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Now, on with the show. Confident. This goes The Rich Eisen Show. GE PDFO 95 Yard and Divers going to the AFC Championship games. That's what we're doing.
Victorions. It's good. Rams win it. Earlier on the show, NFL Network Insider Tom Pellisero coming up. Fox Sports NFL analyst Mark Schlerett.
Plus, latest news and more. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Hour number three of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air. Man, this show could be six hours long, and it wouldn't be enough to talk about what's going on over the weekend or preview what could happen tonight between Indiana and Miami for the national championship. What a weekend of football it's already been.
And there's another one tonight. Chris Fowler, who's calling tonight's game, is on tomorrow's program. We'll also chop it up. with two-time Super Bowl champion, none other than Chris Long, back on the program. And then at this point tomorrow, we're going to talk with Jordan Palmer, the quarterback guru himself, who I believe does have a history with Jared Stiddam.
So he's on tomorrow's program. We already just chopped it up with Tom Pellisero. There's also the Overreaction Monday podcast that's out there, closing in on six figures of views in just a couple of hours. People love football, love chomping it up. We appreciate that.
844-204-Rich being the number to dial back here on the Rich Eisen show in a Monday spot because we knew there'd be so much to talk about as Fox Sports and Multiple Super Bowl champion, three-time champion, ladies and gentlemen, uh, Denver Bronco, great Mark Schlurth. Good to see you, Mark. How are you, brother? Doing great. I am doing great.
How are you, Rich? Your best guess on Deshaun Payton, what he's doing right now. Mark. Um Working, like grinding, looking at, you know, it's interesting. I asked Sean this several years ago when I started calling games.
I said, hey, man, I just want to pick your brain and just about game planning and how you go about executing a game plan and all those things. He said, you know, as a young coach, Oftentimes, I would see a weakness of the defense, and I just want to attack that weakness. I just want to go after that weakness. You know, damn the consequences. He goes, as you mature as a coach, you look at a weakness of a team, a defense, and you say, hey, man, I'm going to attack that only if.
it doesn't expose a weakness on my team. And so, my first responsibility is to mitigate my own weaknesses. My second responsibility is to attack the weaknesses of the defense. And so, in regards to Jared Stidham, like he is going to put Jared Stidham in a position to win football games. And you look at what he did with Teddy Bridgewater when Teddy Bridgewater started five games in place of Drew Brees.
And then also looking to when he had Jameis Winston as his starting quarterback. And, you know, we talked about that 30 interceptions, you know, 39 total turnovers, the 32, the 30 TD season. And Sean was just like, man, I will never put Jameis Winston in a position to throw 30 interceptions because, you know, I understand what that's going to do to us.
So he is grinding right now to put Jared Stidham in a position to accentuate his strengths and to mitigate some of his weaknesses and put them in the best position to win a football game. That's what he's doing. And, um, I I thought what he said, you know, like, watch out. When he said yesterday, when he went back to the podium to say that Bo Nix was out and that Stidhim's going to be ready, you know, watch this, watch out, essentially, that he was talking to Stidhim in the locker room through the media. Yes, no, Mark.
Oh, absolutely. I mean, he's got, first off, you know, he went out and got stiddam, paid stiddum, uh, you know, redid their contract. Like, this is a guy that he has believed in. This is a guy that he wanted as that backup to Bonix, a guy that he has believed in for quite some time. And so, you know, they've got three years together in this offense.
And I will tell you, and I know it's only training camp, right? And I know it's preseason. And the preseason games, notwithstanding, because the preseason games, as we all know, are fairly vanilla and you're trying to manage guys and not get anybody hurt. But in those joint practices, Stiddy was awesome. And that's where the majority of the work gets done in today's NFL is you get these joint practices.
They had one, I think, against San Francisco in San Fran. They had one against Arizona here in Denver. I was at that one. And Stiddy played exceptionally well and probably played better than Bo Nicks in the preseason and in that kind of competitive environment.
So obviously, he's probably not the scrambler athlete that Bo Nicks is, but Stidman is he's a good player. There's no question.
Well, I mean, you need him to be great. This is the AFC championship game. And the. The Patriots have a quarterback who's playing great. Obviously, Drake May having some fumblitis that the Patriots have been able to get through because May also makes throws like the one to Diggs for a touchdown, and certainly the one to Keyshawn Booty.
Over Derek Stingley Jr. to make the plays, and the defense has been balling out.
