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Now, on with the show. Oh my god, you guys are my favorites. This is The Rich Eisen Show. Rich Eisen. I know what I'm talking about.
That's the headline. The Rich Eisen Show. With guest host, Dan Schwartzman. I mean, honestly, he's brilliant. He's a poet.
Dan Schwartzman. Oh, my gosh. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. And now, sitting in for Rich. It's Dan Schwartzman.
All right, number two of the Rich Eisen Show. That's right, I am Dan Schwartzmann in for rich on this Black Friday on ESPN Radio, the SPN app, and Sirius XM Channel 80. Presented by Progressive Insurance. You can reach us at 888-SAI ESPN. That's 888-7-29-3776.
And I'm all over the place because I've had a lot of coffee today, and it is starting to kick in, my friends. It is absolutely kicking in. And I'm, you know, watched a lot of NFL football yesterday, turkey day it was. But my eyes today, yes, three o'clock Eastern time in a couple hours, as the show wins. I'm going to watch a little NFL again.
Why not? You got the Bears, you got the Eagles, two eight and three teams matching up. Great, great, great game.
Okay? Anytime you have teams with. Winning records, playing, it's a lot of fun. But I'm kind of right, you know, it's funny. I'm looking at this Egg Bowl, Mississippi, Mississippi State.
And I'm actually watching today, not because. The outcome is of interest to me. It's the fact that we are potentially watching Lane Kiffin's last game coaching. At old miss. And He's in this enviable position where he is The hottest woman at prom right now, okay?
Everybody wants to dance with her. Everybody wants to dance with Lane Kiffin right now. And they all seem to be SEC teams, right? Florida. L S U?
Ole Miss trying to retain Kiffen. He's turned that program around. They're 10 and 1. They win the Egg Bowl. They're 11-1.
College football playoffs. You know, I mean, they're a good team. The guy clearly can coach. He's an X's and O's guy. He can recruit.
We saw him do it when he was on his redemption tour as Nick Sabin's offensive coordinator. And I do have to say this for all the haters out there, if it wasn't for Lane Kiffin, Nick Sabin never would have modernized himself as a head coach. All right, you have got to give Lane Kiffin a lot of credit. for the change in offense at Alabama. They went from a running Run first, pass second, boring old school offense.
to lighting it up. Heisman trophy winning quarterbacks, wide receivers, Lots of yards in the air, and that was due to Lane Kiffin.
So give the guy the credit that is due. I understand if you're a Tennessee fan, you can't stand Lane Kiffen. He abandoned you after one year. If you're a Raider fan, I understand. They brought him in at thirty one years old, incredibly arrogant.
Out of there. Didn't last very long. He was not the right guy for that job. The redemption at Alabama under Nick Sabin brought him back, And he's done an incredible job at Ole Miss. He really has done an awesome job.
And now he's got to make a decision, and from what we hear, that decision will come tomorrow. And he's relishing in this. He's loving it. The attention he is getting because look it's old Miss If you want to break down the SCC and the sexy jobs in the SCC, old miss ain't it. Right, Alabama that's a sexy job.
Tennessee, maybe the sheen is a little off, but it's still Knoxville. Hundred and five thousand at Nealon Stadium. It's a big job. Oklahoma. Texas, we forget they're now in the SEC, right?
Holmeness will never be that top upper echelon type of college job that you strive for. It's not the end-all job like Michigan or Notre Dame or Alabama, right? Ohio State. Those are the jobs that you strive for. You start small, Mid American Conference, maxion on a Tuesday on ESPN, right?
You start at one of those jobs, like an Urban Meyer, somebody like that. Nick Sabin, of course, did the same thing. Then you win there. You get that next job. Maybe make the big jump to a Florida.
Or in Urban Meyers' case, he went to Utah, kind of a slight step up. And then, of course, being successful there, he made the jump to Florida. That's a big job.
