From Thirty for Thirty Podcasts. Brian Patter, senior defensive lineman from Miami. Gun down. The key to this case, it's Brian. An hour before he died, he was on the phone arguing with Tabaki.
This might be a hit. You want the truth. They just want a conviction. Being placed under arrest. We had a killer monsters.
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Now, on with the show. This is the Rich Eisen Show. It's time for baseball. The Pista Judge swung on and head of the air to deep right and has gone. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles.
Earlier on the show. TNT College Basketball Analyst Jamal Mashburn. Coming up. Senior writer for the MMQB, Albert Breer. Author Dave Ogleton.
And now, it's Rich Eisen. Our number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air, everybody. 844-204 Rich is the number to dial later on in this hour. I've got a power rankings of my top 10. Super Bowls I've covered in my 23 years with NFL Network 1.0.
At this point next week, NFL Network 2.0 will be officially underway with ESPN taking over the operation. But you're still poised, though. I'm still poised. Yeah. I'm poised to still host the draft.
I'm poised. I need you to be poised. Yeah. Poised! Go!
It does count. I don't know what that meant, but that seemed like the right time. No, it says boys counts. Kramer told you that boys counts. And next week, I guess my last.
Power ranking on that front will be uh Power ranking the top ten players. Of my NFL network to 1.010. Might as well just do 2 through 11, right? Yeah, because we kind of know 2 through 11 is what you're doing. Yeah.
I totally understand that there's everybody else and then at the very top there's Peyton Manning. Mac Jones.
Okay, listen. I'm so lost. Who? Mac Jones.
Made a playoff game before the Jets. Thank you, sir. Oh, wow. Joining us now here from Sports Illustrators Albert Breer. Everybody, what's up?
How are you? Good to see you, buddy. Who would number two be, though? Would that be Mahomes, Manning? Tune in next week.
It's a team, Albert.
Okay. Tune in next week. Not even for you will I give that information.
Well, I didn't know. Oh, so it's an actual list. I didn't catch that. You actually have a list. Yeah.
I'm going to create it. I don't know. You know, lists. Who would you take, Albert? Yeah.
Who would you take after Brady? Again. I mean, it would have to be between.
So, all right.
So. NFL Network launched in 2003. 2003, week 10, 2003. Our first in-studio guest was the quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, who were undefeated at the time, and Trent Green, because he was down the street and available as part of the NFL Players Association at Wheel of Fortune, which, as you know, was in the Sony studios down the blocks from our Culver City Studios. And I was a year out of college, which is that's amazing.
That's the truth. Yeah. That was a that was 2003, was a fun year. I, I, I, I'd say See, like the thing with Manning is then you'd have to lop the first five years of his career off. That's right.
Right? Yeah, yeah.
So, like, then you'd be talking about that versus the entirety of Mahomes' career. I think that one would be close for me because I think Mahomes. Yeah, and if you're just going quarterbacks, I guess is the other thing, right? I mean, I'm going to have to include defenders. I really haven't thought about it very much, to be honest with you.
KJ Watt, three-time defensive player of the year, Aaron Donald, three-time defensive player of the year, all in that window. Garrett with Aiden Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson. Yeah. It's a tough one. It's a tough one.
Good luck with it. I'll be looking forward to it. Thanks, buddy. Appreciate that. Um let's start with this one.
Are are the owners going to really let teams trade f dra draft choices five years into the future? Is that really going to happen? Yeah, it's interesting. You know, I don't think the Browns put that in intending or expecting that it would change this year. I think the expectation is that discussion will start on this.
And the Browns' point on it, there's a couple points the Browns are going to make here. Number one, they think that increased player movement is good for the sport because it creates more buzz around the sport, more flexibility for teams to build. And so, you know, if you can trade first-round picks further down the line, it does give you more flexibility. They also, and look, they were at the forefront of trying to push the trade deadline back a couple of years ago, too, which wound up happening. And their point here is the same as there, which is trying to make it more commensurate with the other sports.
Now, for people who don't know, in the NBA, you can trade first-round picks seven years out.
Now, you have to have a first-rounder every other year. But even with that, NBA teams have gotten creative with pick swaps and all of that different stuff. And then in the NHL, there's no limit at all. You can't follow it. You can't follow it.
