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Now. On with the show. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Yeah, that's kind of my thing. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles.
Now you're making your debut as a college football coach. I hope it goes a lot better in the game against Dallas. They crushed us. Earlier on the show. ESPN, Monday Night Football Analyst, Troy Aikman.
Commanders linebacker Von Miller. Coming up. Actor Paul Rudd. Broncos head coach Sean Payton. And now, it's Rich Eisen.
Yeah, hour number three of the Rich Hodgen Show on our first day in the wonderful world of Disney is on the air. Fun first two hours. Troy Aikman and Von Miller. Sean Payton's about to join us. If you missed any of the first two hours, As soon as this show is over, you can watch it back at your convenience.
Stream it on Disney Plus and the ESPN app everywhere. There's our YouTube page as well, youtube.com/slash Rich Oson Show. We got a lot of comments saying you're going to still put your videos on YouTube. The answer is yes. There's our podcast as well, all three hours available through our new relationship with ESPN Pods and the Pod Center there.
844-204-Rich is the number to dial on the program. This show came on the air 11 years ago. And one of our first guests also served as our first guest when we were on Peacock for the first time and on the Roku channel for the first time. And we say hello to anybody out there that might be watching on Roku, on Disney Plus. And so it's only fitting that he joins on this day as well.
And on this day as well, while we've been on year after year. It's kind of like the Masters, a tradition unlike any other. Because every single day, and you'll hear if you're new to this program, we'll say silly stuff. We'll write it down, or a guest will say something, and we'll write it down. I'll turn to you, Chris Brockman, and say, Sounds like a fantasy team name.
I write it down, I have a document. And so it's now time to have our fantasy team that we conduct collectively on this program named. And the person who chooses our name is a diehard. Fantasy footballer and football fan himself, our friend Paul Rudd's back on programme. Hi, Rich.
Hi guys. That's a warm round of applause for you, Paul. I feel it. I feel the warmth. How many?
So, just again, the standard first question: how many fantasy leagues are you in? Too many. Too many. So many leagues now. Like, family is like, we've lost you to the month of August.
And I also have a few of those drafts. This is a new one where I've done like a best ball one where you're kind of, it's the long. Yes. That's the one that we're in together, Paul. Where I took some serious heat for telling people to move it along, and apparently I was the major violator of taking the longest time.
So I stepped in that one. You really did. Yeah. You called out, and then you did realize that there's a whole thing you can track, and you were taking the longest. But it's.
That will go two weeks, you know, and you're. It's a terrible thing. You wake up at three in the morning and it's like I just go to my phone. I'm like, oh God, I bet I'm up. Right, exactly.
I know. I need to make sure I get Will Shipley, you know, in round 17, you know, and then you feel good. Like, yeah, I got that. I think I might have gotten Will Shipley on that one. It's not a well-rounded existence.
Let's be honest. All right, so too many. And your y what are your team names? Have you changed them? Are they the same?
What what are what are we having? I haven't really f I haven't changed them yet this year. I mean, I think I'm still dealing with um Tears of elegance, maybe in one is Dench still my favorite Judy. No, Dench exclaimed. Dench's, Dench's, Dench is, I think, like.
I I don't think I ever beer from Dench. Dench is, especially because I know, Rich, you have said in the past. Always ask me that dench. I always do. Because it's dench with an exclamation point.
Yes, correct. And yeah. And if there was a fantasy league for actresses, would she be a flex? Paul? Would Judy Dench be a flex?
Where what would she be? I mean like, you know, she's a Uh uh y you pick you pick Dane, first of all, you pick Dane, Judy Day. And uh the she's a perf rounder. She's a first-round pick. She's just, you know, or at least a second.
You could probably get Dame Judidench on the wraparound. If you're picking late. You know. All right, let's get to the task at hand. We have, out of the stupidity over the last 365 days of this show, called down.
phrases that have been uttered. We don't have Some of them we have the context for, down to a final eight. And Elite Elite Eight, if you will. And we have seeded them. And what we're going to do is, we're going to walk through a pair of them each time.
