REShow: Field Yates and Rashawn Slater - Hour 3

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Seriously, though, see terms and check it out for yourself at discover.com slash match. This is The Rich Eisen Show. Let me see you put your hands up now. Now. Now. Now.

Now. With guest host Steve Weissman. Rich, love you. Brock, no tuso, whistle.

TJ, my brother from another mother, love you. Live from The Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Earlier on the show, Sports Illustrated senior writer John Wertheim.

Seven year NFL veteran Trey Boston. ESPN NFL insider Field Yates. Coming up, Chargers tackle Rashawn Slater. And now, sitting in for rich, it's Steve Weissman. Back on The Rich Eisen Show, Steve Weissman filling in and we've got a big hour. I know we started the show with Novak Djokovic tennis talk, but this is the NFL Power Hour. Yeah, let's do it. We've got Field Yates.

We got Rashawn Slater. We were talking all things football and now I welcome in my buddy Field Yates, ESPN NFL insider fantasy expert, host of NFL live all around great human field. What's up man? How you doing? First of all, Steve, I'm doing great.

Thanks so much for having me on, but that I missed the part where we weren't talking tennis right now because I've been preparing my notes for only Djokovic talk. How's how's your game by the way? You still playing at the casino? Rusty, yes, but rusty.

It's gonna put it. It has probably taken the backseat to golf. The problem is you wouldn't be able to tell from my golf game, Steve, so I'm starting to wonder whether I'm through misallocating my time resources. Field and I, by the way, had a battle royale on the red clay of the casino courts in Nantucket back in the day. So much fun, but you know, maybe if you invite me back to Nantucket, you'll get back into the tennis.

Little longer trek, but you have an open invite. I love it. I love it. Field, NFL minicamps wrapping up around the league.

What are your biggest headlines coming out? I would say with taking place in Buffalo right now, Steve, and I think that everybody knows what has taken place with Stefan Diggs, but for those that they have missed it quickly, the head coach of the bills, Sean McDermott, said yesterday two days ago. Excuse me now that he was very concerned about the fact that Stefan Diggs is not with the team for the first practice of mandatory minicamp. And I would say nine times, maybe even 95 times out of 100 when a player is missing a mandatory minicamp day.

The answer is pretty straightforward. He wants a new contract. Stefan Diggs got a new contract last year, and by the way, it still holds up as one of the top receiver deals in the NFL and beyond that 95 out of 100 times in which an issue bubbles up to the surface. It's not from the team. Sean McDermott volunteered this drama, so to speak, in Buffalo, and a day later they said that everything had been resolved and things were hunky-dory.

At least that was what they led us to believe. I just have a hard time buying the idea that within 24 hours, issues that were deep enough to lead Stefan Diggs to leave the practice facility and for Sean McDermott to say that he was very concerned can all of a sudden be smoothed over. I'm continuing to keep an eye on how things are resolved there in Buffalo. I'm with you, because to go from very concerned to being in a great spot, having Josh Allen basically say, I love this guy, I want nothing more than great things for him, and now it's okay. What do you think is going on there? Do you think it's a quarterback receiver situation, or is it deeper than that with the entire team? It feels like it's deeper than that, because it doesn't seem like Stefan and Josh Allen are at odds. Josh Allen reiterated that he and Stefan have a great relationship. He used words that we can't use on TV or radio to describe just how much he feels about Stefan Diggs in a positive way.

This is something that could be much deeper than anything that those of us on the outside could ascertain, Steve, or it could be things that we maybe have taken notice of in the past. Is Stefan Diggs being utilized enough or correctly in large moments? Because unfortunately for the Bills, for all the talent they have and all of the success that they have had over the past two years, they've entered the echelon of teams where success is no longer measured by winning 13 games in 16 tries last year in the regular season. It is measured by a team that either wins or does not win the Super Bowl, and they have yet to do that obviously in franchise history and over the past few years with Josh Allen playing at the level that he has.

It feels like we've entered a new era of expectations for the Bills, and when you have those big expectations, having less than perfect performances in the playoffs might lead to some real frustration. Yeah, I totally agree with that. I also say, Field, believe what people post on social media. Believe what they say. He's been telling us all off-season that something is going on. You look at all the Instagram captions and the slides that he's putting out, May 13th, a gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials. I hate when people be like, we were both wrong.

Who? I wasn't wrong for that. You know, Steve, I am just starting to understand 18-month-old language with my daughter, and that is hard enough for me to interpret. So then having to go from that – I barely speak English, by the way, myself – to having to try to interpret social media, to me, that's asking way too much.

