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bluenile.com code POD. You wake up every day saying, how can we make this show better than the day before? Because we're lead pipe wielding professionals. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Live from the Rich Eisen Show Studio in Los Angeles. When he was calling games this year, that's what's going to make him the next Lakerhead coach?
His first take, that's going to make him the next Lakers head coach, right? But podcasting with LeBron James. Today's guests, NFL Network analyst, Daniel Jeremiah, host of ESPN's First Take, Stephen A. Smith, Tampa Bay reliever, Pete Fairbanks, comedian Jay Pharoah. And now, it's Rich Eisen.
All right, everybody. Welcome to this edition of the Rich Eisen Show. Live in the final week of June 2024, right here on the Roku channel, this Rich Eisen Show, Terrestrial Radio affiliate, Sirius XM, Odyssey and more. We say hello to everybody out there who listens to us on our podcast version of the show. All three hours due to the Cumulus Podcast Network. We say to everybody out there, if you miss anything at any point in time, not only the podcast is our YouTube channel, we say hello to those folks.
YouTube.com slash Rich Eisen Show, anybody who takes our content anywhere on social media, on our pages on Instagram, TikTok and so much more. We say thank you to you as well. Got four fun guests today.
We've got a fun three-hour show in store. It's good to see you over there. Christopher Brockman, how are you?
Rich, I'm great. Happy birthday, brother. Thank you. Greatly appreciate it.
Double nickel for me today. All right. Fifty-five. I'm going to drop it in the garden. Let's go.
What does that mean? Michael Jordan scored fifty-five. Greatly appreciate it.
Thank you. I'm more Bill Wellington combining for fifty-seven points for him on that day. He scored the game winner, I think. He did indeed.
Jordan dished it to him. Former St. John Redmond, as they were known at the time. Good to see you over there, Jay Falley. How are you, sir? Happy birthday, Rich.
Thank you. You're the biggest hockey fan that's sitting out here right now. Mike Hoskins, our coordinator producer, is the biggest hockey fan. Game seven tonight. I'm excited.
I cannot wait for that. Or you're mix-sided. Mix-sided, nice. If you're an Oilers fan and wanting to see one of the worst folds of all time that goes down tonight in Florida. As they say in hockey, let's do that hockey.
Yes, the Stanley Cup announcing it'll be awarded tonight. That was nice of them. So there's that. That's great. Good to see you over there, TJ Jefferson.
How are you? Great, man. Happy Sammy Hagar birthday to you.
Thank you, sir. I can't drive 55, as anybody who followed me on the 405 today could attest. Do you think that there's anyone or any organization rooting for this more than the Atlanta Falcons rooting for the Oilers? Because the Yankees? Well, that's a championship, man. Excuse me. The Yankees. There's 27 championships to fall back on.
Twenty-eight to three. Get out of here. You want to erase that out of people's memories.
No, don't worry. He just wants to go home. I know. I get him.
He's trying to get in good with the cohabitant. It's OK. Come on, you can't compare the Yankees of the 2003 ALCS. It's an ALCS of 2004. They've got a gajillion trophies in the case.
But nobody cares about those. All anyone ever remembers about the Yankees is that they blew it. This is the ultimate. This is the Stanley Cup final. And by the way, Don and I had this exact argument this morning. He said Yankees. I said no, no, this will be the biggest joke in sports history. The Panthers have never won it.
They were right there on the doorstep. Come on. This is it. This is a 3-0 bet of South Florida. This is a 3-0. No, this is the biggest.
So my analogy works better for you is what you're saying. No, this will be the biggest joke in sports. He's referring to the Yankees being up 3-0 and then losing. But the Yankees, you know. This is a championship. It just come off a three-peat. This is a championship as well.
They've never done it before. And I guess, you know, I'm rooting for those Florida Panther fans out there who are kind of like you, Chris. And, you know, they would just rather be blown out and be swept 4-0 rather than have to go through the last few weeks. Are you kidding me right now? This is not even a conversation.
You would much rather get swept than blow a 3-0 lead in the final. What are you, nuts? Of all the times that I could see his thought process, because this would be the longest playing out car crash of all time. Oh, my God.
