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Now. On with the show. This is the Rich Eisen show. A grand slam by Ben Rice. They blowed this baby wide open.
The Rich Eisen show. It's gonna go first pitch home run. Fernando Tatis Jr. Today's guests: Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, actor and author Joe Manganiello. Plus your phone calls, latest news, and more.
And now it's Rich Eisen. All right, everybody, welcome to this edition of the Rich Eisen Show. Disney Plus, the ESPN app, ESPN Radio, Sirius XM channel eighty eight four four two zero four. Rich is the number to have a conversation with me today. There's a running theme to today's program.
Um. The Northern Iowa's finest, Kurt Warner, will be joining us before he jets off to London to call the first of three straight London games to be seen on NFL Network over the next three weeks. The glorious four windows of football return to our football lives. And the Colts and the Commanders at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time on NFL Network.
Kurt Warner is going to be calling that game in the booth with Jason Kelsey and Dave Pash on NFL Network and the ESPN app. And Kurt's going to join us, the Northern Iowa, the Northern Kurt Warner. Joe Manganiello will join us in hour number three. He's got a a new book called Bloodlines. I'm holding the book up right here.
It's talking about his battle with his own health, and obviously, I do believe he's got the True Blood look on this book right here. Thus, it's called Bloodlines. He's a diehard fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and they wear black and gold. Hey, and in our number two. I'm going to pay off the bet that I made with George Kittle last week.
Okay, if his Iowa Hawkeyes beat my Michigan Wolverines, which they did in the final seconds of that game, I would have to spend an entire segment of the Rich Eisen show wearing his game-worn helmet. That he said he would send me, and if you missed the end of yesterday's program, in which we revealed that the package has arrived, here it is, holding it in my hand. Yes, it is George Kittle's helmet in the middle of this program. I am going to put it on and have to talk about the greatness of the Iowa Hawkeyes football program. I am being honest.
Kind of hoped that this would be something. About the Atlanta Hawks, but that's just you know, ripped straight from the other headlines. It's Hawkeyes, and I've got the helmet, and I am going to have to wear it later. And I'll be straight up, not happy about it. Yep.
Well, I mean, you made the bet, not happy about it. Made the bet, but I am a man of my word, and later on, I will. A man, I will wear it. You could call in if you wish. Let's talk Iowa Hawkeyes football.
Everybody, don't lose that intensity. Right, same intensity. How are you, Chris Brockman? Good to see over there. You know, it's fine.
It's Celtic season or Bruins season. Hey, the Bruins beat the Rangers last night. How about that? Mike Del Tufolo, what's up? We're not going to talk about the field of dreams in Iowa.
Good to see you over there, TJ Jefferson. What's going on? How? I mean, I hear baseball still happening. Baseball.
I see LeBron in a Sixers jersey, so that's just all on. Or helicopter? Quickly left town. Yeah, going back and forth. I do not like that at all.
There he is. I don't like that, man. All right, let's talk baseball playoffs, everybody. Baseball, yeah. Quadruple header yesterday.
And the best game of the day started it all off. Yep, Phillies and the Braves have at it. And Don Mattingly is the interim manager, and he's down two-one. And JT Realmuto comes up with a two-run triple in the seventh to give him a lead, and that's when he turns to his all-star closer in the seventh inning. And Duran Duran got out there.
Duran Duran, this is Planet Earth. And in the eighth inning, his second inning of work, because when you bring your closer in early, it's because you identify a certain part of the lineup that needs closer attention. I know Philadelphia Phillies fans. You might think I am caping for my favorite baseball player of all time. Perhaps, perhaps you are also pointing out Duran didn't come up with a double inning save situation all year, and you are asking your closer to do something in the playoffs.
He has not done. You look at his game log; it's all one inning of work. Second inning of work, base hit for Michael Harris. Ozzie Albies hit by a pitch, and if you're a Philly fan, you know once Albies got hit by the pitch, it doesn't matter if Austin Riley's having a disastrous regular season compared to his usual. Doesn't matter that he has only 19 home runs on the season, and Duran had only given up two home runs in 61 innings of work all regular season long.
You know what's coming. It's like literally the horror movie. The calls are coming from within the house. Three run jack. Game one goes to Atlanta.
