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Now, on with the show. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Live from Canton, Ohio, home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Earlier on the show. Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Hutchinson.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Marshall Falk. ESPN broadcaster Chris Berman. Pro Football Hall of Famer Rod Woodson. Coming up. Pro Football Hall of Famer Willie Rove.
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Luke Keekly. And now, Rich Eisen. Our final hour here on this three-hour Friday show from the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio is on the air. We've already had chats with Steve Hutchinson and three last hour: Marshall Falk, Chris Berman, Rod Woodson just left. Luke Keekly's about to stop by.
If you missed our first two hours of the show, there's our Disney Plus page, there's also our YouTube channel to catch up on anything. You can also listen to all three hours of this show wherever you get your podcast. Getting ready for the Jacket Dinner tonight. Honored to be hosting that. I'll be on ESPN at noon straight up on Saturday to be part of the coverage of ESPN and NFL Network together of the 64th.
Class to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the 63rd such induction weekend. And back in the day in 2012, this man who's here kind enough to kick off our third hour of coverage went into the Pro Football Hall of Fame 11-time Pro Bowler, first team all-pro, six times nicknamed nasty after his 13-year career. Willie Rof, good to see you, man. Good to be seeing again, man. Good to hang out with you again.
Why were you nicknamed nasty?
Well, we got after people a little bit, and then I used to. Mess around with some guys in a locker room. With the alignment, we used to tee mess with each other and do stuff, you know, leave stuff in the lockers, you know, have is there a safe for work? No, I don't really well, I will tell I won't talk but I had a teammate who would drink apple juice early on before meetings and that caused some problems in the meeting room and he got a big kick out of that and then uh You know, leaving different things in the locker room to scare guys, you know, little fake rats or little animals to make them join. You know, that is nasty.
And everybody's getting that reaction out of it. You know, we just tease each other.
Okay. Yeah. Was there any?
Okay, so I'm trying to figure it out here. The apple juice led to some gastric? Yes, exactly. Because I thought apple juice that somebody would have substituted that with some other potentially putty liquid. Dude, my guys back in the studio thought that's where you were going.
No, it was more for the gastral in the meeting room. Yeah, Chris, you thought the same thing. I thought that, yeah, I thought a similar-looking color substance might have been. We don't want to cause any other issues, you might be practicing. Yeah.
Understood. Oh, you got that down. And it's the 60th anniversary for the Sinks this year. That is. And by the way, Drew Brees is the 12th.
New Orleans Saint to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. On the 60th anniversary of the team. Even dozen for that. Who was your coach when you first started? Jim Moore.
It was Jim Moore Sr. Sr.
Okay. Jim Moore Jr. was on the staff. He was. That was his first coaching job.
So, was Senior the one who was calling you up on draft day saying, Welcome to the Saints? Did that happen? I can't remember who called me. It was ironic. Which uh That was Jim Fink's last draft.
Yeah. Ended up getting lung cancer, and I never got a chance to meet him. No kidding. Yes, I never got a chance to meet the man that drafted me. The man who drafted you, the legendary Jim Fink.
The legendary, yeah. He's definitely. Yeah, he is exactly that. And so, all right.
So, who was the quarterback? Who's the first QB you protected? Wade Wilson. Wade Wilson. Wilson.
We signed him from Minnesota.
Okay. And who was the defensive player that gave you? Your welcome to the National Football League moment. Willie. In the game?
Not practice.
Well, I practice with Ricky Jackson every day. And Wayne Martin.
So I had Ricky Jackson and Wayne because I was right in my first year. How did Ricky fellow Hall of Famer welcome you to the National Football? Ricky Jackson didn't. That was his 13th year, and he used to wear a little bitty. Kick or shoulder pass.
That only drill he wanted to do was one-on-one pass rush. The rest of that, he wasn't even trying to practice hard. And I'm like, why is this guy not. We're practicing hard, and he was. I didn't understand he had been in the league 13 years, right?
But my welcome to the NFL moment was: we started 5-0. We had a bye-week, we practiced real hard. We went into training camp mode, and it was real hot that week.
So, I think it took the legs out of us a little bit. But we went to play the Pittsburgh Steelers, and I had to play Kevin Green. And he was winking at me, tapping me on the ass on the butt up, doing all kinds of. I'm like, what is this guy doing? But I ended up giving up a couple of sacks.
So I would say, after getting off to that great star, that Kevin Greengame was my welcome to the NFL. Another guy who you have. A shared residence across the hallway with. Yes. Very deservingly so, for him.
Right, for sure.