So, my point is for Lane Kiffin, he's not at that big job where it's, I've done it, this is where I want to be, this is where I want to end my career. He can, no question, recruit there. He's done it. But it's still a little bit more difficult to recruit. To all miss Than it is to say Alabama.
or Notre Dame, or Ohio State, or Michigan, or Texas, or Oklahoma. USC A legacy type of place, right? It's not like old Miss has had a ton of success to where you're walking a recruit through and saying, look at that national championship trophy, look at that national championship trophy, or this hall of famer, that hall of famer. It's not quite the same. But when you have a school like LSU who is clearly after you the way that he does.
I think you got to take that job. Even Florida Florida has not had a ton of success. They haven't. They haven't been very good. But it's still the swamp, it's still Florida.
It's also a better state to recruit than Mississippi. There is talent coming out of Mississippi, but it's not the pipeline that a Florida gives you if you keep all the talent in state.
So, really, if your old miss watching Lane Kiffin right now. Coaching you potentially to a victory over the in-state rival, the Egg Bull, Mississippi State. This is probably it for Lane Kiffin. I would be surprised if he stays there. And if he does, it's because he feels he's making the right decision.
But I have to tell you, it's not the right decision. It's time to take that step up. Everybody wants to step up in their role. Everybody, whatever you do out there, whatever job that you have, You strive for more. You want to make more money.
You want to get to the managerial position. You want to become a director, a vice president, president, whatever it is, you want to make more money. You want the bigger title. And Lane Kiffitt is a guy who has always craved bigger, bigger, bigger. And here's an opportunity success at Ole Miss.
It's now time to move on bigger. The big boys, that job that you strive for. The end all job. An L S U to me is that job. And as much as Brian Kelly did not work out the work in Baton Rouge, now I was surprised he didn't.
I thought he would succeed in Baton Rouge. I thought for a guy to do what he did at Notre Dame, where it is harder to recruit because academics does play more of a role, I thought he was going to succeed at LSU where maybe he had less. strings to deal with in terms of getting guys to go there. Didn't work out. They had to pay fifty some odd million dollars in a buyout.
That's going to become probably an ugly situation as it continues. But if you're laying Kippen, how do you turn down LSU? I don't think you can. How do you turn out Florida? Sadly, Olvis is the third best job of the three.
Him staying where he is now is probably the third best job of his options. But did you see kind of the interesting aspect of This courtship from L S U and Florida So, Lane Kiffin has been saying the right things. He's not thinking about this, he's just thinking about. you know, coaching the next game, coaching the Egg Bowl, whatever it might be, the next opponent on the schedule, like any good head coach would say, I'm not letting the out outside noise bother me. We are just going to talk about the next opponent.
Okay, that's the right thing to say. But yet like he's had the private jets that have taken His family. to do like the recruiting trip, right? And his ex wife apparently has been One of the people that has been brought to Baton Rouge. Or to Florida.
To check out the area, check out the campus. Probably check out the living conditions there. The ex-wife has played a role in doing that. The first time I saw that, that boggled my mind. I have an ex-wife I wouldn't send her out to go look for a place for me to live.
Apparently they have a very good relationship.
Okay, that's awesome, by the way. And I believe Lane Kiffin's daughter is dating a player on LSU. Does that play a role in a positive or negative manner? for him going to take the job at Baton Rouge. But you gotta take that job.
You gotta be out of your mind to turn down Ellis Eur, Florida, to stay at Ole Miss. Because it's about making sure the next job you take in your progression. is a better job than the one you have now. And those two jobs are just. No offense.
If you are an old misgrad, if you are there currently, I am not ripping you. I am not trying to speak ill of the school or the football program. It's the reality of the situation. If you're at all this and Auburn is calling Or Arkansas is calling. or a middle SEC school like those two I mentioned.
Then I say Stayed old miss. It's a lateral move to go to Auburn or to Arkansas. Or Vanderbilt or a school like that.
Okay? It is a lateral move. You don't leave all miss for those jobs. Those to me are not. The end-all be-all jobs.
But you're talking about I mean, these are big offers he's gettin'. And if the money's equal if it's right there Maybe Lane Kiffin in his life at this point has calmed down to where he doesn't care about. Getting higher and higher in his career, he's really truly happy where he is. Although, when a coach speaks, you can never take them seriously when they talk about how they love a place. Do you remember the whole Tommy Tubberville thing where he was at Texas Tech, I think it was?