You will advance one, eliminate the other, and then we'll eventually come up with a team name if that works for you. Do you have a pen? I'm trying to write this down in a bracket. You should.
Okay.
So, first up is the one. Are we going with the one seed first? One seed, yeah. The one seed, and I think you'll like this one. I do remember this was, I said this.
In reference to the Chiefs' fatigue. The football nation, except for you, because you're part of the kingdom. Um was feeling Last year, when the Chiefs made the Super Bowl again, and that they were dealing with: here we go, Bundle Ruski of hate. A bundle ruski of hate. And there's Smitch, Sean Mitchell.
And the avatar has to be considered as well. That's an outstanding avatar right there. Bundle Ruski of Hate is our top seed. And it goes against, I don't know why this is, but number eight seed. What do we have the context for this one?
We don't have it. I have no idea. John Lennon's hot tub. I have no idea. What that was, but there it is.
There's Lennon in a hot tub in a very cold environment. We had a guest who said they were friends with John Lennon and went in his hot tub.
Okay, there we go. Yeah. So who advances, Bundle Ruski of Hate or John Lennon's Hot Tub, Paul? Which one do you eliminate and which one do you advance? What oh boy.
Um It's one versus eight. Talk it out. I'm going to go with John Lennon's hot tub. Not yours. It's a surprising pick.
You would say bundle Rubisky of hate, certainly. But there's something just I like these things to Exist in and of themselves.
Okay, understood.
Okay, very good. What an up that's like is that like UMBC knocking off Virginia right there?
Something like that? Huge. That's a major upset. All right, John Lennon's hot tub advances. Yeah.
Well, by the way, the Beatles are the greatest band of all time. Understood. Got it. That's true. Understood.
Next up, out of. You'll like this one? Finger gunned by Costner. There it is. Finger gunned.
By Costner. There he is, giving you the finger guns right there. Maybe on the set of horizon. And then number seven is nitpicking gosling. I don't recall why we were saying it, but nitpicking gosling.
That might have been when you were mistaken for him at the combine. Oh, that's right. I was actually mistaken for him at the combine by somebody who was drunk and somebody you were mistaken for Ryan Gosling? Yes, in front of Matt Eberflus, who can attest to this. These are facts.
Sounds weird like a big, crazy football Hollywood mad lib, but it's true. Um Which one advances, finger-gunned by Costner or nitpicking Gosling? Paul? Costner Costner advances. We thought that would be the case.
All right, so we have a new top seed. And I feel like uh you know They're saying that the ing, the double ing, nick picking osling, doesn't work. Oh, it's understood.
Okay.
Next up, this was said by Nate Bergetzi when he came here because he watched, he played golf with Mark Lewberg. And at one point, Wahlberg had somebody. A friend was at his caddy, popped out a Theragun and was using it on him during the round.
So, Wahlberg's Theragun pit crew. There it is. Looks very squid beamish, not gonna lie.
So it's actually it's Mark Wahlberg's Theragun Pit Corps. It could be we could use the we could lose the mark. I don't wanna eliminate this because it might prove to be too wordy. We can work it. Um this one was said by Uh the actor Paul Walter Hauser.
He came on the program. He said he's in the new Springsteen movie. And he said he got to tell Springsteen that they both, once upon a time, um. Lived in the same house, not together, but they he he lived in the a house that that Springsteen had previously owned. He said he told Springsteen that he conceived one of his children in the bedroom, and Springsteen responded by saying, Me too.
Which led to Locational Eskimo Brothers. Um that's what That's what Paul Walterhauser said.
So this one's tough. Which what do you have for these? I love the avatar. It's fantastic. It's so great.
That's really good.
Okay.
That is really good. And by the way, great story. Better story than team name. I'm going Mark Wahlberg's there. All right, all right.
Sorry. Hey, but at least Paul's got a kid out of it, you know? Paul Walter Hauser's got a kid out of it. Laughing. Yes.
A great actor, hilarious, good guy. And Springsteen, I'm going to say it right now. One of the best. Where to go out on the limb? All right, last two.
This happened to me at the American Century Championship golf tournament. I noticed Mike Vrabel at a table across the way. He was drinking red wine and he waved at me. The Vrabel table? The Vrabel table.
