REShow: Chris Long - Hour 3

This is the Rich Eisen Show. Brock Purdie. They have a chance to game play. Of course.

And how about this? Brock Purdie's first career start will be against Tom Brady. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Purdie back. Hump's now going to throw for the end zone wide open, branded IU. Touchdown! Earlier on the show, overreaction Monday and coming up, two-time Super Bowl champion and host of the Greenlight Podcast, Chris Long.

Plus, your phone calls and more. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Our number three of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air. We're thrilled to be here on the Roku channel and we're thrilled that you are with us. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial right here on the Rich Eisen Show and we are thrilled to be on in a new spot. The Rich Eisen Show terrestrial radio affiliate network is growing and growing and growing. WBHR AM in St. Cloud, Minnesota is now listening to us every single day.

Let's go. We think of those folks who are running said station are very smart. Geniuses.

Very smart people. Now, I wish I could come on the air on my first day talking to the great people in Minnesota with good news about the Vikings, but yesterday wasn't very good for them. The Detroit Lions took care of business and prevented an NFC North party. Vikings are going to win the North.

I mean, they're going to be skull chanting at some point in January. That's happening. This is happening. Of course, you can raise your eyebrows all you want and the Lions might make the playoffs. They're not winning.

They're not winning this division. Why not? Come on, man. Why not?

No, don't come on, man. Why not? Because the Minnesota Vikings just need one win to wrap it. Do you think they're going to do that? Yes, of course they do. Of course? Of course I do. They're not losing out.

Of course. Dude, Saturday, the Colts are coming in and it'll be a wrap on NFL Network. They will be celebrating the printing of the playoff tickets on Saturday. And if not then, then when the Giants stroll into their building.

Stop. At Green Bay, at Chicago. Rich, look at the all insane stuff that's happened this NFL season.

It's been the weirdest year I can ever remember. You can't sit here and say, the Vikings are going to win at least one of these next games. They will. And I'm going to say that. And by the way, this conversation that you're hearing between me and my colleague Chris Brockman, who's been part of this show, just in case anyone there in Minnesota is like, who the hell is this person?

Who's saying that the Vikings are going to lose out. I've been there since the beginning. I understand you've been here since the beginning when it was a podcast growing into a show that was on DirecTV for many, many years.

And then Peacock and now Roku and many different radio iterations as well. Many, many, many. Yeah, I'm fully confident Justin Jefferson and Cousins and Cook and, you know, Zadarius and everyone else is going to come up with one win the rest of the way. Hold on, what time are these games for Kirk Cousins? Oh, they're 10 o'clock.

No, no, no, no. It's a nationally televised game coming up. Oh, nationally televised. Dude against your Patriots, he took care of business in a way that he threw 400 yards and still lost yesterday.

I still don't understand. How about this, though? You just have to give it up to the Detroit Lions right now.

Yeah, for sure. And one of my favorite plays of the year is what helped seal it against the Minnesota Vikings. Late in the game, eight point lead. And this has been a bugaboo, if you will, for the Lions with Dan Campbell. Dan Campbell has made some head scratchers towards the end of a game. You know, kicking, kicking field goals, giving the opponent a terrific spot if his field goal kicker misses it.

And he did. Rather than going forward or punting and things of that nature. Did you see the way the Lions sealed the game?

No, I was flipping around a red zone. Just to give you the exact circumstances of it, play of the year, as far as I'm concerned, to wrap a game up. Eight point game in Detroit with a minute fifty eight to go right after the two minute warning. It's third and seven. If they don't get it, then it's entirely possible the Vikings get it back with a chance to go down the field, get a two point conversion, force overtime.

We've seen it over and over and over again. And we're watching and Penay Sewell, who, as we know, was the draft choice of the Lions after Jamar Chase went off the board. Penay Sewell on an offensive line eligible play. Here he is, tackle eligible play. Guess what he does? He makes the grab wide open and then lays out for the for the first down.

There was nobody around him. The reason why there's no one around him, I don't I would think is because the Lions wait for it. Put him in motion. You have to watch this play back.

That's amazing. He is a large you can't miss the man in motion because he's the largest motion man I have seen. Remember Trent Williams? Remember Trent Williams? The the the Niners motioned him and then ran behind him. They they the Lions motioned Penay Sewell. And he was wide open like so which Vikings defenders like I got this guy. You might mark him prior to the snap, but then he's in motion. And then he lays out. There is a photograph. There it is. We have it on the screen. Look at that one where he is fully extended. Wow.

