REShow: Stephen A. Smith/Von Miller - Hour 2 (9-6-2022)

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Earlier on the show 28-time Emmy Award winner Bob Costas. Coming up, host of ESPN's First Take, Stephen A. Smith, Bill's linebacker Vaughn Miller, from Netflix's Cobra Kai, actor Martin Kove, and now it's Rich Eisen. Yes it is can confirm, sources say, and now I'm on camera. Yeah I am. We're in a great, I think, French blue button down or are you a button up or a button down guy?

What are you? Button down, button up? I think you button up. I do button down. I don't know if that's an easy... Do you start at the top and then go down?

I don't know. I thought the button down was the button on the collar is the button. By the way it's a dress shirt, it looks great. I'm doing NFL Network tonight. Are you wearing that shirt? No I am not. What am I, an animal? I'm gonna bring my other shirt.

I don't know. I got a suit, I got the suit and tie for tonight. Eight Eastern Time, it's me and Mooch and Kurt and Irv for the NFL game day morning season preview show. We've got Cron Miller coming up in 20 minutes time on this program. We've got so much to get to including one of my favorite people on planet earth. I cannot wait to read his book which you can pre-order right now where all books are pre-ordered.

I'm looking at the Amazon page. I love the photograph on the front of Stephen A. Smith's Straight Shooter, a memoir of second chances and first takes. Everybody should watch that. One of my favorite humans on television and the planet Stephen A. Smith back here on The Rich Island Show. How you doing Stephen A.?

My brother, how are you Rich? How's everything going man? Great to chat with you. Congrats in advance of the book. I can't wait to read it. Can't wait.

Yeah man it's crazy. Simon and Schuster called me the other day, Friday actually and they told me that in Barnes and Nobles I'm number 15 in the world on pre-sales and I haven't even, book's not even on shelves yet so I've been very blessed and fortunate. Thank you. Mad Dog doing the book on tape version for you Stephen A.? No, no, no, no, I'm not going to let you do it. I'm going to do it myself. He's crazy though.

I love working with him. Yeah you can't have somebody who's English is a second language read your book like that Stephen. You can't do that. No, no, no, who never gets names right by the way. Forget every name on the planet.

Forget the correct pronunciation for every name on the planet. It's hilarious. Oh you guys are a fun watch and of course I love it when Irv, you and Irv do battle. How upset will Michael Irvin be when the season ends do you think? He'll be as miserable as he always does. I will give him a lot of credit for his intestinal resolve somehow some way no matter the consistent amount of years of ineptitude, the perpetual state of affairs that involves the Dallas Cowboys. Somehow some way he's their number one chili, their number one pom-pom waiver. The minute they lose and they go home, give them about an hour or two and he'll say, you know, we're going to win the Super Bowl next year. That's what he does.

They probably get it from him, but in the end there's no hope. We all know what's going to happen to the Cowboys ahead of time and you'll be chronicling it throughout each Sunday on Sunday mornings and I'll be watching because I'll be listening and looking for the nonsensical drivel that he's going to put forth out there over the national airwaves and I'll be chronicling it all just to hold against him. I already got him on one thing, I don't know if you missed it, I don't know if you saw this, August 15th, my first day back, Michael Irvin sat up there and compared these upcoming Dallas Cowboys to the 1972 Miami Dolphins Oh man, I missed that.

Who were undefeated. He's on the record talking about if they're healthy, you watch, they might not lose a game. Those were his words. I have it on tape. Maybe he just got confused that he was on the water and he thought he was in South Florida, Steven.

That could have been it. I don't give a damn what kind of confusion he was going through. I'm not going to credit him with that. I'm going to hold it against him all year long because we all know they're going to lose a few games.

He's going to be wrong several times. Well, I mean, and I know the Cowboys are popular for many reasons, but I mean when you just take a look at it and their top wide receiver could be just the only wide receiver who's caught a pass of significance in their room while Michael Gallup is hurt and you got a 40 year old that you just signed that might be protecting your quarterback and helping your run game, that just in itself would discount a team. But I think this is the Eagles' division, Steven. I really do.

Well, obviously I think so as well. The offensive line is top notch. The acquisition of AJ Brown to go along with Devante Smith and Regan, those boys, the running attack, Miles Simon and the crew. Their offensive line is clearly the best in football right now. The question mark is Jalen is Jalen Hurts.

But at the very least, he's a playmaker who can run with the football, extend plays and make things happen with his feet if not his own. Not to mention the fact that the defense is respectable. And then you take into account the default status of the rest of the NFC league. The Giants, you got a new coach in Dabel who I believe in, but Daniel Jones is a question mark. I don't even like the name of the Commodores, let it let the Commodiers rather, let alone the team.

Okay. And then on top of it all, you got the Dallas Cowboys. So without the engine, Michael Gallup, Amari Cooper's gone. Cedric Wilson is gone. Ezekiel Elliott has dissipated to some degree.

