The Knicks and Raptors make a surprising deal

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Find out how to bring your ideas to life at dell.com slash welcome to now. And now, sitting in for Rich, it's Dan Schwartzman. It is hour number three of the Rich Eisen Show on New Year's Day Monday. A lot of NFL Talk hour one. Eagles, are they phonies? Ravens, have they established themselves far and away as the best team in the NFL? College Football Talk, the playoffs begin today.

Kickoff in three hours, Rose Bowl, Alabama and Michigan, then it's the Sugar Bowl and that's Washington versus Texas. But the NBA season rolls along, the trade went down this weekend involving the Knicks and the Raptors and came out of left field and surprised a lot of people, especially in New York. Was it a good deal for the Knicks or a better deal for the Raptors? And by the way, the Knicks are suing the Raptors in something completely separate, as hilarious as that sounds.

Let's get more details. Steve Ashburner, senior writer, NBA.com. Joining us, Steve, Happy New Year to you and the family. I cannot believe it's 2024 and it got off to a bang if you're a Knicks fan with a big trade. They shipped RJ Barrett, they shipped Quigley as a fan favorite and the big prize coming back from Toronto, OJ Onunobi.

I hope I pronounced it correctly, I probably didn't. Did the Knicks do well in this deal or did Toronto do well in your mind? Hi Dan, thanks for having me on. Yeah, they may want to amend that lawsuit to advert some damages for this trade. I happen to like this deal from the Raptors side of it.

I think they have two useful parts. Quigley is an intriguing player, I don't believe his potential has been fully tapped yet. He's got a great energy about him and I think can be a really valuable six-man type of player for the most part. RJ Barrett, this is a reset button for him in my opinion. He goes to Canada which is a home for him and I think a change of scenery could do him a lot of good in fact.

OJ Onunobi, Onunobi is the way I understand it to be pronounced. He's a nice piece. He's a perennial, all defense type of player.

His offense comes and goes. If this is going to pay off for the Knicks long term, because he's a guy that's got to be signed again in the offseason and his salary may double, if it's going to pay off for the Knicks it's going to have to be number one of a one-two punch. It's going to, in my opinion, require another shoe to drop in terms of moves. I thought Barrett and Quigley and a few of the other players on that Knicks roster, they're there to sort of balance out quality by providing quantity to the teams that you enter into deals with. In this case, Toronto gets two guys for one and that's how New York can add some stars or near stars.

Now two of those pieces, two of those chips are gone. You can say they didn't give up draft capital but I don't think there's many fans in New York that get more excited about draft capital than they do what's on the floor at any given moment. I know Tom Thibodeau does not particularly value draft capital as coaches really shouldn't. Their future is right now.

Fellow players, what do they care about high draft picks down the road? That's just somebody who might replace them. So I think New York is a team that perennially should be trying to compete right now and OG Ananobie is, as I said, a piece but not nearly enough. He's not a shooter. They need shooting. They need more offense and we'll see. Maybe by the trade deadline they can bring that other player to them. Steve, I don't disagree with you in terms of the fact that maybe the Knicks should have brought back more. When people talked about Quigley and they talked about R.J. Barrett, the thought was maybe you get a Donovan Mitchell type, more of a star, more of an offensive fire guy than what they brought back from Toronto.

That said, though, you kind of wonder, though, don't you, Steve, if Leon Rose just felt he had to make some sort of a deal? This team's languishing right around that.500 mark. The defense has been awful. They give him a ton of points. Barrett has never developed a shot.

He's always been kind of an inconsistent shooter, maddeningly so, by the way, considering some thought he could be the best player to come out of that draft because he was probably the top talent going into college the year that he went in. So maybe Leon Rose, Steve, felt that at some point he just had to make a deal. Do you kind of look at it that way?

Well, I really hadn't, but, I mean, that's certainly an arguable point. I just think that that's maybe one of the worst reasons to make a deal is because you just feel like you have to do something. And, you know, now I've read, I don't fully grasp the agency elements to this, the fact that Leon Rose and Tom Thibodeaux and other players in there that are all represented by the same agents or agency, that somehow having more of those people, more of those clients of the same firm will translate into on the floor success.

I don't see it. There might be a comfort factor in your hanging around people you know, and you're negotiating with people you know, but that doesn't end up, you know, where the fans care about it the most. So maybe it was a deal for a deal's sake, but I'd hate to think that they've resorted to that. And, you know, certainly with, you know, a month and a half before the trade deadline, I would think you'd want to just keep your powder dry until you know what really is out there. Why do you think that? Stephen, I agree with you, but you know, on social media, fans are saying, why do we have all this draft capital?

