Eric Edholm (Hour 3)

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Try Dove Men Plus Care Dry Spray goes on dry clean feel all day. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Goats have home lives too. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Rich Eisen. Hello Rich Eisen. Rich Eisen. Oh that's Susie Eisen's husband. The Rich Eisen Show. And now, sitting in for Rich, here's Brian Weber. The final hour of the program. Still plenty of time for you to get involved. The phone number is 1-844-204-rich.

1-844-204-7424. Conversation never stops on Twitter. That's B.W. Weber. Weber with two B's. 20 minutes will expand the conversation. Getting you fully lined up for week one of the NFL. Kicking off Thursday with the spicy matchup between the Bills and the Rams.

Looking forward to my latest conversation with Eric Edholm of NFL.com. In 40 minutes we'll wrap up the program with gusto talking just a scintilla on a big word holiday edition of the program. Just a little bit of baseball. When Aaron Judge gets to 57 home runs, 58 home runs, let's say he gets to 62, 63.

Is this country going to care more than they've demonstrated so far? Now at 53 home runs and counting. I'm going to pivot into that. Not more than five minutes so keep the radio on or however you're consuming the program and we'll talk a lot more college football as well. In addition to the quality college football conversation we had one hour ago to start hour number two of the program with Pete Futak from collegefootballnews.com. First hour of the show we were joined by the longtime NFL insider Jason Cole, author of many books including Elway, A Relentless Life.

A reminder if you miss any portion of the program you can check it out anytime by downloading the podcast. College football continues on this Labor Day. The NFL made the decision not too long ago to back off Labor Day, start the season later, which I think makes sense because even though we are all dedicated to the power of the NFL, the beach is more alluring, barbecues might get your attention more. Now if there was an NFL game on tonight we would certainly watch but NFL decided to push things back by a handful of days and like everything the league decides it's proven to be an astute move because it's going to get a gargantuan rating connected to the Bills at the Rams coming up on Thursday.

Ratings talk can be myopic, it's too inside our industry but for laymen or layperson listening if you hear someone talking about ratings it's just another metric to reflect a level of interest. So if you're thinking about ratings so if you're thinking about anticipated games coming up how about Sunday Night Football? This thing is going to do a monster number with Tampa Bay at Dallas anytime the Cowboys are on in prime time they get a huge rating but now you throw Tom Brady onto the field in prime time and it's all the more sensational. So let's spend a few minutes on Brady and then it's not just good radio it's the law as the fill-in host they give me the FCC handbook if I'm talking Brady then I have to move to Belichick and then we compare what they've done without each other. I'm Brian Weber in for Rich Eisen hit me up on Twitter it's bw weber weber with two b's just over 15 minutes from now we'll check in with Eric Edom of nfl.com.

Tom Brady seems to embody the phrase we hear a lot in professional sports but it's also connected to business leadership if you've ever had to endure a seminar where they bring in a consultant and remember most consultants if you're a consultant turn down your radio right now it'll take about 30 seconds most consultants are people who got fired at their last job now trying to reinvent themselves telling you how to do your job okay turn it up right now if you're a consultant I'm sure I'll be a radio consultant within the next five years right that's my time horizon but you hear this notion a lot I heard in business school I've squandered a graduate degree in business to be working on a holiday and I'm delighted to be in for Rich this really is always a blast here's a cliche but has a degree of truth after all that's how these bromides become shopworn phrases control the controllables keep your eyes on the prize whatever phrase you want to use stay in your lane hasn't Brady summarized that for the majority of his career and doesn't that make what has occurred over the last month all the more intriguing because as I mentioned the U.S. Open the speculation surrounding Brady is an unforced error he could have framed this in a much more explicit way explainable way he could have opted to stay a training camp clearly there was something pressing and I'm not going to speculate nor take it over to page six or the tabloid media out there say well there are issues at home this is a sports show plus rule number one as a fill-in host is don't do anything to destroy the main host's brand and I know how hard Rich has worked to establish this platform and Rich is the face of NFL network he has a relationship with Tom Brady they are Michigan men after all so I don't need somebody tweeting at Rich hey who was that loud guy over enunciating trying to denigrate Brady but I have to do my job and I think it's fair to wonder if Tampa Bay has some issues on the road to Dallas on Sunday night what the conversation is going to be like and because Brady is the face of the league and yes that face appears to be slightly different not going to hazard a guess as to why but if the Bucks have issues and they should because Brady will not have