Off the ground. This man. Penay Sewell, what an incredible, what a call. I mean to talk about that play in the two minute warning and go, here's what we're going to do.

And just the idea of like, let's motion him. They have this plays in their book. Hey, man, we're talking about this offense and how terrific Jared Goff looks. And I called Amman Ross St. Brown a top 10 receiver last week. We saw Josh Reynolds, former Ram Josh Reynolds get in the end zone. Jameson Williams from Alabama. That was great to see.

Got one in there. Forty one yarder. His first career touchdown. D.J. Charke in the end zone.

And even though Justin Jefferson had 11 for 223 and Cousins at 425. Not enough when Goff and the Lions are playing like this and they're motioning Penay Sewell. I'm watching the play right now. Third and seven to wrap the game.

That was it. It's great because you're thinking it's going to be the way he sprinted out. I thought it was going to be a running play. Then he doesn't just make a catch. He makes an athletic grab. He's got to get off the ground. T.J. I mean, he dove for the first.

Yes. And then he's like swatted away the D back. He tried to slap the ball out of his hands and got chipped coming out of the backfield. Dude, that was an impressive play, man.

And then of course him laying out like he's levitating off the ground in that still photo of it. Jeff Schwartz, who we follow, he's been on this show. Former offensive lineman. He tweeted that out saying, Siri, show me the best photograph of an NFL player ever.

Or show me a photograph that describes the NFL. Whatever his tweet was. Look at that. Look at him.

I'll go ahead and repost this on Twitter. So I know this is not the way to come on the air in Minnesota for the first time on our new Rich Eisen Show affiliate. But don't worry. Good times are ahead, even though Brock, we may think differently. And Roku, which we're on, has got the same Vikings colors.

Purple. So we got that going. We got that happening for us.

I've been on. I was in the Vikings preseason. I know that. Well, you said the Vikings were going to win the division and they will.

And how about this? Because no matter how Purdy is rolling, they still shouldn't catch the Vikings in the standings. So the Vikings.

I don't think so. And the Vikings aren't going to catch Philadelphia either. I don't believe because they've unfortunately for them have got to be one better. They've got to be two better than the Vikings the way or three better than the Vikings than the Eagles on the way out the door. The Eagles are so spectacular right now.

Twelve and one. Yeah, the NFC one, two, three looks basically locked. Well, I mean, the Niners can catch the Vikings here, I guess. I mean, they'll have to be a tiebreak of some sort. I don't think they played each other, right?

No. So it's going to have to be some sort of an NFC tiebreak here. I mean, they could. So the Vikings should beat the Giants or the Commanders or the Eagles. How wild would it be if that's a playoff preview of yesterday's a playoff preview of a wildcard weekend if it's Vikings-Lions?

Which it could be. Vikings have the most dynamite young receiver we have seen in him for a long, long time. He's really good.

Long time. You know, if you said there needs to be an MVP award for... He's offensive player of the year. But he's your favorite for offensive player of the year. He has to be. He's your offensive player of the year, which is the MVP not named quarterback. So... I mean, the Vikings should take care of that business at home in the Skoll chant and everybody who's listening to us right now shows up and, you know, so... And then plus whether they have to just plug into the emotion of Paul Allen, right? There.

Used that to fuel them. He scored the touchdown. Wasn't that his first catch in the NFL as well? No, he had a win the week before, I believe. Yeah.

Just great to see him come back after tearing his knee up in college. Let's go to the phone lines. 844-204 Rich, number dial Gray in Charleston, South Carolina. You're on the program. What's up, Gray? Hey, thanks for having me on.

Thanks for holding on as long as you did. What's on your mind? Well, first off, I'll give you a new Brock pun. Those in San Francisco that are fans of that quarterback, who were pretty divided, are part of the Brock party.

Ah, Brock. Well, you also said pretty divided. You could have gone purty divided, but... I could.

You could have. We're just trying to... You know what? I just got to take my consulting hat off and just listen to what you have to say and just let it be. So what's on your mind? Well, when you have a problem, call the expert.