NHL, no limit. But the whole point of this is, though, is Albert, like, why would I, if I'm a coach or a GM, want to take a job where somebody's already traded three draft ruises and stats, and I'm showing up, and I know I've got one this year, but the next three years I don't. And the reason why I have the job is the guy that they traded for blew it up so badly.
So I'm going to take that job where it's a dungeon fire and there's no way to get better? Of course not. You're not going to do it. And I'm with you on that. But that's the same reasoning behind the trade deadline, too, is that the rules are built to protect the league.
And the league what the league wants is to everybody to be as close to 500 as possible, which gives them the most relevant teams, which ultimately gives them the most relevant games. And so not having the trade deadline further back, for example, Is to prevent teams from turning themselves into ghost ships at the end of the year, you know, where you then would have non-competitive games that would make that would devalue the games at the end of the year. You know, and it's the same sort of thing here, as you just explained, you know, like that your fear would be that a head coach or a GM on the hot seat winds up just throwing everything at trying to save himself. And the owner doesn't, you know, have his hands on the wheel at 10 and 2. And now all of a sudden, that franchise has a job that no one wants.
And you have a team that's maybe not competitive for a few years. The Browns' point here is that they feel like more of that responsibility should be on the team, should be on the owner. And so that's where I think this discussion becomes interesting, right? Like, do you believe that responsibility for that falls on the league or it falls on the individual team and the individual owner? You know, and obviously there have to be.
Guardrail somewhere. I do agree with that, but I think it's at least an interesting discussion when you talk about where that responsibility should lie. Albert Brea here on the Rich Eisen Show. Let's turn to one of your favorite subject matters, Albert, which is Ohio State receivers dominating at the professional level and getting pizzaed. Jackson, Smith, and Jigba resets the market.
Um walk me through the ripple effect in that pond. What do you got? Yeah, I mean, I think, well, I mean, for one thing, there's no question there's an immediate effect on somebody like Puka Nakua, right? Like, and I don't know that the Rams are going to do that right now, but. You know, I think there's obviously some growth that's needed, you know, from Puka, you know, with the off-the-field stuff that have happened stuff that's happened over the last year.
But do I think they're ultimately going to wind up paying him? Yeah. You know, and remember, he wasn't a first-round pick, so he doesn't have the fifth-round option the way, or the fifth-year option the way that JSN did.
So there's the immediate effect of it. And then I think there's like a bigger picture effect here, too, which, you know, we've seen the edge rushers go into the 40s, and now you've got a bunch of guys that are there. Miles Garrett, TJ Watt, Micah Parsons, Aiden Hutchinson. At receiver, now we have multiple guys in the 40s and Jackson Smith and Jigba and Jamar Chase.
So Now, like if you're an offensive tackle, do you look at it and say, well, wait a minute, why isn't my position up there? And could that create a problem? Like, say, Joe Alt a year from now. If you're Joe Alt, would you make the argument if you have a great year next year for the Chargers? You should be paying me what a top receiver is making or what a or or what a top edge rusher is making.
If you're a corner, could you make that argument based on it being a premium position?
So, could this affect a Christian Gonzalez or a Devin Witherspoon? Where that market right now is at 31? That's what Trent McDuffie got. Sauce Gardner and Derek Stingley were at 30 last year. You know, if you're Christian Gonzalez or Devin Witherspoon, do you look at it now and say, no, you know, I want to be closer to the top non-quarterback pay, not just over-the-top corner pay.
I want to be, you know, closer to where guys like Chase and JSN and Watt and Hutchinson and Parsons are. The more guys that get over that mark of $40 million per year, the better the argument's going to be for a guy at another position to pursue it.
So it'll be interesting to see what it does to some of those negotiations. And again, I mean, what about within the Seattle building, right? I mean, we were talking about how this is how it shows everybody, you ball out. You get paid, we'll give you the market value. This is perhaps one of the reasons why they're like, you know, thanks for.
Winning the Super Bowl MVP, Kenneth Walker, but we're just not going to be able to pay you what you're looking for, or we're unwilling. Because they got other people too, right? There's Witherspoon. You know, there's I mean, down the line, Byron Murphy, Nicki Minwari in two years, like things like that. Right.
You got to figure that stuff out, right? Right. And I think that that's going to be, you know, I'm really interested to talk to John Schneider about that. You know, like over the next few weeks, because I do think what's interesting about the position that he's in. Is it's rare in that now he's won championships with two different programs, two different head coaches, and the lessons of the last time around, right?
