We all know 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. Bear Ultra, only at the Home Depot. This episode is brought to you by State Farm. No two football players are exactly alike, and the same is true off the field. That's why State Farm gets to know you so they can help personalize coverage for your life and budget.
Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. 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 with guest host Colleen Wolf. Monkin feels that Deshaun Watson's got the better chance to win this week in Tampa. I mean, this isn't a debate. Doesn't sound great to say if the locker room doesn't want this guy, I'm going to force you.
Earlier on the show, Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner. Coming up. NFL Network Insider Mike Garifolo. NFL Network Analyst Brian Baldinger. And now, sitting in for Rich, it's Colleen.
Aleen Woe. Good. Good morning or afternoon, wherever you're watching from, everybody. This is the Rich Eisen Show. I am Colleen Wolf filling in for Rich today.
And the gang's all here. We got Brockman, W, TJ, the whole crowd. It's been a fun show. I just love that we've like, I'm so geeking out over the NFL right now just because there's just, we are, and there's so many fun storylines to get into and so many things to nerd out on right now and overreact to. And we are doing it all.
So I think one of the cool things about NFL and really sports in general, power rankings, which Inevitably leads to me power ranking all sorts of things. Do you like power rankings? I like power ranking like non-traditional condiments. Right, or potato chips and shows, characters, sandwiches, candy bars. Yeah, I like a draft too.
Love a draft. We had to talk Rich into doing power rankings forever. It took me. Really? It took a while for us to grind it down.
Me and TJ used to do like top fives. Yeah, we did it on YouTube for a year for a little while. And then he was just like, fine, I'll do a power ranking. But he kind of does it. He does it kind of begrudge.
Yeah. Which is a little annoying. Also, because we give him so much grief about it's kind of just for fun. Like, what? They're number 10?
What do you mean? This is great. We're kind of dogging him. I'm the opposite of that.
So I'm going to nerd out. I'll put on Rich's glasses. Colleen, also, Rich this morning in a tech said that this was the biggest workaround for not doing the power rankings. He finally got his rish. He got to take a week off.
He decided he'd rather have his body cut open than do power rankings. If you're just joining the show, Rich is out. He's having an epidectomy. I think right now. I think he's under right now.
Susie Sharon is about that. I'm 30-ish. They were.
Okay. All right.
So we're going to be giving live updates. We'll keep you posted on how that's going. And in the meantime, I've got a lab code if anyone needs it. Let's do power rankings. Brought to me by SoFi.
Oh my god. Oh yes! Oh, they could have given you some more definitions. This money. Ah!
Power rankings. That is incredible. Do you want us to send you that graphic? My biotin's really working. My hair has, I'm like Rapunzel now compared to that.
Really got to get some new headshots around here. Just me, and that's not you guys. That's me. Right.
So here's what we're going to do. Instead of a traditional one of us just running down one through 10, we're going to do a draft.
Okay. Yeah. We're going to spin the prices right wheel for draft order.
Okay. And then one, two, three, we're going to fill out the top 10 power rankings.
Okay. All right.
So I'm going to spin. You go first. Yeah. You're first. All right.
You're probably going to spin for all. Closest to a dollar. Yeah, you're just going to spin for all three of us.
Okay, that's great. Don't, don't, don't, okay, all right. Cheating wolf? Oh, come on.
So, you're you get 95 first time out. 95. All right, so Colleen is the first pick. All right, spin again for me. No, there's you.
This is riveting radio. A lot of anticipated. Wheels spinning. Maybe don't do it that hard next time. No, yeah, don't switch it up with this.
My time. All right, 60 for me. DJ, this is you.
Now he's the only person who's actually been on the price. Whoa, whoa. Yo, Wolf. 25. All right, there you go.
Wait a second. He doesn't really die. I will use it. There you go. Colleen.
Hold on. Colleen, you're first on sexual TJ student. Oh, with TJ. Yeah. That's a redo.
Try it again? Do you want to come over and spin it? I'd probably rather than you.
Okay, all right. All right, fine, fine. Respin. Spin again. Respin for TJ.
That's going to take a whole minute. Maybe it'll stop spinning by the end of the show. Maybe it'll stop. Oh, God. What do we do?
Oh, here it comes. Here it comes. Yes. Even worse. But I've liked it better.
Get what you get.
Okay. All right, Colleen, you're first up on the power rankings.
Okay. Are we starting at number one or are we starting at number 10? All right, we're going to start at number one. We're going to go one down to 10.
Okay. Rich usually does 10 to 1. We're going to go one to 10.
Okay. I. Who's number one this week? Number one this week. It is the Bills.
I mean, dang it, I'm going to. Got to go to the. Yeah, see?
So we are aligned in that? Yeah, I think the Bills. I think all of us were going to say that. Yeah. Well, I think coming into the season, you could either do.