Uh I I I believe that no, maybe he ended up there, but he was before he took the Auburn job. Tommy Tubberville was asked about the job when There was a flirtation going on, and And I think he said that they would bury him where he was, and a day or two later he literally took the Auburn job and he left.
So, you can never trust a head coach when they tell you how much they love a place and they would never leave and it's where they want to be and raise their family and retire there and all that nonsense. You never believe them.
So, when Lane Kiffin tells you he hasn't thought about it, he's not interested, he's just worried about the next opponent on Saturday, or of course, today being Friday, you never believe him. They think about these things, they talk about these things. You know, when players are transferring in these portals and leaving schools and going to three colleges in a six-year college career, coaches are just as bad. Coaches are terrible too. They will leave in a lurch.
They're gone. Better off, or they're gone Sometimes you can't blame them. Wayne Kiffen leaves Ole Miss tomorrow for LSU or Florida. I hate to tell you this, I would not blame him. It is a better job for him to take if he decides to leave.
You cannot hold that against him. Right now, Ole Miss is winning the Egg Bowl 14-7 over Mississippi State. on their way to being eleven and one if this continues.
Now, reports are coming in Florida, maybe looking away from Lane Kiffin, and you have to believe maybe because LSU is where he would rather be. I wouldn't blame him. LSU is the place to go. But if you're LSU, how much money are you investing in these guys, right? The governor of the state talking about the guaranteed money situation.
It's cost him $50 some odd million dollars to have to pay out Brian Kelly because. The strategy is you want a coach to always have five years in terms of a length of a contract because when he goes to recruit, he can tell a recruit, hey, I'm going to be here for your entire college career. I still have five years left on my contract. Doesn't mean anything, frankly, right? But that's what they tell guys.
But if you're going to sign Lane Kiffitt away from old miss, if you're going to hire him away, you're going to have to give him a lot of guaranteed money. You're talking 10, 11, 12. He's going to be potentially the highest paid head coach in college football. Actually, I'm going to tell you this right now. Everybody listening.
You guys in the control booth. Lane Kiffin will be the highest paid college football coach of all time when this contract, either to remain at Ole Miss or go to LSU is announced. He will be the highest paid head coach in the history of college football because that's what it's going to take these days. Because it's like the quarterback position in the NFL. You don't have to be the best, you just have to be available at the right time.
And with Lane Kiffen, he is the hottest thing right now in coaching that is available. And for LSU, they have to make a big splash. You get a guy like him to come to Baton Rouge, that's the big splash we're talking about. And he will be the highest paid head coach in the history in the history of college football. When he makes his mind up, I guess tomorrow, as to where he will be.
I guarantee you that. No question about it. He will be. And if I'm a betting man, and it's dangerous to say that these days, but thankfully I have no money, so I don't bet, okay? I really don't.
I you know, Scouts Honor, if that's what you want to call it. Pinky swear, I don't bet. I will tell you Lane Kiffen tomorrow is going to LSU. Because you should. And they can pay him more.
Those boosters will gladly open the wallets and bring in Lane Kiffen, and he will be the highest paid head coach in the history of college football. All right, let's get back to the NFL. Let's do it. Let's get back. I cannot, cannot.
Avoid talking about the ravens. And the Bengals, I cannot avoid it any longer. Joe Burrow made his return yesterday, and it shows you what it means to be a competent quarterback and how you turn the fortunes of a team around. I will explain that next. Dan Schwartzmann in for Rich Eisen.
It's the Rich Eisen Show on ESPN Radio, the ESPN app, and SiriusXM, Channel 80. Avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start? Thumbtack knows homes, so you don't have to. Don't know the difference between matte paint finish and satin? Or what that clunking sound from your dryer is.
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888-SA ESPN 888-7293776. That is actually one of my favorite Christmas songs. I'll tell you right now. That's one of the good ones, Jose Feliciano. Although Renee, you said it with a beautiful accent before, Jose Feliciano.
