

Micah Parsons' number has to begin with a four. The Steelers are writing a lot of checks. I'm just saying they're a fascinating team in transition right now. And a lot, I mean, a lot could change in the next six weeks.

Other headlines. Brian Callahan is talking about his quarterback Cam Ward. We will play that coming up as well. And I would say at least half of the NFL head coaches are on the podium today.

We will play that for you. And my thoughts on what's going on in Cleveland on the quarterbacks. We'll talk about that with Ross Tucker as well. He of the Ross Tucker Football Podcast. All of it coming up on the Rich Eisen Show.

Today, not with Rich. We'll be right back. For a limited time, our listeners get $10 off at Brunt by using code Rich at checkout. Just head to BruntWorkwear.com. Use my code Rich.

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Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Not available in all states or situations. Prices vary based on how you buy. This episode is brought to you by Navy Federal Credit Union with rising housing prices and steeper mortgage rates. We know home ownership may seem too expensive to be achievable, but that's why we offer a homebuyers choice loan that can open the door to affordable home ownership. Our homebuyers choice loan has no down payment options available, which means you don't need to wait years to save money. And with our no refi rate drop, you may be able to lower your rate in the future without refinancing. Plus, while most lenders require borrowers to purchase private mortgage insurance unless they can make a 20% down payment, we don't require PMI. Finally, we offer fixed payments, so your monthly payment will always be the same. So if you're looking for your first home or your next home, you can open the door with a Navy Federal homebuyers choice loan. Visit NavyFederal.org to learn how you can achieve home ownership. Navy Federal Credit Union.

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Learn more at NavyFederal.org. Put your hands together for the most recent Heisman Trophy winner, Kyle and Murray. Oklahoma. Where is that trophy right now? I sleep next to it. It's on your nightstand? Yeah. So it's good morning Heisman every day?

Yeah, type. Seriously, it's right there next to, like there's a night table next to Kyle and Murray's bed and the Heisman Trophy is resting. Yes, sir.

That's amazing. Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night and you've had it in your arms like you've been spooning with it? No, no, there's no spooning. There's no Heisman spooning? By the way, I would absolutely spoon with the Heisman if I won the Heisman. Now taking part in the Rich Eisen Show Throw Challenge, Kyle and Murray, is this the first NFL Duke ball that you have thrown?

It's an NFL – oh my God, you won't even answer that. Wow. Go for it, Tyler.

Go for it. That's one. That's one.

Here we go. That's two. Kyle and Murray. That's three. By the way, that's four. Those are all Duke NFL footballs. Just wanted everyone to know that.

First overall pick. That's four. That's five.

These are the footballs Kurt Warner complained about. That's six. That's seven.

That's – oh my goodness. Let's get some – here we go. Keep going. I'm off. You got one more? Hold on, this is getting bad. Here we go.

No, it's getting bad. You got seven for first seven. Good enough.

Seven out of ten. Congratulations. You won the Heisman and it seems the Rich Eisen throwing contest in the same year. That's a first.

No one could ever take that away from you. And we're back friends. The Rich Eisen Show. Hi, my name is Andrew. I'm sitting in for Rich today.

You get me today and tomorrow and then Rich is back on Thursday because I'm told today's Tuesday. Stopping by now, one of my favorite people. He is the star of the appropriately named Ross Tucker podcast.

Stunning if it had another name. You should follow him on all the socials at RossTucker.com. He also is doing something with FutureFans.com. We'll get to that in a second, Ross Tucker. It is good to see you, friend. What's new?

Likewise. Loving this time of year, man. Actually getting a little bit of family time. I'm following everything going on with OTAs and minicamps and the scuttlebutt. But it's nice to actually be home on the weekends. I think from I guess the Eagles' first preseason game this year is August 7th. So August 7th through the Super Bowl, I'm away every weekend. You know the deal, right? A lot of times I'm doing two games a weekend, right?

So one on TV, one on radio. But I wouldn't rather have it any other way. It's awesome.

But I do enjoy being able to be with my family on these weekends for sure. It's a hard knock life that we live, Ross. And I think the same thing. Whenever you're sitting at 35,000 feet saying I'd really rather be home, you think to yourself, yeah, but I'm going to football games.

Like, oh my God, what a life. And if 12-year-old me was told that this was my life, yes, I would sign up. I'd love it. And I'm grateful for it.