They are freaking out. And for the players, too, it earned them another plane flight all the way across the continent just to come back. I mean, this is this it's kind of like the reverse shining where Scatman Crothers went from Florida all the way to the cold country just to get an axe in the chest.
Spoiler alert. This would be going all the way from the cold country back to South Florida just to get the axe in the chest. It would kind of actually be like if Scatman Crothers flew out to Colorado, went back to South Florida, then flew out to Colorado again, then back to South Florida and got the axe in the chest there. So of all the times that I can't push back, like I would rather get swept, then go up 3-0, then spend the next week of watching games. You'd rather be the Mavericks than the Panthers if they blow it tonight. I mean, tonight you're showing up with a ticket to go to see your team win the Stanley Cup for wait, let me get this right. This would be a second time, right, to see him win the Stanley Cup because they could have won game four in Edmonton. That's where they lost 8-1 to come back and then lose and then go back and then lose and then come back.
They had game five. Oh my God, this is the second time you're showing up to see them hoist the cup and they go 0-2 in that front. And with all due respect to everyone in the Florida Panthers, the problem for them is that the best player in hockey is wearing an Edmonton sweater the way that he's playing right now. He's so good.
McConnell McDavid. That's great analysis, Jay. He's the tournament. Well, I mean, I feel the same way about Christian Pulisic having watched him over the weekend as well. That was awesome yesterday. You could see when he's got, when he had the ball on his foot, like, oh, okay, there's Pulisic, you could see.
And it's the same way with McDavid having the puck on his stick or not even having the puck at all, just being out there. That's the problem. There's the Terminator that's coming for the Sarah Connors of sports right now. Spoiler alert, she didn't make it. I'm ruining all 80s movies right now. I'm ruining the Shining.
I'm ruining the Terminator. What do you mean Sarah Connor didn't make it? She didn't make it, didn't she? She didn't make it. She didn't make it.
Well, I mean, wait a minute. She had to have made it. That's how John Connor got here. She ended up in the loony bin. Yeah, she kind of lost it. She lost her mind. Remember Terminator 2, all buff, Linda Hamilton? Ripped.
She had to get broken out of the insane asylum. Well, at any rate, I appreciate that. That's what's at stake tonight. That's what is at stake tonight.
And I cannot wait to watch Game 7 this evening. Who you got? Oh, I'll take Edmonton.
Yeah, same. I'll take Edmonton. Give me the team going in one direction. Well, I mean, in one direction, I don't know why. I mean, it's I don't know why I view them as having house money.
They don't have the pressure of I mean, they have the pressure of they've come all this way just to get the axe in the chest. Right. Kind of like Mike Boston last year in the East. And Florida has come all, you know, they were right there staring at the storefront window.
The couple's in the house fogging up the glass. This would break the Canadian curse, too, right? Yeah, it would do that. Yeah, that's right. Well, the curse of the McSorley story, the Marty McSorley curse. You don't want Canada to win. Yeah, I've kind of enjoyed this argument against the Canadians. They're very sweet people. Stacey Dales is one of our favorite guests. You don't know Stacey Dales, though. So that's true. You don't know.
Oh, they beat the Kings. Yeah. OK, look at this guy. Dude, you're holding a 31 year grudge. Is that what you're saying?
That's what sports is about, Rich. Jeez. Yeah.
You would do the same. Eh, OK. So, as you mentioned, it is my birthday. And so the guests on today's show are carefully curated. First up is Daniel Jeremiah. I haven't spoken to him since post draft. I love the guy. We're going to just talk football, which is one of my favorite things to do.
We're just going to chop it up, get you ready for the summer that we're already in without football and just chop it up. Then in our number two, Stephen A. Smith, one of my favorites, he will be showing up on the screen. I hope he's showing up like he's sauntering into Game 4 in his pink suit. Stephen A. is one of my favorite people. He will be zooming in to talk anything that Stephen A. wants to talk about.
Then, this guy has captured my attention with two of his fantastic postgame press conference quotes and his just demeanor. Tampa Bay Rays closer Pete Fairbanks. We talked about what a different kind of suck. What was it different? What's this?
It's one of our new fantasy teammates. An all-encompassing kind of suck. Yeah. All-encompassing.
Right? And then he says he owes the Twins an Ikea stool. An Ikea stool. He broke it after blowing a safe.
Is he just implying inexpensive? I don't know. We're going to ask.