Like, I felt like it was in the NFC West. It would either be the Rams, which was everybody was so high on the Rams. The Rams are the Seahawks, obviously. And then. Darnold goes down with a butt injury.
It's a soft tissue glute injury. But he has through lock. But I just think the way that the Bills performed and Josh Allen going down to Houston, and I loved that he was like, oh, we like Houston. We like playing here. He played so well against this top-ranked Houston defense where the last time he played them, he was sacked eight times, had three turnovers in that game.
It was an abject disaster. And the Bills just looked flawless. They looked great. Greg Rousseau was on it. I mean, I think that their pass rush could be a little bit better.
They didn't have to give up that many points either. But the offense is clicking. And DJ Moore, I love that addition. Wow, great. Love it.
I love it. I think the Bills are number one, too.
Okay. All right.
Number two, I'm going to. It wasn't pretty week one, but I'm going to respect the champs. I'm going to say the Seattle Seahawks are number two. They still have a top-flight defense. Still loved what I saw from the run game.
Jadarian Price didn't get going all the way. Rookie, he's still going to be there. JSN, just absolute takeover mode. You saw why he's, you know, the reigning offensive player of the year. He can kind of just, you know, flip a game like that.
That huge fourth-down play. And look, Sam Darnold's going to be out. Two, three, four weeks, not sure. Maybe Mike Garifo can clear that up for us next segment, but it's not going to be that long. I think that's the most important thing.
It's not a season ender. It's maybe into October. And I think Drew Locke is a steady enough hand where they're going to stay right there in the NFC West, in the NFC in general. Seattle, number two.
Okay. So I'm up. That's correct. Number three, I don't like this team. Everybody knows that.
But you know what? I'm a professional, so I'm going to put them in there. No, Colleen, it's not the Eagles. Oh, I thought you were going to go Eagles. No, I'm like, that's too high.
Too high. I hate to say it, but Bang Bang Niner gang. Look, they went to the Len Downunda, and they put the bang thing and outclassed the Rams.
Okay. So Mike Evans, there was a lot of people kind of like, oh, what's Mike Evans going to do? Mike Evans might do Mike Evans things, right? He's going to catch first downs. He's going to catch touchdowns.
He's going to be a red zone nightmare. I think we're past the point of the Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy thing.
Now we need to completely lose that whole thought process with this guy. This guy is a legitimate top NFL quarterback and the 49 of defense. Ugh, my least favorite player. Is on this 49ers defense. All right, can you take a guess?
Nick Bosa. No, no, no, not Nick Bosa. No. He's got hair like me. Oh, Fred Warner.
Fred Warner. Fred Warner isn't. He's so likable. He's likable until he's playing the Cowboys against the tackles. That's why he doesn't like it.
That's why he doesn't like Fred. He's a beast. I hate to say it. These Niners, man. I'm impressed, TJ.
I thought the Niners would be on this list somewhere, maybe in the five-range. I think that's a great pick. I think I was really impressed with them. I didn't think that they would be that high in the power rankings draft, but it might have been a reach. Into it.
How dare you?
Okay, I will go number four, and it's the Ravens. Again, you take my pick again. Hey, Lamar Jackson. How about this? For the first time in the Ravens' 31-year history, they had a 300-yard passer, a 150-yard receiver, and a 100-yard rusher in the same game.
Lamar, Zay Flowers, and Derrick Henry all looked, well, I was going to say unstoppable, but Zay Flowers. Did leave the game, but before that, he did look unstoppable.
So I love this Declan Doyle offense, what we've seen so far. I think it's going to be really great for Lamar, and they're going to do things that really maximize his talents and play him under center more. And I think that they will unlock a whole new level with Lamar, which is kind of scary for everybody in that division and in the AFC. Did that game tell you more about the Ravens or the Colts? No, I just feel not the Colts.
I just, and like Jonathan Taylor looks so good. I love Jonathan Taylor. He had such a good game. And like those two rushers, if you just like, if you, if you love running backs and you love a rushing game, you should go back and rewatch this game because those two players look insane. But yeah, I thought that the Colts would be a little bit better.
Me too. That makes me sad more than anything else.
Okay, number five. TJ. I know you do. Where will he go? This is for Eric Stone Street.
I gotta go Kansas City here. I was not expecting that. I was not expecting that at all. And yes, look, Patrick Mahomes didn't complete a pass more than six yards down the field, but it didn't really matter. No.
Speaking of running backs, the number one running back performance of the week in Kenneth Walker. I I I write TJ that's a good idea. It was so impressive, man. If they're going to play like that, I guess ride it till the wheels come off. You're not going to get it 25 times a game, are you?
But I mean,. That was awesome. The defense was great. I was really impressed all around. I thought Denver was going to win the game.
I guess I had higher hopes for them coming in. I mean, I know Rich said the Giants punked the Cowboys. That was an absolute punking that Kansas City laid on Denver. Really impressive. Got him number five.
