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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.
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Yeah, baby. Yeah. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Because you know the narrative. The narrative is the Browns are just trying to do Shadorg dirty.
You feel like you belong here on this team. I feel like I do. Today's Gasps. Hosts of Heat the Call Podcast, Dan Hansus and Mark Zessler. Falcons running back, Bajan Robinson.
Actor, Director, and former NFL Defensive Back, Nandi Assamois. And now... It's Rich Eisen. Hey, everybody, welcome to this edition of the Rich Eisen Show live on the Roku Sports Channel, live on this Infinity Sports Network. Terrestrial radio station smart enough to have a Sirius XM Channel 375, Odyssey app, and more are usual.
844-204-RICH is the number to dial. Give us a call, we'll chat with you. The win-loss game's running out of time. The Sands are going through that hourglass. You know, I mean, the season's about to start, and the actual win-loss game is going to be played with the actual players who are winning and losing.
So, give us a call. We'll sneak in as many of them as we possibly can. We've got Mark Sessler and Dan Hanzus. We're going to heed their call. We've got Bajan Robinson.
Don't call him Bijan. It's Bajan Robinson of the Atlanta Falcons. We are going to be on the clock in our. Our fantasy footballers fantasy draft just started. We're defending that championship with one of the best individuals that have a podcast on this front, the fantasy footballers.
So we'll be going through our fantasy draft. We're third overall. I don't think there's any shot we get, Bajon, but wouldn't that be amazing? That would be amazing if we're on the clock and we draft him while he's on the show with us. That would be fantastic.
That's in the ether. That's actually possible. Name another show that could do something like that.
Well, there's many other shows, but name another show that would actually happen. I don't think so. I don't think so. But it would have been great if we were second overall, and then we did it. Which is not an English word.
But long story short, he's on Namdi Assamois on this program. I love it. He's a director now, guys. He's an autor. He's uh he's a thespian.
He's coming in to promote his new film that's his directorial debut, The Knife. That's awesome. Which is going to be premiered at the Trabeca Film Festival. And he's in a new Apple TV series with Jessica Chastain. Boom.
I don't even know wheels. I don't know wheels anymore. That's so cool.
So, at any rate, Nomedy's going to be in studio in hour number three. 844-204-Rich is, in fact, the number to tell here on the program. Uh hey, uh everybody. Um We said yesterday. Oh, by the way, hi, Chris.
Hey, Rich, good morning. I'm Mike Deltafo, good to see you. Good morning, Richard. I'm sorry, I don't mean to make this seem like an aside or an afterthought, but it does come across that way. Hi, TJ.
How are you? I got picked 12, so there's that.
Okay, smoke them if you got them. We're actually picked five, Rich. Oh, we're picked five. I misspoke earlier.
Okay, great information. Thank you. That's for my news update, man.
So we have no shot at Bajan. Probably not. 0.0 shot of Bajan. Yeah. Maybe we've got a shot at Saquon, who won us a championship last year.
So, listen. Whoa. Oh, my God. It's all falling apart. Mike, what's going on over here?
I don't know. This is your doing. This is your microphone. I'm very started. I'm very sorry.
I just show up to work, man.
Sorry about that, right? Hey, we're going through all the protocols just in time. Listen, everybody. Hey, we mentioned it yesterday when Terry McLaurin signed with the Washington Commanders. Who's going to be next out of the hold-ins?
You got the Bengals who have a history of. Of potentially not signing the right people. Then you got the Cowboys who wait until the last possible minute. Who would be second? Who would be next?
We all knew. And we all knew. Because Mike Del Tufo, we finally got the sound like the white smoke of the Cincinnati Bengals signing somebody. I was walking around because it happened at the end of it happened after we went off the air. And I was walking around.
I heard that. I'm like, wait a minute. Whoa. Let me check my feed. And sure enough.
That's the noise we were letting. That's sort of the audio white smoke. We were waiting for out of Cincinnati the Mike Brown. Um Velcro wallet opening up. For Trey Hendrickson.
And uh it it happened. He signed now. His hold-in is over. He's going to make 30 million this year and then get a chance to hit free agency next March, which means the Bengals. Who are going to pay him $16 million this year?
And the whole holdup was guaranteed money, and how much money is going to get up front, and how much more guaranteed money is going to get after this year. Because, again, when somebody's, you know. 30 years old? There's not a lot of guaranteed money on the table, and you're trying to get as much guaranteed money on the table as you possibly can. And Trey Hendrickson turns 31.
in December. Made 16 million last year. And lo and behold, if 30 million bucks is what he wanted. He's not resetting the market at age 30, pushing 31. He's not going to get more than Miles Garrett.
He's not going to threaten the Dallas Cowboys deal. if there is one any more on the table with Micah Parsons. Um At the end of the day. The Bengals stayed firm and say, you want 30 million, you can get 14 more this year, and then we'll let you hit free agency. And he said sold.
Instead of fighting the fight and going into this final week of the If you will, non-playing season. Not with his teammates on the practice field, not getting ready to go and... Take the Cincinnati Bengals defense to a next level that they could not find last year. He decides, screw it, I'll do it. I think that's my read of it.
And the Bengals stayed firm. The Bengals stayed firm. I guess the banana stand money went to all the wide receivers and their quarterback. Yep. And um and so the audio drop that we've been playing is kind of germane.
That's the wallet.
Okay. For Trey Hendrickson. You had a problem hearing that, huh? Every single time? I mean, it is like nails on a chalkboard.
Not to me. You don't like the Velcro? Not to me. Not to me. I had a good Velcro wallet.
