Stacey Dales: Caleb Williams is the Chosen One

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Eastern Conference Final begins Wednesday. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Rich Eisen Show. And we thank you for sharing that with us.

With guest host, Suzy Schuster, live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Why does everyone hate Jason Tatum? Why does everybody from Boston think everybody hates him?

Everybody hates everybody. He is the most disrespected superstar. Earlier on the show, radio and sports talk icon Chris Mad Dog Russo. Senior NBA writer for The Ringer. Howard Beck, still to come. NFL Network reporter Stacey Dales. And now, sitting in for Rich, it's Suzy Schuster.

Hey everybody, Suzy Schuster in for Rich Eisen. He is finishing up a day off, a well-deserved day off, but he'll be back in the chair tomorrow, unless I decide not to let him come into work, which just might happen, because I love sitting here with everybody. Chris Rockman, how are you? Hey, Suze. Hey, Chris.

You sound so excited after I was excited coming back from break-in. Mikey, how are you? I'm doing well, Suzy.

How are you? TJ, our color commentator, great to see you. It's a great day because today is the birthday of the greatest rapper of all time, the Notorious B.I.G. Is it really? Happy birthday, Biggie, yes.

Something to be bumping him on. Happy birthday, Biggie. That's how I like to start the third hour. Juicy show. Also, is it Josh Allen's birthday?

Is that right? Fantastic. We've had a really fun first two hours, if you've missed any of it. Christopher Russo joined us in the first hour, and then we had Howard Beck in the second hour. Stacey Dales will join us shortly. But we have had a fantastic show so far, and had some liberty.

Let's just do famous birthdays. Hold on a second. Mr. T is 72. I paid for it. I paid for it. Nick Cassavetes is 65.

Happy birthday. But Mr. T was in a commercial campaign recently, and he looks the exact same. I'm at the airport once. And did you say hello?

No. You just stared at him. Was he wearing all the chains? Terrified.

Yeah, wearing all the chains. Was he big or small? Small.

I mean, he's 70. He's not that big. But you know, sometimes you see people in person, and a lot of the times with actors, they're a lot smaller than you think they are. I mean, I'm 5'8 without shoes on, so a lot of the times I'll meet somebody. So you're tall, though. I'm a tall person. But a lot of times you can meet somebody and you're like, oh, it's so nice to meet you. LaVar Burton was on my flight back from Atlanta on, wait, Sunday night.

Very tiny man. Is that right? Yeah. Who's the person that you've seen that you just said, I can't help it, I have to talk to this person?

Well, the last time I did that was Nomar at the Pittsburgh airport. I made an idiot out of myself. Did you scream Nomar? No, I just kind of looked at him, and he kind of gave me the nod, and I was like, we have the same birthday. And he was like, cool. Happy birthday. Wow, loser.

Because this was two weeks later in August. Wow, loser. That's fantastic. TJ, you? Oh, my goodness. Yeah, TJ, come on. There's way too many for me. Are you kidding me?

TJ's got a thousand photos. I don't like to go up to people. Oh, goodness gracious, Susie. There's so many that I've just had to talk to. Give me one. Give me one. This is like win-loss. Give me one.

Win-loss? This dude just jumped out at me. All right, so there was a wrestler.

This is recent. I was in Philadelphia, and I was at this thing called WrestleCon, which a bunch of older wrestlers from our youth were there. So there was a few there like Tommy Wildfire Rich and let's see who else. Axe and Smash, Demolition, The Powers of Pain. Old school wrestlers like that that I just had to go up and just shake their hand and tell them thank them and thank them for making my, you know, youth so much fun.

So, yeah, there was a few wrestlers. Mikey? I have so many. I'm like TJ.

It's like, but oh, you guys are just always running into famous people. Cool. No, it has nothing to do with that. That's how it sounded. That's how it sounded. No, I got to think of who. All right, I'll tell you mine because this is not going fast like win-loss. And speaking of win-loss, we are taking calls. So there's a bunch of you that have been holding on. You know how I feel about taking calls. We're going to take them as much as we can. But I'm letting you know, hey, let's see, I'm saying just to whoever's holding the most.

Dan in Wisconsin, we're coming to you very soon. John Taylor from Duran Duran. And I made a fool of myself at the Super Bowl in Houston one year and they were there. They were playing and Simon Le Bon was doing the Euro clap next to us in the in the booth that we were sitting in. It was so embarrassing as a Euro clap in football.

Don't go hand in hand. But I did see John Taylor at a party and I said to him, oh, my God, I was so in love with you. I used to have a poster of you and I'd get on the phone and pretend to talk to you in the other line. And he looked at me and said, you're a loser, baby. Just like that. I just called me a loser. Yes, that's it.

That was very exciting. Mike, did you think did you think of your name or not? I'm going to say Springsteen.

Of course. When did you meet Springsteen? Super Bowl. That doesn't narrow it down. Tampa Super Bowl.