I'm confused, yeah. We're going to ask. Then, in our number three, because I like to laugh, Jay Pharoah is here on the program and that just sets up the rest of the week. Celebrity in-studio guests Tuesday, Kevin Costner. Wednesday, the second gentleman in the United States, a good friend, Doug Emhoff will be here. Friday, Oliver Platt of the Bear. So, we've got a good week set up, a good show set up, and I'd love to chat with you if you wanted.
844-204-RICH, number to dial. Win-loss games are fun. Overreaction Monday is still to come. And let's take a break.
DJ, let's chop it up and talk some ball with one of my favorites, Daniel Jeremiah, next. This Rich Eisen Show podcast is sponsored by Progressive Insurance. Whether you're driving, cooking, or doing laundry, Progressive knows the podcasts you listen to go best when they're bundled with another activity, much like how their progressive home and auto policies go best when they're bundled. Having these two policies together makes taking care of your insurance easier and could help you save too. Customers who save by switching their home and car insurance to Progressive save over $775 on average. That's a whole lot of savings and protection for your favorite podcast listening activities like going on a road trip, cooking dinner. And even hitting the home gym, yep, your home and your car are even easier to protect when you bundle your insurance together.
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Full terms at MintMobile.com. Showed Cooper Evan Eisen, my 13-year-old baseball nutty son, the natural last night. Oh. Too slow for him. No. It was... He liked it. He did? Okay. He did. Oh, good. He did like it. And it stunned him that he got shot in the beginning, like he didn't think it was going to be like that.
Right. When Hobbs first took batting practice and started hitting one home run after another, I took a picture of him because his jaw was like a little bit open, like he was in awe of it. And then I cried at the end. I did. Because of the... The sun.
He's throwing a baseball with his son in the wheat field. Come on. Exactly. That's, as you know, what a great sportsman will obviously talk about it with Costner on Tuesday nonstop. But that's the sports movie stuff, is the father-son stuff. I mean, yes, in Field of Dreams, you want to have a catch.
You want to have a catch. So of course, you know what Cooper did? He looks at me, he goes, are you crying? And I'm like, as soon as he said that, I thought to myself, I thought to myself, I got to show them a league of their own.
Because he said it just like Tom Hanks did. Like kind of disgusting. Are you crying? Suck it up, Dad. Come on. Suck it up. Suck it up. So that's the next one.
I got to show them a league of their own. Are you crying? 48 in that movie. What'd you say?
He was 48. Dude. God bless him. And I'm double nickel.
And I think I'm just, I'm falling apart. That's honestly, even I was, I'm like, dude, just him in the golden light, throwing to his son with a big smile on his face. And then by the way, him going around first base as the fireworks go off, from hitting the light stanchion, spoiler alert. Oh my God, what a movie. Back on the Rich Eisen Show radio network, I'm sitting at the Rich Eisen Show desk, furnished by Grainger, with supplies and solutions for every industry Grainger has the right product for you.
Call clickgrainger.com or just stop by. One of my favorites to work with, one of my favorites to make me smarter about football is back here on the Rich Eisen Show. I haven't spoken to him since the draft and move the sticks might have to be changed for his Twitter handle.
He is Daniel Jeremiah. How are you doing DJ? I was doing great until you just reminded me of that.
I haven't, I haven't workshopped that yet. Maybe that's something you and the guys could help me with, but yeah, I'm going to be a little outdated with that one. I gotta be honest with you, DJ, you know, we, we've got, we've still have sticks.
The sticks are there, you know, they're just going to be backup. I think you just stay. You're just old school. Okay. I think you just stick with being old school, DJ. That's it. I think we should do that. No, I mean, I maybe back in the day there was a, maybe there was a radio show that covered basketball called the picket fence and they didn't bail and they stuck with it and I'm going to do the same thing sponsored by dentine.
I'm sure dentine gum sponsored that. So let's jump into it. You know, like your ear is right on the ground and you know, now everybody's on vacation.
So everyone's gone underground. But your ear to the ground hearing about what Jim Harbaugh has done in his first two months as the HC of the LAC is what? I would say 100% buy-in, which was to me, the most important thing they had to accomplish this off season. It wasn't about learning a new offense or defense. It wasn't about integrating, you know, rookies and free agents.