Very good. He waved at me with its pinky.
So Vrabel's pinky wave. Uh is a team name right there. And then this one, I don't know where this came from, but in reference to the man who patrols the Eagles' sideline, Big Dom's lockbox. Big dumbs. Lockbox are your last Uh competitors.
Paul Rudd, Big Dom's Lockbox or Vrabel Pinky Wave? I know what I'm rooting for here. What do you got, Paul? I'm gonna go. Ooh.
And I'll tell you something, even though they. Even though they crushed us in the Super Bowl. I'm going big doms long. Big doms. You don't let personal feelings creep in here, man.
That's why we have you, Paul. You don't let personal feelings creep in here. You go with what's best for us and what's best for. For the bit? Uh you're committed.
I appreciate it. I also, you have to take into account the sound of something. Mm-hmm. Does it just sound? How does it work?
How does it work? Sound-wise, poetry-wise, you know, I know there's always that's why you go with like a Lenin Tata versus like we all want to incorporate player names in our things. I've never been into that.
Okay, so now we've got the final four. Except Cuckoo for Coco Crisp, which was a team name once. Cuckoo for Coco Crisp. I've only ever used. Two players in my fantasy names, fantasy teenages, and cuckoo.
And the other? Carry on my wayward Johnson. Ladies and gentlemen. Ladies and gentlemen, that sounds like Berman. That sounds like a Berman nickname.
Carry On My Wayward Johnson. I like it. All right.
So, final four: who advances to the final round? John Lennon's hot tub or finger-gunned by Costner? Um That avatar is amazing. I'm going to go with John John Lennon Times.
Okay.
Wow. And then they face who in the final? Wahlberg's Theragun Pit Crew or Big Dom's Lockbox? Big Dom's lockbox.
Okay, so here we go. Championship. Hey, listen, if anybody could take out a Beatle. Um does that make big if big Dom Woods does that make him the Billy Preston? Of this, the the fifth beating Or the George Martin.
George Martin.
Okay, sure. The Brian Epstein. If you will. The winner of this competition on the Rich Eisen Show fantasy football team name is either John Lennon's Hot Tub or Big Dom's Lockbox, Paul Rudd. The floor is yours.
Well, I certainly like the Beatles more than everybody mentioned, but you know what? I think Big Dom's lot better. I am honored. Buy you. And I can't wait for like we're going to go on a roll here with Big Dom's lockbox.
Do we have any Eagles? On the team, Chris, I'm not sure. You know, I pulled it up because I wanted to make the change immediately.
Okay.
We do not have any Eagles. It's all good, though. Big Dom's lockbox, the five-seed with the win, man. That's impressive, Paul. I like it.
Thank you. Yeah, you can, and you can kind of. I don't know exactly what context you referred to Big Dom's lockbox in early in the year, but it's. It's cryptic enough. Uh You can kind of uh Just have fun with it.
Let's have some fun with it. Do you want to offer uh your your thoughts on the Chief season that starts Friday night in Brazil?
Okay.
Uh Well, I mean, I'm very excited. I'm very excited to that football season is starting again. I can't wait to watch the game. Yes, sir. When it's on Friday night from Brazil, right?
That's correct. In the voice, you will recognize the voice calling the game. Paul. Yes, I will not. The owner of Big Dom's lockbox.
I don't know if I'm mentioning that on Friday night, but you'll be out there. You're going to mention you're going to talk about the Dom's lockbox during the game. What the hell are you talking about? That's right. You know, that's what the kids say.
So if that's the case, you just take out a Theragun, you just give him a little Wahlberg.
So, all right.
Well, you're excited for the season, obviously. I'm very excited for the season. Yeah, I always am. It's always great when you're starting off and it's all ahead of you. You know?
You have a full season ahead of you. There it is. Okay.
And. And so, yeah. Enjoy it, buddy. I want everyone to stay healthy. On every team, Every game Paul Rod Rolling for rooting.
Paul Rodroot for the Chiefs and humanity. Love it. Look at that. Good to see you, bud. You be well.