Your offensive lines got injuries. I mean, it's all suspect right now. So I just think that it's the Eagles division by default alone. And I'm very happy about it. So are you saying it won't be easy like Sunday morning for the Commodores this Sunday?

Is that what you're saying? I think it is going to be easy. It is going to be easy like Sunday morning. And I'm a Lionel Richie fan.

So that's not hard for me to say. Stephen A. Smith here on the Rich Eisen Show. Who is your Super Bowl? What's your Super Bowl prediction? Have you made one on first take yet?

Because I've not seen that. I think the bills are coming out of the AFC. Okay. I think this is their time.

This is your year. You know, when you consider Stephon Diggs and Josh Allen and that tandem, I think the acquisition of Bob Miller helps buffer their defense to some degree. Just gotta leave our wallet.

There's no longer a day I think that might be a loss. But at the end of the day, I still think they have enough. And I think they've been knocking on the door the last couple of years. And I think that Josh Allen has a chance to win MVP, even though I think Justin Herbert probably will win it. That's the way I'm leaning towards with it. But I think Buffalo as a team is a team to be out of the AFC. And it wouldn't surprise me at all if Tom Brady found a way to get to Tampa Bay Buccaneers back to the Super Bowl this year. I think the familiarity of the weapons available to him are Mike Evans, you know, with Leonard Fournette out of the backfield. The offensive line is a question mark.

I get that. But I think that Julio Jones is going to be a plus as another wideout. I think people counting him out that forgetting that he had Ryan Tannehill throwing him the football, that might contaminate a lot of people. So I think that Julio Jones is going to be better. I think Mike Evans is going to be who he is. I think Chris Godwin eventually is going to return that he's going to be healthy enough. And I think that Cameron Break is going to offset the loss of Rob Gronkowski to some degree.

And I think the combination of those things along with the defense expected to be better now that they're not going to be disabled by injuries. Look at the rest of the NFC. I brought up Dallas and Philly already. Aaron Rodgers doesn't have the receivers necessary. Minnesota's got Kirk Cousins.

We ain't going to be sold on them. In the South, you got New Orleans. Jameis Wilson has a lot to prove. And in the West, you got Trey Lance as a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. And let's point out Jimmy, I mean Jimmy Colombo. And Russell Wilson is gone from Seattle. And Kyler Murray's got clauses in his contract asking him to be in the film room at least four hours a week.

So I think all of those things taken under consideration both very, very well for Tom Brady. Well wouldn't you think if the Rams were named the Patriots, we'd be all over the Rams with Bobby Wagner and Allen Robinson and improving their team? I agree with that, but I think the loss of Bob Miller hurts them. I think OBJ and Robin Woods being out hurts them. Even though I think Allen Robinson, I think that this is a guy that can be a stud again. We can't hold against him. That Matt Nagy and Ryan Pierce is running the Chicago Bears.

He still found a way to perform up until last year. I think that Allen Robinson is the big plus and I don't mind anybody that puts the Rams as the favorite. But I think now that you got the ring and you're the Super Bowl champion, although some would say that takes the pressure off of you, I still think that enables Tom Brady and the crew to keep coming. Right now, I would give Tampa Bay the edge. I get to start the season. You go with the Rams, but Matthew Stafford's elbow situation is questionable and that's what has to be suspect on them too. All right, and so the last follow-up on what you just said, Stephen A. Smith, is Herbert winning the MVP or having a chance to do it. So you take the Chargers in that deep end of the NFL pool out west in the AFC? You'd like the Chargers to win? I'm picking them to win the west. I think that as much of a stud as Patrick Mahomes is and Travis Kelce are, I think that Tyreek Hill is a tremendous loss.

I don't think you just offset that. We got to make sure that you use your shoes that ain't on TikTok. We got to make sure of that. We look at McColl-Harmon. Let's see what he does. In the case of the Denver Broncos, you got Courtland Sutton and Jerry Judy.

I know God, but especially Judy, he's got something to prove. Russell Wilson being there is an upgrade. They got a quarterback now for the first time since Peyton Manning left, but I still think that when you look at the west, of course, we can't ignore the Raiders with Joshua Daniels, Derek R. Devante Adams, but I got to see it to believe it because it ain't Aaron Rogers throwing Devante Adams to football now. It's Derek Carr, and there's still some questions with the Raiders, particularly on the offensive line. I take all of those things into consideration. I look at what the Chargers have done to improve themselves on both sides of the football with the stud that is Justin Herbert, who just finished off for 5,000 yards with two, not one, but two $20 million a year receivers in Williams and Allen. I'm just of the mindset that this is the Chargers year to win that division and to make a deep run into the playoffs, and that's just where I'm at with it. First take host, new podcast, No Mercy with Stephen A. Smith and his new book that's coming out, Straight Shooter, where all books can be pre-ordered right now.

