RE Show: Daniel Jeremiah - Hour 2 (8-7-2023)

This is the moment of the year. This is the Rich Eisen Show. We're getting football back. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. And I'm not talking about quarterback competitions. I'm talking about the freaking New York Jets. Yeah man, I'm loving my time here.

I mean, I've just embraced everything New York. The mayor of New York. Earlier on the show, ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Villas. Coming up, NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah. Executive producer of Hard Knocks, Ken Rogers. And now, it's Rich Eisen.

That's correct. Can confirm and there I am. Welcome to the second hour of this Monday program. A deep dive on college realignment. And all the machinations between Pac-4 and Big 18 teams and Big 16 teams and the SEC. And it just, you know, that was funny.

Years ago, it's not so funny anymore. The SEC, it just means more. Now I guess the hashtag is more means more. More means more means. It just is more. More, more. How about this? More is the mean. How about that?

Is that a little too esoteric? Is that too big team? That's my Big 18 education talking right there. I started in the Big East and then I ended up at ACCT. You know, it's all fine.

You know what? Everybody moves. Again, the ACC has got it made in the shade and the SEC too. Because their conferences don't have a number in it. They could go whatever they want to do. Right, right. South Coast Conference.

That's right. As long as NBC pays Notre Dame more than the average of what the Big 10 would pay the school or the SEC would pay the school. Then who cares? Then they're staying put. As long as teams will play them.

You know? I don't know if the Big 18 will be just like, we can't do any out of conference schedule anymore. I mean, they can just do conference schedules.

Maybe that's where they're going to go. Just conference schedules right from the get-go. You don't have to warm up against any other smaller schools or anything like that. I mean, Notre Dame has a pretty good schedule. They play Ohio State, USC. Well, it's now. We'll see how it goes.

Clemson, Stanford. It could just be exclusive. Hey, you know, we're just playing ourselves now. That's it. Sorry. See you later.

And then suddenly Notre Dame will join the Big 19 to make it an even 20. Hour number three, Ken Rogers, the executive producer of Hard Knocks. Talking about tomorrow night's debut of the highly anticipated return of the series on HBO. Love it.

You can watch it here on Max on the Roku platform. But joining us right here on the program is my colleague from the NFL media group. Love sitting with him at the combine and the draft.

And he's doing the inside training camp series for NFL Network and NFL Plus. My friend Daniel Jeremiah back here on the program. How you doing, DJ?

I'm doing great, Rich. We're ready to go, man. We are ready to go, aren't we? So just to review, give me your itinerary so far this training camp season. Where you have been, so the folks know.

Sure. It was not a geographically friendly trip. So we started out in Los Angeles with the Chargers, then went to Indy for the Colts, then came back to California for the Cowboys, then out to see the Eagles and then the Steelers, and then got home from that trip yesterday around noon. And at 2 o'clock, I got in the car and went back up to the Chargers for their scrimmage last night to double up on them. So we've been on the move a little bit. Okay, so let me choose the Colts first. Why not?

Because they got a rookie quarterback and Jonathan Taylor still holding in. So first order of business, did you see Jerry Mercier's luxury bus? And was anybody on it at the time that you saw him? I was there that day. Well, look at you. All that stuff went down. Okay. I was right there. I was at the Warriors. All right.

I didn't even know that. I was just throwing a dart at a board and I hit the bullseye. So what happened that day from your perspective?

Walk me through. So, yeah, you've got the field in front of you. So imagine where I was towards the, maybe like right on the front of the goal line. And then the practice taking place, obviously, just a little bit, maybe at the 20-yard line to your right.

And then at the end of the goal line, there's maybe 15 yards. And then there's the bus parked. So you had Jonathan Taylor in the bus with Jim Irsay while the practice is going on. And word starts getting around social media that this meeting is taking place. And you look up in the stands, Rich, and there's a couple thousand people there. There were as many eyes on the bus as there were on the practice to see what the heck was going on there. So we all know what happened on the bus and what's happened since the bus. And the question I have for you is how do you think this is all going to wash out, Daniel?

Well, a couple sides to this thing. For me, on this whole running back debate, and I think, you know, you need to look at each of these cases individually in terms of does leverage exist? And after being there and watching this team and seeing Anthony Richardson, when we talk about him in a minute, I'm excited about his future and what he can do and what he can be. But I would make the case that Jonathan Taylor has the leverage more so than any of these running backs that have had issues with what's going on.

This is an offense when you go out there and watch them. I like Michael Pittman, Jr. I like Alex Pierce. They've got some big, you know, intriguing tight ends.

Jelani Woods is enormous, Mowalee Cox, you know, two good, solid players. When you line up to play the Colts, Rich, the guy that you fear, the guy that you game plan around, the guy that can beat you quickly is Jonathan Taylor. So just for his talent and where he is age wise and where he is in his career, and you figure these next, you've got to feel really good about what he can accomplish these next three years. And then you add into that the pressure he would take off your rookie quarterback. This is one where I'm not saying you cave and pay him Christian McCaffrey money, but I would sure as heck say, okay, here's the number of what would be the tag the next two years combined with what you're making now. And if I pay you an extra 10 million bucks over the top of that, I'd make him turn that down.

And then I would let everybody then go ask Jonathan Taylor the questions because right now, holding firm on what he's making, I think there's a strong case to be made. This is not the hill you want to die on. And then Zach Moss breaks his arm after you saw them. Right. So they have actually one fewer running back that's ready for week one. So why?