We'll check you out. Chris, it's great seeing you, Chris. Guys. Have a great year. You too, Paul.
Congrat hey, congratulations on this new It's first Disney. I feel like Bill Murray and the Letterman show. I'm your first guy on all of these ever. You are. You are.
It's great to share an app with you. You are just. Take care of yourself, Paul. Thanks again, buddy. See you.
Ladies and gentlemen, Paul is looking on me. I gotta say, stunned Big Dom's lockbox came out of that. Wow. But again, Paul Rudd is not just going to choose it out of personal belief or whatever. He's just going to.
He wants what's best for the show. That's true. And for fantasy football, and comedy, and humanity. Um all all great. ESPN Radio, again, presented by Progressive Insurance returns when we come back right here on the Rich Isaac Show with none other than Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos.
We will also predict the NFC North and take more of your phone calls, 844-204-RICH, number to dial. Get into the Hyundai Getaway Sales Event and get away with a deal so right it almost feels wrong. Because right now, you can get huge savings on our most popular models, including our adventure-ready SUVs like the Hyundai Santa Fe and Santa Fe hybrid models, or go all-electric and choose from America's most awarded EV lineup, like the Breakthrough Ionic 5 or Ionic 6.
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Get started at linkedin.com slash results. Terms and conditions apply. Back on the Rich Eisen Show, everybody. Sean Payton about to join us on this program. Uh before he does, um Interesting news.
The yellow line that you see on the screen. For first down, it's unofficial, as you know. Yeah, it will be unofficial. You've made that clear. Be careful.
If anybody thinks that line is official. Uh Shame on you. Yeah. So depth charts at present. Apparently they're unofficial.
Oh, I don't know what that means. I don't know where a depth chart becomes official. Teams are reporting depth chart info right now. I understand that, but it's being called unofficial. The Giants.
have named Jackson Dart unofficially. as the backup to Russell Wilson.
Okay, that's not surprising. Dude. It's not Russ and then Jameis and then Jackson Dart. It's Russia. Then Jackson Dart, then Jameis, which means our second hour guest.
Von Miller. Let's say somehow, some way he gets to Rust. And Russ winds up in a On the sideline for a split moment. Blue tip. Oh, we don't want Blue Ten.
Blue Ten. Blue Ten's serious. I just saw the sideline.
So we need somebody. We got to get who's taking the snap. It's Jackson Dart. Is that what's happening? Because also That We'll start the conversation of How Short of a um Patience meter Brian Dave all of the Giants have on Russ.
You know what I mean? Like, if you put Jameis there, it's just like, hey, everybody, stop screaming for the kid. Not ready. We're not going to put them in. But dart.
Being second unofficially? Hmm. Yeah. So I understand you're saying, yeah, it makes sense because of what preseason he had. Yeah.
Yeah. Mm-hmm. This is gonna this is something one would say uh There's monitoring. Brian Dabo's future is not tied to Russell Wilson. It's tied to Jackson Darn.
No, I understand that. But Russia. We've talked about it. At Washington, at Dallas, home for Kansas City. That is not easy, sir.
Home for the Chargers at New Orleans. Home for Philadelphia. At our next guests. Home in Denver. Care board's gonna learn.
What that's like. On Sunday. And then at Philadelphia. Home for San Francisco at Chicago. Home for Green Bay at Detroit.
That's the first dozen weeks. Mm-hmm. And so you're saying Dart is one. potential snap away from having to run that gauntlet? I found that interesting.
Yeah, he's got to play at some point, though. This season? Sean Payton joining us here on the program, 844-204-rich number to dial in a matter of moments. Let's take AJ in San Antonio's phone call. What's up, AJ?
Hey, what's going on, Rich? How y'all doing? What's going on, Sarp Chief? Hey, so I had a question with for you. Today's my son's birthday.
Congratulations. A second birthday.
Okay.
What's your son's name? Sir, yes, sir. His name is Angelo.
Okay.
Happy birthday to Angelo. Happy birthday to Angelo. What's your look? What can we do?