It's coming out in January. A few more minutes left with Stephen A. here on the Rich Eisen Show. I would be remiss if I did not ask you because we have not spoken since Kevin Durant rescinded his trade demand and returned to the Brooklyn Nets, and the team on paper looks great, but how do you think this all works with Kyrie opting in and then Durant opting out and then saying he wants out and then some, I don't know how they put the genie back in the bottle, but they did. How do you think this all works with the Nets, Stephen A.?

I think the Nets could easily be the team in the Eastern Conference representing the Eastern NBA Finals. First of all, I want to applaud the Brooklyn Nets for finally doing something right as an organization. They held steady with their position on Kyrie Irving at the beginning of the season, and they reneged and looked like absolute fools in doing so. They handed the franchise over to two superstars in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, and that ended up being a disaster. All they've had in three years is one playoff series win to show for it, which is why they need to be applauded for standing their ground. Kevin Durant didn't need to go anywhere, and I was glad they kept his ass right where they did because you signed a four-year, $198 million extension, and before you honored one day of it, you're talking about you wanting to be traded?

Hell no. They got his rights without an opt for four years. He wants to go someplace after next season?

I would oblige, assuming he gives me this season. You're going to give me something for the money I gave you. Originally, it was like $164 million, and then obviously it's $198 million. You're talking about $362 million that the Brooklyn Nets have invested in the great Kevin Durant, who I believe to be the best in the world, went healthy. All they had was one playoff series victory to show for it.

That is entirely unacceptable. In the case of Kyrie Irving, nobody wants him to buy the plate in hand. He was expecting a $212 million extension. They told him to opt in with the one-year, $36.9 million. You've got to show up to work to earn your money. He watched Bradley Beal get over $200 million, along with a couple of other cats, including Zach LaVine in the Chicago Bulls. Kyrie's box office, he's a superstar who should be paid like that and would have been paid like that had he had the decency to show up to work. He didn't.

Now that you want to get paid, you've got to show up to work. Then, of course, there's Ben Simmons with his supposed mental health issues. We don't diminish the importance of mental health. We understand how important that is, but there are people who will question the legitimacy of that, including myself. I spoke to him privately.

He convinced me that his problems were very, very real, with devoting a lot of personal stuff that he did not have to, that I would never repeat out of respect for him and his privacy. But he's convinced me that he's ready to go this season. So Ben Simmons, who was my defensive play of the year two years ago, is ready to go.

Rick Kyrie and KD ready to go. There's no reason why the Nets shouldn't be a favorite to come out of the East. Milwaukee will have something to say about it. Boston will have something to say about it.

But the Brooklyn Nets could easily be in the NBA Finals this upcoming season if those brothers show up to work. You're simply the best. Nobody better, Stephen A. Thanks for the time. I'll look for your tweets on Sundays, as always, and look for my call.

In the meantime, Susie sends her best. Congrats on the book in advance. Appreciate it.

Absolutely. Appreciate to love you, man. Talk to you later. Right back at you. The one and only Stephen A. Smith here on the Rich Eisen Show.

Go Cowboys. He's off the phone. He heard it. He didn't hear that. He heard that. All right.

I got to now take a break. So we're on time for Von Miller and text the gang of Game Day Morning to clip Stephen A. 's message to play for Irv on tonight's show. Fantastic. Number one Cowboys fan, Stephen A. Smith. You know what? He's definitely paying attention.

Good for business either way. He is. Let's take a break. Let's be on time for Von Miller, who's stepping off the practice field in Buffalo before he steps on a plane to come out here to LA to start the season in two nights. Year 12 for the guy who was John Elway's first draft choice in Denver, coming off of a championship here in Los Angeles, California, getting set to take on the Rams in two nights on Thursday night. It's going to be amazing. He is one of the all-time greats getting set, maybe getting fitted for a jacket.

Canton, Ohio as well. Of the Buffalo Bills, Von Miller on the Mercedes-Benz Vans phone line. How are you doing, Von? How's it going, guys? Thanks Rich. I appreciate you, man. I always enjoyed being on the show and I just appreciate you guys for having me again. We feel the same exact way. Are you getting on a plane today? Is that how this is working? When you get out here?

No, you know, we're on the East Coast so we can leave tomorrow morning and have enough time to get ready. What's going through your mind as you're coming out here to the spot where you won a championship to take on the team you won a championship with? What's going in that brain of yours, Von? You know, I've been thinking about this for a long time and I'm big with visualizing big moments like this in my life. I did it for a Super Bowl and for both Super Bowls and all the playoff games and just big games during my career. I think about the stadium. I think about any interaction that I can have with the players on the other team, how I want to play, how I want to lead my teammates.

All I've been thinking about is just staying kind of even-keeled, trying to keep my emotions in check. I love those guys. I love everybody over there. They came and got me at a very crucial moment in my career and it's nothing but love for the whole city of LA and the whole Rams organization. Coach McVay, Aaron Donald, Les Snead, Reggie in the training room and Mark and Brandon Berg and Henny the D-line coach and Rod at DC. Man, everybody, they showed me so much love. Jalen Ramsey, man, all of those guys.

