Chris Long: Dan Campbell Was A Gambler Chasing His Losses

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Learn more at Discover.com slash credit card. Limitations apply. This is the Rich Eisen Show. This is exceptional. If we could have one of the two games come down to the last nap, we'll take that. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles.

How does both games coming down to the last nap try that one on for size? The Rich Eisen Show. That's what happened. Today's guests, two time Super Bowl champion and Greenlight podcast host Chris Long, Fox Sports College football analyst Bruce Feldman, plus ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter. And now it's Rich Eisen. This is going to be great. This show is going to be great. And I don't usually say that to start a show. I only say that on shows I want you to watch. So no, it's going to be a great show. We're going to have some great conversation over the next three hours.

Honestly, I just watched the show open here on Roku, you know, and listen to it. Obviously, for those who are listening in our terrestrial radio network Sirius XM Odyssey, no more, we say Good Wednesday to you. I'm just like thinking I love talking to Chris Long. Adam Schefter I've known since college and we haven't talked to him in a while.

We haven't talked to him in a while. And, you know, obviously today's a big day to be talking to him in advance of week 18. So much at stake, so much on the line, so much going on. And now that we know who's going to get the first overall pick in the draft, it's going to be the Bears. And what are they thinking? And and there's winning in scenarios for the Bills, for the Colts, for the Texans.

They play each other. There's a winning in scenario for the Green Bay Packers, right? I mean, there's a winning in scenario for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

And then there is a let me make sure I get this correct. There is a win and clinch the division scenario for the Jaguars. And so there's a lot at stake on all those fronts. And and so having Adam on today is great. And then obviously having him on after Michigan makes the national championship next Monday against Washington.

That's going to be a lot of fun. And then Bruce Feldman comes in studio from Fox Sports and the Athletic and so much to talk about with him in the college football world. And I'm just going to be straight up with you guys in studio. And for you, ladies and gentlemen who are listening and watching right now, when Bruce Feldman walks in here. And as you know, last week he put out a story of unnamed coaches who all played against Michigan and said that all of them said they all of them.

All of them said Alabama is going to win this game. So when Bruce Feldman comes in here, middle of the show, I want names. I want answers.

I will be able to handle the truth. I want names and I want answers. Who are these people? Because they should be held accountable. Show me where they rest. I shall hold them accountable for their opinion, for their opinions, because they were conflicting biased opinions. Didn't align with you. Excuse me.

Excuse me. That's what this is. The Michigan versus everybody attitude. I'm taking it to the final gun on Monday night because who knows if Jim goes, it's another thing to ask Schefter about. You know, Jim goes Michigan versus everybody goes to another reason why I want Jim to stay. I want this. I'm kind of digging this Michigan versus everybody thing. I didn't think I'd start the show this way, but it's it's now coming out of me.

We spent forty five minutes trying to figure out what to start with. Just let it go. You want me to talk with my chest. You need me to talk with my chest. I feel about it.

I'm talking with a chest. Say it. Honor, code, loyalty. Yes. You give us a bit of a punch line. Who's going to tell me something different? You, Lieutenant Feldman. So what I'm going to say to Bruce when he comes in here later. I wish you would.

Without the overtones of the movie. One of my favorite Kevin Pollock stories ever. Just take some pieces. No, but seriously. I want answers because it didn't go that way on Monday, did it?

No, it looked it was going that way. And then and then Michigan dove their heels in and took advantage of mistakes that Alabama was taking advantage of all day long. So here we are on a day that I want answers and I'm going to get them from Bruce Feldman.

Because it's a day for it's it's it's it's great. I can't I honestly, in all seriousness, I'm waking up every day saying I can't believe Michigan's still playing football. Are you nervous yet?

No, no, no. I'm not nervous yet. I believe in the way that the because the way that they they coach this game, Jim and his staff, Sharon Moore, the offensive coordinator and Jesse Mentor, the defensive coordinator. I mean, they were they both got deep in their bags and I trust them to get deeper into their bags over the next five days. And and obviously Washington is a stout opponent that believes in what they believe, which is their year two. It's going to be a great game.

14-0 versus 14-0. I am hyped for it. I am not nervous for this. I am hyped for it because I was hearing all that stuff from the Bruce Feldman's of the world, even though he said he thought Michigan was going to win. So that's that's what's going to happen. I'm going to demand answers.

He's going to look at me like, what are you looking at me for? Michigan, get off my back. But it's Michigan versus everybody.

And that includes Bruce now. Oh, yeah. I'm turning my I'm turning on him.

What else am I going to do? So. And where's Finebaum? I want him.

Wow. OK, Lieutenant Finebaum is fine by the Kendrick in this situation, although didn't you tell me that he's he's flipped? Didn't you tell me to tell you that he spent a week on campus in Ann Arbor? He I think he backpedaled. I think between you and Ric Flair, you guys chopped him down so much that he he he took back what he said.

So headline. I'm still feeling it. I'm still feeling it. Well, it's just one more time. One.

Well, there's one less thing. Let me do this. I'm going to go all in.

