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Just tap target. Pump up the volume. This is the Rich Eisen Show. And we're actually going to get to talk baseball with Clayton. I'm going to try to throw some cheese real quick, Lola.
From the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Small team, what do you want? Cut her in. Slide her in. I don't throw a cutter in.
He wants to slide her in. Slider. Cutter. Hey, sit him down. The Rich Eisen Show with guest host WWE Superstar Seth Rollins.
Earlier on the show. Steelers defensive tackle Cam Hayward. Coming up. Bears cornerback Jalen Johnson. And now, sitting in for Rich, it's WWE Superstar Seth Rollins.
Ah I love the blue flame. Yes, we got the blue flame. Oh, my God, man. It's not a game here. Yes.
Welcome to Westeros. I am your host for the day, Seth freaking Rollins, filling in for Rich Eisen. Sitting at the, you know what? Rich's chair is quite comfy, too. Yeah, is it?
He's really got a full setup here. He's got like a butt pad. He's got like a foot pad, which is really nice for my knee.
So, yeah, it's good. We are here again, Seth Rollins filling in for Rich Eisen. I'm here with the crew, Chris Brockman, Jason Feller, TJ Jefferson, way over in the corner. I can't even see him anymore. I think he's getting further away as the show goes on.
We have an exciting third hour. I'm hyped for this third hour. We got Jalen Johnson coming on. Jalen Johnson, Chicago Bears cornerback, one of The best Cornerbacks in the game. I am very excited for that.
Also, you can call in and talk to us. Call us 844-204-Rich, live Roku Sports channel, Infinity Sports Network, SiriusXM, Odyssey at Odyssey.com. You can subscribe to Rich's YouTube channel, Rich Eisen Show. He's at Rich Eisen Show as well on Instagram and X. In the last hour, I made the breaking news announcement that my football tweets will no longer be tweets this season.
There they are. They are moving to threads. They will be threads next season.
So if you're not on threads, get on threads. Follow me on there. I don't post very much, but it'll be there. Maybe I'll like simulcast it with Instagram. Threads and Instagram are like, they're in the same.
Yeah, they're together. Yeah.
So yeah, maybe I'll screen cap. And I don't know how all of it works, really, but it is what it is. You know what? I've become old when it comes to social media. Oh, your daughter will have it all figured out very soon.
I don't know. I'm going to keep her off that as much. As possible, brother, I'm gonna keep for as long as I can. I, I, you know, we, we, oh, that's terrifying. I'm terrified of it.
My son, Cage, who's five and a half the other day, was like, When can I get a phone? I'm like, Oh, God, what are we doing? Dude, it's terrifying. Never can I get a phone.
Well, you know what? I think, like, as parents now, we're the first generation that's going to grow up knowing the dangers of social media and phones at an early age. Like, you know, like we grew up, uh, or at least I grew up, I'm 39 now, so like I grew up without screens, really, you know, and then grew up. Grew into them as an adult. Like my first cell phone, I didn't even have a cell phone until I was past 18, 19, or whatever it was.
And it was like, cool. It was exciting. And everyone's just like, and then, and then it became, oh, yeah, everybody gets a cell phone. You can get a cell phone so we can keep track of you and communicate with you. And, you know, just don't talk to strangers online.
Like, that was the. But then social media and what it's done to what you see it do to kids psychologically. Oh, dude. I can't even imagine. I can't imagine having grown up with that.
You know, going through high school, what it was like. It was already tough enough. Already tough enough at having like to compare yourself to the entire world. Like, oh, man, that's rough. That is rough.
But let's talk about sports because sports are cool.
So they're less, thus rough. Less rough.
Sometimes.
Sometimes they're kind of rough. But yeah, so what do we got? What are we cooking on for this third hour? I think we're gonna do some TJ. What do we got, buddy?
Well, you know, we're gonna do this now, man.
So, Seth, what we wanna do is want to give you this segment we just kind of came up with. I'm going to give you five athletes that aren't wrestlers from various points of time. And then we're going to kind of chop them up. And then we want you to give your WWE equivalent, your comp for that. Ooh, you know, because during, you know, NFL draft, NBA draft, baseball draft, everyone that gets drafted, they have their pro comp, the person that they say this is who he's most or she is most like.
So we want to try that with some of our favorite athletes and see what you come up with.
Okay, so before we get into this, I do have a question.
So you're going athletes past and present? Past and present.
So do I get to go WWE past and present? You get to do whatever you want to do. It is my show. Sure. You know, I had a call.
I'll tell you what's your show. I had a call with Rich the other day. You know, I said, Rich, what do we do? And like, how does it give me some advice? You know, and he said, look.
MY ONE ADVICE It's your show.
So, you talk about whatever the f you want to talk about. Exactly. That's what he said. Verbatim. I self-beliefed myself there, but you get the idea.
So, he said that verbatim. You know, he said, You talk about whatever you want to talk about. It's your show. If they don't like it, who cares?
So, that's great. I was like, oh, perfect. I can do that. That's no problem. Easy.
I can listen to myself talk all day long.
So, hopefully, the viewers can as well. But, all right.
So, I can do whatever I want. It's my show. Sure show. Correct. I'll do whatever I feel is right then.
Yes, you will. And it won't be wrong. All right.
