REShow: Mark Schlereth/Paul Zeise - Hour 1 (1-5-2023)

The sense I get, and this is from people who know him much better than me. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Is that if he's offered, he will leave.

Doesn't matter the job. Oh my God. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. The Panthers, people will go, well, David Tepper just hired a college guy.

Well, Jim Hopper's really not a college guy. Today's guest, three-time Super Bowl champion, Mark Schleren. Pittsburgh Post Gazette columnist, Paul Zeiss. Co-host of CBS mornings, Nate Burleson, senior writer for the MMQP, Albert Prear. And now it's Rich Eisen.

Well, hey everybody. Welcome to this edition of the Rich Eisen Show here on a Thursday of 2023. 844204 Rich is the number to dial right here on the Roku channel. You want to watch us? Guess what?

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It's pouring down rain in LA. I understand that. TJ Jefferson is about to light the candle. Hello, Mike DelTufel. Good to see you.

It's all good. TJ, we got a friend of yours on the program calling him. I know this is going to be surreal. This is one of my oldest friends in the world, man. So this will be a really cool moment. His name is Paul Zeiss and he's on the program for the primary reason, not just that he's your friend, is that he knows the family of Damar Hamlin.

And he knows Damar for years. And and he's on our program later on this hour. Mark Schlerath of Fox Sports, Nate Burleson of CBS and NFL Network will be joining us on this program. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated will be joining us on this program in hour number three, because there's lots of conversation surrounding the NFL. Would have been a Thursday night football game had it been any of the first 17 weeks of the season. As we all know, week 18 is right around the corner, too, on Saturday, a bunch on Sunday. And there's a lot up in the air. Now, then, this whole entire week, as I mentioned on Monday's show, has felt like anybody who's been in a waiting room or an emergency room and you're just begging for any information, positive information, obviously.

And every single time you're sitting in that waiting room and a door opens up and you're looking to see if it's the doctor to let you know what's going on with your loved one. And that's the way I have felt all week long about Damar Hamlin. I think the rest of this country feels the same way about Damar Hamlin, any information and the information that I have been gathering through personal friends who are physicians, cardiologists, anybody who's a medical expert has been telling me, as I've been also refreshing my feed for any news, that Damar Hamlin, the fact that there's been no news on him since Monday is not a bad thing, a good thing, because he has been sedated and they are doing their best to make sure that his body can recover. It does appear that there was something to do with his lungs that they were concerned about as well, but that they would at some point in the first 24, if not 48 hours of his hospitalization in the ICU, begin to bring him out of the sedated state and the first sign that you'd need to see, a positive sign that you'd be looking for, is anything neurological because you heard he was, we all know, resuscitated on the field and there would be various lengths of time that we heard about him receiving CPR and how long was his brain without oxygen and that's the key here. That yes, first key is that they restored his heartbeat and his pulse. After that is neurologically, how did he survive whatever period of time he was without oxygen and the good news on that front leading into today and throughout the last three days is the fact that it did appear that the first aid was administered on the spot, that the NFL's protocol and the Bengals and the Bills protocol, that the trainers there and all the equipment that was there, the emergency services that were there and rendered, it hit Tamar Hamlin's chest and body fast. So today, finally, after three days of refresh and refresh and refresh, looking for the good news, thank God it arrived and it's beginning to arrive and obviously when we're talking about this type of medical emergency, you know, you always hear about multiple steps forward and steps back, the Bills sent out a release that per the physicians caring for Tamar Hamlin at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, remarkable improvement he has shown over the last 24 hours while still critically ill, he's demonstrated that he appears to be neurologically intact, his lungs continue to heal and he's making steady progress, grateful for the love and support we've received and in terms of the neurological improvement, my colleague from the NFL media group, Ian Rappaport, adding some information there that he opened his eyes last night, he's responsive, yeah, Ian called it truly incredible, exactly, one thing that's very clear from speaking to those close to him, they're endlessly appreciative of the medical care he's been given on the field and then over the last 72 hours and then Ian added the fact that he's been gripping the hands of those close to him, that is what I have been told by everybody, that that's what everybody, that the neurological examination will begin with the simple, hey, can you wiggle your fingers, wiggle your toes, can you, do you feel that hand, can you grip the hand?

I sent this information to one of the medical experts I have been communicating with over the past few days and the answer was this is great news, was the response from the expert. That's awesome. And then at some point, will you imagine that as he continues to knock on wood improve, someone will eventually tell him, hey, you know that GoFundMe page you started with the goal of $2,500? Two years ago.