Please do. You want me to go all in? You know, I'm going all the way in.

I dig it the most. I'm going all the way in to start this show, because yesterday I was kind of still feeling warm and fuzzy. I was with my wife. I was with my kids. You know, it was a fun, you know, in the glow that me and Portnoy. Who knew?

We were a couple. I feel like she's Oscar. You know what I mean?

And I've been Oscar my whole damn life. Honestly. Susie's cleaning up my desk every single day. Finding stuff. Yeah.

And books. At any rate. Well, I'm still feeling it.

Let's go. You know what it's like right now? You know what it's like right now?

You ever see those 80s movies where where where they transform bodies? You know, I mean, like Friday. But I know. Yeah. Or 18 again.

George Burns. You've got an 18 year old body and an 18 year old is walking around acting like an old man. Yeah. Big. Right. Yeah. Although you didn't change bodies.

Mannequin, but not really. OK. By the way, the 80s movies, I wasn't talking about like Shannon tweet or something like that. That's why you started laughing. I almost said I almost said my own Reese Davis lank moment with you guys here on the set. OK, so here's what I'm talking about. Let me start. Because yesterday was all about the warm and fuzzies.

I like Shannon. You know, remember those movies where you transform bodies? Yeah. It's Michigan and Ohio State transformed bodies. We're the ones playing in the Natty. We're the ones going to the college football playoffs every year. And they're the ones wondering about their coach.

I'm loving seeing all the Ohio State fans wondering if Jim Harbaugh was right about their coach being born on third base after all. And this team, Michigan is playing decisively and physically and brilliantly, and they are overcoming their own mistakes. They're not playing perfectly. My God, if they play a perfect game on Monday night, I'm sitting in a rocking chair. And I believe that. But Michigan rarely plays bowl games perfectly and and all of that.

Washington is an incredible opponent, but Ohio State scoring three points against Missouri. I used every fiber of my being to not reach for my telephone and just start typing away the nastiest stuff and hit send. Going full breer. I almost went full breer and even he never he went full breer after Michigan one deleted it. Did he delete it? Yeah, he didn't delete it. Find it. He did not say, gee, damn it.

I hate them. He did not. We have receipts. We have the receipts on the rich guys. And there it is. We even bleeped out. We even blurred out his curse. Then you guys caught the screen grab. Go, go, go.

Washington. He doesn't delete his Michigan spite. I respect that. OK, he doesn't delete that stuff. You're right.

Still there. Guess what? I've got the receipts and I just held back because I'm like, you know what? I'm above it. And plus, you know, I'll wait till we make the national championship. But three points against Missouri. Don't worry, Ohio State fans.

We took care of business against the SEC for you. I mean, not to defend the state, but the quarterback they were preparing to play for a whole month did get injured immediately. Oh, and also the quarterback that they had and let walk who they gave the scholarship to instead of J.J. McCarthy.

He's on Syracuse right now. I love it. There you go.

Tom McCord. Let's go. Good luck to you. And you. OK, so yeah, I understand things happen. You know, things happen.

I don't always happen. You always make me defend Ohio State. Things happen like, you know, three straight losses to Michigan. I when the first Michigan win over Ohio State hit, it was like, OK, you had your fun.

Nice outlier. Wait till you come to the shoe next year. Then they go to the shoe and then they beat them. And then the next year.

Again, and playing in the Natty. So. One last thing here. I don't you could call in and I'll ask Adam about it. I have no idea if Harbaugh's leaving. None.

Zero point zero. And all you got to do to know about how can he just live in his own world and how can he just be the happy go lucky guy that he is right now with all this stuff that's happening. All you got to do is look at that video. You see his parents.

You see that video, that viral of his parents talking about sitting where they sit in their chairs. And how, you know, they're superstitious. That's why the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

God, I love those people. And that's how we're starting to show today. How about that? I love it when the plan comes together. It wasn't the plan. It wasn't the plan. My uncle asked me when I was home for Christmas. He's like, what do you guys do to get ready for the show?

And I tried to explain to him. Well, we have plans. Sometimes they get a little derailed. Omaha, Omaha. Yeah.

We got here. Let's see how Earth responds to that. You know, and Schefter's on coming up in in the third hour. And he's like, you know, Harbaugh's going to entertain offers from the NFL.

And I'm sure Adam will say that again in the third hour. Of course, he's going to entertain offers from the NFL. You know why? He's entertained offers from the NFL every single year that he's beaten Ohio State. Last three years, he's entertained offers because he's a hot coach and he wants to go back to the NFL. Does that does that surprise anybody?

No, no. And every single year we're left in Michigan's world wringing our hands over it, because what if he leaves or now what if he stays? How does that hurt our recruiting? Look at the team he put, look at the team he just put out there in the Rose Bowl.

So and keeping coaches, it just gets better. I don't know. We're all paying rent in this world right now. And of course, obviously, Washington plans to evict him, which they may do on Monday night. But at this point in time.

I'm happy. And I want answers from Bruce Feldman in our two names. I want names. I already know some of the names.