And I will see you, oh, by the way, April, I'm sorry, August 7th in Philadelphia, because the Browns have joint practice that week with the Eagles and then the exciting preseason opener at Lincoln Financial, where you could, can I be in your rate the press box food video? If you want to be, you can. Okay. Yeah. It's so funny.

It's kind of the point now. It really is funny how, like, stuff you're kind of messing around with on social media can become a thing, right? Like, you know, once or twice a weekend I'll take a picture of whatever beer I'm drinking and I'll say hashtag show me your beer. And the amount of people that reply back right away with the beer that's in their hand right then is amazing. And then people are really into press box food.

They are really curious about what the media gets served. I can't tell you how many times now, like, when they see me coming, the PR staff and or like the cafeteria or whatever, they're like, oh, he's coming, he's coming. Like, and they try to make everything look better than it really like they'll mix around like the pasta or whatever. Like, they'll try to make it look better or I'll hear people behind being like, he's doing it. People will be like, was that the real one?

I'm like, no, I do, like, I do takes. Yes, that was the real one. I go through what the people will be like, was that it? Was that the one you're going to post?

Like, yes, that was it. The great Ross Tucker, everybody. You should check out, again, Ross Tucker NFL is on the screen right now. All his social channels.

He does great press box spread reviews. Philadelphia is not bad. We were there last year. Honestly, nothing sticks out.

Nothing immediately sticks out. I think there were some decent donuts if memory serves. The best ever I've ever seen was many years ago on a Thursday night in Minneapolis at US Bank Stadium.

US Bank, right? They had a s'mores bar, like a make your own s'mores bar at halftime and nothing has ever come close to that. Ross Tucker, as we get ready for the month off, right? Next week mandatory minicamps and then everyone cancels the final day of mandatory minicamp and schools out for summer for exactly one month. What is and I'm going to give you off season topic bar, you know, cliched, you know, one on one here. What is the most intriguing OTA storyline for you, Ross Tucker? Honestly, it's probably still when will Aaron Rodgers sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers? I know people are probably sick of talking about it, but the whole situation to me is fascinating. You're talking about, guys, one of the best quarterbacks we've ever seen.

All right. By multiple accounts, he wanted to sign with the Vikings, who, by the way, tried to resign Sam Darnold. Then it got to a certain amount. They said no, tried to sign Daniel Jones. Daniel Jones said, I think I got a better chance in Indy. So he went there. Even the Steelers, OK, where Rodgers is going to sign. Andrew, they tried to get Matthew Stafford.

And I know you know that. OK, then they tried to get done. Then they tried to keep fields. Then they tried to get Darnold. Right. So imagine being Aaron Rodgers and the Vikings wanted guys like Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones, but didn't want you.

And the Steelers, where you're presumably going to sign, they tried to get guys like Justin Fields and Sam Darnold before they wanted you. I mean, it's got to be really humbling. Maybe it's not for him.

I don't know. It would be humbling for me. And I think maybe it's one of the reasons, one of many, you know, that he's still waiting to sign with them. As everybody expects that he will is that he wants to still show he has some power. He has some leverage.

It's funny because I can I can go both ways on this. Right. On the one hand, as a seven year journeyman, offensive lineman, man, I'm jealous that he can just sign whenever he wants to and skip the whole offseason program.

Like that actually sounds kind of cool. On the other hand, he just can't to me, it's not a really good argument for him this year to suggest at any point that he really cares about winning or cares about how this season goes. I mean, it's a new offense.

It's, you know, new skill guys. So if he does ultimately sign with the Steelers, like everyone expects will happen, you know, we'll just watch next year. You know, in September, when he says to the receiver, oh, you do this, do that. Well, why are you going that way or this way? Right. Well, maybe they could have worked that out in May or June when he wasn't there.

You know, it's interesting, and I'm glad you brought up that angle. Ross Tucker here, Ross Tucker NFL, the Ross Tucker Football Podcast. I think he wanted to go to the Rams, number one. I mean, first and foremost, Rams, then Vikings. Rams didn't happen. Rams would have been easy if Stafford had went elsewhere if they decided to move on from Matthew.

He could just take, you know, Las Virginas or Topanga up every morning from Malibu, and it's an easy commute. Makes sense. Sean McVay, he got the weapons.