Yeah. I love that. Credit where credit due. I can't believe that. Credit where credit dude.
When was the last time the Chiefs had a legitimate running Kareem Hunt's rookie season? Yeah. Yeah. You had the Regan. And then aside from that, never like that.
Priest Holmes, I don't even know. Larry Johnson, Priest Holmes. Larry Johnson? Christian Akoye. Yeah.
Throw it up. Larry Johnson.
Okay. Okay. All right, so I got six. Six. I'm in a group chat with two good friends of mine, a guy named Christopher Kutcher and another guy named Colby Lopez.
Shout out to them. And I got a text from them yesterday. They put me in their group chat and it says, it appears that we have an offense and someone else came back and said, no, sir, not just an offense, the offense. We're talking bear down the Chicago Bears. I got this in six.
Like, you get a touchdown. You get a touchdown. Everybody gets a touchdown in this Ben Johnson offense. Yeah, buddy. They said, they told you what the plan was.
They said, we're going to come out there and stomp you out. And they did it. The Iceman looked great. Look at this. Look at this picture, Colin.
That picture is a move. That's like where Aurora. All right, that's Jetsome G bleep right there. I can't say the S word, but that's what I'm talking about. The Bears right now.
They're loving it. And if they're going to put up 59 a game, which they won't, but imagine if they could, it's going to be fun. Matty. I got Caleb in my main league, and I am so happy. I had to play against Caleb in fantasy last week, and I was not.
I've had a good quarterback in fantasy. In years. I think in our league, I auto-drafted accident. Oh, you drafted like a red? I went to go hang a screen, and then all of a sudden, I was like, why didn't they give me the notification?
By the way, you missed out. Oh, we had a great time. The food was good. The company was having a good time. I know.
The company was lying, I guess.
Okay. Number seven. This is where it starts to get a little tough because.
Well, yeah, we all have winning teams one through six so far.
So, who's going to do the first 0-1 team? Which or are you gonna take the Eagles here? No, you know what? I will not be a homer, and I will not be pigeonholed as a homer.
Okay. So I am going to give. Sean McVay and the Rams, the benefit of the doubt, a week one mulligan. They, by the end of the year, will be okay and hopefully sooner than that.
So I think that the Rams, once they get everything together, I just, yeah, it's tough to see Trent McDuffie. Get just the way that he played. I don't know. I just want more from this. Obviously, there's no pass rush to speak of right now.
It was really a tough look.
So I'm just saying that that was not them. And I'm going to give them some positive reviews here and hope that that gives them a little boost. I think that's you're a good person. Yeah, you're good.
Well, yeah, starters. Thank you. No one, you're a good person. Despite being an iggles, it hurts. Not Canadian.
You're not Canadian nice. I mean, you're Philly nice. What does that even mean? You're a Philly, John. We know who that goes.
I think this is totally appropriate. We got to have a winless team on here, and I think putting the Rams at seven is really good. All right, so I'm going number eight, and I'm going to add to the win list. I'm going to go 0-1. I'm going to put the Houston Texans here.
Ooh. Wow. I think giving up 36 points to Josh Allen is That's not a reason to feel bad about yourself. Like, the Bills are going to do that to a lot of teams this year. Allen is probably the front runner for MVP at the moment.
But knowing that you could have won that game, you got interception in your hands that if you make a grab, you're 1-0. You feel good about the way your offense looked, aside from CJ Stroud fumbling at the end. You know, you put up 31 points. That's going to win you games just about every week in this league. And the defense, like I said, giving up all the yards and all those points, got to feel like that's kind of a one-off against a team, you know.
And a player like Josh Allen kind of at their height right now in his prime. I'm going to put Houston eight and still feel good about it. All right.
And they have the Bengals this week.
So that's kind of a spicy game. That is kind of a spicy game. Definitely don't want to drop that. No. Okay.
Card two left. TJ nine.
Okay. What you want, nine? Fat Beast from a Rhymes. That's a rapper named Nine. You can look him up.
I told you guys this is my anniversary of being here in Los Angeles.
Well, the first car that I got when I moved to LA was a 1985 Sky Blue Jaguar. And I love that car, man. And then because of that, I'm going to put the Jaguars. Because, look, Trevor Lawrence, Carlin, you don't know this. I haven't always hated him.
He hates Trevor Lawrence. No, no, no. You can't say hate. I just never thought he was as good. Hate is not it.
I just never thought he was as good as everybody else did. But at the end of last year, in the beginning of this year, T-Law is definitely changing my mind on how good I thought he was. They were surgical. Last week, and I know they played the Browns. You can make your jokes there.
But they looked really good. Parker Washington, Jacoby, Mayors, they took care of business. Shout out to my guy, Tony Kahn. Yeah, I got to Jags in at nine, and I'm happy to say that I was wrong about Trevor Lewis. Yeah, I hope he continues to do it.