I do know some of the names, you know, it's got to be one of them. Franklin. Franklin's got to be one of them. Ryan Day's got to be one of them.

Oh, God, really? against Alabama, against Nick Saban? He's going to coach rings around him. Oh, by the way, did you see the Michigan assistant that they hired? Remember, we talked about that guy, the former linebacker coach.

Guess who's no longer on the staff there in Alabama? Hey, he's Washington. He's free. You want to go grab him? That would be hilarious if they watched him for the next couple of days.

For hire. A lot of good it did him. All the tell them all. Tell them all about the tendency Sharon Moore is going to break. Oh, I am feeling so good right now. Had no idea we're going to start the show this way, which makes me feel better because of the stuff that we were going to talk right now. We got still in our back pockets put on the table like Mike Vrabel saying the Titans have everything to play for this week. And meaning and making you want to run through a brick wall when he says it.

Also, the team that I believe that is the most at stake this very weekend, I've got my power rankings. And it was so great to do them from from vacation last week because you guys weren't interrupting with your opinions and stuff. You guys, we don't interrupt. You do all the time.

Me, me specifically. Yes, you specifically T.J. Jefferson, you don't interrupt as much as others. OK, I'm just wait a minute. Let me correct that. You don't interrupt as much as other.

I don't need to give plural other. Look, I just give it back to the other from from Los. Remember the others from Lost? I never was weirdos. Thank you. OK, weirdo. I did. You called my son an idiot. And by the way, your wife was about to throw hands with him last night.

I was here for it, except my trade. At any rate, Chris Long's coming up next from a Greenlight podcast. I can't wait to ask him what will players on the Ravens and Steelers think that obviously the Ravens are already through. Let's just go with the Steelers. They've got to win this football game on Saturday. They are the first team up. What do they think when they hear the officiating crew for their game is the ones that officiated the Lions and the Cowboys? That after what we saw in front of the whole country. And now they must. OK, I'm not going to go all in on this right now.

I would think rich now there may be some extenuating circumstances we are unfamiliar with. OK, with what what Brad Allen was told and what he heard and what we and that they're just letting it lie. But now they're double it down on it because the officiating crew that appeared to or the head ref, who appeared to screw up the eligibility and what the Lions were trying to do and trying to mess with the Cowboys, that crew is going to crew and officiate Ravens, Steelers in front of the whole country. So the league is basically saying, look, we hear what you're saying about this crew, but we believe in this crew. And we are doubling down, tripling down, quadrupling down.

Yeah. And they're putting them out there. I can't wait to hear what Chris Long's got to say about that and everything else that is at stake. Adam Schefter, our three with the latest in the NFL and then Bruce Feldman in the middle of our two.

I want answers and I'm going to get them. Chris Long next right here on the Rich Eisen Show. Oh, what a fun open. Rich Eisen here. If you love football as much as we do here and want to be in the game every day, there's something the guys on my show have been enjoying. Prize picks, daily fantasy sports. The number one daily fantasy sports at Brockman. Tell everybody about prize picks and your strategy this season. Rich, it's fun and easy. Pick two players or more based on their stats and place your entry.

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Learn more at discover.com slash credit card. Limitations apply. All right, back here on the program. Baker Mayfield would not have practiced today. Yeah. Didn't throw Wednesday, would not have practiced today if it was a full practice instead of a walk through. Connell Trask took all the starter reps instead.

If he can play, I know he's going to try to play, says Todd Bowles. All right. How about them apples? All right. Is that why my minute?

Let me make sure this is right. It's his shoulder. Is that what it is for Baker?

Yeah. Is his ribs OK, that makes sense, then ribs, it's his ribs. That makes sense, because both my boys woke up today feeling something on their sides. And yeah, and they were all like, Dad, what like and I'm like, what happened? Yeah, and I have an answer for him. And yeah, can we can we check with Brock Purdy and Kyle Hamilton to see if all my boys?

Yeah, I got to check on that. All my sons are feeling that. Kyle Hamilton was adopted, so I don't know if that's because the Bucks did just play the Saints.

This could be some form of voodoo. Right. Let's see, Brock Purdy looks healthy from what I can.

OK. What does that mean? He's not my son anymore. What about Kyle Hamilton? Are you telling me something about my children? Kyle Hamilton adopted Brock Purdy. Milkman situation. Oh, my God.

Why is Kyle adopted? You know, he's trying to help you out, TJ. I can explain this off. Come on, now. The guy at the end of the stadium is a Jewish guy, right?

Virgin bee situation. Back on the Rich Eisen Show, we just went a little bit off the rails on our Roku channel. But I'm feeling it. It's the Rich Eisen Show radio network sitting at the Rich Eisen Show desk, furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions for every industry. Grainger has the right product for you.

Call clickgranger.com or just stop by. All right. Green Light Pod host, one of my favorites. Happy New Year to you, Chris Long. Happy New Year, sir.

What's going on? Dude, a very happy New Year to you and the Michigan Wolverines. Oh, you have no idea. Honestly, I know you've won championships before.

I haven't. OK, I and football. I'm a jet fan.

