REShow: Chris Long - Hour 1

This is the Rich Eisen Show. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles.

Can they avoid charger-like things? The Jaguars have won it! They have come back from 27-nothing! Today's guests, two-time Super Bowl champion and Greenlight podcast host Chris Long, Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons, Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk. And now, it's Rich Eisen.

You bet it is. Welcome to this edition of the Rich Eisen Show here on Martin Luther King Day in Los Angeles, California. We say hello to everybody out there watching on the Roku channel or listening on this Rich Eisen Show terrestrial radio affiliate smart enough to have us. We say hello to those listening on Sirius, XM, Odyssey, on our podcast whenever you want. Yes, this show all three hours available in podcast form.

Cumulus Podcast Network is what puts it out there where all podcasts can be acquired. We're here on this program with three wide. We've got Chris Long calling in to make heads or tails of what we just saw on the first five games of Super Wild Card Weekend that wraps up tonight with the Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Micah Parsons, the all-pro pass rusher trying to put Tom Brady on his you-know-what tonight will be joining us at the top of our number two and then Christian Kirk fresh off of catching the touchdown.

That put the Jaguars within, yes, two points of a major comeback that they did indeed successfully finally mount on the Los Angeles Chargers. He will be calling us at the top of our number three. You can call us throughout this entire program.

844-204-rich is the number to dial. Chris Brockman, good to see you over there. What's going on?

What's up, Rich? And Jason Feller is here. Good to see you. I had no idea you'd be walking in the door. I'm often as surprised as you. Excellent.

Good to see you. And then nervous as a cat, which is a phrase that Jerry Jones once used on NFL Network Saturday night edition of Thursday Night Football years ago when his Cowboys were taking on the Saints in a big time game. Nervous as a cat, TJ Jefferson.

You finally, the wait will be over for you this evening. You know, Rich, much like the great Dr. King, I too have a dream and I have a dream that tonight the Cowboys play up to the level of their competition to set it down. I have a dream that Dak Prescott removes all those terrible interceptions and turnovers. I have a dream that Micah Parsons gets his second, third and fourth win and is able to put pressure on Tom Brady. I have a dream that these Cowboys do what they're supposed to do tonight.

We'll see what happens. Well, to quote you, TJ, nightmares are dreams, too. Is that a quote that you've said?

Oh, that is one of my most famous quotes, yes. Well, we'll be breaking it down with Chris Long and then, of course, you at 844-204-Rich being the number to dial. What an amazing weekend. What an amazing weekend where we saw the San Francisco 49ers start a little bit shaky with Brock Purdy, but then he knocked all that off, didn't he? And then the San Francisco 49ers advance and then every single game after that game that was out of reach by the middle of the fourth quarter in Santa Clara, every game was right down in the end.

Nail biter this and nail biter that and shocking this and all-timer that. Unbelievable. But I'm going to start with this show with, to me, the most surprising aspect of Super Wild Card Weekend. Super. Super. Wild Card Weekend right in the middle of Sunday.

Right in the middle. And I know you could say the Jaguars coming back from a 27-point hole was surprising until you saw the team that they did it against. And then you could say that the Dolphins keeping up with the Bills for as long as they did was surprising. And then you could also say Tyler Huntley filling in for Lamar Jackson and looking like Lamar and playing as well as he did up until one of the most mind-blowing plays of him trying to reach the ball across the goal line to put the Ravens up seven. Turn right around and put the Ravens down seven as Sam Hubbard, big man with football, 98-yard rumble. You could say all of that.

That was awesome. You could also say that Seattle sticking with San Francisco as long as it did also. Took a lead at halftime in that game. Halftime lead. But the most surprising aspect was what the New York football Giants did in Minnesota.

And you could sit there and say, Rich, I pay attention to everything you say because everything you say is so important. I guess I figure if I'm putting words in people's mouths, I'll say that sort of stuff. Someone's told you that? But you said all along Giants were going to win the game. I even said on game day morning Giants were winning. I picked them. Remember, I told you all week I'm taking the Giants. You did.

I heard you. The most surprising aspect of this is the fact that I thought the Giants were going to win because I thought the Vikings would show up in a similar manner like against the Cowboys, like against the Packers or shaky like the first half against the Indianapolis Colts. I thought that they would be the ones making mistakes. And they came out and they scored the first seven points in the game. And I thought to myself, oh, I thought to myself, oh, especially since the Giants first snap of the game had a holding penalty.

Holding first and 20 down seven, nothing with the jolly horn going off every two seconds. But Daniel Jones and the Giants offense rolled up their sleeves, dusted off their shoulders and just absolutely played out of their skull. It's the way Daniel Jones showed up. It's the way that this offense showed up. It's the way that Saquon showed up. Honestly, Giants fans after hearing Daniel Jones getting drafted in Nashville with the sixth overall pick, they were unhappy about the quarterback choice and he was a pick six.