So I'm here for you. All your experience, the games you've seen, the people you've been around, backup quarterbacks that have some success in the NFL, I think can be divided into those two categories of people that are flashing the pans. Maybe like, you know, Minshew and Kevin Cobb and Osweiler.

But then you have those other ones that are Dak Prescott and Brady and your colleague, Kurt Warner. What about Brock Purdy? Inherently, like trait wise, do you see that puts him in one, swaying to one category or another? Is it the environment he's in? Is it some skill set he has?

Well, here's the deal. In order for... And it's not just a backup quarterback, Gray. It's anybody who gets drafted in the NFL. You've got to be surrounded by the right coaching staff, the right system that's plugged into the coaching staff that knows what you do well and how you do it and can talk you up and make you more confident and have the right locker room around them that's accepting of you. Whereas, you know, a perfect, for instance, is the locker room for the 49ers might be more open minded to Purdy being their quarterback than, say, Trey Lance was because Trey Lance was a conscious decision by the coaching staff to see what they had in this guy by installing this guy as the starter and essentially telling Jimmy G we're done and then resigning him because circumstances mandated it, created it or allowed it or brought it into being. The players in the San Francisco locker room still might have not have been completely on board because they thought Jimmy G might have been better or why are we going with a guy who's never really done it before right now? But Purdy, they're out of options. You know, they have to rally around this guy and the way that he carries himself and the way that he comports himself and the way that he's playing makes it easier for them to do that. So there's different dynamics how you're born into the league. And I thank you for the call, Gray.

It definitely, though, we have to clearly see more. Seattle is no wallflower place, man. So the 12s are going to be lit that night and they will have, you know, I know the 12s just watched Carolina and Sam Donald walk in but I have been to Seattle for a night game on Thursday night and it's just a different place. It's like you're on a different planet. You know, we're, as it used to be called, Quest. Now it's what? Lumen, right?

Lumen, straight out of Severns. Okay, you know, we're, you know, this ain't no waffle party. So he's going to have to go in there and it's, no matter what happened in the Big 12 and it's not like a turnip truck when you're playing from Iowa State here, you know, but this is going to be the loudest place he's ever played in in his entire life and crazy things happen and stuff's going to be coming at him fast and we'll have to see how he handles it. But win or lose, the guy's going to be their playoff quarterback and it's entirely possible. The only places outside of San Francisco he plays in the rest of the year is Seattle in week 15, Las Vegas in week 17, and Philadelphia or maybe that's it. Maybe Minnesota because these are the only places he would have to visit as higher seeds than him.

It could be the only places, Philadelphia and then Arizona in a neutral field site for the big, big, big one. Because if Purdy gets in there, it doesn't matter if Jimmy G is like, oh yeah, my foot's kind of feeling better. It'd be like, sorry, Jimmy, you dress, but you're the backup and maybe we need you one more time out of necessity, which would only be on brand for the entire San Francisco season. But this is the reality of it. Is he for real or not, or can he be the guy?

I don't know. I mean, I do sit two seats down from Kurt, who is the personification other than Brady and many others of you never know. Nick Foles, you never know. I mean, that's why we love this sport is because you never know. And what, seven plus quarters in, Brock Purdy's letting us get to know him a little bit. And it's tough not to think he's got it and the coach knows it. And the coach knows how to foster it and the teammates know how to welcome it.

And we just need to see how far it's going to take them. You can listen to the NFL and the NFL app on the Odyssey app on Westwood, one sports dot com via Westwood. One station streams are by asking Alexa to open Westwood one sports sponsored by AutoZone. When we come back, we will ask about all of this with Chris Long, Tom Brady, the Cowboys and so much more.

Our usual Monday guest after an NFL weekend, the two time Super Bowl champ Chris Long coming up. This is it. The putt to win the tournament. If you sink it, the championship is yours.

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NetSuite dot com slash rich radio. Usual Monday spot, two time Super Bowl champ head head head cheese at Green Light Podcast, the host and one of our favorites, former Super Bowl champion. Two times over, as a matter of fact, on the Mercedes Benz fan loan phone line, our friend Chris Long. How are you doing, Chris? Rich, I'm pretty good. How are you? I'm hanging in there.

Oh, gosh. I mean, I don't even know where to start with you. I guess let's start with Sunday Night Football and your takeaway on on this. Let's do it. Let's hit it.