To me, it was about whether all the veterans in the core that they still have on this team, if they bought into the vision and the plan of Jim Harbaugh and everything that I've been told is that it's, it's not like a begrudgingly being pulled along. It's like they are excited about it. They're all in with it. They all got their certificates, rich saying that they made it through the off season program signed by the head coach.
And they're all there. They're, they're in. So that to me is the most important factor now, roster wise. I mean, there's still some things, you know, some areas that they need to continue to add over the next couple of years, but I do think you are going to see a much more physical team.
I think you're going to see a lot of buy-in and I think with, with Minner and that defense, I think there's talent up front and I think the sum is going to be greater than the overall parts just by how hard they play. All right. So I've got a follow up. Did he really give actual certificates to players signifying that they were done with the spring off season workout program? DJ? Yeah, I saw it.
I saw that one posted, I believe on Instagram. I don't know, it was Derwin or somebody showed their certificate that said, congratulations. Like you'd get something if you finished a preschool signed by the teacher, it was signed by Jim Harbaugh on the certificate. Is that not incredible? Well, I mean, it's, it's a very gym thing to do. I mean, and, and you're saying there's no eye rolling.
There's no nothing. No, that's what, that's what I was. That's what I was curious about. I was going to say, okay, you got a lot of these guys have been, you know, decade in the league in established star players. And everything I got was in attendance was out outstanding. And the buy-in they do, you know, things at the end of practice every day, conditioning wise, they're a little kind of like their overtime period where they're pulling weight and pulling sleds and things. And of course, Jim's hopping right in there with them doing it. And everything I got was, no, they, they, they, they trust in them. They believe in them.
And there's a, there's total buy-in. So then I guess the follow up question for you, Daniel, Jeremiah, is the question that I think I'm hearing the most from everybody in regards to the charges. It's yeah, but who, who's going to catch the ball? Who is Justin Herbert going to throw to what, what is this offense going to look like? I give the floor to you on that one.
Well, I think there, it's going to be a collection of guys. So I do think Josh Palmer, when he's been out there on the field and when they've missed, you know, Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, who those guys have been unbelievable players, but they've missed some time over the years. Josh had a really good job of, of stepping in there and playing well and really established himself as their third guy who was having to play that one or two role for a good chunk of his early career. So I think he's going to be a really solid player. Lad McConkie, you know, the rookie second round pick was a first round talent in a loaded wide receiver draft returns have been really good on him is, you know, getting him in the mix and, and look, it's the off season.
Everybody's going to, everybody's going to hear about players that maybe didn't play as well last year that, Hey, the lights come on. They've, they flipped the switch, you're seeing that, that growth, but you are hearing those stories about Quentin Johnston, that he's got some, some confidence back their first round pick from TCU from, from the prior year who had a couple of drops last year. So you've got those three, then you've got the tight ends, you know, Hayden Hurst, a good player who the coaching staff is familiar with.
That's, that's one of the things that's fascinating when you have the connection to Baltimore that they do. Obviously, you know what Jim and John, but Greg Roman coming from there and you bring in guys who have experience in that program, which is going to be very similar here. Hayden Hurst being one of those guys, obviously the backfield with Gus Edwards and JK Dobbins, that that makes that adjustment a lot more smooth for those guys. Well, I've got Austin Eckler on Tuesday's program, DJ, and I know he recently said one of the reasons why he's no longer with the Chargers is that the Chargers want someone to carry the ball 300 times. I mean, and I don't know if he's exaggerating, if he really was told something similar, or he's just giving a glimpse of what they're going to do with Gus Edwards and JK Dobbins and the rest of that running back room.
Yeah, Kamani Vidal as well, the rookie that they took, who, by the way, every time his name pops in my head, I think of Vidal Sassoon. I don't even know if that's still a thing. Is that still a product that exists? Would you care to Google that? Obviously. I'm probably asking the wrong guy on that one. And I just asked another bald man to Google whether Vidal Sassoon.
We don't look good. That's the... Understood. Do me a favor. Google... Vidal Sassoon is still a thing. Just Google it.
And then at the same time, check out to see if there's any Jordache jeans for sale as well, if you don't mind, DJ. Strong position in the Chinese market, Vidal Sassoon. There you go. Still going.