So, this first athlete, this guy, he's been called a unicorn.
Okay. He came from a land far away to America, and he has been dominant in his sport. He's someone who some say is the best hitter in his sport, but if he. Put enough time into it, he could also be the best pitcher. That athlete is Shohei Otani, who, Seth Rollins, is your WWE equivalent.
to show a tawny Okay, all right. A unicorn. A special. A unicorn, special. One of one.
One of one. Came from a faraway land. Yeah, I mean, a faraway land could be New Jersey if you're talking about LA, you know, but yeah, a faraway. Let's keep Jersey far away. Jersey can stay far, far, far away.
Uh, all right, eventually, you know, a rainy MVP won championship. Like, he's the man, he's the man. He's the man. Oh. Oh, I see what you're doing.
Oh. She's the man. You want to talk unicorns. You want to talk one of one. You want to talk the person who can do it all.
You want to talk about a real revolutionary. You want to talk about the man. Becky Lynch.
Okay. One of one comes from a faraway land. Yes. All right.
An island in the sea.
Okay. She's an islander. He's an islander. There's a lot of similarities here. She can do it all.
She can talk. She can get on the microphone. She can run you down. She can get in the ring. She can work with the very best.
She brings the best out of everybody she works with. She's a top baby face or a top heel. Exactly. She can be a top baby face or a top heel. She's won championships at the highest level.
So she, I mean, again, maybe, maybe not what you were thinking, but I think that's a perfect storm. What's the meaning I do? I was kind of thinking at some point she was going to be one or two of these. I mean, you know, I started to run. Look, I ran through a lot in my head there.
My brain's moving quickly. You know, I had some possibilities, but when it all settled, you know, you said she was the man. I go, boom. He's the man. Shohei's the man.
Of course. Of course. What am I doing? Obvious, obvious. The man.
Becky Lynch.
I like that. I like that. All right.
This next athlete. Yeah.
Has taken his sport by storm.
Okay. Very successful. We mentioned them earlier. They've gone to his team. He's taken them into seven championships.
He's won multiple titles. He's looked at as. A once-in-a-generation talent, and it doesn't look like the end is anywhere near that athlete. Is Patrick Mahomes.
So, Seth Rollins, who is your WWE equivalent? To Patrick Mahomes.
So, ah man, that's a tough one. That's a tough one. And it's gonna hurt me. It's gonna pain me to say this. And I'll explain after I drop the bomb here.
But I believe my comparison. For Pat Mahomes and his level of greatness and his level of consistency. is going to be Roman Reigns. I Roman Reigns has main invented WrestleMania. more than anybody else.
in the history of our company. They both move with a certain fluidity. in the way they do things. There's a calculation. to every play, you know?
And I think. Pat early in his career, he was more run and gun. He was all over the place. Let's wing it, let's get crazy. That's how Roman was in the shield, right?
Really took me, Jon Moxley, to kind of hone him in, to kind of create that what he has become. But now you look at him, Pat's a different quarterback, right? Pat, he's pretty. Precise, he is quick, he doesn't do anything without intention. Even the way he goes out of bounds at the last second is a little bit of something, something.
Roman Reigns, same way. His attention to detail, his fluidity, but mostly the consistency at a very high level. That is hard to do.
So, as someone who is my rival, I'll give him the credit he deserves. He's been consistently fantastic at a very great level for a long time. And again, Pat, young man, no end in sight. I feel the same way with Roman Reigns. He's 40 years old, 41 years old now, like still got a lot of years left in the tank.
So that's my comparison. I think that's solid. I like that one. Like Mark Henry said, they got a lot left in the tank, right? A lot left in the tank, baby.
All right.
So, this next athlete, this is a guy, a person who came into their sport with little fanfare. Their career. Had some injuries early on, but they overcame them. And then it was almost like a switch was flipped.
Okay. And they got it. And they became in the running to be the greatest of all time at their position in their sport. This person has changed the way their entire sport has been played. All right.
Changed the way the game has been played. En route to multiple MVPs, multiple championships.
Okay. All right.
This player. Is Steph Curry. Changed the way the game is played. Came in. We didn't really.
have him as being the great player that he is now, but through hard work. He's made himself into one of the all-time greats.
So, Seth Rollins, who is your WWE equivalent to Steph Kirk?
So I'm actually gonna go, I'm gonna double up here.
Alright, now this is a Yeah, I'm gonna double up. I'm gonna double up. I was gonna pick one or the other, but I think they're one in the same in some capacity. And so I'm gonna put them both together. to make Steph Curry.
Okay. And we're going into the Wayback Machine a little bit. Uh not too far, but Way back to the early 90s, we talked about, you talked about a guy who came in with, you know, kind of a little fanfare. You know, a couple injuries. Nobody was expecting what they got out of him.
But at some point, his number was called and he changed the game. Changed everything about the way the game is played, the way it looks, how you draft, what your prospects look like, all of that. And the people that did that for our industry in WWE. The Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels, and Brett the Hitman, Hart. All right, these two guys came in at a time when WWE was struggling.
They needed something new, something fresh. They were not like top prospects because they are undersized. The way they worked wasn't seen as a main event style, but they hustled just like Steph did. They hustled, they hustled, they hustled, and they started to find success. Even though they weren't expected to be at the top, top.
