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This is the Rich Eisen Show. Hey, everybody! Can't get enough of the Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck. You can find us everywhere.
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Now, on with the show. Let's do this! This is The Rich Eisen Show. Cleveland Browns can't do anything just straight up and normal. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles.
I like Todd Munkin. This is not a week-to-week decision. The Rich Eisen Show. But he's got a quarterback that's got a problem with the fan base. Earlier on the show.
ESPN NFL analyst Chase Daniel. Coming up. Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Thomas. Actor Will Forte. And now, it's Rich Eisen.
Hour number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air. Joe Thomas is going to join us in about 20 minutes' time. Talk a little bit more about the Browns quarterback room and the decision to start Deshaun Watson for the 2026 season. We already talked to Chase Daniels as he's looked at the film and he just doesn't get it. Uh which means there might be a business reason.
Business decisions are made in the National Football League all the time. Arch Manning is that business. Will Fortay is on the program. He's going to join us in studio hour number three in support of Coyote vs. Acme, which has got a gajillion rotten tomatoes going for it when it hits the theaters this weekend, starting on Friday at a theater near you.
It is. The fantasy football marathon going on in the Disney family of networks. Nice. And ESPN Radio as well. You download the ESPN Fantasy app, lickety split, why don't you?
And go to ESPN.com slash fantasy to get started today. And it's now the official game of the NFL. And maybe that's because the NFL network was bought by ESPN. You know what I'm saying? I'm just trying to connect, Doc.
Oh, makes sense. Fantasy is easy, fun, and free to play. Play in a private league with friends or join a public league and be matched with other fans. The knockout leagues. God, do I love the knockout stuff.
It is awesome. It might be my favorite version of fantasy football. Really?
Well, because you play against the collective. It's like If we're all in a fantasy league together, which we will be, it's me versus you one week. Sure. And then it's him, TJ versus Smitch, right? Right.
Or lead adult of The Rich Island Show James Crittenden. And I'm not paying attention to your game. I'm paying attention to my game with you. In a knockout league, whoever has the lowest total out of the entire league. Don't come last.
Knocked out. See you. And so everybody's paying attention to who's the schmoe that's on the chopping block. And then you start rooting for one team to be put on the chopping block because you look at that person's roster and know you can pick at it like you're a buzzard circling around. Oh, I need a tight end.
Right. And you're watching Monday night football, knowing this stuff's on the line. And you could bet a ridiculous amount of money for that. Last year, Coop and I were in separate knockout. Guillotine leaks.
And we both needed, I think, Josh Jacobs to score to get us off of. The griddle. And when Josh Jacobs scored in the fourth quarter, Cooper and I celebrated like Michigan had just won the national championship. I'm telling you, it is. Awesome.
But if you lose and you get knocked out early, Ah. It's depressing. Like, I wake up the next day and I'm like, oh, it's sunny out. Like, I'm healthy. The people I love are healthy.
Like it's I I need some sort of a sensibility. To get through it. I love these knockout leagues. And now ESPN's fantasy side has put that together for anybody to use. And so you are going to be out of the chair this week.
On Friday. On Friday. Yep.
Okay, Bobby Bones will be here because I'll be part of Taylor's Bob Mitzvah Week that's going down. Taylor Palooza has started pretty. You're out because you go to Seattle. You're in this league for how long you're doing. This is year 25.
Okay. You're 25. You're 25 of this league. Yep.
Okay. And so this goes back to college with some of these folks. Yeah, this is like our senior year. You're tight with these people. How many people are in this league?
This is 14. 14. 14. And so every year the draft is in the town of the Super Bowl winner. Correct.
All right.
So you went home many times in this time, right? Yeah, yeah. Went back to New England many. We went back to New England a couple times. We've had the draft at my house in L.A.
a couple times.
Okay. Yeah. All right.
That was after, I imagine, the Rams won. After the Rams won. And then the Patriots won one year, but we're like, we're sick of going to New England. Let's do it in LA. Let's do it in L.A.
And so you hosted. I have. That's great. Yeah. And so, but.
As the league has Gotten older.
So have the people in it. Right. You started out 25 years ago. There was a pot. And you you didn't have much to Put in it.
Not really, no.
Okay? Not really.