So he was winking at you thinking, I got you, I got you. You know, he was wrestling. He was, you know, he was just playing games for you. Yeah, I was rookie, yeah, you know. Messing with your hand a little bit.
So, Willie Rofe, by the way, here on the Rich Eisen Show, you went in with Curtis Martin, Cortez Kennedy. Cortez from Arkansas, like me, Chris Dolman. Chris Dolman went in, and Dermani Dawson. Dermani is a great guy, good class. And Jack Butler, he was older gentleman, and three of my classmates.
We were just talking about that at the lunch and how special it is. And three of the guys aren't here anymore, and how Jerome Bettis got up at the end of it and said how coming back and knowing your classmates and getting to know them is very important because you never know. And so, yeah, this is a special class. You got Drew Belise, who's the greatest saint you have. Adam Vinoteri would argue the best kicker to do it.
He fits the best Cardinal, one of the best receivers to ever do it.
So it's a very Luke.
So it's a great classic. Yeah, Roger Craig, who's waiting for his waited just such a long time. You got two guys who are first battling Hall of Famer and a guy who's been waiting since the 80s to hear his name. And the guy led to the league and receptions in 85. Yeah.
I mean, he's a 1,000,000 guy. First 1,000,000 guy. For sure.
So you got a good Breeze story. I know you didn't play with him. I know you were gone by the time you played.
Well, no, I played against him. When I got to Kansas City, we were battling with those guys in Denver. Oh, man. Yeah, it was some tough battles. Right.
And so I guess you were trying to make sure the Chargers weren't getting past you. Yeah, in the division, it was a tough division. That last year, we went 10-6 and then make the playoffs since he beat us, and we didn't finish at the top of the division, so we didn't get the wild card that one year. But you know what Drew Breeze means to the city. And you know what?
I mean, and the fact he and Sean Payton and Sean Payton. is going to be Presenting him for enshrinement on Saturday. And he's coming in today. He's conducting Broncos practice and he's flying. He's probably in the air right now to make it in time for the jacket dinner tonight.
He comes to the town with Peyton. And the rest is truly history. Like that they are now etched in the lore of New Orleans, Louisiana sports scene. They are. And you Sean Payton came forward from the Cowboys.
Well, fortunately for the Saints, if the arms situation doesn't happen, Drew's in Miami. Probably with Nick Saban at Nick Saban at the time. Instead, he goes to New Orleans, Dante Culpeper goes to Miami. We go to South Florida. Yada, yada, yada.
Nick Saban winds up at Alabama. Yes, he leaves Alabama. And then you have Drew Brees and Sean Payton, one of the top quarterback coach combos, winning percentage in NFL history. Right. But I mean, just you know, Saints.
Yes. I mean, he's the most popular saint, would you say? Yeah, yeah, oh, yeah, him and him and uh City Champ, Ricky Jackson. Ricky Jackson. Those two.
Yeah, City Champ. Uh-huh. Those two. Okay. So in the few minutes I have left with you here, Willie Rofe.
The Ideal. that Miles Garrett and Aaron Donald. Could be playing on the same defensive line together. What would it be like in your. Offensive line room.
going against Michael Irving was talking about that last night to us at the hotel. He was. What is his name? He was saying, I'm going to get on my show and tell him that y'all said y'all could block him. It was me, me, Ogden, and Pace were there.
By the way, you, Ogden, and Pace. Would be a good way to protect somebody with Gary. But you couldn't have all of you.
Well, inside. You're outside. Yeah. Like, who's being kicked inside? I would say this.
I would say this. If it's us, the coach is probably going to tell me I have to deal with Garrett Moore one-on-one. They're going to double Donald. It matters who's on the line. If you have a real good guard, then you might leave him a little more one-on-one.
But you can't double both of them. You can't. I know you can't. You can't. I mean, there's no way you can.
So what what honestly, like what would be going on in the offensive line meeting room. going into a game against those two guys. Scheming, or would you be saying we're not going to lose today? Like you're going to try and speak it into existence. Like what are you what are you doing?
You scheme it as much as you can and then you may chip chip on miles if get out or the tight end chip on the way out. But somebody's got it somebody's going to have to pl do some one-on-one duty in that game. Against Aaron Donald, potentially. Or mouse. Or both.
You're going to have to it sometimes you're going to double, sometimes Gary's going to be one on one. But you're going to have Gary if you're smart, you're going to have Miles on one side, you're always going to have Donald opposite. You're not going to have or you might put them both on one side and run some games with them. I mean, you can do that. And by the way, the Rams aren't the only two talented.