It's fun. I wonder, Ross, if he is in any way, this is just pure speculation, apprehensive about being embraced by the Steelers fan base. Because I don't know if you notice this on your socials, whenever I post anything about him on mine, I get a lot of pushback from Steeler fans online saying we don't want him. Now, a lot of fans do because they also realize he's probably their best shot this year at this point, right? They've seen Mason Rudolph. We'd rather have Aaron Rodgers at least see how it goes. But a lot of Steeler fans I don't think are ready to embrace him, and I wonder if that factors here.

I think it does. I mean, there's a couple things, right? He has said publicly that he has personal stuff going on or people within his inner circle. I guess I would just submit to you he's not the only player, right, that has people in their inner circle that are going through something right now. I think, number one, he doesn't want to be there for the offseason program. He's 41, and he doesn't want to have to go to Pittsburgh for stuff that he thinks is pointless. If you remember, Andrew, the last CBA, he was pushing hard, hard for you to not have to do anything in the offseason until training camp, right? He was one of those guys, he really wanted the full six, seven months off before training camp to have that time. I think he doesn't think there's a whole lot of point to it and doesn't want to really be there. And there probably is some truth to the consternation regarding the Steelers fan base.

Listen, I live in central Pennsylvania. I know a lot of Steelers fans. Nobody wants him.

Nobody wants him, right? The way they look at it is he's not that good anymore. We're still not going to beat the Bills or the Chiefs or the Ravens or insert team here in the playoffs. So what's the point to maybe win nine or ten games again and maybe have a first-round exit again? Steelers fans are kind of losing their patience with that. Other organizations would love to have a winning record every year and win double-digit games and make playoff appearances.

That is not how they're wired in Pittsburgh. They have not won a playoff game since 2016. Most fans I talk to, and it's surprising to hear this given the track record at an organization, but they'd rather just go with Mason Rudolph or Will Howard. And if they lose a bunch of games, they lose a bunch of games. But at least it's a team that they'll be willing to cheer for. And if they lose a bunch of games, then maybe they can get their heir apparent to Ben Roethlisberger that they obviously did not have waiting in the wings. Yeah, or always picking 20 and 21, which is a horrible place to be if you're always looking or if you're still trying to find your next quarterback.

Talking to Ross Tucker here, there are also a million questions. Like if they knew they weren't getting him, would they have paid DK Metcalf? But whatever, we could worry about that later. Let's talk about the other team in Pennsylvania. You have the Eagles helmet over your shoulder, and you're doing Eagles games, obviously, as you have for a while now in the preseason. Saquon's on the cover of Madden. I'm happy for him. In no way do I believe in the Madden cover jinx or anything like that. The guy had an amazing season. I mean, any and every good thing you should say about Saquon Barkley, repeat it again and again and again.

He deserves it. Part of me, though, Ross is not concerned, but mildly skeptical that he can do it again. Not that I doubt his ability, but just history dictates it is hard to put that kind of rushing season after that rushing season. That makes sense?

That's not even English. It's hard to do it back to back. Collectively for the offense and for the player. Where do you stand on that?

It's a terrific point, and what I would tell you is a couple things. Number one, I don't think they want him to try to do that again, right? So whether they give the number two running back, presumably Will Shipley, the second year man out of Clemson, I think they give him more touches. Maybe A.J. Dillon ends up being productive. He gets more touches, but I also think they want to throw the ball more this year. I think that they kind of got away from the passing game a little bit because they were so successful running it that I think they'll put more on hurts in the passing game with A.J. Brown, Devante Smith. They did bring back Goddard. Dallas got at the tight end.

That was up in the air. Plus, it's not just the track record, Andrew, of guys after big seasons like that. Saquon has injury history.

We all know this. When the Giants let him go to the Eagles, every Giants fan said, Good luck, he'll get hurt in five games, or good luck, he'll never make it. Well, he had one of the best seasons we've ever seen. He won the Super Bowl, all those things.