I don't know what year. But I mean, I saw him in the Stone Pony when I was sick. But still. Yeah, Springsteen. Definitely.

Well, you know, there's a lot of there's a lot of celebrities in L.A., right? Obviously, we see that all the time. We see that's why it's kind of hard.

It's hard for us. Will Ferrell will always go to USC games. He, in fact, also was a ref in the AYSO soccer that my kids played in. So that was fun to see him reffing. But Denzel Perryman from the Chargers made a really funny, really funny Will Ferrell reference.

Do we have that sound handy? My first impression of the hardball, I hope I don't get in trouble for this, but he reminds me of Will Ferrell. I don't know if it's the way that he talks, like, you know, his his analogies and everything. But like they they really remind me of Will Ferrell.

And I don't know, it's just funny to me. Like it's funny, but I know like he means well, like everything's come from the heart. But I feel like I have a sense of humor to understand, you know, like some of his lines and gimmicks. But I love him. I love him as a coach. Like I said, I love the direction that he got us going in. He played the game.

He played here and he understands. Have you ensured with him that you remind you of Will Ferrell? Not yet. Not yet.

I'm pretty sure he'll hear this and talk to me about it tomorrow. Are you thinking of a specific Will Ferrell character, like from one of the movies? Nah, just Will Ferrell, like in general.

Talladega Nights. Which Will Ferrell are you talking about? Step Brothers? Step Brothers is a good one.

Step Brothers is a good one. I don't know, man. He's just giving Will Ferrell bops. He's just giving Will Ferrell bops. I mean, would that be a Wedding Crashers Ma the Meat Loaf? Will Ferrell?

What do you think? I think that's the one. Maybe Kickball? Because he's a coach. Isn't he a coach in that movie?

Kicking and Screaming. That's soccer. It can't be the hair from Blades of Glory. Oh, no. That was fantastic. That looked like the burrow hair. Yes, that's a good call.

I would say the Wedding Crashers Ma the Meat Loaf, right? Finish smiles and looks very serious. What do you think? Great question.

Not sure. I'm just kind of excited for the full Harbaugh experience. Got a little taste when we went to the Rose Bowl for Run Rich Run, then ran into him at the Brady Roast. Harbaugh's everywhere. He's out there. He's L.A. now. He and Sarah are enjoying Los Angeles.

They are, very much so. Not my Sarah, his wife Sarah. I was about to say, that was weird. Little confusing for the audience. Are they still living in the RV?

Down by the river? Nope, they're in the house. They've got a crib now.

Just wondering how they're going to look different. Are they going to be able to break the charger, gonna charge her? Kind of stink that's been over this franchise for a long time. Is he going to go for it on Fourth Down all the time? Or maybe not at the obvious times like Brandon Staley used to? Hopefully the injury bug gets solved.

Cause that's marred their Justin Herbert season so far. Can they crank down the unnecessary crowd noise on Fourth Down at SoFi? You know when you go to a Chargers game versus a Rams game. It's a nightmare. It's awful.

And I'm going to go on record by saying turn it down. I honestly went to of course a Patriots game. Sucked. And Fourth Down is a nightmare. We won that game. Did we win that game?

I'm just so used to losing right now in advance that I'm just preparing myself. How do you remember that? That was one of the good Mac Jones games. Oh, which one? The one against the Chargers here at SoFi. That was one of the good Mac Jones games. That one? There weren't that many. Well he was a Pro Bowler that year. Nobody likes to talk about it.

He was number 85 on the top 100. I like how... I'm just trying not to make it real.

I don't want to talk about Mac Jones anymore cause he's in our past. We're going to suck this year. But I'm okay with that.

I'm not. I'm resigned. But I'm resigned. But I know it's going to be bad in advance. So I'm just trying to like breathe through it in advance so that I'm not disappointed in advance.

As opposed to Chris who's already like... Like I said has a bucket between his legs for game one tonight. But hold on. I lost my train of thought. There was something really funny I was going to say and then I told... What are you doing over there?

Did you break your microphone? No, no, no. There's a little... Hang on a second.

A little buzz. I think. I'm not doing anything, Mike. You're the audio engineer. There we go.

I'm just a co-host. Yeah, you see. Back to what I was saying.

Are you though? It's just really loud in there in fourth down. And if he goes for it in fourth down and they convert they don't need all those stupid horns and sirens in the background. Yeah, but there's no Chargers fans in LA. There might be.

Oh my god. I think it's a little bit like Kaitlin Clark where there's all of a sudden so many Chargers fans because everyone is so excited to have Harbaugh here that I think you're actually going to see Chargers fans filling the stands. I think people think Harbaugh equals wins. We'll see if it actually happens. There's a Harbaugh confidence that comes and that he brings.

And I think with that confidence brings fans and please don't let it bring unnecessary noise on fourth down. I'm just saying. They are serving CVT ice cream now at SoFi.