They obviously did a lot right in building the Legion of Boom era, Seahawks, but I'm sure there are some things they learned from in there. And maybe part of it is like who you pay, who you don't pay, how you manage all of that. Because if you remember back then, they sort of paid everybody, you know?
So you see them picking and choosing here to some degree where they do let Kenneth Walker go, who is so important to what they were.
Meanwhile, they're paying three receivers now. They paid to bring back Rashid Shaheed in free agency. They've got Cooper Cup at almost $15 million a year. And now you got JSN at the top of the market.
So, you know, like they've obviously, as talented as that team is, they've got a lot of big names coming down the pike. Byron Murphy will be eligible next year. Two years from now, Nick E. Minwari. They've already paid Charles Cross at left tackle.
And so it's just going to be really interesting seeing the way they manage that and how the lessons, you know, of the way things went down 10 years ago, how all that affects the way that they approach all this going forward. All right, let's talk about the 31 teams trying to match what the Seahawks just did and catch up to them. The NFL drive. Ty Simpson's Pro Day is today. What are you hearing about?
His stock, obviously, colleague of ours here. At ESPN and Dan Orlofsky's ruffling some feathers of evaluators saying that he's the best, better than Mendoza, who. Just announced there's going to be so the Raiders, there's a top 30 visit coming. No surprise. What's Ty Simpson's stock?
What's it looking like? How can it be affected by today's pro day?
So let me start here. I very much, Dan Orlofsky knows how much I respect him. I like him. I've had a good relationship with him over the years. He's forgotten more about quarterbacking than I'll ever know.
But so I'll start there. But, you know, just having talked to people that I have thus far, it does feel like the general consensus is it's Fernando Mendoza at the top of the class and then a drop off. And there are teams that don't view Ty Simpson as a first rounder. That doesn't mean that's everybody. And to be fair, I haven't really dove all the way in on my draft calls yet, like I will over the course of the next four or five weeks.
So I'll know a lot more in a couple of weeks than I do right now. But the sense I've gotten is that Fernando Mendoza is like a Jared Goff type of prospect as a potential number one overall pick. Like, I don't think most people view him as like what Caleb Williams, Jaden Daniels, or Drake May were coming out two years ago. But I do think some people like him more than Cam Ward last year. I do think some people like him more than Bryce Young and C.J.
Stroud when they were coming out.
So I think he's in that category. And I do think some people look at Ty Simpson, and there are just too many marks against him to see him as a first-rounder. He's about six foot tall, so he's deficient in that area. He doesn't have a massive arm. He's got a good arm, but he doesn't have a massive arm.
He falls well short of that threshold of 25 starts that you want to see in a quarterback coming out. Um on the flip side Son of a coach, you know, got a really good ability to process.
So there's. I just think he's one of these, like, he's not for everybody types of prospects. And again, like, the consensus that I've gotten thus far is that Mendoza is far and away, you know, the number one guy. But, you know, in a couple of weeks, you know, two, three weeks after I've made a few dozen phone calls on this stuff and really focused in on it, I may have a little bit of a different opinion. We'll see.
Okay. Where does Ty Simpson wind up?
So I didn't think like until I heard some of this drumbeat, I was thinking second round. You know, and I actually thought, like, man, it'd be interesting if he went to a team like the Rams in the second round, you know, like where they could sit him and develop them. You know, you and I have been doing this and having these conversations for a long time, Rich. We both know the way that that position gets pushed up the board, especially when there aren't a lot of names to wrap your arms around.
So would it surprise me if he went in the first round? No, because that's just the way that works at that position. And there's a reason why you have so many guys going the first round, then you don't have a lot of second and third rounders. If you look at it historically, it's because either you view a guy as this guy can be my long-term starter at the position, in which case you take him in the first round, or you say he isn't a starter and now you're not taking him in the second or third round either. You know what I'm saying?
So that's always been the dynamic in that position. And, you know, so it wouldn't surprise me if he winds up going in the first round. But, you know, until you hear that drum beat over the last. Uh over the last few days, I I would have told you it it was I would have said it was unlikely that he would go in the first round.