Right? Over $7.1 million in it now. That's amazing. $7.1 million on the screen, you could see the top donation is Jim Irsay in the Annapolis called $25,003. A three obviously is his uniform number.

Bob Kraft and the Patriots family sent $18,003. Eighteen is the number in Hebrew and the Hebrew alphabet for the letter high, which is in Hebrew means to life and to celebrate life, $18,003. That's the number that's given on, say Bar Mitzvah is 18. When I was a Bar Mitzvah boy in 1980, jeez, wow, I'll do the math, 82, I got $18 checks.

That'll work. Yeah. Or 36 multiples of 18. You got 18 $1 checks, you got checks in the mouth of $18.

No, I got a check for it in $18. Gotcha. Right. Or 36. These days there's a zero on the end of it.

There's been inflation. That's your high update, your Bar Mitzvah high update. But indeed to life. To life.

No doubt. To life. That's why Dion, whenever he says he loves somebody, he says, I love you to life. That's what Dion says, the new coach of the Colorado Buffalo. I'm ecstatic, man. I'm just... Good news, man.

I'm seriously... The little shot in the arm we kind of all... We've been waiting. We needed this week. Right?

Yeah. I immediately called Suze, Xander, who isn't all that into football, that's asking me literally three times a day. And I think we talked about it, TJ, you probably mentioned it too, unless you're a Die Hard Bills fan or grew up a Pitt fan, you probably never heard of this kid. And all of a sudden, Monday, it's like he's a member of your family and you just want him to be OK and pull through and get to live a full life after having something like this happen in front of the whole country. And this was a good day today. And it supersedes football. You said, like, Xan isn't a football fan, but Xan has compassion. Oh, he's an empath. In that, like I said, football sports is irrelevant to this situation. This is now like a human interest story.

Biden called him up apparently, Paul called up the family, called up his parents, you know, the president's on the phone, you know. And although he did, you know, when asked about the dangers of football, talked about helmets and head injuries, and this is a chest injury, but be that as it may, it was a very nice gesture that he did that and put it all together. And you've got a positive situation with the arrow pointing up. And in terms of you pointing out, it's more than just football. That's part of the reason why we're having your friend Paul Zeiss on this program at the end of this hour. I want to know who the kid is. Right now, we just know him as the guy, the kid who's in ICU who damn near dropped dead on the field, but didn't.

And it's improving. And so Paul's on this program. Also on this show, Nate Burleson, you, 844-204-rich number to dial. Albert Breer will be on in hour number three, because now that matters are improving and that we can breathe a siren, I mean, he's opened his eyes for crying out loud. Now we can start to turn the pages to what we're doing with the schedule and the thorny issue of playoffs and seedings and, you know, the matter of completing this season in a way that is acceptable to the teams that are involved in this playoff race and playoff chase, and that includes the Bills. And the Patriots, as I mentioned yesterday, there are eight teams involved in this. The Bills and the Bengals, obviously. The Chiefs are the other team that's in line for the one seed. The Ravens have an opportunity to potentially win the division, right? Then you've got the Patriots at the seven seed, and they're winning in scenario playing the Bills.

And other than that, you've also got the Dolphins and the Steelers needing the Patriots to lose to have their ticket potentially punched, and you even throw the Los Angeles Chargers in that could potentially stay at the five or drop down to the six, which means a lot. So Albert's going to join us on that front. As I mentioned, there's you as well, 844-204-rich number to dial. Damar Hamlin has opened his eyes and is squeezing the hands of his loved ones. How great is that?

Thrilled to hear it and thrilled to have you here on the show. We're going to take a break, and then we'll be joined by Mark Schlerath of Fox Sports. Talk about what's going on, obviously, with Damar Hamlin and the rest of the league's reaction to it. And then we'll talk a little bit of ball with Mark.

I went higher register to break. This is it. The putt to win the tournament. If you sink it, the championship is yours.

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This man is a three-time super bowl champ. Joining us here on the rich eyes and show from Fox sports on the Mercedes-Benz Vans phone line is our friend, Mark Schlereth back here on the program. How you doing Mark? I'm doing good, Rich Vans.