That's my breaking news. Things that I care about at SoFi. What's the food situation? It's great. Is it going to be great? It's always good. It's great where Mike's seats are. What about your seats? Not great?

It could be better. I like to sit with Kara Henderson. I like to sit with Kara Henderson for Rams games.

Yeah, exactly. Because I know they'll be really good tequila. Of course you like to sit there. I like to sit on the street.

That's like saying I like to be in the water right now. And my eyes they see. My eyes they see. A buffet.

Because if I'm going to go to a game I want to sit there with a nice. Okay. No twofold. Line six. Dan in Wisconsin. Let's go. He's up. Are we up? We're up. Let's go. I'm doing it because I'm faster at this than you guys. All right, Dan.

How are you? It's not our speed. It's the speed that we're getting. What an honor to speak with you, Susie. Thank you so much.

I'm thrilled that you waited to talk to us. So let's get going. Week one. What's Susie doing?

I don't want to actually do by the week. I'm responding to Kristen's plea from honesty from right from the beginning of the show. And what I think will appeal to, unfortunately, San Francisco fans maybe want to beat me down, but I think what might be a good bet, and Chris maybe would have to look into this, or a thing to look at is, unfortunately, with the run the Niners have been on, it's close at the bite of the apple of their head. If you look at the past and the run that happened, this may be one of those situations where they're so thin now from the money they've had to shift around, where this could be one of those falls from Super Bowl to missing the playoffs. Wow. This is a bold prediction.

That is hot. Wait, are you going to run down the schedule, or are you just kind of giving us your take on what the year's going to be? No, I'm just kind of... I don't want to... We need to waste that time. It's one of those things, if you look at the boxes of Ziti, and you know, Chris, what makes a good bet, right? Value.

You know, a good bet is something you could get long odds on. Value. It's value, right, exactly, and obviously I hope it doesn't happen, but they've had too many bites of the apple without a great quarterback.

This is unprecedented. They don't necessarily have that, they have a great system, but yeah, worthy, so I think that that is a bit of a bold prediction, and I hope it doesn't happen. Like one thing real quick, Chris, why is everybody talking about Krzysztof Porzingis and nobody talking about Drew Holliday?

Unclear, you tell me. Well, Drew Holliday is going to be the key to that series, I think, because, you know, he's a... Well, I'm a Milwaukee Bucks fan, I'll put it that way, and when they won the championship... He was great for you guys. Yeah, Giannis got all the attention, you know, and I get that, but Drew Holliday was the stopper. He was the guy doing all the dirty work, you know, he's a big point guard, and he will go out, he's going to be the guy on Halliburton.

He will be the guy stopping him at the point, doing all the dirty work, he can score if he has to, but he's the guy everybody's talking about, I mean, if Porzingis is going to come back, that's not going to do anything about Halliburton, that series is going to come down to how well Drew Holliday plays. You... I like it. And obviously, don't do it all, Jalen and your two J&Js, they're going to do their thing, but you haven't been able to get there with those guys before, the missing piece is going to be Drew Holliday. 49ers plus 3.10 to miss the playoffs.

Plus 3.10? Well... So that's it, you guys have a great day, I appreciate you taking my call. See you, Dan.

Thanks, brother. Anytime, Dan. I think Dan needs to have his hand held, don't you think? I think Dan... You're turning. I think Dan's not... He's not onto something.

Are you making the same bold prediction now? No, I'm just saying, Super Bowl losers, it's tough. Yeah, it's tough. They usually have a tough go-around. Tough to come running it back. Let's take a break when we come back, Stacey Dales, one of my favorite guests to have on the show. Stacey Dales will join us to talk about a certain quarterback in Chicago.

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It was 100%. You need to make more money, make smarter choices and build a better life. Afford Anything wherever you listen. Welcome back to The Rich Eyes and Show. Suzy Schuster in for Rich while he takes off one more day. He's going to be back here tomorrow, but I'm sitting at The Rich Eyes and Show Radio Network desk, furnished by Grainger. With supplies and solutions for every industry, Grainger's got the right product for you.

Call clickrainger.com or just stop by. Love to turn to one of my favorite guests coming up now. It's Stacey Dales of NFL Network, one of my favorite people to have on.

Also a Hall of Famer herself. I'd love to see your face on the other side of the camera, Stace. Oh, well hearing your voice is a treat. It sets up my day for success. I wouldn't have missed it, Suze, and happy to be with you guys in the middle of May or is it just past the middle of May and there's just, there's always something to talk about in the NFL and then the WNBA is happening and you know, the weather's nice.

So summers in Chicago are fantastic. Just so you know, yesterday I called overreaction Monday a win loss. I mean, I just kind of got everything screwed up, so I never really know what day it is.

So you're with me here. Thank you for letting me know what day it is. Who's the puppy in the background?

Well that would be a blue and I've got a Ruby in here and I don't know where the other one is. But yeah, they're magnetized to me just like yours are to you and have been to you, Suze. We are dog people.