Now look at you. Mm-hmm.
Now, look at your married man. That's right. Father. That's right. A dad and a husband.
I don't even know who you are anymore.
Sometimes neither do I. Right. So, but yet you are. A paid professional to appear on this program. Correct.
It's great. You're taking one of your days off, leaving the wife, the kids. You're not going to the bot mitzvah this weekend. I know. I will be ready.
It's all good. Don't worry about it. I understand what you're doing. I get it. I'm sad to miss it.
That's it. How many guys are going this year? Nine out of the four. Is that a low? Is this are we ebbing?
Are we ebbing? This is usually, you know, if it's an East Coast venue, last year in Philadelphia, we got, I think, 12 or 13.
Okay. Because it's a little more geographically sound for a lot of the guys. Seattle is a lot more. I just don't have it in your home state of another one of your home states of Alaska. Exactly.
Might as well keep going. Exactly. The reason why I don't like this man's league. Ha ha ha ha. I don't know why this upsets me.
This is a Larry David type thing. It's not, I have no. Skin in this game.
Okay. This does not affect me. You're not in the league. I'm not in it. Yeah.
Like the Burger Draft. But it likes Burger so much. I don't like it. that their draft has no time limit. On how long you can take to choose a player.
And I I heard that and I'm It just triggers me. I'm triggered. Yeah. Okay. So, an update on that.
What do you got? It's not entirely true anymore. We did sort of institute a loose, loosely enforced five-minute time limit. Oh, whoa. Whoa.
Starting last year. And it was, we did shave about two hours off the top. Because you are off the top. I imagine most of the people who have evolved like you in the draft have kids and jobs and things like that. And the last thing they want to do is spend time away.
Sitting in a hotel room. Seattle's a beautiful city. You should go out and see it. Go out and look at that beautiful sound. Are the Mariners playing this weekend?
No, we're actually going to the Tacoma Rainiers game on Thursday night. This is look at you evolving. But you can't do it if you're taking 25 minutes on deciding Isaac Tesla should be taken in the 15th round. That's about probably. And it's just like that infuriates.
Well, this goes back to go to the fish market and dodge. Big, huge-ass fish. Yep, that's fun. That's what you should do. With the 28 minutes for Brian Hartline in the eighth round from like 2012 or something.
Did I accost that individual? You did. He was here once. That's right. Jason Sherman.
And he gave me some fellow Staten Islander, too. I hate to see rock on rock crime. Rock on rock. Rock on crime. You know what I mean?
Yeah. Last time that happened was outside of Spark Steakhouse, I think. Hey, now. Paul Castellano's house is for sale now. I saw that information.
Wow. He lived in a nice spot, man. He did. Up there on Toad Hill, Staten Island.
So, anyway, we're shooting for, you know, six-ish hours on the draft. We have gone into the nine-hour before in past years. Not that bad. I'd fight everybody. It's a full Saturday.
Join me in this. We're all for Saturday. Wait. We're all free. Wait, wait, T.J.
said you'd fight everybody? No, I said I would fight. I would fight everybody if we were that. You guys just did that. The first couple rounds, I don't understand why it takes so long.
Like, the best players are right there. Just pick one. And I'm about to give a power rankings on. On my mock draft, my top 10 mock draft. If you see me out in Seattle, say what's up.
I'm just saying, man. In my poker league. We have a 90-second 90. You get 90 seconds to choose your player. And if it goes past 60 seconds, the heckling that begins is off the charts.
Are you all in person? Huh? Are you all in person? We're mostly there, yeah, because once it's over, poker night starts. Then you do it.
We want cards to fly.
So there are your cards to fly. You do it before. Yes. Oh, yes. This is.
And it's usually opening night of the football game. You guys always do it to the limit.
Sometimes it goes into the game, and then the big arguments are: I'm going to take that player who just scored and start him. and start him. People almost burnt the league when it's over stuff like that. Fist fights breaking out of the league. Yeah, you got it.
Once a game starts, that's the whistleblow. That's it. This is how the Rich Eisen Show celebrates the ESPN fantasy football marathon. See, talking about what's right and what's wrong. In my league, we actually do auctions, so it takes a little longer.