That's a good spot. I've been very big in this. Like, I've taken my birthday. You've grown. Man, I'm just the best.
I'm proud of you. Thank you. Yeah. I'm proud of myself. It's some real growth.
Thank you. Thank you. Good. That's what we're, you know what? We love to see it all around.
You know, in real time, Colleen. Yeah. Can you imagine if we did all 32 teams? We were joking about that. Honestly, I would do all 32 teams.
It would probably take an hour, but I would totally do it. We could keep going. There's always a lot of people. We're going to just go to 10. But maybe at the end of the show, if there's time, we'll go back and just do the back tier.
We could do the bottom. I mean, I love doing the bottom tier. Me too. Bottom feeders? Yes.
Bottom 10 is fun. All right, last one.
Okay, Colleen, bring us home. Go Birds. I'm going to go with the Eagles there. I think that's fun. Yes, we talked about how they let a far less Talented Washington team sticks around for way too long in this game.
And Jalen Hurts and the offense, they didn't have any rhythm. They looked a little sloppy in this game, but they won, and it's a division win.
So that is. Huge for them at the end.
So, all right, they are 10, and then they also have the Titans coming up this week.
So, that should be 2-0. Should be 2-0. Which I wonder what the stat is for that with teams going 2-0, how many times 2-0 to make the playoffs? Yeah. If we're going to go 0-2, we got to do it the other way around.
2-0. We're excited to see what the Google AI pumps out. We'll talk about 64% if you go 2-0. 64%.
Okay. That's fine. That's good, I guess. It's good.
So there you have it. Power rankings brought to you by SoFi. Get your money right. We have a money guest coming up, Mike Garifolo. He's going to fill us in on all of the news.
We have a lot of quarterback questions. I want to know the latest on Aaron Donald as we talked about the Rams, where they were in our power rankings, what we put them number seven.
So that would absolutely help that defense. Hey, a SoFi personal loan. It's here to help you achieve something once thought impossible: overcoming high-interest credit card debt. Walk the tightrope of your finances with one low fixed-rate monthly payment, no fees required, and as soon as the same-day funding, that's right, pull off your own debt-defying stunt with a SoFi personal loan. Visit sofi.com/slash trick to learn more.
Loans originated by SoFi Bank NA, member FDIC, terms and conditions apply, NMLS 696891. We'll be back with Mike Garifolo after this. Bump. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. O'Reilly Auto Parts can help take the guesswork out of your vehicle's check engine, ABS, or maintenance-like with O'Reilly Veriscan.
The service is free and provides a report with solutions verified by ASC certified master technicians. Ask for O'Reilly Veriscan today. 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. Rich Eisen here for gusto. After all these years talking to athletes, coaches, entertainers, and people at the top of what they do, one thing is pretty clear.
Success usually depends on getting the details right. For small business owners, that includes payroll, hiring, onboarding, benefits, you know, the work that keeps everything moving, even if it's not the reason you started the business in the first place. That's why there's Gusto. Gusto is online payroll and benefits software built for small businesses. It's all-in-one, remote-friendly, and incredibly easy to use.
So you can pay, hire, onboard, and support your team from anywhere. Automatic payroll tax filing, simple direct deposits, health benefits, commuter benefits, workers' comp, 401k, you name it. Gusto makes it simple and has options for nearly every budget. And it's all built to save you time with built-in automated tools for offer letters, onboarding docs, direct deposit, and more. Plus, you get unlimited payroll runs for one monthly price.
No hidden fees, no surprises. Try Gusto today at gusto.com slash rich and get three months free when you run your first payroll. That's three months of free payroll at gusto.com slash rich. One more time, gusto.com/slash rich. Back here on The Rich Eisen Show with Mike Garifolo, my esteemed colleague at ESPN.
We've worked together for, I don't know, Over a decade now at this point, did you have a football weekend together? Oh, yeah, you were 2016, I was 2014. And so it's been, it's what a ride it's been, Garifolo. But that's kind of how week one was in the NFL. It was a roller coaster ride, and for some players, more so than others.
So I want to get the latest here on some of these injuries and some of the players that are returning from injury as well. Let's start off with the Rams, who we saw lose to the Niners in Australia, and then Miles Garrett goes on IR, and we're all waiting for word on Aaron Donald. What are you hearing there?
Sounds like the hope is that he's going to be on the field and back in action on Monday night. And not just because Miles Garrett is not available, but because at this point, given another week of preparation, that he should be where he needs to be. Colleen, during the whole process when he was deciding whether to come back or not, you know, I. I kept hearing, we kept talking about it on the insiders, that he was telling the Rams, I need more information from my body. I need, like, I'm not there yet.
And I need to keep going through the process here. And at some point, before the cut down, the 53 players, he made that decision and he was on the roster.
