Andrew Whitworth: Dan Campbell is THE man for this job

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And the phrase for them, two words, why not? Just because of the Detroit lines? Earlier on the show, ESPN NFL analyst Dan Arlovski, senior writer for the MMQB, Albert Breer. Coming up, Prime Video TNF analyst Andrew Whitworth. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Hour number three of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air live on the Roku channel.

This Rich Eisen Show, Terrestrial Radio affiliate, Sirius XM, Odyssey and more. And if you missed any of the first two hours, a great chat with Dan Arlovski of ESPN about what we just saw on Divisional playoff weekend and what we should expect to see on the upcoming championship Sunday games. And if you missed that or Albert Breer telling us about what's going on right now in Los Angeles, California, Jim Harbaugh is here talking to the Chargers.

It seems like there's something afoot right there and what's going on with Belichick and Vrabel and the rest of the coaching carousel. He was great in hour number two. We rear on the Roku channel and then we also have our podcast, all three hours of it. We also on our podcast network have overreaction Monday. Chris Brockman and I went ahead and did our thing on Monday for that.

Check it out where you get all your podcasts. Andrew Whitworth is in our green room. He's about to come out here and hang out with us for a nice chunk of time before staying after class. And as I told him, he is the first individual to ever be carwashed in the history of the Rich Eisen Show or the Rich Eisen productions.

That is a television term for having him on not just one, but multiple shows in an orbit of a content foul. Call us a factory. What the football with Suzy Schuster and Amy Trask will be recorded as soon as we're done with Andrew. And that's what's all going down right here in our neck of the woods. 844-204 Rich, number to dial. Let's take this phone call. Tom in Ohio has been hanging on for a while. What's up, Tom? Hi, Rich. How are you doing?

I'm great. Like always. What's going on?

Thank you. Well, I've got a couple of things that kind of concern me about the NFL right now. One of them, you guys were talking about officials. One of the things I'm seeing that looks like is really starting to be a trend is the offensive line, like constantly moving and pointing right before the ball snapped. It looks like to me it's going to be another one of them penalties that can be called every play like holding or pass interference. You know what I'm saying? It just seems that way because, you know, they they're constantly moving. It seems like right right before the snap even. And I mean, it you know, it didn't like it used to be where the offensive lineman had to be, you know, perfectly still there. I mean, it's it's motion. No, I'm with you, Tom. What else is your mind?

What else you got? Well, another thing that's really concerning me is this. You know, with all the gambling and everything that's in the NFL now, if they ever, you know, have a situation like I did in the NBA where, you know, a kicker, you know, quarterback or God forbid, an official or somebody is caught, you know, fixing a game or anything. I mean, the NFL is doomed.

Well, I mean, there's so much gambling in it now that it's just. Well, I hear you, Tom. I once upon a time asked Roger Goodell not even on the air. I said, you know, what keeps you up at night? And he mentioned a handful of things. One of the things out of his mouth was a gambling scandal.

I appreciate the call, Tom. Like, I mean, they're very well aware of this. They've got they got everyone's IP addresses. They've got what heads up from all these apps, these gambling apps, these gambling sites.

Everyone knows exactly who's doing what. It would be very foolish of somebody to attempt to do those sorts of things. And, you know, I don't believe, again, when you talk about officials doing this or that and having, you know, their numbers are more for a home team than an away team. I know there's a lot of conspiracy theorists and everyone thinks that there's another Tim Donaghy out there. And the NFL is very well aware of all of this stuff.

Trust me. And, you know, we had Dean Blandino on here about a month ago. Right. The former head of NFL reps. And I asked him, like, how is this all landing about the officially the officiating? And they're like, you know, obviously they're they're concerned about it. But overall, you know, people are still watching our our product. And 50 million people watched Chief's Bills. So I'm not saying there's no focus on officiating. There is. But when it all comes down to it, we're still watching out there. And they're very well aware about a gambling scandal.

844-204-rich number to dial. Last night, the association went off and it was the anniversary, what, 18th anniversary of Kobe Bryant's 81 point game. And clearly, is that what it was, that everybody was just thinking about it?

I have no idea. But Joel Embiid set a Sixers record beating Wilt Chamberlain's record 70 points last night. And then Carl Anthony Towns at the same time was putting up 62. Kevin Durant, 43 points.

The last two are a buzzer beater. Tatum at thirty nine, eleven and five. Not pictured on the screen is Jalen Brown's 34.

Victor Wambunyama. Went off with a thirty seven, thirty three point seven rebounds, two blocks. Luca with a triple double. Same with Giannis. All in one night.

And it's kind of wild. Kevin Durant's reaction after winning his game, right, beating the Mavs at the buzzer. And in a game again, Luca had a triple double in this game.

He at the end of at the end of this game, he he was told about Embiid's performance and his reaction was classic. I don't know if you saw Joel Embiid score 70, Kat had sixty three. Seventy? Yeah, Joel had a 70 today.

Fifty eight, three three. He had 70? So what did nights like tonight mean in the NBA?

I say Kat had 40, I have. I mean, the skill level in this league is insane. And actually the coaching, the schemes on offenses and say you're seeing so many different sets being run for bigs to get threes. I mean, coaches are being way more creative to put their best players in great positions to get those numbers. And you got shooters all around the floor.