Well, I love the fact that you came correct with that. Let's talk about the Bears. Let's get right into it. I see a million headlines saying that Caleb Williams is far ahead of schedule with the Bears schemes.

What are you hearing? Well having spent quite a bit of time there because I do live in the area and I anticipate really being there frequently, which hasn't been the case of late. You know, I cover the whole league, Suze, and they just haven't been good in a while. 2018 was really their last pretty good year with Mitch Trubisky and this is really groundbreaking territory for them. I can use all the hyperbole in the world, but he is the chosen one, Caleb Williams. And you and I have done a couple of these here through the offseason at the Combine and then subsequently later and you know, he has all of these things that you would anticipate him to be able to jump in and have like an Andrew Luck type start, right? And really that's been the comp most recently in terms of how good people think he can be, but people think he is next generation type talent. And I know certainly the Bears believe that and it's not just because of his prowess on the field and the production that we saw through college and really honestly some of the struggles that he had collegiately in the last couple of years there at USC, but the person he is having been around him, he's a team guy and he has an aura. And I remember asking Matt Eberfleur, the coach, about it and if there's just something about him that when you spend five minutes with him, you absorb. And that to me is confidence and I certainly know that because they were so convicted Suze on Caleb Williams, after his 30 visit in Chicago, which was really the only one that he took and the only one they supported in terms of the quarterback position, he was given verbiage.

He was given commands. His quarterback's coach that he's been working with, you know, was in collaboration with the Bears coaching staff and Shane Waldron, the new offensive coordinator. So it's been a nice dance, I would say, but we have to pump the brakes because it's the NFL just like any pro league for a rookie. The good news for him is he has been built, he's going to walk into a team that's been built to have some success right away. I think about the Texans, I think about CJ Stroud and Will Anderson joining that group with D'Amico Ryans a season ago. And I think that the way the roster is structured, really good defense, really bona fide receivers and a pretty good backfield, an offensive line that has been retooled. I just think he has some things around him in place that could enable some early success.

But as always, Bears fans are going to have to be patient. And he is coming out of a college program that really employs a lot of the NFL schemes as well. That's far more complicated than things used to be. But what about the degree of difficulty in absorbing the manifesto that is a pro playbook? Yeah, well, and I think playing under center too. I mean, you know, there's a big jump for quarterbacks from the college level, just strictly on the footwork and the fundamentals in the pocket. What I can tell you is they've designed their staff too. I mean, Kerry Joseph, the quarterbacks coach, he's a former quarterback.

I won a Grey Cup in the CFL. And when he was a player, so he's had a lot of success. You bring in Thomas Brown, who was with the Carolina Panthers last year, who saw a lot of maybe let's don't do this, right, with what happened with Bryce Young and how that transpired. But that roster wasn't the same.

I mean, that's the difference. When you think about what he's walking into, he's got to figure out the footwork and sort of how they want the language to be delivered. And that's a big part of what's happening right now, Suz, is what is the language that you're comfortable with and how we call plays in this big, huge binder that you're going to get and that he's already received? And how is that going to manifest and be delivered and executed in the huddle from the play caller to the quarterback to the team? I think they're going to try to make it seamless and easy for him.

But this process right now is all about figuring out that language to make him super comfortable. So who do you think the biggest challenges will be as we look ahead at the schedule for this season? Well, the Packers. I covered the Bears in the draft, Suz, and I did a report on just the last 10 years. Forget anything before that, but the last 10 seasons, and I think the Bears have like two wins in that span against Green Bay.

I don't quote me on that because I don't have all my numbers with me. But they have to beat in week, what are we looking at here, week, where are they? I'm trying to circle the Packers in here. Week 11? Yeah, and it's kind of interesting because, you know, I like the way it starts for them against Tennessee. I think that's a game for Chicago at home.

All the luster and allure is going to be there. I was kind of disappointed, like last year we had the Packers week one and the last week of the season, I think it was, and now we've got to wait for it. Really no divisional games there in the early onslaught for Chicago, but those are all games in which I think Houston, that's a really tough place to go.

Really interesting one, I was about to go there, yeah. That's a Sunday nighter. Yeah, and I covered a couple of Texans games last year, Suzie, and CJ Stroud has that city in the palm of his hand right now, and rightfully so. Indiana, Indianapolis there in Indiana, I think that's going to be a tough one too because Anthony Richardson, he could be, or he might just be the most, you know, he was injured all of last season, but he's the most alluring player to me because he was so good coming out in terms of his, all the things that you want in the position, like the leadership, the work ethic, the way his teammates just adore him, but then his prowess and what he can do on the field. He's the quarterback I cannot wait to see this year because in talking to Chris Ballard at the combine, and that guy is slinging it around and it looks pretty good. Yeah, I'm just looking ahead at week 11, week 12 Minnesota, week 13 at Detroit, week 14 at San Francisco, week 15 at Minnesota, then Detroit.