Remember we had our friend Joel Klatt saying this is going to set the Giants organization back years and he was right the way that things were going. Him with Pat Shermer, him with Joe Judge, him with Jason Garrett who couldn't fix him. And that's the way it was going. Saquon being injured. Jones making mistakes. That's the way it all looked for this team.

And that's all now, poof, gone. Kaiser Soze like it never happened because in those four years where the Giants fans were waiting for Jones and seeing even this year the way that they were playing so well. They could not have dreamt up a first playoff drive for Jones and Barkley the way that Jones and Barkley administered their first ever playoff drive. Jones was throwing darts and running himself and then Saquon took it in on a flip play to the left. And then the Vikings go three and out and the Giants go and make another touchdown drive happen. Then when it's halftime in a tight game, Giants get the ball first, boom, score another. And then when the game is tied 24 all because the Vikings were playing man. Justin Jefferson oddly enough was kind of missing in action.

Kind of. Seven catches, 47 yards. Started off hot. But the Giants took care of him. T.J. Hawkinson was wide open though. Thielen was wide open. Osborne was wide open. And even with Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams in Kirk Cousins lap, he was making throws folks.

I'm not putting this one on him. His final throw is something that we are hearing all about. But when the Giants caught a break in the Vikings, Christian Darasaw had a false start on a fourth and an inch. And the Vikings had to settle for a field goal to tie the game instead of go into the red zone and go up and score 24 all. What did Daniel Jones do? Daniel Jones put together a touchdown drive. And then the defense won the game.

And Brian Deball, I'll tell you this. Man. Out of everything that this guy did this year and has turned the Giants into in his first year as head coach, the greatest trick he ever pulled off is turning Daniel Jones into Colin Kaepernick.

Fact. Because that's who Daniel Jones looked like to me yesterday. And I was trying to put my finger on it. Seeing somebody showing up where they're running it, he ran it 17 times on Sunday, which is five more than a career high and three shy of Lamar Jackson's record for most carries in a playoff game by a quarterback 20. And he's thrown it and he's tall and he's tough to put down and his strides gained so many yards.

And his the ball shooting out of his arm and his hitting windows right on the dot. And then the NFL Network research packet pops into my email inbox yesterday, and this stat jumped out at me with his 300 yards, 301 yards passing and 78 yards rushing. Yes, he's the first quarterback ever in a single playoff game with 300 or more passing yards, two or more passing touchdowns and 70 or more rushing touchdowns.

That's never happened before. That's how Daniel Jones came out of the gate. But this one, third quarterback ever with 375 or more offensive yards combined and a win in his first career postseason start. The other two quarterbacks, Kurt Warner in 99 when he damn near threw for 400 yards and five touchdowns.

No rushing. The other quarterback, Colin Kaepernick in 2012 against Packers. You remember that game when it was I called him like the ATM. It was an ATM. You put the card in and out popped runner.

You had to just choose runner pass instead of checking or savings and the money comes out. He balled out. He was unbelievable. Yeah. It's not forget. Brian Dable has turned Daniel Jones into Colin Kaepernick. I never would have ever put those two together until you mentioned. Boom.

Wow. And if this defense can ball out like this and a running game can look like that and Daniel Jones can play like this. You tell me, because. In the same way that we're saying Chargers going to charge her right, all that sort of business on the flip side of that, you tell me another franchise that puts together a Super Bowl run out of the blue. Quite like the big blue. We've seen it this past week. I said to myself, you know, Daniel Jones sounds like Eli talks like Eli mannerisms, just like Eli. I think he's going to show up with that knack of playing big and playoff games like Eli. And instead of showing up like Eli, he showed up like Kaepernick.

Vintage. Look out, Eagles. That's all I'm saying. Look out. I think so.

Because if they could stop the run on the way to the pass and then take advantage of whatever injuries they might have still in their secondary. I don't care that some of these receivers you've never heard of before. Well, you will now. That was a surprise to me. Big time.

And then I'll say this other thing. You know, what was another surprise to me? Lamar Jackson not showing up to the game last night.

I'm I couldn't believe it. I was gobsmacked when I heard that report prior to kickoff last night, because when I called the Ravens in the Browns game and I met Tyler Huntley, one of the things I was so impressed by, other than just his cool demeanor, is how much he has taken from Lamar Jackson's game. His cool demeanor. His chill aspect. Two guys from South Florida. And he idolizes Lamar.

Idolizes him. I got that sense. You heard it from other players.

They're thick as thieves. And Lamar says he wants to be there for his guys. And then he wasn't there.

I thought to myself, you can't sit here and say, well, it's awkward. It's not like Derek Carr. Like, get him out, because we're done with him.