You got penetrators. I mean, this is the peak of basketball, in my opinion. You're seeing it with guys doing. I mean, come on, man, I bigs. We got bigs in the league getting 70 and 60, making nine, 10 threes, shooting pull up jumps. I mean, it's insane what we got going on. Yeah.

And then, by the way, I love that, by the way, also, he can include himself in it. Yeah. But is he not a big? I mean, he's 6'11".

He doesn't want to be known as that tall. His game winner. I saw his game winner on my phone without my glasses on.

Oh, OK. So his game winner, I thought it was an airball. When I first saw it, because I didn't see the context, I just saw it and people are tweeting about it and I just hit the hit the hit it. And I saw it was time winding down and I saw he double clutched it. And I thought he hit an airball because the net didn't move. It was like it was as if the the the rim sucked the ball through it. It didn't honestly it was nothing but air. You didn't hit the it didn't hit anything right at the back of the rim and just kind of dropped straight down like it didn't move the net. It was cool.

So then I put my glasses on like, oh, OK, that's why they're celebrating. He actually did make it double clutched. I love seeing that reaction from Durant. He's just he's just such a basketball junkie like that. Exactly. A sicko.

He wants to hear all this stuff. That was a genuine reaction. He's so happy for what MB did and what it means for the league and all. Like you said, we're at the height height of talent in the NBA right now.

And it's just really cool to see night in and night out. And then I don't know what's the craziest because Cat, Carl Anthony Towns, new favorite of our show, new friend of the show, got his 62 point game and a loss after they were up 18. And Chris Finch, the coach. Called out his team for an immature performance.

Check this out. It was an absolute disgusting performance of defense and immature basketball all the way through the game. There's lots of times when just because you've scored two or three or four points in a row or baskets in a row doesn't, you know, obviously we're gonna try to feed a hot hand, look for a hot hand. But at some point we got to get back to making the right play.

We got to get back to doing the right things. And, you know, let's just like I said, there's a lot of ways to be immature. There's always a lot of ways to be immature. And there was a lot of immature performances here throughout the roster. We totally disrespected the game ourselves and we got exactly what we deserve.

So, wow. Because they were setting up Carl Anthony Towns to try and have a big night and didn't focus on the other little things is that that's that's his opinion. Yeah, he had cat had 50 with like nine to go and I know in the third period and you're like, whoa, this could be another big night after we just saw what Joelle did. And so you're like, OK, and they're just kind of feeding him. I saw a clip and Edwards in the locker room after was like, yeah, we're trying to get him 100.

Well, that's that's Chris Fitch is like, OK, well, that's his point. Especially they're playing the Hornets, one of the worst teams in the league. But on the flip, the Sixers did the exact same thing. We got to a certain point where even the Spurs announcers on the site I was watching were like, if your name's not Embiid and you shoot the one guy was like, you should be cut on the spot.

Like even other teams announcers. And he was so efficient, you know, 21 foul shots made. And I hate to say someone scored an easy 70, Rich, because that's really not something you can do.

But it was like an easy 70 for him. He was just he he was amazing last night. It was cool.

It was incredible. Yeah. With Wembunyama on the court, too. And I'm sorry, it was against the Bulls.

I know I said Mavs, the Suns are playing the Mavs later this week for Celtics play the Mavs. Right, exactly. And that picture there, that's also what was great about it. You're looking at the present of the big man and you're looking at the future of the big man. And it was just great to watch those two go at it. And you kind of see what Vic can be in the future once he puts a little bit of weight on him. But man, and when we didn't back down, didn't you try from the moment he also had a really nice game, which is going to get overshadowed, obviously, when a player scores 70. But he also had thirty three last night.

There were a few times where it was a close game throughout. Put his shoulder in the Wendy's chest. And I got a little afraid. I'm like, please don't have a Chet Holmgren where you just your butt because there is a few times and be put it to him. He never backed down though, man.

He never backed down. It was a fun, fun ball night. All on the night that they're celebrating Kobe. Pretty much every single one of them went up to a podium and talked about Kobe. I know Embiid was very emotional about it. Embiid's tweet, he just tweeted out Kobe and then 70.

Just kind of a celebration. 70. Insane. I know. We did something Wilt had never done last night, which was that many points, 65 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. Wilt Chamberlain never done that. Right.

All his all his great. And Wilt led the league in assistances one year. Man, you know, we also used to always say about Shaq, well, if he could only hit his foul shots, imagine what he would do. Now you got Embiid who hits all his foul shots. So you kind of see what could have been.

Not to compare anyone to Shaq, because that's a whole nother story. Well, let's take a break. Andrew Whitworth is about to join us in person. So much to talk about this past weekend, this upcoming weekend with one of the best in the business from Amazon Prime.

Walter Payton, Man of the Year and Super Bowl champion and friend of the program, Andrew Whitworth next. It's great that I was with those people, because when your eyes are closed and someone is supposed to going to stab you in the chest, you have to really trust that they're not going to hurt you. 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. Back on the Rich Eyes and Show Roku Channel, our radio audience is joining us shortly. Look who's back here, everybody.

Walter Payton, Man of the Year, Super Bowl champ and all around great human. Andrew Whitworth, good to see you again, sir. Good to see you, brother. Good to see you. So, you know, we were inviting you to do the double dip this show and what the football last week, but you were in Cabo, right?

