It's Saturday. The tailgate crew is on the way. You've got the cooler iced, comfortable seating, and oof. Where's the charcoal for the grill? No worries.
That's when express delivery from the Home Depot can help. Order in the app or online. Get what you need delivered fast and track it along the way so you can get set up in time for kickoff. Get what you need even faster with express delivery from the Home Depot. Subject to availability, restrictions and fees apply.
Hey, I've got some game time tips to share with Frigidaire. When you're hosting during football season, you've got to be ready for every kind of craving.
Somebody wants fresh pizza.
Somebody wants crispy wings.
Somebody's asking if there's sliders. That's when you need more than one call on the playbook. Frigidaire offers ranges and wall ovens with over 15 cooking modes so you can tackle hosting with confidence. There's stone baked pizza for restaurant quality pizza in as little as two minutes. Air fry mode for crispy favorites and air sous vide for juicy tender sliders.
Plus there's slow cook, no preheat, and more. Stone baked pizza and air fry both built right in your oven. That's the game time MVP combo.
So when you're hosting before kickoff, Frigidaire helps you cover every craving available at the Home Depot, how doers get more done. Only when using stone-baked pizza mode, cook time requires preheat and reheat and may vary based on ingredients. 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. Watch us weekdays on Disney Plus from noon to 3 Eastern. Miss the show. We've got a podcast, so you can listen anytime.
But here's the best part. Our YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com slash rich Eisen Show and you'll never miss a moment.
Now, on with the show. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Our long national nightmare is over. From the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Where is AAW?
I know the world was saying all types of different things that, you know, I kind of knew for two weeks. Today's guests, Jaguars head coach Liam Cohen. Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman. Rams general manager Les Need. And now, it's Rich Eisen.
All right, everybody. Welcome to this edition of The Rich Eisen Show. Back in the chair here on Disney Plus, the ESPN app, ESPN Radio, SiriusXM Channel 83. Thrilled to be with you here. Great thanks to Bobby Bones for holding down the fort on Thursday and Friday and having some fun shows and fun stuff to talk about.
844-204-Rich is the number to dial here. We've got Marcus Freeman joining us on this program from Notre Dame football. Mike Del Tufo is excited about that because he's been a, I mean, for as long as he's been a frontrunner for a bunch of teams. I think you've been frontrunning for Notre Dame the longest. 77.
There you go. Oh, 50. There you go. You're a dick. 49 years.
Do I need to tell you to talk into your microphone since you're the rich? I can't believe I'm telling the audio guy to talk into his microphone. Of all people. 49 years. 49 years.
49 years. Well done. At any rate, Marcus Freeman's on this program. Good stuff. Chris Brockman's laughing already.
I got Liam Cohen on this show. You guys. Liam Cohen's on this program. I am. And you know what I'm You know, last time I spoke with him before season.
I'm like, can we get Travis Hunter offensive and defensive rookie of the year? And he's like, damn straight, we can. Obviously, injuries popped in at the wrong time. Right. But I uh you know, this conversation that oh, he's only gonna play one side of the football.
I need to speak to Liam Cohn about this.
So we got that going on. Oh, yeah. We've got Les Need, General Manager of the Los Angeles Rams, joining. It's good to see you, Chris. Boom, good to see you, Rich.
All right. As Mike Del Tufo has been established. Hello, TJ Jefferson. Candle lit over there? It's lit.
Welcome back. Did that sound like begrudging? It was no. I was about to give you like a compliment. Oh, I'm sorry.
You really have a weird way of looking at stuff. I was going to say, thank you so much for entrusting Bobby Bones, myself, and Mike Del Tufo. Yeah, keeping your shit. I was like, do you have a championship ring on your finger?
Well, you know, kind of. What is that? Hello.
Well, this week is NCW's 100th episode.
So I was going to buy myself something nice. Are we announcing who's on it? Oh, we did last week.
Okay. Do it again. Go ahead. This week, Wednesday, the man, Becky Lynch, in studio to help celebrate No Contest Wrestling's 100th episode. That's awesome.
So bought myself a ring. You did? You know?
Okay. Does it open up? Like everyone else? I'm not one of those Dr. Evil.
I can't slip Mickey into a drink or nothing. Whoa. Becky Lynch is on, but is O'Shea going to be here? Oh, yeah. O'Shea's on his way now.
What do you mean? He's coming now. He's been on Zoom though. Oh, right. Last week we were waiting for O'Shea to come in the state house.
Turns out he was in Orlando. Oh.
So, yeah. Good to know. Anyway, good to see you, sir. Good to see you.
So, we've been asking this question since late July. Oh, my God. Oh, yes. Everybody around here knows we've been asking around these parts this very question. And we finally.
Finally, Have an answer. Is he back yet? Where is AA round right now?
Well Well, guess what? Is he back yet? We can remove. The yet. Here, Coach.