It's like watching Telemundo. You say it, and oh, it's like, wow, you think it's a good one? Telemundo, Universione. Yeah, man. I got it all for you here.
You can roll the R's probably well, right? Uh yeah, I can actually. Yeah. Very fancy sounding. Thank you.
Ugh. All right, now I'm back in the Christmas mode. All right, let's talk about this Bengals win yesterday. Surprising. Gotta tell you, surprised.
All right, Bengals have struggled this year. Joe Burrow out two and a half months, was expected to come back in December. But he came back earlier and he played yesterday on Turkey Day. Baltimore coming off five straight wins. They look terrible to start the year.
They rebounded, he thought, Okay. All right.
Now they're playing like the Ravens of the John Harbaugh era. And I'll tell you what, Bengals, especially in that second half, absolutely dominated. And you know, as a Jet fan. That has struggled to find a competent person to play the quarterback position all these years. Yesterday is The exact Reason why the quarterback position is the most important position in all of sports.
Okay. I understand how important a pitcher is in baseball. I get it.
Okay. But you got five starters, you got a lot of guys in the bullpen these days. One starter struggles, other guys can pick up the slack. The goalie in hockey is a very difficult, incredibly important position. But these days, a lot of teams have very competent backup goalies, okay?
But the quarterback position is the hardest position in all of sports to replace. Because the drop-off any team has From their starting quarterback to the backup, He's Literally mountains in between, right? Talent-wise. If your team loses their starting quarterback, chances are your season is wrecked. You are done.
You are not going to recover. You could have Super Bowl aspirations in training camp. Your quarterback goes down with a season-ending injury. You are done. You're not going to recover from that.
Because a guy who's replacing your starting quarterback, I guarantee you, isn't half the player. That's your starter is. Very rarely do you have a situation where a Tom Brady goes down. Matt Castle takes over. You still win 11 games, although they missed the playoffs that year.
They won 11 games amazingly with Matt Castle.
Okay, that was a surprise. Very rarely is there an instance where a team has at least wins and losses wise, not a massive drop off. When Aaron Rodgers two years ago. When I finally thought the Jets had found the quarterback, With the talent they had elsewhere. To win something.
I'm watching that Monday night. Was it Monday night? I think it was when he's running out the flag at MetLife Stadium. And I told my wife and kids, leave me alone. I'm going to watch this Jet game.
Aaron Rodgers era is beginning. This is where my Jets go from being laughing stocks. to actually being Super Bowl contenders. And I'm Pumping my chest out. I'm excited.
Four plays in, he goes down, and I am cursing up a storm. And my wife comes in and goes, What happened? What's wrong? And I'm like, you're not going to believe this. That's a serious injury.
They are done. Because the guy behind Aaron Rodgers is not remotely close to being Aaron Rodgers. He can barely carry his water. And Then she gives me the whole, well, why are you rooting for this team? It always happens, right?
Like, if it's going to happen to any team, it's going to be the Jets. I'm like, honey, you're right. Naki, leave me alone. Right. I'm miserable right now.
So the Bengals were three and eight going into this game, and why? Because they didn't have Joe Burrow for two and a half months. He went out week two, by the way, during that game. That's how long he's been out. Without Joe Burrow.
And if they're playing a Joe Flacco or somebody like that, they're not winning in Baltimore yesterday. They're just not winning that game. It's not happening. But here he comes back, and remember when Joe Burrow is healthy, he is a superstar quarterback. He is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
And he comes back yesterday, throws for two touchdowns. Dominates again. And they win the game. And he has had a tough time staying healthy. Remember back in 2020, his rookie year, he goes down.
In 2023, he goes down.
So after a big start, he went down. This year again, he goes down. But when he's healthy, people forget last year, Joe Burrow threw for almost 5,000 yards. 43 touchdowns, 9 interceptions. Talk about a touchdown to interception ratio.
43 to 9.
Okay? This is a guy that's thrown almost 100 more touchdowns in his career to interceptions. Legitimate superstar. When Joe Burrow is in, the Bengals are a legit team. When he's out, like any other team losing their starting quarterback, They're in trouble.