I'll also say this, Andrew, which I think is a – and maybe you can throw this back to me or Brockman or whoever, right? You know, Saquon said something that I thought was really interesting, that he thinks that the Eagles are one of the best teams ever and that they're not really getting their proper credit. And I was thinking about – I mean, they were 2-2, okay? After they were 2-2 at the bye, they didn't lose again in a game in which Hurts played the whole game. They lost one game maybe week 15, I think, to the commanders where Jayden Daniels had this great comeback, but Hurts got hurt in the first quarter. That's the only game they lost after September. And the NFC Championship game in the Super Bowl, they won by 30-some points. So I don't know why, and maybe you guys have the answer, I'm not exactly sure why more people haven't talked about the 2024 Eagles as being whatever you want to call them, a top ten team ever, maybe a top five team ever, but they certainly have a lot going for them with basically, arguably the best, almost every position on offense, and then the number one defense in the league.

Brockman, go 30 seconds. I want to get to his futurefans.com thing, but go. I completely agree with you, Ross, and I completely agree with Saquon. This team is being overlooked, and it's because their coaches is an insane person, or that's the perception nationally. You think this is anti-Nick Sirianni?

I do, I do. I think that a lot of people outside of Philadelphia, maybe outside the NFL, casuals, think that he doesn't do anything, and he's just there for vibes, and it was all the coordinators, it was all Kellen Moore, it was all Saquon, it was roll the footballs out, Jalen Hurts, they do that weird play, the push thing that nobody likes, and that they're trying to get banned. I'm talking about perception nationally. It's ugly, they don't like it, they don't like their style of football, but if you look at every metric, they dominated the NFL last year, and they dominated the back-to-back defending champs in the Super Bowl. Saquon had an all-time iconic season.

Hurts is on a path to the Hall of Fame now, so is their head coach, so is Saquon, so is probably half the defense, and I think people need to be talking about it more. Oh boy, okay, I have a lot to unpack there. What did I say that was wrong? No, no, nothing, I'm not. Thank you. Not, I just have something, I have some stuff to add. But Ross, we need to do futurepants.com here, because we're almost up to the break, and I know that you, as a great parent, you're trying to teach your daughter's football.

Is that going well? No, it's funny, because I literally, because I do the Eagles preseason games and so much stuff with the Eagles during the season, I took my family to the Super Bowl and realized, man, I've done a terrible job. My daughter, it was her 13th birthday, the other one's 11.

Just based on the questions they were asking me, maybe it's because I'm away every weekend, but I did not do a very good job. And I've heard this, by the way, all of my buddies, they cannot get their six-year-old or their eight-year-old or whatever, they cannot get them to sit there and watch Eagles games or any team with them. They just want to be on their iPad. They don't understand football. So I met these guys from futurepants.com.

They have solved it. If you want to have a lifelong fan as a child or niece, nephew, grandchild, watching the games with you, go to futurepants.com. They're Bengals fans that a few years ago couldn't get their kids to watch the games with them during the playoff run, and their kids said, we'll watch it next year. And they're like, no, no, no, we're the Bengals. There is no next year. We're not going to the Super Bowl or the conference championship game.

So if you've ever wanted a way for anybody between 4 to 10-year-old maybe to actually understand football and want to watch the games with you, you've got to check out futurepants.com. And I think Brockman, Andrew, makes a terrific point. The reason why the Eagles don't get their due is because neither their head coach nor their quarterback are considered elite. It's very hard to have a team be considered elite when people aren't willing to put their head coach or quarterback there. And honestly, we could have that argument. But I think Brockman cracked the code.

He cracked the code. He's the Rosetta Stone of NFL elite arguments. Just not in South Florida.

Not in South Florida. The great Ross Tucker, everybody. Ross Tucker NFL. The Ross Tucker Podcast.

The Ross Tucker Football Podcast. I appreciate you. Enjoy some time off, please. And I will see you in Philadelphia in like two months' time. Show us your beer, Ross. I will show you my beer this weekend. Can't wait. Let's enjoy these next two months because once it starts, it's like going in the submarine. I'm down under until February. So these next two months will be very good for my social media if you like food and beer. At Ross Tucker NFL.

I love food and beer. We'll see you soon, Ross. Thank you, buddy. See you, guys.

Ross Tucker's the best. I do want to wrap up that Eagles conversation because I have a lot more to say about it. Not contradict.

Not going to fight with you on this. I think there's a little context here. Number one. Number two. Did you see what Shohei Ohtani did last night?

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Call 562-314-4603 for details. Are you surprised the Giants let you walk, Saquon Barkley? I feel like during the time leading up to the negotiations before I hit for agency, I didn't really hear from them leading up to that time. So I kind of had an idea of what was going to happen. So obviously everyone got to see hard knocks.