So, what do you think Stidthem is going to look like against this Patriots defense, having seen what they did? To see Jay Stroud on TV, Mark. Yeah, you know, I think Stidham, I think he'll be okay. The thing that really gets kind of caught in the wash. Is this this Broncos team has been based upon this great defense under Vance Joseph?
I think I thought this defense got they got out schemed, they got outplayed, they got out executed, they got out physical, if you will. Um, and ultimately, you know, we sit there and say nationally, you know, oh, Josh Allen, and you know, we see that McDermott gets fired and all this stuff. But I thought Josh Allen played one of his worst football games. He missed three or four touchdown passes in that game. That game, they could have hung 50.
On Denver's defense. They didn't have a plan to stop Cook. The running back just ran rough shod through them at, I don't know what it was, six, seven yards a carry. Um, they never really adjusted on the pitch play. And, um, I thought they, I thought they did a phenomenal job of they controlled and they dealt with the crowd noise in Denver.
And I was at the stadium, man, and it was, I mean, you want to talk about loud and obnoxious. It was incredible what the Denver Broncos, you know, Broncos country did. But I thought the Buffalo Bills offense handled that crowd noise better than the Broncos' defense. I thought the Broncos defense gave up multiple plays and made multiple mistakes from a communication standpoint that could have been the difference in that game. And, you know, and ultimately, like I said, I thought Josh Allen missed a couple of wide open touchdown passes, had a couple of balls picked that were, to me, were bad throws.
So, or at least one was a bad throw. He had. I can't remember who it was, but it was PJ Locke that intercepted the ball. And I was standing with Peyton Manning in Peyton's suite, and he goes, Man, you just got to throw that to the corner of the end zone. That's a touchdown every time.
And so there were just different situations in that game where Josh just didn't play his best. I understand why he was emotional at the podium because he just really played for Josh Allen Standards, a poor football game.
So, what do you think's. Happening in his skull right now now that Sean McDermott's out of a job. What do you think of. of all that, Mark? Yes.
Well, as you know, it's a results based business. And if you don't win in those situations, and the national narrative was, hey, man, there is no there is no Lamar Jackson. There is no Mahomes. There is no Joe Burrow. This is your chance to skate right to the Super Bowl and get your team to the Super Bowl.
And it's a results business. And I thought the most egregious, the most egregious call of the game was you get 16 seconds left in the second quarter. You take a knee. I'm sitting there at the stadium going, just take a knee, go in the locker room, regroup. And I tend to be more conservative, but I'm like, that's how you operate.
And then all of a sudden, he drops back, scrambles around, fumbles the football, and you give the Broncos an extra three points right there with, you know, two, three seconds left. I just thought that was an egregious call by Sean McDermott, and that was not managing the game. And I think one of the big things for Sean, and one of the reasons you're no longer employed. Is because oftentimes you get these playoff games, and it's almost like we've got Superman as our quarterback. Let just put it on him.
Go do this. And that's a coaching decision, man. The quarterback doesn't get to make that play. You say, kneel on it, let's get in the locker room and be down by seven instead of going down by 10. Interesting.
Some fans would think it's a roster. move because That's what the Bills have to do, that Allen's got to do. It mostly by himself, even though Cook had a heck of a day, man. And that's part and parcel, as you pointed out, about that the Broncos' defense was ridden. quite a bit by the Buffalo Bills, which is another reason why you're wondering.
Why let the coach go? I mean, it was just this, that, the other. You could be in the ASC championship game going to New England right now. Yeah, no question about it. But you look on the other side of that, you shut down the run.
I mean, Bo Nix was the leading rusher for the Broncos. You shut down the run, they lost not one, but two receivers. Pat Bryant was on his way, he had three catches in the first four plays. He was on his way. He gets a concussion.
Troy Franken pulls his hammy, and you let Mims beat you. And oh, by the way, in that game, Cortland Sutton, your most reliable target. Dropped a bunch of balls.
So, like, that there was a lot of reason to sit there and go, man, you are in charge. Of that defense, you're a defensive coach, and ultimately, Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos, who were hamstrung on the offensive side of the ball, hung 30 on you. I understand. Like I said, it's a results-based business. And, you know, whether you're coaching or playing, and I think we've all been there, you spend enough time in this league, you know, they'll let you know that hey, you're not doing good enough.