And now you've got them both as multi-time. Hall of Famers, WrestleMania main eventers, championships. And when you look back. You look back at what they were able to accomplish during that period of time, the early 90s through the 90s, to Brett's retirement, and then Sean had a great run in the early 2000s as well. These guys changed the game forever.
They made it possible for guys like me to be looked at like a Hulk Hogan, like a Roman Reigns, like a John Cena, these huge Hulking kind of behemoths that professional wrestling was built on in the 80s and the 70s.
Now, We get to be the stars. We get to be the guys who can carry the torch. The style has completely changed from what it was during that, you know, the early 90s, the Hogan, the Warrior era, the Legion of Doom. The style has completely changed, and it's all thanks to these guys.
So, Steph Curry, you get two, baby. And I like that because I also. Two guys who, in the land of giants, weren't giants and yet became legendary, much like Steph, who was much smaller than most NBA players. Exactly. So I like that.
All right, this next person they came into their sport. Following the heels of a sibling. But when it became their time to shine, They exploded and went on to become, I don't even think it's an argument, the greatest of all time in their profession. We're talking multiple championships, we're talking a name that transcends sports now into fashion, beauty, and everything else. This Athlete is Serena Williams.
Ooh. Who would be your WWE equivalent? Ooh, to Rich. That's Serena Williams. Wow.
That might be the toughest one so far. That might be the toughest one so far. Man, that is incredible. Oh, God. You know what?
You were describing this person. You were just describing Serena, and in my head, I'm going. Who is this person? That is it. She is a special cat.
Yeah.
She is a special cat, man. Wow. Who would I pick? Wow, that is so tough. The sibling thing, I'm trying to go.
I'm trying to decide if I could find like a sibling situation. Siblings are tough. A family member situation? Family member situation. Yeah, that's always tricky.
Could be a father, could be a brother. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm trying to think. I mean, look, honestly. Shh.
The first person that comes to mind for me is a rock. Is the rock because of what because of what she's done outside of her sport and because she's transcended her sport. You know, she had her sister, Venus. The Rock had his father, you know, soulman, Rocky Johnson.
So, and his and his grandfather. Grandfather. Cousins. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cousins.
So he had a, you know, basically what I'm getting at is. Serena came in with a lot of expectation because of her Her sister's success, right? Because of how great Venus was. Venus had already set the table. You know, and to be able to come in and surpass that was going to be.
You know, people didn't even, it was hard to even put that on her. Same with The Rock, right? He had, his family had already, his family tree had already been deeply ingrained in our industry. And for him to come in to put that expectation on him would have been. Crazy.
You're going to take Everything that you're your dad and your uncles, and you know, all that, and you're gonna take that to the next level, and you're gonna make it. But he had a vision. to be bigger than Wrestling to transcend his sport. And Serena has done that. She has transcended her sport.
She has taken it to the next level. You mentioned fashion. He's done it in film and Hollywood. And I think. The greatness, what they were able to accomplish in the ring.
Um, Or on the court in Serena's situation, I think those two things come together. The expectations and being able to blow them out of the water, take the sport, make it bigger than it's ever been. I would say The Rock. Yeah, I think Serena Williams and The Rock. I like that.
Yeah, Chris literally got my ear right before you gave your answer and said The Rocks. Oh, you were going there too? Yeah, that's what I was thinking, too. Great minds. Great minds.
Great minds. Look at that synergy. We're only on day one here. Wow. This guy's the limit for tomorrow.
All right, so we got one more. This athlete. All right.
Many considered not to be. Just the greatest in their profession, but the greatest of all time. And this person. Their legacy Is not only in their sport, but outside of their sport. They mean just as much outside of the sport as they do inside of the sport.
All right, this person floated like a butterfly. It sting like a bee and to many like me, Consider him the absolute greatest. The athlete is the great Muhammad Ali.
So, Seth Rollins. Who is your WWE comp to Muhammad Ali? Dude. Dude. Come on now.
That's that one's so hard. I said Serena was hard. This is the hardest one. That's why I saved it for Lex. And I'll tell you why.
Because the cultural impact that he has had. is incomparable. It's incomparable. There's not a person in sports. Who's ever had In my opinion, the cultural impact that Ali had, and I wasn't even alive during that period of time.
You know what I'm saying? Like, I only get it from second-hand information. reading documentaries, whatever it may be. what he was able to accomplish. What was taken away from him, what he was able to come back to, what he was able to stand for personally and politically.
Oh man, I oof. Yeah, this one's tough. I honestly don't. I can't. I don't think I can do it.
I don't think you stumped me. I don't think anybody's worthy. And I don't mean that in a negative way towards my industry. I just don't think anybody's worthy. Like, because of what he was able to do as a human being, as a person, like.
You know, he really was able to step outside of his sport in a way that nobody's ever done, I think. And, uh, I mean, the close the clo look, I'll get the closest I would say. It's maybe John Cena. And I'll tell you why is because make-a-wish stuff. Yes, yes, yes, yes.
I think the impact that John has had on individuals. Around the world via his Make a Wish campaign and the diligence that he put into making a difference in people's lives in that way. He prioritized that over anything. And I think that, you know. To me, that is sort of not the same, but it's sort of in the vein of what Ali did, prioritizing his personal opinions and his politics and stuff over his sports.