Rob Gronkowski unless he talks him out of retirement again before the deadline to return kicks in he won't have his starting center there are issues on that offensive line I'm not suggesting that Brady for whatever reason that he needed to step away from training camp for 11 days is going to have a direct impact on his level of performance because he's Tom Brady after all but Tom Brady has created this issue of his own doing by being reluctant to share more details as to the motivation for the absence and that is his right that's his choice just because folks like me at a press conference pose a question does not mean the recipient of that interrogative has to answer the question but didn't Brady seem for the first time relatable I'm not talking about the old Brady pick number 199 I'm saying the modern Brady when he had a couple rings and he winds up as the face of the league not the Brady who was a game manager not the Brady who needed the luck of Drew Bledsoe getting hurt even to get the starting opportunity I'm saying the Brady that we envision and the Brady we're going to see coming up on NFL Sundays whenever he's done playing as the continued face of the league in the Fox TV booth but that press conference after the Bucks last preseason game was as vulnerable and as relatable as Tom Brady has ever been in a public setting because he's always controlled the controllables Tom versus time the documentary series well he had input he had creative control to a degree so nothing was going to show up on that series that Tom did not want us to see so he made a choice at the podium the last time we saw him and maybe he was just having a bad day but I thought it was in many ways a terrific moment because my only issue with Brady has been Allah Tiger Woods before everything that changed in his life going all the way back to the weekends of 2009 is Brady has seemed too perfect again I'm not getting into the optics yes he's always been a handsome guy magically he's got more hair and his face looks slightly different that's okay people in their mid 40s do it all the time I'm here in Southern California I'm gonna get Botox injected before our next conversation with Eric Edom hopefully my lips don't work Eric from nfl.com joins us in just under 15 minutes but I thought it was a fascinating development to see Brady that human at the podium saying I'm 45 I'm going through stuff now what's going to happen on the field I think more of the same and I think more of the same Brady came back because clearly in my opinion he engineered that coaching change and just did not want to deal with Bruce Arians being too loose with the culture Tom Bowles did not have much success as the head coach of the Jets named me a head coach other than Weeb Ubex you want to go old school I can give you every failed Jet head coach Joe Walton Rich Cotide on too but I don't think it was an indictment of Bowles head coaching abilities that he didn't shine with the Jets because we're talking about the Jets after all but I think it's pretty evident that Brady wanted somebody more buttoned down to run the franchise and he and Byron Lethwich will control the offense as according to reports was the case last year and Bruce Arians is beloved around the league but the perception was he was more of a caretaker but as we come up with all of the significant elements that we're going to be watching with interest how things play out early in the season to me what Brady does in that first quarter of the year is going to be telling I'm not suggesting it's time he's finally falling off the cliff we've been waiting for that for what five years seven years but given that he stepped away given this is unprecedented territory we've never seen anybody 45 years old starting in the NFL if I talk about quarterbacks past the age of 40 in the past across the NFL I'm thinking George Blando who looked 117 years old here's Brady having won a Super Bowl a couple years ago that was a strange game last year Bucks have to feel like they should have won that game how in the world in the postseason was Cooper Cup that wide open and I realized Cooper Cup is a transcendent receiver but that was an indictment of Todd Bowles's defense you know what Matthew Stafford's trying to do after the Bucks had that miraculous comeback and it didn't help that Cam Akers put the ball on the ground but the Bucks clearly have to walk away from that experience thinking well we could have beaten Cincinnati in the Super Bowl if we had gotten through the rest of the postseason so in no way is this an indictment of Tom Brady nor a over-the-top summation that the championship window was closing but I do think because he has created this level of interest as to why he was not there and where he is emotionally for the first time robotic Tom Brady has allowed us to wonder about his general mental state and I'm sure given how savvy he is and his team is you want to guess that there'll be a sit-down interview on NBC heading into Sunday Night Football probably with Mike Torrico in a controlled setting and Brady will say exactly the right thing but ultimately it's going to be his level of play that does the talking and Dallas for all their issues has playmakers on defense and we'll see what Micah Parsons can do the issue for Dallas is Mike McCarthy is overmatched as a head coach they just can't get out of their way even in the preseason with all those penalties and Ezekiel Elliott has become just another guy because we've learned over the last decade all running backs all of them are