I'm a 54 year old man that says it all. OK, and I started rooting for the Michigan Wolverines in 1986 when I first showed up on campus there or late 85 when I was accepted early admission. And because, you know, that's a humble brag.

Yeah, that was good. OK, but I don't even know what that means. Early admission. That means I was smart enough to say I want to go there.

I want to know what I'm saying. I was smart enough to say I want to go there and nowhere else. Listen, so I'm feeling it right now. But what I'm sure you were part of the 27 million people who watched that game on ESPN. What did you think? I thought it was awesome. I loved, you know, like I think the thing that's plagued as a casual college football fan, that whole playoff thing has been the first round games have been cheeks rich.

They've been terrible. You know, the two touchdown games, that sort of thing. And so I thought getting two great games was awesome. And I love seeing the different styles of play like, you know, I love rock fights in the NFL.

If it's 12 nine, sign me up Thursday night, Monday night, I'll be in the chow line. And, you know, when it comes to college football, I just love seeing a 27 24 type game. I mean, it was just like every possession mattered and the run game mattered for Bama. And there were, there was drama, there were bad snaps. There was a bad call on the goal line.

I didn't understand that. I thought it was great. And you're like, I, Michigan, I have no issue with Michigan. In fact, I'm really excited to see Michigan in the national championship, but it's going to be hard for me to root for anybody but Washington because watching Pennax at night was like, you know, and I know it's the PAC 12 and a lot of people don't watch these games, but it was a great opportunity for people to see what this guy's got. And some of the throws he made, especially early in that game, backed up on the goal line, it's loud as hell there.

It's like 70% Texas. And to make those throws, it was incredible. And I think like, it sucks for you guys because any other year, most of America will be rooting for you, but this is the last year of the Conference of Champions. And it's just like, the storylines are crazy. And so whoever wins, I think I'll be really happy as a casual fan, but it's hard for me not to root for Washington.

That was just an amazing game. That's all right, Chris. And, and, you know, you said that you did, unfortunately for Michigan this year, no one's going to be rooting for him. Everyone's going to be rooting for Washington.

That's fine. Cause we are now the villains. Aren't you aware of that? We're now the villains. It's, it's, it's, it's us versus everybody. And you used to put on dog masks to win a Super Bowl. You, you would appreciate that mentality, right?

That the whole locker room thinks the whole world's against him. That's potent. I will use that and bottle it, sir. They need to put on a Connor Stallion's mask. Who is that? Wait a minute. This is a connection. I can't believe that guy was there. He was apparently there, but whatever. Yeah.

I mean, that's, that's literally the way it is. And that's a potent, that is a very potent lotion to just, you know, throw all the cologne to just spray on you, man, before you got, you, you got, you got Washington who feels like that. I had Cole Kublick on last night. Who's awesome. And I love watching, as I called it, the cube cast the other night, you know, they call it the McAfee cast, but I thought Kublick was great and Cole McCoy and all those guys and Acho and Harry Douglas, and they're doing laps around the stadium. But, you know, I, I think, I think they've got that team of destiny vibe and you guys have that us against the world vibe. And I think that makes for a really cool kind of deal. Chris Long here on the Rich Eisen show, walk me through what Steelers players are thinking when they hear the official for their must have game is the one that was the official between the lions and the Cowboys.

Does that matter? Or we're just talking about it in the media. I think if you're going to get a good week out of this official it's this week. You know, like after you play poorly, you know, you always buy a team low, that type of thing, buy this officiating crew low. It's not like they missed a bunch of judgment calls. Like they just missed the most obvious communicative call of the night in the biggest spot. And, you know, I, I think that the lions got screwed. You can talk about the tripping penalty and that sort of thing. There are calls that are missed in every game. I'm certainly not taking anything away from the Cowboys, but the way that game ended was tough. And, you know, like the lions lost that game because they decided not to go to overtime after the first time that they used up two of their two point conversion plays, which are like, you know, you, you, you guard those things, you wait for your, the, an opportunity to use your best play. They, they send a guy in motion on the first play, you get a timeout. Okay.

So that one's out the door. And then you run that trick play that the referees totally botched because, you know, like I'm watching Decker, he's got his elbow out on that wide angle. He's reporting like you can't convince me otherwise. And the fact that the league says, Hey, it's on the players. That's the biggest BS in the world, especially when you demote your officials in the playoffs, you know, that's an acknowledgement of doing wrong, but then you don't acknowledge it outwardly. But the issue I have is, and I love Dan Campbell and I love the fact that he's aggressive and he takes every situation individually. Like whether it's the fake punt or the fourth and three that he goes, or the fourth and short that he kicks the field goal tied at 10 or the two point conversion. But I felt like he was a gambler chasing his losses.

And believe me, it takes one to know one, you know, like after that first one, you shouldn't be going again. You get bailed out on that next call, and then you're down to your like fourth two point play and you're at the four. And to me, the question is, do you trust Jared Goff to make that throw perfectly? Because if he makes it perfectly, the ball's probably at the pylon.