Everybody in LA has so much love for the whole city. It's just like playing against your brother and like Madden. You love your brother.

You love your brother, y'all family, but when it's time to play, you want to win and that's just where I'm at with it. Have you gotten your ring yet, Vaughn? Yeah, I got my ring and I was at the ring ceremony. You were? So, I went to the ring ceremony. That was my last day on the team with the Rams and it was just so much love, man, just being there with all those guys, man.

I really enjoy my time there and I hate being reminded that, you know, I could have went back and all of that stuff and I just want to, you know, keep my head down and be a Buffalo Bill, but, you know, LA was just so good to me, the whole city, man, and, you know, I really enjoyed my time there. Yeah, I mean, my crack staff, the great Rich Eisen Show crew put up the photograph of you wearing your ring, your new ring. Can you fit the Broncos ring that was on your index finger inside the new ring? Does it fit inside there, Vaughn?

Yeah, you probably can. You probably can if you remember when the Broncos had their Super Bowl ring. We had the biggest Super Bowl ring in the history of the NFL. So, you see where the Rams is. It's the biggest championship ring in all of sports. So, it just keeps getting bigger and bigger and that's what championships are supposed to be.

You're supposed to, you know, and you're supposed to just, and you're supposed to capture that moment. You're supposed to capture that year and it was a big year for the Rams organization. It was a big year for all of us and that's exactly what they did with the ring. Well, Vaughn, I know you're new to your new digs, relatively new to your new digs still, but do you get the sense of what it would mean if you could add another one to your hand and thus put one on the hand of the famed Bills Mafia? Do you get a sense of what that would mean, Vaughn, already?

Yeah, it'll mean so much. You know, you don't want to, you know, look too far ahead, but at the same time, you got to have goals and, you know, that was a huge reason for me coming here to Buffalo Bills. You know, if it wasn't, if it, if I wouldn't be the first guy to play in three Super Bowls and went through Super Bowls, you know, I could have just, you know, stayed with the Rams, just rode off into the sunset with Aaron Donald and just, you know, lived in LA and, you know, just enjoyed, you know, my years before retirement, but I still felt like I had more to do and I felt like, you know, the Buffalo Bills gave me that chance.

I wouldn't be able to win three Super Bowls with three different teams if I would've stayed with the Rams, you know, so it was a, it was a tough decision to come over here. We got a great team over here. We got a great quarterback, great coaching staff. This locker room is incredible. Every Super Bowl team that I've been on, the locker room and the teammates that I've had have all been tremendous.

It's a play, Super Bowl teams are always player-led and this team has some similarities to the Super Bowl teams that I've been on. That was going to be my next question, Von Miller, because, you know, you know what it takes to win a championship. You've been around championship teams and you're around the Bills at an interesting time, Von, because the level of expectation for this Bills team is through the roof and I'm wondering what do you see there that gives you the confidence that pressure could be shouldered properly in Buffalo?

Yeah, you know, pressure is a privilege. To play this game so many years, you know, I've always had pressure with the Broncos. You know, we came from a, that's a championship organization. If you're not going to the Super Bowl, you know, after, you know, after seeing John Elway and Terrell Davis, Rod Smith, you know, all these guys do big things. If you're not going to the Super Bowl or playing in big time games, you know, that's the expectation that they have every single year. I don't care what the year before, what you did the year before, every single year, it's about the Super Bowl. Going to the Rams, it was all about the Super Bowl. It was about, you know, helping Aaron Donald, you know, win a Super Bowl, getting Coach McVeigh, you know, over the hump and getting him a Super Bowl, you know, and Matthew Stafford and all these guys at the Super Bowl. It was about the Super Bowl when I went to the Rams. And we had some of those same type pressures here. You know, back in the golden days, you know, you lost four straight, four Super Bowls straight, and this community is really famous for one. And, you know, we got a lot of similarities in the Super Bowl teams that I've been on.

We still got to go out there and play, but, you know, that's always the main goal. Well, I mean, Peyton, obviously, just like Stafford, coming from a spot where his entire career was part of his identity for that team in that city and then going to a new spot and trying to win it in his first year there. Obviously, for Peyton, it took a couple of Super Bowl cracks, but he finally, with you winning the MVP of Super Bowl 50, broke through. Josh Allen's a totally different story. He is an ascending superstar in this league and a guy who could run for mayor and win on the spot there in Buffalo, New York. What have you seen from him that makes you know, outside of having played and seen him, that he's special?

Von, you got a story for me on that front? Yeah, I mean, Josh, first and foremost, he doesn't take anything serious. Like, it's not like, you know, of course, you know, we're out on the football field, he's all, you know, he's trying to win, but his confidence, his confidence level is just, it's just amazing to be around.