I was in Cabo. So does that mean the Rams are about to get a new quarterback too? You know, that has happened.

Is that happens every time? Was McVeigh there? No, McVeigh wasn't there.

They were unfortunately getting ready for the playoffs. Oh, okay. Fortunately, I guess you could say.

That's true. You know, so I had to be in Cabo by myself. No trades this time. Did you run into anybody?

Anybody that we would know? No, not really. Just played a little golf, had a good time.

It was good to get away a little bit, take the family and enjoy a little family time after a long Thursday night football schedule. What's your handicap? What number? You know, probably five or six. Really? Somewhere in there, yeah. I could swing it a little bit rich.

Stand by, I'll look this up. Now that is, are you really going to go, what, G-H-I-N or the GIN? Absolutely. You're going there? Absolutely. Somewhere in there. Really?

Okay. I'm actually, you know, last year I think it was like a four this year, probably five or six. That's on the way upper range for a lineman, right?

I'm trying to get my handicap up a little bit. 6.3 officially for Andrew. There you go. Boy, you can look this stuff up. What's Marshall Faulk's number?

Oh, he's going to be way lower. He won't say it. It depends.

In person. It depends. I don't know what state he's registered in. Hold on.

Well, go here. It's California. This one says 2.9 for Marshall. That's about right.

That's about right. He's a really good player. So he'd give you three strokes?

Oh yeah, I'll take him too. Well, of course he will. That's why he won't say it in person. He won't say it in public. Now we've outed him. Too bad. It's out there now, bud. It should be 2.8, right, for him. Yay!

28. That's the way we should work for him. You don't get to pick your handicap, Rich. No, you don't.

That's untrue. A lot of people pick your handicap. Yeah, Roger. A lot of people pick their handicap. What an answer. That is funny. There's a lot of picking of the handicap.

They can do that. I'm on the Rich Eisen Show radio network again, 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 clickrainger.com or just stop by. Our friend from Amazon Prime, as well as, of course, the championship team here in Los Angeles a couple years ago. The Walter Payton Man of the Year, Andrew Whitworth, back on the program. Great to see you again. Glad to be here, man. What was it, your watching experience, watching Stafford go against Goff?

What was that like for you? Oh, it was unbelievable. I mean, I think to think of that game and really, I remember, you know, throughout the season, we're talking about, you know, as the season started to kind of unfold, you're like, there's a possibility here. Rams make a run and get in these playoffs.

They're going to Detroit. How insane that would be. And it's just, to me, it's always amazing this league when, you know, it happens.

Like, it actually comes to fruition and there we are, we got Jared Goff, Matthew Stafford, the Revenge of the Exes, as I said, and to live up to it. I mean, what a great game. It was unbelievable. Both teams, you know, competing and playing great.

Both of them played great. You know, just a tough ending there for the Rams at the end with a chance to possibly kick a field goal and win it. But, man, awesome for Jared Goff and the Lions and what a moment. I mean, watching the fans in the stands with tears in their eyes and how excited that city was, I mean, man, that just reminds you of how special this game is. And then, of course, though, the quarterback for them to beat is Stafford. You can't make that stuff up, you know?

You can't. It was unbelievable. And I know it meant a lot to Matthew to get to go back there and to play in that stadium.

It did, right? And, yeah, I mean, I thought it was an emotional moment for them as well to go home to a place where he was so invested as a player and in the community and everything else. Yeah, because he's the one that was supposed to bring that there, you know what I mean?

I mean, really, you think about it, they kind of exchange those opportunities, you know? If you think you trade for Stafford and Goff had taken us to a Super Bowl and lost it and Stafford comes in, he wins the Super Bowl. And then you switch those spots and Goff gets the opportunity to win Detroit their playoff. And I think in that trade, I think Stafford will probably stick with the Super Bowl, be my guess.

Of course. And by the way, in three weeks' time, Goff might have one for himself. Exactly.

I mean, that is entirely possible and we'll get to that in a second. I just think when I was watching that game, I was thinking to myself that I don't know anybody who throws a prettier ball, a prettier spiral from more different arm angles than Matthew Stafford. He was slinging it. He was spinning it, man.

Like, he brought it that night. It's mind-boggling sometimes, you know, the way you can do it. And then also to me, it's like some of them, it's a rollout to where it's happening so fast that you're like just in his mind to think about where he's putting his eyes and never looking and throwing from these crazy angles. It's almost like in my – he has to have practiced or had a mentality of, hey, when I get out here in some of these situations, this is what I'm going to do. Because he does some of these no-look things so quick, it's not like it's something he has a chance to even set up.

It is crazy to see how good he is and how accurate he is being able to do it. I think, were we there, Chris, that Thursday night? Because we started doing shows from Thursday night games when we were back in the DirecTV days. Yep. Were we there for like the first McVeigh-Gough and – Up in San Francisco. – Shanahan 49er games? That was a shootout game. Todd Gurley went nuts, I think, that day.

It was like 48, 40-something or other. Oh, yeah. And you were on the field that – First year there, yeah. Right? And now look who's going back to that spot with the Lions to try and make the Super Bowl. He's going home to the Bay to get a chance to go to the Super Bowl.