And I've been part of that conversation when I was in Washington and, you know, and Norv Turner told me, hey, man, we don't think you can play anymore. And I remind Norv Turner every time I see him that he cut me or no, that he didn't re-sign me and let me go into free agency. And he gave me the opportunity to go back-to-back championships and play another six years.
So thanks, Norf. Love you, buddy. Mark Schlerith here on the Rich Eisen Show. I gave Mike McDonald the kudos. What a great coaching move when your quarterback might not be able to throw to just have your.
Kickoff, return, man, start the game with a touchdown. Brilliant move, excellent execution on the game plan. And it started a boat race. Seattle had enough points in 13 seconds that they needed on all night because that defense is a wagon. Are they the favorites to win the Super Bowl right now, based on everything?
Would you say? Yeah, I think they've got to be. And boy, I tell you what, Rich, I got vibes. I've got Legion of Boom vibes with the ability to, like, they are incredible from the standpoint of they play a lot of, you know, a lot of zone match type of defense. And One thing that just blows me away about them is plays where you dump a ball off to a Christian McCaffrey or to Atangis or whoever, and you think, man, I'm going to dump this ball off.
Christian's going to spin inside and it's going to go, you know, he's going to give an extra three or four yards and it's going to be second down and three. And as soon as you throw that ball, man, they are like they are On it as a defense. They're not missing tackles. You're getting zero leaky yardage against that defense. And now all of a sudden, you think you're going to be in second three and you're in second seven.
You're behind the chains. You're like, oh, shoot, here we go again. I thought Witherspoon was phenomenal. I just think that whole defensive back end from the linebacking core to the safeties and the cornerbacks all tackled exceptionally well. And here's one thing: a coach told me years ago that always resonates with me, and it resonated with me.
I had these visions of Super Bowl 48 when the Seahawks just absolutely bludgeoned my Broncos in the Super Bowl. And Ms. Coach said, watch special teams. Watch the depth that teams have on special teams and how they cover kicks and how aggressive they are. And I just watched Seattle open a can of whoop ass.
In the special teams department against the against the 49ers, they're just out-hitting people. And it just goes to show you: like, that's that's the kind of depth you have when you watch special teams units just overwhelm the opponent. It points to the depth you have, especially on the defensive side of the ball, because most of those defensive players play the special teams units, especially the coverage units.
So I just thought that defense and the way they played special teams and the way they ran the ball was special against the Niners.
Well, if they make the Super Bowl, they will have earned it, Mark, because not only do they win a division that has three 12-win teams in it, right, but they would also have had to have beaten. The Niners and the Rams twice in order to make the Super Bowl, with the last two times being. In playoff games, winner-go home.
So they will have earned it because the Rams will be coming in feeling great about what just happened. Winning in Chicago, stopping somehow Caleb Williams from his eighth. Come from behind win of the season, absorbing maybe the throw of the year, which is kind of. you might have to remove maybe the way Caleb forced overtime. Uh I give you the floor on that game in general.
Mark. Yeah, you know, I think some of the things that concern me about Sean McVay, and you know, I know if you get the Oda McVay on you, you get a chance to get it via a coaching job, but Lord have mercy. You're just forgetfulness to run the ball when you are exceptional at it. I think your O-line has been built that way. I think you run those 12 and 13 personnel packages.
Nakua will absolutely hit people. Like at times in that game, I'm just like screaming at the television: just run the freaking football. Like Kyron Williams is getting five, eight, six yards a crack. Just run the damn ball. And you're going three and out with three straight passes.
Like stuff like that drives me crazy. I think the other takeaway for me is at what point are we going to start kicking field goals again? Like what, at what point is that going to become the vogue thing to do? Never. Because I look at that game and going, if you just kicked field goals on fourth down when you're down, like every time you reach the 30, I'm going, oh, here we are in the bypass field goal territory again.
I'm with you, Mark. But then you read about that the first two times the Bears went for it on fourth down, they come away with seven total points, which is one more than the six total points if they just went ahead. And kicked the field goals. And so that's the analytics pushback: is that even though you're one for two, you got seven. And if you said, screw it, I'm just gonna go for field goals, you have six.
You actually emerged with one more point. Than playing for just the points that you're talking about, Mark. Yeah, I get that, but I will also tell you from my perspective, here's where math, like, and I say this all the time: math has never made a tackle, it's never blocked anybody. And you have the analytics over the course of a year, right? But All of a sudden, you've got weather.