Why are we stockpiling this? We've let this guy go elsewhere. We've let that guy go elsewhere.

Yes, Jalen Brunson was a great free agent signing, really an incredible free agent signing. But in terms of deals made by Leon Rose, it's seeming he's getting all these assets to make that blockbuster deal. And every time a player becomes available, right? Mitchell becomes available. He goes elsewhere. Cleveland jumps in and grabs him. It just seems that the Knicks are always the runner up, right? They're always in that conversation of, well, if this guy becomes available, Leon Rose has the ability to get him because he's got these players.

And in the end, he doesn't. So maybe people felt that he was a little gun-shy when it came to pulling the trigger on some deals, because the reality is he really wasn't making a lot of deals, and he was stockpiling picks, people believe, to be able to pull off that deal. That's why I threw that out there potentially, because there was a frustration setting in with the fan base, because he wasn't making those types of moves.

So I hope that's not the reason, as you said, Steve, because that would be a terrible reason to make a deal, but who knows with what the thinking is. Now, quickly, Steve, the Pistons, congratulations, I guess they snapped the 28 game losing streak. We discussed this last week on the show extensively in terms of, you know, you have Cade Cunningham, he's pretty good, there's some young talent on that team, Monty Williams is one elsewhere, was successful with Phoenix. How do you lose 28 in a row when you're not trying to? The Sixers at least are trying to lose in tank Adelphia. How do you lose 28 in a row in today's NBA like that?

Yeah, it's not easy. I mean, the schedule itself should provide you with a victory now and then, right? I mean, the other teams coming off a back to back, you've had rest. They've got young legs, their roster, I guess, probably has too much youth and not enough experience. They don't have solid veterans in that locker room, particularly in the early part of the year when Bohan Bogdanovich was injured. You know, so he wasn't a factor and so they just had a bunch of young kids trying to feel their way themselves.

I don't understand. I mean, it was enough to make me think that Monty Williams was trying to impart some sort of a lesson like tough love with young guys and, you know, you're gonna see how hard it is to work things out in this league. But this went well beyond any particular road trip where you might pull a stunt like that for a team that isn't going anywhere.

This is embarrassing on a historical stage. So, yeah, I was caught totally unaware for this losing streak to happen. I've chronicle, I write a weekly ranking of NBA rookies and I've done this for several years, so I was writing about Cade Cunningham when he was a rookie. I've been writing about Jalen Duran and Jaden Ivey when they were rookies. I'm writing about Asar Thompson, you know, this year and Stasser as rookies. And I look at those guys and I see the talent there.

So the fact that that group would combine to lose at a rate that nobody has ever lost at in this league, it just didn't make sense. I start to wonder now what sort of PTSD they're going to be suffering. I mean, this is going to be a burden to bear, I think, for carrying around that record. I wonder how resilient young guys can be when they've been exposed to this, getting pounded and pounded and pounded and, you know, do their priorities sort of shift elsewhere? Is it self-preservation? I've got to make sure my career is okay.

I've got to see if I can go somewhere else. It does not build great team camaraderie. I mean, yeah, there is a sense of we're in this trench together, but there's a point where people start to flee.

And some run this way, some run that way. I just think it's a bad situation that needed to be headed off in some sort of way. The only guy who benefited from all of this, probably Dwayne Casey, who got relieved of his coaching duties before this season. And he's probably really grateful that he hasn't been the guy on the hot seat. NBA.com, Steve Ashburner joining us here on the Rich Eisen Show. Dan Schwartzman in for Rich on this New Year's Day Monday. That said, though, Monty Williams yesterday bringing in veteran Brian Adams as an assistant coach. You don't hear of guys bringing in assistant coaches mid-season.

How hot of a seat is Monty on after this streak? Well, I mean, that's the reason he got that incredible deal. It was like $13 million a year that averages for six years. He got ultimate in job security as far as too big a contract to buy out or pay off at this early stage of it.

So, you know, he got insurance for that. But, boy, he and management are going to have to be pretty satisfied that they see even baby steps toward getting out of this. We talked to Asar Thompson last week, and he was the conviction that if we win one, we'll win a bunch more.

Now, a bunch could be three or four in the next month. But you break this dark cloud, you pierce through that that's hanging over the team. They will have learned something now by their victory over Toronto. I don't know. That was a pretty close game. I'd like to see Detroit blow somebody out by 10 points before I'm going to put any confidence in their ability to win more than a blue moon.