But the best part about the auction is if you want somebody. You can really get them. But unfortunately, like, this year is going to be a tough one for us. I don't know if I'm cut out for an auction draft because it takes too long. It's fine if you've got the right hand.
Wait, so how long, TJ, does your draft go? Because you do the full auction. I mean, it's less than two hours. That's not bad. It's not bad.
It's pretty impressive, actually.
Well, like I said, it's the one time, like now that we're all older, it's the one time that we all, I probably will see half of these guys on that day, and I won't see them again the rest of the year. But this year will be tough because you guys might know Eric Dane was in our face. Oh, that's right.
So this is going to be the first time in like 18 years.
So this is going to be a tough one.
Okay, but if it goes any longer, then Mila kicks you out of the barn, right? Is that how it works? She really doesn't come out to the barn. She'll come out and say hi, and then she goes back. She's not in the way of finding out, by the way.
It is actually. That was my right. I didn't mean to drag Mila into this whole thing.
Well, we told you that when Eric was here a few years ago, I don't recall.
So, yeah, so this will be a hard one for the fans. Oh, man. I'm sorry, too.
Sorry to hear that, obviously. But we're going to celebrate them and we're going to have a good time because that's what the draft is all. He loves it. He would want that. I know he's been here before.
Yeah, he's a big fan. He and I. Like about this time every year for like the last 17 years, we'll get on a phone call with each other just to kind of size each other up and be like, Well, yo, I heard Drew Brees had a bad shoulder. You might not want that. What are you doing?
You know, I heard Adrian Peterson has a high ankle bro. Like, we would do this every year, you know.
Well, this is why we always have our draft at the last possible minute. That makes sense. You know what I mean? Yep.
There's been a lot of injuries this preseason. Speaking of drafts, okay. We're going to do these power rankings. Normally, it's on a Wednesday, but since today is the ESPN Fantasy Football Marathon, and I'm a team player, despite I being in Rich and Eisen and Disney. Yeah, and Disney.
Um We're going to do my power rankings today. And I usually do a mock draft before the actual draft. The actual NFL draft every year in power rankings form where I. Mock the first 10 of an actual NFL draft. I mock your draft.
Well, now here is my 2026 Come At Me fantasy mock draft in power rankings form, brought to you by SoFi. This is my PAL rankings. All right, here we go. Here we go. And in case anyone's wondering, as I'm gonna go from 10 up to one.
and the mock drafts. of what I think is going to happen in maybe your league. It might come at me. Come at me, bro. All right, so come at me.
If you come at me on X, I won't see it. Come at me on threads, might see it. Which pick do you have in your league? I have two. Oh, that's two.
And I'm hoping for one. But at any rate. Here's the scoop. We're going to do this like full-point PPR. Isn't that what the most ever?
Full point. Yeah, full-point. I'm taking CD-LAM 10. Ooh, okay.
Now that might be a nice pick for somebody at 10. The only reason why I'm putting CD Lamb at 10. An Amon Ra at nine, okay, is I don't know how much Pickens is going to take some catches. Oh, a lot. Jameson Williams is going to take some catches, but I don't know as much.
You know? J-Mo. And Amon Raw is that guy off the slot that, how many times does Goff just go, too late? It's already gone. Beast.
Right. So I'm going to go CD10, Amon Ra. Nine.
Okay. That's my thinking they're eight. I'm taking Devon A-Chan here. I was thinking of putting him higher because Jeff Hafley came on this show and said he does not want to see him tap his helmet all year long. And if he does carry it, touch it 40 to 45 times a game, which is definitely not how many times he's going to touch it.
But the coach said it out loud, and I'm going to take him at his word that it's going to be fed and fed a lot to this guy. He said he would help carry Devon A-Chan off the field. Yeah, he basically gave us the blueprint. And he almost said 1,400 yards last year on the ground. That's a good pick.
Okay. Seven. Out of respect, he's in my top ten. Respect. Respect.
I'm putting JS in here.
Okay. Jackson Smith and Jigba. I really want to see how he follows up his offensive player of the year. Very curious.
Okay. New OC2. I don't know what the hell this is going to look like. Correct. So I'm a little bit Jumpy here.
But I'm still going to say he's the same guy. He's the same guy. Watching Art Knox is the same guy. He sure is. Yeah, that's true.