Because, you know, Herbert looked terrific. And for the second straight game, this Miami offense wasn't anything close to what we've seen over the last few months. Your two cents on whether we're seeing a separation of powers here. A little bit. Well, I mean, listen, I don't think the Dolphins I don't I. I think Dolphins are a good team. I'm going to try carefully because I get anything negative you say about them. You hate the Dolphins. Like, I don't hate the Dolphins. Dolphins are just not as good as people thought.

It's December now. They're going to go to Buffalo this weekend and snow. If they win that game on Saturday night, they're right back in the conversation among the NFL elites.

And you can write this off as a two game swap. But I think what you're saying is like, hey, last week they go to San Francisco. But I think the moment was a little bit too big for that offense.

I mean, they were guys open, you know, they missed on some stuff and they ended up in the situation that they ended up in. And then this week with the chance to rebound against the bottom 10 defense with Derwin James out, with Sebastian Joseph Day out, with multiple guys out. You know, really scored seven points, essentially, for most of that ballgame. Kyrie Kill doesn't come out of a rugby scrum with a football and run 60 yards for a touchdown. I thought, you know, the Chargers did a really nice job of being aggressive on first and second downing coverage.

I mean, like taking away, you know, space a little bit. Like not being afraid of those receivers because the separation these guys have been getting all year has been just like criminal. And last night it wasn't there and so the ball placement has to be perfect and things are sped up and the pressure is higher. I mean, this was a pressure spot for Tua. It was a pressure spot for Justin Herbert.

A lot of people have been having this, frankly, really dumb conversation about who's, you know, who would you draft first, that sort of thing. Like Tua is a good player in that weekend, but I think Justin showed why people are so enamored with him. And I'm not saying he's in that Patrick Holmes tier. He's not. I'm not saying he's in the Josh Allen tier yet.

He's not. I'm not saying I would take him over Joe Burrow, but what I am saying is he's in that tier where he's knocking on the door of being elite. And I do think this offense has held him back at times. I think Mike Williams and Keenan Allen not being on the field at the same time has held him back. But when you watch the throws he makes, the off-the-spot throws that he made all last night. And he's done it all year with pressure in his face and that sort of thing.

But last night he was so efficient on a big stage where everybody's saying, hey, it's an either-or conversation. Because I know if Dolphins fans came away from that game and Tua threw for 400 yards, they'd say he's a better player than Justin Herbert. This was just one game. But if you're Justin Herbert, you've got to feel good about answering a lot of doubters.

Because there was a lot of noise, especially the last quarter, six weeks, as the Dolphins were mowing down these really poor teams. Well, I mean, the deal with the Chargers, and I said it earlier in the show, Chris, is that if they continue to play as well as they did Sunday night, then what we're going to see is Justin Herbert and this team on the road in the playoffs at Cincinnati or Kansas City or Buffalo. Whichever one of those three that doesn't get the top seed, it's entirely possible. The two or the three, that's where he's going to have to go. And that's where the rubber's going to have to meet the road. But at least he'll make the playoffs, certainly when you look at... Not yet.

Right? I mean, that's where it's kind of headed right now for that team, if they're lucky. Yeah, the AFC playoffs could be a lot of fun.

I don't bank on it, although their games the remainder of the season I think are pretty winnable. The Chargers, if you know anything about the Chargers, and evidenced by that fumble at the end of the game, Justin Herbert with a spectacular fumble recovery on the snap. I mean, that's probably his fault, but he made up for it with that fumble recovery. That was crazy. And then obviously letting Tyreke Hill score in that really unorthodox way, and then almost dropping the onside kick.

Charges hold on to your butts, man, but it's the inconsistency that worries you. I thought Brandon Staley, who... I've been critical of Brandon a little bit, because I don't think this team has played to their potential at times.

They played to their potential defensively, and then some. I mean, he got those guys ready to play. And so hats off to him. And hats off to Justin Herbert again. You know, this was a lot of people watching for a very simple sports talk show TV reason.

You know, this quarterback against that quarterback. And hey, you wanted it, you got it. Chris Long here on the Rich Eisen Show. I will just mention the name, and I'll give you the floor. There's really no question for it, because who the hell knows? And you never know a league. The two words are Brock Purdy.

Go for it, Chris. There's no question. Oh, yeah, man. Listen, there's no secret at this point in the season. I think for a while people didn't realize this, but the Niners are a top five football team.