And we got to see what we got in Jared Stidham. I would think that Lamar being there would be additive. That, yeah, I've been through this before. Let me be there for you. Or I need, you know, I'll be there to help. Or, hey, Raymond's saying, hey, Lamar, you know, let's get all on board here.

Why wasn't he there? And I know you might be sitting there saying, oh, I'm just stirring something up. I'm just stirring something up, because we don't know what's going on in the facility.

As a matter of fact, Marlon Humphrey said, because I'm not accusing him of jaking it. It could be team policy. Hey, man, team policy, my ass. I don't care if it's team policy. Seriously, like, this kid, Tyler Huntley, idolizes him, and it's his first career start. Lamar's probably got 15 million things that happened to him in his first few playoff games that he could just sit next to him knee to knee and say, let's go over this tablet together, or this, that, and the other thing. So I don't want to hear it's like team policy, and maybe it is.

I don't know. And Marlon Humphrey did say that Lamar's limping around the facility, which is a damn freaking shame. But everything else just screams out of any other, if this was any other quarterback or any other team that hasn't said publicly, we love him.

Ian Rappaport came on game, a game day morning on Sunday saying they are absolutely going to talk long term contract with this guy, regardless if he makes the start tonight or not or whatever happens. He is their guy moving forward. But everything else about this situation screams they're done with each other. What a fascinating storyline to follow. Because everything else screams it.

I am not getting any information on this subject matter. This is just gut feel being around this game for 20 years. I could be way off, and Lamar can show up and have a new contract from the Baltimore Ravens that they're comfortable giving him, and he's thrilled to accept. And he is their quarterback for a very long time. I'd be surprised. Entirely possible if that happens, what I just said.

Absolutely. But everything else screams quarterback didn't get the contract he wanted, that yes, he is hurt, he cannot go. But if he can brace it up and go in the normal way, like say Sammy Watkins intimated last week, when he was talking about just basically suck it up and go, take your heart pills and buckle up or whatever the phrase might be that we've heard here to talk about big time, big boy pant football in the NFL, that you would hear guys are not going to do that and put themselves out there and not take care of themselves for the long term because the team has not taken care of them long term contractually.

And thus not showing up physically there for a game. Reeks of they're done with each other. Something else though, sounds like that there, this is nothing that needs repair other than his knee and that he's still their guy. Color me interested to follow the story. 844-204-rich, number to dial. We'll talk about it with Chris Long and you.

Phone lines are lit. 844-204-rich, number to dial. I have a sense of, again, of what my gut and feel says and what the Chargers are going to do moving forward and what the Seahawks are going to do moving forward as we are beginning to turn the page. Micah Parsons of the Cowboys, Christian Kirk of the Jaguars. We're heading to Kansas City as Cincinnati and Buffalo are now slated to play each other as the first game of divisional weekend action on Sunday.

844-204-rich, number to dial here on the Rich Eisen Show. Monster.com can help you tackle the job hunt and make your next career move in football and in life. There's the regular season and then there's the playoffs. Monster.com knows that scoring your next job, that's a playoff moment. To bring your A game, you need Monster.com. Looking to change positions and join a new team?

Monster can help. Monster.com has millions of job openings and great coaching and career advice for a strong performance when it counts. Plus, when you upload your resume to Monster.com, you can be recruited by employers before they even post their jobs. Monster.com specializes in building the right teams for employers and knows how to match you with those job fits. When you score the position, Monster.com's salary calculator ensures you're paid what you're worth. The regular season is history and we all know the playoffs are no time for messing around. It's time to get off the sidelines and go to Monster.com and win the job hunt.

Monster.com. This is it. The putt to win the tournament.

If you sink it, the championship is yours, but on your backswing, your hat falls over your eyes. Is this how you're running your business? Poor visibility because you're relying on spreadsheets and outdated finance software? To see the full picture, you need to upgrade to NetSuite by Oracle. NetSuite is the number one cloud financial system to power your growth. With visibility and control of your financials, inventory, HR, planning, budgeting, and more, NetSuite is everything you need to grow all in one place. With NetSuite, you can automate your processes and close your books in no time while staying well ahead of your competition. 93% of surveyed businesses increase their visibility and control after upgrading to NetSuite. Over 28,000 businesses already use NetSuite. For the new year, NetSuite is a new financing program for those ready to upgrade at NetSuite.com slash rich pod. Head to NetSuite.com slash rich pod for this special one of a kind financing offer on the number one financial system for growing businesses. NetSuite.com slash rich pod. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial the Rich Eyes and Show radio network powered by Grainger.

With supplies and solutions for every industry, Grainger is the right product for you. Call clickgrainger.com or just stop by. My buddy Chris Long is stopping by once again in his usual Monday spot. The two-time Super Bowl champion Greenlight podcast host here coming off of a huge football weekend. How you doing, Christopher?

