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Now, on with the show. The Rich Eisen Show. Show. This is The Rich Eisen Show. The least surprising headline would be The Mavericks Fire, Nico Harrison.
The Rich Eisen Show. Today's guests: Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner. ESPN Senior NBA writer Brian Windhorst. Senior writer for the MMQB Albert Breer. And now, it's Rich Eisen.
Oh that's right everybody. Welcome to this edition of the Rich Eisen Show. I've got a mug and a microphone on my desk. 844-204-Rich is the number to dial on this here program, Disney Plus, the ESPN app everywhere at ESPN Radio, presented by Progressive Insurance. We say hello to everybody listening on SiriusXM Channel 80 as well.
What a fun show we had yesterday. Ted Danson and Mary Steenbergen were here. They were a total delight. Today, no in-studio guests, just die-hard information. Kurt Warner, first up, then Brian Winhorst, what's going on with the Mavs and the rest of the NBA?
We check back in with him as the NBA hits right around that first month mark of their regular season. Then Albert Breer, the top of our number three, about the Giants' decision that they made to bounce Brian Dable, who might be a frontrunner for that gig. It looks like Jameis Winston's going to get the start. For the Giants. We'll talk about that in a second.
Bucky Irving was spotted at practice, everybody. For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, lots to hit on with Albert Breer when he joins us at the top of hour three. There's always you at 844-204-Rich. Number to dial. Hello, Christopher Brockman.
How are you? Hello, Rich Eisen. TJ Mike E.D. is indeed nuts. Good to see Mike Del Tufo.
The candle appears to be lit over there, TJ Jefferson. Certainly is, man. How you feel this day? I am doing very well. All right, so let's start with this.
Listen, it's the 21st century. This just in. And it's a different world in which we reside. Um First of all, about the beginning of this century. Live streams on television and radio, like this one, didn't really exist.
So you never know. We don't look down at people here, we look to people here. One never knows where news might come from in this day and age. And in that respect, We start this show for the first time in this manner. With words I've never said before.
Mm-hmm. This show begins with news. From Janky Ronda's Twitch stream. Oh, right. One more time, please.
Ladies and gentlemen, excuse me. Thank you, sir. Let me repeat myself. Excuse me. We start today's show.
With news. From Janky Rondo's Twitch stream. Oh God. Who? Chinky Robert.
Ladies and gentlemen. Janky Rondo had AJ Brown on his live Twitch stream. Playing video games. You're always like, we learned this. at uh the outstanding Northwestern Medill School of Journalism.
I learned that when I was on my way of getting my second. Degree. I got a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan. Bachelor of Arts type degree. I have a degree.
A master's in science and journalism. It's a science. In journalism, I'm one degree shy of being Dr. Television. I learned at the Medill School of Journalism.
You're always live. There's a microphone in front of you. You never know if it's working or not. And you certainly never know who's listening, and you certainly never know who's recording. As a matter of fact, I had no idea when I suited and booted and asked Terrell Davis how fast you think I could run the 40-yard dash at the 2005 Scottish combine.
He laughed at me. I cursed at him. I ran a 40-yard dash in my suit and tie. No idea. Folks were in the truck.
Yep. Recording it. Hey, guys, track, Rich. What's he doing? No idea.
Yep. Well, they were tracking me. They were recording me attempting to run track and had no idea what was going to come out of that. Look at the logo and the show and the mug and the mic flag right now. Anyway.
I digress. Janky Rondo's Twitch stream. Janky Rondo? That's a fantasy name. That's a great name.
Revealed. A message AJ Brown had for his fantasy football owners. Hit it. Promise you, you might get 200. And I ain't controlling.
Hey, hey. If you got me on fantasy, man, get rid of some stuff. Get rid of me. Get rid of me. I mean, what?
Get rid of me. Have me on fantasy. Get rid of fantasy. Get rid of me. Oh, my God.
I mean.
So we all know: A.J. Brown, three targets, two catches, 13 yards. His longest was seven yards on Monday night football. And they did target him. The third and final target was on that weird, wild decision to throw it.