And I feel like John is sort of that way.
So, again, I think Ali stands alone. Um, John would tell me not to compare him in that way, but I mean, he if we're going that direction, I think he's the only one, man. I there's nobody out there like Ali. And Michael Cole calls him the greatest.
So Greatest of all time. Greatest of all time. That was great. Good job. That was fantastic, man.
That was fantastic. Great job by you. Woo! Let's talk O'Reilly Auto Parts, people. They're in the business of keeping your car on the road.
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So you know we love talking movies around here. You know we love talking comedy around here. We also love talking about classics around here.
So, you know what I'm all about. That said, All of that said, you know. You know how I must have felt when I was sitting in the movie theater like I was the other day watching the previews, and up came a preview. for the naked gun. with Liam Neeson as Frank Greben junior.
That Preview had me at hello. I loved police squad back in the day. I loved the naked gun back in the day. And here comes the naked gun once again with yes, Liam Neeson as Frank Drebbin Jr. Come on now.
Son of the celebrated police squad, Lieutenant Frank Drebbin from the original movie. Paul Walter Hauser's in this movie. Also, Pamela Anderson. Guess who also makes an appearance? WWE superstar.
Cody Rhodes, and the producer of the movie is Seth McFarlane, the creator of The Family Guy. Come on now. This is going to be so much fun. I'm excited to see The Naked Gun in theaters on August 1st.
So. What do you do on August 1st? Of course, you're going to a theater near you and you're seeing the naked gun. I might even be there. What was that?
Memorial-like. I think you're trying to make me cry on your show. No, I'm not trying to do that. I'm just messing with you. I.
I was crying, I know I was. For days, quite frankly. It was hard. What was that day like for you? It was amazing, you know, and it was surreal.
I mean, there was so much going on. I saw people coming in from different countries. Didn't even have a seat in the arena just to stand outside of it. And it just was like, wow, you know, how many people have been touched by my father? I mean, there's so much, there's nothing I can say that hasn't already been said, but even for me, that was just like a wow factor.
My children, for the first time, really came to understand how famous their grandfather actually was. No kidding. Yeah, because I remember the moment, you know, like, I shouldn't say I remember the moment, but I remember that I, you know, you know, he's famous, but then when you really find out, like, wow, all of these people came here for him.
So, but I mean, there was just so much going on, but you know, we've had to grieve, you know, after all of that kind of settled down as a family. But, you know, we feel like the whole world was grieving with us.
So, and my dad will be missed, of course. Do you remember that time for you when you first realized, oh my gosh, my dad is ruled? Yeah.
Well, when I was When I was old enough to start watching documentaries when he could talk and just seeing what he fought for and what he stood up for and just understanding what he put on the line, you know, and the sacrifices that he made, that's when I really started to respect him more. And it's amazing because he just was a person who tried to help everybody. Did what he knew was right and stood up for what he believed in. And I think that at the end of the day, that's what really made the difference. Yeah, he was a great fighter, but it's who he was outside of the ring and why people love him so much.
Right, and it's so difficult to do that though. It's easy to say about who you are and what you believe in and standing up for it all the time. But you find it's very difficult to do that in daily life or certainly athletes to do that in this day. And I see a lot. I see people do it.
I try to surround myself with people who do do it on a smaller level, of course, but just in your day-to-day life, you know, just taking it day by day and just having integrity and doing what's right. I mean, there's not going to be a lot of Muhammad Ali's. There's not supposed to be. And he was especially was chosen to be who he was and to do what he did for the world. We are back here on the Rich Eisen Show.
Seth Rollins filling in. Admirably, I would say. Oh, don't sell yourself. Excellently filling in. Excellently.
Okay. All right.
All right.
I wouldn't go that far. You know, I like to toot my own horn a little bit, but not that much. You know? I don't think that I am crap in the bed, as they say.
Well, we wouldn't allow that to happen anyway. Yeah.
Well, no, you guys are carrying me. No doubt. We are definitely fighting. I am flying on your wings. I am riding on your coattails.
No question about it. I wouldn't say that. Hosk in the ear. He's getting me through this whole thing. I mispronounced Hyundai earlier.
It's all, it's just, you know, we're getting it together, but we're doing well. I think we're doing all right. We're back here. Yeah.
Seth Rollins filling in Roku Sports channel for Rich Eisen here, Infinity Sports Network, SiriusXM Channel 375. You can stream for free on the Odyssey app or odyssey.com. You can follow me. On social media. Me at WWE Rollins.
I'm on X. I'm on. Threads, where I'll be moving my I hate I love tweets or posts this year. And on Instagram, those are my things. I don't have TikTok, I can't do TikTok, man.
Well, you're an adult. I'm a grown person. Yeah, yeah. You're a grown person. I can't do it.
I can't do it. You know, it was funny. My wife, the WWE, when TikTok blew up a couple of years ago or whatever, they were like, oh, we got to get on TikTok, everybody on TikTok. I'm like, I'm not getting on TikTok. I'm not doing TikTok.
I can't stand it. I don't get it. I don't want to know anything about it. But my wife got one to try to use it for a minute. Didn't work.
She didn't take a, I think she did like one or two videos. But yeah, so you can find me on social. You can find Rich too at Rich Eisen Show. But I want to get as much time as I can with our next guest.