And my whole point is this. Once again, it shows you. That you need to have that position filled. And as a jet fan, okay? I can't tell you that look, Chad Pennington showed promise.
Unfortunately, he couldn't stay healthy. He's probably the guy that potentially could have been something for them. But besides, you know, they drafted what? Sam Darnold wasn't good for them. Zach Wilson wasn't good for them.
Mark Sanchez wasn't good for them. Three guys drafted in the top five of their drafts, and none of them panned out. And by the way, anybody sitting there saying, well, look at Sam Darnold now, how good he was with Minnesota last year and how good he is with Seattle, let me tell you something. Wouldn't have happened with the Jets, okay? He never would have been this quarterback with the Jets because of the fact they don't have the coaching.
You have to coach the talent out of Sam Darnold. He came into the NFL from USC with flaws, people forget. He did turn the ball a lot. He did turn over the ball a lot his last year at USC before he came to the NFL. I remember that whole suck for Sam thing they did.
It was a big deal. I remember that. When the Jets got him, I was very excited. They won that first game against Detroit. Remember, his first pass, I think, was picked off.
And after that, they dominated that game. And I thought, well, there you go. We've turned the corner. We have ourselves a quarterback. Three years later, they got rid of him.
And rightfully so at the time, and probably did him a favor, okay? My whole point is, yesterday is exactly the microcosm of. Why the quarterback position is the most important position in all of sports. And I'm jealous. and I'm envious of teams.
That fill that position with a competent player. If you're a Packers fan. I wish you a lump of coal in your stocking. Because you went from Brett Favre To Aaron Rodgers To Jordan Love Okay, I went from Sam Darnold To Trevor Simeon To whatever slop the Jets put at quarterback. To Zach Wilson.
I'm about to cry here To who am I missing? I mean, Justin Fields. Jack, okay, open your micrenade again. Jackson Smith in Jigba. has more receiving yards.
than Justin Fields has passing yards this year. I'm not joking. That's an incredible statistic. that a wide receiver has more yards than an actual starting quarterback in the NFL.
So, you look at teams that have been able to judge talent at that position. And it is hard to do so, and it is a crapshoot. I understand that. And I am envious because it's the biggest difference in the world. You could have a heck of a running game.
You could have great wide receivers. You put Joe Brown.
Okay, listen, you put Garrett Wilson. On another team like say Seattle. Or Cincinnati Or Dallas. And you look at the numbers the seedy lambs of the world are putting up. Jamar Chase Jackson, Smith, and Jigba.
I did it. There you go.
Okay. Was that right? Yes, I'm g yes, I'm getting a slow clap slow clap. Nice. Thank you guys.
But you put Garrett Wilson in another situation. He's going to put up these types of ridiculous yards. He's that good.
So, the quarterback, you put Joe Burrow back into that Cincinnati lineup yesterday, and it is a different story. They win the game. They win it in incredible fashion on the road. Domination. over a former league MVP, Lamar Jackson.
A Hall of Fame running back in Derrick Henry. A coach who's done nothing but win at least regular season games in Baltimore and Harbaugh. Cincinnati, without Joe Burrow, they don't win yesterday. Doesn't happen. You put Joe Burrow in there.
Look at the difference. That's why, if you're Cincinnati, you've got to keep the guy upright. As good as the statistics were for Joe Burrow last year. Almost 5,000 yards, 43 touchdowns, 9 interceptions, completed almost 71% of his passes. Do you know what number stood out to me the most?
Forty-eight sacks You cannot let your quarterback Be sacked 48 times if you want to keep them upright and win games. You have got to protect your quarterback. That's a bad job, and it's not like Joe Burrow is a running quarterback. He's not this athletic running quarterback that's going to beat like a Justin Fields or a Lamar Jackson. or somebody of that caliber in terms of being able to use their wheels For success.
That's not Joe Burrow. But you have to keep him upright 48 times being sacked last year is atrocious. It's a different story in that city if you keep this guy upright.
Meanwhile, for the Baltimore Ravens, it's head scratching. You know, what is this team? Like honesty, what is this team? They've been known for so long for their defense, right? They've been known so long to be this juggernaut defensively.