And so, yeah, my name's got his work cut out for him. Nobody's going to feel sorry for him. Who knows? I mean, with these owners these days, there's no salary cap on coaches. Never has been. These owners are billionaires. And they may look at an $80 million contract and say, yeah, we've got to make the change now.

That's sunk money. We're not going to ride this all the way down. But I think it's highly unlikely at this early stage that Williams is in trouble.

You're right. But fans get restless. And when you're pulling off 28 game losing streaks, the fans don't care how much a coach is still owed. They want results and they want to see the organization going the right direction. Yeah, they want to go up above Monty Williams, though. They want Troy Weaver. And they want him held accountable, the general manager. They want the owner held accountable, which of course only the owner can. So that's asking a lot. But I don't think the fans would be fooled right now by just blowing out Monty Williams and bringing in somebody else.

And everything else stays the same. No, clearly a lot of, yeah, a lot of issues there in Detroit. Let's move on to Golden State, Steve. A lot of issues there as well.

They're 15 and 17. Touche loss is at home here. They're sitting in 11th place in the Western Conference. Injuries have played a factor. Draymond Green's emotions have played a factor as well.

But an age. I mean, they're an aging group at this point. But is Steve Kerr's message potentially getting stale at this point? Look, Joe Torre was a great manager of the Yankees, but at some point all good things come to an end. Are we seeing that with Steve Kerr?

You know, that's not a bad point. I mean, they're very good coaches who, even in their prime in terms of clicking with their teams, you know, have talked about the shelf life for a coach. And some say it's five years. Some say it's seven years. Either one, you know, Steve Kerr has been there as long or longer.

So, you know, that's possible. I think that could be a contributing factor. But the other things you mentioned, Draymond Green's nonsense and just the core that's aging sort of beyond its championship contention possibilities.

I think those are probably more pertinent. And the fact that we're seeing payoffs for losing in the past and stockpiling of draft picks and maturation and development of younger players in other teams in the Western Conference. I think the competition's gotten tougher for Golden State. So, I think what they're experiencing is pretty familiar across pro sports. And then you factor in that they haven't had, you know, a great drafting situation. I mean, Jonathan Kaminga should be paying off more than he is at this point. James Weissman was a blown pick, apparently, based on how quickly they moved on from him. So, if you're not constantly backfilling, no matter how good you are, it gets harder to prop up, you know, that same old group again and again and again. But if you're Steve Kerr, you look at Greg Popovich, and while they're struggling there in San Antonio, he's got his golden goose, right?

He had David Robinson, then he had Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, that whole group of talent. Now he's got himself the golden goose with Wembley, right? He can look at that and say, hey, this is a reason to stick around because I can win with this guy.

This is my next act. If you are Steve Kerr, though, the window's closing and there doesn't seem to be that guy that reopens it on that roster, right? Do you wonder for his sake if he's got to start thinking about what's best for him and his legacy? Does he stick around for a potential rebuild without having that one guy that potentially he can rebuild around a young guy?

Or does he say, maybe it's time for another show here and let me move on to another situation? Well, we have seen plenty of good coaches that don't want to endure a rebuild. And, you know, either they retire or they end up, you know, getting out of their contract or just moving on. You know, and maybe there's a draft pick that goes as compensation to a team like, you know, when Doc Rivers has changed teams.

You know, but I don't know. I don't think it's a legacy as much as how he wants to spend his days. You know, Steve Kerr's legacy is fine. He's going to end up as a Hall of Famer now, where based on his playing career, as much success as he had, that wasn't going to happen. He'll be in the Hall of Fame, you know, with his coaching added to all of that. But, you know, how does he want to spend next season and the season after that? And does he want to be there to shake guys' hands on their way out, you know, and still be hanging around after that?

Yeah, I don't know. I mean, you know, Greg Popovich is the exception. I mean, Bill Belichick only got Tom Brady. And if you take him away, you know, look at Belichick's record. Greg Popovich has replenished these guys, you know, time after time and has ridden them, you know, for what, 15 to 20 year Hall of Fame careers. I mean, he could probably do that with Wim Benyama if he wanted to stick around until he was in his late 80s.

No, Popovich, I mean. But that's rare. And I think that there's a reason that, you know, coaches end up getting, well, there are many reasons, I guess, why coaches end up getting fired. But one of them is this sort of useful life and connection with a group of players.