It is incredible. You're absolutely right. We simultaneously put so much stock into what people are posting on social media without having any idea really what they are actually trying to posit or suggest to us. It seems like something is up, though, and I'm not trying to fan the flames if it turns out that this is actually 100% resolved. But again, I go back to just a couple of very fundamental aspects of this situation, which is that if Sean McDermott goes up to the stage or goes up to the podium when he's doing his media on Tuesday and a reporter says to him, hey, is everybody here? It is so easy for Sean McDermott to say, hey, the only player who's not here on the practice field today is Stephon Diggs.

It's a situation that we're aware of, and there are no concerns whatsoever. He did the opposite of that. And once he did that, it was the breaking of the day, and then all of a sudden it's all of us having a lot of questions. Even your daughter, Kinley Yates, can attest that something was up there.

Something was askew. DeAndre Hopkins flew in yesterday with the Patriots today. What's the latest on that? Still currently visiting with the team, Steve. As you and I are talking, he is meeting with somebody at the Patriots facility. This is his second, and as of right now, the only other known visit that DeAndre Hopkins will be taking. And I don't know that I would expect any more visits for DeAndre Hopkins at least any time soon, Steve, and here's the reason why. Today is kind of like the final day of school for NFL teams. Every minicamp will be over by the end of the day today, and while head coaches and general managers are never out of pocket fully, many of them get away.

And this is their, call it five weeks ahead, where they get to enjoy their family and have a much more balanced life than they do throughout the rest of the year, facilities around the NFL are going to be a lot quieter for the next five weeks. It does not mean that DeAndre Hopkins can't go on a visit. He certainly could.

I just think it's less likely. And I think what this probably comes down to, Steve, is a few things, but I'll leave with this. It's what DeAndre Hopkins wants. And when he spoke on a podcast recently, the I Am Athlete podcast, he noted, I wanted to play with an organization that had stable management, had a great quarterback.

I think he mentioned the defense as well. I think all those things are the responsible thing for any athlete to say, but if his primary objective at 31 years old is to get the biggest bite at the apple that's still left over, I wouldn't blame him a bit. And if money ends up guiding his decision, my response would be, go for it, man. If you want to ring chase at 31, that's allowed, but ring chasing takes on a different meaning when you're a little bit closer to the end of your career.

So my thought has continually been, hey, if you are DeAndre Hopkins, maybe the response here is pretty simple. Go get the most amount of money that you can get. Maybe it's a multi-year deal.

31, let's say you get a two-year deal. When you're 33, if you still haven't won that ring, then go chase the ring somewhere else, right? Like go to Kansas City in 2025, right? Like make your reservation right now because they're still going to be good unless Patrick Mahomes retires, and your chance to make a whole lot of money is dwindling, and this may be the last one. So I think that DeAndre Hopkins has to decide what he wants first and foremost, and I know that I'm not going to begrudge him if he decides that what he wants more than anything else is to make the most amount of money. Yeah, I think you should be his agent.

Just secure the bag 100%. And speaking of that... I'll take a 1% fee. You only take 1%. What a discount with Field-Yates. Saquon Barkley, speaking of money, you know, he would consider sitting out the season if he doesn't get a long-term contract. They franchise tagged him. Top running backs getting franchise tags put in kind of a cap on the market right now.

We talked about it earlier in the show. Why do you think the value of running backs has been going down across the league? Yeah, there is evidence that you can go with the bargain route here. There's a graphic, a screenshot that someone, maybe it's an Excel spreadsheet that somebody made at some point right after the Super Bowl this year, and I want to say it's like seven straight Super Bowl winners have had a running back whose base salary is like $1.25 million or less. There's just too many examples year in and year out of guys coming seemingly out of nowhere at the running back position making a major impact. This past year, Isaiah Pacheco, of course, became the Chiefs best running back or at least, you know, one of the most prominent running backs along with Derek McKinnon, but both of those guys were making minimal amounts of money relative to other players on the roster, and those aren't the only examples, not just this year and not just in general, right? I mean, other guys who this past year are examples of players and there are many others by the way who like played legitimate roles as other undrafted free agents or late round picks like bam night for the Jets as a rookie was an undrafted kid who ends up playing a bunch Deontay Foreman was a highly drafted player a few years. Here's a third round pick when he came out of Texas, but he became the Panthers starting running back after the Christian McCaffrey trade and all of a sudden that team started running the football better. If there were examples, if there are receivers every year coming out of the seventh round or if there were, you know, linebackers every year coming out of the undrafted ranks, I think the position resources would change, but running back more than really any position on offense or defense in the NFL has become the spot where teams are able to find value and I feel for running back, Steve. I mean, when you and I were growing up watching football, like think about the heydays of like Marshall Hall and Edger and James, like those were the guys, Eddie George and Emmett Smith, but it was like those were those were MVPs of the league literally now in order for running back to win the MVP. It hasn't happened with Adrian Peterson over a decade ago. It's like a twenty two hundred rushing yard season with like twenty five total touchdowns. It's a quarterback league running backs have become at least for now the most most fungible spot to replace on the roster. It's just a bummer to see. That's a great word.