All of a sudden, you've got a hard, slick ball. You got a quarterback. Both quarterbacks had jammed up fingers, right? Caleb Williams jammed his finger in the first series, I believe. And Matthew Stafford came in with a sprained finger.
And, you know, both guys had some errant throws. And I just think points are a premium. And the one thing that analytics don't do for you is they don't assess the game situation, the weather, the field conditions a lot. It's just a lot of numbers. And at times, man, I just look at it like, man.
Playoff game, premium, take points, get yourself points, and we'll figure it out at the end if we have to go for it. But I get it. I get where the numbers come in. I just completely disagree with them wholeheartedly. I couldn't, like, I know one thing: analytics has never blocked a three technique like Warren Sapp, who's breathing down your neck.
I know that.
So that's where I am with analytics. Stinking Truth podcast with Mark Schlerith. But the Rams have all the weaponry. And defensively, last night, they stiffened up in a way that we haven't seen since weeks one through 12, which leads me to believe that this is going to be a dynamite NFC championship game. And just before we move on to the predicting of Super Bowl 60 from you, Mark.
As to who's making it. Caleb Williams, right? Like, he is. There's no question.
That there was a box checked by the Chicago Bears. Ben's the right guy as the coach. And Caleb's the right guy to connect to him. And vice versa, right? Yeah, no doubt.
I don't think there's any question. Caleb's ability, he's only going to get better. Um you know in in like In normal downs, he's only going to get better like off schedule. Like, that's where he's exceptional. That pass, I like the almost ridiculous.
I'm screaming at the television. You're giving up 25 yards. I'm going, come on, dude. You can't do that. Oh, yeah, boom, touch up.
Perfect. Like, it's exactly how we planned it. It was remarkable. And so off schedule, I think the guy is as good as it gets in this league. He's athletic, unbelievable, arm talent, all those things.
And he just gets better and better and better on schedule. And he's just going to continue to get. And I know that's what Ben Johnson, I've talked to Ben Johnson, that's what they've worked on. He's getting better in that aspect of football. And that's part and parcel of playing college football where, you know, you can just like you play at USC.
You know, our players are probably better than your players nine out of 11 games that we play. And so I'll just hold on the ball and make something happen. And that's not the NFL. That's not how it's structured. You know, everybody gets to draft and everybody gets to put their team together.
So he'll just continue to get better in that phase. That's where he laughed coming in. He got a lot better over the course of the season, a lot better from year to year. He looks the part. He looks special.
There's no question.
No doubt about it. Mark Schlerth, who makes Super Bowl 60 at the end of the day on Sunday?
Well, you know what? I go into this thing knowing that Stidham's going to have to play. This defense has to play a lot better in Denver. I think this is going to be a really tight game. I'm hoping that Denver continues to be the kryptonite for the New England Patriots.
They're 0-4 here lifetime when they have to play a playoff game. I'm banking on Sean Payton. I'm banking on this Denver defense to rebound. I'm taking Denver with trepidation. And then in the NFC Championship, I just think Seattle, their defense is so good.
Their ability to run the ball. I'm going to take Seattle to win the NFC Championship. It'll be Denver, Seattle, a rematch of Super Bowl 48, I believe. All right. And I'm sure you won't bring that up to the person who might host you for the AFC championship game in his Uh, sweet, uh, Mark, at the end of the day.
I imagine I caught that. We we all caught that name drop, that sweet drop. Um What's the catering like in Peyton's suite for oh, the case? It's it's tremendous. Uh, it is, yeah, it's absolutely tremendous, and um.
Yeah, you know what? It's really fun. You always kind of look at the game through the lens that you played it, Rich. You know, so it's where you tend to focus. And sitting with Peyton, you get your own Manningcast.
You get your own Manningcast. Yeah, you're just like sitting there watching him, like, oh, they're a cover two man right here. I go to, you know, this guy. Like, you're just like, dude, I wish I could see it that bad. Like, I can figure out what the coverage is when I rewind it six times, you know, on the coach's tape, but not when I'm standing there watching them snap the football.
So he's remarkable. Um, really cool just to be able to pick his brain during the football game. It was a lot of fun, man. I had a blast. What's the catering?
What do we got? Oh, I didn't eat anything while I was in there because I wanted to invite back. Like, I didn't want to be just housing food in there, but they had, yeah, they had prime rib, they had drinks, they had, yeah, they had everything. Dessert cart, little dessert cart. Oh, dessert cart, no question about it.