Yes, he's back. Yeah. Wait a minute. Does McCaffrey look more. Is he a little sadder?
Is he sadder? And is they have a f like Sam Donnell looking more frightened? That would make sense. I'm happy. I'm back.
Brockman and I are like. Oh, I know. Hey, the resale value on your tickets. Hey, you're not going. You're not going to Dallas with me.
Okay. Man, this say this guy. He's back. Whoop. Again, we asked is he back yet?
Because we assumed He's coming back. Right. He's going to start kicking tires. You know. Let's just put it this way.
Ten-time Pro Bowlers. Don't just uh you know Show up. Unless you're the Los Angeles Rems. And it's a one-year, twenty million dollar deal. Yep.
The memes were flying. Up to thirty, right? They were flying all over the place. You know?
His wife. With an outstanding post. Yeah. Just an outstanding post. I let him out of the house, y'all.
Just Erica Donald. Erica. The numbers being floated around, she was like, oh, what? Like 20 mil. Guess what?
As you'll hear shortly, if she's not on board. 99's not coming. 99 would have one problem, and that's enough.
Okay, was he magic, Rich? I'm not going to go. You guys all got that problem. He would have been magic. He would have been full magic.
I ain't going to be there. I ain't going to be there. Okay. The Rams put out, you know, quarterbacks scramble instead of rejoicing. How about the letter apparently he sent to Roger Goodell?
I don't know if this is real or not. It's on Rams Stationery via electronic delivery. That is clear. To Commissioner Goodell in the league office in New York City. Dear Commissioner Goodell, I'm back with a fantastic.
Signature? I'll be back. That's it.
So we finally got the answer. That's great. And, you know, August 30th. I think we first asked him July 31st, right? We did.
A full month of this. Yeah, a full month. We got a lot of legs out of it. Love it. Is he back yet?
Well, he's now back. And he was asked about his thought process. Just having conversations with Sean obviously, um Seeing what was being done with this team. um pieces that was getting brought here Okay, it's a complete team and then you know you see other moves they make and it's like Okay, I wish I was still out there playing right about now. You have conversations and then kind of.
Um start bringing it to fruition, right? And, you know, starting to put myself in a position to train and get my body to a certain point where I felt good and see how I move and see if I still can, you know, do certain things and felt pretty good, man. And Um You know, through my training, probably about 13-14 weeks of just non-stop grinding and get to where we're at right now.
So, um, You know? Aaron back playing football, I guess, right? Let's go. For the radio audience. Let's go.
For the radio audience, let me just describe to you. What uh the Disney Plus and the ESPN app audience just saw. They saw an old man who was way out of shape. Wait, hold on a minute. Wrinkles.
Out of shape. Gray hairs. No, wait, I'm being told he looks exactly the same. Fear gut. When did he know?
We want to know. When did you know, Aaron Donald? What did you know? We knew this decision about two weeks. Um you know I know the world was Saying all types of different things that nobody knew what was going on.
But, you know, I kind of knew for two weeks having, but then I talked to Sean every single week. Damn near every day.
So we kept we stayed in contact. I'd give them all my updates, how I was feeling, how things was going.
So I know he got a no, he was asking all the questions in camp every damn day, so I felt bad for him at that point, but. I was doing everything I needed to do to get myself a peace of mind and see if I can do it.
So it wasn't no rushing. Just wanted to take my time and make the right decision, right? Because once you choose to come back, you're all the way back in. Can't be halfway in, gotta be all the way in it.
So I had to get to that point where I felt like. I will feel like I'm 100% committed to playing football again, you know, because the last two years have been amazing, right? Building things that I've been building, working on what I've been working on, kind of working from home, and jumping back in the fire, playing football again.
So, really had to sit back, think about it, not just from the physical aspect, from the mental aspect as well. Everything just played out how it played out and we're here now. Yeah. Well Let me just speak for Sean McVave, who we're going to hear from in a second. Aaron Donald said he felt bad for him answering all the questions being asked of him about Aaron Donald.
I'll just say this, Aaron. That is a very small price to pay. Very small price. Plus. I mean, the number of times he stood up there with his perfect hair and those shades, you know, like he's Jim Friggin Rockford.
You don't buy those shades at the gas station. No. No. So he returned with the hair and shades, now with Aaron Donald in the fold. And um Headline He's pumped.
Okay. Good to be able to get Aaron back into the mix. He and I, obviously, you guys know how close we are, and there's been a lot of dialogue that we've had. Excited to be able to just take it a day at a time. I'm not going to talk about any sort of plans.
It's going to be a day at a time for us. What does that mean for Australia? You know, the first step was: all right, if you're coming back, let's do that. Let's get you out on the practice field. Let's get you acclimated to your teammates, to your coaches.