On fourth down, rather than punt it. And trying to pin The Packers. But it worked out. Get rid of me. As a matter of fact, it's interesting because RJ Herrera on the Rich Eisen Show staff and the Rich Eisen Show Guillotine League.
Had AJ Brown kind of AJ Brown got rid of him Because he got guillotined. That's true. At any rate, Chris. By the way, I haven't seen him here for the last two days. He hasn't been guillotined from the entire staff.
No, he's not. I would know that. Did you let him go? I just know. I know.
No, no, no. Is this a real guillotine? It's definitely not. It's definitely not. I was almost out of here on Monday.
Because we're not done with the news from the Janky Rondo live Twitch stream. Rich, can I just throw in real quick that Brockman, I'm not sure if you knew? Sarah picked up AJ. Oh, hey, now you might want to let her know. I'm not done with the news from the Janky Rondo live Twitch stream.
I don't know if you heard me or not. My bad. Because Janky, may I may I call you Janky? Janky Rondo asked A.J. Brown how things were doing, if everything's good.
And this was his response. Everything be good though, like like you know what I'm saying? Everything is straight. You know what I'm saying? Mental good, kids good.
You know what I'm saying? Wife good, everything. Where have you been? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm just checking on.
You my dog. Like, I still gotta, you know what I'm saying? I gotta check up. You know what I'm saying? Like, yeah, yeah.
You know what I'm saying? Are you family good? Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Everything else?
No. Everything's gonna click, bro. Chat chill. Everything's gonna click, bro. Try to see what's going on.
No. I'm Is there a chapter on the extra? I'm looking up in the Inter Excellence right now. Hold on a minute. Hold on.
Is there a chapter about. I'm looking up right now. Is there. The spirit of mastery, love over fear. Hold on a minute.
Wait a minute. Um. What gets your attention gets you. Oh, the story in your heart. There it is.
Um that's on page 118. Refer to anything that's going wrong as a poop show. There it is, right there. In uh The great Jim Murphy tome that we have here.
Okay. Wow. Here's the deal. We're having fun. It's a Wednesday.
And we're waiting for football to return. On Thursday night, Jets and Patriots Then the rest of week 11 hits and man is there a lot to look forward to on that front, right? We're talking about Seahawks and Rams, both teams seven and two. That is a massive football game. The Denver Broncos take on the Kansas City Chiefs.
That is a massive Football game That's just at the top of the marquee. Tampa's at Buffalo. As I mentioned, Tampa Who knows? Bucky Irving's not supposed to play, but he was seen at practice and walked through. Oh my God, there's so much to look forward to.
And then. Come Sunday night. when the Eagles and that particular show Mm-hmm. Is uh going to be on NBC against the Detroit Lions. And this will be talked about.
We've already spent eight minutes on it having our fun. because at the end of the day This is kind of what the Eagles like. This is it. This is Mike Del Tufo, you and I grew up on the Bronx Zoo. Yeah.
Well, they were actually hitting each other in the Yankee locker room. Yes.
Okay. Like they were actually yelling. At each other, manager and star player in the Fenway Park dugout. Like, this is. And and it was like At the end of the day, everyone's...
hating each other or hating life. And I'm not saying they're hating each other in Philadelphia now. I'm just saying that there was a certain way that these Yankees went about their business that was so drama-filled, and the headlines, you know, that's the Billy Joel song, right? The Yankees grabbed the headlines every time. Yep.
You know, And he wrote songs about it. Or lyrics about it in songs. And yet, at the end of the day, The Yankees won the championship in 1977. And in 1978, I think the Eagles just did this stuff. And everyone's going to be like, A.J.
Brown's not happy. He didn't get traded. It's clear he's not happy. No receiver. Is that happy?
When they do not receive the football. in front of an entire nation in a game when the offense clearly Needs him and can use him, and he's literally at their disposal, and he's not getting the football. And you know, that lays at the feet of the quarterback, and that lays at the feet of the coach. But in Philadelphia? Where that normally would tear somebody apart.