I mean, it was well done.
Well done. Mark Schlerith, everybody. Thanks for the time. Bud, we'll have you on next week as always. Thanks, sir.
Sounds good, buddy. Take care. Stink a truth podcast with Mark Schlerth. Everybody, check it out. And obviously, we greatly appreciate Mark's friendship here.
on the Rich Isen Show.
So Peyton sees it pre-snap. Can you imagine if he played with Marshall Falk for longer? Oh, my goodness. Because that's Marshall. The two of them together.
Just like, bam. How did you see that? Marshall, I've never watched a game with anybody who can see it before it happens. You witnessed it? Sure, over and over.
They would break the huddle and go, This is interception. I'm like, how do you know that? And then it happens. And you're like, what the hell? You guys act like Tony Romo doesn't exist and does.
I know, but this is a different level, sir. It's a different level. Yeah. TJ, I don't know. Here we go.
Let's take a break. We're back on the Rich Eisen Show. Your phone calls. Richie. We'll talk about the Patriots.
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Back here on the Rich Eyes and Show, 844-204-Rich. Number to dial on the program.
So you just heard what Pat Bryant went out. He went out with a concussion and early, you know, and Bonix is out.
So Troy Franklin. Heard his hamstring.
So, Jared Stinnon might not have his two top receivers. Bo Nicks might not be there. And if you told me that before this season, I'm like, oh, they must be playing the Patriots next. You know what? I really don't like this narrative.
Oh, no, wait a minute. New England's only going to have the first ever quarterback to never throw a pass in a regular season game, make his first start of the season in a championship game. Oh, my goodness. I've been saying that for weeks, and you're like, that's not true. And then the most.
remarkable break any team potentially could receive. happens. But oh, sorry. No, no. You forget about the helmet catch?
No, no, no. What are we talking about? No, no, no, no. That was skill, though. I will say this, please hear me out, okay?
What the Patriots are doing right now is their most remarkable run Since Brady's first year. As the starter. And I know I'm talking about. There was an undefeated season that was going down in the Super Bowl. And that's an incredible run.
With 50 touchdowns from Brady and Gajillions by Randy Moss and You know. The modern day Lombardi dialing it all up. That was an incredible run. But what they're doing now. you know, with a a of A coach in Vrabel.
Making this team believe and love one another and be there for each other, week by week by week, they get stronger. They get stronger. And even the adversity, they soak it in and they get stronger. It's unreal. They one hundred per cent have belief, and rightfully so.
And even when it's not going their way. Like I said, it makes them stronger, and Drake May is the avatar for that. This kid has got guts and grit. And he's just a sweetheart. From you know, Carolina up there in New England, smiling his way through the snowflakes and the fumbles.
And the lack of protection. And just I mean There was one point where they couldn't move the ball a lick. And three passes later, they're in the end zone for a touchdown, including one threading a needle to Stefan Diggs, who rightfully looked at his hands afterwards like, Yeah, I'm him. How the hell did he throw on to that? Hold on to that.
You know May is wearing Will Anderson Jr. for a living, and when not wearing. Um Daniel Hunter for a Living. And still hanging in there. Yeah, I thought May's number was 51 there for a second.
Holy cow.
Okay. And the snow's coming down. And he fires one into Diggs, but even with all of the takeaways from the New England defense, only seven points off of all those. And one was a pick six. That was a gift.
But the gift comes when you have a ferocious defense. That is blitzing from depth and confusing the CJ Stroud, who came into the game perhaps a little skittish because, again, he's without Nico Collins, but he also couldn't hold on to a snap in Pittsburgh. And The Texans take the lead 10-7 and get in C.J. Stroud's face, and for whatever reason, he just. Moonballs it up in the air in a playoff game, deep in his own ends.
Like, what are you doing? And what he was doing was flipping the script and the thing changed on the spot. It turbocharged the crazy train in Foxborough. Snow comes down even more, and the only points to come off of the turnovers was that pick six. And the May throw To um Diggs was something.
But game on a line And they're just one touchdown away from a knockout punch. And I'm sitting there thinking this touchdown is not coming. It's not coming because the Texans defense is showing up and showing out. And the touchdown's just not going to come.
So it's going to have to be. Their rookie kicker. Maybe getting in field position to go up eight, and good luck to Stroud for scoring a touchdown and a two-point conversion against this defense. And then Was it third down or fourth down? It was a third down.