So let's bring him in live from Las Vegas, Nevada. The one, the only number one, in my opinion, the best lockdown cornerback in the NFL from the Chicago Bears, the future Super Bowl champions. We got a possible defensive player of the year right here in front of us, guys. Ladies and gentlemen, Jalen freaking Johnson. There you go.
Yes. Yes. Now, I don't know if you can tell, Jalen, by my intro. I am very excited to have you on this show. I am hyped.
I am a Bears fan through and through. You just signed an extension with the Bears. You are going to be here for a minute. I am hyped. About that.
Hyped for you that you got paid. Where are you at? What are you doing? How are you feeling in the offseason, man? Yeah, no, I'm feeling good.
I mean, I'm out in Vegas. It's my first full off season out here in Vegas. Bought a house out here, moved my family out here.
So. It's going really good. I'm just looking forward to it. And then, too, just really just seeing a lot of the other corners getting paid. I almost feel like.
We might have another discussion coming up here soon. The market is moving. The market is moving. So, I mean, as long as I just keep being myself, keep playing at a high level, definitely going to have to be some more conversations coming up soon to really keep it long term.
So, we'll, I'm looking forward to that. Um, but I mean, definitely happy for what's going on right now in the NFL and the corner world.
So, I mean, I'm looking forward to. Just this season, continue to prove myself, and that's what it's about, really, just putting good tape out there.
So, I mean, this whole offseason has been geared towards that.
So let's talk about the offseason in Chicago. It has been a whirlwind, right? You guys lost your head coach in the middle of the season last year, which Chicago never does. Offensive coordinators getting promoted. You know, Thomas Brown was in there for a little while, obviously not retained this year.
And now it's a whole new system. Ben Johnson's in there, and you guys got a new D coordinator.
So, Dennis Allen, what are your expectations on the defensive side of the ball going into this season? What are you feeling? What are you thinking? It's hard to put, I would say, numbers on it and anything that you could really track. But I think us is really being aggressive.
I feel like there's a certain tone to be said on the defensive side of the ball, physically, mentally, schematically, just with everything that we're doing, keeping teams guessing. And then really just going out there and winning one-on-ones. I feel like that's what the NFL is about. You get your opportunities to win one-on-one, whether it's receiver DBs, whether it's D-line and O-line, linebackers, running backs, everybody has the opportunities to go and win their one-on-one.
So I feel like we. Do that more than the offense. I think it'll be a really good season for us. And then we just got to continue to attack, keep teams. uncomfortable and not really know what we're going to do.
And then even when they do know, we got to win and we got to step up.
So I mean, just really just being aggressive and then executing.
So, one-on-ones, you, you know, you mention that, and I, and I immediately go, like, ooh, that's fun, right? Because you got to get, when you get a guy with a name. That comes into Chicago or you go into their house, like, do you get. Extra height to match up against one of those elite wide receivers. Do you get up extra for that?
Is it like a special challenge for you? Yeah, for sure. It's crazy because like I've been doing it A lot of guys say really their whole life, but for me, it's like I've been doing it for a long time. I know when I play like travel football or travel basketball. I would always look up like the guys who were ranked.
And I know. At that time, it was a guy, I would say by the name of Damon Hart. He was really good. I mean, he was like the number one kid in the country of like. Fifth grade, sixth grade, things like that.
So when we had times to play against that team, he was like, Nah, I want to prove why I'm... As good as him, or why I can hang with a guy like that.
So, I mean, I would take it real, really, really, really serious as far as trying to guard those guys, lock those guys down, take them completely out the game. That was something I've really been doing in basketball, football, really my whole life.
So, I mean, now when I get the Justin Jeffersons, I get the Jamar Chasers, I get. The AJ Browns, I get all of those guys. It's one of those things where it's like, I've been doing this legit my whole life since I've been competing in sports, of competing against the best people. I mean, my dad always put me in those environments. My brother always challenged me in that way to.
Go and prove myself to myself first, but also to everybody else that I am one of those guys.
So, I mean, This season is just another example, another opportunity for me to continue to do what I've always done my whole life, and that's to go take out number one guys. That is so you have been An animal since you were like 10 years old. Is that what you were telling me? Since you were like in fifth grade, you've just been wanting to take dudes out, the top guys. You're looking at the rankings at that age.
I remember playing like basketball and baseball. I didn't know none of that, man. I was just out there trying to have fun. Yeah, no, it was my dad's fault. He had this saying that I still like.
He likes to say he may look like Tarzan would play like James, but you gotta go. You gotta really go on there. Of course, you see those kids that are man-child, that have veins poking out all their arms and muscles, and it's like. You can't just look at him all day, and he's stronger, he's this, he's that. It's like, no, you got to go out there and really and really test yourself against them and really see how good they are.
So it's like, there's guys where, of course, you definitely have respect for them. You definitely know that they. Play at a high level, but you can't go into it thinking about that. You gotta go into it thinking, nah, I gotta really see if he's like that and make him really. earn that between me and him.
A lot of times too, you'll see the film is all dangerous killing this dude, killing that dude, but it's like that dude's not me.