I think it's another opportunity to hear where you see almost the script of golf, right? He gets a chance to have Matthew Stafford and the Rams come to Detroit and beat them. And then now he's got an opportunity to go home to the Bay and get his chance to go to the Super Bowl as a Detroit Lions quarterback. They got a tough task beating the Niners in San Fran, but what a special moment it'd be for him.

So, listen, obviously he could speak for himself. He doesn't need a former, you know, blindside protector to speak for him, but I'm going to ask anyway. What do you think this would mean for him, for Goff, to go take the Lions to the Super Bowl in a way that, again, Stafford did not after Stafford took you to a Super Bowl podium in a way that he could not? What do you think this means for him deep inside? Because he doesn't usually wear that stuff on his sleeve or verbalize it.

Yeah, he's probably not going to talk about too much about what it would mean. But, you know, I would say for Jared, it's one of those things I always said when the Stafford trade happened. You know, is it more about timing and the rush of the Rams to really, we want to win right now? Because I thought if you'd have said, Jared, three, four years down the road, a little more experience in the league, a little more exposure to everything and time to kind of develop himself as that leader at quarterback, not just a good quarterback.

I don't know if the trade ever happens. But because of the timing of really where Jared was, where Sean was, and then Matthew, you know, availability comes, you know, Lions allow him to seek a trade, it happens. Because I think now this gives Jared the opportunity to show, like, you know, really to the world, like it wasn't just, and I've said this, like he played great quarterback for the Rams. I mean, you go back and look, I mean, took him to a Super Bowl, we won division championships, everything. It gives him a chance to validate who he is as a number one pick and what he was all about and really prove to people that, hey, I may have been traded, but it was more of a decision of, you know, if you want to call it where each team was and their, you know, relative aspects of life at that moment as a team and as franchises.

And this is a chance to vindicate exactly who I am and show people I'm the real deal. And I think for Jared, he's doing that and he's continued to do that as a Lion. I think he's grown and matured in a way. It's been awesome to watch to see some of these moments and how he stepped up and thrown it. You look at the Rams game to close it, throw in the football in that situation that shows the trust and belief they have in him as the leader. And then at the end of this game, I thought it was crazy. Just, you know, some of those situations, they were going for it. I mean, you're up a touchdown, you think you'd be safe. They got down to the red zone first.

They can just take a shot to him on St. Brown corner of the end zone for a touchdown and take a two score lead. That was a beautiful time. Oh, I'll never forget it because I was, I stepped out of the living room, Rich, and I hear my wife go, what are they doing? She was upset because she's like, all right, all they got to do is get a field goal. Let's eat some clock.

You know, she's an old lineman's wife. Run the football three times. Run the football three times, you know, first and goal. If we end up with a field goal, we're up two scores. Let the defense handle the rest of it, right?

No pressure. And they drop back and I hear her be like, whoa, wait a minute. They're going to throw it.

And then he drops a dime. I mean, unbelievable throw. But that shows the faith they have in him and really the company has himself, too.

Yeah. And again, just to go back to that to that trade. I mean, we and your reaction to it because we had golf about a month plus ago and I asked him, hey, you're the perfect person to ask. How many years should a franchise give a quarterback, a rookie quarterback to develop and prove himself? And he said three to four years, which is kind of interesting because that does appear how long the Rams did give him. And I was there for his his birth on a Thursday night after the Rams fired Jeff Fisher and the interim coach Bones Fossil is there and they threw him in against Seattle.

And it was it was a slaughter, man. I mean, he got he got his ass handed to him that night. But the the the draft that the trade was acknowledged by many of us in the media as a white flag on the golf front. Let's get him out and send him to Detroit, which will never be building around him. They're going to build around the two firsts. Normally when you trade quarterbacks, Andrew, you know, you you you trade to to get the quarterback you want. You don't flip the quarterback with the two firsts to like you don't normally get a a franchise building quarterback and two firsts for the quarterback.

You're coughing up. And that was basically an indication to a lot of us in the media. Well, golf is he's the throwing, you know, not the two firsts. He's the throwing. And now look at him. It's that's why I want to know, like, what's going on in his head. He must be like damn straight.

I'm Jared friggin golf. That's what I think. I think you see it more in his personality this past year. I thought you even had we even had that moment on Thursday football where he kind of claps back at Ryan Fitzpatrick, you know, for calling him a poor man's Matt Ryan. Which I thought was like I think Ryan minute is like a compliment, like you're not there yet. Where Matt Ryan, you know, the longevity of his career and success. And so, you know, it was great to have a rich man's Ryan Fitzpatrick. Yeah, exactly.

But I thought it was great because it's who I know off the field. Like he is a little chippy and he is like he'll fight back if you say something like we're on the golf course and, you know, he gets chippy on the course. Like he's the guy who's going to get chippy with you and he's going to say things and get fired up while he's playing. And so it's fun to see some of that come out in the public. And so I think it'd be it'd be interesting to hear how much he'll really say about it. But I think for him, he's got to be thinking, man, you damn straight.

I'm exactly who I thought I was. And I'm getting the opportunity to show people that. In any sense, the fact that he's he's been through the wars as a ram against the Niners, does that mean anything in this game or not really? Because it's I think he knows what he's going to have to deal with, you know, in the sense that you know how this defense is and how they build off momentum and you making little mistakes.

I mean, you look at Sam Fran, they're able to create a lot of pressure with that front. You know, obviously, Fred Warner's just an insane football player. He's absolutely crazy. He's everywhere.