Okay. All right, better. Six. Out of respect again. Respect.
Like Henry Hill. The tightness concerns me. I'm concerned by the tightness. Oh, you're concerned by tightness. Why wouldn't I be concerned by the tightness?
Tightness isn't there?
Well, he told you. It was load management. I got it. I understand there's a load, there's management, it's tightness, but this is my fantasy team. I understand.
Man. But I'm putting McCaffrey. Yep.
Because I think Jonathan Taylor is going to have another. Oh, so you're bumping JT up, okay. JT is five. If I'm sitting there, I can't believe I'm saying this out loud. I know McCaffrey is thousand, thousand.
Like a lock. I know. But this guy could get 2K, don't you think? He's amazing. Yeah, he could do it.
Okay. Yeah. And there are weeks where He'll just like Three touchdowns, 100 touchdowns. Yeah, and it's all like, again, Hoskins put up that picture against. Atlanta in Germany last year.
It was a wrap. 244 yards. And I know because he's going against me. He was going over me too. By the way, when you are playing against somebody who has a massive game in the early window of a four-window football day on a score, it destroys your whole day.
Your whole day is shot. Oh, God. All right.
I don't know why I'm getting that. Because it's fantasy. I played against him that week. And I was looking at Chris and I thought of his fantasy league, and it just enraged me. I get it.
I'm going to face you during the draft. You better not. Or. Or. I'm also concerned about him, period.
Uh-oh. But Puka is still puka. Bye. Hey, Puka is still Puka, the king of the 10-catch buck 40, two dodge down. day.
All right.
And Rich on the flip, having the West Coast player on your level and then at the end of the night, oh, baby. Nothing burdened. Oh, yeah. I need him to just not play as reckless as he maybe has. Or just be as reckless maybe in life.
Yeah, that too. Straight up. That too. Three. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's still Jamar Chase, it's still the first wide receiver off the board. Fact.
Okay. Jamar Chase. You see what he said? He's like, I don't care about yards. I want the touchdown record.
He's coming for Randy Moss.
Okay. Good for him. And he's got the quarterback who says, there is no tomorrow. And I work here. Pee!
But he didn't say those words. He had it on a hot cup. All right, now. But you think he didn't say it when he put that? I have the second overall choice.
So, this is who you want? Are you wish casting? I am not. Witchcasting. But I think at the end of the day The preseason is going to affect it.
I think the preseason's gonna affect this. Because Atlanta has looked like a garbage. Yeah, correct. And I think Bijan's going to drop to two in most drafts. Ooh.
at your danger. Thank you, TJ, for going to me have Gibbs. At your danger. At your danger, you let this man drop to two. Because he is all world, all pro, all purpose, all of that, and the biscuit.
We can trade problems. But I think at the end of the day, it's Jameer Gibbs' world fantasy. wise and we're all rent paying. Because he got paid, Bijan got paid. And at the end of the day, Goff runs the offense a heck of a lot better than whatever Atlanta might do, if that even matters to Bijan.
I mean, it's not like the last two years weren't like the most efficient quarterback play you've seen everywhere, and he was. He was incredible. I would be stunned if either guy doesn't get 2,500 total yards and 20 touchdowns. I would be shocked. That's my come at me.
Fantasy mock draft brought to you by SoFi. Get your money right. What do you think? Am I missing anything? You know, I was looking at Phil Yates' top top 150 PPR standings.
James Cook, he had tenth. I know you had CD there. I did. No, Justin Jefferson, but everyone else, you know, that's. Justin Jefferson has got to be sitting around and going, this is.
This is I'm gonna take this thing over and back I don't know. Darrell. 844-204-Rich, number to dial right here on the program. Running a small business means every hire matters. A bad hire costs time and money, but the right one helps your business grow.
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So, Joe, let's just jump right into it because you're in the booth, right? You're calling these games locally, you and Chris Rose, right? How does Deshaun Watson, look to you. On the hoof, if you will, since we're talking about you and farms, and we're how does he look in person? To you, Joe.