Thanks so much for having me on. You be a brother and it's just a great day, getting this good news from the hospital in Cincinnati that Damar Hamlin's opened his eyes and is squeezing the hands of his loved ones exactly the sort of signal that we needed to see as he's being brought out of his sedated state. Just a sigh of relief I'm having right now, you know? Yeah, I don't think there's any question that that is huge and that's what we've all been hoping for and ultimately praying for and just incredible news coming out of Cincinnati right now which is awesome, you know, and it's interesting. You sit there and I had an opportunity to listen to you and, Kurt, as I was driving home we went to dinner with some friends of ours and watched it unfold on the TV there in the restaurant and obviously searching for answers and searching for information which nobody really had but I thought you did a tremendous job as I was driving home listening to you guys. But you know, we were all shaken up for that because we understand there's a hundred percent likelihood that you're going to get hurt when you play the game.

We understand that. We didn't even understand the potential of paralysis and everything else but you don't go on the field thinking, hey, this could be the last time I'm ever, you know, I'm alive. You just don't think that way as a player and so it was dramatic I think for all of us and I think one of the things for me as I sat and kind of contemplated what was going on, I was praying for Damar and his family, I thought to myself, you know, oftentimes we all face tragedy, oftentimes we all face disappointment and things that don't work out in our lives and oftentimes we shake a hand to God and say, you know, why me? And I'm sitting there thinking, you know, why not me? And why have I been so blessed?

Why have I had all these things work out for me? And so it's an opportunity for me to not only pray for that man's family but also to recognize my own blessings and to have some intentional gratitude for the great things that have happened in my life. And anyhow, I'm just really, really happy to hear the news about Damar and again, you know, we'll just continue to pray for him and his recovery. Yeah, I know and that's the thing I was, we've been talking about here for the last 24, 48 hours as we've had various guests on who have either played or loved the game that just to, you know, what you just said, Mark, about knowing the dangers of playing the game and every snap could bring it that you kind of don't think about it. And then to have it completely in front of your eyes in the most jarring manner of watching your teammate need CPR and then ambulanced off. I can't even imagine, I can't even imagine what the next snap of football is going to be like. What do you think the next snap of football is going to be like, Mark?

You know, I think for them ultimately, like this great news, there'll be some relief because there is that aspect, you know, that you get back to it. And I was on a football field in Greeley, Colorado when we had a teammate break his neck and the ambulance came on the field and we were doing a goal line drill and we just moved the drill down on the other end while our, you know, while our teammate was being lifted and lifted into a, you know, to an ambulance. So like you have that, you have that.

And by the way, I was sitting there going, really, we're going to continue to practice, really this is what we're going to do. And yet, you know, that is kind of football and there's a reason only 1,500 people are blessed enough athletically to play it and, you know, as I always joke around, stupid enough to play the game. It is part of your fabric of your being. It is probably all of our first loves as little boys that we grew up playing it. And so there is something special I always quote a line from The Alarm, an 80s band that I really liked.

And one of the lines in one of their songs was, it's the lifeblood that courses through my veins and that's how I feel about football. So there is going to be a moment of kind of relief because your brother and your teammate and your friend and the guy that you've loved and spent a lot of time with looks like he's coming out the other side. And so there'll be some relief in that. And then getting back to playing the game, I think is that, oddly enough, I think there'll be some relief in that as well. Well, I guess it's a good thing that culturally we've evolved as a sport to have stopped the game. I know this whole conversation as to how long it took to stop the game and who's the ones who eventually, you know, led to stopping it.

But if you're saying you were practicing when your teammate was putting an ambulance with a broken neck on the other side of the field, and even at that time, you were wondering why are we doing it? What was that in the late, late 90s when you're talking about there, mid to mid 90s? Yeah.

I mean, yeah, late 90s, like 97, 98. Yeah. So I mean, so yeah, there has been that evolution.

And I really like to me, I really don't care how long it took. And I know there's a lot of people who jump on and say it should have been canceled immediately. But you're trying, you know, you're in the fact gathering and information finding stage and bottom line for me is the right decision was made. Like I know it maybe not have been on timeline that some people like, but the bottom line, it was made and, and, and that hasn't always been the case when it comes to the National Football League and the way we, the way we love the game. So we have made some progress in that regard to understanding, you know, understanding the humanity of the game that we play.

Mark Schlerath, Fox Sports NFL analyst, three time Super Bowl champion right here on The Rich Eisen Show. So what do you think the league should do? What's your two cents on that subject matter about making up this game or not at all? There's a conversation, there's so many different conversations on the table, and it looks like 48 hours to come up with the answer right now.