So I'm not surprised that that extended through the first week of the season. You add in the trip to Australia as well for a guy that hasn't really been in the mix. I mean, that's another factor you've got to deal with. I mean, you saw how bad it was for the guys that were in the mix this entire offseason.
So this one's at home on a Monday night. Another week of preparation, like I said. Everything we're here, nothing decided definitively just yet, or at least they're telling us. But to me, I'm looking for Aaron Donald to be back out there on the field on Monday night and play well. I mean, just the way he went through the process, same way this preparation process into the season would not be surprised if he comes out of the gate and has an impact.
Okay. Is the panic warranted for the Rams after just one game? No. No, and I'll tell you why, because I'm not giving them an out, I'm not giving them an excuse, but. I wonder how much of their performance was Australia and the Travel Which was probably a good bit.
and not playing their guys in the preseason. Because the teams that make that decision Jim Harbaugh saying the same thing. I wish I had played our guys in the preseason. The Eagles at times look a little bit sluggish in areas. They won the game, which is fine.
But Nick Siriani doesn't play his guys in the preseason. You add a new system to it as well. You almost say we're okay with being sluggish in week one and being a little bit rusty in exchange for not losing a guy in a game that doesn't matter in the standings. And that's the trade-off that teams have made because you add the 17th game, week one becomes even less important than it did when you had 16 games. You add an 18th game, you might even get even more of that here moving forward.
So I think that that was a little bit of the issue, not just the travel for the Rams. And I expect a better performance on Monday.
Okay. All right.
So glass half full from Garifolo. How about a quarterback situation? There's a lot of quarterback situations. There always is. But I think one of the most intriguing ones right now is in Atlanta.
So what are you hearing? About the starting quarterback for week two. Where is Kevin Stefanski going to go? I would not be surprised if it's Cooper Rush one more time, and not for anything other than Tua dealing with an oblique injury, which is extremely painful. I mean, you see it in Major League Baseball all the time.
And Sam Dartle had one during the playoffs last year that if it wasn't the postseason, maybe he sits a week as well, if not two.
So, Tua dealing with that right now, on top of everything else that they're dealing with down there in Atlanta. Michael Pennix is close. That's the only thing that I mean, he's close. How close? I somebody had Somebody would say it's about 90%.
This was last week, right? About 90%. Just that last 10% that in his mind he's got to get right. Malik Dabers going through the same thing. And that was a touch and go moment up until about a couple hours before a kickoff before the Giants knew that he was going to play.
So I don't blame Michael Pennix for being right there as well. That, you know, how much is it physical and how much is it mental as well?
So I, you know, it's, it's, I, Atlanta's got a lot of really good players, and the fact that they were even in that game at any point during Sunday was a testament to Bijan Robinson, how tough he is to defend on top of everything else they've sort of compiled down there. And it's just the quarterback position is not going to be right this entire season. I feel like that for a variety. Like, even if Pennix is back out there, he's not going to be 100%, right? And just got to get to the point where he can set foot back on the field and feel comfortable.
Okay. All right.
That's fair. And you don't want to rush him back if you don't have to. But another quarterback situation that is. It's never not a quarterback situation in Cleveland. And we heard from Deshaun Watson on Wednesday, focus he's saying that he's focused on winning and not job security.
But what are you hearing from around the league? Yeah, it's I mean out of Cleveland, they'll say, well, it wasn't as bad as it looked. I mean How many times can we do this before we just say, like, this is never going to happen? I mean, I can't. And I hate because.
It's our job to like Check in. Right.
Well, holy, what's going on? Oh, you know, it's not that bad. And then we come back, hey, it's not that bad. And like, we're the messengers for that, for that message. You just do it over and over and over.
And you just go, I'm not going to be able to do that. Yeah, isn't that the definition of insanity? Yeah, it's the definition of insider, apparently. That you got to be that guy that just passes that along. Insanity, insider, you know, they both begin with the same three letters.
Um so I I just Yeah, he's gotta He's got to play better this week, otherwise, it's just going to be. You can't, I mean, and they will. They'll probably start him again next week at home in week three. I'm kind of hoping they do at this point because it'd just be you, you want to see that. I'm not rooting against Shador Sanders or Ford Deshaun Watson, but I just would love to see it for the sake of theater, right?
The same reason that I went in the week one, the Australian game, I said, I hope one of these teams gets blown out. It'll be a terrible game, but it'll be a lot better.
Well, because but that was my point because I wanted I was in it for the travel storyline right and and while it would lead to worse football It would allow us to have great conversation and we did it was great leading up It was great afterward and I almost want to see Deshaun Watson at home and see the crowd's reaction It's not gonna be great and I don't want that for Cleveland fans to have at their home opener this this consternation that hangs over the entire game in the stadium But I'd love to see it and so that's maybe where we're gonna wind up in well we actually have the some sound from Deshaun Watson he was asked if he needs to essentially ball out to remain on the field No, I think personally I think all that is for the media. I mean I think the media has this expectation that I'm supposed to throw 400 yards and five touchdowns every week.