I don't get it. Like why? Why wouldn't they go ahead and adjust the contract? I mean, he's a walkier, so you can't sit here and look at the rest of the league and say, you know, we did something that's completely unprecedented. We've got a kid that used to, you know, two years ago was the best rusher, or at least the the the league's leading rusher and in in Jonathan Taylor. And we're paying them like I don't I don't understand. It's a total head scratcher.

Why are they taking the stance that they're apparently taking? Daniel? Yeah. And I mean, I guess it's one of those things to say, well, we don't have to write.

We don't have to pay him the way the rules are and the way this is set up and the way his contract is. Right. I think he's making what, four million this year. Correct. And so then you look at the tag, the next year would be 11, somewhere around there.

She's looking at a seven and a half average. To me, that'd be the best two and a half million, you know, per year that you spent. So, hey, we're going to give you an extra five million bucks on on each of these two years.

You know where you are. And we'll go ahead and give you a five million dollar sugar for not only being a great player. Rick, he's like one of the best guys on the team. Everybody loves him. Like he's a great teammate, all that stuff in the league, too. I look at.

Yes. And so look like Lane Johnson. Lane Johnson is a great example of a player who's who's a veteran. You know, it's a different he's at a different stage in his career, but somebody that's universally respected. Eagles don't have to give him more. They could have just played hardball with him with his current contract. But they recognize there's there's value inside the locker room with these types of things, too. It's more than just the money that you're given a guy. And this is someone at the running back. Look, if he was twenty nine years old, I get it.

You don't want to you don't want to try and extend yourself out. You could be on the decline. He's a twenty four year old. I know he missed some games last year.

I don't see that being as big of a concern over the next couple of years. To me, this one this one, I don't understand. It doesn't doesn't make sense.

All right. And then let's get into what Anthony Richardson looks like. He's a starter, right? They have all intention to start this kid week one against Jacksonville.

Yes, I would think so. I mean, he was getting a lot of reps with the ones. Minshew Minshew played fine. He was, you know, I think they'd be, you know, competitive with with Gardner Minshew.

I think they have one of the better backup situations in the league with him. But, you know, to me, it's with rookies. You get out to these rookie training camps and you see guys who just looked overwhelmed. They're like, OK, you can't like you just I think you've got a chance. But he's this is this is going really fast and he's swimming.

I didn't get that sense at all. You know, I think they've already started a lot of zone read stuff. So they'd be able to really incorporate his legs early as he's continuing to grow into the offense that they want to run there with Shane Steichen. But they can rely on his legs early. And then, you know, throwing the football. Rich, he's enormous.

He was about 250, 255 the day I was there. And it's hard to stand out on an NFL field. And and he does and he the ball jumps out of his hand and they can just train him a look at this point in your career. It's number one in the progressions there. Bam. Number two is there. Bam. Once we get to number two, you're running.

But just get out and go. You use your athleticism and we'll develop the rest of it later. So the huge upside that you and I were talking about in Indianapolis in February and early March, when this kid was spinning it at the combine is absolutely a still sky's the limit. From your perspective, just a couple of weeks in the training camp in August.

Yeah, no, I think you're you know, just let me give you a warning. Just be prepared that during the early part of the season, if people aren't dialed in and watching every snap of the Colts, you're going to have the pro Richardson crowd that's going to take two throws that he makes in a week. And and just say that the most unbelievable player I've ever seen. And you're going to have the anti Richardson crowd take two, you know, underneath throws that are, you know, maybe wildly inaccurate and try and paint him as another thing.

So if people are really dug in in their camps on this thing, you know, they can try and make their case either way. I would just say I think the kid's going to be really good. I think you've got to be patient with them in terms of what your expectations are. But he's not he's not physically overwhelmed. He's not medically or mentally or emotionally overwhelmed.

Put him out there, let him get going with some of the bumps and the bruises. But there'll be some highlights. I can guarantee that. Daniel, Jeremiah, my compadre from NFL Network in the middle of his training camp tour right here on the Rich Eisen show. Steelers look good based on your tweet that I saw over the weekend. I'll give you the floor on what you saw and how good you think Kenny Pickett can be in year two with a leap right in front of him.

Daniel. Yeah, I think it's going to be one of the more improved teams, you know, in the league. So when you look at them and you say, OK, the best way to, you know, the formula for winning in the NFL, great quarterback play and pass rush. You get T.J. Watt back healthy.

Alex Highsmith and him getting to play together all year long. You know what the numbers speak for themselves when T.J. Watt's out there, you know, for a full season. So I'm not the pass rush is going to be really good.

Then you look on the other side. They've made so many improvements along that offensive line. It looks like a totally different group. So they're in better shape there. Pickett gets a chance to get all the reps, which he didn't last year at this time. So he's just getting all this work in.

They're going to be able to run the ball better because of this offensive line. Rich, the tight end. I mean, Darnell Washington, he was listed in the 260. Rich, I've been doing this for 20 years and he's he's I promise you he's closer to 290 than he is to 260. He is enormous. He is enormous. He is not an ounce of fat on him. You talk about standing out at NFL Field. He's he's he's a he's a giant. And he was doing one on ones against T.J. Watt more than holding his own and pass protection.

Tom was right in the middle of it. He's going to be a real, real steal for them in the third round. But Pickett, you know, when you watch him, everything that Joe Burrow does well, I think are strengths for Kenny. Now, Kenny doesn't do all those quite to the Joe Burrow level, but he has all those same strengths. And, you know, with the group that they have in front of them, that's better. George Pickens has made highlight real catches every day.