What do you think? Yeah, I would be shocked if they play that game. And I don't know what the total answer is, other than, you know, call it a tie. However, however that works into the mathematical equation, as far as win percentage is concerned and that, figure it out. I just don't think that that game is going to be played. I don't expect it to be played, and I don't even want it to be played. I think we move on and we figure it out, we do the best we can, and understanding that, you know, somebody is going to be, some fan base is going to be a little bit upset, but get over it, life ain't fair, and we move on and that's just kind of how I think the league will handle it. There may be some, you know, there may be some twists and turns as far as who gets home field advantage, who doesn't, like maybe there's some type of, I think Matt Hasselbeck proposed something of, you know, that was pretty interesting about, you know, you get to choose whether you want the buy or you want home field advantage, if it turns out to be a tie, whatever. That is what it is. I think they'll just figure it out.

One thing, we've become fairly nimble as a league, I think, over the last couple of years on the COVID, you know, two years ago we played every day of the week, so I think they have become fairly nimble that way and they're just going to do the best they can and understand that extenuating circumstances and kind of desperate times, desperate measures. I'll pull on that thread a little bit that you just left out there. Why don't you want it to be played?

I can guess, but I'll give you the floor on that. Why don't you say, I don't even want it to be played? Why? Yeah. Well, I guess, Blake, it's such a, to me, what happened there is so traumatic, I think, for everybody involved and not only the players but the coaches and the support staff, the men and women that make an NFL Sunday, an NFL Monday night go round. I just think that it's such an emotional, there was such an emotional outlet during that time and during that game and I don't want to drudge up for any of those people involved and, you know, frankly, for all of us who watched it, I just don't want to drudge that up. I'd rather move on. So that's kind of where I'm at.

Mark Schlereth here on the Rich Eisen Show. Okay, so then let's move on to the rest of the league a little bit here. The best team that you've seen, I think I ask you this every single time, but you see so many teams, so I'll ask you again. Which has been the best team that you've seen so far in the 2022 season, Mark?

The best team that I've got a chance to call was the Philadelphia Eagles because I look at them, especially on the offensive side of the ball, the mastery of the running game and they can beat you any way you want to be beaten. You know, if you want us to play Smash Mouth with you, we can beat you playing Smash Mouth. If you want us to orchestrate some gap pin and pull schemes and get to the edge and capture the perimeter, we can do that in the run game. We can do it with our running back. We can do it with our quarterback.

Oh, you're going to stack 15 guys in the box? We'll throw it over the top of your head. We don't care. And when Jalen Hurts is right, and hopefully he's back and he's going to be right, they're a pretty damn good team. The other team I would tell you is the 49ers. And just physically, you know, it's so interesting, Rich, because what they're doing with, you know, a third, not a second string quarterback, but a third string quarterback who's a rookie and Mr.

Irrelevant is pretty incredible. And that kid, you got to give him a ton of credit because he's got a great aptitude for the game. But physically, they will literally whip your ass on the line of scrimmage, on both lines of scrimmage, and they'll make no bones about it. And you know, it's so funny as we morph into, you know, hey, it's a new league, and it's a new this, it's a new that, you know, about 60% of the teams that play this game are using the Mike Shanahan kind of West Coast offense that, you know, that we ran in the 90s. Now, there have been some adjustments and some things of that nature to it, then you add the quarterback run that wasn't prominent in the 90s and the early 2000s. But that's all morphed out of that. But the bottom line to me is we all get enamored with quarterback play as we should.

It's incredible. And you know, with wide receivers and tight ends and the passing game and all this stuff. But I tell you, when push comes to shove, there is one thing that will never change about football. And that is the team that can dominate both lines of scrimmage is going to win the majority of the games. And you look at Philly, you look at San Francisco, that's what they do, especially for San Francisco on the defensive side, they are legit, they are deep, they rotate, and all their guys can play.

Before we return to the Eagles, though, Nick Bose is the Defensive Player of the Year. Wouldn't you agree? Yes? Yea?

Nay? Yeah, he's pretty special. He's pretty unblockable. He called game in Vegas when he just threw the left tackle right into the lap of Jared Sittam and caused the interception in overtime. You know?