And then we'll see what that ramp-up period looks like, whether or not he's available or whether or not we think it's best to be able to play him in Australia. And I think the best way to do it is take it one day at a time, but we're obviously excited to be able to have him back. He's excited. He's just yeah, we're just excited to have him back. All right, we're going to get there in a second.
We have a couple more sound bites to unpack here. A great question being asked about how Miles Garrett played into all of this.
Okay. I think it's obvious. That was a huge part. I think that the D-line group alone, you talk about the interior guys, and then you got B-Y, and then you got you burned guys like Miles Garrett, you know, out here, you're right. I already thought.
It was a stack D-line with verse. Obviously, things transpired and happened, and then you bring a guy like Miles Geert, a generational talent, and it's like. Huh. That can be fun, right? And you know, obviously, what they did on the back end were bringing, you know, certain pieces they need in the at the secondary, man.
I think this is a complete team with me here or without me here.
So, for me to even have the opportunity to be a part of this, be with this team, I take nothing for granted. It's a blessing to be, you know, retired from the game for two years and had an opportunity to come back and be a part of something special. You know, nothing's promised, nothing's guaranteed, but I'm willing to try to, you know. get to the ultimate goal what it is day by day, week by week, and just stack them days. Stacking days.
Stack and defensive players of the year awards as well. There's one person though. That um One person. that needed to be convinced. For him to come back.
And that's his wife. Yeah. Yeah, well, it was a lot of conversations. I think my wife played a huge part of this, me making this decision, period, because if the wife wasn't happy, it wasn't going to get done. And my wife was.
You know, on board. You know, if she said, if you want to do this, she's with me 100%. And there were days when I was like, I don't know. She was like, Aaron. She talked to me enough to be like, You want to do this, don't make no decisions faster than what you need to make a decision.
Take your time. And you know, she played a huge part of me figuring this out through this because it really wasn't an easy decision. It took a lot of, you know. Hard work, a lot of long conversations with a lot of different people, but felt good enough to make the decision to come back and do this. Yeah.
I let him out of the house, y'all. Chris knows it now. I know it for 23 years. Mike used to know it. You did know it the hard way as well.
Once upon a time, somebody threw an Emmy at you because she was pissed at you. TJ, you know it because you've been around a bunch of guys who have been married. Happy wife, happy life. True. And Aaron Donnell has a happy wife.
Yeah. And now it's time for us to talk about this. All of the month-long anticipation and fun with the. Is he back yet? He said for two weeks he's known that he was back.
Exactly. And, you know, a lot of speculation. Why hasn't it happened yet? Who cares? In the same way that you send a bunch of draft choices for somebody and everybody's the fan base is flipping out, you gave up too much for that person.
Oh wait, there's a trophy in the case. Nobody remembers the draft capital given up for somebody for whom it's worth it. Ever.
So all this wait is now over.
Now it's time to actually freaking talk about this. With two guys. that weren't on the team last year. We're not on the team last year. Two guys.
have been added. Guy on the left and Garrett, two defensive players of the year, including last year's, when he had 20 gazillion sacks. Seven time Pro Bowler. Guy on the right, 10-time Pro Bowler, three defensive players there. They added five DPOI, including the reigning one, and.
People with enough trips to Hawaii, you know. Mm-hmm. They're like the Don Hoes of National Football League. I'm making an old school reference, but let me go even older. Kiddos, there used to be something called the Fearsome Foresome here in Los Angeles for the Rams.
Fearsome forsome.
Okay. Rosie Greer was one. Lamar Lundy was another, but there was a defensive tackle, and there was a guy that would. who actually Essentially created the word sack.
Okay, sacks have been a stat since 1982, but the guy who created the word sack, like you're taking quarterback and you are sacking him. Put them in a bag.
Okay. Okay. That guy Deacon Jones. Who also created the head slap to the point where a bunch of other players. Offensive lineman would take the Screws and have them facing outward rather than in on their helmet.
They would remove the screws and have them facing out so anytime. A head slap would come. It would actually pierce the hand of Deacon Jones. Deacon And Merlin Olson. Miles Garrett.
Aaron Donald. 21st century version of it. Here we go. Here we go. And when we talk about the pieces on the back end, they added two guys.
and Trent McDuffie and Jalen Watson on the back end.
So now The expectations are there. The Super Bowl's in Los Angeles. The guy who's helping put it all together. In less need, an hour three. You wouldn't talk about just saying to hell with it.
Carpe diem Okay. And then via Condios. I think I went Latin and Spanish on you there, right? I am hooked on phonics right now. Listen.
This is the ultimate bet at the center of the table. It's a one-year deal for Donald. Who the hell knows if this is a gateway to something else? That's for another day. But for the twenty twenty six season, Somebody has said Screw it.
It's time. And it's not just any. body that they're laying their wagers on. These are very smart pets. To say the least.