Third down. Yeah, the Douglas touchdown was fourth down.
Okay, the third down. Throw. That may connected On with Kayshawn Booty. It's got a low percentage chance for various reasons. One, it's snowing.
Two That's Derek Stingley Jr. covering Booty, and he's a first-team all-pro. This guy is as good as they come in the NFL. And May's like, screw it, I'm going to test him. Screw it.
We got the play call, we got the coverage, one-on-one. I'm going to trust my guy, and I'm going to put it in a spot where not only Stingley can't get it, but damn near Booty's not going to be able to get it. And the only way he could get it was a one-armed grab. And he did it. And May connected to Booty, and that was a knockout punch.
Troy Aikman even said that could have been the knockout punch. He was right. Holy cow Unbelievable. Yeah, it's also similar to May's first career touchdown. Which was two years ago against Houston.
Same type of play. Go route on the right side to booty single. No doubt. And it's amazing. It's one thing to do it in your first career start in week four of your first Go-around with Gerard Mayo and nothing really on the line except growing and maturing.
As opposed to a divisional playoff game against the best defense in the NFL, most ferocious decorated defense in the NFL, and saying, Not today. Unreal. Spectacular. And that Christian Gonzalez is as good as they come. He's up there at Kyle Hamilton, he's making plays.
all over the place. And now they go to Denver. Mike Frable after the game about his quarterback. We talk about not going in the blender, and I think it's hard. I mean, they put pressure on us, and You know, we know that we got to take care of the ball.
Drake knows that. Um But to be able to stay the course and to trust Kayshawn and give him a great ball that. You know, it was him or nobody. Those guys have kind of done that all years when we needed to play. They've been able to do that for us.
Him or nobody, no doubt about it. I mean, that wasn't like we're going to take our shot because the backups, and that's the best cornerback in the game, arguably. Damn, man. Unreal. Well done.
Drake May afterwards. Look at him. All sleeveless and sweethearty and assassiny at the same time. Not satisfied means we're back on the road. Back on the road in the AFC Championship game.
I mean, that kind of speaks for itself.
So I'm just trying to, you know, enjoy these, enjoy these playoff wins. I think in the regular season, when you come up with wins, you feel like you can play better, you kind of have this down mentality and just know that we've made enough plays tonight. And obviously, I wish I had some plays back, but that's part of it. That's part of playing good teams in the playoffs. And proud of these guys for how we played, keeps on being a.
Defense picking us up when we need to, and special teams was huge. And so, like I said, just back on the road, and we got a tough, tough opponent. It's like he's played 15 years already. Very poised. Patriots undefeated on the road this year.
It's like he's played fifteen years. And then, after the game, as you saw the video, he went out on the field and played in the snow with his brothers after the game. Of course, he did. He's so likable. I tried to tell you guys that.
No, of course.
Okay, it doesn't.
Okay. It was because it was like. Let's not go there anymore. Just saying. Yeah, okay.
That weird little headset on the bottom. The only thing that's left is to go into Denver and play a guy with the fewest career starts in NFL history by a quarterback before starting a conference championship game out of the blue, just out of nowhere. It's all working. Oh boy. Prime River.
Gus in Florida. Gus Ramsey. Back here on the Rich Eisen Show. The guest line, please, sir. What's up, Gussie?
You there, Cuss? Richard, how are we doing today? You tell me, Gus. I was saying before, you know, with your Broncos and the Bills, I've never seen a playoff game where both. Fan bases were left gutted within moments after it was over.
You know? Yeah. I was thinking long and hard about it, and TJ can relate. The only other relation to This I have is when Andy Chavez made the catch against the Cardinals, and we were all convinced. They were going to win game seven, and then they didn't.
So it's um Yeah, I've rewatched the game twice already just to Bring back kind of the joy of what that season is. I'd like to take a moment to talk to Chris and congratulate him and Patriot Nation, Patriot Province, Colony, whatever they call themselves, on their AFC championship. Stop that, guys. Get out of here. At this point, there's no reverse jinx here.
Let them go. Let them go. Please.
Sorry, guys. CBS has a programming window to fill. And Murder She Wrote Marathon just isn't viable in 2026.
So, you know, by the end of the week, the odds makers will move the decimal point one more place to the right.
So, congrats. to Chris and all the pats on their AFC Championship and enjoy the trip to California. That's awesome. Awful gush. Stop it.
You should know. It opened five and a half. It's now four and a half. Oh, really?