It's still going strong. So then... That's fantastic. That's fantastic. No, but I think Austin, I don't think he's telling anything out of school there. I don't think there's anything that he's misrepresenting.
I think that's probably right. He wanted maybe some more physical, bigger backs. And Austin, who's been as productive as anyone at his position, really, since he's been in the league, does it in a little different way. He does it in catching the ball out of the backfield. He can do a lot of damage in 10 to 15 touches. Whereas they want to commit to the run game, they're going to be running downhill a lot.
So a pounding back. If you go back and look at Jim's history for the guys he had at Stanford, you look at how they ran it, and his favorite player, he's always said, was Frank Gore. They're with the Niners.
And now you go to Michigan, and that's just the style that they play. So I think you'll see that with the backs that they have. And then they've got to find somebody they can throw the ball to out of the backfield a little bit. And maybe that's Vidal Sassoon. They're on third down. Daniel Jeremiah here on the Rich Eisen Show.
Eared to the ground. Who's the team that everybody's talking about to have a breakout 2024, do you think? This is why I know that we've known each other for a long time. Because I only wrote down one thing on my paper, and it was, who are the teams that Rich is going to ask me that are going to come up from last year? So I wrote down five, Rich. So this is how I spin it around on you. I got five teams, and I'll see if maybe we could rank them one through five.
Who are you the most confident in that's going to take a big step up? These are five last place teams from last year that I love. So since you've done this, I didn't know you were going to do this. Although you said you kind of knew where I was going to go. I already know where you're going.
I'm so predictable. Yeah. We've got a top five drop for you right here on the Rich Eisen Show, a makeshift, off-the-cuff Omaha edition of Top Five. High five, one, two, three, four, five.
Rich's Top Five. Daniel. Yeah.
Yeah, it's too late. Nice. Nice. So close. Yeah, so close.
So close to me on that one. Okay, so what do you got? You ready?
I'm ready for it. Yeah. Here we go. In no particular order, these are the five.
Then we'll see if we can put them in order. Let's go Cincinnati. All right. Cincinnati.
I'm writing these down. Yep. Chargers. Uh-huh. For a lot of the reasons we just mentioned.
Yes. Washington, the commanders. I told you, Chris. I told you that this is a team that a lot of people think have a chance to break out this year. A lot of people are going to be wrong.
He had them second to last in his powerless rankings. In June. In June.
Right now. Okay. Chicago. Okay.
Yep. And this is the last one that might surprise you. Arizona. Arizona. Pew, pew, pew.
Pew, pew. Okay. So you want me to rank these in terms of where I'm... Yeah. Where's your confidence meter at with that? Out of those teams in that bucket, who would you have the most confidence in that you're going to see a big leap?
A big leap from. So you want me to start with the one I have most confidence in? Yeah.
Okay. I'll do the Chargers. Jim was plus seven in wins the last time he took over a team for the first time in the NFL.
He was plus seven with the Niners his first year. So I'll go there. Then I'll go Cincinnati, although, I mean, is it technically breakout?
I mean, they were last year as a team that was just missing their big toe. But I'll go then Chicago, Washington with Arizona last. I still need to see it with Arizona.
I still need to see it. I wrote them down, Rich. This is interesting. And some of it's probably because I don't need the heat for being a homer as someone who's called the Charger game. So I had the Chargers at two, I had the Bengals at one, and I had everybody else in the exact same position.
Yeah. I mean, I do like what Chicago's done to surround Caleb in his first year. I do like that a lot. And man, Washington, in my estimation, I mean, I was talking about it again the other day when Chris had them 31st on his ranking of the top teams or the bottom 10, he had them second to last. And Jayden Daniels, I can't wait to see what he looks like. But I mean, Terry McLaurin, Eckler, Brian Robinson Jr., Jahan Dotson, Cliff Kingsbury dialing it up, they have weapons there, man.
They can really light it up, potentially. They've got some weapons there. Offensive line wise, they've got bodies to fill all those holes.