And how often can you replicate that? No, you're right. And I think a classic example is really Andy Reid, right? He had it with Donovan McNabb in Philly. Had a nice 14 year run there. Didn't win anything, though, in terms of a Super Bowl. Goes to Kansas City.

Wow. Patrick Mahomes falls to him and look what happens. He looks ahead and says, I'm getting older, but I can do this for another 10 years, win 12 games a year and maybe a couple of more Super Bowls riding with Mahomes. And I think for Popovich, she sees the same thing with Wimby saying, it's not like I'm sticking around and sure, we're not winning anything this year, but I build around this one guy who is potentially a unicorn. We're back to being the Spurs of 60 wins, championships here and there. And at least there's that to look forward to. And I don't think, obviously, when it comes down to it with Steve Kerr, he sees that.

Last thing, Steve, real quick. If you had to say right now who the best team in the league is, who are you going with? The Boston Celtics. I think they've got the talent. I think they've got the depth. I think they've got the experience. And they certainly have the ambition, having gotten to the finals a couple of years back and feeling that they've had that window open now for a couple of years.

And this is the time to really strike. They got Porzingis. That was a huge acquisition. And then they go and add a highly valuable player from their chief competition in the East, which was Drew Holliday from the Milwaukee Bucks. Yeah, the Bucks got Damian Lillard, but as a two-way player, most people would take Drew Holliday over him. And in essence, that sort of replaced Marcus Smart, who they gave up for the Porzingis deal. So they got Porzingis essentially for really nothing. They didn't give up anything because they replaced Smart with Holliday. I just think that they're a better team.

I think Joe Mazula learned a lot last year, and we all wrote about it while he did it. And I just think they're superbly positioned to not only come out of the East, but to take on whatever the best team out of the West is. So well built, no question about it. Star power there, great role players.

And you said it. Porzingis, what a move that's been so far for them, paying off big time in terms of what he's brought to that team. NBA.com, Steve Ashburner. Steve, again, happy New Year to you and the family. Enjoyed 2024. Appreciate you hopping on. Yeah, you're welcome, Dan. You too. Thanks, man. Appreciate it.

Great stuff there from Steve. And yeah, I just think that Knicks deal though, man. A lot of frustration in New York when you look at that Knicks deal and why did they make that move? That's the big question everybody keeps asking.

Was there a real reason for it? They don't bring in a guy who can score. They don't bring in a guy that is considered, outside of defensively, a real difference maker. And there is frustration building when it comes to that team and that organization as to what exactly they're going to do and what the vision is and building that team to what it should be. And potentially being able to, you know, go up against the Celtics.

You need superstar power right now to win games in the NBA and the Knicks certainly don't seem to have enough of that. Alright, NFL Talk. The Eagles struggling. The Ravens flying. Are the Ravens far and away the best team of the Niners right there? And are the Eagles on the verge of a one and done type playoff team the way they've played recently and losing four of their last five and struggling? It's, what, 220 on the East Coast. Plenty of time left of the show.

Dan Schwartzman in for Rich right here on the Rich Eisen Show. Alright folks, let's talk about game time and let's talk about buying tickets to big time events because it can be worrisome, it can be time consuming, and it can be expensive. So, game time is the fast and easy way to buy tickets for all the sports, music, comedy, and theater events near you. You can see the view from your seat before you buy so you know exactly what to expect when you arrive. They have all-in prices that show you your total up front so you know you're getting a great deal without hidden fees.

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Visit prizepix.com for restrictions and details. Fourth and 27 for the Bengals at their own 38-yard line. Kansas City 25, Cincinnati 17, 114 to go in the game. Six DBs for the Chiefs, backing up. The Bengals got to get to the 35 of Kansas City for a first down. Browning, again, stepping up. He's throwing long down the right sideline, and the pass is going to be broken up, broken up, broken up. T. Higgins, the intended receiver.

Shamari Connor, the rookie out of Virginia Tech, dropping the nugget down at 107 to go in the game. And the Kansas City Chiefs are going to win the AFC West for eight consecutive years. That is second in National Football League history, only to the Patriots of 2009 to 2019. That is courtesy of the Kansas City Chiefs radio network. Chiefs pulling it off, coming back from a 17 to 13 halftime deficit. They outscore Cincinnati 12-0 in that second half.

They take it 25 to 17. I need to take a shower after that. I feel dirty.