That's very fungible. Brockman asked this question earlier in the show. How many running backs would you take over Justin Tucker right now?

Wow, I was not prepared for that one mentally. So that the question field was like, who's more valuable? Are there five more running backs more valuable than Justin Tucker in the NFL right now?

Yeah, it's hard because it's like, you know, the tricky part of this is that I hate I'm not going to fence it. I'm going to give you an answer, I think, but it's like you can easily replace like, you know, I'll use the Panthers example again. They replaced Christian McCaffrey with Beyonce Foreman and sort of running the football at least on the ground or effectively. Whereas with Justin Tucker, there's like a fairly finite number of kickers that you trust in the world, right? You can go from Justin Tucker to I mean, remember, like, I mean, this is probably unfair to the Cowboys, but like what for missed extra place in a single playoff game this past year for a kicker and Brett Maher have been a good player for them throughout the season. It's like I think the downside of a bad kicker probably outweighs the downside of a bad running back. But I think, you know, obviously the upside of Christian McCaffrey and Austin Eckler and Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Derek Henry, that, you know, the game by game impact is so much more dramatic than a kicker.

So maybe the answer is 15 or 16. But I think when it's all said and done, we're going to have a really, really unique case for Justin Tucker as the best kicker ever. And when I see people talk about like Sebastian Janikowski going in the first round, like imagine if Justin Tucker had been a first round pick and not an undrafted player out of Texas, like we would have laughed at it at the time, right? Yeah. There's no doubt that if he had been the Ravens first round pick that year, I don't even remember who their first round pick was in that specific season. We'd all be sitting here saying that was an absolute masterstroke by Baltimore.

Absolutely. And I don't I don't think we're going to start seeing a lot of kickers being taken in the first round. But you make a great point.

Brocken makes a great point. I mean, the value is there. And unfortunately, because the running back now they work so hard, the value is not there right now in this National Football League. Which rookie are you most excited to see play this year? Oh, I would say Anthony Richardson is the probably the low hanging fruit answer just because it feels like the like the ceiling floor variance is the widest. Anthony Richardson had 13 starts in his college career.

And Florida fans will tell you last year wasn't always pretty. Everybody knows the number by now. But just to reiterate, he completed under 53 percent of the passes in college. And I know that, you know, there's more than just the quarterback that goes into completing passes. You've got to be properly protected. Your receivers have to get open and catch the ball. But still, 53 percent is a really low number.

On the other hand, if you were like one of my cousins who lives on YouTube, that's how they consume their content. Then they would tell you, like, if you go watch the highlights, it's I mean, I mean, there's just like so much like, you know, there's there's all kinds of Anthony Richardson upside, right? They see like, you know, the 75 yard dazzling runs or, you know, the 85 or, you know, the 55 yard pass from the 1D or whatever it might be for Richardson. And they say, how could this guy not be the best player in the NFL next year? So an interesting game, so to speak for Anthony Richardson. He's probably the one that I'm most excited to see. And I'm assuming he'll start right out of the gates because I just think for the Colts, they're very cognizant of where they are right now as an organization.

They may talk like they are going to be a playoff contender this year, but they're you know, this is a team that knows that they are somewhere early in the spectrum as opposed to like on the precipice of being AFC title contender. Definitely excited to see Anthony Richardson play. We alluded to it earlier, but I had some of the best summer trips of my life going going to Nantucket with you, some of our friends hanging with guys like like Scott Pioli. What other than teaching you how to be the best clamor on the planet, what has Scott meant to your career?

Oh, gosh, where do I even begin? Scott is the best, probably the most principled human that I've ever met. And I think you see a lot of his analysis these days doing work for both CBS Sports and NFL Network. And I think I'm trying to think of just one word. I could probably choose 55 or 60 of them, but discipline is probably the word that I was reminded of the most when I think about Scott discipline and process Steve, because you and I both know that the final product that you see on a football field on Sunday is not just 22 players getting on the field, lining up and making it happen.