I think this team just soaks it in like it's their superpower. I don't know if they know another way. of doing it. Siriani Still comes up with the win, 55 of them already in his first five seasons, and counting. Jalen Hurts is like the perfect quarterback for this situation.
in the fact that A, He's really good. B When the chips are down, certainly in the biggest game. In the Super Bowl, He is superb. You could put a B at the end of that first word. And then When all shows are becoming S.
He steps the podium And talks in platitudes and talks in proverbs in a way of his own. gives you nothing. He adds no fuel to the fire. He doesn't do weekly radio hits that make things totally insane, like another quarterback in that state who was going to the Hall of Fame once upon a time did. He doesn't add any fuel to the fire.
He also doesn't take that fire and spit it back at the press. He's like perfect. And AJ Brown Not happy. Family's good. Family's good.
Family's good. But He's also making 30 million. I guess at the end of the day, he's like, you're going to pay me $30 million a year to be, you're going to pay me $10 million a year per target in this one game. All right, like if that's what you're gonna do, like I'm not happy about it. I might be squawking about it behind the scenes, but at least I'm laughing about it.
With my friend Janky Rondo. I love that name. I know I sound particularly white when I say it.
Well, I mean, I am. Yeah, so it's cool. It's on brand. It's all right. You know, so I'm sure the rest of our media world might have more to do.
You know, who's Who's to blame and what this, that, the other thing? There's seven and two. Exactly. You know, the show may be... A particular Item that's referred to as number two, but they're number one.
Atop their division, atop their conference, and I last year atop the NFL. I'm just. They won. They won with this particular version of the show. For A.J.
Brown.
Some people thrive in chaos, right? They certainly clearly do. I think they need it. Like if it if if if if it's quiet Then maybe there's a problem. It was at least quiet.
I mean, he hasn't tweeted about it, but man. Although I think one thing that the house, in which of his comments, the house is completely on fire. is in fact your fantasy team with this guy on it. That is Accurate. I wonder who out there has the gumption to actually follow his advice and release him.
Did anybody pick him up in our guillotine? Sarah did.
Okay, Sarah.
Okay, Sarah did. That's right from the beginning.
Okay. She likes those SEC players. We'll see how it works against the Lions, man. And we'll see. Usually these things happen, then suddenly they get targeted.
Oh, now we're focused on AJ. Unless you're the Eagles and it's just like, no, I mean. Mm. We don't know. I mean, it could be the quarterback, could be the scheme, could just be the defense.
I don't know. Who knows? But they keep winning. That's at the end of the day. And what it means is.
Talk about Groundhog Day. Hey, Kurt Warner, what's up with the Eagles offense? How many times have we asked him that? Endless.
Well, that's going to be first up. And then there's the Packers offense. Jameis has got a gig, it looks like. Jameis. Finally, Yeah.
Who sang that? Jameis has a gig. All right. We'll take a break. 844-204-Rich, number to dial right here.
I didn't really mean for the answer, but I understand. Jameis has a gig. He gets what I'm. He knew we needed to. I mean, again, by the way, if we get popped by ASCAP, that's on your tab.
How? I said Jameis has a gig. That's not a real song, people. Not a real song. All the lawyers who are listening right now and watching right now are like.
Singing? Yeah. What do they want? Like a couple bucks from us? You know what I'll say?
If they call up, I'll say it's Janky Brockman. Janky Brockman. That's who it was. Janky Brockman. Hey.
Mm-hmm. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. As many of you know, supporting pediatric cancer research is something I care deeply about. That's why I'm proud to share what Hyundai is doing through Hyundai Hope on Wheels. For over 27 years, with every Hyundai sold, they've helped fund pediatric cancer research.
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We're on ESPN Raider presented by Progressive Insurance talking about Brian Dable. Oh, he's wearing a sweatshirt. I'm like, great. Midney Lyons sweatshirt. I'm sorry.
I didn't add that in. I should have emphasized that. Important detail.
Okay, good to know.
Sorry about that. All right. I'll just know if you show up wearing a t-shirt of one of our competitors, that'll be okay. You know, or whatever. 844-204, Rick's number to die.
Ladies and gentlemen, he's a Hall of Famer. He's also got a great, great YouTube channel, QB Confidential. You should check it out. Kurt Warner back from Berlin. Good to see you, Kurt, the world traveler.