Oppo too, and it was an electrifying. Oh, it's so sick! Game. It's an electrifying game. The the the seventh and eighth innings, in just particular, that was the crucible.
You know, of catcher coming up with a two run triple to give a team a lead, and then the next inning, a three run jack to wrap up game one. And then the the way it all ended last night as well, just down the road and. San Diego, you also know what that stands for, but we don't mention that here. And Pete Crow Armstrong and the Chicago Cubs, one of the best offense in Major League Baseball, taking on the Padres. And Michael King gets PCA MVP on three pitches to start the game.
Struck out two of the first three Cubs he faced, and then Fernando Tatis, who we had been waiting half a season to hit a home run, leads off with one. Go figure. You know, go figure. Baseball man, man. How long were we saying?
When is Tatis going to hit a home run? I mean, it was end of May. Right. You could say the. The home run that Tatis was most closely associated with all regular season long was the one that he stole from the Mets.
Made it seem like he didn't catch it until he just revealed it, and then he homers to start this game. That's all Michael King needed because he took a no hitter into the seventh. Nico Horner hit one down the third baseline and. Manny Machado, who also homered in the first inning, normally you can see him. He'll usually make a play where he's going towards the third base coach's box, and he makes a throw all the way across the diamond, like he's five feet away from first base.
He just couldn't come up with this one, and that's the way the no hitter ended after six in the third. And then Joe Musgrove, who hasn't pitched in two years. Finishes the game for the Padres, who win eight nothing. Can't make that up either. I don't know how many people had on their bingo cards at any point in their lives that a team would make the playoffs and go in with some momentum from Vatican City.
I don't think we've ever heard that before. Chicago, we've heard about Second City, right? Yes.
Okay, but now. We're talking about Vatican City because the Pope got his eyes on the White Sox. Pope Leo X. I V. For those scoring at home in Roman numerals, sent a letter of support with the papal seal.
I mean, come on now, this is official. Official. It's official. Amazing. It's official.
Official. And sure enough, I'll be honest with you: going into Houston for a playoff baseball game as a Yankee fan, kind of wish the Pope at the time was on the Yankee side because that's sometimes what you need to get through against the Astros in the playoffs. But Pope Leo is a Chicagoan. Yeah, the Pope of Grenville. We have seen.
Yeah, that didn't work out. Yeah, that didn't work out for the Yankees. That's not work out. No, no, no. That's not the real Pope.
No, this is the real Pope. This is the real Pope. And this one used to go to White Sox games. And I don't know. We were talking about is there a papal man cave?
Right, papal man cave. Was he streaming Peacock there in Vatican City somewhere? You know, I I I have been to Vatican City. Um, never saw they didn't have a watch party. Never saw flat screen St.
Peter's Basilica. I saw beautiful things on the ceiling. You know, at any rate, this game, Coulson Montgomery, who led the league and had a record number of strikeouts all season long, no contacts. For this guy, he makes contact and home run homers. And Sam Antonacci, who Cooper loved from the our buddy Vinnie Pasquintino's team Italy in the World Baseball Classic, he comes up with two runs batted in.
And the White Sox, who haven't made the postseason since twenty twenty one, they are up. They are up. Astros made a run of it. They brought a time run to the plate. They did eighth inning.
Yeah, it got a little hairy. I am like, here we go again, because I was watching that just before the Yankees and Red Sox went at it. But Will Venable, after the game, has a win in his back pocket and some wind at his back from Vatican City. And I was wondering, did you see that your team got a letter of support from the Pope? I did not see that.
Okay.
Well, he sent a letter of support for the team before the playoffs. What does it mean to you to continually have his support? And obviously, you're the only MLB team that got that kind of you know support from him. Yeah, we'll take it. You know, I think that's been the cool thing about this season is is all the support that we're getting, certainly in Chicago and and beyond.
And the Pope having our back and supporting us means a lot. The Pope has our back, says a manager. In sports, love it. How does he not see that though? Before the game, how does not someone not?
Yeah, yeah.
Someone didn't just show you that random. I don't know. He's locked in. Locked in. Story.
There's there's there's there's there's one game here on this program, and it's a blood sport when the Yankees and the Red Sox play one another. As they only should later in rounds in the playoffs, but it's second straight wild card year in which the Red Sox have to go to Yankee Stadium. And last year they went to Yankee Stadium and took Game One. And as a matter of fact, the fact is, the Yankees come back and they took that series. They're the only team in the history of this new wild card format for a few years.