It goes way deeper than that. And Scott taught me the importance of the attention to detail that can go a long way towards turning this the small steps taken during the off season into a much, much bigger product on Sunday. So I always love hanging out with Scott. I want to see him again soon.

And Steve, this has rekindled the flame. You got to get out to Nantucket again. I really this summer I want to do it. A thousand miles from L.A. that's doable.

That is totally doable. By the way, Field Yates, for those who don't know, one of the best e-mailers on the earth. If you've ever gotten an e-mail from Field Yates, it is constructed beautifully. And it's it's like he puts I mean, puts time and effort into these things.

They're long. They're written exquisitely. And I just want want everybody watching the Rich Eisen Show to know about Field Yates e-mails. They're they're spectacular field.

Also, that is inspired me to keep it going. Also, Field, real quick into it in 2012, the Ravens didn't have a first round pick. They took Courtney Upshaw 35th overall. OK. A pick that candidly did not really work out that well. Right.

I mean, it was. So I think I don't know how long Upshaw lasted in the NFL, but he played six years. Actually, if you look at their entire draft class in 2012, Tucker is better than all of them combined. Yeah.

Yeah. The draft is definitely a crapshoot. So I always have like a lot longer leash in terms of like how people have like I don't I don't get as like as like like I don't know, people get very fired up about like, you know, draft class whips here and there. And it's like if you're doing that long enough, pretty much every GM is going to have some really good picks and some really crappy ones along the way.

But the Ravens track record is exceptional for that 2012 class to be a relative miss saved by Justin Tucker as the team has been on multiple occasions in the regular and postseason field. Thank you so much for taking some time joining us today. So happy for all your success. Love watching you shine, doing your thing, grow and tell Chapin in the family. I say hello to your mom, Paige. I said hello as well. I hope to see you soon. Maybe in Nantucket, maybe somewhere else. We're making it happen.

See if I can't wait. I feel thanks so much, buddy. Field Yates NFL insider extraordinaire for ESPN hosts NFL Live. Just a great person and truly spent some of the best summers in Nantucket and hope to get back there and be on the tennis court with Field once again. We've got Rashawn Slater coming up next here on the Rich Eisen Show.

Steve Weisman filling in today and tomorrow. Don't let underarm insecurities keep you at arm's distance from the ones you care about. Buy new and improved of men plus care antiperspirant wherever personal care products are sold. I just learned discover credit cards do something pretty awesome at the end of your first year. They automatically double all the cash back you've earned. That's right.

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Seriously, though, see terms and check it out for yourself at discover dot com slash match. Welcome back to the Rich Eisen Show radio network. Steve Weisman sitting at the Rich Eisen Show desk furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions for every industry.

Grainger has the right product for you. Call click Ranger dot com or just stop by excited to welcome in my next guest. We've got Rashawn Slater, all pro offensive tackle for the Los Angeles Chargers. Rashawn, how you doing? I'm doing great. Thanks for having me.

Absolutely. Entering year three in the NFL just wrapped up minicamp. Tell us all about it. How was it? Minicamp was great. It was a it was an exciting opportunity to first of all, just return after missing most of last season with my bicep injury and, you know, get a chance to be around the team.

Start installing the new offense with Coach Moore. So it's been a really great opportunity. You mentioned the injury that you had last year. How would you characterize your excitement level to start this season, you know, compared to years past? You know, I'm always excited, but it's always kind of for a different reason. Like, you know, my rookie year, my first NFL season last year, I was looking forward to building.

And this year I feel like it's different because now I have, you know, that injury last year kept me off the field. So it's really been a long time. So really, it's just a ton of excitement, a ton of anticipation.

It's been a long time coming. And I know my biceps good. So it's just I can apply what I've learned over the last couple of years and see how good I can do.

I'm excited. You talk about the bicep being good. Obviously, there's that video of you lifting on your pro day that went viral front squatting 450 pounds. So as a guy that loves being in the gym and putting up huge weights, how tough was it for you to stay patient and not push yourself too hard during rehab? It was tough, but I think what helped me a lot was just knowing, you know, I had the doctor's word. I was working with our team trainers and I just knew that I had a chance to come back towards the end of last season.

It didn't end up happening, but that kind of kept me trusting the process and making sure I took my time because I was going to have time to do it right. And, you know, now since then, I've had even more time. So it really doesn't bother me at all anymore. Is that how it is in the Chargers weight room, like it was at Northwestern with the entire team surrounding you and pumping you up? No, it's not quite like that anymore. Definitely missed those days.