Rich, how you doing, brother? Let's just jump right into it. Uh, did you sit up in your chair just like I did when I heard the report before the Sunday night game that Lamar didn't travel with his team or is there nothing to be read into that from last night? I don't know if there's anything, I mean, listen, I can't speak for Lamar and it's kind of an inflammatory topic because you know, like, I think it's quite possible that he, if you listen to the quotes after the game, you know, guys talk about him being at 50%, you know, the need just not being where it needs to be. Okay, so if he's not close to being able to play and turning down the opportunity, I don't think we have a real problem, right?

Or, you know, like, and some people would say, hey, without your contract, don't go play if it's, if it's sketchy. I mean, I know there's some back and forth on that yesterday. I don't want to read too much into that because I don't want to create a situation where people are taking shots at Lamar based on some of the circumstantial evidence. I do think it's probably his last game, you know, we won't see him play another game in Baltimore. I mean, like, I felt that way going into this year.

I felt like this year could be it. All the signs are pointing to probably not, but I do think it's important to read kind of what guys were talking about after the game. And I liked the fact that he put out, you know, kind of specifically what the injury was. Because, you know, there's a lot of gamesmanship between coaches and, you know, Harbaugh and that sort of thing and information and not giving your opponents too much.

And it was nice to have that clarity. And hearing from the guys after the game, it sounds like he was not as close as people think to playing. I would have probably been there, but, you know, I also don't know everything about the situation. Well, the reason why I asked that question the way that I did, Chris, and spoke about it, you know, briefly to start the program is because all signs point to exactly your conclusion that this is a quarterback who's done with his team and the team, you know, might be done with him.

Because he and Tyler Huntley, again, when I met Tyler Huntley, because he was starting the game that I called between the Browns and the Ravens back in week 15, that's all Huntley talked about was his love of Lamar and how they're tight and how he basically idolizes Lamar. So, for Lamar not to be there, you know, for his guy or for—it definitely would have been additive for him to have been standing on the sideline and talking to Tyler Huntley during a playoff game to work him through it, you know? I mean— Listen, obviously, it's something you wish he'd be there. But I also don't know kind of the dynamics of the inner workings. There could have been some really inflammatory conversations. There could have been, you know, some conflict that I don't know about.

And yeah, ideally, you want him there on the sideline. But that's all we know right now. And, you know, I don't think Lamar, the way this chapter has ended, the bottom line is functionally, how is this going to play out? Like, how does it affect how it's going to play out? Like, I don't think this is going to affect other teams' desires to have Lamar on the team. And I think right up until this point, I don't think there's ever been a time where you could question Lamar as a teammate. You know, but him not being on the field is definitely something that people are going to pay attention to.

I just don't know everything about it. Chris Long here on the Rich Eisen Show. What's the longest you've ever run a football back?

I assume it's less than Sam Hubbard's 98. Definitely. Yeah.

Chris. Sorry, Rich. It's okay. Do you need oxygen like Sam?

It's okay if you need oxygen. Yeah, no, I was thinking about Sam Hubbard. He's got me suppressed. I mean, like, I was nervous for him. You know, I've never seen a big man. And he is truly a big man. He's like, he's not one of these, like, Little Edge guys run that far. He had a convoy and Andrews almost caught him.

Got a little piece of Andrews. But, you know, I thought Harbaugh talking about Huntley and you can say what you want. I think Greg Roman was really bad in the red zone. Like, obviously, you got to tip your cap to the Bengals and their defense. They've been doing stuff like this all year. But whether it's before the half, whether it's late in the game, you know, like, they tightened up when they had to. And I don't hate the call on a sneak. Now, people are going to hindsight 2020 could be easy to just rip everything the Ravens did.

We were never closer. I feel like in the same game to lauding a group of players and coaches, you know, for carrying out the objective exactly the way you had to and coming away with a win and just like a little bit of difference there. And we're talking about fire Greg Roman. You know, people hate Harbaugh's game plan and all that stuff.

Like, they almost beat these guys. So, I think third and one, going with the sneak is fine. I heard Harbaugh's analysis of it after the game. Like, if we get stuck, we still have fourth and inches. If we get hit in the backfield and it's fourth and three, you know, that complicates things a little bit.

And I also like the clarity. I mean, they were supposed to go low with the sneak. He went high. It's third down. You don't extend the ball on third down, really.

Right? Yeah, we saw Trevor Lawrence do it the other night on a two-point diversion, but that's because of a two-point diversion. Now, you know, that could result in points for the other team, but it's about not turning the ball over and, you know, great bounce for Cincinnati. I just, you know, for me, since he's coming out of this thing, I thought they were the best team in the AFC.

It's amazing the difference, you know, the uncertainty with Kappa. Collins is out. And now Jonah Williams, who's had a bad year, right?