How are you? I'm good. Good to see you, my friend. Were you doing what I saw you do on the way back from Brazil? Were you watching film on the flight home, the whole business?
Doing it again? I was. Yeah, that's my daily grind.
So I was able to get it downloaded and watched a lot on the way home. Let's hit the Monday nighter then. You know, we just spent the first 15 minutes of the program talking about how A.J. Brown's telling his fantasy owners, you should just release me, and then calling what's going on there an S show. And I'm like, listen, you know, this is just oxygen for the Philadelphia Eagles as they win.
But what does the film say here? What is going on with this offense? I feel like we're like Groundhog Day. I ask you almost once a week: what are you seeing? Like, what is it?
What's happening here? I mean, I think it's a little of everything. I mean, it starts with the fact that they're not dominating up front. And so, you know, they're not getting the big plays and the big play touchdowns, which really has been, you know, what they've been so good at over the last couple of years. And obviously, Saquon got a lot of those big plays, but even in the past game.
It was a lot of big play touchdowns. And even this year, I think when their offense has done something, it's been based off of big plays in the past game.
So when they have to, when they struggle to run the football. And they have to control offensively by throwing the football and managing the game. They're just not great at it. And Jalen Hurts isn't necessarily great at that aspect of things. I think he's really good when his primary guy, his first guy, is open.
He can make every throw, and we've seen the biggest moments him make great throws over and over again and play really well. When he's got to move beyond his first read, he struggles a bit. And he struggles to get there and he wants to move and create. And he's not unique in that. There's a lot of guys in this league that I feel are very similar, where that first guy, man, they're really good.
And then when they have to get beyond that, it's more of a struggle. Let's go create. Instead of allowing the offense to come You know, to him a little bit. And I think that's where A.J. Brown gets frustrated, where it's like, okay, if I'm the primary guy.
there's a really good chance I get the football. But if I'm anything beyond that, then I just feel like I'm just kind of running around and I'm not getting the ball. And so that's where I think this offense gets bogged down and gets in trouble. not running the football and not getting big plays.
Now, do you have the pieces? Are you good enough at that other stuff to be successful? And that has been a real struggle for them and something that they've got to figure out if they're not going to be able to do the things that they did last year on their run.
So, the sports talk radio question. the line not dominating. Or the offensive coordinator, which one has more to do with the change from last year? to the results we're seeing now. Current?
It's hard to say. I mean, I haven't studied their run game enough to say: well, are we running different run plays? Are we running them into the wrong kind of boxes? Like last year, I felt like they ran their run plays against anything, it didn't matter. And they won, and then Saquon made guys miss and got big plays.
And so, you know, what I'm watching and what I see from a run game standpoint doesn't appear to be. different than what they did last year.
So, I would say it's more on just them not winning in the same way that they did last year. Them not finding a way, and it might be the defenses that they're playing against. Maybe they were out of position, whatever it was last year that allowed a four or five-yard run to become a 60 or 70-yard run. And those things aren't playing out. this year.
And you know, so I just it's hard for me to believe that they changed their entire run game. You know, we all know sequencing and play calling. It's not as easy as just closing your eyes and pointing to a play on a You know, on a piece of paper, there's got to be a feel to it. There's got to be an understanding to what you're getting and what you're seeing from other teams. But I can't imagine that they've changed their run game, that the scheme is all the same that they had last year.
It's just not dominating like it did.
So then let's turn to Green Bay, Kurt. Two weeks ago, in this very spot, in your usual Wednesday appearance on this program, we were praising Jordan Love for that performance against Pittsburgh with Aaron Rodgers on the other side of the field. 370 yards passing, three touchdowns, almost a perfect passer rating. And we had no idea that that would. They were approaching a cliff offensively.
What ails them and what is potentially fixable? Is it as simple as Tucker Kraft goes out and throws the whole thing off? Or what is it? I mean, that obviously is a part of it. When you lose a playmaker and lose a guy that got so much run after catch, short throw, make him into big plays, makes the game easier for everybody.
