Listen, the way you sleep is unique to you, and that's why having a sleep number smart bed is so crucial. Cause you can adapt to your changing needs for just right. Can't wait to nestle into bed, luxurious comfort.
So whether your needs are softer or firmer, cooler or warmer, you are never stuck. You can adjust your comfort whenever you like. And it gives you your best night's sleep night after night, year after year. I love my smart bed. My sleep number setting is 60.
My wife's is 70. Just 10 numbers apart, but it means the world of difference because I can change my side of the bed to however firm or soft I want. And the same thing. For Suze.
So, why choose a sleep number smart bed? Again, so you can sleep just the way you like. The only bed that lets you make each side firmer or softer whenever you like your sleep number setting. Get early access to Sleep Number's biggest sale of the year. 25% off the I-8 bed, the most popular, plus free home delivery, limited time, exclusively at a Sleep Number store near you.
SleepNumber, official sleep and wellness partner of the NFL. See store or sleepnumber.com for details. Are you feeling more fulfilled now that you're back to work? On August 15th. No.
I need a vacation. See the movie that critics are saying is an awesome film. Look at that. Crowd-pleasing, fist-pumping. All-out brawl of a film.
You're right about that. They're coming after a family. Go fix this. Omar. Nobody 2, Rated R, holding in theaters August 15th.
This is The Rich Eisen Show. Is Russell Wilson a Hall of Famer? As he steps on the field to start week one for the New York Giants. The Rich Eisen Show. Russell Wilson, not a Hall of Famer.
From the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. PJ Jefferson, would you care to chime in on this subject matter as well? No. Today's guests. Prime Video NFL analyst Andrew Whitworth.
Former NFL general manager Mike Mayock. Bear senior writer for the athletic Kevin Fishbane. And now. It's your Rich Eisen.
Well, hey everybody, welcome to this edition of the Rich Eisen Show. Lots going on. Certainly in the football world, sports world, the world of this program. And Places where I work. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial.
We'll talk about it all with you on this three-hour program. Andrew Whitworth is about to join us. He was at the Rams Cowboys joint practice yesterday. That is the epicenter right now of the NFL preseason world. We'll talk with him.
Mike Mayock, longtime general manager on this program. And we'll chat with him in hour number two. Kevin Fishbane, I wanted to speak to the man who covers the. Chicago Bears to see if there's any there there. What's going on with Caleb Williams?
uh in that camp. Um there's some uh word coming out of uh Cleveland. That Shador Sanders is going to start a preseason game and play most of it.
So we'll talk about that on this program. And it is a Wednesday.
So it's time for a power ranking. Oh, and not just in actual straight-up power rankings. It's still too early, but I'm going to give you one that's later on a centerpiece, if you will, on this program. Good to see you over there, Christopher Brockman. How are you?
What's up, man? How are you doing? I'm well. Good to see you over there, Jason Feller. What's up, Jay Felling?
How are you? Good to see you. Good to see you. And the man who leads the league in requesting or needing roadside service, TJ Jefferson, is here on the program. Disgusting.
When you have a car that's as old as you are, I'm just wondering: like, the number of faulty batteries this man has. Is your car run by a triple-A, a nine-volt? What is it? What do we got over there? You don't really know what really happened.
No, no, I don't. I know. I know. I'm just glad you're here. There it is.
No, that's TJ for a new car finally. Don't scare me like that, Jay. Here's the deal: get off my car right now and just realize. The thin mc box is still in the. Get out of my dreams and into my car.
You almost went full billy ocean on us. You never really want to go full of billy ocean.
Okay, very good. I'd start to sing, but I can't do that. No, you may not. No more singing. You may not.
It's going to be tough. Hey, listen. I'm very musical. Listen, we had Albert Breer on this program yesterday. Breer?
A great tan. He's in Arizona for training campaign. Has he changed his avatar yet?
Well, all he did is just complain on a text of me and money manager that stars Don about how it's 117 degrees in Glendale, Arizona. And Don's response is like, you're in the desert. It's August. What's your problem? At any rate, listen.
The reason why I bring it up is Breer was here and he's just like, when he went to Oxnard, he goes, for the first time, I'm actually believing. That the Micah Parsons contract standoff. and the Cowboys' approach to it. Might have Have something to do. With them Would want more buzz for the team.
And as he said, being the A-block of first take. Yeah. And again, he's referring to the highly popular Stephen A. Smith program on On ESPN, and the A block is a TV term for the first item up for rich. For instance, this is the A block of the Rich Isaac Show.
So, if that is in fact the intention of Jerry Jones. Go on, give him what he wants. Because we're talking about it. Because he spoke again. And every single time he speaks, it adds just a new layer to.
The frustration, well, frustration or the insanity of it, and you know, very dumb. And Because when he talks The grounds shift, you're trying to figure out. Why he's taking the approach he's taking. And why they keep doing this with their star players by making them wait and sit out up till the very end or hold in or have a training camp that's other than things other than Just focusing on the task at hand. You know, while you're going through your practices, you look over to the side and you see.
Number 11. Standing there. And or last year. You're Going through your your practices and you're looking around for number 88 and he's not there. Or last year.
You know, you're going through everything and number four. The leader of the team is being made to... Wait until the last possible day. And why do you want to go through all that unless you're comfortable doing it? And living in your comfort level.
you know Just shortly before we went on the air, if you wouldn't mind popping up the uh Quote board. We'll get to that first, yeah. Dak Prescott. According to Yahoo Sports, he knows what this all means because he said. To Jory Epstein of Yahoo Sports, when Micah Parsons announced his trade request, Dak texted Micah, quote unquote, F-Man.