Right. And, you know, we're talking about the Lions winning, but because they lost that game, Rich, the ripple effects are huge. Dallas gets two home games and probably you've walked L.A. into Ford Field. You've walked Matt Stafford. You've walked Sean McVeigh into Ford Field, which is a tough matchup. I'm not saying Green Bay wouldn't be tougher, but there is a mental thing with that. And the way it happens is because Detroit doesn't win that game. San Francisco hasn't had to play for this weekend. And you see the ripple effect there with L.A. probably maybe winning that game and sliding into that six seed. So it's not just a blown call.

It's seismic. No doubt, Chris, I was hanging on your every word right there. So my follow up for you is. Defensive lineman, can you be tricked in the manner that the Lions attempted to trick the defensive line of the Dallas Cowboys and wound up tricking Brad Allen at the same time? I mean, is that information? Do you listen to exactly who's reported as eligible or does or do you watch it? Not if you're not. Not if you're not in coverage. Generally, a defensive line when you get an unbalanced look or an extra tackle, you're going to make an adjustment based on how you adjust those looks.

So, you know, like, then you know, like then you're in the run fit. But the guys in in past coverage and the reason I can't like I can't be too down on Dallas here is because when they report someone else eligible over the loudspeaker, that's that's the assumption that everybody on the back end is going off of. So there is the alternate universe or there is there is the scenario where you have to acknowledge that Dallas didn't think that Decker was eligible in the first place. And that's on the officiating crew to now in an alternate universe where they say Decker is eligible, that plays probably played differently. So there's a couple things at play here. And I think Dallas had they known who was eligible, maybe they have a fighting chance to stop that play.

But, you know, all around just bad. And if I was a league and I had multiple two point conversions to say either, hey, give the ball with to Dallas with 13 seconds to go down one. We screwed this up. You had three minutes, probably four minutes to do that.

There's a phone line from from New York. You know, I know that would have felt like the hand of God or something or like, you know, somebody playing God from New York. But and it had been unprecedented. But there's so much on the line like replay the down or give Detroit the ball or give Dallas the ball rather with 13 seconds to go down one. That to me, the mechanics of that situation are tough. And it's not like they just kicked the ball off 30 seconds later. There was a ton of time to get that right. So just a real blind spot for the league.

Chris Long green light with Chris Long podcast host here on the Wednesday before week 18 in the NFL. All right. I don't know how much further Philadelphia can can fall. They can fall. They can go. They can fall further. Well, I mean, I listen, but they can't fall further than five. Right.

So they know. Yeah. Right. So and I part of what you just were talking about the end of Lions Cowboys in the ripple effect. And you say Cowboys get to playoff games at home if they they survive Super Wild Card weekend, you know, and we're assuming they're going to beat the Washington commanders and then the Eagles are going to have to go to the NFC South champ. I mean, yeah, do you fall so far that they they get one and done by an eight and nine team, potentially a nine and eight Bucks team like is that is that is that what you're talking about right now?

They've the Eagles, the Eagles defense since week 12 and EPA is bottom three. Okay, like they have one of the worst defense in the league and I'm not being personal. I'm not piling on. There's nothing some of my buddies can do about that up front. You know, the guys that I still talk to and this isn't coming from them. I try to stay out of that stuff talking to my boys. I mean, like, you know, I text Lane after the game. It's just how you're feeling.

You know, you look great. It's not. Hey, what's Brian Johnson doing? These are my conclusions. They're too. They're too bad on the back end.

The personnels too bad. The linebacker play too bad and this defensive front which would be a plus on a lot of other teams. You're not able to unlock their ability to rush a passer because the fraction is the time but also the run fits are bad and you saw that a lot during the Cardinals game, you know, you're not just one dimensionally bad. You know, James Connor who's a great back and I think Arizona. The reason I was worried about this game was Arizona has looked like a professional offensive outfit since Kyler's been back ball barely touched the ground in the second half for him.

Connor had maybe his best game of the year. Michael Carter is is looking like an all Pro and that all that stuff is happening against your guys on the and things like Ringo being flat footed on fourth and four and giving up inside release. This stuff happens all the time in the NFL every Sunday things like Rick's getting shook in the open field stuff like that. But when it happens to the Eagles, the Eagles, it's so spectacularly bad and it's also so so frequent that there's just too much to overcome and the run fits are suffering too.

You can see that Sunday. So all the lifelines that Howie Roseman has thrown and he's so well known for throwing these lifelines late in the season, whether it's our Super Bowl year bringing in Jay Ajayi, you know, bringing in Golden Tate the next year when we made a run came up short this year. It's been Bayard. The coverage hasn't been great. It's been Leonard and there's a reason he wound up out of Indy. They're in the middle of a playoff push, you know, and then, you know, Avante Maddox getting back who really that started the slide losing him. You think he's coming to the rescue.

He gets beat some late in that game. So the lifelines are even drying up. And so for me, yeah, you can lose to the Bucks. I mean, you can absolutely lose the Bucks. Now. I heard what you guys said right before I came on and I bet Carolina immediately at they're catching six points this weekend. So it's no foregone conclusion that it is the Bucks. Yeah, but I think the Eagles are in a place where they can lose to anybody.