Did you have a Velcro wallet back in the day, Mike? Everybody still have a Velcro wallet. No, like certain age. No, I don't know. I think, you know, I think I have a metal wallet.
Mike, you have Mike Brown's pager number, right? You want to hit him on his hip and find out? If that's in fact the case, I will fix that as soon as we get to the bottom. I understand since it's only a microphone that we have here.
Somebody must have messed with that microphone. Oh, it's always someone else's microphone. You sound just like my kids, man. I just love the fact that Rich Eyes in the year 2025 said hit somebody on their hip. Oh, yeah.
Okay, that's like I love that. That's a very nice thing. I'm all about nostalgia these days, as you know. I'm seeing. Means please.
Congratulations, Bengals fans. And at the end of the day, the same thing with McLaurin and Hendrickson, just to put a point on this one. It's like What took so long? Yeah. You know what I mean?
Like, these numbers have been out there for months. Like, why do we got to go through all this song and dances?
Well, I guess because the Bengals, in this case, the Bengals. The numbers that that were there for McLaurin I think they should have hit a long ass time ago. But I mean, in terms of Trey Hendrickson, I guess. They had a For whatever reason, stick to their guns. They weren't going to pay him another dime guaranteed after 2025.
And they had to make him stare into the abyss for him to accept this. I guess that's the business part of the deal. As far as the Dallas Cowboys, you and I both know, TJ, nothing's going to happen this week. Absolutely, 0.0 is going to happen this week. And the pressure is going to be placed on Micah to get on that plane on a Wednesday night to Philadelphia or not, because then things can get particularly hairy because he is under contract and apparently his MRI is clean and all that sort of business.
That's for down the road. I would be absolutely, positively gobsmacked, stunned if between now and next Tuesday over Labor Day weekend, something is resolved in the same way that just came out of nowhere. in regards to McLaurin and Trey Andrickson. But this is just what Jerry wanted, right? They're the last team standing, and now we have to talk about them and why this deal isn't done non-stop for the next whole thing that dates nine days.
Again, we keep going on and on about this, and we're going to probably go on and on about it with essler and hand Zeus as well.
So let's not go too deep into this. It does appear that it's more than just like, please talk about us on first take. Please talk about us on shows like this one. From Micah's news. No, I think from this point of view, he's just so pissed off that I had a handshake agreement with somebody who's, you know, 26 years old, and I believe that that's a deal.
And I view him bringing in his agent as a provocative act, and I'm not going to get past it. And I'm not calling his agent because he's under contract. I think that's literally where it is right now. Get over it, man. And well, he doesn't have to.
He doesn't have to. Micah has to play. He's under contract for 20-something million bucks.
Okay. Well, we'll find out. He might put him in that position. Ugh. Oh.
So unnecessary. I agree. By the way.
Now then. Trey Hendrickson, now that he's in the fold. is going to go against Joe Flacco. That's the guy. Week one.
Hey, Joe Flacco, you're the Cleveland Browns starter. You're the guy. that I'm going to go and uh and try and sack. I'm back. I'm going to the dog pound and I am going to If you're Trey Hendrickson, lift your hind leg on that, you know.
Veteran fire hydrant that the Browns are placing. at starting quarterback. And with this whole Six-month period from March to September. You could see it coming down the pike. It is Joe Flacco, you know, when he finally went with the Cleveland Browns.
That's the guy. Who else are they going to get in the draft? Could it be Shadur? Wait for it. Third overall.
Remember that back in the day? Oh, yeah.
Yeah. Or fifth overall, whatever the hell the fifth overall. Could it be Shadur? And it wound up being a fifth-round selection after they draft Dylan Gabriel and after they tried. Trade.
for Kenny Pickett. Pick it. takes the victory formation for the Philadelphia Eagles. In the Super Bowl, and then winds up on the Cleveland Browns in supposedly a veteran battle. For who's going to be the starter.
And then it was the. rookies and then it was a conversation throughout the entire summer Are they going to really keep four quarterbacks and then with a straight face? The Browns were telling absolutely everybody. We are keeping four quarterbacks, and that might have been the plan until Aiden O'Connell goes down to an injury for the Las Vegas Raiders. The final preseason week of the season.
And lo and behold, who gets traded? Yesterday to Vegas, so they have a veteran backup. For their campaign with Pete Carroll and Geno Smith, it's Kenny Pickett, Steelers. Eagles I mean, what's going to happen in the Wikipedia or his pro football reference page for the Browns? Like, never played for them.
Yeah. Do you put him on that jersey with all the millions of quarterbacks? Because he never played, but he wasn't there. He didn't even take a preseason. He was there.
It's like if a Kenny Pickett. Doesn't practice and doesn't play in the Cleveland Forest in the summer, doesn't make a noise. Which means picket. is now on the Raiders. Which means One Trey Hendrickson getoff.
Last And week one. And the Browns may have Either Dylan Gabriel or Shadur Sanders. Wow. As they're Go forward quarterback. And it's not like, you know, I'm.
Flacco is a spring chicken. He is smart enough to read a defense and get rid of a football and protect himself, which is great news. But at the end of the day Getting flacco. Acquiring Kenny Pickett. And then drafting Dylan Gabriel in the third round before Shador, only to take Shador anyway.
At the end of the day. It is now going to be a fascinating choice as to who is. Second on the depth chart for the Cleveland Browns because that player. Best have a head on a swivel. and may just get some significant snaps.
For a Cleveland Browns team. That at the end of the day That's a good idea. That's a rough schedule. A flat-out, massive gamut of that you're running in the quarterback room with. And OG.