Obviously, they're two guys that you're going to have the. Again, as neighbors in that room across the hallway one day. Oh, first ballot. Yeah. First ballot.
They're going to be first ballot roommates of you one day. The Rams still have a ton of talented players on defense as well, on top of all of that. Yeah, they do.
So who was the guy when you were playing that gave you the biggest problems? Or you could say nobody. Y you know, it w it it w it the speed guys, I liked them 'cause I l I was real quick.
So D T Freeney when I got older, I you know, he he didn't they didn't bull him as much. It was a guy that was strong, Rucker. Chuck Smith. Sean Jones long arm guys, guys that were shifted boots. I knew they were gonna bull me, Taylor, Jason Taylor, they were gonna bull me a few times a game and get me.
But you it was more power that gave me more problems than guys just trying to run around me. And lastly, what was it like in that luncheon room? today? Uh Mike Singletary got up first of all for about twenty, twenty, thirty minutes and really talked about How special the group is, how special the room is, and how much more we can impact. Outside of the room, you know, with playing the greatest sport there is.
And it was very good. They got a great reception. You know, Bobby Bell has been there 43 straight years. And this year was the first year we gave out the guys that have been in 25 years or 30 or 35 years all got a painting. And then they get a little, we gave out the pendants, but this year we gave paintings everywhere.
And Bobby got a painting as well today. A painting? Yes, of themselves and, you know, a nice painting. No kidding. So it was about seven or eight different guys from different classes, starting at the 25-year And then 30 and 35 year, they got in 40 year, they got a painting.
What do you take away from? A luncheon like this. Again, you've been in since 2012. It's been in almost 15 years. Almost 15 years.
So, what do you take away? When you're sitting in this room and you walk out of this room that's in Hall of Famers only, And Mike Singletary's giving it. I bet you there's a pin you could hear dropping when he's talking. What's your takeaway from? I just try to absorb it every year in the gratitude to be in there with.
the heroes of the game and the guys that I I was a Steeler fan growing up, so All those guys, Me and Joe, and Lynn, and You know, the guys that play for the Steelers. And it was John Riggins first year back, 6-02. I hadn't met John Riggins until today.
So Riggins is here. Riggins came back. He said he hadn't been here. He said he didn't feel like he deserved to be in the room. And then we said, no, that's not true.
And then it's his first time back, he said, since 02. He says he doesn't deserve it. He said he feels like he doesn't deserve to be in the room with us.
Well, he could speak to me. I can help him. When you see him, you need to talk to him. I can confirm it for him. I don't know the last time I actually saw him or spoke to him.
But he's back, huh? He's back.
Okay, and you had never met him before. I'd never met him. Anyone else who's back that we don't know about? That's back that you may have just met? Or it's pretty much more the same?
More the same. But this is the most. This is the most Hall of Famers that have been back in one setting. Average 125. And what do you think Tom Benson would say, knowing that Breeze is going in and they put his jersey on his statue outside the stadium last night that bears his name?
I think he would start doing this dance if he was in with his umbrella. Yeah. He would love it. I bet it would be something else. Willie, it's great to see you, man.
Great to see you. Thanks for chopping it up. Thanks for having me, man. How many snaps could you give me right now? I'd give you about five.
Five. And then you take me to the hospital. Or just to. Ivy. Yeah, let's do that.
Let's start with Ivy. Let's start with fluids. Let's start with fluids. Yeah, let's start with that. Good to see you.
Good to see you. Hopefully, we'll share a drink tonight. But just no apple juice. All right, there he goes. That's our friend Willie Rofe right here on the Rich His and Show.
Luke Keekly is still to come right here as we're coming to you from Canton. Oh, it's over. Oh, O'Reilly. Check engine, ABS, or maintenance light on? Take the guesswork out of your warning lights with O'Reilly Veriscan.
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Alrighty. We bring auto. parts. Rich Eisen here. Running a small business means every hire matters.
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The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Back here on the Rich Eisen Show, 844-204-Rich is a number to Dow. I'm sitting here in Canton, Ohio. The guys are sitting there back in Los Angeles, California. Just want to remind everyone to hire right the first time with LinkedIn Hiring Pro.
Everybody, get started by posting a free job at linkedin.com/slash Eisen. I'm here. You guys are there. Luke Keekly's making his way from the luncheon. I love that.
Rod's like, we can't talk about it. And Willy Roph basically put us as a fly on the wall. Rod's like, yeah, I can't tell you anything. And Willy Roph's like, hey, you know, Mike Singletary spoke for 25 minutes and we gave out paintings to guys. And it was really emotional.