That keeps you in a game. That, regardless if it's Joe Flakowic, quarterback, or whatever the situation is, they're going to run the football down your throat and they're going to win with their defense. That's how they won a Super Bowl. They want their defense. Ray Lewis, Ed Reid.
Halodinata, guys like that. They won with defense. I'm looking at that team yesterday defensively, and I'm thinking to myself: who are these guys? Marlon Humphrey, really good player. Kyle Hamilton, great player.
But they're just not getting to the quarterback like you expect a Baltimore Ravens defense to do so. That was a calling card. You had a dominating secondary that allowed guys to get to the quarterback because receivers are covered. You're a dominating defensive lineman, right? You're going to run up the middle on this team.
Quarterbacks were fearing this defense. That's not the case anymore. I don't think anybody right now is really fearing the Baltimore Ravens' defense. The calling card is gone. It's not the same cast of characters.
Dan Schwartzmann in for Rich Eisen, the Rich Eisen Show on ESPN Radio, the ESPN app, Series XM Channel 80 here on a Black Friday. talking about the Turkey Day Games, the triple header from the NFL. But that to me is the issue when it comes to the Ravens. I don't think they're that good. They're not.
I don't put him in that upper echelon that that they've been accustomed to being in. for a while now. They have the stability in terms of coaching. They have the stability in terms of the quarterback. Lamar Jackson did not play well yesterday.
He really did not. He's having himself another pretty good season. You know, Lamar Jackson, to me, is a guy that you can obviously win a Super Bowl with. And he's coming off a tremendous year last year. MVP season.
Is that good? Hasn't been the same guy this year. There's been some struggles this year. Still pretty good, don't get me wrong. Still pretty good.
But Lamar Jackson has not been the same player right now as he was last year. Maybe we've set the bar so high with him. throughout this portion of his career, only 28 years old still. That when he's still pretty good and we would probably yearn to have this Lamar Jackson. On most teams, it is It's still not the same guy.
And when Derrick Henry started the season off and had that first game of the year where he was he rushed against Buffalo that game that they somehow blew, he rushed for one hundred and seventy yards in that game, you thought, okay, same Derrick Henry. He's over that thirty year old mark, he's thirty one years old.
Okay, he'll be fine, no problem, no no let down. Then he struggled a bit. He's had some good games this year, but he has struggled a bit here and there. It hasn't been the same player that rushed for 1,900 yards last year. There's been a letdown with that entire team this year.
And when we talk about parody in the NFL. And who do you stand out, and who potentially can make noise when it counts in terms of must-win games at the end of a year or the postseason or even in the Super Bowl? Kansas City, as much as they've struggled, you're like, I'm not going to bet against Patrick Mahomes. I'm not going to bet against Andy Reid. At some point you think they're going to wake up, it's going to be a different story, right?
The Buffalo Bills all right, Josh Allen's been up and down. Bills have had some bad losses this year, especially recently. But it's still the Buffalo Bills. They should be okay. The Colts are surprising people with Daniel Jones.
Taylor, you know, Jonathan Taylor, they've been pretty good. Denver's been a surprise out in the West, the Chargers? But I just don't think and they've given me no reason to think That the Baltimore Ravens are a team that can come out of this AFC. I don't see it. I really don't.
Every team has holes right now, right? Every team to me to a point is Swiss cheese. The Patriots are 10-2. Drake May is right now possibly the league MVP. I'm still not believing in them.
They don't lose on the road, which is amazing, and Ravel's been awesome. But for some reason, attending to best record in the AFC. And best record right now in the entire NFL. I still for some reason. Don't seem to think that they're the favorite.
I know that sounds crazy, and they probably should be the favorite. And I'm not saying this 'cause I'm a Jet fan and I'm jealous. And I am jealous, by the way, that they drafted Drake May, who's going to kill my Jets for the next fifteen years. But there's still something about that team where there are holes that I'm like, I don't know.
Okay. They can run the football. Not great, but they can run the football.