And they're all motivated, they're all in their prime, with the exception of Donald, who can come back. After two years on the couch and being his prime, because he's that. Much of an Avenger superhero. And then You got a quarterback who's obviously pushing 40, but he's the reigning MVP. They have the reigning MVP.
I don't know the last time somebody had the reigning MVP and the reigning defensive player of the year on the same team. I can't believe I haven't looked that one up yet. I don't think it's ever happened. And everything that I have just said, this is what's so awesome.
Okay. About this. Everything that I have just said. is not only fodder for making the Rams must-see television. but it's also going to piss the hell.
Out of everybody else around the National Football League, fan bases, locker rooms, coaching staffs, because they're going to be sick of this. conversation. They already are. It was coming. The defending Super Bowl champion, Seattle Seahawks.
What do you think? They're just going to close up shop. The 49ers are the first team to face the Rams in Australia. They're just going to close up shop. Your Cowboys, who look as stacked as they've ever been.
Since their championship days, and I mean it. Like this is the real thing. They're just going to close up shop. The Philadelphia Eagles, they're just going to close up shop. And guess who's on the schedule?
For the Rams. All four of those teams, including two of them twice. Oh, the Kansas City Chiefs. Oh, yeah. They're going to close up shop.
The Buffalo Bills. who might be the AFC favorites with Josh Allen. They're going to close up shop. The Chargers across the street. Our neighbors across the street.
I got Jim Harbaugh on Tuesday's show. Oh, yeah. Herbert and all those guys feeling good. Mike McDaniel. His Capri pants, his lid, his shades.
These shades.
Okay, McVay and McDaniel could have a lid and shades off.
Okay. They're going to close up shop, are they? Oh yeah, there's Baker. In week 17, that's a guy who waves white flags or he plants them. You see where I'm going with this?
The Broncos, week three, Sean Payton. Oh, yeah, his speech to the Broncos. And that offensive line, which may be the best in the business. Statistically correct. Oh yeah.
You don't think he's going to be leading up to that Sunday nighter? On ENBC, Telling his Broncos offensive, like he's going to walk on their offensive line group. Meeting room and go, yeah, guys, you got no shot this week. That's what I'm hearing. What do you think?
What do you think? Oh baby, the competition. The nationally televised games, the Packers, the day before. Thanksgiving on a Wednesday night, a game in Australia. Sunday nights, Thursday nights, Monday nights, come on.
Hundred day, Tuesday, whatever. What? Exactly. It's like the Godfathers. And the question is: is the car going to blow up?
Spoiler alert. I'm so sorry. Apollonium. RIP. Yeah.
Pour one out. Or raise a glass. That's what this national football is. You want to pour one out? Because the Rams are coming to town, and everybody in the media says they're invincible.
Well, you want to raise a glass? Can't wait. Aaron Donald did it. Miles Garrett. Lit the pilot light.
Boom! It's gonna happen. Last week, you guys were a little skeptical as if it was gonna happen or not, and I was like, definitely gonna happen.
Well, apparently he's been there for two weeks. Already saying I'm there. But whatever. Pouring one out. Pour one out for that segment because that got us through a very hot month of life.
Oh, yeah. Is he back yet? Is he back yet? He's out. Is he back yet?
Yeah, pour one out. What a segment.
Now, there he's coach. He's back. He's back. All right. We got a lot to talk about on this program.
844-204 Rich is the number dial. We're having a conversation with you throughout. Very excited to have Les Need on this program coming up later on. Did you know every thirty six minutes A child in the United States is diagnosed with cancer. Awful.
That means some of the bravest warriors you'll ever meet aren't professional athletes or superheroes. They're the kids in this fight. That's why I'm proud to support Hyundai Hope on Wheels. For the past 28 years, with support from Hyundai, their dealers in every new Hyundai sold, Hope on Wheels has contributed over $300 million to childhood cancer research, helping save more than 40,000 kids. Please join our fight right now.
At Hyundai Warriors, Dot com We take a break. Your phone calls on the other side. Oh, there's a, there's a, I got a Broncos four downs. There was a horrible. horrible breach of baseball etiquette this weekend that just, uh Got some people crying.
Can't wait to talk about that one. Chris Brockman's back from his fantasy football draft. Yes, sir. He's got a team. We got our draft to the Rich Eisen Show draft tonight.
Tonight.
So much to talk about with you. 844-204-Rich. Number to dial. He is back. Where is AA-ron right now?
Here, Coach. Oh.
The greats don't shy away from change. They attack it head on, with confidence, preparation, and a clear strategy. KPMG LLP and their transformation professionals work with organizations across industries using their advanced AI to help them move faster, work smarter, and adapt with purpose. Because in today's business environment, winning teams don't react to change, they shape it. Learn more at visit.kpmg.us/slash velocity.
Rich Eisen here. Running a small business means every hire matters. A bad hire costs time and money, but the right one helps your business grow. The challenge? Finding that person without sorting through resumes.