And Dak says it wasn't an F you, Micah. or F them, it's more of an F. Because he knows, as he said, this is frustrating for everybody involved. He understands what this means. And right now We're we're We get deeper into the F part of it.
And it the guy who appears to be comfortable with all this is is the guy who could basically Change it all with one phone call. And Jerry Jones. Bless him. Talks to the media, likes talking to the media, enjoys, I think, the endeavor until. you know, the questions begin to get repetitive.
But it's really on it's really his Making this bed, and the fact that he's eager to lie back into it with the cameras all around him. And then it's left up to us and the Cowboys fans to interpret what he means. And does it mean A standoff with no answer to it.
So Here's the two sound bites. We'll play them one at a time. That everybody's talking about here on this Wednesday before the full preseason. Week number one of the 225 NFL season. Have you talked to him since the trade request?
I have not. No. Has your people started any contract talks with his agent? Excuse me. Excuse me.
Has your negotiator started contract talks with his agent? No. No. Are you hopeful anything could change with this situation this week? Um Again, this situation being With Micah in the contract?
With Micah. Listen, that's part of what we do. We have continual contract negotiations going on. I know you have Mike at the front of mind, but we're continually working on contracts, and all clubs are. And so I don't necessarily put a big red letter beside any time that we've completed contract negotiations, but I'm appreciative when we do.
But it's really business as usual.
Now, business as usual, he's basically saying this is what we do with all contracts. or business as usual. This is what we do with the contracts with our big players. Most of the time. I mean, it doesn't really give you much confidence that we're getting closer to midnight.
Because that's the question. When does midnight strike? One would one would think September 3rd, Wednesday, September 3rd is midnight. day before the the game in Philadelphia. Or the day you get on a plane.
And Micah makes the choice of I'm not even getting on a plane. Don't forget, Dak got on a plane to Cleveland. No, he might have gotten on the plane because he got a call from his agent saying we're close. But right now, he's not even talking to Micah, nor is anybody from his team talking to his. representative.
The Cowboys feel it's on Micah. to actually show up. In uniform on opening night, if nothing gets done, because he is under contract. It's not like he's a free agent. And I think you can hear that in Jerry Jones' answer when asked about urgency.
When is it midnight, sir? When does it become urgent? I mean clearly you want him on the field against Philadelphia. When does it become urgent that we need to get some something resolved one way or another that he's on the field against Philadelphia? Again, your definition of urgent is not necessarily, I don't believe you gave a definition of urgent.
Okay, so I stay urgent.
Okay, any confidence that he will be on the field against Philadelphia? Again, no. Absolutely not. That has to, a big part of that is his decision. How would I know that?
I'm just saying. No, but I'm urgent.
Well, that's one would think of the polar opposite of don't lose any sleep over it. That was the last time we heard from him on the subject matter as he told folks like yourself, don't lose any sleep over it. And the way I interpreted that is like, don't lose any sleep over it. This thing's going to get handled at some point. And we'll sign them.
We know it. And that's the end of that. You know, but now he's like, it seems as if the approach is. What do I need to talk to him for? He's under contract.
Why do we need to reach out to the agent? We already discussed some sort of a a framework of a deal back in in March that he took off the table. Wait a minute. Um Why why is it central You know, when you ask me of a sense of urgency about obviously you want him on the field in Philadelphia. No, of course I want him on the field in Philadelphia, but he's under contract, so it's really up to him whether he wants to play.
That's the approach he's clearly taking right now.
Now, again. I'm not Jerry Jones. I'm not the owner of the Dallas Cowboys. I don't have a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I'm not.
Um On Landman, I don't have all of Jerry's decades of Hall of Fame acumen, right? I would handle it completely differently. I would 1 million percent start the process of calling the agent and saying, let's end this. I want him. We all know he's not playing for the number.
I don't want to go through this anymore.
So let's get to it. And I'd want to do it before Aiden Hutchinson sets a market that I that. That I don't wanna I don't wanna Surpassed. I don't want the Lions to beat me here, and I don't want the Bengals to suddenly wake up and go, oh, okay, we'll pay Hendrickson. A certain amount of money.
I'd like to get it done. That's what I would want to do. I'd want to remove all this stuff, give Brian Schottenheimer his best player on defense, if not the entire team, right out there on the field. But then again, there's always something going on here. In the NFL, where there's an iceberg and we only see the tip, and all we keep hearing about.
In this media business, and you know, I don't trade in rumor or anything like that, but there's a full-on conversation, you hear it all the time, that there's some mica fatigue in that cowboys facility. You hear it, I hear it, people write about it, people talk around it. And I'm wondering if this is like, you know. On behalf of those in the front office or those in management or those anywhere in the building that has micah fatigue, Jerry's fighting a fight. For them.
And some people might be sitting there in the Cowboys organization and going, that's right, Jerry. Make them simmer. Make them sick. I mean, we know he's eventually going to come back here anyway, but maybe there's some sort of a humbling that he wants him to undergo here. Don't forget.
Remember when uh Tank Lawrence left. Through that verbal lob back into Dallas, telling Mike to stop podcasting and focus on your stuff. I mean, there's something underneath. I'm wondering if that's at play here. You have to start wondering about that sort of stuff.
And that obviously makes the personal get a little bit. Deeper. But again. In the same way, talent over everything. Whatever there might be in terms of gear grinding with the front office or people in the organization and Micah, this guy is as talented as they come.