Well, I mean the first round um one would think it would be in the bottom third. Yeah. Of the first round. And the reason for that is the Steelers are kicking off the bottom third of the first round, 21st overall. And that's where some mock drafts From those who are in the know.
or at least, or is plugged in as someone like you, Albert. Or it's somebody or it's a team that would trade back in. Yeah. Our colleague Phil Yates has the Cardinals being that one in his most recent mock draft, 26th overall. And the reason why that's my big wind-up for this pitch about what's going on with the Steelers.
At their quarterback position. And I've got a sound bike to set you up, actually.
Okay. Did you hear what McCarthy had to say? Two. Yeah, this was at Bob Harlan's services, right? Correct.
As Kevin, Bob's son, one of our favorite humans. um was interviewing McCarthy and brought up Rogers, hit it. I'm wondering uh if there may be a reunion with another Green Bay person in Pittsburgh. And I just maybe the reporter side is coming out of me here a little bit. I saw you working last night.
Wouldn't that be an interesting story if that happened? Yeah, in Pittsburgh? Yes, it'd be a great story. I don't know, and I would love to tell everybody right here. This is breaking news.
But it's really. It's really cool to see Aaron at 42. you know, a young man at twenty two and You know, all that he's been, you know, all what he's been able to accomplish, and you know, where he's at in his personal life, and you know, and trying to make this decision.
So he's in a really good place. Um but Uh I I think he's in a really good place. You wanna interpret?
Okay. Um yeah, I think I think two things. I think um number one The Steelers are trying to respect Aaron Rodgers' decision-making process. And no one knows better than Mike McCarthy how important that is to Rodgers and that it's not a great idea to rock the boat on that.
So, same as we saw last year when Mike Tomlin and Arthur Smith, I think at this point, had a pretty good idea that Aaron Rodgers was coming. That wasn't actually consummated until the beginning of June. Right? So, there's that part of it, which I think is a very relevant part because we've been here before with that franchise, with the GM there, Omar Khan, and that they went down that road last year before they even had him in the building. And they felt comfortable, even though it looked like to everybody else.
There was no contingency plan. My second thought on it is. I They've got a pretty, there's a pretty good option out there if it's not Rogers, and that's Kirk Cousins. And Kirk Cousins still hasn't signed anywhere yet. I think Kirk Cousins can take one of three roads here.
He can either take one of the available starting quarterback jobs, right, which I'd say at this point there are two, Pittsburgh and Arizona. And that's Pittsburgh if Rogers doesn't come back. He could Cope To a championship team and be a backup, which no shame in that, if that's how he wants to spend the year. Or he can sit out for now and wait for there to be an injury or a situation to materially change somewhere.
So I think Cousins gives them at least. An option if They don't wind up with Aaron Rodgers. I'd also say this. I think over the last two to three years, Aaron was, and this is my perception, putting some pieces together. I I think You know, for so long, Aaron wanted to convince everybody that this was all bigger than football for him.
And you know, I think over the last two or three years, my interpretation of it at least is that Aaron really kind of wanted to. Fall back in love with football again, right? And really enjoy being a football player and not worry about what I am, that I'm more than a player or whatever. Just enjoy being a football player. And I think he finally accomplished that last year in Pittsburgh.
Even though they didn't achieve the ultimate goal, I think he really enjoyed the year last year. Playing for Tomlin, playing with the teammates that he had, a veteran group, guys on that roster who've been around forever, like Cam Hayward and TJ Watt. And so. You know, I think for that reason. Like, there's a good chance he comes back.
Because if he had had the experience in Pittsburgh that maybe he had the two years before in New York. He'd be retired by now. But I think, like, the experience he had in Pittsburgh last year was a really good one. And the presence of Mike McCarthy there, combined with that, you know, I think sets up for a scenario where, you know, maybe he could come back and play a, I think this would be 22nd year, right? Which would only put him one year behind Brady, believe it or not.
Mm-hmm. Wow. Last one for you, Albert. Why why do we keep hearing A. J.
Brown's m uh name mentioned? Because we have nothing else to talk about. Is that really? Seriously? I'll accept that as an answer.
I think that's part of it. I mean, I think that's part of it. It's just, it's just by far the biggest thing. I also, so here, here's what I would tell you. I know it was the Eagles' preference to deal them out of the NFC.
And I know I can tell you that the Eagles were given four preferred destinations, and those were Buffalo, Kansas City, the Chargers, and the Patriots. And Buffalo obviously was quickly out of it with their trade for DJ Moore. I don't think the Chiefs and Chargers had an overwhelming amount of interest, which left the Patriots. Then the Rams enter into it. The Rams ultimately wind up backing out of it.