It's not one of these, it's not the feeling that, okay, you're overly confident or cocky, anything like that. He just believes in his guys. He believes in his skillset. He believes in his skillset and where he's at in his career right now. And yeah, he's a fun guy to be around. Doesn't take anything serious.

He talks with this little light voice, man. It's just fun to be around. And I think the team and this organization just kind of, they just kind of follow lead.

They just kind of follow, you know, Josh's lead. And you know, we got a great defense over here as well. They've been great for a very long time.

You know, Coach Frazier and Coach Washington and, you know, all these guys, they draw great, great schemes every single year. We got great players on both sides of the ball and, you know, we just got to go out, we just got to go out there and play. You know, I really enjoyed being here.

You know, I was kind of shaky when I signed here in March. Coach McDermott had told me that, man, I learned to love this place and, you know, he wasn't lying to me. You know, of course, when you see Buffalo on paper and, you know, it's code and stuff and all that stuff here, but the people here in the community and, you know, all the people that live and breathe Buffalo football and, you know, my teammates, you know, the training staff and the equipment managers and the infrastructure of the team, you know, everybody's just so, everybody's just a delight to be around.

And they really make up for whatever, whatever negative dashes Buffalo could have. Like, the people here really make up for all of that stuff, man, and I'm enjoying being here and looking forward to a great season. Von Miller here on the Rich Eisen Show, couple more minutes left with him. Let's talk about you a little bit, Von. What is it like to be the OG walking in the locker room, being that guy now in year 12?

What's that like for you, Von? You know, it's cool because I don't feel, I don't feel 33 at all. And when I watch the film, you know, in my opinion, I don't look 33, you know, but just being around the guys, like, it's just, it's just something like, you get the jokes and, you know, being in the locker room and you hear conversations. That's when I feel like, that's when I feel like 33.

Are they making, hold on a minute, are they making like music references, show references, social media references? You know, it really doesn't have anything to do with football. But that's, that's just what I feel when I'm around the young guys and you just hear the jokes and you just, the priorities are just different. You know, me, you know, I'm here and it's all about winning. It's all about coming in here, getting the most out of my team, getting the most out of my teammates, trying to be the best leader I could possibly be.

And I wouldn't say it's, I wouldn't say it's a work mentality because I honestly felt like I haven't worked a day in my life. It's just, I enjoy being, I enjoy being here. I enjoy being, I enjoy winning. And that's what it's all about for me.

I'm all about like trying to get the most out of my teammates, trying to get them in a positive mindset, trying to, you know, uplift everybody and have everybody ready for a Thursday or Sunday or whatever they may be. And that's some guys' priorities, you know, are just different. You know, you got guys playing, you know, Call of Duty and other stuff. You know, even though I occasionally play, you know, video games and stuff, it's just, the priorities for me is, you know, I want to win a Super Bowl and it's constantly on my mind 24-7. It's like this obsession where I can't even like, you know, you know, just the kid that like the young guy jokes is just, it just goes over my head.

But that's really the only time where I feel my age. But other than that, man, it's been a joy to be here. But it's not just that, Von. I'm hearing that your addition to Buffalo isn't just going to show up on the field and the importance of your addition to Buffalo isn't about the on the field either. It's you kind of being the football whisperer for the young up-and-comers, for the really talented players that are in your locker room, certainly on defense. And, you know, just remembering when you got drafted and hearing, you know, DeMarcus Ware kind of be that guy for you. Him telling me those stories. Rod Woodson telling me some stories too about that.

You know, I just find it amazing you're kind of in that role now in your career. It's all the little quotes and the one-liners that I tell all these guys that I get it from DeMarcus or I get it from Peyton. You know, I get it from guys that made all these great speeches throughout my career. The Brian Dawkins speech, you know, Tim Tebow speeches and attempt and attempt Bailey speeches, you know, all the greats that I've ever been around, like all the information that they gave me. I'm just paying it forward to these guys. And it's not only about football. It could be about, you know, it could be about it could be about finances or it could be about cooking or shelf or it's like the little things that everybody asks me about.

How do you recover? And I really enjoyed being I really enjoyed being in that position, too, because I tell these guys things that I wish people would have told me. I'm not telling them necessarily the stuff that I was doing when I was there.

I tell them stuff that I feel like that I should have been doing at that age. And it's good to just talk to, you know, Greg Russo and I'm talking to him, you know, about something. And I tell him something he just like lights up. Like, it's just like I just gave him a cheat code or I'm talking to A.J.

Espinosa. We're talking about, you know, something, you know, on the football field. And I tell him something. He just you could just tell him you could just see that you could just see them just like capture that information. And they just they just hold on to it. And I really enjoyed being in that position so I can get these guys all the information that Demarcus gave me, you know, down the future.