Once again, there's two people who ever played the National Football League with a dozen or more sacks in the first four years of his career. One of them is named Micah Parsons, the other is Reggie White. Talent over everything. And in that respect, he's going to get paid. Right.
And it's not just talent over everything. As well. It's You need to win football games. And he's the guy to do it. And you know, personal aspects be damned.
Just like talent over everything. There's another one. Money over everything. We saw that with Miles Garrett. I hate to keep on bringing up anything mercenary with him.
But He went from, I'm out of here. They can't win here. Oh wait a minute. Deshaun Watson's out all next year. We might have Joe Flacco, and we're going to draft somebody at the position.
I'll go back there for 40 million a year. And now that might be a cheap deal. At the end of the day. I still believe that. As we continuously take this cheese every day.
That at the end of the day, Thursday Night Football. Banners raised. Eagles fans are going nuts. But say they win the toss, they take the ball. Micah Parsons will be lined up across from Jalen Ertz with a new fat.
Deal.
Now, will all bygones be bygones personally, emotionally, and all that stuff? Yeah. Maybe so, maybe not. The first paycheck comes in, then it will. I'm telling you.
I've seen it m over and over and over and over again. And over again. The good news here. TJ is I don't know who the next guy who's going to go through this grinder. for the Cowboys.
Because after Micah gets done. I don't know. Although the Cowboys do draft very well, you do have to give them that. And that they draft them well. I would just love for them to be signed earlier.
So These moments don't have to happen for the players, for the fans. And that maybe, just maybe, the few millions that they save by signing somebody early can add to another player on special teams or defense. offense offensive line so you get some sort of depth That does appear to be a case. Of why the Cowboys sometimes fall short. You hit the nail on the head there.
So. This is all happening. Oh, and by the way, uh Aaron Donald. Um pops out on Instagram and other places a Markup of Micah in a Rams uniform, and Micah responds, and Aaron Donald thinks he might have to come back. Oh, and you know who was also at the joint practice?
You know who's also at the joint practice. yesterday where I guess Many of our friends in NFL media, including Ian Rappaport, saying, oh, um, Matthew Stafford has a disc problem that required an epidural. Guess who was there? Um on Tuesday, our next guest. Andrew Woodworth.
Oh, and guess who walked and talked like he was Jim Hill? With Micah Parsons. Yeah, that's a Jim Hill reference. They need to delete that tweet. He did the walk and talk.
But Micah. Andrew Whitworth, lots to talk about with Wick. Who's house? Who's house with Andrew Whitworth of Prime Video Thursday Night Football? Andrew Whitworth, coming up.
Delete that. Listen, the way you sleep is unique to you, and that's why having a sleep number smart bed is so crucial. Because you can adapt to your changing needs for just right. Can't wait to nestle into bed, luxurious comfort.
So whether your needs are softer or firmer, cooler or warmer, you are never stuck. You can adjust your comfort whenever you like. And it gives you your best night's sleep night after night, year after year. I love my smart bed. My sleep number setting is 60.
My wife's is 70, just 10 numbers apart, but it means the world of difference because I can change my side of the bed to however firm or soft I want. And the same thing. For Suze.
So, why choose a sleep number smart bed? Again, so you can sleep just the way you like. The only bed that lets you make each side firmer or softer whenever you like, your sleep number setting. Get early access to Sleep Number's biggest sale of the year. 25% off the I-8 bed, the most popular, plus free home delivery, limited time, exclusively at a Sleep Number store near you.
SleepNumber, official sleep and wellness partner of the NFL. See store or sleepnumber.com for details. This episode is brought to you by Navy Federal Credit Union. Navy Federal can help you find and finance the right vehicle with ease. And this summer, you're in the driver's seat with savings.
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Listen, I know you're a little bit raw here, so understand this comes from the heart. You know, as you know, on richisandshop.com, where you can get mugs like this, hats, shirts, whatever. Should we, I'll ask you, Chris. Because I know that the answer is going to be in the corner here. Should we add Rich Isn't Show-branded jumper cables for TJ?
100%. Do you need jumper cables? Do you have him in the car? No, he needs a whole new automobile. But that has nothing to do with the battery.
Here's what happened.
Okay. My car, there was something wrong with it. My mechanic is fixing it. He's cool enough that he allows me to use one of his cars so I don't have to have a loaner. It's a loaner.
So the loaner ran out of batteries?
So I'll tell you, it's like a Porsche. Oh, it's a Porsche like SUV or something. Oh, my goodness. Pardon me, sir. What happened is...
I mean, if you're going to be broken down behind the airport, that's not a bad car to be broken down behind the airport.
So I get into the car this morning, and I think what happened is I forgot to, because it's not my car, I'm not used to it. I don't think I turned the lights off.
So I got in the car, I put the key in, the battery was dead.
So that's why. The amount that you've spent on repairs, just since I've known you, you could have had a new car by now. I really haven't spent that much on repairs. Like I said, my mechanics are my guy, so I get a little bit of a difficult.
Okay, I just don't, again, I just don't know. Do you need a do you need a triple-A membership? I got State Farm.
Okay, good enough. They'll be at the crib at 12. And again, I don't know what he does. He needs a triple-A membership or a AA battery. I need someone who sells cars.
Who out there is a car salesman that wants to hook your boy up? Hook your boy up. Hook your boy up. What does that mean? He wants some free cars.
What do you want? He wants a free car? Clearly, free? What does he mean by the what do you mean, hook your boy up?