And so, you know, now I think we do have a little bit of a staring contest between the Patriots and the Eagles. And of course, now you've got the fact that you got that June 1st date out there, right? Like where. The Eagles have almost run out of contracts to restructure. And so, you know, unless they want to do some real cap gymnastics, it makes more sense for them to trade him after June 1st.
So, if they wait until after June 1st, are they going to have a market there? Are the Patriots still going to be there given the deep receiver class that's there in the draft? Yeah, I certainly think that there's a possibility that the Patriots and Eagles do wind up doing a deal post-June 1, but things can happen between now and then. Here's the other part that I think is interesting, and I'm not sure anybody's picked up on this.
Okay. Mike Frabel was part of a deal like this five years ago. If you remember, you remember when Julio Jones was traded? Mm-hmm. Julio Jones was traded on like June 7th.
And it was the same sort of situation. It was an older receiver, and Atlanta, you know, Arthur Smith and Terry Fonteno had just gotten there, and they had a kind of chaotic cap situation. And so it made sense for the Falcons to wait until after June 1st to deal off Julio Jones. And there were the Titans waiting for him, whatever, a few days after June 1st, and they wind up doing a deal.
So I would say if there's a team out there that's at least got the experience and having waited for a player at that position and then having had to incorporate that player at that position thereafter, the Patriots would be that team. And that's on top of the existing relationship that you obviously have. It's well known how much Mike Vrable loves A.J. Brown.
So I think there's a lot of reasons why the Patriots and Eagles would do a deal post-June 1. But again, you know, a lot can happen between now and then. Yeah, like keeping A.J. Brown.
Right. You know, and so. Unless, I guess my last one for you. What's your reporting on? Has there been a trade demand under the radar somehow kept under the radar in Philadelphia, similar to Max Crosby in Vegas?
I don't know that it's a demand. A.J. Brown's camp has certainly explored their options. And I think it's like one of those is the grass really greener scenarios, like looking around and seeing, okay, what's out there for us? You know, I don't know that it's a.
I don't know that it's a demand. I do think, like, if they were gonna go back through that door and reconcile this and try to go forward, I don't think that's impossible. You know, one of Nick Siriani's greatest strengths as a head coach. Is his ability to manage people, you know? And so I wouldn't put it past the Eagles to say, like, Nick Siriani can manage this.
You know, I do think the reason we're here is the relationship between the quarterback and the receiver. And A.J. Brown's really well liked in that building, in that locker room. And so. You know, I think that the relationship between A.J.
Brown and Jalen Hurts, like that would have to be at the center of any sort of reconciliation where the Eagles are going forward with him as their number one receiver. And again, like, you know, in that draft, this is a very, very deep draft at the receiver position.
So could the. Eagles plan be affected by what ends up happening over that weekend in Pittsburgh, the same way the Patriots' plan could be affected by what receivers are available to them that weekend. I absolutely think that's possible, too. Albert, you're the man. Thanks for the time.
We'll chat again soon, bud. Have a good weekend. Awesome. Thanks. And good luck.
Good luck to your guys this weekend, too. I appreciate it. There's six big ten teams in the Sweet 60s. Yeah, I mean, if they have some success, maybe North Carolina starts sniffing around. I don't know.
Oh, nice try. Nice try. Nice try. No, it's okay. He's in a perfect spot, Albert.
You missed out on him. Don't just get him poached by someone else just because you whiffed on him first. I know. I know. All right, Albert.
Thanks for the time. That's Albert. All right, thanks, Rich. Ladies and gentlemen. There he goes after dropping that one.
Well, A.J. Brown.
What is going on there? Gonna have to ask Edelman if he can wear 11, obviously. Yeah. It hasn't been retired. Yeah, I think we know.
I know it's been a soft retirement.
So it is soft retirement.
Okay, we take a break, 844-204-rich, number to dial. When we come back, my power rankings of the best Super Bowls. of the NFL network era that's coming up next. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Rich Eisen here.
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I don't know. We'll look into it. I mean, we don't need to be so aggressive with our YouTube partners. Like, where's our damn platform?
Well, I mean, Rich, it's been a while, is what I'm saying. We got one for $100,000, right? Yeah, but $100,000, what's that? Yeah, what's that? We're a million.