I wasn't really surprised by that. But I look at it as a blessing. I'm in a new chapter. I'm thankful for all those guys over there in New York for the six years that I had there. I learned a lot. I feel like I won't be the player I am today or the man I am today without my time there. And now I'm in a new chapter and I'm super excited about it and blessed with this opportunity and focused on taking advantage of the opportunity I have there and off to a great start and got to be consistent. That's my whole mindset for this whole season. How consistent can I be? And that starts getting ready for week two. Not to equate myself with you at all.

We don't have the same quads just as a for instance. But I spent seven years at ESPN before going to NFL Network. And ESPN was my identity professionally. They gave me my start. They drafted me, if you will. But they let me walk.

They let me walk to another spot. And it's a chip. It's still a chip on this.

I'm 22 years now at NFL Network. It's still a chip for me. But I was still stunned.

It definitely surprised me. And I'm wondering if that leaves a chip with you. But trust me, everything's worked out for me.

I'm very happy with everything that has worked out, with the opportunity I was given to be let walk. But I'm wondering if you have a chip on that. I think that's a great question.

And no one ever presented that question to me. And I would agree. It does leave a chip on your shoulder. But I always have a chip on my shoulder no matter what. I feel like that God blessed me with a tremendous talent.

And I want to go out there and try to be one of the best roadmasters to play the game. I studied all the greats. And the saying, study the greats and become greater. So did it leave a little chip on my shoulder? Did it hurt a little bit? Yeah, of course. But I am thankful for the opportunity. And sometimes they say the grass ain't over greener.

But look at them right here. My family's happy. I'm happy. I'm smiling more. Just everything about me is trending upward.

So I'm just super blessed with the opportunity. But a chip is on my shoulder not just because of the Giants let me walk, just because there's something I want to do. I'm on a mission. And I want to accomplish it. And that starts, like I say, continue to go back to being consistent and getting ready for week 2. You said on a mission.

What is your mission, Saquon Barkley? Be consistent. Be consistent. Every day, someone challenged me to see how consistent I can be. I've always been a very constant person. But how consistent can I be? And that's my mindset. Every day, come in 1% and get better and improve. And I feel like when I have that mindset, when I look back on the end of the season, I'll be happy with how things played off. It is the Rich Eisen Show, everybody.

Thank you for being here. Andrew Siciliano sitting in for Rich. Gerald McCoy coming up next hour. The Bucks going to be any good this year? Yeah, I think so.

Anybody? They've won the division four straight years. I understand that. Would you look at either the NFC South or the AFC South and say any team from those divisions is a legitimate championship contender? No. I wouldn't either. Just throwing it out there.

Maybe last year old, the same thing as well. And I know he's a Batman guy. Is he excited for the new Superman movie filmed in Cleveland?

Soon to come out. Are you a Superman or Batman guy? I'm not a big comic book guy, but if I had to choose one, it would clearly be Batman or Superman. Okay. Not even close. I've seen all the Batman movies. Not even close.

Not even close. Yeah. Superman doesn't really... I mean, when I was a kid, the Superman movies were good. Like, you know, Superman II when he's in the diner and he breaks his hand, like his hand is bleeding and like, yeah, yeah. Like all those. But the new ones, I don't know.

All right. I want to wrap up the Eagles conversation very quickly here. I want to go back to last year. I saw the Eagles week six. They had come off that bye.

As Ross Tucker had mentioned earlier, they were two and two. They're on their bye. They lost to the Buccaneers in Tampa the week previous and everything was going wrong. Talks of a Jalen Hurts and Nick Ceriani summit during their bye week. What did they talk about?

Would either acknowledge it. What's it going to mean for the offense when they come out onto the field in Philadelphia week six against a Browns team that was not good at that point. Now the Browns had won a game. They had won week two in Jacksonville.

They're trying to pick things up. Okay, here we go. The Eagles won that game. That was a game in which Miles Garrett jumped over the line, blocked a field goal. Rodney McLeod ran it back the other way.

Right. This was like the Browns defense stood on its head that day, but the offense could do nothing. Zero, absolutely zilch, which was kind of the story of the season. The Browns were the lowest scoring team of the NFL. I walked out of that stadium and I was not the only one that day because that was the day in which Nick Ceriani yells at the fans, right? And said, this team is not any good.