interchangeable I'm Brian Weber in for Rich Eisen 10 minutes we'll talk more NFL with Eric Edom of NFL.com since I spent 10 minutes on Brady let me meander through the next few minutes focusing on Bill Belichick and if I'm going to compare and contrast pretty clear lining up the resumes as of late advantage Brady he's won a Super Bowl he got to the playoffs again last year Belichick's team snuck into the postseason and got annihilated by Buffalo with a quarterback that we had we you know we sat around many of us I was using the royal way there many of us in the media had questions about Mac Jones based on his physical limitations coming out of Alabama you can argue and this is a stretch but I think you're going to understand the point here he played behind a offensive line that might have had some better players than the Patriots had to use on their offensive line last year given the quality of that roster for Alabama and we saw Mac fade down the stretch and we can criticize him or lack of belief from the coaching staff in that bizarre windy game and windy's an understatement a gigantic windstorm blowing through western New York in that game against Buffalo in which they effectively said to Mac you're not throwing the ball you're just going to hand it off and that was actually the right play so Bill Belichick other than the Cleveland years remember Bill Belichick did nothing until Tom Brady came into his life Bill Belichick has earned the benefit of the doubt still I do not understand at all and if you're paying attention and I know preseason football is supposed to be irrelevant but I love football and I watch as much as I can I'm here in southern California we still get the Raiders games on TV even though they're in Nevada now Mac Jones if you're just looking for body language had a lot of frustration in the midst of that preseason game between the Raiders and the Patriots and maybe he's being hard on himself or maybe he's already had that moment of clarity I'm not getting much help from the coaching staff New England has the smallest coaching staff in the league two slots now not one but two are held by sons of Bill Belichick putting the thought foremost in your head that that and an NFL often stands for nepotism and when Josh McDaniels took the Raider gig not only did the coaching staff take a hit in terms of intellectual capital especially with the offensive skill level that McDaniels has as a respected play caller he took a bunch of folks from the staff and the organization in addition to Ernie Adams who introduced what we now call analytics to the Patriots years before it became prevalent and the revered and respected line coach the offensive line coach and Dante Skarnikia so Belichick had a decision to make I need a play caller what am I going to do did he scour the league well doesn't have to he's Bill Belichick did he consult with his GM doesn't have to he is the GM did he decide I'm going my own way and some people think that there was a financial motivation that Belichick's trying to do Matt Patricia's solid because Patricia's still getting paid by the Lions if Belichick had named Patricia as a coordinator the offset the money coming from the Lions would have been diminished so it's actually twofold Patriots save money by giving Patricia a much more vague job description consultant advisor not a consultant of grooming habits clearly with that beard but beyond that Patricia still gets the money from Detroit and clearly Belichick at this stage of his career only wants to work with people he trusts I understand that but isn't that a narrow way of viewing your possibilities especially since we talked about all the limitations of Mac heading into a make-or-break year in many ways year two tells the story for a lot of quarterbacks and what do you give him his quarterback's coach is Joe Judge last time I checked Joe Judge was overmatched as the head coach of New York Football Giants and his expertise if he has any is as a special teams coordinator who's going to be the play caller apparently Matt Patricia and I know he's a rocket scientist literally I'm aware of his academic background but I got major question marks and back to key elements to track week one it is the Patriots in South Florida in fact they're already there we're gonna get there in the next 48 hours because Belichick is mindful of even the great Patriot teams struggling with the humidity in Miami if you care about the gambling perspective Miami a three-point favorite it's gonna be really interesting to see if Tua can stay healthier you're hearing these raves about his accuracy from new head coach Mike McDaniel gonna coach him up coming over from the 49ers moving away from the defensive mindset of that staff led by Brian Flores and of course Tyreek Hill can stretch the field last year Miami swept the season series from New England I think Miami is going to be better I think the Bills are clearly not in the class of that division but of the AFC I have them slightly better than Kansas City so Belichick has something to prove in the moment yes he can walk away as the greatest coach of this century but it's just bizarre to me unless he wants to prove one more time that he's playing 12-dimensional chess that he would go with these decisions on that coaching staff I'm Brian Weber in for Rich Eisen you can hop aboard at one eight four four two oh four rich one eight four four two oh four seven four two four straight ahead much more NFL to get to are the Rams going to be the first team to repeat as Super Bowl