They can do the same. Scott Miller, I love chatting with you. I'm so excited for you. I'm so excited for you and that whole community and the team. It's right there in front of you and it starts in L.A. in two nights.

I would run through a wall right now. I can't wait. I cannot wait. Seriously. Hey, I appreciate you, Rich. Man, it's always been a joy, man. I appreciate you guys. I'm hoping that in a couple of weeks, you know, I'll be right back here for you guys mid-season. Okay, great. Look for my call, as always, Von.

You're the best. Appreciate the time now. Have safe travel and have a great time.

Soak it in on Thursday night and beyond. Thanks for the time. Appreciate it, guys. Thank you.

Right back at you. That's Von Miller right here on The Rich Eisen Show for the Buffalo Bills. I'm telling you, man, he was so talented, obviously, coming out of Texas A&M. And the stories I heard, he was young and didn't know what he didn't know.

And Demarcus, where would he kind of took him aside? Mm hmm. He would text him like he would get a text from him at like one in the morning. And his answer is like, what are you doing up? Go to bed. Go to bed. Go to bed. Seriously.

And now he's the go to bed guy. Yep. That's how it goes, man. Gosh.

And how important that is for a team. It really is. You know, what an addition. Been there, done that. Okay, you've had trouble closing. Who's a better closer than Von Miller?

Man, if he stays healthy and that team stays healthy, it's all about the expectation level. Game one, Rams. Can you put up the bills, please? Just one more time here. I'm sure Hoskins has it on, you know, speed dial up there. He's the president. Bills honk here.

Mr. Western New York of The Rich Eisen Show. Just put it up there. Okay, look at all the asterisks on the screen.

What does that mean? Those are nationally televised game and not even the one that's Thanksgiving again. Bills are on Thanksgiving again.

Okay, we're all we're going to see it all. A game at Kansas City is not prime time. That's going to be a, if you will, prime time game.

At Baltimore will be just the Donnybrook. The prime time games are the first two. They're the first Thursday night and the first second Monday night of the season. Christmas Eve at the Bears. The Monday nighter, first Monday nighter of 2023 is at Cincinnati. Here we go.

All the New England games, that's a Thursday nighter, but that's the full complement of rest because both New England and Buffalo played on Thanksgiving the night before. I mean, here we go. It's just going to be so much fun. The games, the Miami games are going to be great. 17-0? Nah, no.

I mean, I don't know who's going to ever do that again. Honestly, it's still so any given Sunday or Thursday or whatever. We have tough road games. You know, seriously, there's international games. There's all sorts of travel. There's injuries.

There's everything, but they're really good. They're the best team in the AFC. I think that's a given. That's a given and I'm not gonna, you know, that's a given and I know a lot of people are gonna zig instead of, you know, when everyone's zagging when they're Super Bowl picks.

I'll give you a heads up. I'm not. When it comes to the AFC, I'm going back and forth about betting against Brady again.

I can't do it. Let's take a break. Mike Tomlin has spoken. He has named a starter for week one, five days from now at Cincinnati, Ohio and college football. As soon as we went off the air, they're like, hey, how about a 12-team playoff? We've been pounding that table for quite some time. I'll tell you my two cents on that in the college football weekend. Chris Brockman's overreaction Monday and Martin Cove of Cobra Kai in studios. Still to come.

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Credit and collateral subject to approval. Navy Federal Credit Union is federally insured by NCUA. TJ had no idea he would take shrapnel during the Navy Federal read right there. I don't think anyone paid attention to it. By the way, The Price is Right turned 50 over the weekend. Did you know that?

Yeah, I watched it. On Saturday, it was there, or Saturday? Sunday, it was Sunday, was the 50th anniversary of the moment Bob Barker came out and asked someone to come on down. Well, that was Johnny O.

Actually, Johnny Olson was the one who said Johnny could come on down. They gave away a bunch of cars. Dude, all I know is I watched The Price is Right so much in college that I knew that when Bob and somebody came out of contestant's row and he did not move from his spot, you know, he'd always stand on the spot and, you know, stand there and people would bid on things and he would then, you know, when they came up from contestant's row, move to another spot of the stage for a pricing game, I knew that if he stayed on his mark, the person was going to win a brand new car or have an opportunity to win a brand new car. Because you always like to say you could win this and move and then point to the side and then, boom, there's the brand new car. That's how into the game I was, man.

Yeah. Man, that's why I also knew for you to take the middle key back in the deck, brother. You didn't know because you've never seen that game. I even said it's a rare game. The minute I saw it, I said that's a rare game.

It's a rare game. And you confirmed it, that you said you were watching to prepare for your appearance for months and you never saw it once. I told you somebody... Yeah, film study, you couldn't even, the film study was out. You imagine you study all the film and then it's time for game preparation.

Here comes Philly Philly. We never saw this play. Nope.

Someone on YouTube years like last year left a comment that they looked and saw that master key was in the bottom third of every gameplay. Price is right. It's unfortunate. It's unfortunate. It's unfortunate. Very, very unfortunate. You know, it's also unfortunate. It was great.