You probably haven't gotten much sleep since that. And by the way, no offense, the Raiders couldn't take care of business, by the way, themselves losing 23-20 to the Colts. So blame them, right? This game, frankly, didn't have any meaning, considering they can't beat the Colts. Yeah, yeah.

Right? So I understand your frustration, I understand your anger, but the reality is the reason why your Las Vegas Raiders aren't moving on is because of their own inability to win games that they had to win. So who are you blaming? Who are you blaming, buddy? I blame everybody else. That's on your team. I blame everybody else, right?

That's a great fan. I'm not going to blame anybody but everybody else. Everybody else. It's everybody else's fault that the Raiders couldn't make the postseason. And this hasn't been a great year for the Chiefs, and they struggled in this one. It wasn't as if they were dominant and, you know, they showed everybody and, yeah, they proved that everything's okay and they've righted the ship, right?

Like, they haven't proven that. There's still a ton of question marks going on as to what's wrong with this team. Because there definitely seems to be a lot wrong with this team still. They're not able to dominate the way they were in the past.

They were not able to, you know, get out there and just put people at ease with the concerns they have. People have a lot of concerns with this team and, yeah, look, the Cincinnati Bengals gave a run for the money with a backup quarterback, right? Let's not forget they had a backup quarterback in this game. This was Jake Browning. This wasn't Joe Burrow.

And Jamar Chase, I got to throw this out, Art. You know, like, come on. You talk all that smack about that Chiefs secondary and there's really nobody there, right? He kind of made it sound as if no one there scares him, no one there worries him. And while he was technically correct, he was technically correct that it wasn't exactly a secondary full of star players, what did he do?

Okay, ready for this? This is what he did to, you know, show people that he was going to dominate. Three catches, 41 yards for Jamar Chase.

You talk smack, you give the other team some bullet, you know, bullet board, you know, bulletin board material and that's the kind of game you have? Three catches, 41 yards? Some of that's on the quarterback Jake Browning. Sure, if Joe Burrow's there, you probably do a bit better, but maybe you shouldn't be talking. You didn't back it up.

He didn't back it up at all, so I'm just going to throw it out there. Like, you're going to talk some smack, you need to show up and dominate and Jamar Chase did not do that. Congratulations to the Chiefs. They have won the division for the eighth time in a row.

Oh my goodness, eighth time in a row? What an absolute joke of a division. For one team to win eight times in a row is an absolute joke. It's, look, my Jets play in that AFC East and they were dominated for years by the Patriots. Every team in that division was dominated by the Patriots year in and year out. And it's embarrassing, one team can literally, every year, you pencil them in as the team that's going to win.

And that's what exactly happened. Let's go out to the phone lines here. 844-204-RICH-844-204-7424. Chris in California joins us. Chris, we want to talk some Steelers football. What's up? Hey, what's going on? Good afternoon. Happy New Year, by the way. You as well.

Yeah, thanks. Hey, um, I don't know why this gives me an internal fire inside, um, because it ain't me, you know, everyone should speak for themselves, but you know, when it comes to these players in the NFL, they really can't speak for themselves. Um, so I'll speak up for him. Hey, if I'm Kenny Pickett, I'm demanding a trade. There's ultimate disrespect right now in Pittsburgh. I would not go to Mason Rudolph. Yeah, he had two good games, but guess how many backup quarterbacks have had good games right now? Let's think about Indianapolis right now. Garner Minshew, yeah, he's a good quarterback, but he was a backup quarterback and he's taken Indianapolis very far, but what is Indy going to do next season? They're going to go right back to Anthony Richardson. What has Anthony Richardson done? Also, Joe... Well, here's the thing. Wait, wait, wait.

Let me interrupt real quick, though. The Colts spent a what? A number four overall pick on Anthony Richardson, right?

Okay. And he got hurt playing what? Barely this year. You know, you got to give the guy a shot. I mean, you draft him because you think he's the franchise quarterback. You're not going to go away from him after a handful of games because he got hurt, right? You got to at least give him that opportunity.

No, I understand that. So that picket finished... He should have finished out the rest of the season after his injury, but it doesn't look like that's happened.

I feel like there's just... This guy has been counted out from the beginning by the NFL, by Pittsburgh, by whoever. By calling him small hands or whatever. The dude has all the intangibles to be an NFL quarterback.

He ran at what? Four seven? Four six seven? Yeah, but that means nothing.