So until that happens I guess it's going to be the same situation.
So again, my job is to make sure I'm operating well so we can try to get a win and keep moving forward from there. That's for the media, but it's also for the team and the head coach and the GM and the owners and everyone involved with the organization. He won the job in the preseason. He did in the training camp. He did.
I shouldn't.
Well, I said preseason, and everybody's going to say, well, the last preseason game. If the last preseason game was all you were looking at, Shador Sanders would be the starting quarterback. He outplayed him that day. But every day in training camp, he's got talent. He still does.
And there'd be a throw and it'd be like, oh, okay, that's the guy making the throw that's going to win the job. This is going to be QB1. And we've seen him be successful before. With Chador Sanders, it's not that same arm talent, right? I mean, and that's why he slipped in the draft, and that's why last year he stayed on the bench for as long as he did before he finally played.
So he did earn the job in the preseason and in training camp. You got to give him a little bit more run than just one week, but it's got to come out. It's not just like, oh, media outside. You've got to play. Everybody's got to play better on this offense.
So, yeah, I mean, it's a performance business.
So, yeah. Yeah. And we saw a great performance out of the quarterback in Minnesota this past week, and that would be Carson Wentz, who was playing in place of Kyler Murray, who's in the concussion protocol. The Vikings are taking on the Bears, so big division game this week. What's the status currently?
Are you hearing anything different about how Kyler Murray is progressing through that protocol? And where does this leave J.J. McCarthy in the mix? Yeah, he's feeling better, but it's the concussion protocol. You don't know how it's going to go.
I mean, Kevin O'Connell has spoken to the media just yet today.
So we'll see about the status for Wentz and for Kyler. But I just know when they began the week, the thought was with the concussion being an uncertainty, you have to almost prepare as if Carson Wentz, not almost, I have to start preparing as if Carson Wentz is going to be the starting quarterback.
So let's see how it goes throughout the week. And look, you're a hit, and we saw it last year. I mean, Wentz got hurt after he was playing well, but you're a hit away from having to turn to J.J. McCarthy one more time. And I do know that we looked at it and said, well, if he's going to be the third quarterback and not even the backup, why wouldn't you just cut him at that point?
And from an organizational standpoint, They decided, no, you hang on to him and you might need him, and things might turn around. He still hasn't played a lot of football. We can disagree all we want. They get the best look at him. And it also is: it's not the same general manager now.
Nolan Teasley in there as GM.
So it's not like the same GM is there. A lot of times, if it's the guy that drafted him, he's hanging on him to every last possible moment because he doesn't want to admit a mistake. You've got a different general manager, same head coach, though, as well. But certainly, they made the decision as a group to keep him around to see potentially if they need him again. And also, maybe if you get a better return, somebody has an injury or something like that, maybe you can get a better return down the line for him when it comes to a trade.
I don't really foresee that, but. It's the same reason the Colts hung on to Anthony Richardson. Things can change. Guys can come around. You don't quit on talent is a lot of time.
Don't quit on town is a phrase that I've heard a lot of times throughout my career. And sometimes it clicks for you. It just takes a while. We'll see.
Okay. Yeah. They like options and they sure have them. Let's go to Seattle while we're on the quarterback train here. Sam Darnold, the Seahawks opted out of short-term IR for him, which is clearly a good sign.
But where are we with Sam Darnold? Obviously, he's going to miss some time, but do you know how much and where they are in that process?
Well, I've got it at, I'm saying about four weeks. I think it's going to be a max of four weeks. There's a chance he comes back inside that time frame, so it could wind up being three weeks. It's what they call the unique. uh injury, a glute injury, so you're you're dealing with uh not a fracture, which was Great result for them because when he left the field, there was a fear that it was going to be a hip fracture and he was going to be lost for the season, if not career-threatening, because that's what you get into with Tua, and you can go all the way back to Bo Jackson with that one.
But they got good news on that one. It sounds like it's a couple of weeks at most.
So, yeah, it won't be an IR situation because they might get him back in three. And if you got him on IR, you got to wait a minimum of four.
So it's looking like that'll be the case. They play. The week three game for them is 17 days removed from the injury, I believe, if I'm doing my math correctly and recalling that.
So, another week after that would be 24. Looking like around there would be a reasonable time frame. I think Ian Rappaport reported last night an outside shot of week three. I'd say probably more likely week four into week five for him. And in the meantime, they have Drew Locke, who is more than capable.
I think he's one of the better backups in the league.
So, Seattle will be okay. Hey, we have a question from Chris Brockman. Hey. Hi, hi Mike. How are you?