Football team. You know, but what's happened to quarterback has called that into question. You know, whether it was week one, whether it's, you know, Jimmy's injury, the hell.

I think the most interesting thing about this, Rich, is, like, it proves how hard it is to evaluate these guys. First off, this is a system that people largely agree you don't need an elite quarterback to run it, right? Yet you gave up multiple picks, a ton of capital to grab a guy that people aren't sure about at this point in Trey Lance. And you draft Brock Purdy, very last guy in the draft, right? Mr. Relevant. And he looks like the guy you could have drafted in the first round.

You know what I mean? It just doesn't make sense. He's been on the roster. Like, you haven't heard a lot about him. You know, I don't think the Niners knew that he would look this good.

I think last week in Tampa, with no time, or last week, rather, when they played Dolphins, there was no time for him to prepare. And he played like he was a guest at somebody's house, would be the best way I could put it. Like, and a very good houseguest, right? You know, he... Yeah, Bringer brought a bottle of wine, was very kind to everyone else. Sure, understood. Very polite. And put everything back. You know, like, made sure his dishes went in the sink or the dishwasher. Of course. You know, I like to put him in a dishwasher at the house. Your first class.

Not in my house so much, I've been told. But, like, he played this week like it was his house. You know, he was comfortable.

He was swaggy, Rich. Like, that throw to Christian McCaffrey off his back foot, I mean, that was not a system throw. You know, the throw he made to Deebo Samuel when he had to evade a rusher on a boot. And he turns around and he's got a shrink in his face and he evades him and throws it to Deebo Samuel. It's like, he's off the spot throws and the athleticism he showed on the scramble in the low red. Like, you got people wondering, like, hey, are there some things physically? And, you know, he's got to play this out a little bit more, right? I want to jump out of the gym here. That you like better than you liked with Jimmy.

Like, is there a ceiling raised? I don't think it's a hot take question. We've got a few more weeks to figure that out. But I thought he played like this was his thing yesterday. And that was a great sign for them. And Trent Williams has talked him up, you know, what his presence is like. So, you got to feel good about Brock Purdy. You know, we'll learn more as the season goes on.

But valuable, valuable experience for him. You know, the teams he played in the first two weeks, huge game last week and a really good defense this week. Chris Long here on the Rich Eisen Show. I know you don't have a crystal ball. We do actually have one here on the set, although I'm not going to break it out right now.

It's really heavy. The winners of the Southern Divisions, AFC and NFC South, one month from now, and we get where we get through the final four weeks of the season, who are they going to be? Who's going to win the AFC South and who's going to win the NFC South?

Chris Long. Oh, that's that's how I tell you who I'm who I'm pulling for. I'd have to pull the schedules out, but I'm pulling for the Panthers, right?

Because I like chaos. The shame of it is this was the Saints division to take and they just hadn't been able to get together. But, you know, you want to root for Sam Darnold, man? I'm sure like, you know, there's a part of you, Rich, from your time that you have maybe your guy and Mike White. No, no, I'm with you. I mean, the idea that Sam Darnold might spoil Todd Bowles' season is something a Jet fan can't really wrap up. I guess Adam Gase would have to flip the coin for that one. You know what I mean?

Like, I don't I don't know. And obviously Vrabel and the Titans are still in control of that division. But what the Jaguars just did to them after Derrick Henry almost put 100 yards on them in the first half, and you think, here we go again. Jacksonville could go on a run. They still have another game against the Titans. They're just two games behind Tennessee. If they beat Tennessee, they'll just be whenever they play them again, they'll have another one.

They take on Dallas this week in a game that I think a lot more people will be paying attention to now. So I ask, what do you think? What do you think when it's all said and done?

What do you think, Chris? I'm going to go, I got to look at the map on this, but the Panthers, if they can beat the Bucks January 1st, this is their division to win, I think, maybe. What are they, a game back from the Bucks? Correct. Are they a game back?

Yes, correct. Yeah, and the Bucks have the Bengals this week. I mean, I'd be shocked if they win that game. And then they're at the Falcons in week 18.

You know, Desmond Ritter and some unknown, you know, kind of like, I don't know what the outlook is there. There's no game that the Bucks are a sure thing in, right? I feel like the Panthers strangely have a higher floor right now. Like, they just do because they run the football and, you know, I don't want to get overreacted Sam Darnell for two weeks.