Yeah. And the other thing is, if he's up and down like the great ones, like Reggie White, like J.J. Watt, who announces retirement. I've never seen J.J. Watt equal, and I've played against Reggie White. When it comes to moving up and down the line of scrimmage and equally dispensing justice, regardless who he's over. Most guys have a favorite side, either they're better at the left defensive end than they are at the right defensive end or the left defensive tackle than they are at the right defensive tackle. He'll line up on anybody, and he's equally as good, ambidextrous when it comes to pass rushing. So I've never seen his equal, and Nick Bosa has some of that in him as well.

Up and down the line of scrimmage, figuring out where the best matchup is. My guys have enjoyed your use of dispensing justice. Equally dispensing justice might be our fantasy football team.

That could be a good fantasy football team. That's really nice. Or a great album, an album named Equally Dispensing Justice. That was Metallica, for sure. What do you think, Mark?

You're providing us with lots of material here. And then about the Eagles. I'm concerned about Lane Johnson being down. The groin injury.

I don't know when he's coming back. But they're different. It affects everything, right? The run game. The protection.

Everything for them. That guy. Yeah.

Yeah. Especially, you know, it's so funny because back in my time, this is one of the ways, the kind of the quote, unquote, evolution of football. So back in my day, the right tackle was this, you know, I mean, it was the John Runyon types, right?

Just come off the ball and beat you up and, you know, physically have a street fight. And the left tackle had to be the athletic or nimble guy. And then with the evolution of the open formation where the tight ends no longer lined up on the end of line of scrimmage.

Now we open everything up. Now both tackles have got to be supremely gifted athletes. And Lane Johnson's one of not only the best players, but one of the best athletes in football. And yet you're 100% right with that guy being down, it completely affects what you're doing. So most of the time for the Eagles, if there's a weak side to the line of scrimmage, it's probably with Milata and Dickerson, although Dickerson's a pro-ball player, he's great, don't get me wrong, but they're going to turn protection toward that left tackle. And they're going to leave Lane Johnson on the island. You can't do that right now. So all of a sudden, one guy being gone, one guy being down, opens up two edges.

And that's a difficulty. Mark Schlerith, a few more minutes left with the Fox Sports Analyst, three-time Super Bowl champion here on the Rich Eisen Show. Before I let you go, let's talk Broncos. How concerned are you that whatever's going on there is not fixable based on whatever's going on between Russell Wilson and the offensive line?

I saw obviously what happened Christmas Day, and it was heartening to see them rebound with Jerry Rosberg after firing Nathaniel Hackett and performing as well as they did in Kansas City. Mark, how concerned are you that this is not fixable for a new coach? I'm not concerned that it's not fixable. I think it's fixable.

I think Russell's quote-unquote fixable. You know, when I hear people say, well, he's definitely, he's not the athlete he once was and this, that, and that, he's still plenty athletic enough to threaten the edge, to run the football. You saw that last week in Kansas City.

He can do all those things. I think the big issue is you have got to go back and understand that you have got to create a system that minimizes, that minimizes the impact that your quarterback has, and you just paid him $250 million or whatever it was. So you've got to be able to say, hey, man, very much like San Francisco, we're going to run the ball. We're going to set up our play action stuff. We're going to be very, our one action's going to look, or our one game is going to marry to that play action game and our play action game is going to, you know, is going to impact and create easy one-on-one throws and those things. I think it's really, you know, what Pete Carroll did for 10 years in Seattle and, you know, the whole, hey, let Russ cook mantra, you know, came from, hey man, I want to, you know, I want to be, you know, that guy that operates from the pocket and I want to be, you know, the Drew Brees or the Tom Brady and, you know, I think that narrative permeated Seattle and permeated the national kind of narrative for a while. And ultimately I think, you know, Pete Carroll was protecting Russell Wilson saying, hey, there's certain skill sets that we don't think you have, and this is the way we're going to do it. This is the way we're going to, you know, protect ourselves as an offense. And I think you're going to, if the coach comes in here and has the authority to go back to that, then I think, then I think Russell will be fine ultimately, but you've got to be able to, you've got to be able to look at yourself very critically and saying, okay, you know what? I wanted this, but I'm not that yet, or I'm not that now, and I've got to go back to winning football games. And the 90 seconds I have left with you is Harbaugh fit?