That's where LinkedIn Hiring Pro comes in. It screens candidates so you can focus on conversations with qualified talent. With Hiring Pro, you can hire with confidence and build the team you need. Join the 2.7 million small businesses using LinkedIn to hire. Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com/slash Eisen.
Terms and conditions apply. It's Saturday, kickoff's getting close, and your weekend project just hit a wall. You're short on materials, or you need one more tool for the job. Turns out that quick fix needs a quick assist. That's the perfect time to call an Audible with Express Delivery from the Home Depot.
Order in the app or online. Get what you need delivered fast and track updates along the way so you can finish your project in time for the first snap. Get what you need even faster with Express Delivery from the Home Depot. Subject to availability, restrictions, and fees apply. Bump.
The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Here on the Rich Eisen Show, here on our radio, and also our. Disney Plus and ESPN the app feed.
So, um rosters were Created 53 men rosters. The cut day is just a, it's not a fun day. And again, less needs going to be on this program in hour three. Especially now that it's kind of all at once. It used to have moments of like, get it to 90, get it to 75.
Right. It used to be. A slow march.
Now it's just like 30 guys. All at once. I know, and then everybody's trying to figure out where they can go on practice squads and. Continue on with a career or wind up playing for LSU. It depends now.
You know how it goes. Wayne Kiffin's on the case. Serious. Yeah. Yeah.
How the NFL is now a feeder system for college football. Who knew? But um one name wound up on a roster. And I could not be more excited to see Odell Beckham Jr. as a New York football giant again.
Think about it, man. This guy and how he came in. A house of fire. From LSU. Remember, he was hurt to start his rookie season.
Mm-hmm. And then he just went nuts. Nuts. He took over the town. And he took over the team, and he was as dynamic.
a young football player that the City of New York and the New York, New Jersey metropolitan area has seen. And now he's back. Years later, And he earned this spot. John Harbaugh is all about the team and he is all about The franchise He is not about selling number three jerseys. That's not what he's about.
Calvin Austin went down. as well for the season. The New York Giants need dynamic pass catchers. They don't need. reclamation projects Just for the sake of Nostalgia.
He earned it, man. This guy earned a roster spot. And we talked about it on Overreaction Monday. Chris Brockman and I recorded. The last Pre-season edition.
Because the next time we record Overreaction Monday, it will be for our annual Labor Day drop season preview. Mortimer, we're back. We are. We are. Because next time you listen to Over Reaction Monday, you watch it on our YouTube channel, it's two days before the beginning of the season.
Oh, crazy. Maybe it's football week next week. And the Giants with Odell Beckham Jr. Are going to start the season. On Sunday night football, In MetLife Against the Dallas Cowboys on NBC.
And I'm wondering, does this bring back? Any kind of memories? Anybody? Memories of the Cowboys winning the game. I get it.
I know it. I know where you're going to go with this one. I don't mean to cut you off. I apologize. But I know you have every right to say.
You know, scoreboard. It was a nice little play, I guess. Dude, it was a nice little play. Good. If I'm John Harbaugh, I have this play.
in my playbook. You probably already do. But I'm running it. The minute. The Giants are in sniffing vicinity of midfield.
I'm going to, I'm saving it for the proper end zone in the proper corner. And I'm telling Jackson Dart. All week long. Uh Watch this YouTube video. Kid.
How old was Jackson Dart when this play hit? Oh my gosh.
So, what the hell? Did you want to look that one up?
So what season was that, thirteen or twelve? Let's see. Look it up. Because I'm looking it up to I guess I should have figured this out.
So his catch was 2014. Yeah, that's his rookie season. Yeah, I'm just looking up. His first season with the Giants.
So Dart would have been nine. When you were a nine-year-old, Jackson. Eli Manning, once upon a time, threw a ball in the air, and Odell snagged it with one hand, and Al Michaels. And Chris Collinsworth lost their minds on NBC. Where's he from?
And I'm doing it again. I'm doing it again. And you know what I'm gonna do? I'm inviting Eli. I'm inviting Eli out.
To be captain. Go figure that. They made him a captain, honorary captain. Wow. You know?
That's a lot. I'm coming out there with Jackson Dart. Stand out there with Odell. Let's take some pictures. And let's do it again.
Why the hell not? I'm I'm I'm so excited. For Odell. We just started the show about a 35-year-old guy coming off the couch after a two-year absence. And the Giants' first round selection of the 2014 draft is returning as a thirty-three year old man to make the roster of the New York Giants.
And a pretty big season for the Giants, by the way. You know. They go outside the family and they get John Harbaugh. to say to him, redo this around here, remake it. We're still the New York football giants, but In your image, sir.
You have had it. And um It's pretty cool. I mean, you want them to run the same play at the same yard line. Same yard line. Same end zone.