He did when I was there as well. He's got a chance to be able to get one. I think it's you know, I think this team, people I saw somebody on TV that they debate, are they going to be the fourth team in the division? Like, I think they can win this division. Forget finishing in last place.

How about that? I mean, they did, as you know, finish strong last year. You always got to look at teams that finished strong to start equally as strong this year and pick. And Joey Porter's apparently having a terrific camp and Pickens, as you know, mossed him. But other than that, like that's the only video that's come out pretty much about Joey Porter Jr.

He looks good. They got the offensive line shored up, you know, as we all know, in the first round. And Najee Harris coming back. They are under the radar.

No question about that. The Pittsburgh Steelers. Can I give you can I give you a quick Tomlin story about how good this guy is? Which, by the way, shocks me sometimes when you when you tweet something or what do we X something? I don't recall anymore. But when you put something out there and then people push back, like, really, we're going to you're choosing to push back on Mike Tomlin being a good coach?

Is that what we're doing now? But I was talking to Porter and they had a scrimmage the night before I got there. Night scrimmage. I thought they'd be in helmets, you know, and just kind of doing a walk through it. They're full pads.

They're tackling to the ground. It was a physical practice. Porter's exhausted after afterwards. A chance to visit with him. And I said, hey, what did Tomlin what did Tomlin tell you guys before this practice?

I imagine you guys probably thought it wasn't going to be as heavy and as physical. He said he said two things that guys were going to find out today we're going to find out who loves football and who's comfortable being uncomfortable. And then that was it. And he did.

I'd love it. And I imagine he did find that out by the end of the practice. Mike Tomlin. It was it was energetic and competitive. It was a really it was a great practice to show you what kind of respect he has. I got a text because I had tweeted that out. I got a text from a head coach in the SEC saying, can you call me? I don't know what he wanted.

So I called him when I got back to my hotel. What's going on, coach? He goes, hey, what's Tomlin doing? You said it was really competitive.

How so? You know, what's what was he doing during practice? What was he saying? I'm like, this is this shows you how respected that guy is.

Daniel Jeremiah here on the Rich Eisen Show. How did the Eagles look to you? Deep. Full disclosure, I did most of our TV hits from the parking lot.

So I didn't get to see all the practice. That's why I love you. All right. They look deep. So so you're deep is what you're saying. You you were you were too deep from the field is what you're saying. OK. All right. Yeah.

No, I got a chance. I got a chance to do some some car scouting, by the way, if anybody ever wants to go to training camp and play a fun game. Just just get right outside the player's interest and try and guess who's in the car that drives that.

Well, you could guess who you could guess depending on how expensive they are and you know how and how and who might have just signed a contract. By the way, Jalen Hurts turns twenty five today. How about that? The kid was kid turns twenty five today coming off of that season last year. And I guess that's the general sense is that they got deeper and they they didn't appreciably change too much. You know, obviously they lost both coordinators. But I guess then let me ask you, what's your sense of the Eagles prior to the preseason beginning right now?

Yeah. I mean, I got a chance to visit I got a chance to visit with, you know, a bunch of personnel guys, coaches and players after practice to kind of take their temperature a little bit. And a couple of things that I came away, they said, you know, AJ Brown is so much more comfortable about how good he was last year. But the chemistry continues to grow with him and Hurts. And I think he's you know, there's another there's another level for him to reach.

Well, that's the secret sauce, isn't it, Daniel? I mean, that's that everybody keeps talking about the run game. But Hurts and Brown are are an elite A plus deep threat. And we're not even talking about the Heisman Trophy winner that runs like the wind on the other side of the field.

You know what I'm saying? So that that is pretty big. So I guess what else? What else did you glean from the personnel about about the run game with Miles Sanders now and in Carolina? I mean, De'Andre Swift was acquired on the third day of our draft coverage.

So what do you got for me on that front? Daniel? Yeah, Swift's going to catch the ball bunch. So they'll be able to get him out in the out in the formation. You'll see him line up in the slot, they'll split him out wide. It's not going to be just screens and checkdowns like you'll be a big part of the passing game. And then the rest of it's just going to be, you know, it's going to be a committee. You know, it's going to be probably not great for fantasy football because you're going to have Rashad Penny and Kenneth Gainewalt still has his role there. You've got Trey Sermon there, Boston Scott. I mean, they've got a lot of guys.

So it'll be kind of a committee approach from that standpoint. But in terms of, you know, being the being involved in a passing game, I think that's where you'll see De'Andre Swift be a big part of it. And you know, the forgotten guy there, Dallas Goddard's probably top five, you know, five, six, seven tight end in the NFL.

And that's that's just another, you know, he's another weapon that they can deploy. So they they are loaded their second string, look at their second string offensive line. There's, you know, two, three guys that will be starting for other teams. So they have a deep roster. They can absorb some injuries, you know, provided it's not the quarterback position.

Daniel Jeremiah here at the Rich Eisen Show microphone and the Move the Six podcast co-host right here on the program again. The Cowboys, Jerry Jones was telling the rest of the division to mind their p's and q's that Dallas is going to be improved. Is that just Jones bluster or can you back that up?

More meat on the bones there, Daniel? Yeah, I love the defense. I mean, I think defense got a chance to be one of the best in the league. They've got, you know, big time. Micah Parsons is a freak show.