I mean, that is a banger of a series right there. I mean, that is just going to be just a relentless challenge for a young quarterback. It is, but I would rather see that Susie at the end, at the back end of the schedule for Caleb Williams than I would at the start. And I think that's favorable, you know, especially with the buy there in week seven because he needs time. I mean, this, this is going to be a journey, um, you know, to, to really develop with, with Keenan Allen and Romo Dunze and DJ Moore and the backfield, DeAndre Swift, the tight ends, because those tight ends, we think of Cole Kamet, Gerald Everett. They're really going to be used heavily in this scheme because Shane Waldron loves to use tight ends in an array of personnel groupings. We saw how creative he was in Seattle with the tight ends, um, sometimes using a couple of them out of the backfield on a certain alignment.

So, um, again, getting the language, getting that chemistry and making it seamless for him, get the ball out. But early in the season, I think it favors Caleb Williams because it's no, no slight on those other teams, but when you're talking about Detroit and Green Bay and the division on the back end, plus San Francisco, as you alluded to, that's a really tough stretch, but hopefully he learns after coming out of the buy in week eight. What's the other question mark that you're most excited about answering in the NFL this season?

Oh man, where do I start with that? Um, I have a Miami dolphins really intrigued me, um, because of, you know, now Odell and the speed they have and Tua, is the defense up to snuff? Is it up to snuff to get them over the hump? Uh, I find it really interesting what's going on in Buffalo, keeping it in their division with Stefan Diggs, now a Houston Texan. Um, you know, can't wait to see how they, how Josh Allen is able to kind of leave his go to guy for so many years and how that offense changes a little bit. Um, and, and you know, San Francisco is always interesting to me cause they're always a Super Bowl caliber team.

What is going like, can we agree on something Susie? Like their defense is always incredible, right? Their offensive line with Trent Williams is the stalwart of that group is always incredible.

Brock Purdy now has another weapon in the rookie, Ricky Piersol, the rookie receiver. Like they are so talented and explosive and on both sides of the football, but they haven't gotten the job done. And then I go to Kansas city with Patrick Mahomes and who always does, and that's the guy in their way. And that would be the last thing for me is just how Kansas city kind of, they just want another Super Bowl.

Like what's going to be different about them this year to, to keep them, you know, Tom Brady, you know, on the Tom Brady train kind of, so to speak. I thought you were going to ask me if we could agree that Brock Purdy is a NFL caliber quarterback because I just, I feel like that poor kid, just the conversation never ends like, how good is Brock Purdy? It's like, he's pretty good people. We just watched him.

It's pretty good. I just, when somebody shows you who they are, believe them. Like, I'm not sure why, I spent a lot of time at the Super Bowl with Brian Griese, you know, who he's so interesting to listen to on their, the 49ers staff and obviously played the position and you know, Brock Purdy goes undrafted. This is a guy that Griese was pounding the table for. And when you have somebody like that analytically who understands the position that saw that out of this young man at Iowa State, you got to listen to it. And like, they couldn't be more pleased with how he's able. Can you imagine walking into Kyle Shanahan's offense?

He's arguably, right now, the way he calls plays that stretch run game, the way he is able to get all of these Deebo and Kittle and Iyuk in space, right? They get the ball in space. They are yak destroyers in San Francisco. That is where they make, I've talked to George Kittle about it.

That's where they make their money. Get the ball in space. Kyle is the one who puts them in that position. Well, if you don't have a quarterback that can deliver the ball to those places seamlessly and with rhythm and timing, and at his young age, he's able to do this in a Kyle Shanahan offense, I have great respect for that.

And so until he proves me otherwise, I think Brock Purdy is a pretty damn good quarterback. Stacey Dale's here on the Rich Eisen Show, Suzy Schuster in For Rich. It's funny, when you were talking about Caleb Williams, I couldn't help but think about the headlines are saying how he's absorbing the book so well, everyone's so excited to have him. If he starts 0-4, compare that to the 0-4 start that Kaitlyn Clark has had, because it feels like the sky is falling right now with the WNBA. And everyone expected her to come out and be the second coming of Michael Jordan. But I'm curious your thoughts about that. I just couldn't help thinking about that as we were talking. Yeah, I got a lot of thoughts on this. Nothing surprises me about her start or the fever start.

This is an incredible adjustment for both sides. The first point I would tell you is having played in a national championship game in college, what does that mean? Can you imagine a Super Bowl in February and Patrick Mahomes has to turn around in two months and play a game?

Can you imagine that? Like NFL, different than basketball, totally different. But I played in a national championship game.

I had to turn around and play. By the way, I didn't miss a game. Kaitlyn Clark didn't miss a game. She played four years in the same system under Lisa Bluder.