You know, it's also, speaking of unfortunate, you know, it's unfortunate. LSU was unfortunate. Florida State played a hell of a football game. That was the game of the weekend, right?

Wouldn't it? Cause Ohio State... Florida Utah was really good. That was good. Where Utah had a chance to tie it, but decided to win it. And then Florida picked off Utah on the end zone.

That was the end of that one. That's a long trip. That's a long trip from the mountain time zone. I think the last part, it was the reverse to go from Florida to the mountain time zone. All that way just to get an axe in the chest at the end was The Shining.

I think it was Scatman, Crothers, and The Shining went from Florida to the mountain time zone, take an axe in the chest at the end. Utah did the reverse, went from the mountain time zone all the way. And Utah blew a inside the one in the first half. So they, I mean, they really left a lot of points on the board. But Florida State had a remarkable flea flicker work, right? And LSU was just getting pounded, but then came back and had an opportunity to come back because Florida State fumbled it going in to just wrap the game up. It was so ridiculous.

I was like, what are you doing? It's a pitch out. The game's over. The game's over. The Boston never left the quarterback's hands. Or you just take knees and then kick the field goal.

Yes. So you give LSU a chance. Of course they march all the way down the field. Of course they score with no time left. And of course they got the extra point blocked. That was crazy.

Extra point blocked. Did LSU bring Green Bay's special teams coach from last year? Did Brian Kelly do that?

Nice. Be part of his new family? And by the way, what the hate, I understand there's a lot of SEC hate for LSU from various parts of the country. But man, the pile on that happened on Brian Kelly on Sunday night. Wait for overreaction Monday. The pile on on Brian Kelly.

What is that? Is that the Aunt Notre Dame hate towards him or they think he's fugazi and the dancing and the family and all that business? Yes. All of the above. Yeah.

I would say that's probably accurate. That he bolted on Notre Dame and he... I mean... The dancing with recruits was really weird.

And the fake accents... But honestly, the pile on that happened on top of Brian Kelly throughout the game and then when LSU lost. Joe Tessitore has the Gus Johnson in him too, doesn't he? Like all things go nuts. Joe Tess's games get haywire.

God bless it. If you have that... You've got that ability as an announcer, not only to meet the moment, but for some reason, the football gods decide to bestow upon you. Games like that. And Notre Dame versus Ohio State was... I was looking forward to that game all week. It really didn't... Really wasn't that great. No, kind of a dud.

It was a bit of a dud. I mean, shout out to Notre Dame for playing really hard for the first half and then just couldn't get any offense gone. The minute Notre Dame ran a called quarterback run on third and long in the red zone in their first possession, the minute they're like, we'll settle for three, we'll get out of here with three. I'm like, you're making a... Marcus Freeman should know that. You're making a major mistake. You put sevens on the board in a horseshoe.

You got to. And those four points meant the world later on. My boy, Breer, he was in mid-season form tweeting out, we're going to win by 100. Only 89 points off. He's in mid-season form. Right? You know who's in mid-season form?

Or post-season form? Your Georgia Bulldogs. Holy crap. They're not mine, but...

They are. You went to Atlanta, didn't you? You went there? Didn't you go to Atlanta? You spent... Hold on a minute. You spent your Labor Day weekend you spent your Labor Day weekend on a plane.

I didn't go by myself. I understand that. I understand that the most important person of your nuclear household loves Georgia. By the way, congrats to Sarah on the gig with CBS Sports. I was so excited to see that. Thank you. She's actually got a second one.

She's doing stuff with Amazon, Prime Video, NFL as well this fall. That's great. Yeah.

Should be real exciting. That's great. We had a great time. We drank a little too much. We were also sitting in the Oregon section. So the people around us... So it was quiet. So it was quiet. We were making a lot of noise.

Oh, man. I mean, Oregon fans gotta be like, last year we went to the horseshoe. We beat Ohio State. We got this one. We got this one. We can get Georgia. They can't be as good as last year. And then they started playing.

There's good. Seven touchdowns on the first... What's the name of that defensive lineman who threw an offensive lineman out of the club? Did you see that video? I forget.

There were two pieces of video that went viral on my timeline. That six foot seven tight end leapfrogging people jumping over people. And then whoever's taken, I think, Jordan Davis' spot, threw someone out of the club.

Holy crap. Darnell Washington is the tight end there. Along with Brock Bowers.

I know. He's not even the best one on the team. Not even the best one on the team. And Stetson Bennett the fourth. Is he the fourth or the third? He's the fourth. The fourth. Stetson Bennett the fourth is really good at football.

Really good at football. And he's either going to, A, there's two choices for him. Stetson Bennett the fourth will either, A, somehow keep this thing going and get drafted and have a career.