Because that's the, that's the rumor. My guy, you're going to come get my guy from Michigan and offer him a ton of money to fix this thing. Yeah. Do you think he's a fit? I think, well, yeah, I think Harbaugh's a fit anywhere. I think one thing about Jim Harbaugh is everywhere he's ever been. And I've talked to several people about this, Brock Huir and a couple of the guys that I know well, that know Jim Harbaugh well, where he's ever been, he's built a bully. You know, he's built a team from the inside out that has a fullback and has a tight end that can put, you know, the wide tight end that can put his hand on the dirt and be on the end of the line of scrimmage and block people with, like that's, that's what Jim Harbaugh is. And I think that's exactly what Russell Wilson needs. I think it's that type of offense. So ultimately, I don't know if Jim Harbaugh wants to leave Michigan or not. My gut would say he doesn't. But I have no, I have no idea. It's just the way I feel about, you know, professional football versus college football.

And I feel like he's, he's at home, you know, he's a Michigan guy, just like you. Thanks, brother. Happy New Year. Thanks for the time.

Thanks for your kind words about listening on Westwood One on Monday night. You're the man. Happy New Year. Appreciate it.

Happy New Year, buddy. You got it. That's Mark Schler, a three time Super Bowl champion here on The Rich Austin Show.

We'll take a break. We'll come back and we'll talk to the man, a sports columnist, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. His son was a teammate of DeMar Hamlin.

He's covered DeMar Hamlin. He's known his family. His name is Paul Zeiss. Don't miss this conversation when we come back right here on The Rich Austin Show. Welcome to Talkville, the ultimate Smallville rewatch podcast, where each week we watch every episode of Smallville, a show that changed our lives forever and perhaps your lives, too. I'm Michael Rosenbaum. Hello.

I am Tom Welling. What was the sign off now? Always remembers Talkville. That's it. Always hold on to Smallville, folks. We love you. Can do it without you. We've got a great season two coming up.

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Unlock your potential now inside a Mercedes Benz Sprinter van. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial. If you're on hold, stay on hold. We've got a second hour for you. Top of the next hour, we'll take some of your phone calls and also return to the subject matter now that we're seeing some positive signs in Cincinnati. But the league, as I'm sure beginning to undertake, is what to do with the game that wasn't played on Monday night to its completion.

But that's later on. For the moment, we turn to our Mercedes Benz van's phone line and find the sports columnist of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and host of 93.7, the fan in Pittsburgh. He covers the Steelers. He covers the Pittsburgh Panthers. That's one way that he was introduced to DeMar Hamlin.

The other way is that his son, Elijah, was a teammate of DeMar's. So he knows the family. He knows the young man that we've been talking about all week.

His name is Paul Zeiss, and he's here on the Rich Eisen Show, friend of T.J. Jefferson. How are you doing, Paul? I'm good today, Rich. How are you guys doing out there? Well, we're good, too, and obviously sharing the same feeling you are right now that it appears that DeMar has taken a turn for the better and has his neurological functions at first blush. And I'm wondering what's going through your mind right now, Paul. Well, yeah, it's interesting.

I actually was talking about that a little bit ago on my show. I think that when you have this kind of event, you know, a cardiac event, I'm not a doctor or whatever, but I've talked to a number of doctors over the last few days because I'm just trying to figure out what's going on. But one of the most important things is your brain activity, and you know, it depends on how long you were without oxygen and that kind of stuff. So the fact that it feels like or it seems like based on what they're talking about is that his neurological capacities are intact. That's a great, great first step to, hey, you know, he's got the chance to make a whole recovery and I think that's what everybody's really holding out hope for is that, you know, when he gets through all this and obviously there'll be a rehab process and all of that other stuff that he's able to, you know, live a normal life again. Well this awful episode, incident, disaster, however you want to term it, has introduced Damar Hamlin's name to a lot of people. Let's introduce him best we can through you to a lot of people.