To have lost Game One and come back and won the series, so all the Game One winners I just mentioned, congrats! You're moving on. It's what it looks like. It's what it looks like. And last year in Game Three, they faced Cam Schlitler, the Walpole, Mass.
native, who took care of business with eight shutout and ten strikeouts. Game three of last year, and then last night, after a surefire Cy Young season, pitched into the seventh, six in the third, ten strikeouts for Schlittler, no runs, two hits, one walk. That's what a Cy Young does, and to have this kid just dropped out of the. Baseball gods' skies on the Yankees is truly remarkable. I can't believe it.
Normally, Yankees have to spend three hundred fifty million dollars on somebody else to come to their team to do this sort of work. Glad you acknowledge that, or at least it hasn't been that case since, like, Pettit, you know, of the of the Tory years, you know, Rivera of the Tory years. To be homegrown and then deliver, and in the history of Major League Baseball, there's only two pitchers who have had multiple postseason starts against the Red Sox with ten or more strikeouts. Only two of them. Cam Schlitler is one, and the other is Bob Gibson.
That's a fact. And then, in support of the kid from Walpole, Mass, is a kid from Cohasset, another homegrown kid in Ben Rice, who homers, leading to an all-caps expletive-laden text from Chris Brockman on a text chain you dropped out of, so you didn't see it. Thank T.J. I'm just giving you the news. Yeah, I mean I.
Because I have no idea why Chad Tracy took Toley out of the game just to bring in his left-handed reliever, that Miller, who they picked up, and I guess I guess Miller throws the type of pitch that Rice has difficulty handling, and he he the pitch that Toley throws at the top of the zone is a pitch. That Rice can handle as he did with a double in his first at bat. Right. Well, Miller. But the problem is Miller didn't throw the pitch.
Didn't throw the sinker. And I get lefty lefty. You know, and you know Toley was not on empty, but he was. You know, we were near an empty, and you're you're brought in to throw a sinker to a guy who crushes high fastballs. You throw a high fastball, hit home run, game over.
There were some decisions that Tracy made last night that I'll be straight up with you. I know Alex Cora. This team was better without Alex Cora this year, clearly. But that's but Alex Cora knows how to. Usually had October, you know, would have the Yankees in a blender.
Instead, the Yankees had Tracy in a blender last night. But that's what happened. Events in September has been, you know, pretty rough, and so once it got to two nothing, that was ballgame. And then, you know, and this is the reason why I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it about the Yankees is because last night's game. Schlitler, Rice, George Lombard Jr.
in his first career playoff game, three for four with two runs scored. Spencer Jones got a hit. Austin Wells, who's been a two-hit Maven all September long, came up with a massive one to start the scoring, right? And and Rice hit a home run to give them an extra run lead, and then the grand slam to put it out of reach. All of them are homegrown, so maybe the green shoots are showing.
Rice came out with a performance that everybody had been hoping. Straight up, that Aaron Judge would come out with in the playoffs. He's out. Rice is doing that sort of work, and had this to say afterwards. Yeah, it's a it's a long season.
I mean, I think. You can you can find success by just being consistent every day.
So, you know, we get to the postseason here. All the consistency that you had in the in the regular season, you just got to carry it right over into into the postseason.
So, you know, approach it like like any other game and. Do the things that that helped you over 162. Yep, his six RBIs tied a Yankee postseason record for a single game performance. Right there. Wow, that's Ben Rice, and they did it without the Pope.
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My power rankings still to come as well, but right around the corner is Kurt Warner here on the show, the Rich Eisen Show podcast. Replace your worn-out wiper blades during O Rewards Member Appreciation Month at O'Reilly Auto Parts. Receive two times O Rewards points and save ten dollars when you purchase a pair of Rain-X Latitude wiper blades. They will even install them for free at O'Reilly Auto Parts. Rich Eisen here for Gusto.
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One more time, Gusto.com/slash-rich. Wednesday spot. We're here on the the Rich Eisen Show on Disney Plus and the ESPN app. Our ESPN radio audience has returned. Kurt Warner, QB Confidential.