He is. And Greenlaw's exceptional as well. And they do they do a great job. And one of the things they do really well there is that that line and that front and how they play with the energy and the passion they do, they can create almost you feel like there's more people on the field than there is. And you got to learn how to calm down and make the plays and don't go in there and make simple mistakes, because that team, more than any, builds off of momentum.

If they get you to make mistakes, next thing you know, it's 21 to three and you have no idea what happened. I mean, that's their kind of style of team. And so he knows what he's going to have to deal with and what they've got to go do well. Do you know Dan Campbell at all?

I mean, well enough. You know, I think following him enough, I think he's so intriguing. I've followed him tons since he got the job. And man, I think that he is the man built for these opportunities that they're in. I mean, you look at his character and how he's really led this football team and really spoke a lot of this into their heads from training camp. You go back and look at these videos where he's continuously talking to them about where they're going to be and what they're going to be going through. I think to me that's one of the biggest things in the league that people lose is that leadership right there, that ability to speak things into players' minds of who they are and what their team's about and continue to carry that message.

He's done a tremendous job of it. What did you take out of San Francisco's Saturday night win? What was your takeaway from that? Well, I think we've seen, I mean, you really could relate Baltimore and San Fran very similar in the sense, you know, you kind of pulled off in week 18. You get a bye week and you come back out and it's just a little sluggish. It doesn't look like you really would have expected those teams to look. But I think you look at both those teams, they survived both those opportunities. I would say Baltimore came out in the second half and really became who they are and who we expected. You didn't see as much of that from the Niners, but at the same time, something they'd never done before under Kyle Shanahan, they were able to do. Come back from a, you know, fourth quarter deficit and win a football game. You know, so I think that really seeing that, they've got to have a lot of confidence that, hey, we played about as bad as we're going to play. We still found a way to win. And now we got one shot right here, an opportunity. They come to our place, we win, we go to the Super Bowl.

Okay. And when you were in meeting rooms preparing for the San Francisco 49ers in your NFC championship game, what were you looking to attack defensively that you think the Lions can take advantage of? Well, I think it's who the Lions are. And I think that's why people kind of have that sneaky feeling like this Lions team could go in there and win is the physicality and the mentality they play the game with. That's what matches up really well against the Niners. If you want to go beat them, you've got to go be physical with them. And you've got to get after them because they're going to do that to you. And that's the kind of style you're going to play.

You need a Panay Sewell. You need this big Detroit Lions offensive line that loves to lean on people and play physical in the run game. You're going to need that style of football. And I think it's going to be interesting to see because you look last week, that's what the Packers' mentality was too. And it's for Detroit.

It's going to be can you close it? The Packers weren't able to close the game off. Can you make it that kind of physical style of football, slow the game down a little bit, hit your shots when you take them, and then get off the grass?

And you've got that Aiden Hutchinson. I look at it like any great football team, you need that closer on defense, and they have them. And it's like can he make the play in the game in the moment when Brock Purdy, you look at that game last week. If there's a closing moment where somebody gets to Brock Purdy and can get him on the ground, maybe the Niners don't make that drive. But I think the Lions have the ability to do it. And it's going to be interesting to see.

I think it's going to be a good one. I keep on landing in Jameer Gibbs. I don't know why.

I do. Well, because he's such a difference maker. He's one of those that is just, to use a Sesame Street phrase, unlike the other.

One of these is just not like the other. And I'm just wondering if there's a way with the two rookies, with Laporta and with Gibbs, are there any matchup problems they can create? I know that, boy, are these linebackers for the 49ers so fast sideline to sideline. There's a reason why Fred Warner was one of three unanimous first team All-Pro selections.

But I'm just wondering if you think that I could be onto something here. Well, the difference maker with Gibbs is he has speed and closing speed that's out of this world. I mean, in the sense that, you know, you look at this Detroit front and what they're able to do in the run game. And I think that's the difference to me that really matches well with Montgomery and him is you've got a style of a guy who's going to come in and fight for every last little yard in Montgomery. And then you have him who you give him a seam and somebody takes the wrong angle.

It changes the game like throwing a deep play action pass and converting a bomb up for a touchdown. Jameer Gibbs can do the same thing running the football. You know, it's like Chris Johnson when he was in Tennessee. You mean you give him one seam and he's gone. He's got that kind of speed.

And so I think that when you have that and the kind of style and commitment they have to it, they have a chance in this game because that's exactly what they can do. What we saw the Niners do in the game last week against the Packers. Christian McCaffrey makes a guy miss and he's got the speed to close it out and go score. And I think Jameer Gibbs has that same thing. So that's why I think this is going to be a great football game. Andrew Whitworth here on the Rich Eisen show.

So did the I'll ask you the same question as Dan Orlovsky in the first hour of this program. Did the Chiefs not only find the switch but flip it? Are we officially flipped on as a potentially dynastic defending Super Bowl champion or what?

What do you got? Listen, one thing I've learned throughout this year and even last year is never pick against the Chiefs. I continuously do it though. Me too, me too. I fell into it every time. I was full on board. I fell into the trap after the Raiders game.

I was just, hey, you know what? There's no way this team makes it run this time. The Christmas Day loss to the Raiders. And the one that got me though is I've been saying from this year over and over again, do not let the Bills in the tournament. They're that dangerous team.