So it's interesting. I got a chance for the last couple of weeks to watch practice, coached a little bit on the ground, got to watch their joint practice against the Bills. And everybody, from the fans that were there to the local media, had said both quarterbacks are making great progress in Todd Munkin's system, but Deshaun Watson probably is a little bit ahead. And leaning into his experience a little bit, being able to operate in Coach Munkin's system, which puts a lot on your quarterback at the line of scrimmage, a lot of these play calls they have built in two plays so that the quarterback has a wide latitude to be able to change the play at the line of scrimmage, change the snap count, try to use the snap count as a weapon against the defense. And I think most people were saying, hey, we expect Deshaun Watson to be the starter.
Until the game that happened this past weekend against the Bills, where Shadur Sanders went out, played very well throughout the first half, and then Deshaun Watson came in in the third quarter and did not play very well against the third team of the Buffalo Bills. And I think that for people that were just tuning in, watching Shadur in that game only, it was very obvious who the better quarterback was in that game.
So a lot of controversy, obviously, that Coach Muncin on Monday named Deshaun Watson as starting quarterback for week one.
Well, and because in between that, it was him having a moment at the post-game press conference podium where he was. Brutally honest, man. It's clear that he has not turned the page. from when he got hurt on that field and heard some cheers from the crowd. And you know, he then, after being named the starter, may acculput, and hopefully the Browns feel like that's been put to bed.
But I think you and I both know that that might be a tall tale that they're hoping is true. You know this fan base, Joe. You know them, they love you. My goodness gracious, do they love you? What would you say?
to Deshaun, unless you haven't. But what would you say to him? about s trying to reconcile here, knowing this fan base as well as you do. Joe.
Well, there's been an enormous commitment, investment in Deshaun Watson, and there's been no payoff for the Browns fan base, which, to your point, is the most loyal fan base in all of professional sports. And I can say that because they're still showing up, and they have not put a very good product on the field for several decades. And to have the fans still show up, still care about their team, still see the Browns as their identity, I think as a player, you've got to be able to keep that in perspective. Even though you weren't here the entire time since they came back in 99, you have to understand that this fan base has been through hell and back, and they're still showing up and they're still cheering for the team. And if you're Deshaun Watson, there needs to be a little understanding of what you've been paid for and what you've given to that fan base and understand that relationship.
And it can't be a personal thing because the only way you can change that, and this is true no matter who your fan base is, is to go out and play better football. And until he does that, there's not going to be any bridges that are mended between Deshaun and the fan base. And I think he came out after. Fact on that Monday and alluded to that a little bit, understanding that: look, until he plays great football in Cleveland Browns uniforms. If he ever does, like the fan base is going to be booing him.
That's just the way it is because they don't feel like they've gotten what they've invested and what they've had to go through since they brought in Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans. And you know, there's already a conversation that you hear that It's good that their first two games are on the road, right? Although the second one's against Baker Mayfield, who you know. Would love To stir it up so badly for the Browns and send them back 0-2. I'm sure he'll talk to the defense like that.
They can have a large say in really sticking it to the Browns and have. Deshaun Watson be still the starting quarterback going in a week three, unless you think. I mean, what happens if it's such a brutal start? Do you think there's any possibility? That they would not send Deshaun Watson out there.
I know this is a large hypothetical, but that's already part of the conversation. That week one and two is the. Ultimate amount of time That Todd Munkin is going to truly give to Sean Watson. Do you think that's possible, Joe? Yeah, I would think that's probable.
I think he's got to play well in those first two games, probably got to win at least one of them to be able to keep that starting job. And I know that as Todd Muncin comes in, first time NFL head coach, 60 years old, he knows this is his shot. The reason he named Deshaun Watson the starter in week one had solely to do with what's the quarterback in my building that can operate and run my offense and give our team the best chance to win in week one. And that's what he was given when he was announced as the head coach without any oversight or thought from outside of the building or even some of the upper management people within Cleveland. They give him the right to be able to do that.
But certainly, As they're looking on the schedule and knowing what the fan reaction has been to Deshaun Watson, he needs to play well in those first two games. Like I mentioned, probably win at least one of those two to be able to continue to be the starter when he comes home to Cleveland. Because you can imagine, Rich, if you go 0-2 and don't play well in those two games, and then they roll him out as a starter in week three, it's not going to be a very pretty picture in Cleveland. And I think everybody in Cleveland, part of the reason there's been frustration after naming Deshaun Watson the starter, outside of all the things that they've dealt with and outside of him playing very poorly against the Bills, is that, hey, we want to be able to see who this guy is, this Shadur Sanders, who we still believe could be the quarterback of the future. He's shown great progress.