I mean, you go to these camps and again, you're kind of looking for that that thing that jumps off the field. I mean, he's he they can't block him and he's wrecked the whole practice, probably had three sacks today. I was there in the backfield, disrupting almost every run play.

They had no answer for him. So he's the legit, legit, legit, legit defensive player of the year, dude. So that that's what the first thing that jumped out to me. But they're good up front. They've got linebackers that can really run. They've got some depth there in the secondary. It was nice to see.

It's cool to see. Sometimes guys need a little change of scenery. Billy Cooker, who just got paid, has been a really good fit for them. He had a pick the day I was there. He was making plays over the top. You know, Diggs is going to make his plays. So they've got a really, really good defense offensively.

Rich, I'll be honest with you. I'm a little concerned. It's not back. I know there's some back hate, I guess, out there that's not going to be the problem.

They need to get when I was there. You did not have your future Hall of Fame guard in the mix in Zach Martin. So you don't have him there. Tyron Smith, who's had a wonderful career, he did not look good the day I was there.

He just looks like he's really aged and struggled. And then with Zach out of the lineup, you know, you're taking a 6'8 backup, and Josh Ball putting him in at guard, and he's going to have a tough time hanging in there. And Terrence Steele's coming off injury, so he wasn't a full participant. So it was, to me, in the front, it was very lopsided when they were going against each other.

It was a very dominant group. Offensive line-wise, that would concern me. I love Brandon Cooks, the addition there, to be a deep threat over the top.

But in order to get the ball over the top, you got to be able to hold up and pass protection. So that offensive line, to me, is something I'm a little worried about. And Pollard's going to be able to be a bell cow, in a way, or do they need Zeke back in this mix?

Certainly with Ronald Jones suspended for two weeks, what do you got for me there? Yeah, maybe a regular cow. I don't know if I'd put the bell cow on him.

I don't think you want to give him, I don't even know what you call it. What do you call a regular cow, by the way? Just a regular cow. Yeah, a cow. Yeah, I think so. Yeah, that works.

Yeah, just a cow. No bell. No bell for him yet. So I think you don't want to overwhelm him with carries on his body.

I think that would be a law of diminishing returns with that. So they're going to have to spread the rest of those carries around. They like, you know, their coaching staff really likes Rico Dattel and Malik Davis. And you know, you got Deuce Vaughn, who's going to be a fun change-up option for them to throw out there. But yeah, I don't think that you just take these carries and dump them on Tony Pollard.

I don't think that's going to work. And then lastly, Daniel Jeremiah, since we just discussed the Cowboys, this is kind of connective tissue with the Los Angeles Chargers. What will the Kellen Moore coordinated offense look like for the freshly minted gazillionaire Justin Herbert?

What do you have for me on that front? Well, I, you know, it's an offense, I think the biggest thing for them, two issues last year. Everybody talks about, well, you couldn't, you know, you didn't get the ball down the field with explosive plates and that was kind of the knock on Mike Lombardi. And that's where, that's what you're kind of hoping was going to happen with Joe Lombardi, not our, not our former colleague, Mike Lombardi, with Joe Lombardi. So you had, that was the one concern and they didn't run the ball, they couldn't run the ball at all.

And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out those two are connected. So Rashawn Slater was not at the scrimmage last night. He was there when I was there earlier in camp, I think he just got a little bug or something. He'll be fine. But when he's out there and healthy, this offensive line, their front five is really good. And with Kellen Moore, I think they'll be able to, they'll be able to run the ball.

You'll see a lot of that outside zone and Austin Eckler's perfect for that setup. So I think they'll be able to run the ball, which is then going to allow them to push it down the field, which Kellen will do off play action and be on the move a little bit with Herbert. So I think it's got a chance to be a much more explosive group. And that's not, you know, it's not really a shot on Lombardi, they just, they weren't healthy up front along the offensive line last year, they couldn't run the ball.

And that's the, you know, that's going to be kind of the key to this thing. But I was there last night, Rich and Justin Herbert, you kind of forget last year that rib injury that he had against Kansas City, I believe it was week two, that he just played through and he played great, but that his legs were not a big part of his game last year. He was there last night and you've seen him take off and go and he's, you know, that's another level that he can get to when he can use his legs.

So it'll be an exciting group. The TCU receiver that ruined my new year, Quinton Johnson, he looks to be a difference maker as well. What do you think about him coming into this season on offense there, DJ? He's got big time, big time juice, big more, you know, it's one of the things about common, we love it. I have a great time with you.

We have a blast. You know, sometimes the 40 times don't match up, like he looks a heck of a lot faster than he timed. He gets on top just as you saw, you know, in college football. The first day I was out there, when he was out there, he gets on top of coverage. He gives him another, you know, power forward body out there with Mike Williams and Key and Allen. Josh Palmer's having a really good camp, so they've got four guys, legit dudes. He wasn't at the scrimmage last night. I think him and Bosa and Slater, I think might have had the same old bug, but no, he'll add another element to that.

I mean, they're power forwards, they're all 6'3", they're all huge. Yeah, I know. I have one last question for you, Daniel Jeremiah. I'm trying to figure out which one would be the best one to ask. So I've got the Hard Knocks executive producer, Ken Rogers, coming on in hour number three. What's your just two cents about the Jets with all the buzz surrounding them and everything about this season? What do you have for me on that? What's your concerns or you think that they're set? What do you got for me on that, Daniel? I mean, I don't know how you wouldn't be optimistic, you know?