Well, Breckman knows he went when he got his car. He went to a dealership down the way they knew him from. Oh, the Rich Isaac. Oh, is that right? Did you get something?
Did you get an MSRP knockoff? No. Absolutely not. So the guy didn't know you from the show and didn't like. He knew me.
That didn't knock any zeros off. I have fewer answers than before this segment began. He was in the middle of Oxnard. On Tuesday, chatting it up with Micah. His old quarterback has got back problems.
I mean, he's in the middle of everything. Joining us back again on the Rich Eisen Show, ladies and gentlemen, from Amazon Prime Video. One of the best of the best, Andrew Widthworth. Good to see you, Andrew. How are you?
Good to see you, brother. How are we doing? I'm fine. What to What ocean expanse are you in front of photographically? Where are we right now?
You know what? I'm actually in town, Rich. I'm just down here at the Fairmont. We got the Amazon seminar starting. You know the fun seminars.
You get back. You got to go over all the stuff going on this season.
So we're excited, man. Get this thing kicked off.
Okay. Is Al in charge of the lunch menu? He is. It's going to be lots of protein. No greens.
Lots of protein. No green. Zero green.
Okay. Zero green.
Unless it's like a chimichieri sauce. I don't think it's happening.
Well, when they explain the rules, because the NFL is all about explaining the rules, the new rules, right? Making sure that the broadcasters know what they're talking about. Can you please take a photograph of Al Michaels being told? This sort of stuff, basically, him basically going, I've got 50 years in here. Like, let's move along.
Let's get to lunch. Can you take a picture of that, please, for me, Andrew? Yeah, I always feel bad for them. It's like, yeah, please tell Al Michaels the rules. Like, this guy doesn't know every rule and where it started and where the one previous came from.
But, you know, the best part, Rich, actually, of our presentations is those poor people trying to get through that meeting without Richard Sherman destroying every rule and why it's not fair. It is the most entertaining part. I don't think anybody says a word. They just watch Sherm go to it because he gets after it. Oh, yeah.
I, I, I'm, I'm trying to remember. We, you know, we had Rod Woodson back in the day with the NFL Network having to sit through these things, and he would just sit there steaming every rule. Helps the offense. Every rule helps the offense.
So I've been there with Rod. You're there with Richard. I love that. I love it. How is this past interference?
How is this past interference? It's so great. And it's like, can we move on? Because I'm hungry. Like, let's go.
It's always right before lunch. And you're like, all right, Sherm, it's enough. Like, you're not changing the rule right here in this room.
So let's go. Love it. Love it. All right.
So all that said, glad that you're taking some time out from the annual symposium with the NFL and Amazon Prime Thursday Night Video Team. Thursday Night Prime Video Team. But let's get to where you were yesterday. Boy, there's lots to talk about with you. You were at the Rams Cowboys joint festivities up in Oxnard.
First order of business is the man you used to protect back in the day. What can you tell me about Matthew Stafford? Apparently, what he's got.
Some sort of a disc ailment that required an epidural, is what Ian Rappaport was reporting today from NFL Network? Andrew, what can you tell me? Yeah. Yeah, it sounds like he showed up basically to camp and kind of a little prior to camp was just having some back issues, as I well know, playing into my 40s. You know what?
That's part of getting old and playing the game of football. But, you know, he just decided to be, you know, precautious with it and really take care of himself. And, you know, it's like, hey. What can we do to probably, you know, prolong the recovery process as long as much as we can? I mean, this guy's played a lot of football.
He took a lot of snaps with Devontae and all those guys in the offseason throw-in.
So it's not like they feel like, oh, man, we're not going to miss time in that sense. Let's make sure this guy's healthy. Let's make sure the back is great before we get out there because there's really no reason to push it. And this is also an advantage you have when you have a guy like Jimmy Garoppolo as your backup, a veteran who's played, who's been in the big moments and played on the biggest stage.
So you feel confident in, hey, let's make sure our guy is fully healthy before he has to go back out there. And, you know, football is football. Even though you're not hitting the quarterback in camp, things happen and he's going to have to protect himself. And you want to make sure he feels good and we feel good. About, you know, what, week one, Houston Texans, that's what matters.
Right. And obviously, we're more than three weeks away from that. All that said, though, Andrew, I mean, this is not the ideal way for training camp to go. In the first two weeks, where you're week to week, you're getting an epidural, you're seeing specialists, you're doing all that stuff. Anything that you can share of a level of concern here?
Yeah, I mean, you look at it in Cincinnati, right? I mean, we've seen how it affected them in training camp with Joe Burrow having time-missed over the last few years and really that slow start. And you look at this Rams team, it's been something they've dealt with the last few years of just the injury bug. Not necessarily that they've started slow, but they've really had lots of injuries early in the season that dictated a little bit how they started. And then they kind of made their runs late in the year.
And I think it's one of those things, if you've seen how they've been able to finish out for the bye week the last few years, you know, if you could get that fast start, if you could get ahead a little bit, you know, maybe you're playing at home in LA and still instead of on the road in Philadelphia, you know, in the month of January.
So that's that opportunity for them. They want to win this division again. It's going to be a challenge. I think all the other teams in this division have gotten better. And I think they've got to have a fast start.
So, yeah, obviously there's concern, but I don't think there's concern on whether Matthew Stafford will be out there week one playing quarterback for the Rams.
Okay. So, and again, before I move on to another. Thing that you were talking about on Tuesday at this joint practice with the Cowboys. And anything you can share from Stafford? Again, I know you don't speak for him, but was he.