Where everyone thinks that he doesn't. Or B, he's going to have the greatest photographs on the wall of a hedge fund manager in the history of hedge fund managing. Right?

You're going to walk into Stetson Bennett's office and you're just going to see trophies and photographs of whatever hedge fund he's going to run. Yep. Stetson Heisman the fourth. Is that the nickname? Did you just come up with that?

I tweeted that out on Saturday. Stetson Heisman the fourth. We had six incompletions. Half of those were throwaways. And he had 360 yards.

And by the way, all the craziness of the preseason, we'd throw that out the window. Georgia's number two now. Yeah. Doesn't matter. That's it.

It's Alabama, Georgia. And then the rest of us will just try and hope for the best. Wait for overreaction, please. That's coming up. So five days to kick off of the first NFL Sunday and the coyness of Mike Tomlin is over. He had his press conference leading up to Steelers at Bengals. And as expected, certainly when it came out over the weekend that Mitchell Trubisky was voted a captain.

Go figure it out. They made him a captain. So he's a captain. You're not going to bench your captain.

He is in fact starting. This is Mike Tomlin earlier today. Mitch Trubisky is our starting quarterback and our captain. Man, we're just really comfortable with what Mitch has shown us. He's a guy that came to us with franchise quarterback experience, if you will.

He's comfortable in those shoes. He's been the focal point of a football team in an organization before. He's had success in doing so. Like I mentioned, when we acquired him, he took the Bears to the playoffs two out of four years. He has a winning record as a starting quarterback. Those things were attractive to us. His athleticism and mobility were attractive to us. He took care of the football in stadium. All our quarterbacks did. And I think I'd be remiss if I didn't say that.

It's good to come to decisions based on what people are doing as opposed to what people are not doing. And you know, you texted in our Rich Eisen show, in our office text chain, the news, I forget which one of you guys tweeted, you texted it amongst the group, that it was Trubisky one, Mason Rudolph two, and Kenny Pickett three on the depth chart over the weekend. And I'm like, that makes sense because Cincinnati is, you can't start the rookie in Cincinnati.

You can't. And so I'm like, it makes sense because if Trubisky gets hurt, you need an old hand like Mason Rudolph at the controls. Well, it's now Pickett number two in the depth chart. And Tom was asked about that. Really pleased with the growth and development of Kenny.

That's why he's listed as number two. I thought his acceleration of development really took off once we stepped into stadiums. And once we start stepping into stadiums, his decision making the fluidity of it, his competitive spirit, his pinpoint accuracy, all of those things, I thought really came to the forefront once we started coming into stadiums. And I thought that he grew and grew at a really fast pace once we got into stadiums. And I also think it's reasonable to expect that growth and development to continue as we push into the regular season. We're excited about where he is and in the ground that he's covered to this point and the ground that he's going to continue to cover as we find our regular season rhythm, he gains an understanding of what that is, what preparation is like, what the rhythm of a seven day process is like in terms of getting ready for regular season ball and so forth.

Just really excited about where he is and what he's capable of. Fascinating stuff out of the Steelers hour three coming up on our radio side. Here on our YouTube stream though, I just wanted to say Pickett's going to start guys. I think he's going to be the first guy to start. I think it makes sense not to start him at Cincinnati.

That is a tough spot. And then home against New England. Opening up Acresher against New England. Belichick eats rookie quarterbacks making their first career home starts for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Keep him away from him. You look at schedule and maybe just maybe there's a mini buy after the Cleveland game before the Jets. If Trubisky struggles, that's where you see Pickett. Home for the Jets. They're going to be three and one going to Buffalo. And then Mitch goes back to Buffalo and they're fine. There's a bye week as well.

Pickett's two for a reason though, man. That's a little tough stretch at Buffalo, Tampa, at Miami, at Philly. It's all a tough stretch because on the back end you got home for New Orleans then you got another Cincinnati at Indianapolis.

I think they're going to win the south. Baltimore's no joke. I mean the whole schedule is not a joke but Pickett being number two is there for a reason. He's there for a reason and that's because he's going to push Trubisky and if Trubisky falters, you're going to see.

How about this? Here's my prediction. You'll see Pickett start a game before Jimmy G if everybody stays healthy.

That might be your old hot take there. Pickett, Jimmy G, a ritter who starts first. I'll take I'll take Pickett. I'll take Pickett.

He's number two for a reason I think and they're really high on him but not high enough to just throw him into the jungle if you will week one. Martin Kove coming up in studio. For the real story behind some of wrestling's biggest moments, it's something to wrestle with Bruce Prichard and Conrad Thompson too. All-time Hogan opponents, Macho Man's got to be in the conversation. Where's Andre for you? I've always said Andre was number one. Wow. Because even going back before Hulk Hogan was a babyface, Hulk and Andre were able to go in and headline at the New Orleans Superdome at Shea Stadium in Japan. Wherever they went, that was an attraction. Something to wrestle with Bruce Prichard. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.