Exactly. Almost 1.1. Almost 1.1. All right.
So, what's today's date? The 25th, right? The 25th.
Okay. One week from today. It's going to be April 1st. And I'll tell you this, if you had told me that I would be a full-time ESPN employee again. I would say, and you tell me it happens on April 1st.
I'd be like, okay. Crazy. Tell me another one.
Okay. But that's the fact. At this point next week, I will be an NFL. An NFL/slash ESPN, NFL network ESPN employee, but it's full owned and operated by Disney. My 23 plus year run as an NFL employee would be over.
Crazy. The streak is, but it's a 2.0 for NFL network. Again, I'm poised, as Awful Announcing put it, to host the NFL draft. I can tell you right now, I'm more than poised. I'm going to do it, it's happening.
Um and however The twenty three year run Of NFL Network 1.0 would be in the books at this point next week.
So in that regard, I'm going to come up with a couple of power rankings, one this week, one next week. Looking back at the 23 seasons of NFL network coverage of the National Football League. And I have my power rankings here. Of the best Super Bowls of the NFL network era. Hit it.
Mm-hmm. This is more. All rankings. Many like me, but this one is lost. Power rankings.
All right, everybody, here we go. My let's go. Power rankings of the best Super Bowls that I've covered of the NFL network era. It's been all of them since Super Bowl. to the current Super Bowl 60.
And number 10 on my power rankings list is Super Bowl 56, Rams 23, Bengals 20. Ooh, this one is on the list. Joe Burrow and those Bengals. Here they go. Taking on an NFC West team once again in the Super Bowl.
We all know the Niners. Stood in their way.
Now we hear the Rams standing in their way. Young Joe Burrow had just knocked out. The Kansas City Chiefs, and I do remember. I was in the building in SoFi for the NFC Championship game that followed, and they had on the Oculus in the middle of SoFi Stadium. The end of that AFC championship game, and Rams fans and the Niners fans, because there were Niners fans in the building and the Rams fans, were all cheering Joe Burrow's victory because it knocked the Chiefs out.
And Burrow and the Bengals were basically showing everybody, be careful what you wish for. But that's when Stafford and Cupps started getting going. And the first one, we're seeing the touchdown that Cups scored. But don't forget, this drive was a fourth down that. Sean McVay decided to go for it, and they handed the ball off to Cup.
That's sweet. And this touchdown was preceded on a no-look throw from Stafford to Cup as well. An unbelievable drive that did leave some time on the clock. for the Bengals. Until Aaron Donald crashed through and sacked Joe Burrow and pointed to his ring finger.
to wrap up that Super Bowl in SoFi Stadium. in uh in the Rams house and that was just an exhilarating Games. That's number 10 on the best Super Bowls of the NFL network era. Number nine is Super Bowl 58, two Super Bowls later. Chiefs 25.
Niners 22 in overtime in Las Vegas, Nevada. Again, if you had told me at the beginning of NFL Network's existence in year one, I would be covering a Super Bowl in Las Vegas. Yeah. All right.
Oh, by the way, and I have it on a list after a game that took place. In a stadium in Los Angeles where they would house two teams in Los Angeles. When we first planted a flag for NFL Network, it was like, ha. What's the NFL doing in Los Angeles? What was the NFL doing in Vegas?
Well, hosting one of the best Super Bowls I've covered. Chiefs 25, Niners 22 in this game. Jawan Jennings was dominant. He could have been the MVP of this Super Bowl. He put the Niners up in this game.
Christian McCaffrey was performing his head off. He did have a fumble in the first drive that was shocking. But the Niners and the Chiefs went into overtime. They forced overtime in this game. Such a conversation had about The fact that the Niners took the ball first in overtime, it was the rule that was first finally put into place where both teams had to touch it in overtime in the playoffs.
We saw it, it all playing out first time it happened in a Super Bowl. And yada yada yada. The Niners only get three because Chris Jones comes crashing through and forced the throw. That could have been a touchdown otherwise if Brock Purdy, who played very well, had time. The Niners only scored three.
The Chiefs go ahead and score a touchdown. Sky Moore just walking, waltzing into the end zone. No, it wasn't Sky Moore, pardon me. It was Mico Hardman. Yeah, Micole Hardman, who, you know, the Jets basically gave to the Chiefs in the middle of the season.