But now it's all about just, you know, just trying to be smart, train smart. That probably wasn't the best thing for me to be doing back then. It was a fun time for sure. Do you still get people coming up to you about that video? Yeah, all the time. Every few months I get tagged in it.

It'll kind of like go viral again. It's kind of funny. So obviously having last year when you couldn't play a tough situation, what did you learn most about yourself during that during that time? I think I just learned a lot about the game and kind of what it demands and how easily it can be taken away. So, I mean, it just gave me a lot of time to reflect and like think about my future, my goals as far as my career goes.

And definitely motivated me to never take anything for granted, especially my health. But I'd say that's the biggest thing. And what are those goals? Just to become the best player I can possibly be to make sure I'm never ever falling short of my expectations or of my preparation.

Just making sure I can maximize whatever, whatever I guess I have. Here with Rashawn Slater, all pro offensive tackle coming back this year to the Los Angeles Chargers. My fellow Northwestern Wildcats, Steve Weisman filling in for Rich today, the Rich Eisen show. You've got a new offensive coordinator, Rashawn, this year, Kellen Moore. Without giving away any specific schemes or team secrets, what will the offense look like compared to last year? I think we're going to see a little bit more variety just in our game. I think it's going to be harder to see what's coming from us. I think we have a few more tricks up our sleeves than last year, but at the same time it's a little simplified.

I don't think we're going to be doing too much or anything crazy, but at the same time we're going to be able to keep teams guessing and go for explosions and stuff like that. What's his energy like at practice? What kind of vibe does he bring? He's definitely high energy.

You can tell how much of a competitor he is. He's always challenging the guys and he's a great leader. He's great at just getting everyone on board with his vision. He's awesome. Speaking of leaders, Rashawn, what is Justin Herbert like in the huddle?

He's definitely the leader. He's usually a more quiet guy in the media and stuff, but with the team he's very outgoing, he's funny. The guys know that he's a competitor, so when he's talking everyone's listening. As the left tackle, you're basically charged with protecting the centerpiece of the offense. How do you develop that relationship with your quarterback? Just trust and repetitions. I think just the everyday grind we go through as a team really helps. There's so much communication going on between the O-line, quarterback, running backs as far as protections and just the intentions of our scheme and whatnot. That communication piece has always got to be there. We've always got to be on the same page. I think the biggest thing is just every day around the building you build that trust over time.

Is that just in the building or is there stuff outside as well that you really need to get that bond? This is a guy who, life kind of depends on you at times. He does a pretty good job of helping himself out too as far as his pocket presence and awareness and stuff like that.

Definitely outside the building too. Justin's great. We go on all the time. We'll do O-line QB trips and dinners and golf and stuff like that.

It goes in and out of the building. What, Rashawn, is the best gift you've ever received from a quarterback? Custom silver golf clubs from Justin.

Okay. Are you a big golfer? Pretty excited about that one. Do you golf a lot? I'm trying to get into it actually. There's a lot of beautiful courses out here in Southern California. I haven't really got a chance to do a lot yet, but probably after this season is when I'm really going to start getting into it.

I know you said you were traveling, so are you not attending the U.S. Open or any shot you'll be going to L.A. Country Club? No, not yet, but I'll get there one day. That's the goal. Entering your third year, would you like to this year take on more of a leadership role yourself on the Chargers? Yeah, I think that's just kind of naturally the progression that goes on. As I spend more time around the team and the culture and whatnot, it's crazy how fast it goes. I feel like just yesterday I got drafted and now I'm entering year three and a lot of the younger guys see me as a vet. I think that's just the natural progression. For me, that just means making sure that I'm on my stuff and having a relationship with guys on the team.

It doesn't take too much more than that. Now that mini camp is done, Rashawn, you've got some time before training camp. What's on the docket for the next six weeks? Just work. I'm going back to Dallas to train with my trainer, Duke Minneweather.

Just six weeks of focus and it'll be here before we know it. No trips at all? No, my wife and I are going on a little four-day trip to Costa Rica, so we're excited about that. That's awesome. I talked to your coach, Brandon Staley, the other day because he's taken a trip to London and he texted me. He's a big tennis guy. How much does he talk about tennis with you all? I know he went to see Rafa train and all that. Does he really impart that wisdom on the team? Yeah, he does.

It's funny. We just had a team meeting this week and he was throwing out tennis references. He's a big sports guy in general, which I really like. He's always showing us, taking things from basketball, tennis, other sports and throwing in our meetings. What did he say about tennis? He was just talking about the greats and their processes and whatnot.

It's pretty cool stuff. So then I asked him to come on the show. I'm like, I'm hosting the Rich Eisen Show this week.