Hello. One of the fantasy and preseason darlings, Dazan Stribling, saw him go down in the Australia game. What's the latest with that? Because it looked pretty bad. Yeah, we were told around a month or so, and I saw Shafter just reported a short while ago that it'll be injured reserve, which makes sense because it's going to be around that four-week window here for him.
So, yeah, looking like Injured Reserve. And then I believe once he's eligible to come back, you're looking for him to return there as well. It's a shame. I mean, between him and Jacoby Lane with the Ravens, which I think is a similar-ish timeframe that we're going to see him sideline with that fractured wrist. These were two rookies that really went off in the preseason.
I was excited to see in the regular season. You saw them each for just a couple of minutes. Lane had a touchdown that was negated by a penalty. He even did the Ray Lewis squirrel dance in the end zone. He had it all cleaned up.
I felt so bad for him because he's doing the dance and like the flag was right behind him. Oh, dude.
So, but yeah, I think we'll see him back on the field, and I think both of these guys will contribute as the season goes on. And same with the 49ers, can we read into anything about how much Kalen Black usage we saw in that game? Or was that just more of a, hey, it's the first game. We don't want to overuse CMC this early. Good player.
I mean, good player, and he's going to get the ball. No, I think you have to have in this league two running backs, which is why what the Lions are doing right now is mind-boggling to me because it's all Jameer Gibbs. I mean, if he gets hurt, that entire Lions offense changes.
So I think you'll see a good bit of him from time to time. And it's not that you're managing McCaffrey at this point in his career, but if you've got a second guy that can bring a little bit of a different look and different skill set and can run hard and physical at times, why not use it? I think you're going to see a little bit more of that maybe than you've seen from the 49ers before, but they've implemented multiple backs before. Sure.
Well, Mike Garifolo, you've said it all. He's the best in the business, one of the hardest workers I know. Garifolo, tell the whole family I said hi and I miss them. Oh, yes, Colleen. You girls miss you very much.
Two Christmas cards again coming your way this year. Love it. That's great. Thank you, Jeezy, as we say goodbye to Mike Garifolo. Spider killer.
Spider. Blood on his hands. He admitted to it.
So I don't know if I'm going to see him in hell or purgatory, but it will probably be one of those two. Let's hope neither. What's that? I said, let's hope neither. I know, I know.
I'll be in heaven. Obviously. Hello. But yeah, I think it's really fascinating kind of looking at all of the different quarterback situations and all of the injuries and where that's going to leave teams. But I think for a team like Seattle, it's.
best case scenario in terms of an injury that looked like it was going to be really bad, but turns out it's m um you know, l more I don't know, more minor. Uh, not as terrible as we all thought.
So that's good. Um We're excited to see all of these players return as well. And I do, guys, want to get into some of the players that we saw debut on new NFL teams and the ones that really excelled, the ones that surprised us, like a David Montgomery, a DJ Moore, a Kenneth Walker, obviously.
So those were really great hires. And you can hire right the first time with LinkedIn Hiring Pro. Like the way you did that, yeah. Get started by posting a free job at linkedin.com/slash Eisen.
So, we're going to talk about some of those players debuting on the other side. We'll be back after this: The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast. Quick break to tell you some game time tips. 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 in the playbook. Frigidair 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, Frigidair helps you cover every craving. Available at the Home Depot. Outdoors get more done. Only when using Stone Baked Pizza Mode, cooktime requires preheat and reheat and may vary based on ingredients. Did you know every 36 minutes a child in the U.S.
is diagnosed with cancer? Which 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, and every new Hyundai sold, Hope on Wheels has contributed over $300 million to childhood cancer research, helping save more than 40,000 kids.
Join our fight at HyundaiWarriors.com. It was great. Back here on The Rich Eisen Show, just talking about how much we love Steve Mariuchi. He is Matt Foley. He is a man down by the river, and he has stories for days.
He is one of the best people to be around. His energy is so contagious. He never turns that off. Like what you just saw on the video of him with Rich, that's all of the time. He's the best.
Well, when it comes to your home, guys, and this is my home today, Pella Windows and Doors are the experts at taking care of you and your home. At Pella, they find the products that meet your needs, and their experts install them. That means working with a company that builds and installs a quality product with real pricing, real simple, really beautiful. And when a trusted name like Pella chooses to partner with the Rich Eisen show, that says a lot. Zero percent financing options are available.
Certain restrictions apply. Find your local Pella Windows and Doors showroom today at pella.com/slash Eizen for details. Make life brighter with Pella Windows and Doors.
So, I mentioned it before we went to the break, but taking a look at some of the players who crushed it in their new digs, sometimes players just need a change of scenery.
Sometimes they were good where they were, and just because of the cap and the way that things are structured, they end up moving on to a new place. Maybe they want to get paid, maybe they've never been a free agent before. The list can go on and on. But we had a lot of players debut week one who went wild.