champs go back to back in 18 years looking forward to our latest conversation with Eric Edom of NFL.com Brian in for Rich on this Labor Day edition of the Rich Eisen Show I'm Brian Weber in for Rich it's Labor Day on the Rich Eisen Show Rich and the guys back tomorrow you can give them a call them one eight four four two oh four rich one eight four four two oh four seven four two four let's talk more NFL with Eric Edom a new member of the NFL media team you can read his work at NFL.com Eric Rich is the face of NFL network I'm an NFL network alum I used to host the morning show here in LA so congratulations on the new opportunity and how you doing thank you very much it's been uh outstanding so far everyone's been terrific and uh we're almost here regular season's right there you know I can't wait for it to uh finally start and there are so many intriguing elements to dissect so I was just talking at length about the outlook for Tom Brady and the Bucks didn't have a chance to get much into Dallas so I'll defer to you somebody's got to win the NFC East which as you know has not had a repeat champion since 2004 is this the year the Cowboys end that trend or do you prefer the Eagles have I made you pick between them head to head? Yeah I've got the Eagles but I do think it'll be close I mean you know a lot of people are saying hey look Dallas could start 0-2 right even though they've got two home games they've got games against the Bucks and Bengals two teams that you know ended up being among the the tougher clubs in the NFL by the end of last season it does get a little bit easier after that but then they go on the road for a couple big ones I think at the Rams and Eagles uh I want to say weeks five and six or something so you know I mean it the tough first two games even if they are at home the idea that the defense was such a takeaway machine last year that really helped propel them I think uh and the questions that the offensive line and receiver is Dak going to have to do the heavy lifting by himself how healthy is C.D. Lamb do they have you know enough viable pass catches early and do they trust uh Tyler Smith the young blocker at left tackle even though they just signed Jason Peters Smith's the guy so you know he's pretty raw at Tulsa last year that's an important spot as we know so the Tyrone Smith injury is obviously gonna gonna loom pretty large and yeah I mean I think Philly's upgrades have been pretty clear uh can they put it all together Jalen Hurts is a big factor of course but I do think they have a pretty terrific roster all of a sudden. Eric let's stay in that division before he hurt his knee against the Rams Carson Wentz was building the framework of an outstanding career more injuries along the way seems like maybe some self-doubt at least that was the reports coming out of Indy last year so now he's moved on to team number three how much confidence do you have that he can jump start his career in our nation's capital yeah it's hard not to be a little bit concerned I mean last year when he went to Indy I think a lot of people quietly felt like boy this there may not be a better situation for him Frank Reich has got his back you know it's a it's a lower key media environment right I mean Carson sort of became the the easy target if you will in Philadelphia and you know whether he was fully to blame or not I mean it's you know you start with the quarterback obviously but he really did sort of become the scapegoat for a lot of things after especially after you know things fell apart with Doug Peterson and whatnot so after after last year's experience I want to say I'm a little more gun shy about about what Carson Wentz can do in this league because it clearly was you know a bottoming out for him in a lot of ways and week 18 was was the the culmination of that they had a chance to get in the playoffs they didn't they missed an opportunity against a bad football team in the Jaguars can he can he revive his career sure the opportunity is there you know he's got a head coach in Ron Rivera who is very even keeled and I think savvy at kind of guiding young quarterbacks and helping them through some tough times you know they have some weapons but the injury to Brian Robinson some questions up front you know concerns about how much the defense can give you especially early on without Chase Young you know there's there's a lot of things happening and all of a sudden look who they're facing week one that that same Jaguar seeing that the tickets and Wentz with a different club a year ago so obviously it's not going to depend on one game and they could start 0-1 and be fine but yeah I do have my reservations I really think there's going to be a I want to see at least half a season of much better consistent football and we just haven't seen that like you said since he was probably the MVP favored heading into that injury out in LA in 2017. I'm Brian Weber in for rich Labor Day installment the rich eyes and show taking across the NFL with Eric Edholm of NFL.com. Eric we've talked so much about the bronze uh Browns connected to Deshaun Watson's situation haven't talked that much about matters on the field and now it's the Baker Mayfield Bowl coming up Sunday in North Carolina so with Watson gone for at least the 11 games and then I think a lot contingent on making sure he completes the behavior modification sessions what's the outlook for Cleveland with Jacoby Brissett under center they can still give the ball to Nick Chubb and they've got a stellar defense led by Miles Garrett.