Okay. I think to a point they're relying a lot on a really young quarterback. At some point you wonder when push comes to shove and it's the playoffs and Drake May has to make plays, is he going to do so in a pressure packed environment like if they play in Kansas City or whatever, Buffalo? I don't know. They've won nine and they're always look great, but this is the regular season.
It's a different story.
So my point being That I look at Baltimore in a season where anybody can come out of the AFC, and I don't see it. I don't think they're in that conversation. Even with Joe Burrow back, remember, he's missed two and a half months. He's going to have. A situation where he is a little bit rusty, you would think.
You're at home? It's the holiday crowd. You gotta win that game. You can't get blown out by 18 points. It's embarrassing.
That's a wake-up call. They're not it this year. Baltimore Ravens are not it. I hate to tell you that. They're just not in.
Want to get into today's matchup? Kick off in about an hour and 20 minutes or so. Eight and three Bears. Eight and three Eagles. At the link in Philadelphia Amazing when you read Philadelphia media.
about that team Coming off a Super Bowl win. With a head coach Nick Serjani who's done nothing but win. But if you read the headlines, you read the stories, you have to think to yourself, My goodness, are we thinking about the same team here? People criticizing the quarterback.
Meanwhile, Chicago, turning a corner They have the young stud quarterback in Williams, the new head coach. And they're eight and three. Do you believe in that team? And can the Philadelphia Eagles change the perception around that team this year, despite being 8-3? that they continue to that they can continue to be the best team in the NFC.
Remember, they are defending Super Bowl champions. We will get into this matchup. That is coming up next. Dan Schwartzmann on a Black Friday in for Rich Eisen. It's the Rich Eisen Show on ESPN Radio, the SPN app, and SiriusXM Channel 80.
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Now we can play the cool fun Christmas music. Not the old school stuff. Not the Mariah ballads. This is the fun stuff. Dan Schwartzmann in for Rich Eisen, the Rich Eisen Show.
ESPN Radio, ESPN App, Series XM, Channel 80. There we go. How about that? Who is this? Is it?
I was going to say it's from DMC, but I'm like, do they do Christmas music? Oh, they did there. Woohoo! What are you gonna play next? An NWA Christmas tune?
I mean, come on. Oh, you just you just hang on to your seats over there. Whoa. How many more breaks do I have on this show? This is uh you're setting the bar high a little early in the show here.
We're only halfway through here. Man, is there an Eminem Christmas special that I missed out on? Let's not take it. Let's not take it out. Could you believe if you did?
I mean. If Em and M did Christmas songs, I would be. Mind blown Absolutely I was kind of mind blown that Rundium seeded Christmas music. Wow All right, said That really jacked me up. A big game coming up.
Kick off in about an hour and fifteen minutes in Philly, the Link. Spent a lot of days watching Eagles games at the link when I worked in Philly. Good crowd. Loyal fan base. Good team.
A bit strict when they come to their fans and their expectations. For crying out loud, this is an 8-3 team. Atop the NFC East? Super Bowl champions They've won two Super Bowls in recent memory. And yet, somehow, fans aren't happy.
Jalen Hurts statistically having a nice year. Tough to argue with a guy that is Throw seventeen touchdowns, one pick. I understand he hasn't been quote-unquote great. There have been issues. Apparently, he freelances a little too much out there, and that seems to be what people are complaining about.
Saquon Barkley coming off one of the great years a running back has ever had last year, 2,000 yards. Actually, even sat out a game, could have set the NFL single-season record if he decided to play, but he sat out and worked out because. He was healthy in the postseason they win a Super Bowl. You know what? It worked out.
If they didn't, you can say, hey man, come on. Be competitive. The Barkley went from averaging 5.8 yards a carry last year behind an incredibly great offensive line. That Eagles offensive line last year, one of the best we've ever seen.
Okay. I'm telling you right now, with Milata and with Johnson and the talent they had on that offensive line. It was if Saquon Barkley was four yards deep before he was even touched. This year, it's been a different story. Saquon Barkley has gone from averaging 5.8 yards a carry last year.
He's averaging 3.7 yards a carry this year. That is a mind-blowing statistic. He is literally averaging two yards less per carry. Than he did a year ago. Two yards less than carry.