Now. I think they can still beat anybody in the NFC short of San Francisco. I still think they can beat Dallas.

I still think they can they, you know? Yeah, but you're going to have to score 30 points and that's the uncomfortable truth right now being a Philadelphia Eagles. You have to win these shootouts and I can remember when when being in a 2 minute drill. At the link for the offense, you know, trying to score a field goal or touchdown at the end of that game with 75,000 people, whatever it is going nuts. That was a scary thing for the offense.

Like I remember a time I was there and last year it was scary. Now it's flipped and when they kick that field goal at the end of the game because of a penalty because of, you know, play calls and all that stuff the whole crowd knew what time it was. You know, they knew we were going to lose this game or go to overtime because that's what you get when you play the Eagles in two-minute situation right now. Seattle, the Giants made it too close and then they lose a game in the two-minute situation this Sunday.

Well, I mean a lot to chew on right there. First for our radio audience, the information you were referring to that we talked about on our Roku channel is that Baker Mayfield isn't practicing today in a walkthrough and Todd Bowles saying that if it was a full practice he still would not have practiced as well. So his availability for Sunday is questionable to say the least right now without that actual official injury designation. And then just in terms of what you said about the Eagles, you take a look at their schedule from this year. I mean they beat a Minnesota team with Kirk Cousins even though that was in their winless start and Tampa wasn't what Tampa turned into just yet. They came out here and beat the Rams when the Rams were clearly better than people thought. They smoked the Dolphins. They, you know, did get some help against Dallas as well as Marquez Valdes scantling dropping a ball at Kansas City and then obviously Buffalo having something in overtime go against them when Allen threw one way and Gabe Davis ran another. But why, I mean there's a lot of green up on that screen for wins.

Why can't they find that? I mean, you make it seem like there's no, there's really, obviously anything's possible but is that team gone? Is that basically team from weeks one to week 12 gone all of a sudden? Well the quality wins they've had, you know, they've been able to score, right? And you know like the Buffalo game, Buffalo went up and down the field on them. That defense has always been kind of a problem this year, especially with the injuries and then when Slade decides to get scoped at the end of the year, you know, you got Bradbury out there who's not a man corner and the personnel is just bad and I think also more than anything, how many times do you see Super Bowl teams have to replace both coordinators?

I know the answer. It's not often, right? I think San Francisco had to do it in the 90s. I think the Patriots had to do it in the early 2000s and it's just a tall task and I think, you know, the offense is running a poor imitation of last year's offense. I think sometimes you assume that because you, you know, you know, the things that a quarterback likes or the scheme is going to be somewhat similar. You know, you think things are just going to roll over next year, but offensive coordinators are game planners. They're teachers of the scheme, the quarterback whispers.

They're people that understand how to use people, you know, it's just because you have the menu doesn't mean that you know what to order at a given moment and I think, I think that's been the problem. You lost the touch of a guy who's gone out every week pretty much in Indy and scored a touchdown on the first drive. Shane's a wizard and I think defensively John Gannon proved why, you know, this year he was, although he took a lot of crap in Philly, a real deal ball coach and that guy knew that team really well and he came in there and got that win. So they have lost some good coordinators and it's hard to replace those guys and they're just not the same team as last year. Like even earlier in the season when we lauded them for getting the 10-1 or 10-2 or 10-3 after a Super Bowl, that is special.

Make no mistake about it, they have done some special stuff this year, but they've been flawed since the beginning of the season and, you know, San Francisco is in a class above the rest and that's been something that I think we knew from the beginning of the season. Last one for you, Chris Long. You're the perfect guy to ask about this because, you know, you know what it takes to win in this league, you know what it takes to win a championship and a Super Bowl in this league.

You're also a 38-year-old with kids. Joe Flacco. Bingo.

Bingo. Like put into words what's happening right now for Joe? I think it's incredible. I think first off Kevin Stefanski, amazing coach and I knew that before this year. I think his schemes are awesome. I think he puts defense in a lot of binds, but losing Chubb, you know, losing quarterbacks, starting four different quarterbacks, you know, look at the move he made. Look at the move that burying them made by saying, hey we're going to pick up Flacco off the street and we're going to play him. The Jets, Robert Salah, sorry you can't win them all Rich, you know, can't be Michigan and the Jets in the same year, but Robert Salah is talking about, you know, Joe Flacco is an F-150.

It's nice to have a truck like that in December, you know, like and I'm like well you could have leased one man, you know, like there are other teams that passed up on Joe and for them to make that move I think they knew he had something in the tank and even if he didn't his leadership is evident. Okay and it's cool to be a young guy in the NFL. Talked about this on Inside the NFL yesterday. It's cool to be a young guy in the NFL, but what's really even cooler is being a vet with clout when you walk into a locker room and all the young guys they want to know what you know.