He's got to play well. But if he plays like he's played the last couple weeks, they could win this division. Now, on the other side of things, I think the Titans figure it out. You know, Jags have just been too inconsistent. I think the Titans figure it out. I don't want to be hot takey here, but knowing the way this thing goes, they'll probably be to Jags. Chris Long here on the Rich Eisen Show.

And I am going to go there with you. And the there is Tom Brady. And I mentioned it earlier in the program here, Chris, that, you know, he's obviously the GOAT and deserves all the leeway possible. But I always thought that when it was time for Brady to start thinking about other things than football, it wouldn't look like he's fallen off the cliff. But I do see some throws he normally makes being missed.

I understand that there's some major issues up front. Donovan Smith cost them another touchdown yesterday that he was able to overcome in that comeback win the previous week in Tampa on the Monday night against the Saints. But you're sitting here and Brock Purdy's beaten him by 28.

And I know it's the Niners defense that really did it, not Purdy, but in front of 100 family and friends in his spot. There are things that are happening essentially in Brady's career that just don't happen, have never happened. And I'm wondering if it is time to either think about if he wants to play another year, find a better spot than the one he's in or or this is it. What do you think, Chris? I think he should keep playing if he wants to keep playing. I think, number one, he's earned that right.

Number two, he's still a good quarterback in this league. I mean, this situation is jacked up. It's been jacked up from the beginning of the season. I'm not saying that nothing's Tom's fault. Tom makes mistakes. He's 45 years old or whatever he is, and he hasn't been perfect. But that line has been a problem.

I think the inconsistency of receiver, the red zone problem, losing Gronk, some of the game planning, some of the decision-making. I'm not backing the bus up over the coaching staff or anything like that. I just think he's got a good year in him somewhere else. I don't think it's Pampa. I floated like a month ago the New England thing because I think it'd just be fun, right? And I've seen the Pampa thing as a sinking ship for some time now.

I think we should play next year. This is not how he wants to end. I don't want to put thoughts in his mouth or words in his mouth.

But you really want to end this this way? I mean, nothing has gone right for him this year. It's just been such a turmoil-filled year for him. And I want to compliment him. Dre Greenlaw ran up to him last night, and I know at times he hadn't shaken people's hands after games, and that sucks, right?

You're like, come on. But I do think, by and large, he showed class through this thing. He stood up, stood tall, answered questions after games, put things on himself when it's been his fault. He seems to be a good teammate. Last night Dre Greenlaw ran up and got the ball that he intercepted signed.

And I'm just like, damn, I know that is not what you want to be doing. But he's just kind of kept a brave face on and done it. And I just want to credit him for that. I mean, some people are probably like, oh, we're going to compliment Tom Brady. But the guy deserves, I think, some, he deserves some positivity for the way that he's handled some of this stuff. And I think he's got another year or two in him. Well, what about Vegas?

What about them? That's something I'm hearing a ton about. You know, obviously, a McDaniels-Brady reunion. Davante Adams is something any quarterback would want to play with.

By referring to Adams as a thing, I'm talking about who wouldn't want to play with the number one wide receiver, fill in the blank, in the NFL. Maybe that's a spot for Tom. It could be. It certainly could be.

But you've got to think about it. Like, Tom Brady's done everything. So, like, at this point, if I'm Tom Brady, I'm thinking about, like, how does this story end, right? This is an amazing story. It's, like, one of the coolest stories in sports history, I mean, just, like, so unlikely in the first place. And, you know, the winning all those rings in New England and then winning somewhere else, like, it's just been so wild.

It deserves a, like, almost like, I think, a poetic finish, man. And I think going back to New England would be that kind of, like, let's make it work one more time. I don't know if it's feasible. I don't know if Bill would be interested in it. But as a fan every Sunday, dude, like, imagine us sitting there and watching Bill and Tom back together in a 4 p.m. spot, you know, battling with the elites, the ASC. Sometimes it's like the grass is greener and then it's not as green as you thought it was, and I think he's experiencing that right now. Not saying it could just be them. It could be the Jets. It could be some weird twist here. But I like the New England thing.