Talked to some people in the Browns organization that, hey, they were three and 14. The season got away. No one's pretending they were any good. But that was like the one game where you look back at it and go like, man, like we had to win that game. Like we weren't the better, maybe we weren't the better team, but like we had them beat.

They didn't. I walked out of that game going, the Eagles are not any good. And I believed it. And then I saw them again, week 12 in person, Sunday night in LA where Saquon went for 200 and they pounded the Rams. And I went, that is not the same team I saw week six. This team is a bully. This team could win the Superbowl. So whatever happened between week six and 12, it's to the credit of Nick Ceriani, Kellen Moore, Vic Fangio, Saquon, Jalen Hurts, everybody, because that was a different team and they deserve a round of applause.

I do not think they're one of the greatest teams of all time because that memory week six sticks with me. Okay. And it's not going to go away. Do we have time for Shohei real quick? Let's do it. Joe Davis, take it away. Wow. Oh baby. How much fun is he to watch? Dodgers on the board on Otani's 23rd home run.

They sound different, not just the call, right? But if you saw Shohei Otani's 23rd home run last night, I tweeted, I think he hit it to Glendale. Somebody responded Glendale, Arizona. It has not yet come down. Brockman, I think we're going tonight. I know I'm going tonight.

You got to come tonight. Thinking about it. Yeah.

All right. Dodgers, Mets tonight. Wait, TJ, who won last night? That would be the Mets. Got it. Yeah.

So the Amazons won last night. That's the thing. Despite Shohei's greatness, the Dodgers are so littered with injuries.

They just, you know, it's been tough to overcome. Tanner Scott has been absolutely brutal. Tanner Scott, one of the reasons it fell apart last night.

In the pen. And then the Mets are just one of these teams who just find a way to win games. Francisco Lindor. It's too bad we're not talking about him more as the MVP candidate. He was almost last year. We're too busy trying to crap on Soto all the time. And there's greatness sitting right there ahead of him in the lineup. Let off the game home run again.

He's been awesome. And then he had a diving stop in the ninth inning that sent it to extras because Shohei had tied the game. Right.

Right. With that deep fly ball to left field that almost got out. It was so close. And then Lindor had a diving stop No, that was before I believe the Shohei sack fly. A diving stop to keep a ball in the infield that would have won the game for the Dodgers or the other way around.

Whatever it was, Lindor was great with the glove last night. I was falling in and out of consciousness on the couch, but I did see and hear the Shohei home run because it was, I mean, they sound different. They sound different. Yeah, they definitely do.

But we've been saying that for a long time. They sound different. To actually hear it or if you're there in person. My, my God.

My reaction when I'm watching on TV, he hit that thing. I just went, hmm. Yeah.

And I'm not a lunch angle guy. I don't care. Like to quote the guys in the bleachers in major league who gives a belief it's gone. It's too high. It's gone. It's too high.

It's too high. Like this thing last night was a rainmaker. Yeah. I mean, it was, that's why Joe Davis just started laughing. Like what? It was also a middle, middle, 80 mile an hour slider or whatever.

I mean, really don't, don't do that. After they miss on the first pitch of the AB, a strike right down Figueroa that like, Diaz starts laughing like, A, how is that not a strike? And B, thank God he didn't swing at it because it would have been beyond Glendale.

The umpire is calling that the balls and strikes for him. Maybe I paid more attention yesterday because it was against. But Diaz is back. Oh, for sure. Can we play Joe Davis one more time? Wow.

Oh, baby. How much fun is he to watch? Dodgers on the board on Otani's 23rd homerun. I do like Joe Davis. Yeah, Joe does a really good job. And Joe's call last year on the Freddie Freeman homerun. I don't, if there is such a thing as perfection from a broadcaster on a singular call. We all have our favorite calls, right? Al Michaels, all that, like Miracle on Ice.

If there is a such thing as perfection, it was the Freddie Freeman walk-off. Period. Full stop.

Gerald McCoy coming up. The United States Soccer Federation presents the US Soccer Podcast. Inside the opening 45 seconds. What a goal! With that cannon of a left foot.

All even at one. Never miss a game. What a start for the United States. Shot for distance. What a goal! Never miss a moment. Exquisite from the San Diegan. Can he finish? Yes, he can! Yeah! The US Soccer Podcast. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.