They want to know what it takes to get there. They gravitate towards you, you know, and I think Joe has that on the ultimate level because he's a quarterback. He's won a Super Bowl and then when you go out there and play the way he's played he's unlocked the confidence in them schematically. Now you got to defend every blade of grass because he takes shots and I think back to 2017 when Frank Reich, our offensive coordinator at the time, was asked about Nick Foles and how do you give a backup quarterback the confidence that he needs to succeed.

Frank said, and this isn't a direct quote, but he goes, I think we have the opposite problem with Nick Foles. The guy wants to make every throw, you know, he wants to finish you. You know, like this guy, he wants to hit every area of the field and make all the throws and I think Joe's the same way.

He's aggressive and so he didn't just find a game manager. He found a guy who wants to go for the kill and I think that's the thing that they have to walk a thin line on because hey, they're really good. I didn't think they'd be as good without Amari Cooper. I wanted to look like I want to see what they look like with Amari Cooper against a team with two corners, but they didn't have him and they still move the ball up and down the field, but the thing that can bite them is turnovers. They have a minus seven or minus eight differential. Rich, if you go back the last 10 years and look at the Super Bowl, there's only two teams, I think, that got there with a minus turnover differential, you know, and so that's the thing that they have to clean up. That could be born out of though having DTR and P.J. Walker, right? Starting a ton of games throughout the year too, so my last question is a follow-up is you mentioned Foles. You wanted all of them. You think the Browns can win it all?

What do you think? They can beat anybody in the AFC. They can beat anybody in the AFC and if you look at turnover differential, to your point, I had the same thought, but if you sort it for last three games, they're still not great. Okay. You know, in Flacco, throwing picks sometimes and some of the, you know, the turnovers they've had can be the thing to get in the way of that, but if they have a plus turnover differential during the playoffs, I put them in a group of four.

Okay. I put San Francisco and Baltimore in one group. You know, if you want to include two other teams in that group, I think the Bills and the Browns are two teams that can do the whole thing, but the caveat is if you look up in January and they're minus five in the playoffs, don't come to me and say, well, you said the Browns can win it all. They can only win it all if they stop turning the ball over. If they stop turning the ball over, that team can win it all. Well, what about the Ravens? I know I got to let you go, but I mean the Ravens are, they're killing everybody, so you got to throw them in. It's got to be a group of five, right?

Yeah, it is. No, I had the, my group of four is the Ravens, the Niners, and then the Cleveland Browns and the Bills, and the Browns are kind of in that dangerous group that can do it. Now, a lot of teams can do it, and part of that's going to be predicated on if somebody knocks San Francisco off, then all of a sudden you've got a couple teams in the AFC that can win it, and if somebody knocks San Francisco off, like I don't know what a matchup with Dallas or Philly and whatever the AFC's got to offer looks like. I just don't know, so there's a couple things that hinge on teams getting eliminated, but I think this is as wide open as it's been in Baltimore.

The thumping that they put, the fourth and seven, Rich, that they threw the ball to Isaiah likely, my jaw was on the floor when the offense stayed out there. It's 21-13. The Dolphins, I've said this, I've been banging this drum, every time they play a playoff team, they average about 19 points a game, but I'm still afraid of that offense for some reason, and so going into the half, you're going to get the ball out of the half, it's 21-13.

You say, the hell with it. We're that confident in the team we have. You watched the Dallas game a week ago. I felt like Dallas and Miami were vying to see who would play from ahead, and it was tight early in that game. Baltimore was playing against themselves. They were like, can we score 60? That was their attitude, and Lamar's the MVP. They look like the best team in the league right now. Don't forget, if you root for the Washington Huskies, you're rooting against all Harbaugh's pal, and it looks like it's a Harbaugh year. You know what I'm saying?

It might be a Harbaugh year, man. And his dad, their dad. I know that's how it works with dads, but this guy, I thought it was an AI.

When the Chinese get your camera roll on TikTok, and you put in your face, and all of a sudden, they own you, there's one of those AI things that if I put my face in, I could see what I look like when I'm 80. I thought that's what it was with Jim. It's just my dad.

It's Jack, chip off the old block. Chris, good luck with your shows this week. Let's chat next week, as always, and have me on during the playoffs. Let's do it, dude. Yeah, come through. Let me know. You tell me. All right, buddy. After a Michigan win, maybe.

Even if not, I'll do it. You got me. You had me at hello, Chris Long. Thanks for the time. Yeah. Happy New Year.

That's the Walter Payton Man of the Year 2018 Super Bowl champ, Twice Over, host of Green Light Pod, as well as a co-host of Inside the NFL and the CW. Let's take a break. Lots to chew on right there. 844204rich, number to dial. So I was in good hands with John.

Jump in now or catch up on any of the past seasons of Talkville on YouTube or wherever you listen. When you see the video of you throwing to Tyree, OK, what do you think of when you see that? I just smile. I'm just thankful, thankful for David Tyree, man. There's not a better person than and a guy who just, you know, who has the worst week of practice in the history of all practices on that Friday and dropped every pass. And, you know, I thought he was going to be the starting receiver and then go, you know, comes back and plays that game. And then sure enough in the game, David Tyree has a touchdown catch and then they beat catch, you know, Rodney Harrison hanging all over him. You know, Bob Poppa given the call saying, you know, he's got a wide open receiver, you know, and I guess that's wide open in the NFL. And, you know, David Tyree, just the will, the desire was there and just catching off the helmet. Just what a what unbelievable story.