Check out his page on YouTube, and he's getting set to call next couple of London games on NFL Network starting this week. Colts and Commanders. Kurt Warner here on the program. I got to jump in about the Drake May to start though. We were talking about a a crisis of confidence.
For this kid, who had nothing but all the reason to feel confident last year. And then we saw this performance in Jacksonville. What is going on with him that you're seeing, Kurt? It is such an interesting thing because obviously none of us know what's going on in Drake's mind. And you know, you hear all the time people talking about you know a lot of people use the yips, or we've seen guys in baseball that all of a sudden can't make a throw from second base to first base, and you just sit there and shake your head because you just don't understand how that can be possible.
You know, these guys that have done. Certain things, their entire life. You mentioned that Drake may so great all last year, runner up to the MVP. Many felt he should have been the MVP, and now it's gone so sideways, so quickly. And it really looks like he has lost his confidence.
That he is second guessing everything that's happening on the football field. What I loved about him last year was that he didn't second guess. He was throwing the ball down the field. He was ripping the ball when he didn't see it. He would take off and run, but he was very definitive.
In in what he was doing, and right now I feel it's exactly the opposite. That he's looking at things, and they're open, and they're there, and he just won't let it fly. He just won't let it rip. And we've even talked on our show. Even some of the the throws that he's made that I think were right decisions.
He's not throwing it with authority. It's almost like I don't want to miss. Am I making the right decision? And he's trying to set the ball in there, and every time he does that, it's going the wrong direction, and the defense is making a play on it. And you know, and the question that's left up, you know, to Mike Vrabel and and everybody there, Josh McDaniels is, how do we get it back?
What do we do with this kid to get it back? I thought it was interesting, you know, Mooc talking on our show when we were having this conversation, saying he would have some practice. Where he would tell the quarterbacks, "You cannot check it down. You have got to attack and throw the ball down the field and see what throws you can make." And I wonder if you know a plan, something like that with New England, like, "Hey, quit checking it down. Quit being conservative.
What makes you great is the aggressiveness." We got a defense that will back you up. We have to get back to playing that brand of football. But but that's sure what it looks like right now. Not being in Drake's head is that he's just lost his confidence to really. Attack and believe what he's saying.
You know when when my son EJ was always playing, and he'd go through moments too where he's like, "Dad, I just you know I'm not feeling it right now." I said, "You go back to trusting what you always know. Trust your eyes. When your eyes tell you something, then rip the football. And whatever happens, happens. But you know that your eyes and how good you are at you know taking an information and processing it.
That that's how you have to play. And I believe that's what Drake's got to do right now is trust your eyes. When you see it, you rip it, and if it's a bad play, you line up the next time and you do it again. That's the hair on fire at the top of the Amtrak Acella line. Let's go down to the midway point of it in Philadelphia, and you saw the Eagles up close and personal on Monday Night Football.
Yeah, what do you make of the offense right now? Through three weeks, it didn't look the same in week three as it was beginning to potentially ascend and pieces put together through the first two weeks. Yeah, it's just not flowing all the way around. And they had moments. I mean, when they got the Bears, you know, out on on downs, and then drove the ball ninety-seven yards.
They're running the football. They're making plays, throwing it. You know, their next drive was was really good, and they put seven on the board. And so they had two drives that it just looked like it has looked. You know, a couple years ago in Philly, and you're like, okay, maybe they found something, but they just can't sustain it up front.
I think their passing game is different than it's been. You know, I took a you know a lot of grief yesterday on GMFB when I was talking about you know what I think they're missing in the passing game. Obviously, it starts with running the football and doing that. That's what Philadelphia's built on. But what they're missing in the passing game, and and I mentioned missing a guy like AJ Brown, and that doesn't mean that their players aren't good.
Devonte Smith is a really good wide receiver in the National Football League. But something that always makes the game easier for any quarterback. Is to have what we call an X receiver—that guy that you can put on on one side of the field. You put the other three receivers on the other side. You give them a you know full field concept, but you have that one guy on the backside that you say, "Hey, if they ever give us one on one, think of Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase.
Every time Jamar Chase gets one on one, Joe Burrow seems to throw it to him. He's like, I got my guy over here, and it makes the game easier, even on really good quarterbacks, even for really good quarterbacks. If you watch the Raiders last. Week they got Brock Bowers back. That's what they did with Brock Bowers.