So my question to you is Let me preface it this way first. I've been watching you on the NFL Network and Beyond since I mean, y'all aired and I was like in grade school, man. And so like for you, in a small way, you're a father figure to me through the air. I've just grown up watching you. And I I've noticed the best ad ever plaque on your decks.
So for me Being kind of new to the dad world, my question to you is: what's the most important element of representing the best dad ever plaque? And what advice would you give to newer dads or first-time fathers? Being present. AJ, be present. You have no idea what your presence means to a child.
So For Angelo, be as present as you possibly can. That's number one. Um and then obviously instill your Your uh uh Instill empathy. into Angelo as best you can. Equally as important.
Well, that's a second question and a half for you. As someone representing, to kind of keep it more in the sports world, as someone representing the state of Texas, takes a lot of pride in their soil and their state. Which team should I pick to represent our household? Should I present the Cowboys as our main team, or should I present the Texans as our main team?
Well, let me just start with this one, AJ. Does your wife have a rooting interest in that? Yeah, yep, good question. Oh shit. Her family is from Houston.
Okay, that's right. AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, you have an out. You have an out. You have an out. You have an out.
You have an out. Because when my Sons were born. And that predates my daughter. Uh by several years so By the time Taylor arrived, this thing was already, you know. A fully baked program.
Um But I could not. Tell my children you had to root for The Jets. When my wife was a Patriot fan and Tom Brady was winning all these championships, child services would have come and removed. Uh the kid from the house.
So you have an out. Because one way you've got CJ Stroud and a team that's made the Second round of the playoffs two years in a row. By winning a playoff game. And the other hasn't made the um made the uh uh final round of the conference playoffs um In 30-something years.
So you've got it now, AJ. You're welcome. And happy birthday to Angelo. Is what I'm saying to you. Thank you, thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, AJ in San Antonio, AJ, utilizing the phone line to tap into our RES Consulting. We're here for parenting. We're here for anything. Yeah. I'm glad you didn't involve me in this, because I don't know what I would have said.
What would you have said? I don't know, and I was hoping. Come on, don't come to me. Don't come to me. You know what the answer is.
There's no choice. If you have a choice and your wife is from Houston, and you can sit there and take Texans, oh man, nothing either. What if? What's the matter with the Texans? They've got a terrific coach, they've got a terrific quarterback, they've got a terrific roster, a front office that's pushing all the right buttons.
I was once a cheerleader. Come on, Green Mike Delta. HTC Mike. Houston Texans cheerleader Mike. Took me in.
What's wrong with that? Because. I know they didn't make a documentary about that. Yeah, you know. I don't know, Andrew.
I think you should go with the Cowboys and hope for the best. There you go. That's what he wanted to say.
Okay.
I did. It is marvelous. Yeah. While Sean Payton is making his way to his desk right now, Levi in Colorado, what's going on, Levi? Hey, how's it going, guys?
What's on? What do you mean to ask Sean Payton when he sits down?
Well feel like the I I know the answer to this, but I'm I'm a lifelong Broncos fan. I always want them to succeed. I'm a Die Hard fan. But I'm a little worried just because I feel like everyone's talking about the Broncos and The last time the bandwagon was this full, I feel was the Russell Wilson trade. And I was certainly there.
And well, obviously, we know how that went.
So I my question is more so do you think to maybe use a phrase from the show, is This is an overreaction? Are we being overhyped, or do you think I have good reason to buy into the hype that everyone else is kind of? going into around me? Um I I'm not just saying this 'cause, you know, Sean could be sitting down any minute. But Listen.
Here's what you need to win in the NFL. You need to have a quarterback. We're checking that box, right? I think we're checking that box. Yeah, we're checking that box.
Okay.
You need to have a coach that's connected to the quarterback who knows what he's doing and has history with a quarterback in terms of. Uh, making that quarterback great or being attached to the hip and winning a championship. Are we checking that box? Yeah, okay. Uh you gotta have a defense too.
You gotta pack your defense. Um do the Broncos have the reigning defensive player of the year on their roster?
Okay, do they have a front seven do they have a front seven that uh That featured a defensive player of the year finalist and candidate from last year. Do we have one of those as well? Check.