He's done a lot of really, really good things so far since he's got here in Cleveland. And we want to see what his potential is. Where's that ceiling? Can he become and grow into that role of a starting quarterback? Because they know that there's a huge decision at the end of the season with two first-round draft choices of who is going to be that quarterback.
Is it somebody that's in the Building that's been playing for us this year, or we're going to need to go out and draft somebody. And so they really want to be able to get a good look at Shadur Sanders to know exactly who he is and how he fits, if he fits into the future of this franchise. Hey, man, you know, I was talking about this yesterday, Joe Thomas, that, you know, the way that Shador got born into this situation. And you know, I'm not talking about life. But the way that he was born into life with the last name Sanders and the way that he was born into the league together.
Has given, you know, um, Shador a bad rap. And he has done nothing. But be a professional. And everything that everybody said, oh, this kid's gonna have a reality show mentality and he's gonna act entitled and he's not gonna be a professional. He's not gonna work hard.
He's not gonna say the right things. For the most part, he has been pitch perfect, including taking this apparently in stride. What have you seen from him yourself when you've been around? Joe.
Well, I think the perfect anecdote is when people were trying to divide him and Deshaun, talking about the job that Deshaun did in the game over the weekend. Like, Shadur is the first guy that defends their relationship: how, yes, it's a competition, but he loves Deshaun and wants him to do the best that he can possibly do. And if Shadur wins the competition, he wants to win it on his own merit. And I think he's done a great job, especially in the media, not allowing people to put a wedge between him and Deshaun and also being a great teammate. You know, after Deshaun was named the starter, like Shadur took it in stride and he always puts it back to himself about, hey, how do I get better?
How do I earn that starting spot? How do I keep this starting spot?
So I think from that standpoint, he's been an awesome teammate. He's been wonderful as far as working with the media and making sure that they don't divide anybody on that roster, even when things happen like it did over the weekend with Deshaun playing in the second. And a half, not playing well, and then calling out the fan base for booing him and making it personal in that regard. Yeah, and especially since Shador is more of an age peer of the studs on this roster, and that's kind of what's being lost amongst us: how many good young football players there are. And there's Jared Verse with a massive chip.
on his shoulder. To roll downhill. And another person who I've really dug getting to see and how he's handled is. Kind of like Todd Muncin, the way that he's handling everything, and what have you seen from him? Firsthand, Joe.
I think he's earned a lot of equity with the Browns fan base because he tells it how it is. He's like Parcels in that way, isn't he, Joe? Like, he sounds like Bill sometimes. He really does. He does.
And that's why I think when he named Deshaun the starter on Monday, it wasn't as much of a surprise maybe to me and to the people who've gotten to know Todd Muncin because he is not about anything except for winning and accountability and what do we need to do now to be better. And he looked at week one and said, hey, I think this quarterback gives me the best chance to win. I don't care about all that other noise because I am only about one thing and I don't care about anybody else. And I think it's been great. You know, a lot of coaching styles can have great success in this league.
But I think right now with this Browns fan base, they are loving Todd Munkin because he tells you exactly how it is. And from a player's standpoint, that was the type of coach that I wanted. Like, I want to know what I need to do on that field to earn the respect of my coaches and teammates to get my job done and to keep my job. And Todd tells you exactly how it is. Is and he doesn't parse any words whatsoever.
We'll see what happens, right? Um. Because Boston, Concepcion, Uh Judkins. Fannin, you know, those are some really good young players. Judy, we can see what happens now.
You just gotta get that quarterback right, man. Clearly, I don't need to tell you that. You've seen that jersey with 90 names on the back of it, and you did miss a snap.
So. Uh it it's it's wild. That's the only way I could put it, Joe. You know? Just a wild scene.
It's wild, always something to talk about in Cleveland, Rich.