Maybe the backup plays better. But for Joe Burrow, I think last night, seeing that happen, it's like, oh, damn, more of the same. So, you know, it was a gutsy win by them.

You knew it wasn't going to be just a little closer comfort. Chris Long here on the Rich Eisen Show. Here we are at the end of another playing season for this team, and it's the same old phrase. I don't know how the Chargers can come back from that. I mean, what a remarkable Saturday night it was in Jacksonville, the way that things started for Trevor Lawrence, four interceptions and then four touchdowns in his final five drives. And then I guess to place you in the shoes of Joey Bosa, if you can, what you saw, what you think happened, I give you the floor on all of it, Chris Long.

Yeah. I mean, definitely very charger-y way to lose a game. You almost knew it was too good to be true. Now, I did see a guy bet $11,000 on the Chargers' money line. I guess he'd never seen the Chargers play before. He lost $1.4 million late Saturday night.

That'll ruin your weekend. I'm looking at the game and I'm thinking, hey, right before the half, it'd be nice to go to the locker room without giving up a touchdown to give Jacksonville the ball back. Trevor starts that run. He just had such a short memory. But more than anything, and I've kind of lamented this at different times, but Brandon Staley seems like the guy who sticks to his guns, right? We do what we do, right?

To a fault. I could hear him at the podium had they won that game saying we continue to attack or something like that, right? But 25 passes, 8 runs, not going to cut it. From a time of possession standpoint, not even the clock management aspect of it, it's not even putting the ball in the air. I was so surprised by not only the way they ran their offense in the second half, but the way they covered. They were a lot more aggressive. They were a lot more aggressive in the first half, especially on second down.

They manned up a lot. In the second half, they cleared cover three, and they were off. Ingram's making linebackers look bad. They're busting coverages. I think somebody jumped a dig on one of the touchdowns, and then somebody busted on the second Jones touchdown. For a defensive head coach to apply his philosophy to offense and just the way they attack the game, and that to not work out. And then defensively to give up all those points in one of the worst defensive performances in playoff history in a half.

It's awful. At the end of the game, it's 30-20. If you're that aggressive on fourth and short, you trot out Dicker, and he misses the kick. Now it's 30-20.

Here's the guy who's really not afraid of anything. It's Doug Peterson. It's fourth and seven early in the game. We're going. We're going for two.

We're going to go for two for the win. We're going to get the ball on the edge. And the timeout called right before Etienne got the ball on the edge to pick up that fourth and one and really ice the game.

He knows exactly the look he's looking for, and he didn't have it, and he called the timeout. I just thought Doug did such a great job. There's also something here where it's like Doug's Trevor Lawrence is kind of like, I don't know, security blanket, man. That's a really good offensive head coach and his quarterback.

They're tight, right? And you can tell Doug and Trevor have a good relationship. And I don't know what he said to him on the sidelines after he threw four picks, but just to be able to manage that situation. I want to give credit to Trevor Lawrence in a big way, but Doug alluded to the way Brett Favre used to play. There was a short memory.

And it's the same thing for Trevor. And so I thought this was a big, big deal for them. Also, for Trent Baalke to sit there and see all your free agents pan out, we were making fun of them. Right?

I made fun of them. We paid Christian Kirk all this money, reset the market. My co-host Macon's a big Giants fan. Evan Ingram, I don't think he saw that coming. He's been a key piece there.

Well, I got Christian Kirk coming up in hour number three. I mean, Christian Kirk, who had the touchdown to make it 30 to 28. And I just want to get your thoughts on Bosa, though.

I mean, so much conversation happening with him. I know you just mentioned how you'd like to know what Doug Peterson said to Trevor Lawrence at halftime or after he threw his fourth interception. I'd love to know what Bosa said to referee Sean Smith that made the ref continue. I mean, like track him down and then Bosa doubled down and then Bosa doubled down later on after his head coach. I mean, that was wild with Brandon Staley picking up Bosa's headgear for him after Bosa had thrown it to earn 15. And then he threw it again right in front of Staley's feet. I'm wondering. It was crazy. It was crazy. And you know, like, I love Bosa and everything. He just got to keep his head and the neutrals are in a fraction.

There's a four point difference. And then, you know, obviously you don't want to lose your cool in that situation. I have no idea what he said to him.

There's two conversations I'd like to be privy to that one. And then the Chris Jones penalty against Indy earlier this year. I remember they just threw a flag on Chris Jones, like just something he said, you know, and then obviously you lose your cool and you slam your helmet a bunch, not once, but twice. Staley ran over and picked it up on like a pit crew, you know, putting that thing back together. And like for the rest of the game, you know, Rich, if you've ever slammed your helmet, which I know you probably have, like, uh, you can't put the damn thing together.