I'm just kind of attached to it. And last one for you here, Chris Long, in the NFC, just looking at Week 14. And now, again, that it's late in the season, you could kind of read some tea leaves a little bit better than a Week 5 result en masse, if you will. But the Philadelphia Eagles just curb-stomping the Giants.

And they have been on a rampage, certainly since Thanksgiving weekend, 40-plus points a game on offense since that time. And then the Niners looking the way that they're looking. How do we not see the Eagles and the Niners in the NFC championship game, certainly with the Cowboys result yesterday being something that they pulled out of their orifice? And I know you still have that belief in the Cowboys, not completely solidified because of the result last year in the playoffs, and a game similar to the one that we just saw against the Texans.

I know that's a lot of generalizations, but I'll put that in front of you for an answer. Yeah, no, I think the Eagles are the best team in the NFC, right? I think the Niners are right there with them. The question is, but if you look at their roster, top to bottom, even with some of the injuries they've incurred, they're just a great team. And yeah, I have trust issues with Dallas, like probably most of America, including a lot of Dallas fans.

So some people probably will get mad at me for saying that, but look in the mirror, you're your favorite team, you don't trust in me. So I just don't know, and I think also if you look at Dallas and Philly the last two weeks, Dallas had a really sloppy game yesterday. You had Dalton Schultz drop, you had Stump at the goal line, you had Turpin Muff. Dak didn't play that well, although he played well in that game-winning drive. And they squeaked by at home against Houston, and Philly did not play well the week before. Last week they were sloppy, a bunch of penalties.

They overcame penalties on like 3-4 touchdown drives, a bunch of stuff, but they blew the doors off the Titans. And so I'm not boiling it down to, but this is the difference, and the difference between these two teams is Jalen Hurts is playing that good right now. So even when they're sloppy, he's that force that you see him on the sideline. AJ Brown and those guys are having a blast, they're joking, they're laughing, and they should be. And Jalen Hurts is just in their stone craze, you catch him on the sideline, he's just looking straight ahead. That dude has it between the ears, and he's making all the plays on the field with his arm, with his legs, the balls that he's throwing outside the numbers have been gorgeous this year. AJ Brown's unlocked that whole thing, and right now he doesn't have Dallas Goddard. And to mention that defense, Brandon Graham had three sacks just saying, Son Redica just got double digits, first Eagles rush should have double digits since 2014. AJ Brown goes for 1,000, first one since Jeremy Mack going to go for 1,000, so pretty scary what they're doing. Like, you know, a lot of times during this stage of the season you see one of these teams is everybody's darling, and they come down to earth a little bit.

This is where we start to see who people really are, and it looks like the Eagles are even more who we thought they were than we could have imagined, which is scary. Who's on the pod this week, Chris? What do you got?

Who do you have? Oh man, Rich, seat of my pants this week. I got Kyle on there, we got Bo Allen, we're going to be reviewing the Monday Night Game and talking about our Army Navy experience this weekend, which was awesome. Oh yeah. Got to go see that game. What was that like? You got a story you want to tell? Yeah.

What do you got? Well, I think fans are amazing because they actually are able to find their seats. Like, I don't go to games, a lot of NFL stadiums, me and Bo Allen and my buddy Jason Van Camp, who's at Green Beret, like this guy could diffuse a bomb probably. We couldn't find our seats for 12 minutes of game time.

Like, we did two laps around the link looking for... I guess not only the pageantry, you know, it's one of the coolest scenes in football. The weather was great, it was cold, it was beautiful out.

The style of play is fun if it's different. And I tip my cap to fans because every time I go to an NFL stadium, I'm blown away at how people tailgate from 6 in the morning, get in the stadium, find their seats and keep it going all night. Like, fans are awesome and I love being a football fan this weekend. So, I am mandated as a follow-up question, Chris. So, you couldn't find your seats because why? Folks of Army and Navy who one would think follow orders and would be able to find their seats and sit where they're supposed to sit, or were you just a little bit swing-oiled up going into that game? No, I wasn't. Listen, when there's a Green Beret, not to probe my boy Jason on the bus, but when there's a Green Beret leading the way, I get in the back, you know what I mean? Sure.

And me and Bo Allen, we played countless games in that stadium, but it's a totally different deal when you're in the Concourse trying to... I mean, there's different levels, there's different stairways, there's different elevators. Man, it's confusing. Okay, very good.