And two guys who have never done it before. The quarterback room going into week one for the Cleveland Browns is Flacco. Dylan Gabriel and Shador Sanders. That is something that if you had told any of us on the set in Green Bay when we were wrapping up the draft. Back in April, we would have been like.
I don't I don't know about that one. It'd have to be Flacco Pickett and then one of the rookies. But I guess for the Browns, getting a fifth-round selection in next year's draft from the Raiders is too good to pass up. They now have 10 choices in next year's draft, which means if neither Dylan Gabriel or Shador Sanders show anything. Move up for somebody that's going to start starring maybe this Saturday.
Yeah. On Fox. A, if you can see it. I'm just going to say, if you can see it. If you didn't go to Michigan, you're allowed in the stadium.
I know. To see it with your own two eyes. That's ping-ping right there. Mm-hmm. Oh, I'm all about Ohio today, sir.
I started with the Bengals, I went to the Browns, and later on, oh boy. We're going to have a little chit-chat about what's going down in the horseshoe and who's allowed in or not. Two-piece, no biscuit. Rich blow darts everywhere.
So. I can't believe it. It's Flacco and the two rookies. Crazy. Really?
Can you not believe it? Kind of. You kind of can't believe it. I mean, you're going into the season with a safety net. That um Is a little dicey.
I'm not going to lie. A little dicey. Because Jill and Gabriel against. You know, Mike, you were... Saying under your breath, although you're under your breath is a very Chris Berman-like loud voice.
The Browns schedule is difficult. You know, that home game against Cincinnati, Browns fans love seeing how they love, you know, own Joe Burrow, whatever.
Okay, gotcha. At Baltimore, home for Green Bay, at Detroit, their London game against Minnesota, then they're at Pittsburgh, home for Miami, at New England by. It ain't easy and that's why you're starting Flacco. You got your best chance to win. The guy was obviously, as we all know, comeback player of the year in this offense.
I trust Dafanski. I think he knows 100% what he is doing. But the decision at the end of the day is like fifth-round pick, too much for Kenny Pickett. To keep Kenny Pickett, we'll take that. We'll give him the Raiders and then we'll play these two rookies.
And see what's what. Is Dylan Gabriel going to be like second quarter? He's out there because Flacco just needs a minute in the blue tent. Yeah. That feels likely.
And if it's Shador Sanders and he starts balling. Then what? Everything changes in a bat of an eye. Yeah. Guys, crazy.
We already know what's going to happen. You know, Rich. Yep. You know, Chris. You know, Mike.
What is it? Yep. You know, by, I don't know, October 12th, whatever day that falls on, you know, QB12 is going to be QB1 for the Browns. This story's already been written. What are we doing now?
I don't know about that. It's already been written. Man, I don't know. I'm with TJ. Brown season.
Oh, man, and we haven't even started the National Football League regular season camp. By the way, October 12th is week five. Good job, TJ. Oh, I mean, he's got it in front of him, I'm sure. I'm drafting right now.
Oh, okay, good to know that you're paying attention strictly. Clearly. Great. All right, so let's take a break so we can bring out Dan Hansus and Mark Zessler. We're going to heed their call.
And Mike Tel Tufo can fix this microphone. Yeah, come back to it, Rich, with his gentle touch. My goodness gracious. I'll take care of you.
Okay. Hopefully, we can consult our doctor and fix what's going on with this microphone. Wow. 844-204, Rich is the number to dial right here on the Rich Eisen Show. Even the safest drivers still encounter unsafe conditions, so it's important they do it in a safe vehicle.
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Did you know that driving high is considered driving under the influence? That's right. Driving under the influence of marijuana is against the law in every state. That means. Even in states where marijuana is legal.
That means driving high could get you a DUI. And if you think law enforcement officers can't tell when you're driving high, well my friend, you're wrong. If you're high, they can tell. Your friends can tell. Their co-workers can tell.
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So, even if you think you're fine to drive when you're high, you're not. Because the bottom line is if you feel different, you drive different. And driving high is driving under the influence.
So remember, drive high, get a DUI. Paid for by NHTSA. 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. Sleep number's biggest sale of the year is here. All beds on sale up to 50% off the limited edition smart bed limited time.
exclusively at a sleep number store near you. Sleep Number, Official Sleep and Wellness Partner of the NFL. See store or sleepnumber.com for details. Oh, yeah, it's all about nostalgia going way back in the day with the other guys at the NFL Media Group now out on their own and crushing it. Heed the Call podcasters, Dan Hanses, Mark Sesta, back on the program.
And you were just telling me a big announcement today, huh? Yeah, year two of Heed the Call, and we have a new partner in Odyssey that we're really excited to help grow the brand and our hedonists. That's what we call our fan base. Everybody needs a name of the fan base, and we've settled on hedonists. Hedonists.
Yeah. I don't know. Do you guys have one? We never really. No, when we were YouTube only in our COVID days.
Um those who would be chiming in on the chat would call they would call the 454s because that was My Uber rating. It's a pretty solid rating. No, it's not. It's not. No, it's terrible.
It's embarrassing. It's hard to get it down that low, actually.
Some trouble is hurting. You can hire me by saying right here in our friends at Rokudo My Fault. You got to be a major asshole. And I am not. You get a higher rating for that by not using the app.
That's correct. And it opened me up to getting advice from Mike Del Tufo. Like, you should sit in the front seat of an Uber to talk to the driver over that. It just sounds like a terrible. Not what they want, probably.
I don't think so. We've had Uber drivers who have called in, right? Oh, yeah.