Yeah I think that defense is obviously going to have to be a big part of you know buoying the team if you will and keeping them afloat I mean and I don't want to discredit Jacoby Brissett because he's been in some tough situations before you know he came at the end of training camp over to Indianapolis uh via trade when the Andrew Luck stuff was you know in its most confusing part he was he was thrown in week one you know I think halftime or whatever it was early in that game and then I think ended up starting 15 games it was a tough spot to be in but he acquitted himself pretty well and and he's had other situations where you know after Luck's retirement when when he was forced to play he had to start as a rookie in New England when when Brady was suspended early in the year so he's been putting some I don't say awkward positions but some uncomfortable ones and I think for the most part handled himself well is he the guy who's going to take you to the promised land probably not but that's where the onus really falls on that you know that that run game that we've seen you know flourish at times over the last few seasons the defense they've been loading up in the draft and you know adding pieces and layers with the new front office there the last couple years as well you know that's to me really going to be the biggest thing and if they could put aside the emotional aspects of facing Baker and you know most of the guys have said look this is not an us versus Baker thing it may be more important on an individual level to him going up against his old team than it is for the Browns facing their former quarterback so if you can put aside the distractions go out and take care of business win a game on the road then you have the Jets in week two and you know who's to say they they can't start two and oh and you know gotta get ahead of the sticks if you will and you know I don't want to say you're buying time so Watson comes back and obviously the the non-football aspect of that story is far more important but I think that's that's kind of where they're at let's see if we can hold serve and then let's get to the point where Deshaun should be eligible and we'll see how good a football team we can be at that point. Eric Adam of NFL.com is our guest on the Rich Eisen Show. Eric we know that the NFL is built on parody just about every year somebody goes from worst to first.

Bengals did it last year made to the Super Bowl. How much are you buying the buzz surrounding the Lions? I'm not saying they're going to win that division I still think it's the Packers but right we're all looking for a chic pick for somebody to rise up and maybe it's the hard knocks effect or just the cult of personality with Dan Campbell a lot of people are buying into the Lions.

Yeah I think you touched on some of like the emotional aspects that have made them a little bit of a fan favorite this year and a little bit of a you know a dark horse candidate if you will to kind of come out of nowhere and just the kind of the flukey nature of some of those losses last year where you said to yourself boy you know if this team didn't have bad luck they have no luck at all you know that that probably factors in as well you know do they have this incredible offense right now I would say no but they have enough plucky players and a very good offensive line you know Jared Goff played very steady football down with stretch you know that that could end up being a solid unit and especially when they get Jamison Williams healthy at some point defensively you know obviously I think it starts in the secondary that's a unit that has to get better back there but it's clear you know a lot of the personalities and just the sort of locker room vibe and the you know the energy that's been building around that program I think it's fair to say that they're going to be consistently competitive they're going to be in a lot of football games do they have enough to kind of finish those games off the way they haven't been able to the last couple years especially last season that's going to be the biggest question you know you're you're catching you know a year where Devontae Adams has been traded out of the division there's a regime change in Minnesota not really sure what to expect out of a first-year coaching staff you know obviously the Bears are kind of in transition as well so the timing also kind of helps them and yeah I'm with you I don't know that they're going to win 10 11 games but it also wouldn't completely shock me either because we've seen I think far bigger reversals of fortune in a one-year span than that if the Lions were to go 10 and 7 let's say it wouldn't be the most stunning thing in the world so I do think they're going to be much better how about a final thought on the opener coming up on Thursday and let's focus on the Rams we know that repeating as Super Bowl champs is one of the hardest things to do in all of sports so as you assess the Rams chances to go back to back where do you think Matthew Stafford is physically heading into the season the Rams saying now that he is playing without limitations coming off the elbow injury yeah yeah I mean that's obviously it's got to be a positive thing I would think right I mean you know I don't I think they would hedge a little bit more if there really was some concern and you know I think the unusual nature of the injury you know I mean Sean McVay kind of referred to it as more of a baseball injury it kind of forced them to kind of shut everything down and say all right let's make sure we have this done correctly before the start of the season last thing we want to do is overwork them early or underwork them for that matter and get into the regular season realize we've got a problem here so I think they they figured out what the best plan of attack was in terms of you know having him throw during practice and obviously not playing in the preseason and all those different things