So I think it Might be a kind of fun exercise to just kind of go around and talk about some of the players that. Did kind of jump off the screen because we talked a little bit about Kenneth Walker and the fact that the Chiefs finally have a running game and he looked so good. And that's 100% exactly what Patrick Mahomes and this offense need right now while he's returning from the ACL. But I think also when you think about DJ Moore and Josh Allen, that connection, it didn't get going right away in the game, but then when it did, it was on. And I think.
Coupled with Dalton Kincaid and the game that he had, because he was wild in that game, and obviously he's been there for a minute. But DJ Moore, he looks really good after that trade with the Chicago Bears. I think that he's a really good upgrade for the Bills. He's such a nice perimeter weapon for Josh Allen, and that's always been the thing: trying to find someone for Josh Allen. And I think that DJ Moore, because he was with the Panthers for so long and kind of like lost in the ether there during bad, down, lean years, and then went to the Bears, which I was kind of surprised that when they traded him, but I liked the trade for him.
And I think this week, especially, since they are christening the new Highmark Stadium in Buffalo home opener, this will be DJ Moore's first game in front of Bills fans, that he is going to be primed for an awesome game. Yeah, I really like that one. Here's another one I was thinking about, too, and you saw it on Monday night: Isaiah Likely. Ooh, yes. Remember the fir game we were at in KC?
The toe-tap game, just the toe-tap game. Oh, I remember that, yeah. Man, yeah.
Well, he didn't have any problem getting his feet in. Two tutties, sorry, Sunday night against the Cowboys. Man, he really showed up and showed out. Nice weapon for Jackson Dart. Seemingly, their number two pass catcher after Malik Neighbors, who looks like he's fully back and healthy.
Really liked Isaiah Likely. Good debut there with the Giants. Yeah, and also just I like that. I like Isaiah likely having that history too with John Harbor. And it just feels like a perfect situation for the offense.
And Jackson Dart and this young core, they're really fun. And as someone from Philadelphia, I don't, I should not like them. No. But I do. And that's like, it's like, I feel like I'm cheating because I'm catching myself watching the offense and I'm.
I'm into it. I think that they have this personality that we saw last year and it started to kind of blossom and they're going to be everywhere this year. I already saw Cam Scataboo on like some endorsement commercial, some progressive commercial or something. Stay farm, right? Yeah, he hip checks a truck into a parking spot.
I'm into it. They're fun. They're funny and they're really awesome to watch. Cage is like, what about it? Is he going to do a backflip again?
I'm like, yeah, man. And he landed it. M I've always said this, of all the teams I hate, I like the Giants the most, if that makes any sense.
Okay. We should do a power rankings of the teams you hate. There's a lot of that. You know, I've got a guy, and this kind of reminds me back when I was in high school, I won the Pennsylvania State Press Association's highest journalism award for a story I did on our high school offensive line because I didn't think the big boys got enough credit.
So I'm going to do that now. I'm going to say Tyler Linderbaum going to the Raiders and what he did. Protected Kirk Cousins, right? I think 31 drop backs, no pressures, no sacks. Opened up the line for Ash and Genty.
Brock, we didn't, we thought Genty didn't know. 102 yards taking him. Large holes. Like he did what he was paid to do, and he made a huge impact on that Raiders line and on that team.
So the shout out to the big boy. I like that you're giving love to the offensive line, which you know who's also going to love that? Brian Baldinger, who's coming up in our next hour. Baldy's breakdowns. If you guys aren't following him, I love the way he breakdowns.
Then you are missing out. I love his breakdowns. There's maybe no one that loves football more than Baldi. He was shirtless working out the other day. Did you see that?
Of course, he was. I didn't. His breakdowns have no agenda either. No. But like, it's just pure love.
Yeah, it's like what he sees, and this is what's happening. Uh-huh. Take it or leave it. Yeah. And it's always insightful.
I'm always learning something too from Baldi.
So all of you will get the treat of that coming up as well. A couple wide receivers, Dontavian Wicks, Go Birds. Go Birds. Touchdown at 70-something yards in his debut. And did you know Kendrick Bourne was still in the league?
Get out of here. Eight catches for the Arizona Cardinals. And they're giant upset over the Chargers. We talked earlier about unhinged takes. I feel like the Cardinals.
Gonna win the West. I can't go that unhinged. That's so unhinged. We need committed with that. I really loved what I saw.
So maybe next week, if they win again, they're 2-0. Yeah, then I'm like, okay, yeah, they're taking it all. Colleen's unhinged. Did we talk about David Montgomery? Shout out to him.
He looked very good as well.
Okay, more to come here on the Rich Eisen Show. 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. This episode is brought to you by State Farm. No two football players are exactly alike, and the same is true off the field.
That's why State Farm gets to know you so they can help personalize coverage for your life and budget. Like a good neighbor, Stay Farm is there.