Who is Damar Hamlin and tell me about him. Well, you know, again, one of the things that I have unique opportunity is not only did I cover Pitt, but my son was recruited and obviously played at Pitt for five years and, you know, for three of those years Damar Hamlin was his teammate and also I coach my son in a lot of their, you know, when they were growing up in basketball and things of the such and so we ran into Damar Hamlin and his family a lot, you know, playing against them, things like that in basketball and whatnot. So I got to know them and I got to know the family very well. And I think I'll tell you, the thing that is to me so good is that his story is getting out there. This is a guy who is, I mean, every Pitt, the great teammate that, you know, people are talking about him being, he's a giving person obviously, I mean, when he was in college he was trying to raise money for his, in his hometown of the Keys Rocks, he was trying to raise money for kids. He's a guy that basically was always willing to mentor younger players. His family is very involved in a lot of different community activities and I think, you know, one of the things obviously, you know, if you know anybody's family, you know, his dad Mario had some legal troubles. If you read anything about this family or you know anything about this family, they understand and they embrace it because, you know, they feel like obviously he's put it in his past and he's really become a good role model for a lot of other people to be able to say, I don't fall into what I fell into. And he's obviously been a really good dad to his son. But all of the things that you're reading and hearing about him as being a really just a warm, caring human being, and I'm talking about DeMar, is true. And I think that, you know, I was watching this with my son who played with DeMar and he literally for almost 45 minutes was silent. You know, texting his teammates, you know, just trying to, and my son's not one who really shows emotions, trying to really because, you know, he said that the thing is when you play, you know, we play college football, obviously every year, you're playing with, you know, 104 other guys, you know, there's a lot of guys that are just sort of faces in the crowd that you, you know, you kind of know, or you kind of even don't even know because it's so big and we're, but DeMar and I, you know, we were friends, they started together on the same defense, you know, they were on the same meetings, they spent time together.

I got a chance when, when Pitt played in the Sun Bowl, it would have been my son's senior year they played Stanford, I got a chance to spend some really good time with Mario. And I can just tell you, these are salt of the earth, really, really good people. So everything that you're reading here, sometimes, sometimes something like this happens and people all, you know, will go way overboard to say how good of a person the person is. And then, you know, maybe those of us that know him are like, I don't know. In this case, I can't emphasize enough that he is warrants all of the, you know, warm regards and everything that people are giving to him. I've got Paul Zeiss here from Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Post Gazette host of 93.7, the fan or friend of the Hamlin family, also man who's covered him and has known him for many, many years.

So this is this is a just a, you know, when we booked you to come on the show, I wanted to make sure we knew who this young man was certainly since all we're talking about him as being in the ICU and unresponsive or not responsive yet. And the fact that we get to talk when we're finding out he's squeezing the hands of his loved ones. And it's just awesome, man. I mean, the whole country, we've been we've been on pins and needles for 72 hours. And we're hoping that this is a nice corner turned, Paul. So it's really cool.

We get to chat like this, you know? No, yeah, I would say this, too, you know, I've been one of the things when I was talking with the more actually at that fumble afterwards. And, you know, there was at that point probably still a lot of NFL scouts and things of the such who were not sold on the bar. And this is why I'm going to tell you, I'm betting on him to, you know, make a full recovery.

And you know, he's going to beat their thing. You know, there were a lot of people that if it wasn't, you know, the bar wasn't one of these guys that jumped off the map athletically and all that other stuff. And obviously there was questions about his size and things of the such. But, you know, he basically made it very clear, listen, you know, I've been people have been betting against me my entire life, you know, and I'm going to continue to work and I'm going to continue to be that guy that overcomes and proves everyone wrong. And certainly he has done that, you know, in being able to be in the NFL. You know, Mike Thomas talked about it the other day, when he started about the bag, that we got it, that, hey, this is my dream, there's a lot of people that think that maybe I can't achieve this, but I'm going to prove them, I'm going to show them I can achieve this. And so that's sort of how he's built, that's how that family is built.

And so that's why I really, you know, in my heart of hearts, I have no doubt that at the end of this thing, he's going to beat it. Before I let you go, what type of person is TJ Jefferson, Paul? TJ Jefferson honestly is maybe the only person in my life that I know that I don't know anybody with this one.

That's the best compliment I can give TJ. Of course, you know, he's obviously got a great personality and he's funny, but he's got a good heart, and that's, I think, one of the things that I don't know why he hangs out with me, given that he's such a good person, but that probably speaks volumes about him, is that he does hang out with somebody like me. You guys have known each other for a long time, huh? Yeah, you know, I was telling these guys, my mom dropped me off for college on a Saturday, I met him Sunday in the elevator, and I'd say 90% of my best memories pre-LA are involved in this guy. We've been up and down the road, we've been through a lot together, so this is really cool. And you know, it stinks that it took something like this to have it happen, but I'm, you know, putting that to the side, it's great to have this moment and, you know, unfortunate circumstances.

Well, that's pretty cool. Well, maybe Paul, we'll have you back on if the Steelers make the playoffs. Unfortunately, though, I think that it requires the Jets have to win a football game, and I personally know that that's very difficult to maybe be in that position for the last month, but it's been a nice run.