So I think for me, that's just kind of how I look at it. Every opportunity I get to go in there and really test him and test myself. Do you have one? Do you have like your guy? Like, who's your favorite guy to match up against right now in the NFL?
Like, who's your toughest challenge? You know, who's your rival? I mean, naturally, it would be Justin Jefferson and Lee, things like that. But I would say. Honestly AJ Brown, I've had some good battles with him.
I love the one we had. I think it was in 2022.
So I was probably say AJ Devontae always. Even Calvin Ridley, I love Bonnie as him. Mike Evans is a dog. AJ Brown is again a dog. I faced Jamar and he's a rookie, so I'm looking forward to that again this year.
But really, I mean, I like all the top guys. I mean, I can list them, really list them all. I feel like I face all of them.
So I definitely like what they bring to the game. It's not too many receivers. I can say, oh, plays like him, and he does it like this guy, but everybody's kind of different, and everybody's a dog in their own way, and it's very, very productive.
So, I got to ask you this. You, my opinion, and I, you know, I gave you a hefty intro right out of the gate, and I believe all of it. I believe everything that comes out of my mouth when I talk to you. I think you are one of the most underappreciated dudes, not just in your position, but in the entire NFL. I firmly believe that.
Do you Feel that way? And if so, do you feel like there's a chip on your shoulder that allows you? To Work that d just go that little extra bit to take you to the next level. Yeah, 100%. And it's crazy because for me, I didn't grow up in a big city.
I grew up in Fresno, California. People call it the orn pit of California and things like that. For me, it's like always having to prove myself. Even like I said, growing up, always having to prove myself being from a small city, going to Utah, being from a smaller school, having to prove myself in college, coming to the Bears, not being a winning team. Organizations looked at as the bad news: Bears are losing, coaches are firing.
I mean, drama, quarterbacks. on any which thing you can think of, I feel like I've Been in it with the Chicago Bears.
So I think for me, Just always proving myself despite my circumstances, despite where I'm at. and what's going on around me. But I definitely feel like it's one of those things where I'm used to it. I embrace it. I can't say I enjoy it, but I don't enjoy being disrespected in that way because I know I'm a high-level player and I'm the top guy in my position and in this league, in all positions.
So I think for me, it's just continuing to go out there and compete again. I can only control what I can control. And I've been doing that for. five years going on six now so again my my focus is on just dominating Keeping what people have to say about me, keeping what people are saying about the Bears and things like that in mind and my training and my preparation. All of what I'm doing is just really gearing up to change that narrative for myself and for Chicago.
Yeah.
So, speaking of narrative changing, we are entering a new era in Chicago, which I want to ask about. But what I'm kind of curious about first is. What you know, there was a lot of um chaos uh last season, and like. What is that like to have to play through that week after week? Obviously, you're getting a ton of crap from the media.
You guys were on hard knocks as well going into the season. You had a new quarterback, Caleb. There's a lot of expectation. And then the chaos during the middle of the season. What is that like to have to deal with that?
What is that like internally? And how do you guys as a team kind of handle that chaos? It definitely tests your will as a man. I would say mentally, physically, emotionally. I mean, of course, coming in on hard knocks.
doing good, having good camp. good um off or preseason games Caleb, the hype, everything's good. We're on the high. We're going into the first game. Come back when we're good.
Lose against Houston, all right. Lose against Indiana.
Okay, what do we have Indianapolis? What are we going to do? We end up turning around and gets a 4-2. And then the Hail Mary is like.
Okay, it's not a big deal, but okay, let's push through. And we never really had that, and not even had the opportunity. came together to push through. And it went downhill for us really quick. And I feel like just.
Top to bottom, we weren't what and who we needed to be. And I think really just opportunities like that. Really let you know who you are as a man individually and then who you are as a team. I don't feel like. I myself showed up the best way I should have and could have.
Looking back at it, clearly, at the team, we didn't.
So I think it just really makes you look in the mirror, it makes you have to really. find yourself in that way in that midst of adversity. But I mean, for us, I think. It really just makes you stronger when you can go through a season like that, the ups and downs, like that, the firings, the transition that we're going into now, this offseason coming into the season, it definitely tests you. But again, I know for me, I'm looking forward to standing up on that and changing some things around.
And then I know, Ben. Dennis Allen, I mean, Ryan Posh has got to extend it, so he'll be around in aiding this process of changing things. For everybody involved, I know it's really just about changing and then changing as quick as possible.
Well, I am optimistic personally. I'm very excited. And one of the things that I have been very excited about is Caleb Williams. I think Caleb is fantastic. I think he had a really good rookie year.
I'd be curious to know how you felt about Caleb bringing him in. One, you know, I was a Justin Fields guy, too. I love Justin. I thought he was great. is what it is.
I love Caleb. I think he's going to be a guy. Like I said, I think he had a great rookie year. I was curious to see if you had any thoughts on his development from his first year to his second year, if you guys stayed in touch in the offseason or if you've seen anything in the development or what you might have expectation-wise going into the second year for him and the offense. Yeah, no, it's a star.
I know. I mean, I was ecstatic. I mean, Caleb High is my trophy won or best quarterback, best player coming out of. draft to me was a no-brainer.