It's really hard. Like there's a lot of pieces in there. They're, they're, they're all, they all get loose and you know, the next two possessions you're crumbling to, you know, put the pieces back together. I just, it was such a, a meltdown, man.

Um, a meltdown in all phases. And then Justin Herbert, and I don't like putting blame on quarterbacks for pulling big leads. I mean, I, you know, people are piling on that ride about the game, the Vikings and everything.

I'm, I'm one that likes, I'm a defensive player. I think you got to get stopped and you got to remain aggressive, you know, um, on defense and that sort of thing. You got to, you, you, you have to, you have to possess the football learning they did, but, but Keenan Allen's open and they have a chance to go up, you know, 31 to whatever it is, uh, with a nothing at that point, um, or seven. Um, and, and he misses them in the end zone.

And, you know, it's, it's, it was 34. Uh, it would have made a big difference. It would have been a four point difference that he hit him in the end zone. He's wide open. So I know there's throws that, that, that, uh, Herbert wants back. Um, there's trips, the red zone, they want back, you know, that they don't seem like a big deal when you're rolling in the first half, you know, and neither does giving Jacksonville the ball back before the half, but they go get seven.

And, and I think that was a big difference. Chris Long here in the Rich Eisen show. I'm just going to get right to it. Can the giants win the Superbowl? Chris? The giants? Yeah.

Can they win the Superbowl? I don't think so. I mean, I, I don't think so, Rich. I, you know, like there's no good way to answer that question. You know, it's like, it's really the same.

Yes. I mean, anything's possible, right? I don't want to seem like that, but I, I, I, I think they're well ahead of schedule. I think that, and I'm, uh, you know, I, I had the giants yesterday.

I'm, I'm a big fan of what they've done. I think extend Daniel Jones, I think extend Saquon. I love that their draft picks are all panning out. You know, you get Dexter Lawrence with a machine yesterday.

I mean, like him and Leonard Williams affected, effectively ended that game. This is why I ask, you know, you got to get pressure up the middle. You got to get an edge. I mean, Thibodeau is, is blossoming before our eyes and Daniel Jones and Barkley, and then all these guys that aren't on your fantasy team that make plays. Uh, I mean, that's why I ask here. I don't think it, I don't think I'm, I'm afraid of their edge rush. I'm afraid of their interior guys.

Okay. And you know, like, uh, that, that is a big deal, right? But Daniel Jones, the way he played yesterday, the checks he made the throw, you know, throw the Hodges on the sideline, Saquon Barkley, just nobody gets back to full speed after a cut faster than him. He saw it on touchdown. The wide receivers were blocking. Golladay was, was out there getting dirty. You know, Hodges had a great block on that touchdown, you know, him dragging 94 in the end zone.

Saquon was possessed, man. And you know, again, I said it like Andrew Thomas has panned out, Dexter Lawrence. Um, you know, now you're going to extend your two cornerstone guys on offense probably. Um, Gettleman sitting at home like, damn dude, you know, I picked some of these guys and uh, they, they really are their, their core, their young core is really playing well. Uh, I just don't think you can take like Daniel Jones best to get one, two of his best three games this year, probably were against the, um, the, the Vikings, a couple of them. And I think the Vikings defense is that bad. You know, I don't think this version of the giants shows up every week.

Um, I do think they're scrappy. I love Brian Babel. I love what Daniel Jones kind of blossomed into. They, they absolutely wrote him in the second quarter on that 20 play drive. Just what he brings to the table in the run game. It's crazy.

Um, you almost don't believe it. And you know, the design runs the whole thing. Like they, they just kept giving him the ball, like, you know, with, with no regard for his wellness, uh, in the, in the first half. And I'm like, this guy's a machine.

He really is like, I know he's got this all sharks kind of persona and you know, he walks in with the LL beam backpack and the, and the eyes on shirt, like button all the way up and all that. But Daniel Jones is, is a hell of a football player. He's tough and he's, he's a dynamic weapon and you know, like I don't want to get all hyperbolic, but I think the future is bright for this team. I just don't think, Hey, the Eagles are a big impediment. You know, they've already lost to him twice. Um, but, but then they'd have to see like San Francisco, you know, I, it's hard enough to imagine them getting there, let alone beating like Buffalo or Cincinnati or, or the chiefs.

Um, so I don't think it's this year for them, but, um, Hey, prove me wrong, man, that this team is a lot of fun to watch. And for the Vikings, like Kirk Cousins, you can't throw the ball short of the sticks. It's that simple on, on, on that play.