To say, don't sit in the front front. No, Mike. They're like, don't sit in the front seat. They don't want you. Mike has the highest rating out of the world.
Oh, yeah.
Everybody.
So it's like, it's got to do. You probably pay Russian bots. Like, you'd get Russian bots. You're going to pay Russian bots in an Uber. At what cost, by the way, sitting in the front seat.
And Uber drivers, respect Uber drivers, but sitting in the front seat, that's a lot. I'm sorry. You know what I mean? I'm making about us. Congratulations.
The only time I've gotten in trouble with Uber, I'm not kidding, have been company work parties where you are the host, or Dan is my customer, my co-writer. Like, that's the only time I've been dinged.
So, again, I always blame it on a particular significant other in my life. There you go. Who, when she gets into an Uber, she's like, oof. And like rolls down all the candidates, you know, because of the Jacquar Noir smell or whatever. Heed the call.
Season two, the uh the great Dan Hansus and Mark Sessler are here and they've got a new um partner in Odyssey, which congratulations. On all of that. Good to see you, gents, here on the show once again. All right, let's jump right in. Dan, Mark, you choose whichever you want to go first, even though I guess I should decide.
The biggest story going into the season, the season-long storyline arc you are most eager to follow from start to finish is what?
Well, it's a little basic, but I do want to see the Eagles, you know, the way they surged down the stretch and had a historic close defensively. And it's a bit of a recurring, Mark, we call it a bit, but I call it more like I'm somehow still not sold on Nick Siriani and whether the team will have staying power as a defending champion.
So I know a lot of people have them ticketed to remain a superpower. I'm curious if that team is able to run it back because not many teams have been able to run it back outside the Patriots in the last 25 years. I'm curious to know if you're calling that. Not believing in Siriana yet a bit because it sounds so absurd on its face. That would be the reason.
Okay, that would be the reason. It just can't be real. It goes on and on. There's multiple chapters to this and angles. And yes, to me, it's a bit.
For me, like. The other team in the NFC that I think has been widely, I'm not saying overpraised because I believe in the organization, the coach, the GM, and a lot of the players, but the Niners, this like win total, just assuming that they have the highest win total in the NFC for most of the offseason. How did we get there? Like, I collectively love Shanahan and believe in them, but like I'm interested to see who they actually are with the injuries. They've got a lot of new players, a bunch of new guys on defense.
Like, does it carry over, or does some of the chaos from last season continue? Yeah, I, you know, out in the desert, for instance, they have them ticketed to win, you know, potentially 11 games. They're setting that number right around there. And I know their schedule is easy, but yeah, they've lost players and they're coming off a tough run. And sometimes you wonder if, you know, a team like the Niners, if they had the window, was open and it was open and they got so close, did it close or not?
That's a good one, Ceci. I'm very excited to see what the Niners did today.
So, your season-long storyline arc that you're interested in is the Niners? Yes. I want to see what happens because it's like this. You're right. It's like a team that had this window.
You just signed your quarterback. Where does this go? Are you actually a superpower in the NFC, or are we, is this a Mirage? We had total 10 and a half, by the way, 49ers. 10 and a half.
Yeah, we had Jordan Rodrigue from The Athletic, who's awesome on our show. this week and You know, we were just talking about Shanahan and her being a camp and just the. Demeanor and the energy around him, and how he's such a figure of massive respect in the league. He's just missing that chip. That's the one thing that separates him from being potentially like an iconic coach of this era.
So let's see if he can do it. I think Stafford's back. If it's if it's if we're i if we got the green light there. Rams are the class of that division. Period.
I understand the Niners have names. that I adore McCaffrey. And kittle. And obviously, Trent Williams went healthy. Defensively, they still have Bosa and Warner and they got Salabak, which is a secret sauce.
I think they Niner fans have been very vocal about them having been missed significantly defensively. But the Rams are younger. The Rams are Last year, they showed what they can do. The Rams gave the Eagles their. Toughest punch.
Of the playoffs last year. You know, I know the sentimentality. rightfully so surrounding Cooper Cup. They they have Devontae Adams instead. Puka Nakua is a top five wide receiver.
Kyron Williams doesn't come off the field. The Rams are not the class of the NCAA. I can see that they are, but Stafford's back feels like one of the biggest X factors heading into the season. How long will it last? He's had these injuries before.
I just I think that's kind of like kind of cross your fingers that he survives the first major seven hits he takes from behind type individuals. You're just you're you're a skeptic. No, no, no. I'm seeing you, Dan. You're like shaking your head.
No, I don't. Do you not know whose house it is? I am, yes. Sam's house it is. I understand that.
They make that very clear. We're also. Yeah. Very clear. In case anyone's wondering, the owner of the domicile.
But sorry, go ahead. Yankees fans, Rich, and my hero growing up was Don Mattingly. And I just have a thing about backs and professional athletes and how sometimes they don't get better. And to Mark's point, they're going to keep Stafford in mothballs and protect him in every way possible. But once the bullets start flying, how much do you believe in Jimmy G in 2025 if something were to go sideways health-wise early this season?
And then it gets a little dicey. But to your point, they are a team that I think you have to give so much credit to Sneed. And McVay, and what they've been able to do to win a title. And then everybody's like, oh, they bought that thing on credit, whatever that meant, which drove me crazy. Oh, now they're going to go in the tank for several years.
It's like, nah, they're just actually now going to switch up their policies. They're going to draft well. They're going to build this thing up again. And they are a team on the rise. It is the quarterback and his health that really is the only thing that has me as a skeptic.
Handicapped the NFC North for me. What do you got? What do you think? Lions Or my team. Um Hmm.