That wrapped up the Super Bowl. The Chiefs are Super Bowl winners. Once again, Super Bowl 58-9 on my power rankings list. Number eight on my power rankings list. Here we go.
Super Bowl, first Super Bowl NFL Network covered. Super Bowl 38. Patriots 32, Panthers 29. This was a game that had hardly any scoring in the first quarter. Second quarter went nuts.
Hardlini scoring in the third quarter. Fourth quarter went nuts. Ricky Proll scored a touchdown for the Carolina Panthers to tie this game in the fourth quarter at 29 apiece, but that's when Tom Brady. I'll never forget this. I was on the behind.
Um The goalposts The Patriots were going away from me. It was the first time I had ever been on a field. A football field for a football game. I'd never done that with the SPN. And there I was standing every single time Brady threw it, it looked like it was going to be intercepted.
And a member of the Patriots receiving corps just swooped right in to catch it. After two or three of those, I realized: oh, Brady's throwing on his spot. He's perfect. They're not going to stop him. He's doing exactly what he's supposed to do.
And Vinitieri is going to do exactly what he did just a couple of years before, which is kick the game winner. And then, of course, I will never forget this was the night the NFL network had its first ever. Super Bowl commercial on the air. It was right after halftime. I was standing by a television set in a suite saying, Can't wait to see it.
But I didn't see it, nor did the rest of America because the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction happened just a second before. Crazy? That's number eight on my power rankings list. Number seven on my power rankings: Best Super Bowls of the NFL Network Era is Super Bowl 44 Saints. and Colts.
This is the one where The Colts and the Saints are going at it. Peyton Manning from New Orleans taking on the Saints and Sean Payton and Drew Brees just after Hurricane Katrina. And Sean Payton with the gutsiest call I've ever seen in my 23 years of covering Super Bowls, an on-side kick to start the second half. And then... What wraps it up for the Saints is a pick six of the hometown kid.
Touchdown, Saints go ahead and win it. I'll never forget the post-game of this one because Sean Payton was so hyped. He came to the set and slapped my hand so damn hard that I had a stinger in my elbow for the rest of the segment. I had to go to my other offhand for the stick handheld microphone because I couldn't feel my arm. Oh, by the way, Kim Kardashian also stopped by because Reggie Bush was on the team.
That was part of the NFL Network post-game. Won't forget that. That's number seven on my power rankings of the Super Bowl eraser of the NFL Network era that stand out. Number six, Giants 17. Patriots 14.
Helmet catch. I don't recall seeing that. It was such a because I was standing in the corner of the end zone, couldn't really get a great glimpse of it, couldn't believe. I thought it was an incomplete pass, obviously. Then we saw.
On the um on the monitors Overhead, that was an incredible catch. This was a game, it really wasn't a great football game, to be honest with you. Certainly, when it was just three weeks after we had the season finale between the Giants and the Patriots, and the Patriots beat the Giants to stay undefeated, that was a much better football game than this one. I was in the end zone, though, watching clear path of Plaxico Burris catching the game winner wide open from Eli Manning. You could even see us.
In the corner of the end zone, there we are. If you put the other one up, there we have. Uh me standing right behind Roger Goodell. Add attention. That's me standing right on the end so I had a perfect view of it.
As Roger Goodell then went out and handed out the trophy to the New York Football Giants. That's number six right there. Number five on the list. Top five now of my power rankings: the best Super Bowl of the NFL network era.
Sorry, Chris, you and I were sitting next to each other for this one in said Roger Goodell's. Great game, though. Uh you are Red Sox hat, he busted your stones for it. Eagles, 41, Patriots, 33, the Philly Special. Philly, Philly.
That was one of those moments. I will never forget that. It's their statue now outside of Philadelphia. That was a. An idea that this thing was going to be More of a battle than a lot of people thought.
This also ended with a Hail Mary of Brady trying to find Gronk, and it was close, man. It was close. Not a foot away. 41-33 final. Zach Ertz with the score to.
be the margin of difference. It was a wild freezing Night in Minnesota, number four on my list of power rankings of the best Super Bowls of the NFL network era. Super Bowl 47, Ravens 34, Niners 31 in the Harbor. The blackout happened in New Orleans just as the Ravens were going nuts in this game. Blackout ended.