So, what can people do in time for Labor Day through your Hall of Fame farms, Joe? Yeah, we put together an awesome bundle. It's the easy button for people as they're getting ready for their Labor Day parties. Wanted to make sure you got some beautiful charcuterie.
So, we got our Hall of Fame cheddar worst, we've got the hot dogs, we got our Hall of Fame summer sausage, we got the Hall of Fame beef sticks, and we put that together with a package that's got some amazing steaks and burgers, basically everything you need on the beef side to be able to get together with 15 or so of your buddies and have an amazing Labor Day weekend, getting ready for the start of the NFL season and enjoying the start of the college football season. You know, we just want to make it easy on the people out there.
So, if you go to Hall of FameFarms.com, check out our amazing Labor Day bundle and all of our other incredible steaks, including the ones that me and Rich got to enjoy at the Golden Jacket dinner. The Hall of Fame dinner. You and I have always enjoyed. I've always enjoyed my time with you, Joe. I got to show this picture because it's one of my favorites from Munich.
There you are. You just showed up in the later hosen, the whole bit, man. And you just, you, you were all about it. Darren Munich. That's a real deal right there.
After living in Munich for a year, I wore that to many festivals. It was great. We got to get you in one this year, maybe, if you come out to Germany. You know what? I don't know if that's the look I can pull off.
Oh, come on. Joe.
Handsome man like you. I don't know. It doesn't look like there's a lot of room in there. You know what I mean? Like the later, like the bottom part.
Doesn't look like there's much room. You know what I mean? You don't need much room. I wouldn't worry about that. You're just fine.
Thank you. I'll take that as the compliment, I think it is. I walked into it. Great to see you, Joe. It was great to see you.
Thanks for serving that awesome dinner to everybody at the Jacket dinner. And I appreciate your honesty and your two cents here, as always. You be well. Thanks for having me on. Hall of Fame Farms.
Go check it out. You know, again, that's in the headlines now about getting some real quality beef and knowing where the heck it's coming from. And you know where it's coming from with Joe.
So go check it out right there. It's awesome. I can absolutely. I've ordered before. A test.
Hey.
Some of the snack sticks, the beef jerky. Man, great. How about that? It's probable. Because you were saying, no way if they go 0-2, they're starting Deshaun Watson and Cameron.
And what I say, it's not the National Feelings League, National Football League. You got to suck it up and do it. And he's like, that's probable that he's not starting if it's a bad 0-2 start. And then we'll see. Monkin has got the fans on his side because they kind of.
I shouldn't say that. Brown's fans may push back. He would attest, though. He knows.
Okay. That Browns fans like the way that he tells it like it is. And if he's if it looks that bad, and they're like, he still gives us the best chance to win, and Shador's still sitting there. But Jacksonville, by the way. That's apparently looking really good in these joint practices, like they are laying it on some people.
Fun. Can't wait for this season to start. My word. 844-204-Rich. Number two.
Dial. We're going to take a break here on the Rich Eisen Show. Will Forte in studio hour three. Mm. Rich Eisen here with some advice.
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So, get down to your local Hyundai dealer and get away with a deal you'll love during the Hyundai Getaway Sales event. Visit hyundaiusa.com. For details 844204 Rich. We'll take your phone calls in a moment. I was going to do this yesterday, but so much went down, and with the whole Watson-Shadour decision.
Kind of threw us off. I've got my four-down season preview on the San Francisco 49ers. Hit it, please. Four downs with Rich. Here we go.
Why did you suck me? All right, here we go. My season preview, the San Francisco 49ers. It's kind of straightforward. First down, everybody.
Are all these summer injuries an annoyance or another sign of things to come? What is going on? You know, load management apparently for Christian McCaffrey, which is great. That's great news. Just get them ready for week one.
Let's get Nick Bosa back, ready for week one. Let's get Kittle back on the field, ready for week one. I mean,. Mike Evans, let's get him ready for week one. He hasn't been doing much.
Yeah. I wouldn't want to have him out there anyway.
Sometimes what you hear is... You hear his thighs wrap, this wrap, the other thing, quad. Whatever. I don't know. What is it?
What's going on, man? Obviously, Ricky Pearsall's done for the year, but everything else seems to just be. A SUMMER Annoyance. Mm-hmm.