It gets tough. I had the Packers with a much higher win total than anyone else on our show. Come on, Ceci. HTC Power Rangers, you had them number three. I just think when it all shakes out, I had them at three and I got filleted for it.
And I understand, but it's like you gotta project ahead sometimes with a mystical feeling of what might happen to this team. Of course. But I still think the way to handicap right now would probably be from a national perspective, Lions. Packers, Vikings, and then the Bears thing. Like, we'll see.
That's one of these teams has to take some hits, and we'll see about the quarterback, but they're a better team. Yeah, I feel like people are sleeping on the Vikings. I don't know if it's top of the division, but If this is, we have a quarterback whisperer in Minnesota. We sure do. We have one of the best young coaches in football, and he hand-picked that kid.
And he has a chance now to really build the team around him. And I don't understand. I understand maybe, what was it, 14 and 3 last year with Darnold? I'm not talking about that, but I think the general sentiment is that, yeah, like the Bears are on the rise and they have two Titans in the division, and then the Vikings are just in the mix. I totally see them as a playoff team.
The narrative I see is the Lions lost both coordinators, so they can't be as good. You hear the Packers, you just don't know who the heck is getting, other than Josh Jacobs, who's the one who's going to rule the roost and get the football, right? With Jordan Love taking a step back, he's. Can he stay healthy? And that's the Packers' question mark about them.
J.J. McCarthy is obviously the question mark of the Vikings. And then the whole idea is that the Bears are going to be better. But they might just be the best last place team in the National Football League. Like, that's the way I see the NFC North being handicapped as we go into the playing season.
Dean Campbell called it the best team he's had. I heard that. He said that he's going to be tough cutting a roster, top to bottom.
Well, it's 'cause he's probably not seen so many healthy people in a long time. You know what I mean? He's like, wait a minute. Everybody on this roster, you can play? You're not an engine reserve?
But you know, that's the idea. Was Goff's success built off of Ben Johnson or not? And I think that that is a question mark that people are going to see. And then we'll see how much of a quarterback whisperer is Ben Johnson. I just love the fact that he is.
Um openly talking about this offense in a way That is A tough love so far. And I think that that's a benefit. I really do. They needed that. And such a obviously a great football city of Chicago.
They've never really had a truly great quarterback. I liked a lot what I saw from Caleb Williams in horrible circumstances last year. And everything that we found out from Seth Wickersham is that was borne out. All of his concerns about being drafted by the Bears was actually happening while he was getting his. Butt-handed to him, and he didn't say a word.
He took it. He didn't say a word. And he made plays. And if you look at his, I know counting stats aren't what it's all about to a lot of people, but he had a pretty good year as a rookie when you consider everything. And, you know, that Netflix quarterback series, seeing Ben Johnson and Jared Goff.
And I respect Jared Goff. I don't think he gets enough respect. But Ben Johnson, seeing the way they work together, it does make me wonder, yes, what Detroit looks like with him and Glenn Gonn, and also, you know, how much the Chicago offense can surge with a guy that knows what he's doing. Last one on the NFC for you, Mark Sessler, Dan Hansus, the team that's more likely to take a step forward, the commanders or the Bucs. I only ask those questions that make people make delivers.
I love it. That's a thorny one. I could see the Bucks as, I could see the commanders regressing just a little bit because late game situations, one score games, everything kind of went right and it was this feel-good operation. I think they're a good team. I kind of see the Bucks as an NFC title team.
I think they've shown a number of years in a row that they can go beat people in the playoffs and they're stacked. And if you get the Baker Mayfield from before, now it's another new coordinator. I mean, this is happening all over the league, but I'm kind of a Baker as an old school Browns fan, and I'm happy for him. But that is a loaded team that's been very consistently built by Jason Light. Yeah.
Well, he doesn't. He keeps bringing them back. It's unbelievable. He keeps them together. He does.
And Godwin keeps coming back, you know, like the operation patient. But it looks like he's coming back again.
So, and Ibuka apparently is off the charge. I know. Another Ohio. He can run the ball now. Who can catch it?
Right. And I think your question was: who's more likely to take a step forward? I mean, the Commanders, that means the Super Bowl, right? Is that correct? I can't.
I can't get there. I can't go there, but it could still be a very exciting and successful season for Washington fans, and they deserve that as well. But yeah, I think the Bucs, I think one thing I've learned, and we've learned, because we've Both showered Baker with praise in this Tampa Bay run is that. He's a guy that now I trust to handle the OC change. He's shown it twice and continues to thrive.
And he's the type of guy that. And it's not a twist of the knife because, like, we've talked about the Baker Browns thing. Like, he's such a easy guy to root for. And does Baker. Have a January heater in him.
Oh, that would be amazing. I think he does. He could, if things fell the right way. And then, yeah, if Jaden Daniels in Washington gets an NFC title game, so too could the Bucs. Wouldn't that, maybe they both do get it?
We'll get that answer in January. A Baker January heater. That might be a good fantasy team name. Just that could be a late ad. Just under the wire before we just choose our fantasy team name for a draft that's going on right now.
So. That would be amazing. And plus, again. Um It's after Brady. You never want to be the guy after the guy.
You want to be the guy after the guy after the guy. And he shows up. Post Brady. And Kyle Trask is no longer there. Apparently they're releasing him today.
Um and so This is Baker's show. And Jason Light keeps bringing everybody back. They do have that defense that Todd Bowles can dial up. That's the sneaky NFC team that I think people might be overlooking. You never know.