Was he Bummed, nervous, chill. I mean, I'm sure you had some form of communication with him that you might be able to share with me here. Yeah, I think that, yeah, I think it's like any other veteran in those situations. I've been there. I had a patella issue later in my career where I had to sit out a lot of practices in camp.
I think, you know, the other guy I got to spend some time with yesterday is frustrated as well when you're sitting out. But yeah, you're frustrated. You're, you're, listen, we, we play this game because we love it. And I know people make it about performance and all this, but you love playing the game. You don't want to sit there on the side and watch everybody practice.
Like you want to be out there. Even at my age, when I was 40, yeah, I missed practice. But for the most part, if we were in pads, I was in the practice because I want to compete. I want to get better at my craft. Those things are important to you.
So yeah, Stafford's, you know, he's frustrated. But the duty is he's trying his best not to show that to his teammates and be the leader he is all the time. And you know what? In his own time, I'm sure he's pushing himself as hard as he possibly can because you want to be out there with the guys and it's miserable to not be. There is nothing worse than watching an NFL practice, wanting to be out there on that field.
I mean, heck, every one of them I go to, I'm like, man, I think I. To put some pads on and get out there and play around because you just, it just gives you that feeling. You don't ever want to be the guy standing on the side. Andrew Whitworth here on The Rich Eisen Show, fresh off of Hanging Out. In Oxnard, California, with the Rams and the Cowboys as their joint practicing.
Andrew? This footage Made it all over the place. Look who is chatting it up. That would be Micah Parsons. And Andrew Whitworth?
A little walk and talk. All right, look at you. We're walking, we're talking, we're sharing. And what are we talking about, Andrew? What are we talking about here, Andrew?
I mean, the first thing I take away, Rich, is: gosh, I look petite these days. I mean, you know, I love it. I just, you know, I know. You're still way bigger than Micah Parsons, man. And you're not letting yourself go either, Andrew.
You're not letting yourself go. I saw you at the 19th Century Championship. I saw the way you were going about your business. You know, so that's it. What are you talking about, man?
Yeah, you're just trying to get it. You know, I reached out to him earlier in camp and just really, you know, we've had a relationship. It was, you know, well documented a few years ago. We worked together in the offseason some. And so, you know, we've always kind of kept that relationship.
And, you know, I just reached out and checked on him, man. I mean, this game can take a lot of stress on you. These contract situations aren't fun, man. They're miserable for guys. And you just don't know what the right answer is, right?
You look at a guy like him, you get drafted with an expectation to come here and do something. You've way outdone that. And you've been the player that a team hoped that you'd be when they drafted you and they spent the draft capital on you and you've been that times 10. You've been one of the best, you know. And so you would respect that that same franchise that drafted you is going to be doing more than anything they can in the world.
They want to take care of you, show you they appreciate you, and then we move on and let you be the leader of this defense we drafted you here to be a part of. And instead, it just seems to be these long, drawn-out processes with the Cowboys. And, you know, I think that he's frustrated. He's upset. I mean, anybody would in those kind of situations.
You've earned the opportunity. You don't feel like you're getting it. And it's, and you know, just you can just feel that he wants to be out there with his teammates, having fun. He was talking to me about the young guys and some of the young rushers that he can't help, he can't wait to kind of teach them a couple of things. And they've got a lot of promise, and he's really excited about seeing some of those guys and how they're going to, you know, develop in their career.
So, man, he just wants to be out there with his teammates doing what he loves to do and get this whole contract thing behind him because he loves playing the game. He loves competing. You know, so right there, he was telling me about, man, I just, I want to go against these guys. I want to go against different guys. I want to feel what these Rams O-linemen are like, you know, so I can get a gauge of where I'm at in my progression.
You know, so it's just, it's a frustrating time when you're in these kinds of situations and all you want to do is play football and get taken care of and you feel like you've earned your spot.
Well Hahaha. How resolute can you call him right now, Andrew? Because he said he doesn't want to play there anymore, and I understand that's an emotional response potentially. Um what do you what do you think? Would you get the sex for him?
I got the sense, really, honestly, that it's one of those situations that it feels like. This one feels a little different. Will it probably have the same ending? I'm guessing that if the contract gets worked out right before week one, listen, the Cowboys, clearly, after watching that scrimmage, they need him desperately.
So I would hold on to that. What do you mean? What do you mean by that? What do you mean by that? Well, you know what, Rich, you know what they looked like yesterday?
They look like a football team that I, you know, I love Shoddy and I think he's going to do a great job. But right now, they look like a football team that for the last couple years has put their best players on blast at the beginning of the season for trying to get paid for things they've earned. And they've continued to extend it and make it ugly. And they look like, hey, man, if our best players who show up and do it in the best way possible get treated like this, who else on the team has any possibility? of getting rewarded or feeling like they're going to get treated a certain way.
I think you start to create a culture. Guys just feel underappreciated. And they look like that to me. They look like a team that's a little frustrated. Who's our leaders?
Who's our guys? Who's the guys that's setting the tone for how we compete and practice every single day? You need those guys out there. And I feel bad for Coach Schotheimer because it's one of those things. I want my best football player on the field every day, going out and showing us how in the world we're going to be great.
I look back at Aaron Donald's contract situation, some of the ones we've had with the Rams, like it was different because you had other veterans. and leaders in that situation. And it was a happy situation. It was, hey, we want AD here. There is nowhere else he's going to be.
We love this guy. We're trying to figure out the contract.