Don't let them in. And the team that first opened the door for him or stuck Kadarius Toney's foot in the door was the Chiefs. And I just I thought to myself, there's just no way they're finally going to get the Chiefs in their building.

And lose. And I was wrong. I was flat out wrong about it. Well, it's another amazing job by Andy Reid. I mean, really, you look at it.

What do you do? What do you think? Well, I mean, I think you look at it in that game. They went to 13 personnel. They committed to running the football some.

They really converted in the past, came out of it as well. For people who might not know what 13 personnel is. So they put three tight ends on the field. And, you know, I think to me, you look at it, I think even in the second half last year in the Super Bowl, there was a there was an intent of we're going to have to play a physical style football game to win this game.

And, you know, all year I've been kind of wondering why I haven't seen a little bit of that out of them. And sometimes, like with guys like Andy Reid and a guy like Mahomes, I just wonder some of these coaches that were like, you know, we're good enough to get in. And then when we get in, I'm going to kind of give people a little bit different style of what we're our approach, maybe to attack teams will be, because it sure seems like all of a sudden this week he had an intent. We're going to use these three tight ends. We're going to run the football with them.

We're going to build play actions and passes off of it. And they were able to dice the Bills up with it. And maybe it could be just because of how beat up the Bills were. He felt like that was something they could do.

But I'll be sure to see if we don't see it again this week. Well, I mean, yeah, clearly the Bills' line backing core was exploitable in a way that the Ravens' line backing core will not. But doesn't it make sense to have fewer wide receivers on the field? I mean, that's kind of what I mean. And that's why it's been interesting to me all year through the struggles they've had, they continue to take the approach of we'll get better or it'll improve instead of just adjusting to, hey, maybe we change up personnel groupings of how we actually go about the games.

And so I think it's interesting to see him do it now in these big moments. Now, I also think that the caliber where the Dolphins were with the amount of players they had lost, the Bills were, this is going to be a much different challenge taken on the Baltimore Ravens in this defense. Because I think you actually finally are playing two teams that are really healthy.

And we'll see how it plays out this week. So can you give me your best analysis of what Todd Monken, the offensive coordinator in Baltimore, has changed that has elevated everything and obviously allowed Lamar to become an MVP player, what appears to be for a second time? Well, I think one of the biggest things that we kind of said that when he took the job that was going to be really the development of Lamar Jackson again as a quarterback in the sense of them being balanced offensively and finding different ways to attack you, not always being one style that they were going to attack you with, whether it be things they'd done in the past in enrollment or not, just finding more balance in their offense to where every week you felt like, man, there's different ways they're going to go after teams. And it doesn't mean there's one personnel group or one style we're going to play with.

And you've seen them do it all year. But I think the biggest thing to me has been the adjustments. Throughout a game, you can tell Monken is the real deal and he has a feel for, all right, if this is your plan for how you're going to play us, I have some plays or I have some adjustments throughout the game we'll make and we'll be able to attack you.

And I think that that's what you continue to see. It's this development of Lamar can handle all these different things and, hey, we want to play this style of football in this game and this is what we got to do. And the thing I love the most is hearing that at halftime, Lamar Jackson was ticked off, you know, screaming at guys.

He said he did a lot of cussing or whatever. And, you know, you could see when he came out for the second half a couple of times, this dude was like, we ain't losing today. Like, no way we're losing today. And they're going to need that to go close this out.

And I think it's only fitting. You want to go represent the AFC and the Super Bowl. The Chiefs found a way to get there.

You got to go through the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes to get there. Again, it's another, you know, these scriptwriting people who say that we script it all. We're not helping ourselves, but it happened again. It sure did. But, I mean, so what would you say, you know, the answer to this is, I don't usually ask questions, Andrew Whitworth, that are like fill in the blank, but I'll do it.

Okay. The Buffalo Bills lost because fill in the blank. You know, at the end of the day, I think they lost because it's just attrition of players. I think you look at it, defensively they had some of the guys that they really started this year. You look at the Linebacking Corps, secondary, I mean, you can name a different position group.

Every single one of them, they've lost a guy that was really critical to them. And it's like, you know, and Von Miller really never coming on this year health-wise. You know, you hope to see him next year look healthier than he did this year, even though he played. He just didn't look like himself. I think at the end of the day, they just didn't have that guy on defense who could make that play.

That gets you off the grass and a chance to get off the field and give Josh back the ball. And I think that was always going to be the worry is that Josh Allen was going to have to play out of his mind. And they were going to have to be unbelievably offensively to continue to win. Because defensively they just, you know, they weren't talented as probably the groups that you start to play when you're in these playoffs. You look at the Baltimore Ravens lineup and how healthy they are compared to the Buffalo Bills.

Even if they got there, they've been a drastic difference. Andrew Whitworth here on the Rich Eisen Show. One more segment to the end of the program. After which, Andrew will sit in with Suzy Schuster and Amy Trask on what the football.

844-204 Rich number doll. When we come back, I want to ask you your Super Bowl prediction. And then what's going on with the Dallas Cowboys and if we should read into tweets of their close relatives. Clapping at each other and back at Dak. That's next.

Back on the Roku channel. Alright, Andrew Whitworth. I'm asking you your two cents on the most indelible image from the divisional contest between the Chiefs and the Bills. And that is Jason Kelce, shirtless and bellowing outside the box.