So there's a lot that is packed into that. She has a turnaround of two months. I'm going to tell you right now, without me putting words in her mouth, and maybe I could be totally wrong, but given the experience that I went through, I was freaking tired. It is exhausting to play at the highest level in a national championship game. Two months later, you're in the WNBA.

No. The WNBA, the NBA, the NFL, these are reality checks. And there's a reason I don't think Diana Taurasi was targeting her. Wait until she starts in the WNBA.

She's going to get a load of it. I remember when Taurasi was a rookie. I played against her. She was a leader, or I think it was her rookie season. She didn't have necessarily the team around her, the gel around her that she'd had for four years at Connecticut. Although I think she's the greatest competitor I've ever faced, and I have the world of respect for her, she would be the first to tell you her rookie season was really hard. My rookie season was so hard that in the middle of it, I was completely burnt out. I'd lost way too much weight.

I had to start eating peanut butter sandwiches in the middle of practice because I didn't have enough energy to get through practice. I was completely broken down, and we went to the playoffs that year. I played with Holdsclaw.

I played with Vicki Bullitt, Muriel Page. We had a really good team. So I didn't have to be great. I was the third overall pick.

I didn't have to come in and be a star. Imagine Kaitlin Clark having to come in and be a star. She doesn't have... She's got a Leah Boston, who's really damn good. But they're trying to figure everything out together under Kristi Sides, who's trying to learn how to coach Kaitlin Clark, who's been in the same system under Lisa Bluder for four years. And now she's got to play in a new WNBA system that is completely different.

And maybe they've pulled some tendencies, which I've seen watching a little bit of it in terms of the way they use the on-ball screen and picking roles and such. But she has to be tired. They can't take her off the court because she's transcendent. She is the greatest player right now of this generation coming into the WNBA from the college level. And she's probably going to have to play... I don't know how many games she'll be able to go, but we're talking a 40-game schedule, Suze. They're going to have to get super creative in how they give her rest in Indiana, in Indianapolis, and make sure that she can really sustain the season because there's so much being asked of her. And I haven't even mentioned the media requests. Every time I pop on Twitter slash X, it's Kaitlin Clark walking into the stadium, right? The arena. It's like all of the media, all of the attention, she's taken things to another level.

And again, deservedly so. But we have to be very, very careful about how we say, oh, she's not ready, or she's this or that, when frankly, she's very ready. But there are a lot of components to being able to play at the highest level and get your team wins every night.

It's just really hard to do. And I didn't even touch on how good the league is. You put New York on tape, put Las Vegas on tape, those two teams specifically at the top of the Eastern and Western Conference right now, they're incredible.

Every player, and it's not just they're starting five, it's what's coming off the bench. Then you add the physicality. And I'm telling you, I came out of my WNBA games that rookie season, and I was banged up and bruised up.

It is more physical. And when you, by the way, start to react to that and bow up a little bit, that takes a lot of energy out of you. I don't know if you've ever boxed, Suzy, but when you throw punches and throw blows, it's just as exhausting as when you take them. And even worse when you miss them. I know that from boxing with Chris Brockman on a daily basis. That's the other thing, is last night when she turned her left ankle, still ended up the game with 17 points, five assists, but when she turned her left ankle in the second quarter, it was like a collective pause for the entire WNBA.

I felt like maybe there was an earthquake outside here in Southern California. The fear of what could happen to her this early, and as she said, everyone experiences an ankle sprain in basketball. But it reminded me of the conversation that we had with Sue Bird here on the show, and if you want to hear that conversation, go to the YouTube page and pull it up. But I feel like there's a little bit of a, almost like a level of resentment from some of the other players in the league saying, you know, we existed before this, how do we rationalize the phenomenon that she is coming in with the other women that have said, we've had game for years here? Yeah, this is a really interesting conversation because I played against Sue and if I was picking a starting point guard on my team, there's so many, I mean, Lindsay Whalen, you go on, the list goes on. Becky Hammond, like, Sue would be my starting point guard.

She's brilliant. There's a reason she played so long, the way she took care of her body. She had success early. She had Lauren Jackson, right? She had a number of players around her that were really good in Seattle. It aligned there for her.

But I think when you're talking about the animus from older players to now, here's what's really remarkable. And I get it. I totally get it. I don't know if they're directing it at Kaitlin Clark, but I think when you're, and I hesitate to use the word pioneer, but when you are, how many Olympic gold medals does Sue have? How many does Trossie have?

How many does Lisa Leslie have and Don Staley? Like we forget the WNBA, Susie, was established back in the late nineties. It launched on the court in 1997.

I was a freshman at the University of Oklahoma. Like we're talking about a 27 year old league. Now some may argue that's not very old, right? We're still growing. We're talking about a league that has had to go through so much that now we have charter flights this season. Thank you, Kathy Engelbert, the commissioner. Thank you to the league for this.

Why did it take this long? When I played, we got on back, we had back to back games because what they do is take the NBA schedule and almost mimic it in a condensed version in the WNBA. You're playing a seven o'clock game.