So that's cool. Anything else jump out at you from the interviews that you're hopefully sitting there and listening to? I mean, it's just been. It's been pretty cool, man. I was just thinking about how...
Incredible, that offensive line of pace and Rofe. Oh, God. Ogden. And Ogden. And Rofe.
Who bumps out the sun? Who kicks inside? Right? Who kicks inside? It's definitely not Ogden, who's bigger than both of those guys, by the way.
Which is. And this just didn't. I mean, the two, the two-shot of me and Willie Rofe when the photograph comes out. I'll look like basically like his anti-perspirant. Yeah, unfortunately.
I think Willie has to play guard, I feel like. Is that yeah?
Okay. Okay, it's a four downs day, regardless. Oh, no, actually, I was about to do four downs, but the man himself has just walked in the door. Please take a seat, sir. Round of applause, everybody, right here.
A 2026 Pro Football Hall of Famer. Just please take a seat and put that microphone right in front of you. Luke Keekly is sitting down here. How are you, Luke? Great.
How are you, Rick? Good to see you, man. How's it going? You tell me. It's been a whirlwind, but I'm glad we're finally here.
Dean, I'm sorry. I just saw you walk in the door, and I just threw you sitting down right here. I appreciate you doing this, man. Absolutely. I mean, does it feel like a wedding day?
In a way? It feels like the day before the wedding. Is that really? Yeah, yeah. It's been a.
It's been really fun. We got in here on Wednesday night, watched the Panthers get the first win of the season. How about that? Last night, and we're off to a really good start today.
Well, I mean, you know, everybody just keeps talking about, you know, how young you are. Can you believe you're in a Pro Football Hall of Fame or you're just about to happen? I think it's become more real every step of the way. I think, you know, it started back in. In uh in January when Pep was the knock when Pep came into the house and we were at Super Bowl and we were back out here in April and Then the build-up finally starts to begin, and we got here Wednesday.
And each step of the way, it becomes more and more real. And I'm really looking forward to the Gold Jacket dinner tonight. I've heard a lot about it. Yeah, I'm. You know, honored to emcee it.
Great. I'll be there for you.
So, my job is to make it special for you. But to keep things moving, to get you to a beverage of your desire as soon as possible, I will do my best to not extend the evening any longer than it might have to be. But it is just to give you a heads up, because I've done this a long time, I've done it a few times. Um It is the first tangible item you're getting. I mean, I know you're wearing your golf your golf shirts or this.
By the way, I've never seen this very nice collared button down that they got going on.
So now they're switching up their gear here a little bit. They're modernizing their gear a little bit. But this is it. I mean, this is one where you're going to look inside your coat. You know, the number, you know about that.
Do you know what your number is? 386.
Okay, you're 386. And so that's going to be in this jacket forevermore. You're going to look down on it, you're going to feel it. It's gonna hit. It's gonna be cool.
More real because you hear you hear a lot about the gold jacket dinner from the guys, and then you get here and Then there's more of them, and more of them talk to you about it. And we had a toast in the bus gallery yesterday, and you look around, and it's. just Hall of Famers and it's it's pretty cool and you don't You walk in there, like, I don't know if these guys... Know who I am. I'm kind of just trying to find my way a little bit.
And then Edrin James comes up, and Calvin Johnson came up, and You know, you walk around, you look across the room at Steve Atwater and Zach Thomas. And I mean, there's a million guys, but when you're around all of those guys in a room like that, you just look and see these are guys that I watched growing up. I came to the Hall of Fame when I was a little kid. And you look at names when you're that age. of Hall of Famers and now I get to see them all, which I think is it it kind of all comes together this weekend.
So, I was going to you just kind of front-loaded my question, and it was going to be next: is who you've met. I mean, you did name some guys. There are some old school guys. Obviously, Atwater would be one of them. Yeah.
You did name two guys, Calvin Johnson and Edrin James, who looks like just like you. You could give me. Edrin James still has it. Like you could give me some snaps right now. But any OGs, like old school Smiths.
Okay. I mean, that's kind of cool. Yeah. Right? That part was cool.
Andre Reid, Thurman Thomas, Jim Kelly, that group. And then you start to think about guys that. played A long time together. You sit at lunch, and it's Ronnie Lott and Charles Haley and Roger Craig, one of our class members, and those guys all played together. Which I think it is really daggone cool.
That is pretty cool for sure. Luke Keekly here on The Rich Eisen Show.