They put him out on one side by himself and say, "I don't care who covers him—cornerback, safety, linebacker. We're going to go to that guy, and he's going to make a play." And it makes the game so much easier. And so I know there were issues with AJ Brown in the locker room and big picture wise, but he gave them that dynamic that they don't really have right now. Devonte Smith—they like to leave him inside more in tight splits and not in those. One on one situations, Ontavian Wix has been great for him, but just not quite to that level, in my opinion, at least yet in his career.
And that to me is something that can take a lot of pressure off an offense when you can say, "Hey, load the box for Saquon Barkley. I got a one on one guy out there that I can take advantage of every single time." And they've had that the past few years. They could always fall back on that, and it's something to me that they aren't really falling back on or can't really fall back on right now, based on. The way that they're playing football, and now it's causing to me a lot of issues in their passing game.
Sometimes it looks good, but then there's just not a lot of continuity right now.
Well, maybe I should ask you this question in a couple weeks after you have meetings with the Eagles in advance of the Week Five Sunday starter on NFL Network when the Eagles and Jaguars play each other in a terrific game of the Doug Peterson Bowl, if you will. But that said, I'll ask you the question I get from all my Eagles friends and fans. Of the show here, how you know should they be nervous about what they're seeing? Is this another moment where we're going to have another season, wondering what Sirianni's role in all this, what's Hertz's role in all this? Did they get the right coordinator?
Are we in that same Barrel right now, Kurt. I think you should be a little bit worried because I still look at the team and I say they're talented enough to be better than this. You know, they've they're two and one. They came in undefeated, but it was a close win against Washington. They had to come back to get the win against Tennessee, and then obviously what we saw last night that.
Again, to me as a team, what you're looking for is yes, we have talent.
Now, I just want to see continuity. I want to see us be able to do something really well. A couple years ago, obviously, was running the football. The thing that I know, Jalen Hurts is going to win a lot of games for this football team. He is going to make some plays.
They've got some great playmakers: Devonte Smith, Dallas Goddard, when he comes back, Saquon Barkley. The guys that they've got on defense, like they have a talented team, so they're going to be in the mix. But the biggest thing is when you have a team this talented. You want to believe that you're going to compete for a championship, and that to me is the worry in Philly. Is just that why can't we put this together?
Why can't we, you know, run the football again? Because again, we saw a couple drives last night where it looked picture perfect. I mean, huge holes for Saquon Barkley. Why can't we sustain that? Why can't we do that week in and week out?
And that to me would have me worried whether I'm on the team or just a fan, because it's been going on.
Now for a period of time, yeah, we talked about the Dallas Cowboys last week. How how do they continue to change coordinators and change personnel? Yet they still look the same on the field in terms of how they play. And I feel kind of like that with with Philly is that they've got all this talent. It's the same talent they had when they were going really good.
Why does it continue to go sideways for this football team, and they can't, you know, they can't get their direction down and that consistency down with all the talent they've got? Kurt Warner here on the Rich Eisen show. All right, a two-part question here involving the JJ McCarthy trade from the Vikings to the Giants. Did they see enough? Do you think from Kyler Murray to figure out we can trade away our depth?
Um. Or do do you think they just saw what they needed to see out of McCarthy, having him in in the system for one healthy year enough to basically say this just is it's it's done. I believe it's the latter. There, um, you know, just with Kyler Murray, I don't know if you've seen enough yet. I mean, really, just the one game, and I don't think he necessarily played great against the Bucks, even though they got the win.
Um, I think it's the latter. I think. You know, we tried it. It hasn't worked. You wonder also just with all the talk and everything that's said, how that affects a locker room and all of the things.
Of can we go back there at some point when he goes from a starter to the third string guy? Can we ever go back there? And I believe Minnesota just kind of said, "Hey, probably best for everybody to just cut our ties, let JJ go somewhere else, and have a new start." And for us to try to figure out what our future is going to look like, and so.
So I believe that's more of the scenario in Minnesota. Really, I mean, because again, two weeks ago, Kurt, two games ago, he was the backup. And if Wentz gets you know knocked around, he gets blue tinted, as we see is happening in most games.
Somebody's going in there. Many games, he would have been the guy. He would have been in there in Chicago. You know where he had his first career win on a Monday night. You called that game.