Look at him. I mean we need more of that. If we're going to have some cutaways during the game, that's what we want to see right there. Well I mean it's jarring. Certainly if you're expecting to see Taylor Swift and this is what you see instead.

I mean the people have to be happy. The bear. That's the bear. That's the bear. Look at that right there. That was an all-time. So do all offensive linemen have this within them or no?

I think they do. I think it's the best part of the sport right now with sports media is that you've got more linemen getting involved and in the spotlight. This guy is a great testament to that. He's going to be fantastic at it and he is a lot of fun to be around. Well I mean did you text him after you saw him? Oh yeah I've texted him all about that.

And what can you share with us? You know he felt like it was hot in there. You know he's just ready to cool off. That's all it was.

Is that his line or two Chris Long said you know. It was hot. He said basically what's up with that. He goes it was hot in the box. No I asked him about the ball. You know he went out to the tailgating area.

He did the bowling ball shot which I did when we did TNF, me and Raf Fitzpatrick. And so you know he did all the things. He got into the tailgate and he didn't have the pizza that's cooked in the cabinet.

I told him he missed out on all the chemicals that are clearly coming out of that. But I did it. So I feel great though.

I'm still here. Well listen you have your off season workout program and as we saw in that photograph he has his. That's a great first step. That's what I texted him actually.

He's like hey great first step in your off season workout program. I approve. Oh by the way Art But Make It Sports have you seen this? That looks like a painting from 1654. That is pretty good.

It is that. Social media is the best. Back here on the Rich Eisen Show radio network. Game Time tickets. Take that app and get it on a mobile device right now and start buying tickets to any event near you. Sports, music, comedy, theater. Don't worry when you buy tickets to your next big event. It's already filled with enough question marks.

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Lowest price guaranteed. Andrew Whitworth of Prime Video still here for one more segment on the program. I don't know how you view it but we in the media writ large view any tweet or post from a relative of a player that they're speaking for this player. And you know CeeDee Lamb's mom tweeting out, Dak isn't it. And then you know chiming in when somebody says tell the young'un to come home to the home team. CJ would love him.

She wrote I wish he would. CJ is great. I mean then Micah's brother chimes in about fire everybody and if Dak doesn't take $40 million up next Trey Lance. You know Dak's brother chiming in as well. What do you make of stuff like this? You know what goes on in locker rooms. Does this mean there's more there there? You know I think that obviously the more there to me irrelevant to this you know these post is that they were clearly very frustrated in that last game and you could see that there was.

CeeDee and Dak. Yeah you could see that frustration and then also just that team. I mean there's no way you can have as much expectation and success as they've had in the regular season and not be frustrated.

I look at my time in Cincinnati. I mean we went to the playoffs five years in a row. Won the division you know three of those five years or two at least.

And you know never found a way to win a playoff game. And there was a lot of animosity in those locker rooms after each game because you you always I think when it happens the first time it's like hey man we just we didn't make the plays. And then the next time it's like you know this guy's got to make that play. And so it starts to be almost like hey if everything kind of stays the same in the locker room and it's a lot of the same people.

It's hard to keep coming up with reasons that you're losing other than all these same people need to play better in those games. And I think that starts to build kind of an animosity there. And so you got to figure out a way to shake that up.

Whether that's through your leadership of saying hey we're going to go a different route of how we do things. You mean in terms of a coach? Yeah I mean he's there too. He's coming back to you.

So he's there right. So then all right now that to me this is one of those airing of grievances type moments. I mean you need to get it out. Get it over with.

How? In the sense of getting these guys together. And I think sometimes that doesn't mean in the team room that means you know go to dinner do whatever. Like find a way of hey let's all get in a room and let's get on the same page. We're all going to be here. If we want to win football games and we want to play great football together this kind of mess is never going to get us there. So either you got to be in or you got to be out. And that's the bottom line.

But to those we're all fans and your guys I'm imagining you've been part of these things. I don't know. But you know what does it sound like where they do air it all out with whatever deck. It's not pretty.

What do you mean? It's not pretty. I mean it's usually if you're going to have an airing out. I mean there's going to be contentious moments of it and things that are going to be said that you're going to have to get over. But I think that's life and that's playing in the football game and saying hey there's a high expectation of how I play. And you know I think sometimes as linemen I think our mentality is a little different in that because we're a little used to it. Like you think of like really what a lineman's disposition is. Like we play a game and if you know 99 percent of the time I'm good and I one play a game I give up a sack I wouldn't even play in the NFL. So how I have to play I can't even mess up once in a game technically and keep my job if I was somebody who messed up every week. So I'm used to you either are getting like if you're talking about me it's usually negative.

I mean that's just a fact. The only time you talk about offensive linemen is as a group if it's positive. Like hey this offensive lineman did a great job of protecting the quarterback. The way you get your name singled out is Andrew Whitworth got beat on third and 11 and that sack led to this team losing the game.

Like that's how you get in there. So I think linemen we're a little used to that. I think other position groups you're used to really being talked about only in a positive way. And that your name gets in the papers because you made the big plays and you made the spotlight moments. And so sometimes you got to get those guys in a room and say hey air it out speak whatever it is you need to talk about and let's go.