So I mean just really have that excitement. For him to come in and be the start of this change that we've all been talking about is definitely something that you can be optimistic about and should be optimistic about. And then, really, I mean, for me, I couldn't say, tell you with any certainty and truth that I see this big jump because I wasn't. physically present too much i'm not In the offseason, but I definitely know that the patterns of things that are going on from when I talk to people in the building, when I was in the building. Um I definitely see the difference in him being led by Been in that way of definitely changing the standard, changing the way of doing things, changing the expectation of changing the way we look at the minute details of things is definitely something I was able to see and am able to see.
But I'll definitely know when we're all out there going. What Caleb One looks like from year one and what Caleb looks like this year. You guys are close too. Training camp right around the corner, man. You hyped?
Yeah, I mean, for me, the height goes down more and more as I get higher and higher in age.
So for me, it's just a part of it going out there, just getting my body where it needs to go to, and just really being prepared for week one. I appreciate that. But, boys, you got any thoughts, any questions for Jalen out here? Yeah, let's see. What do you what you got?
What we got cooking, man? Man, NFL, can you believe How fast the offseason goes, Jaywen, because it seems like it was just Super Bowl, it was just combine, it was just the draft, and now, bam, training camp next week. Like, how has your offseason mindset kind of changed as you have progressed in your career throughout in the league? I think for me, it's just kind of breaking it down and categorizing it. Of course, when.
We haven't had a push into the too far into January.
So, I mean, for me, once I hit January, February, I'm really off. I would say completely, if anything, going to PT, doing some yoga here and there, Pope Bodies, things like that. But I don't really get back going. I would say really until March, just trying to spend as much family time as I can. And then just get my body back accustomed to moving around training again in March, April.
And then that May is normally that time where you come in for a week or two or so. OTA is the offseason program and minicamp in that first week of June. But really, once you hit the off-season program, it goes by quick because. from that January to April, you're kind of. Cruising, transitioning, resting, kind of getting your body back.
But once you finally start hitting that off-season program, things kind of just start chipping away, chipping away. And then after mini camp, Might want to take a vacation if you can or so, and then from there, you got really five to six weeks of. push, push, push, build yourself up as hot as hard as you can. And then really from there to now i'm in this phase of transitioning and sending cards back Packing up the house and things like that, and now transitioning back to Chicago.
So, I mean, really. It's one of the things where you just try to keep your mind, right? Not really rush and look into it, try not to watch a film where it's like. I'm in the offseason at home watching film. It's like, no, I really have to.
Departmentalize and okay, no, there's not time for wall. This is time for family and that way.
So now, when I do come back and fully commit to the game, it's not like I feel drained and I've been doing it the whole year and I don't ever get a break. But when I get back to it, I'm excited to do it. I'm ready to do it. And I have the energy and the willpower to do it. Love that.
Well, my man, thank you so much for joining us. I really appreciate it. Please enjoy the rest of that break before training camp starts in earnest here soon. Enjoy sweltering hot Las Vegas. And dude, I hope to run into you during the season when you guys are undefeated and headed into the Super Bowl.
Yeah, I'll see you in the show. Take it easy, man. Thank you very much. Have a good day. Thanks, Joe.
Be good, man. That's your guy. Whoa, baby. Let's go. I'm ready.
I'm ready to go. That got me fired up. That got me fired up. I'm ready to go. I'm ready to go for the season.
I'm ready to go for the last stretch and the last hour of the show.
So let's take a little break and come back and finish it up strong, boys. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. You chose to hit play on this podcast today. Smart Choice. Progressive loves to help people make smart choices.
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How are you, George? I'm great. Uh What do you have? I was sitting in your green room and I was back to for like longer than five minutes and so I started exploring and I found a closet and I found a pillow with your face on it. I'm gonna probably take this home with you.
So you know that. Please do, get it out of here. This is gonna be...
Now how do you explain that to your wife? Oh, what do you mean? She's gonna say it looks beautiful. Sit her right on my couch. Hey, sweet, will you please put Rich away?
And I'll say, no. No, he's here with me tonight. While we watch a movie, did Brock Purdy get jacked up? Brock, yeah, dude, he's always jacked up. He's like it.
No, you just you didn't see it because you're like, oh, look at this young, nice, yeah, nice guy backpack like he's going to homak. Yeah, that's what you see, but then, like, now that he's, you know, he's into year, was he? He's into year three now. Yeah.
You know, he's played a lot of big football games, played at a really high level, runner up to MVP. See, now you're noticing the physical attributes. There it is. You quad. There it is.
Look at those quads. Damn. Yeah, I know. Thank you. He's a monster.
Give me a good story about him that where he's. Where maybe the first time you're like, all right, I see this, I got it, I understand it. Brock's first day, I hung an aisle football shirt in his locker, which was phenomenal. And he instantly takes it out because he's like two lockers down from me. He goes, you put this in here?
Just get this get out of my locker, and I'm just like, I'm gonna like you. I absolutely know that already. Just like tosses it on the ground. I was like, Respect, I love that. That's what he said to you.
Yeah, get out of my locker. I was like, Phenomenal, I absolutely love it. That was the first joint, and I was like, Hey, Brock, welcome to Niners. Like, he gets to his locker, and that was you put this in order to get the out of my locker. What exactly did you put in there?