You're transitioning. You have to be on per the league rules. I don't know what they are or were now or were after prior to this change in the charter flights, but you have to be on a certain flight the next day that gets you in early enough to be able to settle in and be able to play the next night. That is so hard on your body, but we just did it. We went through airports, flew commercial, and it's not that players, we don't want to fly commercial.

It's when you're able to get on a charter flight that night, you get to bed there that night and boom, like you're better off the next day to make the product better. We're talking 27 years, Susie. I mean, when you look at Candace Parker and Lisa Leslie, Rebecca Lobo, I remember the first WNBA press conference, I believe it was Rebecca Lobo, Lisa Leslie, and I think Cheryl Swoopes. If I missed anybody, I'm sorry, but then all of a sudden you have this Caitlin Clark wave. I do think she does things differently on the court, and I think that's a big part of it. When we talk about these logo bombs that she shoots, and she had one in her last game, it's so cool to watch.

I think it's like when Steph Curry started shooting the ball, people were like, wait, he's not even near the line, like what's going on? She's doing things differently, and I think that has to be accounted for. What I like about it is it forces us and people out there to have conversations bigger than this year, like remembering how good and how long Sue played, and how good Diana Taurasi still is. Tamika Catchings is the toughest player I've ever played against.

It's really forcing us to have a greater conversation about all of the Hall of Fame players and legends that have played in the WNBA, and take a deeper look at that. But listen, you're going to take your lumps when you're a rookie. It ain't easy. I was lucky as a rookie because I joined a really good team that was playoff bound. When I joined the Chicago Sky, the inaugural team of the Chicago Sky, and scored our first basket, we were awful. I don't think we won five games.

So you're going to take your lumps in this league, and a lot of times that happens when you're a rookie. Well, we get to see her in person in Los Angeles this Friday. We're taking Taylor. Rich and I are taking her, so we can't wait to see her, and love seeing you too.

Thanks again for taking the time today. Wait, who's driving to the game, Suze? You or Rich? I'm driving because I'm an awesome driver, and sometimes I like to go places quickly. That's all I'm just saying.

Sometimes I'm in a rush. That's good. I'm glad you're the driver. You should be. Thank you so much. And believe me, if I don't get a ticket on the way, it'll be great. States love talking to you.

Thanks again for your time. Thanks, Suze. Closing up this edition of the Rich Eisen Show when we come back, it's win loss, people.

Win loss. Always take more calls when we come back. Waiting all day. What's up, everyone? It's Reality Steve, your number one source for all things Bachelor Nation and reality TV. Every day I'm giving you the behind the scenes juice and your info on all your Bachelor Nation stories and also interviewing some of your favorite reality stars.

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Just search B-L-E-A-V on YouTube or wherever you listen. Closing up this edition of the Rich Eisen Show with some more win loss. Let's get right to it.

Ron in LA with the Eagles. What do you got? Let's go rapid fire.

We're going to get as many calls in as we can. Mikey, fire up that music. Ron, what do you got? How you doing there, Suze? I'm so good.

How are you? Oh, I'm excited. I'm going to be as unbiased as possible right now. All right, then let's go.

Let's do it. Week one, Green Bay. We're going to turn their offensive line to Swiss cheese wins. Week two, Atlanta. Better birds, big W. Week three at New Orleans.

They better pray, easy wins. Week four at Tampa Bay. That's an easy W. Week five, five. Week five, six, Cleveland. W. Week seven at New York Giants. We're going to win off the back of the greatest college running back of all time, Shaquan Barkley. That's a W. Let's go. I love this. Week eight at Cincy.

The long hair, don't care, Joe Burrow. That's a W. Seven and 0. Seven and 0. Week nine, Jacksonville.

Let's go. That's a big W. Week 10 at Dallas. Listen, we're going to be coming off a World Series win. That'll be the day after the Phillies World Series parade, and that's a big W. Week 11, Washington. I'm getting pumped up. I don't even know who that team is, but it's a W. Week 12 at the Rams.

I'll be watching that. That's a W. Week 13 at Baltimore. The more who, W. Week 14, Carolina. That's an easy W. Week 15, Pittsburgh. That's the bad side of the state. Don't go there. Week 16 at Washington.

What is going on? I love this. That's an easy W. This is amazing. Week 17 at Dallas is at Dallas at Home.

Hey, TJ, guess what I'm going to say here? Not an L. Week 18, Giants. Week 17 and 0, man. Let's go. You might as well do it, Ryan.

Stay low, man. The Giants, that's our last week, and can you think it's going to get us a big time W? Yes. This is the way to do Win-Loss. That was the best Win-Loss. What?

That was the best Win-Loss history of the Rich Eisen Show. Fantastic. You brought it, Ron. Somebody get his address. Adam, get his address.