Everybody's going to say the same thing. You've got to keep the offensive line healthy. I think, you know, people look and say, oh, you've got to keep Becton healthy and get him out there.

I mean, that'd be great. To me, the chess piece for this offensive line, you saw it last year, Elijah Veritucker. Because Veritucker can play tackle. You get a tackle, go out, he can bump out there, he'll be fine. You know, he'd be an awesome guard. To me, that's like if you want to put somebody in bubble wrap on the Jets, I don't think many people would think of that one.

But that's the one that keep Elijah Veritucker healthy. And you know, Rogers is happy. Talk to folks in the building and it's been awesome.

You know, the feedback, the communication has been excellent. So I don't worry about them there. And then defensive line wise, they're, you know, gosh, they're going to probably carry 10 guys again. They're really, really deep and loaded. So I know, I don't know the phrase you use, Rich, where you say like you step on the banana peel or you're waiting for the bad news to happen.

Oh, don't worry, Daniel, I've got a, I could do a top 10 list of all of those sort of analogies from my 54 years of being a New York Jet fan. You know, we've got all of them. So yeah, don't worry about that.

I can help you with that. I think I, let's just, whatever wood you've got, knock on it. But it's exciting. I know that. It's exciting.

It's going to be fun to watch. All right. And then just as a, an omnibus, four quarterbacks for the Niners, three. And if it's three, who are the three and in what order? Your guess. Daniel, Jeremiah, give it to me.

Yeah. My guess would be, I think Purdie's the starter, I don't think there's any debate there. And then I'll guess and say that Darnold ends up being the two and then I'll be fascinated with Trey. And I'm still, I love Trey coming out.

I love Trey now. Let me just give you one, just like file this. This is with no insider information, but just looking at all these rosters and looking at teams. Yes, sir. The Atlanta Falcons, if Ritter's not working and you've kind of designed this offense with, you know, with Bijan Robinson and Al Gier, and you know what Arthur Smith, how he loves to run the football. I wouldn't mind seeing it if, shoot, if the 49ers don't, you know, if they're a little down on Trey Lance and then somehow it doesn't work out in Atlanta, I wouldn't mind that marriage to give that a whirl. Okay. So he would be, for the lack of a better analogy, the Tannehill of that offense, because that's where Arthur Smith came from.

So that's what you love. Yeah. I don't see why he couldn't do that and do that at a pretty high level. He needs to play. Trey Lance, I mean, I still believe in the guy's talent, he just needs to get a chance to play. He hasn't had a chance to play. Mm-hmm. It doesn't look like he's going to get it either this year from what you just said. They wound up 300 depth track. They love Purdie.

And by all accounts, he's played really well coming off this injury, so. Nice nugget out the door. Greatly appreciate it.

Thank you, Daniel Jeremiah. Greatly appreciate it. Appreciate you, buddy. You're the best, man. At Move the Sticks.

Check him out on Charges Radio, obviously, NFL Network, NFL Media Group, NFL Plus, let's not forget that, and then of course his podcast, Move the Sticks with Bucky Brooks, DJ, right here on The Rich Eisen Show. Wow. Lots to download from that and we'll take a break and we will do that when we come back and then your phone calls, 844-204-RICH, number to dial, Ken Rogers, the executive producer of Hard Knocks, top of the next hour and next hour as well, a little bit of overreaction Monday as well. Look, every person and every night's different, but no matter who you are, you want to live up to your full potential. And when you sleep on a Sleep Number Smart Bed, quality sleep makes it easier to reach your unique potential no matter what each night brings. You know when you wake up after a bad night's sleep, you are not yourself. That does not happen with Sleep Number. My Sleep Number setting is 60, my wife's is 70, just 10 numbers apart, but it is the world of difference, especially because couples can choose their ideal firmness, comfort and support on each side of the bed, so it's perfect for both of you. Go for it, folks.

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Drink AG1.com slash eisen. Put your hands together for the most recent Heisman Trophy winner, Kyler Murray. Where is that trophy right now? I sleep next to it. It's on your nightstand? Yeah. So it's good morning Heisman every day? Yeah, it's tight. Seriously, it's right there next to, like there's a night table next to Kyler Murray's bed and the Heisman Trophy is resting. Yes, sir.

That's amazing. Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night and you've had it in your arms like you've been spooning? No, there's no spooning. There's no Heisman spooning? By the way, I would absolutely spoon with the Heisman if I won the Heisman. Now taking part in the Rich Eisen Show Throw Challenge, Kyler Murray, is this the first NFL Duke ball that you've thrown? That's an NFL. Oh my God.

You won't even answer that. Wow. Go for it, Kyler.

Go for it. That's one, that's two, Kyler Murray, three, by the way, that's four, those are all Duke NFL footballs. Just wanted everyone to know that. First overall pick. First overall pick. That's four, that's five, these are the footballs Kurt Warner complained about, that's six, that's seven, that's, oh my goodness, let's get some, here we go, keep going, you got one more? This is getting bad. Here we go, no, it's getting bad, you got seven for first seven, good enough, seven out of ten, Kyler Murray, good to see you, man, congratulations, you won the Heisman and it seems the Rich Eisen throwing contest in the same year, that's a first. No one could ever take that away from you. Happy 26th birthday to Kyler Murray, back here on the Rich Eisen Show radio network, I'm sitting at the Rich Eisen Show desk furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions for every industry.