That's a huge differential from one year to the next.
So, Philly, clearly, not the same team it was. I understand that. They're still 8-3. The winning spoils a fan base. When you win a lot, fans always have higher expectations.
No one's ever satisfied. It's human nature. Very few people say, you know what, guys? We won a Super Bowl. You know, I don't care about the next ten years.
I'm good. They struggle, who cares? No, fans want more. You taste that win. You want to taste it again.
No one tastes some sort of food that they've never had before. And they love it and say, Yeah, you know what, American? I don't want that again. You strive for it, you crave it, right? You make a certain amount of money one year, you're like, Man, that was fun to live on that.
I gotta do that again. That's human nature. You taste championship success. You taste winds And you crave more of it. You want nothing but that, that feeling, that high.
Never got into drugs. Gotta throw that out there, okay? But people say, whoa, you do it once. Oh, my goodness, it's the greatest thing, Papa. Whatever it is.
I understand that you reach a certain feeling. Dopamine, adrenaline, whatever it might be. And you crave it again and again and again. You need it again. What did I say?
It's human nature. And for Eagle fans that used to be satisfied just winning a bunch of games, getting to the playoffs. NFC Championship games, and I'm talking about that Andy Reid era where they did get to one Super Bowl, they lost. Man, they got to what five NFC Championship games they won, won, lost four of them. Eagle fans were satisfied because they had come off a stretch of having very little success.
And then Andy Reid put them on the next level of being successful every year, winning a bunch of games. And it changed the fans' perception. They got spoiled. And then, after Andy Reid had a bad year and they went in a different direction, and by the way, it was a right move at the time. I think Andy's message in Philly got stale.
Players weren't gravitating, weren't reacting to it. He goes to Kansas City, starts new, and he's, of course, had a tremendous run, three Super Bowls there. And they've played in another one, they lost, but he's won three Super Bowls, got lucky with Patrick Mahomes. and he reinvented himself, rejuvenated himself in Andy Reid as Andy Reid. But Philly brings in a guy nicked Siriani, jury was out.
And he's done nothing but win. And yet it's very interesting to me. And I think ESPN did a good article about this recently. When they talked about Nick Suriani and why it is he seems to be on a level where. People have a higher expectation for him than others, right?
Like, it's as if with all the success he's had, it's not enough, and people still question him. It's a very strange dynamic, but it happens. And a lot of it has to do with the fact that he is in Philadelphia with a very tough fan base. It is as tough a fan base, and I say this admirably, like in a good way, it is as tough a fan base as you're going to find anywhere in any sport. They are tough.
Win or lose, they are tough. Lose, forget it. Even if you win, it doesn't mean that you You've endeared yourself to that fan base. You haven't. And I'm not going to throw out the well, they threw snowballs at Santa Claus.
Yeah, that happened a very long time ago. Let's go past that, okay? At some point, Philly wants people to go past the fact that they threw snowballs at Santa Claus. They do like Santa Claus there. They probably like the Christmas music we've been playing throughout the course of this show.
But it is a position where you look at it and Nick Siriani seems to be having to climb a higher mountain than other head coaches in the NFL, regardless of success. And he's had a lot of success. And same with Jalen Hurts now. You're seeing it with him. Jalen Hurts has done nothing but win in Philly, right?
He's been very successful. He's won Super Bowls. At least one. And it's as if it's not enough. And in a big season where there's still eight and three.
And they're the favorite to win today. For some reason, he is still being questioned as if he has to prove himself. Donovan McNabb was a heck of a quarterback in Philly, six Pro Bowls. brought stability to that position. And if you ask half the people in Philly if they were fans of his and half if they were not.
You're going to get different opinions on him, regardless of the fact that he won games for them. It's a strange city and you're seeing it. When you think about the Eagles and the success, but yet fans talk as if it's not enough. They need to win more. And they will win more.
But it's kind of unfair to appoint what the expectations are. We have another hour coming up next. Dan Schwartzmann in for Rich Eisen. It's the Rich Eisen Show on ESPN and the ESPN app. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast.
Mm-hmm.