But I just, you know, it's such a stark contrast because, yeah, that game against Pittsburgh, it just looked like. Jordan was on top of his game, and he was seeing everything, and he was getting the ball out on time, and he played. Great. And then these last couple of weeks, it's been the opposite. You know, I'm just watching the tape going over it for QB Confidential before I jumped on here.
And there's a number of plays that are out there. to be made.
Now, I don't know the definitive answer, but you know, and I've talked about it a lot on our show, this whole pure progression. type offense thing. Where you call a play and a quarterback has to read the play one, two, three, four, five the same way, no matter what coverage you get. And I believe that's something that can really hurt. A quarterback, where if I looked at certain plays, I go, Okay, I'm going to eliminate the whole left side of the field, even though in a pure progression, that's one, two, and three.
I'm eliminating it because of the coverage, and I'm getting right back here to this concept that I know is good against that coverage. And so, I'm there in a timely fashion and can get it out of my hands. If I've got to read the left side of the field before getting back there, there's times I can miss those things and you know, I'm too late getting back there. I'm hanging on something, you know, too much, or seeing if I can fit a ball in to a receiver instead of allowing the defense to dictate what I'm doing. And so, When I watch them play, I think there's some of that going on where he's looking someplace way too long.
And I think he should be moving through his reads because there's some open opportunities. There are some other times where it sure looks like he's looking right at an open receiver. And he's not throwing it. And you have to sit back and go, okay, why? What's going on here?
Where everything that you're doing says you're looking right at this guy, he's open in front of you. And you're not throwing the football and you're hesitating, and it's leading to sacks, or you're trying to create instead of just taking what the offense has in front of you. And so it's hard to put your finger on when you saw him play the way he did a couple weeks ago. And then you're seeing the way he's playing now. And, you know, sometimes, as a guy that analyzed it and having played the position, sometimes I sit back when I see that stark contrast and go.
Is it because In certain games. You know, the offense just works wherever he's looking, the guy's open, and so he can just come back and throw it. And then, when teams make it harder on them and they've got to work through things, they're just not as comfortable and not as fluid. And it's causing them to be late, to miss things, to jam things in instead of allowing the defense to read the defense and see what's going to be coming open within the offense.
So it really does lend yourself to kind of step back and okay. Who is Jordan Love? What is he able to do? I could say the same thing about Tua. We've had lots of conversations about Tua.
Tua is really good with his first read. When he's got to get beyond his first read, he really struggles. Why is that? Is that the nature of the offense, or is that something that's a bit of a flaw with Tua that he's got to get better at moving forward? And so you start asking those questions when you see guys kind of riding these waves that are up and down because it's like.
This guy plays too good in certain moments for you to think that they should. You know, have two or three games where they're missing all kinds of stuff and not seeing things.
So it makes you start to wonder. Is it just when the offense works that it looks really good? And when it's not perfect, they struggle a little bit and give you a little more insight on where they are as a quarterback at this stage in their career. All right. And then, Sports Talk Radio question before we move on.
Which offense that struggled on Monday night and seems to have issues is most fixable? Eagles, Packers? Kurt Warner. Wow, good. Good question.
I I'm going to go Eagles. Uh just because They've done it. They've been there. I like the talent, the top-level talent that they have, although I think the Packers are a. good football team.
When you look at their receivers on the outside, they're not As dynamic, you know, that they're good players. I don't think they're great players. When you look at the Eagles, you got Saquon, you got AJ, you got Devontae, Dallas got, I mean, you've got. A lot of guys, you know, Jalen, who's won a Super Bowl. And so I just believe because of the personnel.
That it's more fixable in Philly. And I think it's gonna be a bit more of a struggle. For the Packers, especially if the offense just doesn't play in their favor, because, you know, losing Tucker Kraft, you don't have him. Golden's hurt. I mean, you got some issues there with some of your playmakers that you had a year ago.
I think it's going to be tougher for the Packers. Kurt Warner, we're in the middle of Warner Wednesday right here on the Rich Eisen Show. We may have a new nickname here, Kurt, Caleb time. In Chicago. Caleb time.