So no one's sitting there worried about their guy. This is ugly. It feels like, man, Michael wants out of here now. Nothing's really, you know, good being said on either side about that whole situation. It just makes all the guys worry like, man, are we doing all of this?
And we're going to be six and 11. You know what I mean? And that feeling is real. And you creating the doubt in your football team of how good they're going to be when you're taking their best player and putting him on blast every single day. And so I think that to me, it's one of those things, man, like this is who you drafted.
This is who you wanted. He's lived up to that expectation. You take care of him and you say, hey, man, go lead our football team for the next four to five years and let's go win football games. That sounds so simple. It really does.
Well, and again, the example I've been using here over the last few days is. Stealers. They could have said TJ Listen, you know, you're past 30 and we've got concerns about the back end of this deal. And yeah, I know that we've got a 41-year-old quarterback, and we need to all, you know, get in this Rodgers boat together. But, you know, we've got to talk about guaranteed dollars, we've got to talk about back ends, we've got to figure this out.
And we're just going to play it out with you. And we're going to make it hold in. And we're going to make Tomlin answer questions about it, which would be entertaining for us in the media. And we're going to have Rogers get asked questions about it. We're going to have him walk around in his pajamas.
And and we're just going to play this thing out. We're going to stretch it out. And that's just the way we're going to do it. And instead, they did the exact opposite. It's totally removed.
That's not a question. At all. And uh but this is just the way I guess the cowboys do things and and in that regard You know, the fans and all of us in the media, we go through the roller coaster of when Jerry Jones makes himself available to the media, which is always great. Uh at least for us. And after the The initial trade demand, he told.
Cowboys fans through the media. Don't lose any sleep over it. And yesterday When he was asked if he was confident of him being there in week one on the Thursday night football opening. Um he said basically Absolutely not confident about it now. Because it's up to Micah.
So what's your confidence level having been there, done that, spoken to Michael, walked around? What do you think? My usual would be, I put this in kind of the Cincinnati category of Trey Hendrickson, is like, oh man, it's going to get done. The guy's too good. This is just how these things go.
It gets ugly for a little while with certain organizations. That's how they choose to do it. I don't know in this one.
Something just tells me that these two maybe don't get along great. Like, I just, I just feel like there's a disconnect in whether Jerry likes him a whole lot in the sense of like how they're going to do business together and whether Micah feels respected. And so I just, I'm interested to see how this one plays out because I think Micah is one of those guys that it's less about the money. It's less about all those things. And I'm not saying that's not important, but the disrespect and just kind of the dismissal makes him not even think about the zeros and the money.
It makes him be like, wait, like, I don't let anybody treat me that way. And so I just kind of have that feeling, like knowing Micah and how he is, like, man, he wants to play ball. He cares about getting out there and competing. And so to kind of hear does the. Dismissal of these things, I think that kind of probably frustrates him is my guess.
And I would be that way too. I was very much that way as a player. Like I just, I want to be respected first and foremost. I mean, I always tell young guys when I was in a locker room, you're a man before you're anything else. And don't ever forget that.
And so, you know, who you are every day matters and how you allow people to treat you, you coach it or you allow it. And that's just the facts. And so, you know, if dollars are the most important thing to you, then let that be known. And if they're not, respect is the most important thing, then stand on it. And so I think this is one of those situations where both guys are kind of putting their feet in the ground.
And that's why I think it might get a little ugly.
Well, I guess in the meantime, we'll just have to keep stirring things up by talking about it. Or at least the talk about it. We'll do what we do, Rich. And I'm the full media guy now. You're four.
You know what I mean? I'm at the seminar. I'm just, I don't even know if people remember I played football. I'm just a media guy. Just a media guy.
You're not a talking head. We're just here. You're a head that is talking right now, but you're not a talking head. Because in the meantime, just the rare combination of a GOAT, Photoshop, and a social media account. Um, Aaron Donald having a little bit of fun with this.
Um that's scary. And and Micah responding, don't tell me info like that. And then he um put the Twitter account of his agent out there and a ram rambling man The Rams account hitting the jackpot, having Aaron Donald and Micah and all that stuff talking about it. I mean, of all the things that probably won't happen, this is one of them, right? Andrew?
I mean, yeah, well, listen, if it does happen, I'm going to tell you right now, if that happens, I'm coming back as the you tight end, just goal line situations only, because I think that's I think that's all I got. All right, that's all I got. But listen, I'm going to be on that team. You got to go. Remember this, Andrew.
Listen, remember, you got to go in there. Heavy tight end, baby, and just take a couple third down snaps and goal line. But if that happens, I'm on that team. Let me tell you, I'm going to be hitting Sean up every day. Just give me, give me whatever, whatever waiver I got to sign, I'm in.
Dude. I mean, honestly, the Cowboys, that's the whole point of this, right? Like, and just to come full circle here. Um Cowboys aren't trading him. They're just not trading him.
He's not going to be traded. This will not happen. They are not going to trade him. And um and and he because he is under contract. The only thing is, is Jerry Jones completely...
you know off the reservation to the point where he will not Sit down and say, one day, like, give me a couple hours. And I will handle it with the agent and the player because this thing could be handled. It could probably be handled in two hours. You know, and there's no doubt it could. I think it's the stubbornness in this point, Rich.
It's just, it's both, it's really just Micah's frustrated. You know, Jerry's, you know, he's being stubborn in the sense of how this is going. This is one of your best players. Like, this isn't something you go, oh man, we'll figure it out. I mean, this is what you did with Dak with CD.