But as I mentioned, Dexter Lawrence and it's, it's led away. It's what eight and seven pressures a piece, you know, Lawrence had Bradbury and like a, I don't know, so you had them in like a baby Bjorn, uh, you, you just picked them up and, and deposited them in, um, in, in, in Kirk's lap and all that pressure manifests with the game on the line. Kirk with a thread of getting sacked, just dumps it down to Hopkinson who had a really big day. Um, the defense is what you got to fix there. I mean, Donna told did not have a great year disappointing and I never thought the Vikings were a contender. I hate to be like callous about it, but when you play good teams and get beat every time annually, it feels like, um, you know, it's just not, it doesn't give you a lot of confidence going to the playoffs and the Giants took care of business. The Giants should have won that game the first time they played. They turned the ball over.

Chris Long here on the Rich Isaac show. I got a few minutes left with him. So, um, uh, is there any concern that Josh Allen just keeps throwing balls where he shouldn't? Cause that, that to me is, you know, it changed the tenor of the game with the dolphins yesterday. But then again, it's, he's so amazing.

He'll, he'll just take it out of the fire anyway. You know, at some point. Yeah. It's like, it's like, it doesn't matter. Is it like far for just throw some picks and what doesn't matter?

You know, I mean like, I'm trying to equate it. It does matter because that's the one thing, like what makes the bills so great is Josh Allen. And the thing that scares me about the bills right now is maybe a little bit of Josh Allen because like, listen, you play Skylar Thompson and you played Miami and the only way you let them in this game.

And with all due respect, Mike McDaniel, who coached a really good ball game for the most part. I mean, I'd like them to have a play on fourth and one game on the line. Um, but you know, like they scrapped and you're scratching quad all year long to down. He turned two into something that I didn't think was possible.

Although I do think it's, it's a lot of it's scheme and that sort of thing. But I talked to, I had a really good year. Um, then, you know, you can use backups and you lose Bridgewater, you got Skylar Thompson. He did not look very good.

If you had told me that they were going to score over 30 points this game or were right up there around there, I said, you're crazy. The only way that happened is it turned out and Josh Allen turnovers were, the picks were not as egregious as some of the ones he's thrown in the past. Like there's been games this year where I'm like, what is he doing? You know, like, it's like for a second, he kind of, he's afraid of something. But I thought the picks yesterday was like, okay, one, he's taking a shot.

John Brown, John Brown looks to be like, kind of like, uh, not on the same page. He stops running. He forced the ball in the tight window. Miami must be pulling out a flush and cold immediately. And you get a second, I thought the one out of the half on the sealer touchdown, like where I'm like, okay, you're up, you know, you, you got a chance to, to extend this lead. You should have a free runner, you know, just put the ball away, you know, get greedy.

Um, but part of what makes them great is always trying to make those top end plays. And I'm not excusing it because this is what scares me is like, Hey, the bills are as good as anybody, but they have these slumps and worse. Even with the slump and the turnovers happen, like what happened yesterday, it allows you to back from ball games. And, uh, you know, San Francisco, hope ironically, Brock Purdie, you know, dropped it like a machine.

He touched nine real drives or however you classify it. Not turning the ball over. Now Purdie throws questionable balls and he got away with some, you know, this weekend, but they don't have that kind of like proclivity to just turn it over a bunch. And, you know, the offense could look like that San Francisco machine.

They didn't do that. They were just consistent. I think the consistency for San Francisco juxtaposed with kind of like the inconsistency for Buffalo. That's what scares me about Buffalo is like, you can't take a quarter off against, you know, Kansas city or Cincinnati. Now, I don't know what's happening up front with them, but that's what scares me about Buffalo. So before I let you go, Chris Long, you know, with the Giants win, that means the winner of Monday Night Football goes to San Francisco. Who goes to San Francisco? What happens tonight?

What do you got for me there? Well, I didn't play in Tampa, so I'll stick with that. Yeah, I played a hundred years ago in week one. I'm not saying I'm basing it off of that game, but I just don't trust the Cowboys, man. They're going to have to prove, uh, they want to be America's team. They got to prove it to America that, that they, uh, they have a little bit of what that team, those teams in the nineties had, you got to, you got to play your best ball in the biggest situation.

And they just haven't always done that. And I asked about Tom Brady was trying to prepare for this game, scrap something together, you know, the wrong game. The wrong game can go on waiting for the time they played, the thing I worry about for the Bucks is the second there hasn't played as well. Um, you know, I, I, I just, if you don't lead sitting there with the NFC, you've got Philly, New York, you got San Francisco, and then you think they got out of sports Tom Brady. It's like, this thing has been any better for the NFL. It's going to be amazing.

It is going to be amazing tonight, Chris, no doubt about it. Who do you think the NFL wants to win real quick, Rich? Who does the NFL want to win? Who does the NFL want in San Francisco next week, Dallas or Tom Brady? Um, I mean, if you're talking about television executives, they'll take Dallas for sure. I mean, in Fox, they'll take Dallas. That means they get Brady. It's a win-win.