I'm going to interrupt you there. But that means nothing. I'm a Jet fan and we drafted Zach Wilson because he has a great arm and this and that, right? But to play the quarterback position in the NFL, most guys fail at it. That's why every year teams are drafting quarterbacks and that's why every couple of years teams seem to be redrafting at that position because the guy they thought they brought in to be the difference maker wasn't the difference maker. So how long are you willing to give Kenny Pickett before you decide he's not the answer?

How long? Well, you don't jump off the wagon right away. I mean, Mason Rudolph... I mean, Mitchell Perturiski wasn't the answer and definitely wasn't the answer. I mean, Mason Rudolph didn't even... He had... What do you call it?

Like a pedestrian type game. There was the running backs that actually won that game yesterday. Listen, I don't disagree. Mason... See, they have a problem there. The problem is... And thank you for the call Chris.

The problem is they don't have a long-term answer there right now and I don't disagree with you. I think you have to go back and continue seeing what you have in Kenny Pickett because you drafted the guy in the first round and Mason Rudolph's not the long-term answer. He never has been there, right? If he was, they wouldn't have drafted a quarterback to take his spot, which is exactly what they did. So, you know, if you're gonna jump off the Kenny Pickett bandwagon this quickly, maybe you should have drafted him in the first round last year, 20th overall. His entire body of work consists of 25 games.

That's not enough. It hasn't been an impressive 25 games. I didn't think he was a good draft pick.

I'll throw that out there right now. I'm not just saying this because hindsight is 20-20. I never thought Kenny Pickett should have been a first round pick.

I never did. I thought it was a draft where it wasn't good in terms of quarterback depth and a team that usually doesn't, I think, reach in a draft, kind of reached in this draft, to bring in a guy because they needed a player at that position. I don't know how much they really loved Kenny Pickett, but they brought him in and it hasn't worked out.

Now, again, 25 games is not enough. Drew Brees took a while to get started and figured out in San Diego and then they got rid of him but that was due to injury. He had that serious injury and they didn't think he was able to come back from that and be the same player and they gambled incorrectly there and that's now obvious because he's turned out to be a Hall of Fame player and he put up ridiculous numbers in New Orleans. Had a second act there and it worked out.

So yeah, here's the other thing about it. It's not like the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to be drafting in a slot where they have a chance at Caleb Williams, where they have a chance at one of these hotshot quarterbacks like Drake May. They're not going to be drafting high in this draft because they are pretty good. They're 9-7 right now going into the last game but they're playing the Ravens. So you end up 9-8, you're drafting what, 15th, 16th, somewhere in that range? You're not bad enough to get a top pick. So my whole point is, I just think that if you are the Steelers, you have no choice but to give this guy one more shot. You have to give him another shot. Because the last thing you want to see is Kenny Pickett be let go because you didn't give him a long enough opportunity, the leash was too short, and he has an opportunity elsewhere.

He takes advantage of it. Next thing you know, he becomes a star. Again, I don't think that's going to happen. I don't think Kenny Pickett's going to be a star. I don't see it.

I never have seen it. Once again, I never thought he should have been drafted in the first round anyway. But now that you've taken him, now that you have him, give him that shot next year. If he fails next year, if he doesn't succeed next year, you move on. At least you gave him enough. You gave him that opportunity. You said we gave you a full season, you stayed healthy, and you didn't get it done. Okay.

I understand that. The fan base isn't going to revolt if you give a guy a full 17-game season, he stays healthy, and he doesn't get it done. But just because Kenny Pickett runs a 4-5 or Kenny Pickett does this makes Kenny Pickett a good quarterback. Every quarterback in the NFL, and this is not a joke, every quarterback in the NFL has the attributes to be great.

Literally has the attributes to be great. Every single quarterback in the league can throw a football, can run, whatever it is. Here's the difference.

The difference is what's between the ears, how quickly do they process things, how quickly can they look at something and decide, okay, this is what we need to do, this is what has to happen, I have to get rid of the football now. That's the difference between a quarterback that makes it in this league and a quarterback that doesn't make it in this league. It's not can you throw a football or can you not.

Anybody taken in the first round can throw a football and throw it really well. It's that camera angle. You watch football, you know what camera angle I'm talking about? That camera angle behind the quarterback where you see the guy throw the football before the person's even there and you're like, what's he looking at? Oh my goodness, there's the guy. He just suddenly appears right where the guy's throwing the football.

You know what I'm talking about. Yeah, that's many reps in practice to do that, absolutely. And by the way, most guys never figure that out. They don't figure it out and that's why they don't make it in the NFL. So Kenny Pickett physically could be a great quarterback as could anybody in the NFL playing the quarterback position be a great quarterback.