I'm not saying it's Tebow time, but certainly the last two weeks. And I'm not saying the struggles were similar to Tim Tebow's during the first. You know, what would you say, 50 minutes of a football game that we used to see? But Tam in the fourth quarter passed a rating of 123.5 the last two weeks, and it's clicking, making plays with his legs, making plays with his arms. And now, suddenly, the coach isn't talking about getting the ball out on time, he's talking about magic.
It's he's Houdini. You know, I guess that's the difference between winning and losing. What are you seeing on film? Correct.
Well, I mean, first thing is I'm seeing a young man that's competing every time out there. Not a finished product yet. There's still times where he throws the ball too hard. There's times where he's not smooth and getting through his reads and that comfort level of staying in the pocket and working through his progressions. Times where he misses some throws.
But I've seen a huge uptick from where he was last year, which is the first thing that you love to see. And then the second thing, as I said, is that the kid's competing and he is battling every time out. And he wants to make a play on every snap. Um and guys are feeding off of that. And as you said, and late in games.
He's finding a way to do those things and to finish games for him, even if they're not pretty. Throughout the rest of the game. And that's what I love. I love watching him compete because you know guys are going to go. To bat for him and battle with him every time out.
You know, there's things that have to get better and make the game easier on him. You know, at times when you watch him, you're like, my gosh, he's making it hard, but. Because he's so talented, he'll miss a read and then he'll come back to that throw and he's scrambling and he makes this ridiculous 45-yard throw on the move. And you're just like, oh my gosh, made it way harder than it had to be. But we got there and we got it done.
And so I think that's the beautiful thing about where they're at right now is they're winning games. And having some semblance of success without it all being put together yet. And that's what excites you. I still don't know what Caleb's going to be long term, how good he's going to be with in the pocket and in structure and on schedule. Type stuff.
But I'm excited because I've seen improvement there. And then I'm excited because they're finding ways to win games this year, even when it's not perfect, which bodes well for what you hope is growth in the future within this offense and with Ben Johnson. And then it's kind of crazy, Kurt, just to finishing up in this division right now. If I had told you prior to the season that in week 10, there would be a surprise new play caller in Detroit and it would be Dan Campbell, you'd say, uh-oh, this is a lost season or nothing good would come out of it. And they had.
One of their best offensive days of the year, maybe outside of beating Ben Johnson's Bears in week two. What'd you make of this? Decision. You know, I love it. You know, from a couple of different standpoints, is that taking a big picture view.
Of things. And, you know, I know the automatic reaction is: oh, Johnny Morton's not the right guy. You know, they hired the wrong guy. He's taking away the play calling right away. But there is an art to calling plays and getting a feel for games.
And it's so funny that, you know. We want to throw these young quarterbacks in and want them to be a finished product as soon as they step on an NFL field. And we put these guys in as coordinators, and they're supposed to be a finished product because they're in that position without having the opportunity to grow into the position. And I think that's basically what. Know Dan is saying here.
He's not saying, Oh, I hired the wrong guy. This guy can't be great at this. I think he's just saying, Okay, you know, we've experimented, he's not quite there yet.
So, I'm going to take over because I've been there and I've done this and I know what I want. And I'm going to be able to guide him a little bit. I'm going to coach my coaches. It's not just coaching players, but I'm going to coach my coaches and I'm going to get him up to speed, however long that takes, right? He said, Hey, he might get it back this year, it might be next year.
All of that, like. But he's just saying, hey, we tried this. It's not exactly where I want it to be yet, and not that I expected it to be. I think we all hoped it would be. But it isn't there yet.
That's okay. But I'm gonna be smart enough to go.
Well, I'm not just gonna just keep riding this wave if I don't feel like it's where and to our standard right now. I'll take it over. And I believe I can do a good job and we'll get back to the standard and then I can. Bring my guy along with me, and I can teach him and talk to him through some of this stuff so we can get him up to speed and ready to go whenever that is, because we believe we have the right guy in that position.
So I love. The decision, and I love the way that he talked about it and didn't, you know, just kind of say, hey, oh, yeah, I made a mistake, this is done. No. I understand there's a process here. There's a process for every guy that has to go from one level or one position to another position.