Okay, all right. Yeah, I think so. Do we have an offensive line and a run game? Do we have one of those? I think we do now.
We did so last year, but I think we're upgrading.
So you listen, anything can happen in a season. Injuries can happen. Things can happen. We all understand that. But when you go in when you check these boxes, you are worthy of being talked about.
as a threat.
So, you know, you you make your plans, you make your your figurative bets. And you hope for the best in a league where Crazy stuff happens.
So, um Don't worry about it, man. Who cares what other people think? You know, that's true. I think it's just the trauma a little bit from the past couple of years. Do you need a hug?
Do you want a rich eyes and show bro hug? Through the phone? Yeah, I think that would be a good idea.
Okay, here we go.
So here it is.
So here's it. I'll walk you through it. You just don't worry about it. I am now reaching out. Me as well.
I'm circling around, and then we just tap, tap, and then we separate.
Okay.
Thank you. There you go, Levi. Thank you. You know what I mean? Like, who cares?
I should tell Levi what I tell you. Don't read the comments. Any more comments? I mean, are they in a tough division? Yes.
Is the division filled with people who have either coached the Super Bowl or what? Yeah. Does it have a team that's the first ever team to go to five Super Bowls in six years? Yeah. I mean it's a tough division.
Yeah, division. I got it. I hear you. But They're checking all these boxes and he said that you know the bandwagon was full The last time when they got Russ. I mean, they they deadcap Russ.
and have only gotten better. I don't think the bandwagon was, for Russ, was like it is now. No, no, but the bandwagon, screw the bandwagon. It feels like the bandwagon now is like we are off and running.
Well, I mean, they went from the team nobody was talking about to a bandwagon full.
Okay.
Yeah. So Yeah. I'm not concerned, is what I'm saying. 844-204 Rich is the number to Donald. I guess he's close, is what I'm being told right now.
Uh Alan Dallas. Let's take Alan Dallas here. Because Al, you're one of those guys that I could basically say, sorry, I got to go because Sean Payton's on the phone line. You know what I mean? Yeah, no, f I don't think one of our favorites, Alan Dallas on the Hey, listen, congratulations, guys.
Big time. ESPN. I love it. Thanks, guys. Thanks, too.
Thank you. Back where you're from. You know, it's great. Do you get the impression that the Troy Aikman not a huge Jerry Jones fan? Huh?
Well, I mean, I wouldn't say that. I would just say that he's unafraid of speaking his mind. I mean, that's why you've got to have somebody like him in the booth of Monday Night Football. He basically told the truth. What did you think of the documentary?
Well, it's not as. as comprehensive as it can be because There was somebody in charge of You know. Did he basically say Jerry Jones was like Dominic Hoshick in the gold crease, rocking pucks? You know what you're saying? Yeah.
You know what I mean? Standing out on his head. Standing on his head. Full editorial controls, but I really thought it was a good idea. Right, right.
Which basically, you know, basically says that it's in there what it is. That was great. And then. This weekend, man, all the uh college football procrastinators and pontificators and everything, wow, they're uh. How's that crow sandwich?
Good God. What a what I mean every every season gets hyped to this extent. You know, this was great. It was a fun watch. It was an extremely fun watch.
Which was. Which fun watch? College football. Oh, just enjoying it. Open the weekend, open weekends.
I know. I know all of them. Look at all these games. Geez. It was great.
Are people flipping out in Longhorn Country or what? No? Yes. Yeah, they're ready to ship Arch out and Fire Sark and all everything. It's great.
You know, as you know, I'm an Arkansas guy now, Richard. You know, that's right. That's right now. You know, so who picks Sue? By the way, Chris.
Dropped a little 79 on the west the other day. Oh, on west. All right, very good. Yeah, look at you. Thanks for the call, Al.
Appreciate it. See you, buddy. You guys, um, should we take a break? What do you think? We take a break and Running again.
All right, let's run. Let's take a break, see if Sean Payton's going to be on the other side, and if not, phone calls: 844-204-H-Number to dial. Yeah. Mint is still $15 a month for premium wireless. And if you haven't made the switch yet, here are 15 reasons why you should.