Let's hope that's the case. Second down. Second down. The wide receivers room back. To the future, the football DeLorean.
Let's go back to Debo Samuel because Ricky Pearsall goes down. Mike Evans is deep into his Hall of Fame career. Because that's who he is. Can he get another ring in San Francisco? What will happen with him?
Dejaun Stribling, who is the only old miss player. um from that fiesta bowl who hasn't gone back to college I can't believe that's too soon. But let's see what this kid. I mean. Talk about being born into the league with a bunch of people who...
perhaps thought You know, that your team should have gotten somebody else in the first round rather than trading out again the second round. But if this kid is as good as everybody believes. then let's roll and let's see what he can do. You know, then you look at the rest of their wide receiver room and you're wondering who is going to be there to step up. They've got some talented youngsters that can make a name for themselves.
We'll see. Third down. Third down. What will Raheem Morris's defense look like? 49ers had the DFL last year in Sachs.
Isn't that amazing? Wow. And so here he comes highly. Touted and for good reason. Yeah, great DC.
And everyone loves to play for him, and everyone is already loving to play for him in San Francisco. Let's get everyone healthy. Let's see what it looks like. Can they have that opportunistic defense and takeaway machine from previous years? It's unreal.
When you look at the number of sacks, I believe Chris if you don't mind He was 20. Nuts. I think they had as many sacks. Miles Garrett had more sacks individually than the 49ers that. Am I wrong about that?
I have to repeat myself. But Look at This 49ers defense, let's get more takeaways. And they almost won the friggin' NFC regular season last year. Yeah, they had 20. Denver led the league with 68.
There you go. It's got more sex. At least. And it would be helped to stay healthy. Let's get to Fred Warner.
By the way. Oh. Protect that man. Yeah. They're a different team, obviously, with those guys.
Fourth down, please. Fourth down. And so that's the ultimate question here because you're not questioning the coaching. And you're not questioning the quarterback anymore, I don't think. And you're not questioning very much about this team.
You're not questioning the fan base. Um was last year a mirage? Or is this team a Super Bowl contender again? And the mirage is only because They had an much easier schedule than they have now.
Okay. The 49ers Last year. Snuck up on people because everyone thought it's a rebuilding year, this, that, and the other thing. And they almost won the whole. Conference.
Regular season. And then, you know. Make it to the divisional playoff round. End of the day. Can they do that again?
Are they that good? Are they that deep? Can they stay that healthy? That's my four downs. on the San Francisco 49ers.
I feel you. I like Brock Purdy this year. You do? Why? Yeah, I mean, I think I.
You haven't been a big Brock Purdy fan. Yeah, but last year I was. I've come around on him. I think he's in the top half of the league. I think he's tough and gritty.
I mean, he battled through injuries last year. You know, losing George Kittle in the first game of the season, you know, obviously kind of threw everything off. And now Kittle's ramping back up. There's a chance he plays week one. And, you know, you throw Mike Evans in there, and what we've seen from stribbling, this is an offense that's going to score points, you know, provided Christian McCaffrey isn't battling tight nets and load management.
I like their offense. It all comes down to the defense. The 49ers were the NFC version of the Patriots last year. And by that, I mean. Everyone wondering if their schedule was the real thing.
Yeah, propping them up. Yeah, I get it. Last place schedule. for the 49ers last year. This one?
Not so much. But it's a third place schedule. Yeah, no. You know? So I know.
So it just like you know, uh schedule Plus, when you have the two best teams in the conference in your division, I got you. I got you. And, you know, obviously NFC West, NFC East. And uh AFC West. You know, let's be four and three at the bye week, maybe five and two, and I think they're they're in good shape.
Yeah, and three home games right after the trip to um To Australia. Get off on a good start. Uh 'cause you got that visit to Seattle in week five. That's our 49ers season preview right here. Will Forte, an hour number three, in your calls.
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. In ESPN's wild world of college football, every Saturday begins with a ritual. And then, the migration turns to mayhem. Predators hunt, territories are defended, rivals clash.
In this wild world, legends are unleashed on Saturdays. No one brings you closer to the wild than ESPN. College football on ESPN kicks off August 28th. Witness the wild on ABC, ESPN, and the ESPN app. Mm-hmm.