That's my one. Let's wait and see. I do have some reservations there. Let's see what that offensive line looks like. But the other side of it, Rich, and this is not even player driven, more coach driven. When was the last time you saw a Dan Quinn defense that didn't punch above its weight, that the sum is not greater than the parts, that they're not going to be playing with the hair on fire, playing so hard and really squeezing every drop of talent they can out of that group? I think he's going to get more out of that defense than people are expecting. Now I know that Bobby Wagner's there now, obviously, and I know that was a rhetorical question and TJ Jefferson's going to think I'm taking a shot at him. The last time I saw that out of a Dan Quinn defense was the last game he coordinated for the Dallas Cowboys, to be very honest with you. And so that said, I do like that you've put Washington on this list here. What do you think of the Texans hype right now, Daniel?
Well, I mean, yeah, they've shown it already. So my thing is, the scary part about the Texans is Tank Dell stays healthy. If you can get him through a full 17 and now you incorporate Staphon Diggs and you just get a normal jump from year one to year two with CJ Stroud and then, okay, we've got a chance to talk about a top three offense in the NFL.
They've got that type of capabilities. I don't know if we give enough hyper attention to what the guy on the screen did last year, but that was incredible what Stroud did. I thought the way that they broke him in was so smart, where they came out, overdid it a little the first two games, pulled the reins back for a handful of weeks, let him get his feet underneath him, let him get comfortable.
And then it was just a rocket ship, the way he took off and the way he was attacking defenses. So if they get, you know, they start at that point this year where they left off, I don't see why this couldn't be, you know, one of the, one of the really best offenses in the NFL. And then they have so many young pieces on defense with a couple of potential stars. Stingley was awesome last year, obviously will Anderson, you know, we know what he is already, already established himself. They've got some, they've got some real intriguing parts and intriguing pieces. I think that, that division though, if you were going to look at it, this is another topic we could do at some point in time, but if you're going to look at who, what divisions have the kind of mono E mono set up for a decade, like there are two teams that you look at and say, these teams are going to be battling and going at each other for the next decade, you know, until, until we see Anthony Richardson kind of establish himself or will Levis establish himself, it sure feels like, man, we are headed towards CJ Stroud and Trevor Lawrence duels for, for a very long time.
Interesting. Let me think about this. Cause you can't, you can't go the NFC East. You could maybe go Jayden Daniels versus Jalen hurts.
But you, who else? I mean, I have the one out West, you got my homes and you got my homes out here with, with Herbert. Correct. And obviously that's been lopsided at thus far, but that's something that you're just like, okay, we're gonna see these two quarterbacks paired up together and it's gonna roll for quite some time. I think right now we'd have to say, you know, Josh Allen and Tua provided that to a contract gets done as we expect it would. But I mean, those guys are gonna be playing each other forever.
How about this one? Um, Bryce young versus Michael Pennix Jr. How about that one? Here we go.
Here we go. Who's older between those two, by the way, I had my top five list or last week, uh, on the last day of spring, the wildest stories of the spring. And number one was Michael Pennix being drafted where he was. And that also included Shoghi Otani's interpreter going rogue and Scotty Scheffler being arrested on the second day of the PGA champion PGA championship, just trying to gain access to the club.
I still can't believe it, man. And um, I, I'm just wondering what you're hearing now. Just two months later, Daniel, what are you hearing about this? No, I mean, everything that I've heard is just that, you know, Kirk's going to be the guy and they expect him to be the guy really for the next two years. Um, and that they're kind of more playing the long game with Pennix, which was, you know, a lot of the pushback with the pick had nothing to do with, with Pennix's talent.
Um, you know, we all saw it and you saw what he did last year at U dub and how, how gifted he is as a thrower. And he, we've said he was ready to play. So that, that wasn't even almost more of the pushback than, you know, okay, you took, you just paid all this money to Kirk literally just mere months ago. And now you're jumping back into the quarterback pool, uh, with Pennix, it was almost more. So it makes sense if this guy was 20 years old and you needed a couple of years, if that would have been, you know, JJ McCarthy, you could have framed it differently. But the fact that we viewed Pennix is kind of ready to go, ready to get out in the field. And now we're talking about that timeline being pushed back a couple of years.
I think that's where the shock factor came in. I set the line at two and a half, Daniel, Jeremiah number of rookie quarterback starting in week one. Do you take the over or the under line two and a half, Daniel, Jeremiah? Well, um, I, I know the two, so picks one and two will be out there.