You're never just a finished product, and it takes time to get there. And I think that's what Dan said. And in the meantime, he's going to help grow that coach until he feels he's ready to take back over. I was saying again, you know, we have our overreaction Monday pod, and Brockman's like, you know, if Dan Campbell's going to keep the play calling and they're going to finish the one seed, I said that that's kind of an overreaction, but if they're good enough to be the one seed, And he keeps the play calling, that puts him in coach of the year category for sure, right? I mean, to make a move in the manner in which you said we didn't catch a wind of it.
And so there wasn't controversy leading up. There wasn't pressure during other than whatever he was putting on himself by making that move. And then the way you talked about it afterwards removed a lot of the... Potential controversy. It helps to win and get 500 yards total and Jameer Gibbs look like Gail Sayers, you know, but Kudos, man.
Like big time. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. The other thing is, is that I think we've seen Dan You know, do thing after thing after thing in his time with the Lions that just keep reiterating the fact that he's a really good football coach. He's a really good leader.
And you hear his players say that. You hear coaches that are with him say that. People around the league respect him for that. And so I think he already has tremendous respect. In this league.
And he continues to win, and he continues to find ways to have success with different guys in different positions. And so, yeah, I mean, I. That would not be out of the realm of possibility that this is a good football team. If they play like they did under his play calling this past Sunday, Um and make a run and and finish, you know. Top in the NFC for sure, but up there in the NFC.
Yeah, I think he definitely belongs in that conversation again for a coach of the year type situation. And but again, I just think we continue to see Um, you know, how good a football coach he is, and how he seems to have a great pulse of. His team and what's going on, and seems to push the right buttons at the right times. Lastly, Kurt, let's finish up with Matthew Stafford. I mean, because listen, we're sitting there.
You and I are sitting there in London.
Okay. We're getting set to call Rams Jaguars. We're talking to Sean McVay on a Zoom. And he tells our group. Listen, we've been really puka heavy.
And he's not in this game. And it's kind of a challenge to us. To learn how to play without this guy. and to be more diverse. On offense.
And all Stafford's done is throw 14 touchdowns in the next three games with no interceptions.
Okay. Which is, by the way, the first guy to ever do that in three straight games, that many touchdowns and no interceptions. Nobody's ever done that before. And find seven different receivers for touchdowns. One of them is Puka when he came back.
I don't know. I mean, so mission accomplished, right? They're a better team, maybe, because of all that. They look terrific. And Stafford's.
I'm wondering what goes through your mind. Rams Super Bowl winning quarterback, MVP, watching this guy on film in this uniform. Right now, I mean, the first thing that goes through my mind is: this guy is just ridiculously talented. Like, you know, I'm just. envious of what he can do with a football first and foremost.
You know, when we did some of those meetings, remember we had Devontae was talking to us and he said, you know, this guy is the best manipulator of defenses that I've ever been around. And you see that time and time again. I don't know if this is the play, you know, you got that. Shot up there, but you know, he had a touchdown pass in the game against the 49ers where it was a naked bootleg and everything was covered. And it looked like he had kind of given up on the play and was ready to run out of bounds.
And then the last second, he flips it over the top of the defense. He got the defense to kind of suck up, flips it over the top of the defense, and throws a touchdown pass. You know, it's things like that that he does that you're just like, Men of Europe. What's going through his mind, and how is he figuring these things out? And then I think you couple that with.
Sean McVay, who I think does a tremendous job of his creativity of what he does. You know, I think they could run naked bootlegs. For every single play of the game, and they would continually win football games because Sean is so creative and Matthew is so good at running those things and manipulating and finding the right guy. And it's just a joy to watch right now. The way he's playing, I think him and Jonathan Taylor have to be right up there as the two front runners for the MVP right now.
Putting him with Sean McVay and then putting him with. Huka and Devonte. I mean, it's almost unfair with what they're doing, especially when they get tight to the red zone. I mean, what do you want to do? I mean, put Devonte in any one-on-one situation.
It's I mean, give him a slant or a fade, and it's hard to stop. You know, Puka, you can flip it to him at any point in time from inside the five, and he'll find a way to get into the end zone. I mean, You know, and then the creativity. I just, I really enjoy watching them play. I think Matthew's playing.