But it has nothing to do with that. They're drafted because of those physical attributes. You could be a smart quarterback but if you can't throw a football and you can't run at all in today's day and age, you're not going to get drafted.

But if you have unbelievable abilities but people wonder about your head, you're still going to at least get drafted somewhere and somebody's going to take a chance in trying to fix you. Joe Milton's the perfect example, okay? I'm not saying Joe Milton doesn't have a high football IQ. He just hasn't shown it yet in terms of being a successful enough college quarterback. But Joe Milton probably has the best arm in this draft. Joe Milton can throw a football 80 yards with his eyes closed.

Joe Milton's going to show up at the combine and look like a Greek god with a rifle for an arm. But not a lot of success in college at Michigan and at Tennessee. So my point is he's still going to get drafted and potentially if he dominates the combine, like some people believe he will, he's going to get drafted much higher than he deserves to get drafted. Not because he deserves it, it's because people look and say, well you can't teach that talent.

So Pickett deserves another opportunity, but that's it. I'm giving him one year. If he can stay healthy and show me what he's got, then awesome.

He sticks around. How about Mike Tomlin? He's awesome. Man, another year where he's above 500. He has never had a season where he has not won or been at 500 or better.

That is incredible. He has never had a losing season in his career. You want to talk great coaches, you want to talk about legends, you want to talk about a guy that knows what he's doing. And that's why whatever he decides to do at the quarterback position, I'm going to kind of take him, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. If there's anybody that deserves the benefit of the doubt, how is it not a guy who has never had a losing season in all those years in Pittsburgh? I think he knows what he's doing. If he's off the Kenny Pickett bandwagon, then you know what? Okay, I get it.

He sees him every day in practice, right? If he's jumping off that bandwagon, then obviously there's a good reason for that. So, alright, that's what it is. Look, Baltimore Ravens, the best team in this league right now.

They've proved it again. Dominating performance over the Miami Dolphins. 49ers and them, they look like they're back on a crash course to meet in the Super Bowl. Niners, the chance to get revenge for that ugly loss.

Brock Purdy, four interceptions a few weeks back to the Ravens. Philadelphia Eagles are 10-1 coming off just an impressive string of wins. I mean, an absolutely impressive streak of wins. Talk about winning some, you know, it was beating the Cowboys, beating the Chiefs, beating the Bills. And since then, they're 1-4. They lose to the Cardinals. The sky is falling in Philadelphia. Nick Sirianni, the head coach, says they have to fix this and they have to fix this now.

And he's absolutely correct. They have to fix this mess now. Is there even enough time to fix this mess?

The answer is probably no. And that's a team that is, at one time, people thought could be a number one seed in that Western Conference. Now you look at that team and you say to yourself, they might be one and done in the playoffs.

Wouldn't shock anybody at this point if they end up being one and done based on how poorly they have played as of late. Alright, college football playoffs get underway. Kickoff in two hours and 18 minutes in Pasadena, California. The Rose Bowl, Alabama, Michigan. Tonight Sugar Bowl, Texas and Washington. Quick preview of those two games coming up next.

We wrap things up on this New Year's Day Monday. Dan Schwartzman in for Rich right here on the Rich Eisen Show. I was in good hands with John.

Come hop in now or catch up on any of the past seasons of Talkville on YouTube or wherever you listen. Michigan will beat Ohio State for the third straight year. And that is courtesy of Westwood One. That was a call Michigan knocking off Ohio State. On their way to this undefeated season so far that will be tested today. 5 p.m. Eastern Time kickoff as they are hosting, or not hosting I guess, they are playing Alabama in the Rose Bowl.

And unbelievable matchup. It is Saban. It is Harbaugh. Winner moves on to the national championship game in Houston, Texas on the eighth. They will await the winner of tonight's game, the Sugar Bowl. That is Texas versus Washington. And the debate really is who's the more talented team? Is it Michigan or Alabama?

And I think, look, both are very talented, obviously. I give Michigan the slight edge in terms of talent. But I give Alabama the edge in terms of coaching. And that's a formula, by the way, that beat Georgia in the SEC championship game. Let's not forget that, right? Alabama was not the better team in the SEC championship game when they faced Georgia.

They weren't. Georgia was the more talented team. They were coming off two straight national championships. But there's the Nick Saban effect, the Nick Saban factor. I'm not saying that Nick Saban just out there wins you games, but certainly having Nick Saban as your head coach has a factor to it.