seems like they've handled it very well it's hard to know one throw or one play or one hit could could obviously undercut everything but as for what they've done up to this point it seems like you know everything's trending in the right direction you know he may be able to go out there on on Thursday and light it up and two weeks from now we could be talking about inflammation so hard to really project beyond that especially with the the mystery if you will around the injury but I think for Thursday obviously against the Super Bowl caliber opponent in the bills he should be good to go and it'll be fun to see they had two years ago they put on quite a show up in Orchard Park if we if we get half as good a game as what we saw then I think we'll be in for a treat. Eric as always we value the insights thanks so much for making yourself available on a holiday congratulations again for making the move to NFL media. Great hearing your voice Brian I enjoy the season we'll talk to you real soon. Thanks so much Eric at home terrific analysis check him out nfl.com you're going to see him on NFL network while you're there that's where you see Rich Eisen the original broadcaster. My man bet on himself in 2003 people say what nearly if ESPN to go where I think it's worked out just fine for Rich and here's the best news Rich is back tomorrow rested ready to go with the crew Brockman Del Tufo TJ Jefferson and I got even better news you only have to put up with me for one more segment so I will do my best not to destroy the program and the brand that Rich has worked so hard to establish in a remaining 20 minutes together going to wrap it up with just a smidge don't turn off your radio or audio device just a few thoughts on baseball because our judge now has 53 home runs why does nobody apparently outside of New York tri-state area care and this holiday weekend still belongs to college football more of our takeaways from some wild games over the last 48 hours Clemson Georgia Tech coming up tonight in prime time and we'll think about the big picture with all the consolidation talk as that in any way impacted your fandom I'm Brian Weber always having a great time with you in for rich it's the rich eyes and show Brian Weber back with you in for rich it's the rich eyes and show we are winding down that means rich and the guys are warming up back with you tomorrow again you're fully lined up for week one of the NFL and by tomorrow on a Tuesday rich can officially lead over hit a button I could do it but I'll hit the wrong button and we'll be knocked off the air I'm just that technically proficient but rich can ignite the countdown to kickoff especially because he's based here in southern California he'll be part of all the pre-game coverage on NFL network of the bills and the rams what a juicy way that is to kick off the NFL season and as our last guest pointed out I want to thank our guests because I'm occasionally lousy with clock management at the end of the program so want to make sure I get to this now we had three outstanding conversations reminder if you miss any portion of any program check out the podcast just took you across the NFL with Eric Edam of NFL.com last hour we talked college football with Pete Futak from collegefootballnews.com our number one we were joined by NFL insider Jason Cole author of many books including Elway A Relentless Life Eric was kind enough to point out when the Rams went to western New York a couple of years ago it was a wild game one of those insane how in the world were that many lead changes available and attainable in the final minutes so that's the ceiling that the bills and rams have to live up to and things have changed mightily in terms of perception for Buffalo if you care about the view from Las Vegas not only Josh Allen emerged as depending on where you shop as you do your sports investing but a lot of books have Allen as the leading contender to be the MVP winner and the bills as the team to beat in the AFC think about the last time we saw Buffalo in that playoff game for the ages and I was driving home to Los Angeles I was calling a game in Arizona didn't want to mess around with planes so I was in the car and because Rich has a great relationship with Westwood one I will give a plug to our brethren I was as the Kevin Coogler call that playoff game between the Chiefs and the Bills Kevin was magnificent I felt like I was there at Arrowhead Stadium and what a phenomenal way that was to remind us of the excitement of playoff football and I know Buffalo fans don't love the outcome but it feels like the Bills have laid the foundation there's often a learning curve other than the bolts out of nowhere not the Los Angeles Chargers show me your lightning bolt but a team like the Bengals going from worse to first to make it to the Super Bowl I don't see the weakness on Buffalo and the Rams have to handle the burden of expectations there's a reason why nobody since the Patriots 18 years ago have gone back to back Rich will break it all down starting tomorrow and among the reasons I enjoy listening to this program as much as I do I'm watching it with a new home on Roku coming up this month of September is that Rich is comprehensive because Rich still loves baseball I have not spoken to Rich directly in several years but I know at NFL Network he was watching baseball games when we worked in that building together because Rich grew up as a die-hard fan of all the New York teams so Rich would I think give me the permission because there are eight minutes left in the program just to point out what seems to be a divergence between what's happening and audio appeal ear candy is what a former boss of mine called it he said you're rambling too much play more sound I mean you're kidding that's why you have the wacky sound effects on your local morning zoo because somebody figured out a long time ago unless you have a fascinating host like yours truly you gotta break up