So, what was that luncheon like? That you just came from. Because again, for anybody who's just joining us, the Raynitschke luncheon's been going on forever. And it's Hall of Famers only, and the only non-Hall of Famers in the room. Are the wait staff and the guys who are going in the next day?
You're technically not yet truly one thing. No, not yet. They let you know on that. They do let you know that, huh? No, it was a ton of fun.
And like you said, it's an opportunity to sit and have lunch with guys that. That you quite frankly grew up watching, and you never know: hey, am I ever going to be. around those guys all in the same place and You know, you walk in there and we have white shirts on, and they have their gray shirts on, and they get some of those guys get up and speak, and you sit at a table and speak with guys. It feels like you're in a locker room again. And it's so funny.
There's wide ranges of guys from. You know, I'm I'm thirty-five all the way up into their eighties, and regardless of how old anybody is, it feels like you're sitting in the lunchroom at your facility. It's all the same jokes, it's all the same personalities. All the guys are still, you know. talking junk and having a great time.
And it just reminds you that the older you get, you're part of they always the guys have said for the longest time, this is a team you can never get cut from.
So it does it does feel like you're part of, you know, A team of these guys, 387 guys, and no matter how old or young we all are, it still feels just like a locker room.
So, and it's pretty neat, man, that you're it's kind of full circle, this entire process. You got the knock on the door from Julius Peppers, and you have selected him as the guy who's going to put the jacket on you tonight. Yep, is he also introducing you tomorrow? No, tomorrow will be my dad. Tomorrow's my dad, you see.
All right, so let's put a pin in that for the moment. Yes, why Julius Peppers?
Well, it, you know, you come to when I came to Carolina, you know, Sam Mills was the guy that when we walked into our room, that was a standard. Sam Mills, keep pounding. He played there, he was a coach there. His son was on our staff when we got there. And then the legend of Julius Peppers in that building was very apparent.
There was. There was pictures. We had a hallway in the stadium that had All of the Pro Bowlers.
So, if you made a Pro Bowl, you got a plaque on the wall and it had all your numbers or the years you went into the Pro Bowl. And there was a picture of Pep, and I remember it to this day. It was a young Pep with a white jersey. We were in all white. He had his helmet with a clear visor on, and he was holding.
of football like that and he was kinda the The standard of defenders in Carolina, modern-day Carolina. And you see tape, and you know, I played with guys that played with Pep, and they always talked about. The aura and the legend of Pep.
So when he came those last two years, I had the ability to play with him and be around him and learn from him and see what kind of great teammate he was and how he treated people.
So for him, the knock on the door obviously was unbelievable. But I think a guy that I looked up to a ton when I was playing in Carolina and that was the standard, and a guy that I had the fortunate opportunity to play with, it kind of felt like it was very easy. And now your dad is your presenter. Yeah. What do you think that moment's going to be like for him?
I think he's very excited about it. I think that he's very proud of. Of his boys. I have two brothers. There's three of us, and I think he's.
As proud of me as he is my other two brothers, and I think for him to have the opportunity to get up there and experience that moment with me, I think is going to be very powerful. And I think that's what this weekend is all about: sharing the game of football and sharing this moment with the fans and the people at the Hall of Fame and the other guys in our class and the rest of the Hall of Famers and then my family and friends that have taken time to come up here. I'm going to experience this weekend with them and then I'm going to get to experience. tomorrow on the stage with my dad. I think it's really cool.
What do you think that moment's going to be like for you? Because, again, you've got a jacket tonight. Yeah. You got a speech that you know you're going to deliver. Yeah.
Okay. But in between it, you're going to step out on that stage. And then you and your dad are going to reveal that bust. Yeah. I mean, I think it'll be very.
You ready for it? I hope so. I hope so. I've seen, I've seen, obviously, went out and did, I was out there when they did the sculpture of the bust, which was really cool, but I think it's going to be. I think we're both probably going to have to kind of hold it together a little bit, which I think will be really cool.
Uh-huh. I mean, everybody bets on who's going to be the first to cry in the Hall of Fame class. What's the current discussion?
Well, I mean, Larry's first, so he's going to be up there he's going to be up there first, so I'm third, so a couple of guys got to get through it before I get up there.
So hopefully, uh Could be me, might not be me, but Larry and Adam, and then it'll be me.
So it Larry goes first, then Adam, then you, and then Breeze finishes up. Correct.
Okay. And I don't know how many classes. in the history of the NFL have featured a first ballot quarterback And a second ballot defender who's intercepted that quarterback before. This might be rare. It's cool.