Mark Sessler, Dan Hans, who's here on the Rich Eisen Show. In the AFC, are you guys of the mindset it is the Ravens conference to win? Or people are saying that just because we just can't say the Chiefs again? People are just. Fatigued.
Does that cancel each other? I think so. I think I'm really excited about the season in Kansas City.
Okay, I know that for fatigue of fatigue, I kind of equals excitement. You know what I do have fatigue of actually? I have fatigue of like this is Baltimore's year fatigue. I do kind of have that. That's been going on for a while.
But they are taking incremental steps, right? It went from great regular seasons to puttering out in the playoffs. And then last year, even though it ended in heartbreak with the Mark Andrews two-point conversion play, Lamar led a spirited comeback and put, I thought, put to bed some of this, like, oh, Lamar in January stuff.
So the only next step now is to get over the hump. But man, I kind of see them one A and one B in terms of the over-the-hump gang with the Buffalo Bills. Like, that is, those are two organizations that are under enormous pressure to get to the Super Bowl. And they share a conference, so someone's going to be bitterly disappointed. The Ravens.
Well sorry, the Ravens um Had a very like, in a way, an offseason that is atypical for them. They didn't lose a lot of players. They kept a lot of coaches. Like, it's been consistent. But the Bills have also been so consistent for years.
And it's like, I just kind of look at them the way that I looked at Ravens teams of old, where there isn't a lot of turnover. Like, there's some young players on defense, and we need to see some of the young players on offense. But I kind of view Buffalo as that team that's like, when is this going to happen? It's it ne it I think it's happening this season or it maybe does not happen at all for Buffalo. Really?
Well, I mean, that's not the same. You could tweet that out and I'll get destroyed by someone, but it's just it feels like how many more years can we just assume that Buffalo is going to win the AFC and they they don't do it. I don't know. It just seems we're in the AFC right now world where Chiefs Bills, Ravens. Are going to make it in some way, shape, or form to the final four, right?
And it just depends on. When do you face the Chiefs? Does it end your season? You know, could we possibly see a Ravens-Bills AFC championship game where somebody gets eliminates the Chiefs for the other and they make it? Um, and the other certainty is the Texans are 100% getting the first wild card window, you know, on a Saturday.
You can write that in if they win the AFC South, which I think they're favored to do again this year. Yeah, but they did make the like it's not a revolving door at the final four spot in the AFC. They've made it two years in a row, and that's been the final four. And the question is: so, who can break through? Is it the Chargers?
Could it be the Bengals if they put it together? Could it be another AFC South team? Could it be the Broncos? I mean, the Broncos have a massive Bandwagon heading in there. Yeah, I got you.
That's what I find too popular at this point. See, and I'm in the past. I was in, and then I'm kind of like over it. Maybe the popular thing could actually be true, though. It can.
It can be. But we have a thing on our show, the team of HTC, and we like to get behind a team that doesn't have a ton of buzz. And I feel like when we did it in like June, The bandwagon is pretty empty. Oh, you did it for the Broncos in the summer. Yeah, this summer we're like, we like this Broncos team.
People forget that now, but that wasn't. And then, you know, we had our old friend James Palmer on the show. And nice hair. Yeah, beautiful hair. Great information.
Not in that order. Great information. And then, you know, the way James tells stories, he's like, you know, I was going out on the field at a Broncos facility and uh. You know, the head coach, he just walks right up to me, he says, Jimmy, I love this team. I love this team.
And I buy it because it is a great team. This is a loaded team. Yes. but in a loaded division. Yeah.
The way you said it was very foreboding at the end there. It's just like, don't you? I mean, some Patrick Mahomes, third and six rollout for a six and a half-yard game to knock out the Broncos. You can see it. You could see that about anything.
Because Mahomes is, you weren't talking about X Factors, about that not that will determine the season. I think the number one is how Mahomes is internalizing the Super Bowl loss. And if he has internalized it in the manner that he's showing up physically, you could see he's in the best shape he's ever been in. Entering a playing season, and I, but he doesn't talk about it, he's not out there like on uh. Men's health covers like Luca.
You know what I mean? Like, honestly, he's and he's not talking about. I heard what you all said about us losing to the Eagles. I heard what everybody's saying about we were lucky. I saw the meme from the Cold Play concert of a referee hugging me, or I'm hugging a ref.
Like, he's not saying anything like that. And I'm wondering how he's internalizing it. Same thing with Kelsey. You know, same thing with Kelsey, same thing with all of them. They are a better team.
They're better. They got better. Everyone's talking about this Josh Simmons guy finally being an anchor at that left tackle spot. He's a rookie we need to see it first. And obviously, Khalil Mack and Harbaugh on the YouTube game in Brazil are going to test that out right away.
But I'm wondering how the Chiefs show up. this year and everybody's like just Fatigue plus, you know, times fatigue equals excitement. Powerback exhaustion does not have anything to do with what actually happens on the field if you think about it. It's two separate things. And Andy Reid, I mean, this is like the eighth year in a row of they played extra games over every other team, and he's found a way to get it new and refresh it each training camp.
Right. So I trust I mean I kind of trust the operation. At the end of the day though, w w who wins the AFC? I'm going to say the Bills. I'm going to say they're going to do it.
I just think it's going to be a little bit. Finals, highmark season. Think it's their time. Uh-huh. The other I do like I do like the chances of a Joe Burrow maniac season.
I just got this weird feeling about Burrow this year. I've had that, though. Yeah, but like one where they don't start 0-3 and it's kinda buried a little bit. Burrow going absolutely nuts and Maybe we get a Burrow Josh Allen AFC title game. Which would, by the way, be amazing.