And how did that work out? Right. And so it's just, it's literally like, hey, man. Let's sit down and let's figure this out this weekend. We got like, hey, we play a preseason game against the Rams.
We're off the next day. It's really two days that are irrelevant. Let's sit down. You, the agent, let's get this cleaned up. Let's move on.
I look at this. Here's a great example. One of the reasons people haven't even talked about this, but like Stafford's situation and when it happened, the timing of it. Yes. One of the reasons that was done at that time, Stafford was under contract for more years with the Rams.
So why was this even a conversation? The reason was, is the year before Matthew had, you know, obviously had the contract dispute going into camp of figuring out what it was that made him feel happy to be there and content on being the leader of the Rams. And they didn't, they felt like, hey, you know what? Just like other teams have these situations, we don't like that being the narrative as we're going into camp and we're trying to build as a Super Bowl contender. Let's get this done way ahead of time to where anything that's contentious, anything that's like, hey, this is business, let's get this done now to where when we move on in March and April as a football team, all of that's behind us.
And we're talking about how do we go win Super Bowls. And so to me, this is one of those conversations that this should have been done so long ago because this is your guy. You drafted him to be exactly who he is. He's lived up to his part. This is easy stuff.
Or you say, this isn't the kind of guy we want here, even though he is a great player. We don't like him. We don't want him in our building. Let's move on, go get the picks, and let's build our football team for next year. We got a new head coach coming in anyways.
So it's a great time to change the culture. But you have to make these decisions sooner because you have to worry about the actual attitude, culture, the mentality of your football team and the direction they feel like they're going. If you want to compete and win football games in the NFL right now, right? And if it doesn't work out, then you get the draft choices right then and there for the draft that is upcoming and you know where the draft choices are going to be pegged in the upcoming draft rather than make the trade now. Like, let's just say, and I'll let you go.
Um, let's just say this thing that we saw on the Rams fan account is possible, right? That this happens. Why would the Cowboys make a deal with a team for whom the first-round pick could be 32nd overall? Or you don't know, right? It's all over the map potentially, but you know it's going to be at the bottom of the rung.
Why would you, like, Micah should be like top of the top, top, top draft. That's why you don't make trades now. It's just none of it makes sense, which makes me think it's going to get done. You know, at the end of the day, so right, and that's what makes it just a ridiculous way to do business because all you're doing is just kind of eroding a little bit your team atmosphere and mentality of how they feel about the season. That's all you're doing is creating some doubt for your football team.
That's it. That's the only thing you're really accomplishing with this. Right. And it just like, listen, better planning equals better results. And you saw that from me personally at the American Century Championship.
Very little planning, wound up tied for 88th.
So, you know what I mean? Look at me. But it means it's room for improvement next year. You know what I mean? Hey, we can always move up, baby.
Andrew, you're the best. Say out of everybody there at Prime Video, sir. Hey, appreciate it, brother. Thank you. The one and only Andrew Whitworth right here on The Rich Eisen Show.
Awesome. Just a lot of truths being spat right there. 844-204-Rich. Number to dial. Phone calls, Mike Mayock.
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So how much further along were you with the being a Chicago resident in the Chicago classic The Fugitive? That came next. That was next. That was another movie that came through probably four years later. Four years later.
Yeah, and then I was a local hire for that one as well. Yeah. That is the most in my mind. Rewatchable movie there is Fugitive. It does it hold up or what?
It does. Look at that train wreck. The train wreck at the top, for sure. It's a remote drop for me all the time. Does not matter where it is.
Yeah. But, you know, and we are such huge fans of the film. Huge. We want to, you know, on behalf of fans of the film, thank you for catching the switching of the samples. Oh, the liver samples?
You are welcome. RD90. You know, you found that. You know that? I'm so glad you remember that detail because that's I would say to people, you don't remember from that.
Well, I'm the one who did the liver sample. I solved the mystery. You did? Of the liver samples.
Well, you and Bones. You and Bones, of course. God, you remember everything. Harrison Ford, perhaps the most beat up. Movie star of all time.
He gets his. Oh, yeah. Well, he does his own stunts, too. I mean, that's his own damn fault. Did you do your own stunts?
I did all my own stunts. I actually handled the liver samples with these fingers ungloved. See? That's not sanitary. You know, that's why you're as successful as you are, Jane.
You don't leave any stone unturned. Thank you so much. Yeah, I go the extra mile. The fugitive. I'm so glad we got to catch up on that.
Next one for Jane Lynch. Your character in 40-year-old Virgin Paula was originally written. As a male character, yes, indeed. It was written for a man, and then, with my eternal gratitude, Steve Corell's wife, Nancy Walls, who's a wonderful actress actress herself, said, you know, because I knew them from Chicago, said, you know, you have a lot of men in your film. Why don't you read Jane for the store manager?
And so we improvised together and we had a lot of fun. And Judd Abatao said, Oh, we'll cast her.
So I'm very grateful to that whole crew of people for giving me that job. Do you remember the song you sang? Yes, I do. In Spanish, can you? Oh, absolutely.
I'll just tell you right away that this is from an ALM Spanish dialogue or Dialgo, as you call it. And it's yes. And it's a dialogue, and it goes like this. Cuando reglen mi cuarto, no en cuintro nada, donde ba cantanta prisa al partiro de futbol. Thank you.
And it means whenever I clean my room, I can't find anything. Where are you going with such haste to a football game?
Okay. It's not romantic at all. No! But the way it sounds. Yeah, it's the way you deliver it.
It's. Cheng Lynch, 32 years ago today, the fugitive debuted in a theater near Yu. Wow.