And, you know, never get tired of watching that play. All right. Chris Brockman, my on air compadre here. What do you tell him? Go ahead. Tell him what you say every time now that he's here. You can say it to his face.

Go ahead, Chris. Well, usually I say it to Sean O'Hara because Sean is here. I mean, there are 14 different holdings on that. What do you say to that when he says holding? How do you get holding?

They didn't block anybody. You know, let them run in, you know, all four players, you know, they kind of blocked the ball. I think, you know, holding the guys, holding me, you know, like a defense player is holding me. I think you're allowed to do whatever you want to the, you know, to the pass rusher at that point. If I'm in the grass, they could just grab them also and pull them off. It's kind of a kind of free range at that point.

I agree. Chris, you see holding Eli sees grasping. That's what he sees.

I see the greatest play ever. That's right. I was sitting right there. I was there. That's it. Happy forty third birthday to Eli Manning back here on the Rich Eisen show.

Eight four four two oh four rich number to dial. The Joe Flacco, Flacco Sans, as we've termed it here, is unbelievable. It really is. And again, this, these are humans in helmets, right?

In pads. And we, we, we always talk about their, their, their play and not think about, that's a father of five at age 38, who's been sitting around all, I mean, honestly, he's been sitting around September, October, November, sitting around, I guess, doing workouts, figuring out when you're sticking with his nutrition regimen, what you have to do when you're pushing 40, man. Absolutely. And keeping up and I'm sure, you know, taking kids to school and picking the kids up at school and Chris, you'll, you'll find out parenting becomes chauffeuring. Yeah, absolutely.

Okay. And, and, and the number of times I'm sure he's just like, I'm working out and I don't know Mrs. Flacco's name, but she deserves some mention right here because she's, you know, watching him be a quarterback again, or, or hoping to be a quarterback again. And Dana must've, I mean, she deserves all the kudos as well. Certainly when she hears a soundbite from Joe Flacco like this. Guys look at you a little bit differently, just because of the fact that I've played, this is the 16th year that I've been in this league. And you can tell that guys look at you a little bit differently just because of that. I mean, I'm dealing with, you know, I always say it, if I messed up in high school, I mean, I could be these kids' dads, you know, it's like, it's, it's, so there is, you know, there's something that, you know, they probably do look at me a little bit differently just because of that. To get a sense of what kind of impact, who knows. I'm just being myself and trying to help them win games.

And I think when you're yourself, that's the best chance you have to impact people. So hopefully I've had something. To drink minimum Flacco is what we're getting right now. I love it.

I love it. This is the storyline we did not know we needed. And Cleveland has full on belief and hope.

And it is well founded for real. Cause you've got a coach of the year already could be two time coach of the year, depending on how everything breaks for Kevin Stefanski. Cause there's a lot of other terrific candidates, one in Baltimore, clearly one that could be in Houston, one that you could absolutely make a case for in Detroit to name a few, but this defense and that offense with this guy, who's playing like the Superbowl MVP, he was, and may be again, this is real man. And good thing he didn't mess up in high school.

Let's just put it that way. QB one in high school, but I remember Flacco like, where is he? He's just like, Hey, I'm making jokes. Winning games, 300 yards before halftime. Look at me taking naps, winning games to the Cleveland Browns. Look out AFC South winner. He's coming your way on super wild card weekend.

Bruce Feldman in studio hour two, and my power rankings still to come too. Love it. You got to love that soundbite there, huh?

I love it. I'm rooting for them. I want them to win. Well, they've got the Bengals this weekend. Let's give them a 12th win. Why not? Right?

The rare case. What was the last 12 win wild card team? Was Flacco going to play? They're locked into five, right? They're locked into five. Yeah. So I don't, are any of them, those guys going to play? I don't think they have the, um, I think Flacco is going to play. Absolutely. He's going to play.

As much as I've been singing praises and lionizing there, they still need to, you know, keep some reps going here. Like he's still, he still has only played. Yeah.

A handful of games, literally. I look at these things. I look at these things. You do not.

Uh, Bengals six point favorite tells me Flacco not playing. Okay. Maybe, maybe give him, give him a quarter. I don't know. He's, he strikes me. Somebody could take care of himself.

Just get rid of the football. Yeah. Okay. Maybe that's what people are thinking. Maybe.

I don't know. But, um, and then an AFC South winner. And unless the dolphins slash bills beat the chiefs. And unless whoever is the seven seed doesn't beat the bills slash dolphins, they're going to Baltimore how wrestling really works and how you get the ratings Eric Bischoff and Conrad Thompson explain on 83 weeks. I mean, I dig JU so, because he's born out of great storytelling and he lived up to the opportunity and exceeded it. You know what I mean? I mean, 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 83 weeks on YouTube or wherever you listen.