You watched the fourth quarter. All of a sudden, was like Tebow time in a way. You know, but so so you're not surprised that they're they're willing to just like cut their losses so fast. I guess in a way, even though he was there for a year, healthy in this day and age, I'm not surprised that it goes as fast. I wish it didn't.
You know. Bottom line for me, when I watched JJ play, and even when he was coming out of Michigan, you know, I talked about. I didn't think he was ready to carry a team. He hadn't been in that situation. He had things to work on mechanically coming out of college.
All the things that you say. This guy's not ready to be an NFL starter. He starts. He shows a lot of those deficiencies were still there, and that he needs to learn. But he's a very young guy, and that to me is always a surprising part.
Is that hey, you don't have your quarterback of the future? I know maybe he hasn't been what you you know wanted him to be up to this point, but that doesn't mean it can't click. He can't get to the point in an off season where all of a sudden it comes together and he becomes the guy that that you thought he was. When you drafted him so high, so that's always a surprising thing to me—is how quickly we will give up on guys, especially you know. And again, I think a great example is Bryce Young.
Bryce Young was this guy, and we talked about it because we covered a game. You know when he was going through his issues and starting, and then being benched because he wasn't living up to the expectations. And now you watch Bryce play, and it's just it's a steady ascension. He just gets better and better every year, every week. He's doing things that you saw on tape in college that made him the number one overall pick, and you're seeing it now.
And he he talked to us about, hey, I needed to step away from the expectations a little bit, and I need Needed to to watch a guy like Andy Dalton do it and see how he prepares and and all of those things just helped me.
So when I got inserted back in there, I was looking at everything from a different lens. And we've seen it work. And so that's the thing that always surprises me. We get these young guys and we throw them in and we think they should be ready and they're not ready. And so now what do we do?
Oh, let's maybe you know take some time to develop the guy and allow him a chance to grow into. Position as opposed to oh first shot he wasn't ready let's send him somewhere else and then you know again we got Sam Darnold which is a great example of a similar type thing he said the same thing when I sat on the bench in San Francisco behind Brock and with Kyle I learned so much about the game and the position that when I got inserted again in Minnesota and then in Seattle he was ready for what it takes to be an NFL quarterback and he's striving now and so that's the thing that just continues. It's a surprise me. It's just how quick we are to say, "Hey, this guy's never going to be," and let's move on, as opposed to giving them a chance to develop and learn the position.
So now, what happens with the Giants, Kurt? Right? Because I mean, what an interesting choice the Giants made. On one hand, you get yourself a first round graded potentially in their minds, whether John was with the Ravens or Joe Shane. Even though they went ahead and took Malik Neighbors sixth overall instead of.
JJ McCarthy, you get somebody at that early stages of their career for a fifth round pick, and you can just start building your quarterback room. But they got him now because Jackson Dart got hurt. This trade wouldn't be happening, we all know, if Dart had been healthy, right?
So now he's there, and if he's still not quarterback NFL quarterback starter ready. They're going to end up putting him in there at some point. One would think, unless they really plan on having Jamis there all year, and then if Jamis does, you know, obviously start this week and other weeks here, how does McCarthy get the necessary reps to get up to speed? Walk me through how you think this plays out from getting him in the study room to maybe in the huddle, Kurt. I believe this was a move.
Kind of to say yes, we're making a move for this year because we need someone because Jackson Dart is out. But I also believe this is one of those hey, we can get this guy for a low round draft pick, and there's still questions about Jackson Dart. And I know he's looked good when he's played, but he's been injured a lot. And so I believe this is an opportunity for them to have two guys that were drafted really high. If these two guys are both you know what they were drafted to be, let them.
Compete and figure out what's going to happen in the future, but I believe there's some concern about Jackson Dart and the injuries, and I do believe that's part of why this move was made for a young guy. Otherwise, I think like everyone else, hey, you go out and can you trade for you know a Joe Flacco or somebody? Just keep the seat warm, knowing that Jackson's going to be inserted. And again, I'm not saying Jackson's not going to be their starter game one next year. I'm just saying.
There has to be some concerns with how much he's been injured in the short term, and so getting a young guy that has a lot to you know to learn. But you know, I'm sure brothers have talked and said, "Hey, this is what he's good at. This is what I like about him. This is his potential." I believe that is part of why they made this move is is a future move as much as it as it is a now or this season move. You know, to just trying to figure it out.