At as high a level as he's ever played at, which is saying something because we know how good he has been for how long. In this business.
So I really think they're the best team going right now in the NFC, but it starts with coach and quarterback in their bag. Kurt, I know I haven't done this to you before, but I want to roll the dice here. We're up against a commercial break. Do you have a couple more minutes potentially on the other side? Yeah.
Kurt?
Okay, great. Because Mike Kafka just did name Jameis Winston the starter for the Giants this week, and I want to ask your thoughts on that.
Okay. And then if I may, for the TV side of things, when we come back, I'm going to stray into your all-22 lane and see if I got this one right.
Okay, Kurt? All right. Let's do it. All right. That's Kurt Warner here, an extended Warner Wednesday because.
He's that type of guy. Everybody, check out QB Confidential on YouTube. Also, let's take a break back with Kurt Warner on that front. And more in a moment. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.
ESPN Radio is presented by Progressive Insurance. See why over 43 million drivers trust Progressive to stay protected on the road. See for yourself that Progressive. Dot com. All right, Kurt, this is why I kept you after class.
Jameis has just been named the starter for the Giants. What's your opinion, thoughts? Unfortunately, obviously, Jackson Dart is not going to be able to go. He's in a concussion protocol. New coach, Mike Kafka, interim, says it's Jameis.
Your two cents on it. I got to say, I'm not surprised. I thought they would go this direction if Jackson couldn't play. I think they've seen kind of Russell and what he is, and that hasn't worked out. And it doesn't seem like the team, even when he's been kind of placed in there a couple times as Jackson's been banged up, that they've got that confidence in him.
And so I felt it was the natural move to go to Jameis and give him a shot. And you know, I love Jameis. I think Jameis is good enough to be a starting quarterback in this league. Um we all know the reason that he's not. Um is that You know, too often he can't get out of his own way, you know.
But you'll watch. Tape on Jameis. And, you know, I say it all the time. When I watch tame on Jameis, I think he makes more good decisions than most starting quarterbacks in the league in the course of a game. The problem is he's always got.
You know, two or three of those decisions where you're just like, where did that one come from? Like, what are you doing? Like, he loves that. He loves all windows. All windows are all forceptions at all.
Like, if an interception is based off of a good decision. And it just doesn't work out. Like, you miss a throw, a defense makes a great play, it's a little miscommunication. Like, I can live with those. The problem with Jameis is that a lot of the throws that he made, or the interceptions that he makes, you're just like, Wha Where did it come from?
Like, what are you looking at? Like, there was really no chance from the get-go. And so, there's just too many of those. And it's so unfortunate because, like I said to Starter, he makes more good decisions and sees the field and reads the field. As well as most guys in the National Football League and why he should be a starter because he has that ability.
But we're just at that point where it's like, You know, is it too far gone? Will you never be able to get out of your own way? But it's, you know, to me, it's just unfortunate because I love the kid. He wants to work. He wants to be great.
He's a great leader. I mean, all of those things. He's got all of those things. It's just that one thing to me that's preventing him from doing it. And, you know, we're just, you know, when these guys get this far into their career, you just kind of throw up your hand and go, well, I guess that's just who he is.
Maybe he can't change that, but it's too bad because I do think he is that talented and that good of a quarterback. that he should be starting in the league if if he could just avoid Those plays.
Well, we'll see how long Dart is out. And he certainly has an opportunity. It's against Green Bay, which desperately needs this game. I mean, this is a.
Well, I'll probably talk a little bit about that. Like, I mean, Brian Dayball, I know he's out. You know, could part of the reason be, or at least moving forward, we got to stop Jackson Dart from taking so many hits.
Well, in terms of that, in terms of that, crazy. Yeah, no, in terms of that, our radio audience is about to go away, and I don't want to cut you off in the middle of that answer. You know how this works, hard outs, all that sort of stuff. I got you. In the meantime, you know, I'm seeing you this weekend, right?
Correct? Am I seeing you? I'll be there. In advance of Commanders and Dolphins in Spain, the finale of the International Series. That's Kurt Warner here in hour number one.
The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Mm-hmm.