Grainger is the right product for you, call clickrainger.com or just stop by. That's quite the nugget from Daniel Jeremiah out the door. Keep an eye on the Atlanta Falcons. A theory, not a nugget, I mean, he says based on zero inside information. I understand it's based on zero inside information, but Daniel's ear is directly to the ground. He just walks around with his ear. He does, it's really wild, I've seen him do it, it's kind of crazy. Keeps it grinding, keeps it grinding in his pocket. He asks me to hold him like a metal detector, that's how I walk him around the combine.

He's listening for gold underneath the grounds. Keep an eye on Desmond Ritter's ability to play and then they'll get through the season with Taylor Heinecke and go get Trey Lance. When's the trade deadline this year? I don't know. Well, I imagine it's October since that was the month that was associated with an exclamation point from Jim Erce to Albert Breer about when they, by when they would definitely not be trading Jonathan Taylor.

October 31st, 4 p.m. Eastern. And how about him saying Jonathan Taylor, he feels is the most leverage of anybody out there. Now that was interesting. On the running back front, like good luck. Good luck with Deon Jackson and Anthony Richardson and Alec Pierce and Michael Pittman and Mo Ali Cox.

Best of luck. I don't know, I just don't, that's the thing too with these runners, they're turning some of the nicest guys, Austin Eckler, Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, turning them into total a-holes. Unless, of course, you're Mark Schlereth and he's just like shut up and play, stop zooming and get out there, run the, run the football.

See Kareem Hunt's showing up to New Orleans with Alvin Kamara suspended for the first three games of the season. Is that what's happening? Like you just sit ATC until all of a sudden somebody gets hurt or suspended and then you'll go there just because they need you for at least two, three weeks and then what? Then what? Then you don't do anything? You play well enough to keep a job. Or then they send you home? I don't know.

If you ball out, they won't send you home. You know? How about the Cowboys?

They kind of like a whole, like, they like a bunch of the guys. And Tony Pollard's just the cow, not the bell cow, because he's not, that's not, that's not his deal. Yeah, that was a little worrying when he broke that down, but it was not worrying because that's what I've been saying since the day that Zeke got released. And Zach Martin is just going to be like, go for it. That's the one that really... You put him six foot eight guard while I'll just sit at home and, you know, get ready for my gold jacket one day.

That's the one that really makes no sense to me is him because like you said, Tyron going to the Hall of Fame, but yet, you know, he's been playing since he was 19. It takes a physical toll. And so the bottom line is just like, all these teams are just like, then don't play. Until what? Then you make a miss one or two games and then you'll be like, Uncle, come in.

We got you. You know? Again, these are all stories the Monday before preseason games hit. And did you see Trevor Lawrence is going to be playing? And then the whole thing that happened over the weekend about Jordan Love.

Did you see? I mean, all of a sudden Adam Scheinman, he said on CBS or sports and him saying that this guy can't play football essentially. I read Matt Scheinman, our buddy from the athletic who covers the pack, just saying that, you know, he wasn't spectacular. Right. And then Adam picked up on that.

But then he had a nice 30 yard touchdown pass and in the two minute offense. I mean, this whole business of talking in absolutes, we haven't played any preseason games yet. I can't. I just calm down. I try to stay away from the absolutes. And again, could you imagine Twitter or the topic bar world and the conversation world that we live in right now existed when Trent Green got hurt?

Do you know how if freezing cold takes existed in 1999? What a treasure trove about the guy who sits two seats to my left every single Sunday morning. You know? Yeah. That's why, you know, NFL is the ultimate. The Tom Brady. You never know. That's him, Kurt Warner, keep going.

Never know. And I'm not saying, you know, Jordan Love is either of those guys. The problem for Jordan Love essentially is Packers fans have had the remarkable 30 year run of first ballot Hall of Fame quarterbacking. Thirty years of Hall of Fame quarterbacking, one to the next. And now Jordan Love is the guy after, you know, I always say you don't want to be the guy after the guy. Aaron Rodgers disproved that.

But I guess you don't want to be the guy after the two guys. In a row. In a row. Back to back. In a row. You know, the Colts were kind of in a similar situation going from Peyton Manning to Andrew Luck, who was great right away.

And then now the last five years, they've just been searching. But if Andrew Luck had kept playing and had the same scenario. It would have been similar, yeah. Well, I mean, he was four and four in his playoff career and had the misfortune. He would have kept banging his head against the Tom Brady ceiling like the rest of most of the AFC quarterbacks, with the exception of Peyton Manning and Big Ben and Flacco Flacco one time.

That's it. You would have. Maybe Luck could have snuck into the Flacco role potentially.

We got to assume it. If Andrew would still be playing. I mean, he'd be in year 12 right now and having an opportunity to take the Colts. You know, maybe there isn't an issue with Jonathan Taylor here. Well, because he could. He would have been the one player to knock on the on the luxury bus door and say, hey, can I be part of this chat? Right.

Hey, maybe you take a little bit of me and give it to him and let's figure this out. The fact that the Colts will not do what Daniel Jeremiah said, which is, OK, you're making four this year. Hear us out. Next year's tag is 11.

Put it together. That's 15. What if we gave you two years extension starting right now? Two years.

What would this be? Twenty four million dollars. OK, so we'll give you eight more. Yeah. Yeah. Eight more this year. And then a little bit more than the franchise next.

And then we'll talk about what you look like from now from there on out for twenty five. Yeah. Again.

Right. The franchise tag will be more than 12 by that point in time. Then we could see how this goes right now.