So, you know, Denver money's coming in, Gus.
Okay, you know. 50 and a half. Just give it a little time. Rich, I have one scenario that could bring hope to Broncos fans.
Okay, Gus. Imag imagine this. Bonex is a big WWE fan. I'm not saying he is, I'm just saying imagine that he is. He's on the sidelines before the game on Sunday with his crutches.
They put the Jumbotron camera on him, and he slowly lets the crutches fall to the ground. He jogs up the tunnel to shoot up. And a la Seth Rollins, he is cashing in. I drank me in the sorry ass patriot. Money in the bank.
Let's go, Gus.
Well done, Gussie. Thank you very much. One and only Gus Ramsey, one of the greatest in the history of Sports Center producing. And of course the man who runs Dan Patrick's School of Broadcasting. That's Gus bringing.
That's next level, as he would say. I'm telling you, it's funny. I just quickly watched the Chavez catch again, and man, that was one of the greatest catches. Oh, that was the catch was unbelievable. Of course, Seth Rollins, as we all know, the host of the Liar-Liar Pants on Fire version of the Rich Eisen Show.
Sure. I think Seth really, really hates football right now, is what I hate football again? I imagine. He shouldn't. I love that everyone talks about the Patriots like they don't have a plus 200-point differential this year.
Okay. What do we do?
Well, I mean, who did they play this year, really, Chris? I mean, who do they play? Doesn't matter. They weren't winning games in the fourth quarter like the Bears. They lamb basted everyone.
Who did they really play? Yeah. But they did beat two Winning teams in the playoffs, and they spanked them around. Gave up one touchdown on a 27-yard drive. Spanked them around.
Playoff games. But no, no, no, no.
So, you guys still need to see more. I don't know. Let's just see how if Denver, hopefully, Denver will survive the week and practice. They get paid too. Look both ways crossing the street.
The pay kids are coming to town. They get paid too. They're professionals also. This is so much fun. Yeah.
Yeah, but I never give the Patriots their flowers. Yeah, but you don't. I mean, I spent 10 minutes this segment. I mean, one time all year. I mean, that's untrue.
Thank God there's a YouTube channel. We're on 15 hours. Oh, my God. This guy. This guy.
I hate to agree with him on this, but we ain't trying to get it. You hear it in your house. Talking about it. Cooper's on a plane, or he'd be calling in right now. Oh, J.K.
Dobbins' practice window opens up. Oh, look at that. That home. Oh, my goodness. Okay.
Isn't that amazing? It is.
Okay. Tom Brady's practice window just opened up for the Patriots. You don't need him. Because the new version of him has shown up. It's the truth.
Get used to it, pal. Try to tell you guys. While we're discussing you, I might as well just take a second now to mention that the Dallas Cowboys are over their last 30 and making NFC championship games and Tank Lawrence is now one for one. Like, why remember? Drake may have as many correct playoff wins while Jack Prescott.
Yeah, you forgot about all the segments. I was talking about the Patriots coming on strong all year long. And I have the receipts on something called the Rich Eisen Show YouTube channel. Yeah, but she didn't. I just love how we got thrown into this.
All right, let's take a break. Phone calls to get us out of Dodge to tonight's national championship game. Right here on The Rich Eisen Show. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast. Hyundai Hope on Wheels.
As you know, I care deeply about pediatric cancer research and awareness. Hyundai Hope on Wheels is awesome. For over 27 years, every Hyundai Sold has helped fund life-saving pediatric cancer research together with over 850 dealers nationwide. They've raised more than $277 million, supporting over 25,000 kids in their fight against cancer. At Hyundai, Hope isn't optional, it comes standard.
Visit HyundaiUSA.com and search Hyundai Hope on Wheels to learn more. 844-204-Rich. Number to dial Tom in California. Let's take his call right here, line six. Jay, thank you.
Good job.
Well, before I do the autopsy on the niners, I thought that Sean McDermott firing was totally unfair. I think he's a good coach, and I think Buffalo made a big mistake. We will find out, won't we? I mean, it's tough to replace. One would think.
I have the numbers right here. It's tough to replace eight playoff appearances tying Marv Levy for the most in Bills' franchise history. And between Marv Levy and Sean McDermott, there were Bobkis. And he broke that streak with Tarad Taylor, by the way, not Josh Allen. But we'll see.