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So you can lose more sweat. and raise your game. Gatorade. Is it in you? And then we were going to open the regular season at Cleveland.
The next game at Green Bay.
So four on the road in the preseason. I think our two home Preseason games were played in Shreveport and Jackson. Wow. We we beat Cleveland in a in a low scoring game. What I remember about the Green Bay game, we were down 13 and came back.
And that That was an important win because. To start the season. Look, sometimes as coaches, you don't know what you have, especially When you're just getting started, or you're a first-year head coach. Like, you know, you don't. You don't know where your team stacks up.
Um And we went into That Monday night game. versus Atlanta with both teams being unbeaten. It was a divisional opponent. It was a Monday night game. It was like this perfect storm.
that I don't know I don't even know that ESPN or the folks that were. Preparing for that telecast knew what it might become. And so the first thing that mattered were. Both those teams were good teams. Um And then It's the first home game.
Yeah. Call it half our team. In other words, there's a lot of roster turnover. You know, where do you park? There's traffic, you're coming from here.
You got Green Day, U2. That's right. And. And so we had a practice there Friday night. And The idea was to Try to Get the emotion.
Try to get all the possible distractions out of the way. And so ESPN gave us the Monday night football lead-in on the big screen. And we turned the lights out after practice. We saw the intro. We saw the Katrina.
Um pictures and videos. And it was quiet. I mean, it was. I could have heard a pin drop and lights came back on. Doug Thornton.
who was in charge of the Superdome and played a big role In In getting that stadium back up to speed for a game, was there. And um And it was an emotional moment. Um For the team. And I would say. In that 06 season.
You know, everyone that signed up. To play, whether you were coaching or playing, no one really knew quite what we were getting in for or what it was going to become. It became much bigger than football. And I would say we had better teams after the O16. You know, the nine team won a Super Bowl, the 11 team, 17.
I can think of a handful of teams. But in a bar fight. Hehehehe In a bar fight, Yo Sixteen wins hands down. And I mean, it was a tough. Tough team.
So that game begins. Obviously, Mike Vick's playing at a high level. Um And our special teams coach is You know, each game you go into, you have a rush. Uh maybe a a weight that you're going to pressure the punter And John Bonamego had said, Hey, we feel like we have a good rush. And he explained it to me.
And I said, Well, let's see how the tempo of this game goes. And Atlanta gets the ball first. They have a few plays. Vic scrambles. There's actually a fumble.
Yeah, I remember. I was sitting next to Marshall Falk, Sean. I've never heard a stadium that loud. Uh, when that ball hit the ground and then it rolled out of bounds, and Fejita has a chance, yeah, yeah, to change. He's he's if he recovers it, he's going to change history.
That's right. Yeah. If he recovers it. And so. Um They're punning, and Bonamago walks down to me and says.
You want to rush the first punt. And I said, let's do it. And And you have to know Steve Bleason.
So, Steve, when I first arrived there, I thought was a member of the equipment staff. Um You know, he was certainly shorter. Um But then The more you learned about him and the more film you saw, Whatever role you asked of him. He was going to be spot on with it. You just had to ask the right roles.
So he was an outstanding special teens player. There's two pins. And a poll. And you know, he's up the A gap, and the timing's perfect, and he blocks the punt. And um It's as loud.
Like, you know, we all have these. Oh, this was as loud. But that's as loud as I can recall. Um Call it, you know, a 10-second period in any stadium I've been a part of. And then curse the loach.
Scoops it up in the end zone. And Here's the thing that we talked about all week: the night's only going to be special if we win the game. But here's the irony. We we had Valley parking because we were concerned with players getting into the You know, being on time, getting into the parking garage. And We have this one player, our starting quarterback, Drew Brees.
Yes, sir. All right, who gets caught in traffic on I-10? And so the rule of thumb is two hours before the game, all players are checked into the locker room. I mean, that's that's. That's a rule.
Um cell phones off. And The security guys tell me Drew's running behind and And It's It's not that I'm concerned. He's running behind. It's that I know how. organized and how anal he is with his schedule.