Can you come on? And he said, well, Tom Pelosero already got me. I was like, all right, coach.

I'll one-up you and get your starting left tackle, Richaun Slater. Northwestern is kind of becoming O-line you. Two of the last three drafts, we've had Wildcats taken in the first round, top 15 picks. I'm curious, have you taken sort of a mentorship role with Peter Skowronski? We've always had a relationship ever since he visited Northwestern. I always kind of saw how much he loved the game and how detail oriented he was with his technique. So it was kind of just a natural bond that we formed just over our love of the game and the position.

So it didn't surprise me at all. But yeah, we talked a lot during his time at Northwestern pre-draft and I asked him questions too because he was very smart. I've learned a lot from him. So we just kind of have that, I don't know about mentorship, but we definitely have that relationship where we come to each other with football stuff. I love that. What have you learned from Peter? He's just very smart. He sees the game a little bit differently than I do as far as angles, techniques, hand usage and stuff like that.

So it's fun to kind of tick his brain and find out what he's seen. Richaun, how would you compare LA to Evanston? Well, first of all, it's perfect outside every day in LA. That was my first impression when I got off the plane. I was like, how is it so sunny out, but I feel like I'm inside a room.

Incredible. Definitely that is the biggest difference for me, but I love Evanston. I love Chicago. I miss it for sure. I need to get back up there.

But it's definitely a nice change up too when the winter comes. They miss you as well. But what about the last six months? I mean, what's going on in LA right now? It's just been gray skies. I know. I know. I'm waiting. I bet that means it'll be perfect for camp though. I'm sure we won't get a single cloud in the sky. I hope so.

I hope you're right there. You learned from Peter. You learned from the guys on your offensive line.

I mean, you grew up with your dad who played in the NBA for eight seasons. What's the best advice he gave you to prepare for a life in professional sports? Really early on, he was always just ingraining in us the importance of preparation and controlling the controllable. So for me, that was always the biggest thing. When I was in high school, I figured I may not naturally be like a 6'7", 35 inch arms, whatever people look for in offensive linemen, but I knew I could control how hard I worked in the weight room. And I knew I could control my nutrition, my sleep, and stuff like that. So that's really helped me out just over my career.

Control the controllables. That's all we can do in life. Other than football, what sports are you into, Rashawn? I grew up actually not a fan of any sports. I kind of avoided sports at all costs, actually. So I'd say I'm trying to get a little bit into golf, but I really just enjoy playing football. So if you weren't into any sports, what were you into growing up? Video games, messing around with my friends, just doing kid stuff, riding bikes. I was kind of a fat kid growing up, so I had some experiences early on that kept me away from hard work, I guess. It was really hot in Texas, so I never was a big fan until I got to high school. That's when things started to change a little bit.

You just wanted to stay inside. Exactly. Did you see the quote from Nikola Jokic the other day? Yeah, don't underestimate the fat kid.

Yeah, don't underestimate the fat kid. It worked out for you there. On your Instagram, the bio says, begin with the end in mind. What does that mean to you, Rashawn? That's a quote I heard from Kurt Anderson, my old line coach at Northwestern. To me, that's just about having a vision. I feel like any time in life there's something I want to achieve, it always starts with a vision. If I can find out where I want to be one day, I can kind of align my routines and my systems with that.

I just found that's really helped me out to constantly be thinking about where I want to be and just try to align my every day with that vision. So, Rashawn, as you begin this season, what is your vision? What do you have in mind for the end? My vision is just, you know, it's a finished product of taking every day one step at a time and just giving my absolute all every day to my team, my teammates and my craft. So, I'm excited to see where that can lead with us as a team. I think we have all the pieces in place and I think some really special things can happen this year. We just got to make sure that every day we're giving it, you know, get the full benefit of every day.

I said earlier in the show what Novak Djokovic told me, energy flows where attention goes. I feel like that's kind of along the same path of what you're doing in terms of, you know, having a vision for what you want when you start something and finishing it. Do you get a sense of a heightened excitement this year with the Chargers knowing that everyone's back healthy and the potential for this team? Yeah, it definitely feels that way. You know, we've never – we always believe in ourselves, but especially after last year, some of the losses we had to players, to injury and whatnot, like I really feel like there definitely is that energy with the team this year.

So, I think we're all very motivated to make the most of it. How tough was it for you to be on the sideline during, you know, that last game and not be able to help your guys, you know, kind of finish that off? It was very tough. Throughout the season it was never easy being out because that was my first time being hurt, so I never had that kind of experience before. But like I said earlier, it taught me a lot.