You never know, Tom. Yeah, the the NFL's cutthroat is is is the English Premier League and if Those who follow the English Community League know what I'm talking about. I all the injuries, I think, just caught up to us, but You know, Kyle needs to really invest in some offensive linemen. And he just He won't do it. He he he just believes that he can just get by.
with average offensive lineman and you know there just wasn't enough holes for McCaffrey this year. The average was down because he wasn't because he wasn't the problem. The problem was there wasn't enough holes. There wasn't enough holes to go through. And They weren't like before.
So he has to get draft offensive lineman or two. In this draft, I mean, coming up. It's just to do so, I think, would be malpractice, especially to Prudy, who's a terrific quarterback, in my view.
Well, Tom, I think what they needed to do in this past draft, and I think you saw it, is that they hit the defensive side of the ball significantly because that is what needed the most help. And I think that worked, certainly when they lost all their defenders of Pro Bowl and all-pro notes and still kept things afloat. Um and and based on their cap Situation and cap charges that they had to take. I think this year was actually a pleasant surprise and outstanding, and you should take heart in it. And I appreciate the call.
That's Tom in California. Try to leave him a little bit. Happier than what we sounded. He sounded like an Allen Dallas version of California. Did, didn't he?
I heard that too. You heard the Allen Dallas. You know, he's the only thing he didn't call me Richard. You know, honestly, Niners fans this year. Better than they could have hoped.
Certainly, then you lose Bosa, then you lose Warner. And you're still you still won and done the Eagles in Philadelphia, right? That's got to give you some. Juice, then they lose kittle. And at the end of the day, they just lost too many people.
And they were out of bullets, and then they were against a team that's just a again, the Seahawks are a wagon. The Sea Wagons, right? Aha, sea wagons. They're the sea wagons right now. For sure.
Um But at the end of the day, Niners fans, just take heart. This year was better than you could expect. And, you know, Lynch is a brilliant general manager, and Shanahan knows what they need. We'll see what happens in the draft. Um let's go.
To Josh in Wisconsin. You're here on the Rich Eisen Show. What's up, Josh? Good morning, guys.
Well, good afternoon now. But I usually say good morning to the first time I talk to you. Thanks for taking my call. You got it. Great show.
I love you guys. Thank you. Just want to give a shout out to my Bears. Great season we overachieved with house money. Um Beating the Packers twice in the way that we did was just so epically awesome.
And they're still crying about it, and I love it. Hopefully, Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams can grow and get better. Um The game yesterday We had a chance to win. We beat ourselves with the mistakes. And I wish Johnson would have taken some field goals early, Mm.
It doesn't seem like he learned from that twenty twenty three NFC title game. with the Lions, but I can't complain a whole lot because you can't. We got our guys at the two most important spots. We have some things to fix and work on. But I feel great about this team for the first time in a long time.
And what's it feel like to be a Bears fan walking around Wisconsin and having Packers fans pissed at you rather than making fun of you, Josh? You know, They there's a lot of crybabies up here. They they were saying for two weeks they were gonna put belt to S and then got lost and and you couldn't find 'em. And then they were just It it It's funny, they were on the Rams bandwagon and now today they're coming out the woodwork talking about how welcome to Cancun, this and all that and it's Weird because you had to pray for another team to beat the team you couldn't beat.
So that's weird to me, but. Ladies and gentlemen. Josh in Wisconsin being able to say it with his chest because of Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams. Thanks for the call, Josh. Greatly appreciated.
You got it. It's a different dynamic there, huh? Hey, listen, and I'll just say it one more time: Packers fans. You you did the right thing. You did the right thing.
I understand you're maybe looking at the Ravens and the Bills. And the Steelers moving on from their longtime head coaches, and wish you had the gumption to do it as well. Matt LaFleur is a winner. And in this day and age, a play caller dialed into your young quarterback is exactly what all these other teams might be looking for. You have it already.
I think I saw it on Diana Rossini's threads account. an unnamed general manager in the league saying that they're of course they're going to re sign LaFleur. Letting him go would be a dumb move, and the Packers don't do dumb things. Your team does not do dumb things. Please.
Understand it. That must be nice. Yeah. Yes, right, exactly. And that wraps up our Monday program.
We're back to wrap it up. on Disney Plus in a sec. Thanks for listening to the Rich Eisen Show Podcast. You can watch and listen to The Rich Eisen Show live weekdays from noon to 3 Eastern on ESPN Radio, Disney Plus, and on the ESPN app, The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.