But before it did, I was in the NFL network suite and I learned. That because he did the halftime of the second Super Bowl we ever covered in Jacksonville, Super Bowl 39, the Patriots beating the Eagles, I learned that Paul McCartney gets tickets in the NFL suites. every single year of the rest of his days. And he was there, and I took a picture with him. Very cool.
And it's one of my favorite pictures of all time, except for the fact I should have tucked in my damn shirt. What a mess. I didn't even notice that. Oh, my God. Oh my god.
My goodness gracious. Michael Crabtree, incomplete in the end zone. This thing could have been a Niners Jim win instead of a Ravens John win. That's the way that Ed Reed and Ray Lewis strolled off into the sunset. Number three on the list, Super Bowl 51.
With 831 to go in the third quarter, Tevin Coleman scored a touchdown. Made it 28-3 famously. Would you believe with 8:31 left in the fourth, same time on the clock, Chris? That's when Dante Hightower went in and got the strip sack of Matt Ryan that switched everything. And even with this, making it a 28-20 game with Tom Brady beginning to come back there after that.
Sack force fumble. The Julio Jones catch, a 27-yard game down of the 22-yard line of New England, would have been one of the greatest catches of all time. We'd be talking about somehow, someway, from the 22-yard line. The uh Patriots forced a punt. Got the ball back.
James White, touchdown, two-point conversion. Overtime we go. James White, touchdown, end of game. Super Bowl 51 will never forget it. Number two on my list is Super Bowl 43, Steelers 23, Cardinals, Steelers 27, Cardinals 23.
Oh, I thought this was a good thing. The James Harrison picked six right before halftime. It was like watching it in slow motion like The Matrix. I can't believe he did it. And then still, we come down, the NFL network crew comes down from the upstairs green room that we had in an elevator, strolled out on the field with three minutes and change to go.
And the only thing we saw as we strolled out on the field was Larry Fitzgerald running right towards us for a touchdown. And we're like, wait a minute, this is live? Oh my God, the Cardinals have the lead. And then we watch Ben Roetlessberger march the Steelers down for a touchdown for a touchdown to Sanio Holmes in the end zone. That won the game for the Steelers, one of the best Super Bowls I've ever seen.
But number one on the list is the one that we talked about so much leading up to the Super Bowl 60 matchup between the Patriots. and the Seahawks, the Malcolm Butler play. I've never been in a stadium, never seen a stadium where one team's fan base is cheering and the other one is crying, and then one play later it's completely reversed. The Patriots scored two unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter, wrapped around a punt. And then, of course, this interception and Tom Brady.
And the Patriots won Super Bowl 49. That is the number one Super Bowl as a power rank. the Super Bowls of the NFL network era. As we now take a break. We'll talk about, we'll get your two cents on that list when we come back.
You can call us too. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast. Back here on the Rich Eyes and Show, 844-204-Rich is the number to dial. Get into the Hyundai Getaway Sales event right now. You can get away with the deal so right, it will almost, almost feel wrong to you.
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Did I leave any off for you? Surprise? I gotta say, I don't really have a lot of notes. No notes on the list. The only other game that you maybe could have put on there.
Of a compelling game was Green Bay Pittsburgh, Aaron Rodgers. You know, I almost went there too. That one didn't seem to be. And that's the thing, is like, not a lot sticks out from that game.
Well, the thing that stuck out from that game is that, you know. Was the week leading up to it? It was the week leading up to it. There was snow and ice, and then seats that were in the stadium that were. How can I put it lightly?
Suddenly, no longer.
Well, they disappeared because. I think Jerry put seats where he wasn't supposed to, or where he could, and it wasn't secure enough. And he came by the set pregame and acted like nothing was going on. And we then get an email from the N NFL. Saying, you know, if you've got your game day tickets, which I did, you know, it's been an incredible perk the NFL gives people who work.
The Super Bowl, two tickets to the game to go. Yeah. And so, what I ended up doing is, I gave those two tickets to Dr. Bobby Katz. Oh.
The OBGYN of the stars, including the person who delivered our kids. I was in Jerry's suite for that game. Were you really? Yeah, that's where I dude.
Well, I mean, you know, so what ended up happening is a bunch of seats that people had tickets for suddenly, you know, were ruled unusable. And it created a massive, massive storm of you-know-what. Oh, I can imagine. And that's the thing that leaps out to me for that game 100%. The Ridge Eisen Show Podcast.
Mm-hmm.