We're sending this guy a mug. That was fantastic. All right, Ted. As much as that anger, Ryan also made me laugh a little. He made me laugh. He made me laugh. Very good. That was fantastic. Ted in Greenville.

Browns. You ready to go? You ready to go? Good morning, Susie and Team Eisen. What's up, brother? You got big shoes to fill after Ron, I'm just saying.

I hear that. I'm ready to go. Week one, Dallas.

The Brownies. Great. Week one, Dallas. With Tom Brady on the mic, T.J. I know.

That's right. That's a big win for the Browns. Sorry, T.J. Week two, at Jacksonville.

We're going to stumble there at loss. Week three, Giants. That's a Nick Chubb return day, and that's a win for the Browns. Week four, at Las Vegas.

With respect to Ms. Trask, that's a win. And she's in the back getting ready for what the football won, just saying. Week five, at Washington. Easy win. Big Deshaun Watson day. Week six, at Philly. Week seven, Cincinnati. That is a win. Week eight, Baltimore. That is also a win.

Another Harbaugh. Week nine, Chargers. They have to win because I'm going to be there.

Oh, fantastic. Oh, that fourth down, I hate it. Week 10, the bye, week 11, at New Orleans. In New Orleans, they're going to win as well. Week 12, Pittsburgh. They're going to win in Pittsburgh. Week 13, at Denver.

They're going to win at Denver. Week 14, at Pittsburgh. They're going to lose at Pittsburgh. Week 15, Kansas City. They're going to lose at home to Kansas City. Week 16, at Cincy. They're going to lose at Cincy. Week 17, Miami.

They're going, there's going to be one win, not two. Wow. That's funny. That's cute.

Turn of phrase. Week 18, at Baltimore. That's ending the season with a loss. What do you got? What do you got? 11 and six. 11 and six.

Thank you for doing the math for us because we don't do math here at the Rich Asens show. Appreciate that. Yeah. All right, fantastic. Can we get in Jacob in Jacksonville? Let's do it.

Let's do it. Jacob, you there, bud? Jacob, got to go fast.

Oh, yeah. All right, here we go. Rapid fire.

Rapid fire. Okay, let's go. Hold on, Jackson. I'm looking for the JJJ. Hold on. Here it is.

Okay. Week one, at Miami. Lost. Week two, Cleveland. Win. Week three, at Buffalo. Win. Week four, at Houston.

Lost. Week five, at India at Home. Win. Week six, Chicago.

Win. That was in London. Week seven, also in London.

That's okay. It's the Patriots. Lost. Week eight, Green Bay. Win. Week nine, at Philly. Win. Week 10, Minnesota. Win. Week 11, at Detroit.

Lost. Week 12, at Dubai. Week 13, Houston. Win. Week 14, at Tennessee. Win. Week 15, New York Jets. Win. Week 16, at Las Vegas. Win. Week 17, Tennessee. Win. Win. And closing out, at Indy. Week 18. Lost. So, 13-4? Fantastic.

See, this is what I'm talking about. 13-4. One seed? One seed?

I like optimism. Cowboy spares are delusional. You got one guy running the table, this guy's 13-4, like, come on. I love it. Ron Rossi. Come on. Ron Rossi's getting a mug today.

I'm just saying. He, right now, is the... Ron brought it. 17-0, man. He's atop the leaderboard for Win-Loss. Fantastic.

Yeah, we need a new one. That was the 16-0. That was before they added the extra game. Speaking of which, Rich had a near hole-in-one at Nashville. How? Yeah, exactly. I mean, a near hole-in-one...

When you just walk up and place the ball next to the hole. Wow. That was not nice, Chris Brocklin. This picture tells me nothing. As he says, I missed holing it on the fly by a quarter inch to the right.

Here's the divot. He zoomed in. Do you not believe him?

You can ask him tomorrow. I need to see the video. That picture doesn't do anything. There's no video.

That could have taken four strokes to get there. Is Rich in the photo? No. Is there a video of it? No. What is this, the Loch Ness Monster? I don't even know what this is.

This could be any golf course in the country. You are such a hater. Is your hill ready for tonight? What's going to happen? What's going to happen, Chris? What's going to happen?

What's in the box? Whoa. Whoa out.

Congratulations. You think so? Whoa out. You think so? If so, Dunkies for everybody? Whoa out.

38 for Tatum tonight. Thanks for taking in this edition of the Rich Eisen Show for everybody here. See you tomorrow.

Thanks for having me. Get the duck butts ready. Jon brings his skewed sense of humor. Jeff brings tips to cut strokes off your next round. Together, it's those weekend golf guys.

They'll pay a lot of money to PXG and Tylus and Callaway and on and on and on. How many yards do you think you're going to pick up with that extra driver? I think I can get an extra 5 to 10. What if I give you 15 to 20?

You can pay me more. Jeff Smith teaches on a sliding scale. Those weekend golf guys. podcast. Part of the Believe Network. Just search B-L-E-A-V on YouTube or wherever you listen.