Same end zone. That's a lot just to lose the game by 12. Obviously, for the Giants, the results should be different.
Okay. Yeah. Hey, listen, man. You know how it works with all-time great plays. You forget who wins, who loses.
You know, everybody thought the 86 World Series ended when the ball went through Buckner's legs. It was a game seven after a rainout. Yeah. You had to wait two days to finish that thing. This is true.
You know?
Everybody thinks. Oh, the United States beat uh the Soviets in 1980. That was it. No. Everybody thinks Aaron Donald sacking Joe Burrow was the end of his career.
No, he played two more years ago. Sketch. I'm excited. I'm excited. Let's go to the phone lines.
844-204-RICH, number to Donald. Moe in Nebraska is first in. Let's get him first up here on the program. What's up, Mo? Hey, what up, Rich?
How are you? Your voice again. Welcome back. Good to see you or speak with you. Good to be seen.
What's on your mind? What's on your mind? Either way, it's good. I want to talk about my Broncos.
Okay. Ain't getting no love. They're not getting no respect. I mean, these are I would say Supposedly, the AFC championships, if it wasn't for an ankle. And I think that we would have I think we would have taken it to Seattle.
I don't think Kenneth Walker is going to be running all over this defense. And we're going to prove that Monday night. When we beat the Chiefs.
Okay. I I honestly, man, I I Can't wait for week one. And The Broncos against the Chiefs after that Giants Cowboys game I've just been sort of previewing. And uh after the Wednesday opener Seattle against New England, and now Aaron Donald. debuting for The Rams for a second time with Miles Garrett making his debut with Trent McDuffie.
In Australia against the 49ers, leading to a full-on Sunday slate. Yeah. It's going to be awesome. And I don't know. I mean, Denver, Denver gets overlooked.
in many ways Because the the parts Don't stand out. in anybody's first round of a fantasy draft But the sum of their parts are pretty damn great. with a coach that can dial it up. And that's part of my four downs. And by the way, I think it's pretty cool.
The Broncos country does bleed into Nebraska, does it not, Mo? Right. Oh, it does. It definitely does. I mean, half of its chiefs fans, the further east you go, of course.
But yeah, there's definitely a good representation of. Bronco fans out here. And I'm telling you with Pat Sertan back there, you got Hufunga. I mean, you got Allen on the line, Singleton. I mean, that defense is for real.
And I brought everybody back. Everybody's looking healthy. Jalen Waddle's going to open up. I mean, It's going to be awesome. I mean, nobody gives Bo Bo's number one out of he's better than Caleb.
I mean, as far as touchdown goes, as far as wins goes, as far as just even leading a team. I b I you know, Caleb did I mean, he balled out at towards the end, but I don't think that He's better than Bo. I think both did the same path on the knee, almost with the knee almost touching down last year. I mean, he's done a lot of the same things, but he does it Consistently. You know, if it wasn't for an ankle, I'm telling you, we whoop New England and then we go in there and give Seattle definitely a run for their money.
Thanks, Bo. Appreciate it. That's Mo and Nebraska here on the program. No believe. Do you believe that?
That they whoop New England? No, no, no, no. No, no. Let's just say They do get past New England. Better Super Bowl?
They would have had a better competition. No. 100%. TJ tiebreaker. Couldn't have had a worse.
Super Bowl. Yeah. I don't know, man. I'm kind of with the Broncos the winner of the division, and I do believe that had he not broken his ankle, they would have beaten. New England, so The weather still would have happened.
Yeah. And you'd have to figure, though, that Knicks would have played better. Then stitt him. Yeah, stit him. I mean, you have to figure that out.
Right. I don't have to suppose anything. I know that, but I'm asking you because you're the one with the actual emotional tie to it. I do believe Denver would have won that football game if Knicks was healthy, and I think they would have had a better Super Bowl. I think Drake May was hurt in that Super Bowl, and they didn't let it on.
He didn't look himself at all. He didn't. He didn't really I mean, again, I watched that back 'cause it was on NFL Network before one of the preseason weekend week nights that I worked there a couple of weeks ago. I watched that game back. He missed wide open guys, that final interception that killed him in the fourth quarter.
Airmailed. He air mailed it. He he wasn't himself. And that's it. That's a.
That's going to be a great opener. I just thought putting Chicago there would have been better. The Super Bowl wasn't like one of those games where you're done. Like, I can't wait to watch these two teams play each other again. It's probably funny if it was not a compelling Super Bowl as much as I.
Pat's perspective, they probably would have had more buzz coming into this season if they had just. Loss to Houston. Meaning And be like, all right, all right, here's a team. On the rise. They won a playoff game, and now they're on the rise.
Like, we would be talking about New England, how we're talking about the Bears right now. Correct. But they kind of, you know, find ways to win and miraculously make the Super Bowl get kind of worked. And now it's like, now they have A.J. Brown.