I mean I think that those things are important. I remember even when you know we were struggling a little bit with Jared Goff at times you know in the sense of not that it was him but as a team we were struggling when Jared was still there. And we'd have these meetings and it may be you know Jalen Ramsey challenging the defense has got to play more physical. And Jared and me and some of the guys on offense talking about we have to play better.

Like you have to get in a room and be honest with each other about what each other has to do. And they need a little of that because I think then that leads to hey tell your mom tell your whoever like don't talk about my quarterback that way. Don't talk about my receiver that way.

Don't talk about my defensive end that way. That leads to that it permeates just like you say hey do you look into those things is it a little bit of truth. It also permeates the other way like hey if you really ride or die with this guy then it should reflect in the people around you.

So then it is fair to say that moms or dads or brothers or cousins or sisters. You may not be condoning it but you're not stopping it. What I'm saying though is that those relatives with you know jumpy thumbs who don't hover around send and just hit it.

Get it from somewhere? Like I said you may not be telling them to do it or condoning it but you didn't stop them. You know what I'm saying? But you might have also fed them with the information that causes them to have jumpy thumbs right? Exactly. Especially if you get tagged in it or any of that kind of stuff like to me in that situation like I'm going to tag my family member right back like hey chill out. Like that ain't true or you know don't tweet that again. Like I'm going to call them back out in person.

In person? Yeah because heck yeah if you really ride with the guys you say you do. Like that's one of my things in the locker room. Like don't say that and you're really half in half out like hey if it goes good I'm in with you.

If it goes bad I'm not. Like to me that's not what you ever want to be. To me that's fraudulent and to me as a player that's the worst thing you can be. And so I think in this situation it's like not that it's hey this is definitely coming from these players. But I'd love to see these players stand up and say that ain't the truth. Like to me when that happens and you get tagged to something like that you've got to speak out in a way and show that it doesn't represent how you feel.

Andrew Whitworth here on the Rich Eisen Show. Okay so your Super Bowl prediction based on what you think is happening on the championship Sunday is what? I said this the last few weeks of the season.

I still feel good about it. Although you know Jared Goff's kind of got me excited that maybe these guys can make a run. But I predicted Niners Ravens and I thought the Niners might win the rematch. You know but there's a part of me that wants to go against my prediction because I get kind of excited if I think of Jared Goff and the Lions making it to the Super Bowl. Well again my prediction prior to the season was Chiefs and Niners. And then I saw how the Chiefs were playing offensively even with my own two eyes in Germany.

And I'm like okay now that it's Thanksgiving and I get a chance to have a mulligan I'm out. I'm going Ravens. Yeah I pivoted on the Joe Burrow injury. You know I remember I think we did the kickoff show together. I was Niners-Bingles so I had the right divisions. Yes. Wrong puke. Yeah right.

Egg divisions. I pivoted on the Joe Burrow wrist injury and went Ravens and since then I've kind of said it would be Niners Ravens. So you know I don't know. I mean the Chiefs though. I mean what they just did in Buffalo they have a sense of okay we are seeing a dynastic situation being born.

We're watching it happen. Where Mahomes is you know last year when he beat the Eagles became the face of the NFL. Now he has an opportunity to become this generation's Tom Brady.

Oh there's no doubt. For a fact and I know I'm talking about you know seven trophies and playing until he's 45. But I'm just saying like the dominant figure that you've got to come through him and it doesn't matter how he looks or who his receivers are or whatever. He's still that guy when it all comes down to it and can raise his level of play and if he does this to the Ravens right.

So that's. I've continued to say I think the Chiefs only actually start to get a little better because I think they're going to restructure where some of their money is and what's going to be important to how they win. So if he does it with this team two years in a row where we've said no chance he's winning it with this roster or these receivers or how they're playing.

I mean good luck. And I think he could possibly legitimately be in the conversation to pass what Tom did. And we were talking about it yesterday that if it wasn't for Brady he might have two more rings right now. Brady being the first one by the way and only other one not named Joe Burrow to ever beat Mahomes in a playoff game. And then you know beating him in his first playoff season and then his second Super Bowl attempt. But he can join Brady as the you know as quarterbacks who have repeated his champions. Brady's the last one to do it and the NFL Network was one and two years old and we're now 20.

It's crazy. You even think about the Super Bowl he lost. I mean he lost both his starting tackles.

Yes. Going into that Super Bowl I mean it was going to be a pretty insane task to even try to figure out a way to compete. Which caused the Chiefs to rethink the way that they were going to build around Mahomes. They got Creed Humphrey who was dynamite. The interior three of that group is insane. I mean they are really good and they're going to be there for a while.

So that's why I'm saying I really think you look at it they could structure him to like they're going to be the team to beat for quite some time. And I thought this year was the year where they're free to get after. And here they are. But still not Sunday. You're still going Ravens-niners. I still think the Ravens handle that. This is by far the best team that they've played in this little run. Like we'll see what they look like against the Baltimore Ravens to really prove it.

Now having said that I just told you how good their interior is. They can handle the Ravens up front. Okay Andrew Whitworth. You never know. But I'm still going Ravens. I feel good about it. Andrew Whitworth going to wrap things up on the Roku Channel before doing What the Football with Suzy and Amy in a moment. Until I see that. Watch what Lala is talking about on YouTube or search for Give Them Lala wherever you listen.