Okay. All of those fun times on our YouTube channel, youtube.com/slash Rich Eisen Show. I think we're nearing. nine hundred sixty three thousand. followers, subscribers, there.
Good times. Jane Lynch on this program multiple times. Just a delight. Love it. An absolute delight.
How she remembered the Dialgo off the top of her head. Right?
So 844-204-Rich is the number to dial right here. How much time till the radio audience returns here? 30 seconds. 30 seconds. Fantastic.
How great was Whitworth, man? Just spitting the truth. Dude. Well, he was at the center of the football universe right there. Walking and talking.
Finding out for Micah, what's up? Sam, Stafford, Micah. Who God knows? Fantastic. Yeah, Rich, while we have a couple minutes here at the end of the hour, I wanted to ask you, news was made official this morning.
The ESPN and the NFL announced the sale finally went through with the ESPN acquiring NFL Network and NFL Red Zone and the NFL acquiring a 10% stake in ESPN. Obviously, you're the longest tenured NFL Network employee. Yes. What are your thoughts on this?
Okay. Interesting you asked me. This is Mayox about to join, one of my many colleagues throughout the 22 years that have been with NFL Network. Um I guess My my first thought was I'm blown away. You know, just totally blown away that this is happening.
Um but you know in a good way. Because For various reasons. Obviously, you know, the show is going to Disney Plus, ESPN Radio, and ESPN. Yes, we are. the direct-to-consumer.
Um ESPN world that uh they're building with they threw the WWE PLEs are coming, right, in 2026. But I just think of the 22 years. of the people that I have worked with either from jump We're still there. or over the 22 years of people who are you know, die-hard NFL fans and And poured their blood, sweat, and tears into creating the NFL network and creating a sense of style and substance that that I I think is now its own brand. that um that over 22 years that it's part of a package That's worth 10% of one of the greatest media, sports media companies ever created.
And that's a sense of accomplishment. And, you know, I... I've been kicking around, obviously, some conversations with people with whom I work. uh over in Inglewood at the the beautiful facilities. By the way.
With so many different studios, it can be filled up with some great NFL programming for. You know, um what appears to be our new parent company. And Just the number of people who have, again, Created a sense of our own selves as a competitor to ESPN over 22 years. but a friendly one. Um That the opportunity to keep it going.
With a company like ESPN that is clearly All about the NFL. is kind of exciting. And There's a lot of people in Inglewood who know how to do it and have done it for 22 years. I think they are eager to roll up their sleeves and see what this future. Can bear.
And bring. And that's kind of exciting on that front. Again, we're all learning what this means. In seven minutes from this conversation, Roger Goodell is going to hold a town hall with NFL employees. And trust me, I'll be eager to see some of the texts from that.
So we're still learning what it is. But it just blows me away that it is in fact happening. And So, that's those are my thoughts on it. In case everyone's wondering, like, well, how would it work? NFL network and ESPN and.
You know We've already done the crossovers. Remember, I popped on first take prior to the draft. Daniel Jeremiah, I think, popped on NFL Live, and some NFL Live people popped on NFL network programming. And it's been there. We've done it.
Before, now I guess it's just 24-7, 365. And I mean, it's a brave new world. And I know the NFL management team is excited about. what this means moving forward.
So But again, there's a lot of people who work up down to 105 here. Um, in Inglewood, California, the new facilities that we moved into a few years ago, because we started growing so much. from our old facilities in in Culver City, California, for those who may. One GPS said, You know, that was an exciting time. And there's a lot of spaces to fill up, and a lot of NFL to talk about, and a lot of people who know how to do it sitting there.
that that um that have the institutional knowledge of NFL network. and have the institutional knowledge of the NFL. Already built into our DNA. Like, you don't need to introduce us to. You know, the league.
And the way to do drafts and combines, if that is going to be continued. And I personally. I hope it does because Sure. That's what I've been doing for 22 years. Yeah, that was what Kyle Brandt said on Good Morning Football.
It's excitement, but then unknown. But I think you can have both things and both feelings at once. You know, for something as huge as this, obviously. You know, good morning football. Peter Schrager was on it.
Jason McCordy's on it. Where do they work now? You're right. I mean, that alone, just again, there's some ways that you can plug the brands together. and and go together forward as a as an exciting team.
You know? You don't need to tell. I know all the people who work in the NFL at the SPN.
Some of them, many of them were there when I was there 22 years ago. We can't believe it. You know, I'm going back. I'm back. Right.
Like Al Michaels um Title of his memoir, You Can't Make This Up. Like, this is truly not. Can't be made up. that 22 years after the launch, it is worth so much That let's just swap. You take NFL network, we'll take 10%.
We'll throw in some other things. By the way, there's a big yada, yada, yada there about the other things. I don't know what those are, but we're learning. And again, there's a bunch of people in Inglewood that are excited to roll up their sleeves. Mike May I'll come it up.
I am Michael Rosenbaum. I am Tom Welling. Welcome to Talk Bill. Where it's fun to talk about small. We're going to be talking to sometimes guest stars.
Are you liking the direction Plois is going in? Yeah, because I'm getting more screen time. That's good. But mostly it's just me and Tom remembering. I think we all feel like there was a scene missing here.
You got me, Tom. Let's revisit it. Let's look at it. See what we remember. See what we remember.
I had never been around anything like that before. I mean, it was so fun. Talk Bill. Talk Bill. I just had a flashback.
Follow and listen on your favorite platform. Let's get into it. Mm.