Yeah. You got Drew Breeze once in your career, correct? Once, I think.
Okay. I think once. No, I think it was just once.
Okay. He kept it away from me. 2015. I was just told in my ear. 2013.
2013. And it was a home game. It was raining quite a bit. 2013. I don't remember the class.
I think that was it. I think the ball was slippery. No, it was a rainy game at home. It was like around Christmas time. They beat us two weeks before in New Orleans, and it was a big game for the division.
Well, obviously, you go as far back with Breeze as anybody else that I've compared in this. Hall of Fame class for you. What has it been like for you and Breeze going in together here so far? It's been really cool because when you're playing, you always want to ask those guys questions. Hey, why did you do this when we did this?
What did this word mean? How did you try to attack our defense? You know, they always talk about. The first 15 plays that Sean Payton and Drew Brees ran, especially in the dome down in New Orleans. And now you get an opportunity to talk to them about all that.
Hey, what were you guys trying to do? What were you looking at? What did this word mean? You start to get a lot of those answers or those questions answered, which is really cool. And you're still looking for answers to the test.
Yeah. Oh, yeah. I think it's fascinating. It's fame. No, tomorrow.
It's learning. I think the ability to learn at this point is really cool, but also. My uh Shoot, it would have been my second game ever played was against Drew. We played him, I think yeah, we played him at home. And then my last game ever played was against Drew at home, too.
So it kind of went full circle. I started early on in my career playing against Drew, and my last game ever was against Drew. What was the most difficult thing to defend against him? Accuracy, anticipation, ball placement, and understanding of. He understood.
everything and you would sit across the line of scrimmage from them and you'd watch you'd watch his eyes and you can always tell, I think, when guys are comfortable and when they're uncomfortable. And when quarterbacks look comfortable and they're at ease with their eyes. Is bad news.
So before I let you go, and I appreciate you taking the time on such a busy week for you. Such a whirlwind. Just to turn you into a pundit for a hot second here. When we're talking about Miles Garrett and Aaron Donald playing together, as it appears to be, is going to happen.
Okay. Um that Nobody talks about what that would mean for the second level of the defense of the Rams. What would that unlock, do you think, for the second level? Like, let's just say you're playing behind them. What would that mean for you?
Well, I think the other thing, too, is they got Byron Young on the other side. I think he had 12 sacks last year. Correct.
So basically what that means is these guys play with the lead a lot. You know, with that Sean McVay offense, they play with the lead a lot, which means that teams have to throw the ball. And when you have a pass rush like those guys do, where they can line them up all over the place, the ball is going to come out faster.
So those linebackers can attach quicker in coverage. They can play more aggressively. They understand that the timing of throws and the timing of routes and the ability for routes. to get downfield is not what it used to be. And then let's not forget they just traded for Trent McDuffie too.
So he's going to be on the outside playing corner. They're going to be pretty stout on the defensive side of the ball. And those, you know, if Aaron Donald does, in fact, come back, they've got guys, they have three guys on that D line that are all over. ten plus sacks a year all day and I think the winner, the biggest winner of all of it would be Byron Young on the other side, knowing that they're going to push protection to Miles Garrett. If Aaron Donald does come back, I don't know what they're going to do.
And Landman behind him. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Just hoovering up tackles one by two. Yeah, there's no one, you can't, you've got to block the guys in front first.
Right. And when you're a second-level defender, and that was one thing that we always had in Carolina, where big guys in front of you that were disruptive and caused problems, and the only way to get a run game going is to block the big guys in front. And Those dudes are really good, and you got to believe Landman's going to walk up to Lesny and say thank you. Right? Yeah.
And the Panthers outlook. What do you have for me there? I think the biggest the biggest thing with them is it's been they've been on a slow rise the last couple of years since Dave Canalis took over. Bryce has gotten better every year. I think you look on the offensive side of the ball with the guys we have at skilled positions.
I mean T-Mac had a great year last year. Jalen Coker was an undrafted guy. Um Out of Holy Cross that we just re-signed. He's a really good player as well. Defensively, they hit the heck out of the roster in the last few months.
Yeah. They've got, you know, the two corners are both really good. Big physical. Mike Jackson and J.C. Horn.
Trayvon Merrig was a guy we brought over in Free Agency, is like that new. That new wave of linebacker hybrid safety that can play in the box against the run and really good against the pass with all these. Teams running these 13 personnel looks like the Rams are doing, and then Derek Brown on the inside. We've got. We've got some dudes that can really play.