It taught me how to seek ways to prepare, to recover, to do everything I can to minimize injury, and I think it only made me hungrier. Well, a hungrier, Rashawn Slater, is a danger for the rest of the NFL and all defenses. You're obviously a wildcat for life, but how are the actual cats that you have as pets? How are they doing? They're doing great. They're running around me right now. They're doing great.

They're funny. I've always been an animal lover. I grew up with like three cats.

So, after I got hurt, I was like, okay, I guess now we have time to welcome some new members to the family. So, what other animals did you grow up with? I had a dog, and in college I had a bearded dragon.

A bearded dragon? Yup. Okay. And where did that go? Is it no longer?

Oh, yeah. She passed away a couple years ago. Sorry to hear that.

She had a long run. Does the wife, is she okay with potentially getting another bearded dragon in the future? I think we're both waiting until we're a little more settled in, not going back and forth all the time.

Yeah, maybe one day. Alright. Well, I'm super pumped to get you on the show today. I really enjoyed talking to you. Glad that you are back healthy once again and ready to just tear into the rest of this league.

Excited about the Chargers as well. Appreciate you taking the time. Safe travels back home to Texas, and wish you the best of luck coming up. Absolutely. Thank you for having me, Steve.

I appreciate it. Go Cats, my man. Go Cats. Yes, sir.

Yes, sir. Rashawn Slater, all pro offensive tackle for the Los Angeles Chargers, back and better than ever. That offensive line is stacked. I mean, if you look at the weapons on offense that they have right now with Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, the rookie, Quinton Johnston, Austin Eckler in the backfield. You got Bosa on defense. I mean, it all starts with Derwin James as well. I look at this team and I say, why not us? Because of the Chargers and something weird always happens.

Really? Something weird always happens. There's a weird injury.

Melvin Gordon can't score eight times from the one foot line. Like just weird stuff happens with this team and it almost seems like they're cursed or snake bit, dragon bit in Rashawn's case. It's just kind of weird and there's no real explanation for it that makes any logical sense except that, oh, the Chargers got a Charger. So without that, you know, non factual. But until they do something to kind of stop that, you're no one's going to really think they're going to win the Super Bowl, right? If they're healthy, they stay healthy this entire year. Why not? But they haven't in the history of their organization. Never say never.

Never say never. I want them to do it. I mean, they have so many players that you like. Great guys.

Justin Herbert is a unbelievable talent at the position. They were up 400 points at halftime in the playoff game and lost. They didn't ever, Sean. Can't lose that game being up four scores.

No, but no, you're absolutely right. But they learned from that. Of course. You got to hope. You got to hope they learn from that and take it to the next level. They certainly have all of the ability, all of the talent. Very curious what Kellen Moore is going to bring to the table and how that changes that offense. When he was with Dallas, T.J., they were one of the highest scoring teams in the league for the last four years. Twenty nine points per game in the last two seasons. And if he takes that to the Chargers.

Can be tough team to beat. Now, you could argue he has a better quarterback. More talented, perhaps.

Yeah, maybe. About the same, right? Dak and T.J., Dak and Justin Herbert, about the same. I mean, Herbert's probably got a better arm.

Yeah. You know, I don't know, tangible wise, which counts for a lot. I don't know who you'd give the edge to, but I'm too close to this. I can't give you an unbiased opinion on this.

So don't even come to me. Let's be honest. I'm all in. I'm all in on the bolts this year.

I think. Oh, Chargers win the division. I think you're not all in then.

You're not all in. Look, last year we had a guy sitting in that chair, went all in on a team from the AFC West. Yeah. And it didn't get him very far because he picked the Raiders.

Yeah. No, I mean, the Chiefs, you have to beat the best to be the best. So, you know, they've got to get through the Chiefs. And until they do that, it won't happen. But they could do it.

And this could be that year. So we shall see. We are heading to our last segment here. Rich Eyes and Show.

Steve Weisman filling in for Rich today. Back after this. Your ideal comfort and support on your side of the bed and change it whenever you like. And then your sleep number bed shows you your sleep quality. You can see how well you slept along with personalized insights for even better sleep. And that's how you sleep.

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Eight four four two oh four Rich right now. We've got our guy Terzo in Iowa on the line. Terzo, how you doing?

I'm doing well, Steve. Hey, man, you guys had a great show today. You guys have covered a lot of topics. It's been a lot of fun.

Thank you. I'm happy that you guys went after Pellicero yesterday for that attack on cheese. We can't we can't we can't allow him to get away with disgracing our cheese like that.