That would be great, that would be great, but I think that Skyler Thompson might help the Jets, we'll see. Well, no, who knows. Hey, before I let you go, Paul, as you pointed out, family salt of the earth, which is great to hear from you and the way that this situation, that they've been handling it with grace, and with the proper amount of privacy while letting all of us in best they can in a fluid situation. And I know that they're very private, but I sure would love to know if they can maybe have a camera on the young man when they tell him that the GoFundMe page for their charity has over $7 million in it right now. I'd love to see that, you know?

That would be incredible. And again, I think it speaks a lot about, you know, the fact that we focus so much on the bad and the negative, but there's still a lot of really good people with good hearts in this country and all over the world, really, and sometimes we don't focus on them enough. Well, thank you for allowing us to focus on Tamar Hamlin, the individual, the person, and the soul and the heart that is, thank goodness, getting better. So thanks for the time, Paul.

All right, thank you guys. All right, brother. Third Post Gazette columnist, 93.7, the fan host and friend of TJ Jefferson, Paul Zeiss here on The Rich Eisen Show.

Beautiful. I was, he was just on a roll. I would have interrupted him when he said he's the only person, you're the only person in his life that nobody dislikes that, you know, I was gonna interrupt him and say, but what about when he refers to the cowboys as the varsity? You're fine with that, Paul? Mr.

Terrible Towel? He's definitely not fine with that, right? He's not that big of a stealer. He grew up an Oilers fan. He was a big Oilers fan. And then once they moved- I was an AFC Central, the AFC Norris, to use a Berman phrase, right? And then once the Titans came, he kind of gave up his like super fandom just to like kind of watch football. Well, it's kind of crazy.

And we were talking about it, you know, in the week leading up to the Christmas Eve game celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception that turned into a memorial in a way for Franco Harris is the Steelers were so bad from its inception to that day of the Immaculate Reception, they were one of the first, I think, one of the only originals along with the Browns to say, yeah, you go to the new conference. You know? You go. Yeah, you go.

And they're like, okay. I know I'm oversimplifying things, but you know, take a look at all the original franchises. They're all in the NFC, the exception of, I guess, the Browns and the Steelers, right?

I never really thought about bears, bears, giants. Yeah. Yeah. You guys go.

And they couldn't have a leg to stand on. Oh, okay. We'll go. Okay, fine. We'll go.

Now look at him now, right? Six time champs. But that said, the varsity, I don't want to hear that about Larry Brown, O'Donnell and the varsity. By the way, I started that back in the Pittsburgh days and it just annoyed all my friends. So I don't want to bring that up in a world-wide audience.

That's funny. All right. Nate Burleson coming up in hour number two right here on the Rich Eisen Show. Don't go anywhere. Move your phone calls and we'll talk about the one seed in a minute. Still here on Roku. You know, look, we're still new to Roku scene, right? I'm going to give them a little taste of what we do here. You're wearing Roku purple. I know that.

So it's perfect for me to mention here that, you know, when we're partners, we toot the horn of our partner. Did you see that Roku announced the company surpassed 70 million global active accounts? What? Yeah. That's amazing. And also the streaming hours globally, 23.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022. Let's go. 87.4 billion for 2022, a 19% increase year over year.

And so let me also give them a little taste of what it's like to be partners with me. What changed for Roku in the fourth quarter of 2020? Like Roku is here and then Roku is now here. What happened in between the here and the here? That's a great question.

Is there like, is there one specific? There's got to be some type of change that we can look up. We're like the Kenny Pickett of Roku. We just came in on the fourth quarter and led a bunch of wins. Our sheer talent is getting us through the day. We got two gloves on, you know, are running around our grasp of the playbook and our sheer talent. Yeah. And plus you hurt my man. Everybody likes me. So they had to do something this time out there.

There's no iron Roku, but there's a one in rich and one in eyes and Christopher Temujin Temujin has a couple. Yes. Michael. Michael.

Oh, there's no, I am Michael. For over 40 years, Jim Ross has been the voice of wrestling. Nobody has stories like Jim Ross and he shares his tales with co-host Conrad Thompson on Grilling JR. This McMahon was the top heel in the Attitude Era. It was a fresh character. It was new. It was material that we had not seen or heard to that date and we could have created a bigger or better heel. Yeah, we wanted to make more heels and we tried to make more heels and we did, but nothing compared to Vince. The Grilling JR podcast. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.