It's so great to see you in the Hall of Fame, man. It's awesome. Listen, I know you won't say this, so I'll say it for you. It's a testament to your greatness. You played eight years.
and you get in the second time that you're up, And you're getting in at age 35. And you'll have a You know, nice long run as a returning Hall of Famer. You're an excellent. Excellent avatar for what this place stands for. And I know you're going to take that seriously.
And I cannot be happier for you.
Well, thank you, Rich. Appreciate you having me on. Truly, anytime, Luke Keekly, congratulations. Thank you. That's Luke Keekly, a Hall of Famer, officially, as of, well, I think tonight.
I guess tonight. It's the jacket. Yeah. I'm telling you, man, it is again my honor to be the one to say your name tonight. to introduce you to that arena.
and set the stage for you to have your moment. With Julius Peppers, it's going to hit you like a ton of bricks. It's going to be exciting. I'm looking forward to it. I cannot wait to watch it all play out for you.
Well, thank you. You're welcome. That is Luke Keekly right here on the Rich Isa Show. We'll wrap up our show from Kenton on a conversation about the Detroit Lions. Uh in a moment.
Rich Eisen here with some advice. If high-interest credit card debt is grinding you down, it might be time to call an Audible with a SoFi personal loan. It consolidates your debt into one low monthly payment with no fees required. And with as soon as the same day funding, you can make the right play fast. Call an Audible on your debt today at SoFi.com/slash debt play.
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On the Rich Eisen Show. We're out of guests, guys. This is just us. Oh, baby, let's go. This is just us from Canton, Ohio.
So, before we get to the four downs for the Lions, which is back to the usual order of. Rich Eisen Show business. Um Tom in Canton, Ohio called up. He called in. One of the many terrific volunteers that work here on behalf of the Hall of Fame.
He, as you know, said he's a volunteer for the Hall of Fame and that he wanted to know donuts, right? He's offered to bring donuts.
Well, I showed up here in the presentation center. um this very morning and already here Was a box of donuts with a note from Tom. Oh, wow. And there they are. There they are.
I asked for jelly and custard. That's a jelly donut. That's custard on the top. You could see the top of the box. A little bit of the smushy of the donut.
That's great. Time to make the donut. Time to make the donut. Thank you. The bottom left one was the A-clair in the mix.
That one was consumed by my personal. Volunteer that's been working here. Rod, on behalf of the hall, is hanging out here. Rod's here. It's difficult to forget Rod's name because his last name is Stuart.
So yeah, my my the guy who's hanging out with me, he's hanging here all three hours. A retired school teacher, correct, Rod?
Okay. Is he British? The terrific, huh? Is he British? He's not British.
No, he's not. Wh wh where is he from? It's what wh in in Ohio? Where where are you from in Ohio?
Well you live in Canton now, but you're from Canton. Oh, he he comes l lives in the spot where Liz was pissed where he lives. Kettering, Ohio. Anyway. I'm I'm gi uh I'm I'm close to giving out your social security number.
I'm sorry to to do all this uh on the air. But uh Rod gave an enthusiastic thumbs up to Tom's Costard donut.
Okay. Amazing.
So cool. It's gone. It's gone. But not forgotten. Which one did you add?
Did you eat the Joey Dunn? Do you have the other photograph? Because Tom, like, I took a shot of the top of the box, and Tom, like, personalized the top of the box.
Well, Rich, you know what they say? Every picture tells a story. Donut. That's Rod Stewart. That's going to say goodbye.
Well, actually, Rod wears it well. He wears it well. That's another one. He's got legs. Oh my God.
But I'm not even going. I'm not even doing it.
Okay. I'm not getting dragged. It's four downs time, guys. The Detroit Lions are today's. Um they are today's uh four downs preview.
And Jameer Gibbs got paid. Sure did. He got paid. Uh and he is making a touch more Then B. John Robinson, meaning Listen, I love it when I'm proven correct that anybody's like, uh-oh, Bijan got his, the Lions aren't going to give Gibbs his, and I'm like, actually, Gibbs him a target.
And sure enough, they hit the target. where um it is just a titch more. than what Bijan was making.
So he's now he's now Jameer Gibbs, the highest paid running back in the National Football League. And he will go onto the field with that smile. And he is one thousand percent uh going to be a Crucial portion of today's four downs on the Lions hit it. Four downs with Rinch. Here we go.
Why did you suck? All right, my four downs on the Detroit Lions right here in our final segment from the Friday of Kenton, Ohio Pro Football Hall of Fame weekend. Is a simple one. First down, there's a new offensive coordinator in town, and it is Drew Petzing time. He's front and center.