An Iowa Hawkeye football shirt because he went to Iowa State, yeah, phenomenal. That was when I first was like, All right, Brock's gonna be a solid dude. Like, I'm really excited for that. Um, then you go from The Mexico City game where we played in, it was at 2022, and he had like three snaps in the first snap, he turned the wrong way on a handoff. Which was phenomenal.
And I was like, oh, that's kind of funny. That happens to guys sometimes. And then two weeks later, he's coming in against the Miami Dolphins after our second quarterback went down and delivering third down and longs to me, Juice. I you, Debo, and just stepping up in the huddle, stepping up in the pocket, getting hit and cover zero looks, and just delivering the football. And you're just kind of like, Oh, wow.
Like this, he can play. Like, you're not just going to step into a football game and just deliver like that. And then it's like, okay, well, is he going to do it again? And then his first start of his career, I'm pretty sure, was against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady in San Francisco. Yeah.
That's pretty cool. Like, hey, what a storyline. No, Brady's coming back to the Bay. I'm pretty sure last time that he was in the Bay, they beat the Niners like 30-something to nothing, something like that.
So it's like, oh, this is going to be a big game. And Brock comes out there and just plays lights out. Um And then, like, it just kept going, kept stacking, and we didn't lose the game. And it's just like, all right, until like the NSC Championship game, he gets hurt. We're like, wow, okay.
Well, then the next question is: hey, what's going to happen to Brock? You know, he's recovering from a UCL injury. Like, how's he going to respond to that? Doesn't throw hardly throws a little bit throughout the summer and stuff like that. He has a limit during training camp.
And he comes out first game of season against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Throws a couple touchdowns, throws her a bunch of yards, and you're like, nah, he's going to be just fine. And really, like, you just notice it every single day. Like, he's a consistent kid. He's not, I mean, he's not really a kid. He's consistent at his job.
Every single day he shows up. Um He just has like this intensity to him that like I don't make people see. Very often unless you're in the building with him, like he just wants to be really good. We are back here on the Rich Eisen Show. There is nothing in this mug, but I just wanted to, you know, I thought it was.
Got to change it up a little bit. A little bit. Can't come back the same every single time. Got to change it up. We got to get a Seth Rollins mug, man.
All I'm saying is I think the Seth Rollins mugs might sell a little better than the Rich Eisen mugs. Maybe not. Maybe it's a hot seller. You know, maybe we make cash money with that. But who knows?
Either way, we are here. We are on the Rich Eisen Show. I'm not Rich Eisen for the very last time. I'm going to stop saying that. I'm just going to say we're on the Seth Rollins show.
Yeah, why not? That's it. We're back on the Seth Rollins show. That's what it is. We're over.
We're on Roku. That's it. We're on Roku. We're on Sirius. We're all over the place.
And we're finishing up here soon. It's been a hell of a first three hours. And I think we should. I think we should go to the phone lines. Let's finish strong.
Let's finish strong. Let's finish strong. Let's go to line six, Jay Felly, Ivana and Philly. How's it going? Hi.
How are you? I'm good. Hey. Hey, hey. Hey, what you got?
What you got for us? First of all, I want to say that I met you last year. And there was a reworld and I didn't get a chance. to tell you this. But I admire you a lot.
And I'm very sorry about your injury. I hope you feel. Property Um I have two questions for you, actually. What did you think of Braunbreaker's performance? And why are you shooting like a style?
For the beds. and the Eagles for the season. Who? That's pretty good. Braun is a stud.
For you out there in the world that don't know, Braun Breaker is the son of legendary. Hall of Famer Rick Steiner. Dogface Gremlin. Braun is a stud. He is a blue chipper.
He is a special cat. You know, you got to remind yourself. I have to remind myself all the time, he's still very. Inexperienced, very green. He doesn't come off that way.
He's got a presence about him. He's a special athlete in the ring. You don't get a combination of size and speed. That often. You know, we mentioned some comps earlier, and I would be like TJ Watt would be my comp for him.
Just the speed is insane. But he can also just. Barrel through you. He's special, really, really good. And as for breakouts, man.
You know who's going to have, look, I'm not familiar enough with the Eagles roster to give you a full one, so I apologize on that. But for the Bears, I think Roma Dunze is going to have just a huge year. He's not going to be option three anymore. He's going to be right in there. It's him and DJ Moore.
And I think that's going to be a huge year with the Ben Johnson offense.
So I'm really looking forward to that. I I think the Bears could have You could have multiple breakouts. I think Loveland's going to have a big year as well. Tied in position, just because I know that Johnson likes to do that.
So I'm thinking the whole team's breaking out, baby. Everybody's going to do it. Number one in your power rankings. Roll Bears. Number one in the Power Rankings.
Number one in my heart, just like this show. Love you guys. Thank you so much. We'll see you tomorrow. Uh Jim Rome takes on sports.
Why? Because you're not playing me. With rapid fire takes. And a lot to get to, and I'm not sure you're going to like all of it. Honestly, I don't even care if you like all of it or not.
I have a job to do. Scorching debates. On any given week, you have lots to beef about. Take advantage of it. Get up in here.
He's the Spitfire of Sports Smack. Which is not my fault. We will get to all of that. The Jim Rome Show podcast. Get up in here and we'll beef later on.
What's your beef? Follow and listen on your favorite platform. You've been warned. Yeah.