Now it's like regression, 10 wins. I mean, I got people in my comments saying eight and nine, and you're like, be real. The curse of making the Super Bowl. Yeah. Would CJ Stroud have a contract?
If they had made the AFC ship, if they had beaten Rice. Yeah, pro I mean, probably. I mean, he looked really bad against the Pats, but. Texans, how about this? Let's keep going here.
The offseason point out. Based on the fact that Bo Nicks broke his ankle. The Texans might have made the Super Bowl. Would that have been a better Super Bowl? Against Seattle.
a better Stroud than the one that we've seen. I think no matter who was playing quarterback that day, the Seahawks were going to wreck them. I kind of Feel that way too. Kind of seems like it, right?
So I don't know why you guys think Denver would have put up more of a fight. Like, I just don't.
Well, I think Denver's defense is better than New England's.
So it would have been a little close. It would have been a low-scoring game. Probably would have been pretty boring. We'd be talking about how boring the Super Bowl was. 13-10.
I don't know.
So we're saying We're saying that if New England had not made The AFC championship game and then kind of got Everyone looks at it as like it was a bye week. Which is a very disrespectful thing to say, but that's the way everyone is looking back at it now. Yeah. There'd be a lot more people higher on New England than there are right now. Yeah.
Because they're like, okay, they won a playoff game, and then they kind of just kind of fizzled out. But look what they added in the offseason. They're much better on paper. And then the if that is if Bo Nix didn't break his ankle. They would have made the Super Bowl.
And if New England had lost to the Texans. And Bo Nix did break his ankle, the Texans would have made the Super Bowl. And that was. Strong's got his new contract. But.
No matter what. Of all the scenarios, the Seahawks still win it. Totally. I think so. Yeah.
As well. Yeah. Hmm. All right. Yeah, on that day?
Fun conversation. Yeah, on that day, Seattle was. Fun chatter. Best team of the week. 844-204 Rich, number to dial.
Liam Cohen of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hell I am. Marcus Freeman of Notre Dame Football. Ooh. And then um Uh I've got I do have a Broncos four downs.
Conversation. And then Les Need, the general manager of the Los Angeles Rams. Love it. That's how we're rolling on this very busy overreaction Monday that's already in the books. Monday.
Taking a quick break to tell you how Saturday's game time can get a little messy. Your crew just came over to watch. Snacks on the table, drinks in hand, and somebody's celebrating like they just won the whole season and beyond. And when that energy gets going, your walls can end up taking the hit. Whether it's a big spill or a noticeable scuff, that's where Bear Ultra interior paint comes in.
It adds an extra durable, stain-blocking finish that helps your walls hold up for the whole season. It also delivers outstanding coverage and hide in fewer coats with easy application and a smooth, even finish that goes on clean from the first pass. Plus, that easy clean finish helps walls stay looking new longer.
So before the next kickoff, give your space game-ready defense and coverage that goes the distance. Bare Ultra, only at the Home Depot. Buy five quarts of Mobile One full synthetic motor oil and receive two times O rewards points. Plus, get a $10 gift card and receive a 2311 die cast after rebate. Terms and conditions apply.
Get details at O'Reilly Auto Parts. The Rich Heisen Show, the podcast. Here on the Rich Eisen Show, Chris Brockman is offending catchers for the Kansas City Rolls during our commercial break. All right, let's take some phone calls. Mike in North Carolina just hopped on.
This one intrigues me. What's up, Mike? How are you, Mike? Born and raised up. Uh oh.
You there? Hello? It's just crazy. As a 49ers fan, I didn't need any other reason to hate the Rams, but. Between being a Ran a Forty Niners fan and a Giants fan, it's been pretty sad.
uh lately and uh Okay. I just I gotta believe that Um Kyle Shanhan. He's already mad because we have to go to Melbourne to play and take away a home game at SoFi.
So I'm like, what are your thoughts on the 49ers and their chances going up against the Rams? Hey, man, I think they're as good as any. I think the 49ers are collectively a terrific team, and we saw it last year. And when healthy, That's the big thing with that, man. I don't know what the hell's going on.
They gotta fig you know, let's make sure McCaffrey's not tight. Let's make sure that, you know, that that Mike Evans, their Hall of Fame wide receiver, that guy is a Hall of Famer, stays, you know, that he's not icing down, and the other guy's not tightening up. And the and you know, and Bose is healthy and And Purdy's Purdy, and Kittle's apparently coming back to practice this week. And let's go, man. I mean, why not?
I know. We got to stay healthy. I mean, we need to. It's got to be this year. We've got to stay healthy.
Come on, but give us a chance. But I just worry that offensive line, I'll tell you, we've been talking about making that better For the last several years, I don't know if it's uh It's going to be up the guys are going to have to step up. But I don't worry about Trent. I think McKibben's actually held his own against Donald when they played. Hey, listen, the Niners are familiar with Donald, and thanks for the call, Mike.