Yeah. And now we are living in a very good time with quarterbacks right now. Certainly. You remember the quaint years, probably when you were starting your pod? When, like, what's going to happen with the AFC when Brady and Peyton Manning retire?
Remember that? And Big Ben. And Big Ben. And now, you know. Feels like two decades ago.
It does, but you know, Burrow and Alan and Lamar and Patrick and And who Stroud is now putting it in? I've never seen this last year, and you guys are poo-pooing me. We've never seen more quarterback talent in the NFL than right now. But it's easy to poo-poo, and it's enjoyable. That's what it is, which I understand.
I'm going to bring up Justin Fields when we talk about that list.
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Restrictions apply. Radio audience returns in about three minutes, so let's uh continue this conversation here on the Roku Sports channel with Heed the Calls, Dan Hanzus, and Mark Sessler. Uh, we didn't discuss Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers. The uh Your best guess as to how that season plays out. We start with the Browns fan and then we'll go to the Jets fan, and I need to say that.
So we understand where these comments are.
Well, I would say bland. But I do think that the defense will still be able to win them games. And Aaron Rodgers at this point is a mid-tier quarterback. I don't love their weaponry, and they just feel ticketed. We just mentioned all these powerful teams in the AFC.
Yes, sir. And the AFC North schedule for each one of those teams is rugged. Because they play the NFC North as well and the AFC East. Right. So for Pittsburgh, do they strike me as a team that's going to survive and overtake any of these bigger giants?
I don't think so. I think they kind of are who they are, and they could have maybe thought about a deeper rebuild, but they believe that they're still a wildcard team or a playoff type team. I don't know if I believe that at this point. In fact, I do not. Yeah, I think.
Coming out of the last two years with the Jets, I came out of last season saying, okay, Rodgers is. He's a quarterback that can be successful. It was troubling when the competition would go up. His play usually went down. And I just wonder if what the Steelers are expecting is to get the old, old Rodgers, but they're just going to get old Rodgers.
And in that division, I mean, I see nine wins. I see him being in the Tomlin zone. Listen. I think Looking at Rogers' abilities this year through the prism of the last two is unfair. I really believe that.
First year Blows out his Achilles. Especially second year, he comes back, blows out his Achilles. Um and you know three games in Um being two and one, they have a terrible home day. against the Denver Broncos. and they're flying off to London and the owner is saying we should bench 'em.
And the head coach is pushing back on this sort of thing, and then the head coach gets fired. And then the defensive coordinator takes over. There's a new offensive coordinator that comes in. What a holy heck of a mess. Even Rogers can't even.
Navigate something like that. I understand his diminished physical abilities. I get that. Neck up, he's still one of the best. His arm, apparently, is as good as it's ever been.
And we'll see what happens with DK. We'll see what happens. I understand the. The receiving core might not overwhelm, but the Steelers seem to always find a receiver you're not thinking of. John U.
Smith is added. We'll see what the running backs can do. The defense is pretty darn good. And the thing about Rodgers is the Steelers aren't asking him. Please figure everything out for us.
You know what I mean? But does he is he okay with that? I think he is. I think at this stage of his career, I think he absolutely is.
Now, we did predict. When you talk about bland, right, but it's going to look like offensively bland. We were talking yesterday, TJ, Chris, and yours truly, that. If I had a guess, there might be a week six, week seven story coming out somewhere that there's an Arthur Smith. Aaron Rodgers gear grind, you know, and and um because neither of them you know suffer fools, but that could be fatigue plus fatigue equals excitement.
They could cancel each other out. I don't, I don't, I don't see disaster here. I see that there is a plan. Um and if Rogers can remain healthy. at this advanced age.
I see it working. But if we're saying nine wins, which is not a disaster at all, how many wins would you push for? Because I'll tell you this right now, not just because I have an answer, but the radio audience is about to return. Back on the Rich Eisen Show Radio Network with Hansus and Sessler of Heed the Call. Mark, you just asked me the number of wins for the Steelers.
I'd say 10. I have the Steelers second in the division. And I have them being a playoff team. And in the same way that I'd love to see a Mayfield heater, just Aaron Rodgers in a Steelers uniform in a playoff game, potentially for the last time in his career, lock me in. And it could be against Buffalo, it could be against Baltimore, it could be against the Chargers, it could be against Houston, it could be against the Chiefs.
Just name it, it could be again, a division, one of those. The Steelers always seem to play a division playoff game, it seems like. Like one of those. Like, sign me up for that sort of thing. But.
You know, that's in in the few minutes left I have with you guys. Um Mark, your opinion of the Browns sending Kenny Pickett out. And at the end of the day, after this long discussion of what the quarterback room is going to look like through free agency and then the draft, it's Flacco and two rookies. What do you think? Well, it's like this message we were given for weeks and months that they were going to keep four quarterbacks.
Pickett always felt like the odd man out because I get that Flacco and Stefansky obviously can work together to start the season and their schedule is absolutely a nightmare.
So I get you go in with Flacco, is 40, so that's not the long-term plan, and then you don't ditch one of the two rookies. You're going to want to try to see them both. I think Cleveland is sort of Overall, trying to get so much younger. The picket trade gave them a fifth, and they have 10 picks in the next draft, two number ones. Anything's on the table for how they'll look.
But this year, outside of I think the defense being a little feisty, I don't think they're gonna be as bad as people think. They're ranked by most as like the worst team in the league. I think they'll coach their way out of some of that, but from another angle, It's like the 18th, 19th, 20th year in a row. Where, if this were a relationship and you had a therapist, the therapist would say, Get out of this and start to pay attention to your own needs and wants.