Like he was telling us that the world had better taste in us. But the French are known for their cheese. And you can tell me that you're going to go to Italy and not have cheese with your pasta.

It's like, come on, Tom. Like, we got to get it together here. Cheese is a quintessential part of a good meal. I mean, you put that fresh pasta inside that wheel of parmigiano reggiano. Right. That's how you that's how you finish it off.

That's the cacio e pepe. I mean, without without the cheese wheel, you just got some old noodles. Exactly.

Exactly. When you were talking about the escargot earlier, you know, you remove the butter. You just you just got a snail. I would not like that. That would be a nasty snail. You need the butter and the garlic. Yeah. I mean, I I don't understand the attack on cheese.

You know, I take it somewhat personally for for all the French and Italians in the world. There's a tennis player, Yannick Sinner, who was sponsored by Parmigiano Reggiano. And I thought that was the coolest sponsorship of all time. Oh, man, that would be awesome. You just get free will to cheese sent to you.

That would be amazing. Right. Another one was sponsored by Kola Vida olive oil. So just got, you know, olive oil whenever they wanted it. And then I have Mateo Baratini.

Maybe it's Lorenzo Musetti was sponsored by like the meats, like a company that produces like the, you know, bring me or find some super soda and all of that stuff. You know, you can't hardly beat that. I could talk food all day, Terzo. Oh, me too. Me too.

That's one of my it's one of my love passions. I love to cook and I do use a lot of cheese. What's your favorite cheese? I love I love a really good brie. I'm not going to lie.

Kind of a very simple. But Tom was actually kind of talking down on putting a little bit of jelly on it. But I like a good brie with some jelly on it on a little toasted node or a cracker.

No, that's it's music to my ears. It probably is that an apricot jelly or, you know, something along those lines. Yeah, but apricot or kind of a blueberry jam, something right along in there. If you if even you want to spice it up, kind of maybe a little bit of a jalapeno. Oh, as well, too.

Yeah, you could put it you could even put that in your grilled cheese just to take it to another level. Let's let's go. I'm in for it. Terzo, appreciate you calling into the show. Thanks for watching and listening. I appreciate you guys. You have a good rest of your week.

Thank you so much. Later, Terzo. Later, brother. I mean, it's pro cheese the world. Anti-Cheese Tom. This is a pro cheese show. I just want it known on the record.

Tom Pelosero does not speak for all of us here at the Rich Eisen Show. I mean, that's it is blasphemous to the anti-cheese. I mess my stomach up sometimes.

The hell going on? It's true. Cheese does mess up my stomach from time to time, but I'm still going to eat it. I still eat it.

It's just one of those things I got to deal with. What do you think of cottage cheese? Cottage cheese is great. Good cottage cheese is great. Cottage cheese is great. I cut up a banana. It's my breakfast and I eat it in the bowl.

I drizzle a little honey on top. Cottage cheese is good. Yeah, very healthy, by the way.

Cottage cheese. It's good for you. It is good for you. High in protein. High in protein, low in calories.

Try to do that, you know, three to five days a week, mornings a week. Really? Yeah, right out of the bowl. Yeah, right out of the bowl.

That's aggressive, though. You used a banana as the spoon? No, the banana I slice and like, you know, spread out like a flower. The banana is the spoon and you're just dipping it and taking bites. A banana?

Try that tomorrow. Try to use the banana, carve a spoon ladle into the banana, and use that as the spoon. Something's the whole banana. And then you can just take bites of it. The bananas do sort of crumble under that.

That sounds disgusting. He's already having banana with ricotta. I'm saying like use the banana as a tool. That's the work of an apple.

The apple is a dipper. Just yesterday, a big spoonful of peanut butter, and there you got your spoon right there. Peanut butter has more harder consistency than the cottage cheese. It also tastes much better than some cottage cheese. But he's already eating the cottage cheese with the banana.

You got it. But I like it in the pieces, just like I cut up my apples. I have a dental implant, so it's harder for me to bite into things. I understand.

I cracked the tooth the other day and it hurts. They eat anything. You're watching The Rich Eyes and Show. Steve Weisman filling in for Rich. We're talking cheese, cottage, and all varieties.

See you tomorrow. Conspiracy theories. Paranormal. UFOs. Science teacher Andrew Greenwood stated that a child ran into his classroom and was hysterically screaming and talking about the flying saucer outside. Hundreds of children ran out of their classrooms to go outside and see this unidentified flying object that was just above the school. Just imagine a bunch of kids running out of school. Most of them probably just ran home. Theories of the Third Kind on YouTube or wherever you listen.