And listen, last year they went into the year saying Johnny Morton's the guy. He's the guy that's going to take the baton from Ben Johnson and run with it. And they dropped a 50-burger on Ben Johnson in week two. And you're like, here we go. And then all of a sudden, midseason, it's Dan Campbell.
Taking over the play calling right in the middle of the season, which you know was not the plan going into the season after Ben Johnson left. To go coach the Chicago Bears.
So they went and got Drew Petzing, the offensive coordinator from Arizona.
Now that Mike LaFleur went there, his service is no longer needed. And so, what is he gonna do? Is this offense going to hum again like the Ben Johnson years, or is it gonna be closer to what they saw last year, which was a lot of problems up front offensively? And the run game wasn't as good, and Jared Goff wasn't as protected, and leads were tough to come by and then tough to hold. Um so Drew Petzing, you're on the clock front and center and obviously that Plays into a second down, all about the Jameer Gibbs 2.0, which is him with the bell cow around his figurative neck.
What does Jameer Gibbs the bell cow look like? How many more touches is he going to get? How many more touches can he handle? How many more touches will the Lions be happy to give him? How many does he want?
How much of number zero are we going to see in the end zone because of it? How much of more number zero potentially being unavailable will we see because of it? What will Isaiah Pacheco's role be inside the twenties, inside the twenty itself? It's just a lot of questions. Drew Petzing is going to be there.
Jameer Gibbs is going to have the bell cow. What's going to happen there? Third down, moving on to the defensive side of the football. It's very simple. It's very simple.
Will the football gods stop kicking the Lions defense in the Nards? 16 players on injured reserve in 2024, and then last year they were once again the most injured side of the football. In the National Football League on defense, it's just ridiculous. How many times the lion's depth chart, certainly in the secondary, certainly up front, gets tested because somehow, some way, somebody's gonna get injured. And it is just stupid.
How it happens every year. I would love to see the Detroit Lions not get decimated by injury or have that injury bug even come close to getting close to decimation. And as we all know, Terry Ann Arnold's off the field. I know we referred to the words in the NFL as situation. Terry and Arnold's not there anymore.
So their depth is already going to get tested. And so the football gods, will they stop kicking the Lions in the Nards? Is third down. And then fourth down, I know this is a question that you ask all the time, Chris.
So it's time to hit it right now. Has the Lions window closed. And everything that I just mentioned plays into it. Has the Super Bowl window for the Detroit Lions closed? I sure hope not for many reasons.
First of all, I love the Lions fans. They are diehard. They would make Detroit look like the New York sports scene celebrating the Knicks if the Lions won the Super Bowl. It would be off the charts insane. But here's the reason why I hope not for them as well.
Over the last couple of years, Brad Holmes, the general manager, has extended Jared Goff through 2028, Aiden Hutchinson through 2030, Amon Ross St. Brown through 28, Panay Sewell through 29, Alin McNeil through 28, Kirby Joseph through 29, Jack Campbell through 30, Jamison Williams through 29, Jameer Gibbs now through 30, and Derek Barnes through 27. They certainly have put their marker down on the window being open because they've got these players in mind, and they are terrific players. They're like putting their chips on this. on these players and hope to hit the point.
In the next few years, because if you think the window's closed, that is a billion-plus dollars committed to those players.
So they think the window's open. because they've got these players all locked up for a long time. And Dan Campbell is the coach there, we assume, for a long time.
So this is the window. And this is 2026 and the Lions definitely regressed last year. I sure hope for their sake the window's open because they have got the players locked up. thinking that window is open. And that's my four downs.
On the Detroit Lions. Yeah, Lions are the favorite to win the division. There they go.
So, I mean, they got tons of really good players that they've committed to in their long term. They've locked them up.
So it's not like they're going to get ravaged by free agency or anything like that. Um we shall see. Fun show here in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. On Monday, I'll be back to talk about tonight's jacket dinner, Saturday's induction ceremony. And I just really appreciate the Pro Football Hall of Fame giving us the Presentation center.
The richiser. The rich eyes. Yeah, that's the way it's now called. I love that. No champagne here, though.
No champagne away. You know what else? That's an easy fix, though. All righty.
So, thanks again to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. We'll be back to wrap up this show. Oh, there it is. See? Tom.
Oh, that's the biggest. Thanks, Doug. Oh, yeah. We'll be back to wrap up the show on Disney Plus in a moment. The Ridge Eisen Show Podcast.
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