And he's usually four hours. At the stadium before the game.
So I'm thinking to myself, what are the... What are the habits and rituals that he's not going to be able to partake in that get him ready to play? And He had this old Toyota. Land Rover, but it was an old one with a rack on the top, something like you would see on Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. And so it was an older used car he's driving.
They finally escort him. The police escort him. To the superdome. And when he makes the turn to go, it's a parking garage. He enters the parking garage, and the rack wedges.
With wedges on the roof of the concrete, and his car gets stuck. Yeah. Yeah He takes the keys out of the ignition, throws them on the seat, opens the door. Grabs his duffel bag and he tells. The parking attendant.
Figure out a way to get To fix this, and I'm sitting in the hallway when he comes down the hallway. And He's there two hours and four minutes. before before kickoff. And I said, hey, everything's good. Everything's good.
No worries. But he's got this. unsettled look. Which makes me unsettled. And uh So I find out later they had to take air out of all four tires.
to get his car past that Height requirement. And uh Look, fortunately for us, he played well. Um And that was a tough spot to be in if you were Atlanta. I mean, it's a good thing. Right.
It's a good thing special team scored first. Unbelievable. Sean Payton here on the Rich Eisen Show. I got five minutes left until I'm, you know, till you got to go to your next meeting, and I've got the end of the show.
So What do you say to people that are so jacked up in Broncos country about Bo Nicks and the chances of this team? you know, being particularly special. You know, it was year four in New Orleans where you want it all. And this is year three for you. Is this a realistic shot this team has to go on a deep run, if not win at all?
Sean.
Well, I I think this. Our fans today are smarter than they've ever been. And look, last year, Um There's a lot of unknowns whenever you start a rookie quarterback. and you're in year two of a rebuild. Um your 90 some million over the cap of dead money.
Uh So you're operating with two-thirds of a budget. Um I don't know what the expectations were. I don't think they were. That of a playoff team. But I can tell you in the building after another draft, another offseason, a free agency.
I can tell you the expectations of this team. Um Our league's never changed. It's always been win the division first. Um Try to get the best possible seed. And then win a Super Bowl championship.
And those are the goals. Uh of this team And we recognize and how difficult That can be, we recognize, man, how good Kansas City has been. Um Where the Chargers have come with the hiring of Jim Harbaugh. Um Pete Carroll just gets hired in Seattle. And I thank Pete.
Because when he got hired, I became the youngest coach in the division. You're the younger. And when you look at those three teams, I'm just talking about the division. There's there's a lot There's a lot of wins. amongst those coaches.
And there's great respect Uh for all of them. Um So I think The thing we've always tried to do is internalize the focus And You know, it's like running the race. And this happens in training camp. And you have horse blinders on. And you know the other thirty one teams are running as well.
Um but you don't know exactly where they're stacking up. But you just have to prepare. And do your best to make sure Uh you're maximizing your talent. And so I think there are high expectations. And I think our players will embrace those.
A couple of minutes left before ESPN Radio, presented by a Progressive Insurance Radio audience, leaves us. in the minute plus I have left. Bo Nix, how special is he, Sean? Yeah, he's He's he's a guy that um Let me just start with this. His experience shows right away, you know, he had.
uh his time at Auburn. Um And had some adversity also, and then transfers and gets to Oregon. I think the thing that maybe was most um Undervalued Or under discussed with him is his athleticism. He's a tremendous foot athlete.
So He can throw from a lot of different A lot of different body angles. Um he can run and step up and get your first down. Um He's got outstanding arm strength. And I think. Oftentimes, we try to group quarterbacks.
Based on the offenses they're playing in college. And they can't control that. You know, we try to eliminate all the quick throws, the bubbles, the smokes. uh and and really try to evaluate Where a player can be projected. in an NFL offense.
And I would say the one thing that really Was unexpected. We knew he was extremely accurate. We had seen that. The most accurate passer. In the history of college football, we knew How he played on third down, we knew he threw from.
Awkward positions. We knew he had great leadership skills. But he didn't do the shuttles, he didn't run the 40.