We don't have to do this, but we're willing to do it just for you. Let's get out on the field. And again, he might be wanting a three, four year extension. He might want the Cole Komet four year, 50 million.

And then they'll be like, get out of here. So again, that's what Joe Shane was saying when he was on the show, the GM of the Giants last week. He's like, I know what I offered. I know what he wanted.

I'm at peace. We're good. And we need those extra couple of million dollars in case we need to sign somebody in the middle of the season. And, you know, the push back to that isn't what I'm taking out of the high to your quarterback.

Why do you got to take it to hide out of the high? Like, why are you making this stand on your best player? Who the locker room loves and your fan base loves.

Why are you taking this stand? Why are you counting your million here, million there at the expense of your running back? And the Colts are in a better position than the Giants are because they have a rookie quarterback who they're obviously plan on starting week one. Exactly. And this is the same organization that told the quarterback who retired and that's as well well within his rights.

Keep the 25. We don't need to take that back from you. Like the GM couldn't have used that money.

That's why, again, this doesn't make sense to me. You know, let's go to Charlie in Denver. You're here in the Rich Eisen Show. What's up, Charlie? Hey, Rich. Thanks for having me.

Love the show. Thanks, pal. Just wanted to circle back on the conference realignment. I have this crazy idea. It might be too crazy. You tell me, would a FIFA style relegation promotion system not work for the NCAA if we had four 16 team conferences and then a sub conference for each one?

You know, I get it. I think that's what's going to end up having to get together at some point. You know, this realignment that's taken place and thanks for the call. All that's left is what happens with the ACC, can Florida State and Clemson, could the jewels of the ACC, with all due respect to the other schools I didn't just mention and yours, Chris, can those get poached by the SEC, the Big Ten or whatever the Big 12 is going to call themselves or they just stay put?

That's the question. And Notre Dame. Who else is out there, right? No one's going to poach from the SEC or the Big Ten or the Big 12. And what's left, if you will, of the Mountain West and AAC and PAC 4 is not, I think, other than maybe the two schools, Stanford and Cal together might be of interest to some others sitting there in San Francisco, the large market of San Francisco and academics as well. So you know, if that matters.

So that, who else is out there? So if, if those are, that's, that's it. So once that all comes together, now you've got three super conferences. And the question is, is does the NIL and paying of players, which Jay Billis is saying based on the court system is going to happen. The NCAA and the schools are going to lose the case of restraint of trade on players, if they're holding down them being paid. He's basically, you know, he said the Supreme Court has laid it out and that the court systems are going to win this case. So when that all happens, and now it's a free for all of I've got to pay this recruit 15 mil, a deck recruit 12 mil and whatever, and it starts going absolutely haywire and there's no rules similar to the fact that the NIL has no rules, then everyone's going to get together and try and create their own super league with their own rules and their contracts and whatever. And then that, then that'll be that. I have no idea when that happens. But the whole idea of like, let's currently set this up right now, that ain't happening until it's forced.

And the way that everything's going right now is the way clearly these schools want it. Four phone calls, 844-204-rich, number dial on the program right here on the show, Ken Rogers of Hard Knocks coming up, overreaction Monday after him. Are you currently enjoying the show on the Stitcher app? Then you need to know Stitcher is going away on August 29th.

Yep, going away as in kaput, gone, dead, rest in peace Stitcher. And thanks for 15 years of service to the podcast community. So switch to another podcast app and follow this show there, Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen. It's time for kickoff and the Believe podcast will get you ready for the new season. How do you live through this as a Detroit sports fan? Believe has podcasts covering all 32 professional teams and many of your favorite college teams too. You slid it by your defense.

You got better. Sideline to sideline, end zone to end zone. If you don't do those things, then you're not even trying your hardest to win at football and I don't know what we're doing. There was a lot of great players on those teams that I was fortunate to be part of.

Search BLEAV podcasts wherever you listen. Okay, back here on our program. So I did have a moment in Canton where I stepped up and predictably had the OH yelled at me at the podium. Yeah, can we get into how the jacket dinner went? By the way, the jacket dinner is one of the most special events that nobody sees. You know, the network used to broadcast it.

We don't anymore for whatever reason. That's above my flow chart, but it is special. And they added a real special aspect of it that the jacket gets put on by a member of the Hall of Fame as selected by a member, the person going in. Now normally it was always the whoever presents on Saturday does it, but to switch it up on Friday night.

Now they ask the whole, the enshrining, who do you want for who's returning to put the jacket on you? DeMarcus Ware chose Strahan. That's cool.

Yes. And Zach Thomas chose Jerome Bettis and you could see some of the Browns fans going, yeah, Joe. What?

Who? And Joe Thomas said that he just loved Bettis's style and what he stood for and how great he was and chose him. That's neat.

It sure is. And Zach Thomas chose Jimmy Johnson, who also I think presented him because Jimmy drafted him. Jimmy, not in the Hall of Fame. Jimmy Johnson is in the Hall of Fame. He's not in the Dallas Ring of Honor, which is just, well, that's just another whole ball of wax. I mean, when are we going to finally get over that? As a Cowboys fan? Oh, and on the 40th anniversary of that? As a Cowboys fan, you're never going to get over that, okay?

Because that's the difference between us having two more trophies or not. So if they just kind of worked it out, Rich. I know, right? I got it. I hear you.

Back here on the Rich Eisen Show, 844-204-Rich is the number to dial. A lot of college football on the brain today, huh? The coaches have chimed in. You see the first coach's poll?