I got the skinny. Thanks again, Chris. Appreciate your time. Everybody check out the Green Light Podcast with our friend Chris Long. Thanks for calling. All right, Rich.

Take it easy, man. At Joel number 91 on Twitter, at La Flama Blanca 95 on Instagram, Chris Long on The Rich Eisen Show. All right, let's take a break, come back, and we'll wrap up this Monday program with a revisitation of something we haven't discussed in about two months, because it went away, but reared its ugly head again yesterday.

And I want to stamp it out before it happens in front of a large Super Bowl audience. Coming up. Back here on The Rich Eisen Show.

This NFL season, every Westwood-won NFL broadcast streams live for free. Tonight's game, I'll be there for pregame and halftime between the Patriots and the Cardinals tonight. Do you need me to call in? Sure.

Would you like to? We've been asking you this for months. Thursday, Sunday nights, Christmas triple headers in every postseason game. Check it out. Live for free.

Every Westwood-won NFL broadcast streaming live. I'm disingenuous. I don't want you calling in, Noah. No, because I'm just going to demand everyone get fired and stuff. What are the chances that Cliff gets bounced and then he can be the Pats OC next year? There you go. Because I'm really rooting for that. You just want somebody who's... I want somebody not named Matt Patricia and Joe Judge calling plays.

That's what I want. Vance Joseph, last Friday we did that segment last week saying, you know what the offense looks like? It's been called by somebody who's a defensive coordinator calling offense.

He's right. So that's tonight. Can we throw the ball downfield? You can. Will you is the question. You will not. Probably not.

Probably not. So, hey, let me help my colleagues in the NFL front office. If you keep letting referees decide what is roughing the passer in real time without any access to the replay system that you allow the officials to have access to, whether somebody is down or not, whether a ball is loose or not, whether it's a fumble, whether it's a catch, whether it's a first down, whether the ball is spotted properly. You heard it, I believe last night. Was it last night's game where... No, it was the one where Christian McCaffrey in the end zone. It was a touchdown, but you saw he juggled the ball and it was initially called a touchdown, then ruled incomplete because somebody in the replay system back in New York City said the ball was juggled. And then there was a challenge of the initial replay that came in from the NFL that said it was incomplete. After further review, it was announced by the head ref the original call of touchdown stance. Oh, OK. So the replay came in incorrect to fix your call in real time and actually required a challenge to come in. Oh, original. So how about saying the original call of roughing the passer, we're picking the flag up.

How about that? Because last night and last night's Chargers-Dolphins game 17-7, what was it, Daniels came in, right, for Miami? Put Justin Herbert down on the turf on third down and the way he did it, he hit him head on, landed on top of him, but you saw his arms were around Justin Herbert to make sure the full impact of his body did not land on him. We all saw it. It created such a stir on the Musk machine that there wasn't a soul that thought this call was correct. Not a soul. How could you?

How? And it is so damaging to the game where fans en masse think not only are the refs blowing it, but the way we appreciate football being played is not being appreciated by those who administer the game in real time. In officiating uniforms and whoever is in the home office of the NFL. Deciding these things can stand when we have the replayability to stop it. Certainly since earlier in the day, Kenny Pickett goes out as Roquan Smith takes him down, grabbing the face mask and throws him into the turf.

Not flagged, but what we saw on Sunday night is flagged. I'm telling everybody how randomly this appears to be officiated is maddening and it is damaging to the fan base. And on top of it, I'm trying to save everyone from this happening in the Super Bowl when the largest audience with the biggest stakes are on the line. People will freak. Make a rule.

Do it now. I don't care if we're officiating it differently from the regular in the postseason. Save us from this sort of stuff from the postseason.

Let everybody back at 345 Park Avenue. And I know it's not foolproof. As I mentioned, the McCaffrey touchdown was initially ruled a touchdown and then taken away required a challenge to restore it. But it's better than the officiating that we're seeing done fully with the intent of protecting people.

But as Collinsworth and Torrico said last night, it's happened so fast. You're throwing the flag. Give us a minute. Huddle up. Talk about it. Let them look at it in New York City and get in your ear and say pick the flag up. And then we're no worse than where we're all good in the hood. Better than the alternative to this happening in the Super Bowl. And everybody freaking out. Here endeth the show. We'll wrap up this show on Roku in a moment. Everyone else will chat Tuesday.