The problem is for the Niners and everyone else that might be familiar with Donald, they're also familiar with Garrett, but they're unfamiliar with them together. You know what I mean? It's kind of stupid. It's kind of stupid. Because if you want to somehow bottle them both up, there's some really terrifically talented players.
Ready? Too hop. into the void. That's it.
That's the problem. Oh, this guy did really well against Donald before. Sure. You know what I mean? Any given Sunday.
You face him twice, you know his tendencies, you know this, you know that. Fine. You face Garrett, if you're a forty niner, once every four years.
Okay. Facing Donald and Garrett together? That's a once-a-week proposition now. For the NFL. And it's going to be awesome and fun to watch.
It's just that simple. Do you take than Rams defense over the Texans defense in fantasy. I kept the Rams defense in my league. Makes sense. Teacher?
I had them in the last-round value, so I just, why not? Texans? Rams?
Okay. Broncos. They're sitting out there, and you got to choose a big one. For me, those are the top three, right? I think everyone will agree with that.
So, yeah. Well, no, nine are the Seahawks.
Well, Seahawks. Seahawks as well. Maybe Eagles. I had the Seahawks defense last year when I won fantasy. They did well.
Certainly when Demarcus Lawrence was returning things for touchdowns. I would say, man, you can't go wrong with any of those four. You have to choose one, though, when you're on the clock. Give me the Texans. I don't blame him.
Do the Texans have an easier schedule than the Rams? Don't say that. The Jaguars are already listening in. Don't say that. The Jaguars are the defending champs of the division.
Hey, everyone schedules hard, I guess. Your fantasy draft just went down in Seattle. We have your team. Let's take a look. Yeah.
'Cause it's fantasy draft time. Yep. All right, so who'd you keep? I kept, I had Luther Burden in the ninth round value, and I had Rams in the last round.
Okay. 15th round. All right. So you chose Caleb as your quarterback, huh? I wanted Caleb this year.
I love a stack. TJ, you know, we love a good wide receiver quarterback stack. And so I'm kind of all in on the Bears offense here, year two, Ben Johnson. 14-team league, right? 14-team league.
Which is why, I mean, Keaton Mitchell is your third running back. We're fully. Yeah, Rico Dowdell, too, yeah.
Well, Rico is going to get some run. I think so. Keaton Mitchell is just total wild card. Wild card? I don't know what's up with him.
Wild card. He's fast as lightning. Yeah, don't know how Mike McDaniel is going to choose to use him in the middle of the day. Haffrey and Judkins. Dowdle and Mitchell, your running backs, your wide receivers.
You got seven of them. Full point PPR? Full point. Pickens, Burden, Addison, Coker. I love Coker.
Cooper was in a draft, by the way, an o he was on the phone. His draft was an hour before Taylor's bot mitzvah. He's walking around with his phone and we're taking pictures. And Xander, who doesn't care about the fantasy football world, but just cares that It's 95 degrees out, and we're taking pictures. And his brother's allowed to be on the phone.
And he's like, the hell's going on? Yeah, I'm doing a drill. Oh, my God. He's like, what do you think of Coker? And I'm like, grab him.
Yeah. I really want to tuck a craft this year. I think he's primed to be a monster. Cyrus Allen is your rookie dart. Dark Throws.
Yeah, Dart Throws. Table Kraft 2. Maybe as good as any right there. What's the name of the team? Do we know?
Is it allowed? Can you say it? No, just the Bandits.
Okay. Because Breer had me do his fantasy draft. That was outrageous. And nine out of the 12 teams, he had me. Announce his fan his fantasy.
Order, pick the order. And as a favorite M because I love the guy. He's on the show all the time. I love Breer with the exception of one day a week. Right.
And that's any day that'll text me about Ohio State. And one day of the year as well. Listen, but the names of his team's draft? Couldn't repeat them. Literally, 9 out of 12 would make me lose my job on the spot if it got to see the light of day.
At one point, I said, You really going to say that into camera? Yeah, Rich. Breer made me quick delete. He swore that's never getting out. At any rate.
What's the name of your team?
Sorry? The Bandits.
Okay, the Bandits. Yeah. Why the Bandits? Why the Bandits? I love Burr Reynolds.
Better than Smokey. Smokey. Hour to coming up with Liam Cohn, one of our favorites from the Jaguars and Marcus Freeman of Notre Dame. 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.
Close your eyes, exhale, feel your body relax, and let go of whatever you're carrying today.
Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800 contacts. Oh my gosh, they're so fast. And breathe. Oh, sorry.
I almost couldn't breathe when I saw the discount they gave me on my first order. Oh, sorry. Namaste. Visit 1-800Contacts.com today to save on your first order. 1-800 Contacts.