the monotony of one person speaking but there seems to be a disconnect and the audience is never wrong between national interest and what's going on and I realize like most things in baseball there's a negative connection motivating this I know why many of you don't care the Aaron Judge has 53 home runs based on what he did yesterday at the drop or if you want to have a wider historical focus look at the grand old game through that lens our boss now is sitting on 659 home runs one back of a rod got a shot to get to that exclusive 700 club but if I'm talking about for example 700 and that's the most elite fraternity in baseball history Ruth Aaron and bonds the problem of a coherent home run conversation is the steroid error because all because all the numbers are ginned up so I think it's going to be sensational to watch Judge moving forward will we get cut-ins on NFL Sundays we should we did it for Bonds and Sosa but that was 1998 and McGuire of course changing the sport in the moment and saving it in the wake of shutting everything down with the cancel world series of 1994 so it was more of a rhetorical observation and I don't root for the Yankees anymore in fact I'm one of those weird New Yorkers who even though the Yankees were dominant when I was a real young kid 78 and 77 and the loss to the Dodgers in that strike shortened year with the world series in 81 I grew up 20 minutes away from Yankee Stadium but I was a Met fan primarily because my old man was cheap we get more tickets a chase stadium because the Mets were abysmal until 84 85 in the magic of 86 I just want to see more balance in our sports landscape and look I'm as guilty of committing the sports media crime as anybody I just spent the last two hours and 43 minutes talking nothing but NFL and college football and I'm going back to college football because we had Clemson with the possibility to demolish Georgia Tech tonight in prime time but for Clemson it's the opportunity to prove quote unquote they are back because oh my goodness Clemson didn't make the playoff last year what in the world is going on here and that is my concern with current day college football I know it sounds like I love all these sports immensely and it's probably the byproduct of being a bit myopic in my life maybe I should have more relationships to focus on but if that was the case I couldn't come in on a holiday right maybe that would be better for my long-term self-interest but I still love sports I guess I am a shallow person as much as I did when I got into the business in 1991 and college football was my way into the industry because my alma mater had a program virtually nobody cared about so because I was eager earnest it helped that I would work cheaply I was able to be associated with our coaches show when I was 21 years old that gets me on TV and now you got to deal with me on a holiday college football was long college basketball the foundation of my career for nine years hosting a D1 coaches show doing play by play radio and TV so I don't want to say this too loudly because I probably won't be able to come back I love college football as much as I love the NFL this was a phenomenal weekend and look I'm a Pac-12 hunk not a great day for Utah at the swamp certainly a challenging day for Oregon against Georgia but to have the bands back to have tradition back more to the point to have the tonnage back that's why college football is phenomenal because on the west coast you get up at 9 a.m and games are kicking off and you can ride that all the way to Hawaii football as they renovate that stadium and it looks like they're playing in a high school a lot so college football is special because of the traditions and because of all of the unique elements that we connect with Saturdays and that's my only pushback with the playoff and I think unfortunately many of my current issues are going to be only reinforced when it goes to 12 teams and we know what's motivating that we could talk about equity we can talk about fairness access for say teams beyond the power of five it's all about money like everything else in college football current format with four teams we have three games well 12 playoff teams means 11 games you know what that means a lot more tv money but my issue with the current setup and maybe there'll be a degree of change but I don't think so because remember when we go to 12 we're talking buys for the big boys who is in the pre-season top five in the coaches poll Alabama Ohio State defending champs Georgia Clemson and Notre Dame who made it to the playoffs a couple years ago I realized Ohio State did not make the playoff last year they've been staples of that playoff same thing for Clemson since the Alabama dynasty kicked in in 2009 there's just been too much repetition I realized the transfer portal is supposed to level the playing field but that hasn't happened because the superpowers have the ability to outspend the competition when it comes to facilities that drives recruiting and boots on the ground if Alabama is interested in the player they can put an assistant coach on the private jet and they're there on a Friday and they come back on Saturday for the game that wasn't the case 25 years ago so I'm not telling you what to enjoy nor what to prefer and I'll say it again I love college football as much as I love the NFL but it feels like we're going through a fundamental period of change and I'm not sure all the changes are for the better a lot of people thank in addition to our guests first and foremost Rich for allowing me to sit in again all of the great people at Westwood One led by Bruce Gilbert thanks to our technical producer Art Martinez skilled as always guiding the program rich and the guys are back with you tomorrow I'm Brian Weber I'll talk to you down the road on the Rich on the Rich Eisen Show. 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 you know 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