And you know, I always say, I unders Understand that if there's competition and two guys, you know, how does that bode in a locker room? I think it's always a great thing is to have two guys if they're both good. You know, throw the ball out there and let them compete and let them win the job and let them win the locker room. I don't think that's ever a bad thing. And now you've got two young quarterbacks that you like that you can keep on your roster for and again for the short term, three, four years as you figure this thing out, and then and then you move from there.
Man, letting quarterbacks compete like it's any. Other position, Marshall's rubbing off on you, huh? After all, that that's a Marshall Faulk thing. How many times we hear that on game day morning? Like, what's wrong with two quarterbacks having to compete?
Because running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, you know, linemen, we all do that, you know, especially two guys that haven't proven themselves yet. Right? We've seen more, you know, from Jackson or better from Jackson than JJ. But two guys that aren't solidified in that position, I agree. What's wrong with that?
Let's let's let them go compete. Let's let them earn the job. Let's let them, like I said, earn the locker room, which is also a huge part of it. Winning the locker room and having an organization believe in you, and the guys in the locker room believe in you. And so, I do believe that's an aspect to this thing, and see if they can help JJ to come up to speed and be a guy that can compete and play in this league for a long time.
Okay, a couple more for you, Kurt, before I send you on a transatlantic flight for Sunday's game on NFL Network, nine thirty p.m. nine thirty. A.M. Eastern Time, four windows, glorious four windows of football start in Week Four with the Colts and Commanders on NFL Network. Explain to me what happened at the end of the Rio game, where it's third and goal, they call up a play, and Dak throws it into Argentina, and after the game says, "Yeah, I was throwing it away," and the coach is like, "I should have, I over coached him," and you are not giving.
George Pickens, a shot, or even dialing something else up in the end zone. Walk me through how something like this happens, where a coach is teaching him, an eleven-year veteran, throw the ball away. How does that happen?
Well, I mean, I think the interesting thing is you always have to go back to different situations. I remember, I think it was a year ago where the Cardinals had, you know, the guy running into the end zone, the running back, and he drops the ball at the one yard line. And what happens? You know, everybody around the league shows the video and says, "Hey, don't do this. Make sure you blah blah blah blah blah." Yeah, I think back to the first game of the year.
You know, the opening game on Wednesday night. Drake May, we talked about earlier, is in a similar situation. Late in the game, you know they they got an opportunity to kick a field goal to tie the game, and he makes a bad decision and throws it up, and it's intercepted, and they lose the game. And everybody's talking about it, and everybody in the world watched it, and so you wonder how situations like that play out. Is that here's Dak in a very similar situation, similar time in the game, and I'm sure that starts to illuminate in his head.
As you said. Guys like Dak been there a million times. Understand the narrative, like, hey, you know, here's the situation. Don't be stupid with the football. If it's not there, you know, throw the ball away.
You do all those things, but you know, it it it starts pounding in your head because you know something like that can just jump back into your head and go, oh, remember when Drake May did that?
Okay, don't don't do a Drake May here. Like, make sure. And so I was with you. Like, I couldn't believe you didn't give him some kind of a chance. You know, on the route.
Thrown high and away, or whatever. But yeah, maybe there was miscommunication, and he wasn't sure, so he didn't want to. But but I was really surprised that yeah, just went into the cheap seats. Like we're not even going to give George a chance, and I'm just going to throw it out there. But it seemed like something like that was going on in his mind that he was over conscious of.
Don't make a bad mistake. Don't make a decision where you're going to try to jam it in there and and cost you the game. If it's not there, just throw it away. And he just made that decision quick and kind of flipping and threw it into the stands. To live for another day, but it was an odd situation that you know that there wasn't even really an attempt to be able to score a touchdown.
All right, it's now this time of year where I finish our our Warner Wednesday with the same question: if if it warrants, and I think it does now. In studying for your QB Confidential reels and videos for this week, who which quarterback had the best week three on film? You know, I'm going to give you a few guys that people aren't talking about. I tell you what, I thought Kirk Cousins played really, really well. I thought he was definitive.