So that lingers as well, along with whatever excuse I can make for them.
Okay. While we're on the subject of fandom and therapy, how do you view the Jets season? I think the Jets season can be a successful one without having a winning record. It's nice to be. Back our head underneath the clouds and not thinking, oh, maybe we go to the Super Bowl.
If Aaron Glenn can instill a program, if it could feel like the season ends where we're building something, and maybe the quarterback sticks, and maybe it's a band-aid until they can use a high draft pick next year, which is probably more where I see it. But I want to see, I just want to see basic competence. I want the coach to have control of his sidelines. I want accountability. I want less penalties.
I want Garrett Wilson and Sauce to play at the height of their powers. And I want the owner. to stay out of it. And let this team develop from the ground up because Aaron Glenn came from a place that started out as bad as it can get. And by the time Campbell and him were done together, they were a Super Bowl power.
The owner, Woody Johnson, needs to understand that's the only way this is going to work. You got to let this thing simmer. And I do think Glenn is the right guy. I love that he's a Parcells guy. I'm a big Parcels guy.
I love that he's a former Jet. I love that he's a former first-round pick that played a long time in the league. The players respect that stuff. And everything, the way he's handled and comported himself since he's been hired, makes me think they might have the right guy.
Now, I thought Robert Salah was the right guy, okay? Like, we've thought 100 guys were the right guy, but all you can do as a Jets fan is just hope that maybe this is finally, they made a move that gets them going in the right direction.
Well, Salah might have been the right guy, but Zach Wilson wasn't, right? And then Rogers was the move, I thought a wise one that blew up. Yeah. Because of. We don't need to go down that road.
I like the move that the Jets made. I mean, in terms of their options at quarterback, what to do? $20 million a year on a flyer on somebody with a massive upside potentially, and bringing them in and saying it's your team, Justin, and we're going to hook you up with your old college teammate, who, by the way, we're going to re-sign. They've re-signed the two right guys. They signed their rookies of the year.
And they've made the right moves. We will see if they cash. Which rookie would you want Mark to see being two on the death truck in Cleveland?
Well, Dylan Gabriel had the much better preseason, so he's earned it.
So if you flip that around. You think so, huh? I mean, I think it's a good idea. I mean, Shador had a much better first game. Then then Gabriel had his first game.
And then the second game, you know. A bunch of the guys whose names are going to get cut, it's Shiddor played behind, although he did not have a. I think that it's a lightning rod scenario if Shador's in there. I'm very curious to see him. I don't care what anyone says.
But Gabriel was drafted higher. He received much more of the training camp snaps. They treated him like A higher-ranking quarterback than Shidora.
So it's like, then, if you flip that, who's in charge of that decision? Mark Sessler and Dan Hence, who's here on the Rich Eisen show to wrap up hour number one. Everyone, check out Heed the Call on Odyssey and more. We're still here on Roku. Continue on if you want.
Well, I just, I've always wondered, like, not to go on about it too much, but Kevin Stefansky inherited Baker Mayfield. They moved on from him. Right. And then he was the Deshaun Watson thing happens where it's like, did Stefanski really want Deshaun Watson? I don't see very clear evidence of that.
And he doesn't fit in the Stefansky office. Why does Stefanski have why is there a narrative that Stefansky's a hostage? Because it comes to his quarterbacks. Why? Because the Deshaun Watson felt like it came from high up.
And the same thing with Shador Sanders. I mean, when Flacco is his only works versus the Fans. Name me the quarterbacks DeFansky wanted in Cleveland that he's actually coached. Is it Flacco? And that's the end of the list?
Well, that's the only one that truly felt like a good story. I don't know if it's the end of the list, but I would say this. Do we say this about Sean McVay? In the quarterback he gets. Like, we feel like he goes and gets the quarterback he wants.
Same with. Certain types of coaches. O'Connell and Cleveland, it feels like there's a committee, and they've called it a committee. And committee is problematic when you keep coming up with the worst possible decision. And Jets fans, Browns fans, this function starts from the top down.
We just want the top to Not keep us down.
Well, the neat thing is in terms of your new situation with the top being Odyssey that they clearly are into you guys. They gave you a deal and they don't have a problem with you booking celebrities as your guests. And actors as your guests, because your guest on the next seed that calls is who? None other than Chris Brock. You are aware.
You are aware. I have an extensive writer. No, not an extensive writer. You've been booked before as a celebrity. That's true.
That's true. At a celebrity golf tournament. As an actor. A celebrity golf tournament, correct. As an actor.
Would you care to tell him the story? Oh, God. Or should I? You can do it. Kevin Rom.
Yeah, Kevin Rom. His remarkable charity golf tournament. For St. Jude in Jacksonville. Unbelievable.
Once upon a time, had Chris come out and play. wasn't he was listed as actor actor oh nice chris brockman We all wear masks, Chris, so. I mean, I've been in two programs, I think. And then Non-speaking roles. Ceses over there.
CTJ, we just had a full football conversation. Didn't mention Michael or the Dallas Cowboys once, which is exactly what you know, it goes against what the Cowboys wanted. That's right. They wanted to be not giving Jerry what he wants. Yeah, that's what we're doing.
Until we just mentioned him. Oh, so almost made it. Congrats on everything going on with you guys. I look forward to coming on during the season. Can't wait.
I look forward to it. Dan Handus and Mark Sessler. Heed the call wherever you get your podcasts. Hey folks, let me ask you a serious question. Did you know that driving high is considered driving under the influence?
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