They'll take Dallas against San Francisco and they'll get Brady under contract. Even though I think Greg Olsen's the, you know, maybe one of the best analysts out there these days. That's interesting. That's a good take. Thanks for the call, Chris Long. You're the best brother. Let's do it again.

Everybody check out the, you got it. Everybody check out the Greenlight Podcast with Chris Long, where all podcasts are acquired right here on The Rich Eisen Show. We'll be back with your phone calls. I want to talk about Seattle a little bit when we come back right here on The Rich Eisen Show, and then we turn our page to Micah Parsons, top of hour two. 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 Micah 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. Catch up with season one or start season two on YouTube or wherever you listen. Back here on The Rich Eisen Show, 844204 Rich, number to dial tonight. I will be on Westwood One's coverage of Monday Night Football, and you can listen to the NFL and the NFL app on the Odyssey app on westwoodonesports.com via Westwood One station streams or by asking Alexa to open Westwood One Sports sponsored by AutoZone.

I will be on the air tonight before this big football game, easily the biggest game that ESPN has ever broadcast. I know I was going to talk about Seattle right here, but I'm going to talk about Seattle in hour three. Do you just yell Omaha right now? I'm yelling Omaha right now.

All good. Because you know one thing that I've noticed in these games? They've been nuts. Well, they've been nuts. Two words.

We've heard these two words a lot. Replay assist. What do you mean by, what's replay assist? When you hear a broadcaster say replay assist, what it is is a bunch of people sitting in New York City in the NFL headquarters, I believe in the Art McNally Center, which is named after the Hall of Fame official now. Hall of Fame.

He's in now, Art McNally. At any rate, they're sitting there and I think what they're doing, because they are so fast on saying that pass that was just called complete, it's incomplete. That ball that was out of bounds is not out of bounds.

That moment where it's called a first down, not really first down. They're so fast on it, I think as soon as a play happens, these folks are literally immediately scrubbing it back right away. Yeah. As they should. They're scrubbing it back like right away and they're on it.

They are on it. That's great. And it has been great.

It has been saving the game time as opposed to stopping it for its replays because it's saving coaches challenges. It's awesome. It's the sky judge. It is the sky judge.

It is the phrase that we have been using to refer to another official in the game happens to be somebody who is watching the game from above, or in this case, New York city. And I'm loving it. It's been great.

It's been great. And it makes everyone look smarter and better. We need to fold, roughing the passer into replay assist. Ones that are called should be immediately challenged. And don't, here's the deal.

Um, you, you, you, you have to do this and I understand that opens a Pandora's box. So do you replay assist ones that aren't called? It was missed.

A face mask was missed. That's for down the road for the moment. Truly. We got to do it. Any roughing the passer call needs to be reviewed on the spot. And we're seeing, they're reviewing where the ball goes on the ground based on where a knee hit, as opposed to the first down that has been already awarded on the field. We're doing that in seconds.

It's going that fast. So we can replay whether say the roughing the passer call in the Giants Vikings game that damn near cost the Giants a football game in a winter go home game can be a flag picked up. Why can't we do this? Bang, bang plays. I understand refs are trying to protect quarterbacks. I get it. It is all done from a position of player protection. I get it.

They're not trying to screw it up or make themselves a factor. Please, before this happens in a Super Bowl, it's going to the way that this game is being officiated with the roughing calls. It's going to happen in a Super Bowl. Let's head this off at the pass. I am begging. 844-204-rich is the number to dial Micah Parsons on the other side overreaction Monday as well.

What a day to overreact to stuff. That's coming up. And you on the phone. You know it. I know it. You know it. Feller, you know it. Even Del Tufel, wherever the hell he is right now, he knows it. Where is he? The American people know it. He's mixing something. Is that going to happen?

Is everything ready? It's going to happen in a championship game or the Super Bowl and it is going to leave a stinking pile of flaming dog poop on the front step of the competition committee in the same way that non-pass interference call left said bag of flaming dog poop on the steps of the NFL and they went ahead and changed the rule to make instant replay reviewable. It was a total mess because nobody after the modification was made, nobody wanted it.

It became unworkable. It's as simple as this. If there is a flag thrown for a roughing the passer penalty, let's take a look at it in the same way we are clearly seeing the NFL is looking at stuff in such fast speed. They are seeing it in fast speed in real time and then they are just as fast looking at it in replay and getting the information in the ear of the head official to announce to the crowd we are picking up the ball and placing it here. We are changing everything about the down and distance and whether somebody is in bounds or not.

If you are doing that, let's do it for roughing the passer. Simple. For over 40 years Jim Ross has been the voice of wrestling. Nobody has stories like Jim Ross and he shares his tales with cohost Conrad Thompson on Grilling JR. Vince 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. We couldn't have created a bigger or better heel. 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.