Plays a role. I don't think it's going to happen tonight. I know you don't. You're going with the talent of Michigan and I get that. You can cut this any way you want. What a great fight song, by the way. It really is a great fight song.

One of the best. Hail to the victors. Hail to the victors. Now, listen, I spent a year and a half down in Alabama.

I used to hear that fight song all the freaking time. And it's a lot of fun. You show up at a game at Bryan Denny.

It's awesome. You hear Sweet Home Alabama no less than a million times in the parking lots as people tailgate leading up to game time. And they're tailgating there at six a.m., seven a.m. prior to kickoff at noon.

So people take it very seriously there. And it's a great time. Don't get me wrong. But I am not going to bet against tell you right now, I am not going to bet against Nick Saban.

I'm not like I. You're right. In terms of pure talent, Michigan should win this game, but we're not talking in terms of pure talent. It doesn't always work out that way.

Sometimes other factors play a role. And I think this does because there isn't a large talent gap between the two teams. There's no clear cut.

This team is so much better than the other team. So when I decide other factors, that's why I'm not going to vote and pick Michigan. I'm not doing I know the favorite, but that means nothing there. What a two point favorite. I think right now, which might as well mean nothing. It's not as.

But that's the fun part. This is why you love this matchup, because it's one of these matchups where you have to really analyze it and probably over analyze it before you come to a decision as to what you think the result would be. And while you sit there, Art, I think you make a legit argument as to why you think Michigan wins. I'll look at it the other way and say the Saban factor is the reason why I go in the other direction. And I don't think either of us is wrong, but only one team can end up winning this game. I'm just not going to bet against Nick Saban when push comes to shove and something's got to be done and a move has to be made. A decision has to be made and adjustment has to be made that will lead to one team winning and one team losing.

If that has to be done, I'm taking Saban any day of the week plus Sunday. OK. Because he's proven it. He's got the rings.

He's got the hardware. He can flash that ring in front of your face and say, here are multiple reasons as to why I am that I can win this game for us, that I'll be the deciding factor as to who wins and who loses. Harbaugh can't do that. Yes, Harbaugh took an NFL team to a Super Bowl.

I'm not taking that away from you. He took the Niners there. He was very successful there, but he has no rings. He never won a national championship.

He never won that Super Bowl. So, yeah, I'm not going to pick Michigan to win using Jim Harbaugh as the factor as to why I think he's going to win. Against any other coach, I would take him.

Don't get me wrong. Against any other coach out there, I'm riding with Jim Harbaugh. If it's Steve Sarkeesian, I'm riding with Jim Harbaugh.

But guess what? He's not facing Steve Sarkeesian. He's facing potentially the greatest head coach in the history of college football.

And I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that. We are looking at potentially the greatest head coach in the history of college football with seven rings at Alabama and one at LSU. So my pick's Alabama.

We know your pick is, of course, Michigan. Texas-Washington I think is a little bit more difficult because those are two teams that people haven't watched as extensively as they've watched Alabama and Michigan. And it comes down to the quarterback play. Again, two very talented teams.

Very talented. Both well coached. The reason why one team's 12-1, that's Texas. One team is 13-0, that's Washington.

Yet Texas with the loss is the favorite to win this Sugar Bowl tonight, 8.45 p.m. Eastern Time kickoff. But I'm going to have to go with the quarterback play art and decide, based on that, who I'm going to pick. Michael Penix has had a phenomenal season.

I'm not picking against him. Against any quarterback that Texas is going to put out there. Penix has been one of the best players in all of college football.

He's a first-round pick as an NFL talent. And I think that's why Washington will surprise today and win tonight, setting up a national championship game in Houston on the 8th of Washington versus Alabama. How about that? You're taking Washington, too, though, right? We will see. Yes.

All right. Well, that's all the time we have. It's been fun sitting in for Rich the last three shows. Awesome closing 2023 for him and opening 2024 as well with all of you. Rich is going to be back. His vacation is coming to an end. It's been fun again.

We'll do it again. How wrestling really works and how you get the ratings. Eric Bischoff and Conrad Thompson explain on 83 weeks. I mean, I dig Jay Uso because he's born out of great storytelling and he lived up to the opportunity and exceeded it. The LA Knight, he's way up on my list because here's a guy that's been around for almost ever should have probably quit a half a dozen times. And he just forced his way into their life. And now he's making money hand over fist. That is a story I love. Eighty three weeks on YouTube or wherever you listen.