The ball was coming out of his hands. He was slinging it. It looked like there was more pop in his arm than I saw, you know, in Week One that had me a little bit worried. He just played really good, and I love that Fernando Mendez gets to watch him run this offense and get through his reads and get to his, you know, checkdowns when needed or hit that back foot and get the ball out. He's playing some some really good football, Case Keenum.
him. I thought played one of the best games of the weekend. I thought it was going to be about you know play action. Of course, with your backup, he was eleven for twelve on play action. He was eleven for eleven against the blitz.
There was some plays where man, it was almost free pressure coming at him. I don't even know how he recognized what was going on down the field, and he flips it up and over and puts the ball on them. I thought he played an excellent game, and it just and those are two guys that show you you know what you are seeing, you know how to play the game, you understand. How football works. Get that.
Get the ball out of your hands. Get it to your playmakers. I thought both of them played well, and then I'll give you a young guy. Tyler Shuck is playing some really, really good football. I thought this was the best game that I'd seen him play.
I know they didn't win the game because of all the chaos that happened at the end of that game against the Raiders, but for a young guy in his second year, playing the way he is, is confident, seeing it, understanding you all the stuff I was talking about with the veteran guys. This young man, and again, not young, I guess for a second. Year guy, but this young player is playing with so much confidence and understanding of the game that I'm just I'm really really impressed with what I'm seeing from him. You know, when all the things play out with the quarterback class from a year ago, and and he's playing some really really good football. Yeah, right.
Yeah, second year player and two 38 year old guys. How about that? So you're in the you're in the Raiders are for real camp. We you saw me. On Sunday, that I said they were fake.
As as a detective, I went in and said they were fake, and so I I heard it a lot from Raiders Nation. I still won't say I'm fully convinced yet, but but I'm more convinced. You get Brock Bowers back; that was a huge difference maker on Sunday. That he is a game changer for that football team, and and so again, I don't know if I'm buying that they're a contender for like a championship. But they are better than I thought they would be, and they're better than I gave them credit for a week ago.
And I'm excited to see where they can go from here. Kurt, safe travels. We'll chat next week from London. You from London? I'll be here, and then of course I'll be doing the pre and the halftime and post of the game.
You are and Jason Kelsey are calling with Dave Pasch on NFL Network this coming weekend. Colts and Commanders, travel safe, my friend. All right, thanks, buddy. Kurt Warner here on. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.
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Loans originated by SoFi Bank, NA member FDIC. Terms and conditions. Apply NMLS six nine six eight nine one everybody. Great chat with Kurt right there, man. I mean, we just covered a whole bunch of ground.
Yeah, we did. My gosh, can I take the next hour off? No, or I, I mean, meaning, meaning what? You just no, I don't want to wear the helmet. Yeah, you do.
Do I really? Yeah, I mean, I think you do. No, listen, I'm all for good content. Here's what I want to have happen during the segment that you're wearing the helmet. I need some serious breaking news, like yeah, we need something big to happen.
Trade.
So I've got a rule. Have to do the entire segment with that segment with the helmet because that's kind of like your greatest fear, right? That something big. Always is like if we get you like me with the robe on, you wouldn't do because what if a big story broke and I'm right? That's why I don't like wearing the gear like costume.
Costumes on NFL Game Day morning. That's why that. But one year I was Fatwa Larry David for an entire show on Halloween. Great. I was just in mortal fear that I would be dressed like Fatwa Larry David and have to deliver interest.
You know, serious breaking news. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
That's what I want. You gotta let that go, baby. I'd take the helmet off. Let me. Why?
What do you mean? No. That's that's no. If ten thousand people would watch it without a helmet on, yeah. Then a hundred thousand would watch it.
You don't have to do. Here's. Do things. I'll clicks. TJ.
I'm gonna. I'm gonna text Tom and just tell him, "Hey, break something at this time." Can you just break a story? I don't care what it is. I'm sure. Yeah, I'm sure he has that journalistic.
Integrity to tell you to pounce, San. All right, next hour, power rankings coming up, and I have to pay off my bet with George Kittle by wearing his Iowa helmet for at least ten minutes, but the play consecutively. Thanks for listening to the Rich Eisen Show podcast. You can watch and listen to the Rich Eisen Show live weekdays from noon to three Eastern on ESPN Radio, Disney Plus, and on the ESPN app. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.
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