I did. Georgia's number one. Looks good. And then there's Michigan, too, above Alabama. Okay. That's shocked.

How about this? Ohio State's fourth, but they got a first place, so yeah, Michigan didn't get any first place votes. Yeah. Okay, whatever.

LSU, then USC, then Penn State, Florida State, Clemson, and Tennessee. Yes, indeed. That's great. Okay. I was looking at the top 12. It might be a good discussion, like which of those 12 don't make it? Because you know, we're going to... Got it. We're going to 12 next year, but I mean, which of those 12? This year, I know. There's one last one of the four.

Yeah. And by the way, you know, the realignment with the Big Ten, I don't think folks realize that the Big Ten is going to a one big mosh pit of a standings, like the Big 12. So no split divisions. So that's not like, you know, the winner of the toughest division faces the winner of the much less competitive division, and then the Big Ten championship is... That's out? That's going to be out.

Starting this year? Or... I believe it's next. Okay. And...

When you at USC and UCLA... Right. It's just the mere 16 teams before the 18 come in. I don't know how you could do it with the 18. You're still going to... You have to split it. I don't know.

But the problem with that is, you know what that is? I don't think a lot of people realize this, is that it's entirely possible that Michigan and Ohio State in late November is for nothing except pride. You don't want to really lose to each other, but you don't really want to show them everything you have, because you know you're already facing each other, win or lose, in the championship game. If you guys have won two. That's the way it's been pretty... Right.

And this is not a brag of any sort. Sure, sure, sure. That's the way it is a lot of years, where it's like, this is now for the right to go play for the Big Ten championship game, and for the right to have standing with the committee that meets every single week to put you in the Final Four if you win your championship game.

And if there's 12 getting in, both are most likely going to get in to the big playoff. The only question is, do you get to host a game or not? And that will be of significance. Buy?

Are you going to buy? Buy or not, or hosting a game or not. And that level of significance will be sacrificed on the altar of the game. Being played at full strength might rest players against each other in the big house or the horseshoe because you got a following week's importance. Like Blake Coram sure as hell wasn't going to play in the horseshoe this past year. This is the new world order of college football.

That's what I'm saying. The playoff and the money matter more than your rivalry. I'm just wondering if we're complaining about, or at least I'm complaining about it right now, in the same way that a lot of folks are saying, playoffs are going to ruin college football anyway, because the do or die aspect to every Saturday will be gone. When we went to school, it was all about, you better stay undefeated. You lose one game, you're out. Pretty much.

Or if you're going to lose, lose early. And a lot of people thought, right. And a lot of people thought, well, that's the way college football is being played, but it's now ruined. And then we saw the college football playoff, even with that focaccia of BCS, which I thought stunk, even though I know you keep pointing out the math and the slide ruling and all of that stuff that I, I remember Brad Edwards used to do a segment on ESPN all the time.

You know, like the nutty professor and like, okay, well, I trust you. They're the best teams. Remember the one year Alabama lost, like the week, and then still made it. So but this one's different, I feel like it's entirely possible. It's different.

D game. It's different for you. What do you mean?

It's different for you. Because that game matters much more to you. Well, it matters to a lot of the, I mean, the ratings show, rest of the country kind of digs it too. Well, it's kind of the biggest game of the weekend, so everyone watches. Or the year.

Game Boy. Oh, it would be, it would be if Alabama and Georgia played each other. They do play the next week. Uh huh. Right.

Okay. But this one's on the schedule every year, and this one is now going to be potentially cannibalized by the manner in which the Big Ten is choosing who makes their championship game. But would you rather win that game or a playoff game? Well, I'd rather, you know, well, I will go to my mortal coil, I will shuffle off this mortal coil, sir, saying I want to win that game, period. But you know, if it's more important to beat them the following week. Or two weeks down the line, or, you know, Oh my God, that's coming. You better get used to it.

Ken Rogers, the executive producer of Hard Knocks and Overreaction Monday coming up. And that's kind of what Jay's talking about. It's the new world we're in for, like, rivalries. See ya. Yeah. That stuff's over. Better or worse? I don't know.

I guess we'll see. The rivalries aren't over. It's just the way in which we grew up watching college football. But some of them, if they're in different conferences now, they're not going to play each other.

I mean, USC in Oregon, UCLA in Washington is a Big Ten game. Right. That is now. Yeah, that's right. Now, for us, it'll be that'll be weird. But those four are definitely going to play each other every year because it's geographically sound to do it.

So then who do you add to that? That's why I said Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin are the ones. Makes sense geographically. Not going to have UCI play Rutgers every year. But is it fair to make Nebraska and Washington get on a plane for each other when Michigan can bus to Michigan State every year? You know, potentially Ohio State bus to, I don't know, they probably don't get on a bus to go anywhere else, but an hour long flight to Penn State? New Jersey to Penn State, Maryland to New Jersey?

Also getting to some of these places is going to be pretty difficult. I guess you're chartering now. They got the money. The official airline of the Big 20. Somebody's going to sign up for that. For over three decades, nobody has had a wrestling career like Arn Anderson.

Conrad Thompson gets all the stories with Arn. After watching AEW's Double or Nothing, Amy wants to know, what's this dinosaur taste like? It ain't chicken. It's like biting into a sinewy charcoal briquette. But chewy. Like your own. That's disgusting. It sure is. And check out Arn every week, wherever you listen.