That's where I set the line, the where, where, where it is, Daniel, that's why you're smart. I think Sam Donald holds off JJ, um, at least for, for a while there. Um, so I, and I think cousins is ready to go and he holds off Pennix. Uh, I'll say, Oh, I'll say that Bo Nix captures that job.
So I'm going to say, I'm going to say the over the two and a half. So Bo Nix captures the job and Drake may plays when I think we'll see Drake may middle of the season. You know, I could see that six to six to eight weeks of him getting a chance to absorb and learn and watch.
And then eventually he'll get out there. You know, what's so funny about the off season stuff and the reports is that when it's like the, whatever the first practice, whatever you do in the first practice, it's like everybody latches onto that as the focus and the narrative. And then you kind of, that's the scream, right? So the scream is he struggled in seven on seven in the first practice. And then you got to read in the notes in the bottom of the practice reports. Once you get to the end of it, it's like, Oh, he was seven for seven, three touchdowns. It's like, that's the whisper.
Um, but when you, when you kind of, and I'm sure Brockman's reading this stuff every day, like when you're following this, it's like it, I think he got better, but they're not, it's not being, you know, said with their chest, so to speak. Well, I mean, you look at the Patriots schedule and it, well, the start is brutal. So it would make sense to not throw Drake May in the deep end, uh, at Cincinnati home for Mike McDonald's Seahawks at the jets on a short week, Thursday night at the 49ers home for the dolphins and Texans, you know, they're in London against Jacksonville and Wembley, which technically is Jacksonville's home away from home, home for the jets again.
And then there's a week nine game at Tennessee. It's just like, where, where do you, where do you throw them in? Like when, when do you do that?
It's right after the buy. Well, I mean, well, they're, they're bye-bye if you will, based on the, the, just the general sense of things halfway through the season. So at some point you got to throw them in, right? One would think you don't have to, but I mean, it's like, he's going to play this year. He's going to start games this year. It's just kind of word that falls. And a lot of times we sit here in the off season and try and figure out, is it before the buy? Do you want them to go, uh, you know, play a game or two, then get a chance to, to use the buy to kind of learn and figure out what you like, what you don't like, where you need to improve, or do you want to wait till you get to the pie? Then he goes at the end of the day, the probably, you know, most likely scenario is it's whenever the guy in front of him gets hurt, uh, you know, whenever Jacoby Brissett's going to miss a start and then, and then we'll see if he, what he does filling in, if he earns himself the, you know, the job at that point in time, usually there's a good chance.
That's the way that thing goes down. Right. Okay. And, uh, the rookie receiver, you think that's set up for most success, not named Marvin Harrison Jr. Let's leave that one out unless you want to include them in there. So go for it.
No, I'm that. And that's one of the reasons why honestly I had Arizona on there is because I'm like, I don't know who gets more juice to their offense than having a healthy Tyler Murray who, you know, for all the tape claws and all that stuff, he is very talented. And when he's been out there, he's made them a very competitive team and now he's never had a guy like this. So I think that infusion of offense there, um, is what gives me some, some hope there.
I think that, uh, look, Anna did a great job with what he had on defense last year. Um, they've added so many young players. I think those guys have a really good teaching coaching staff.
So I think those guys developing it better. So I am bullish on Arizona and Harrison's is a big reason for that. But I mean, I don't know if anybody's in a better spot than a Dunesay. I mean, he's going into a place where he'd already been throwing with Caleb, you know, prior to the draft. Um, he's going into a place where he's going to see nothing, uh, but, but, uh, free access based off the attention and the coverage, going to the two established veterans. They have, you know, with the two studs they have with Keenan Allen on one side, um, and DJ Moore on the other. So I think he's set up to, uh, to have a really nice year. I know he said he was going after his old buddy, uh, Pukina Kua's, uh, numbers. I don't think he's going to get those, uh, but I do think he's set up to have a really nice year and maybe more so when you look at statistically, you know, touchdowns.
I think when you get down into the red zone, um, I think that's where you're going to see a Dunesay really, really shine. So I'm, um, we set it in the run up to the draft, which I told you a million times. He was my favorite player in the entire draft.
And I actually love the fit that he landed in. Well, I mean, what about Ricky Pearsall? The name we keep on hearing a lot of because of the contract situation with Brandon Ayuk.
Um, and where, where that may be headed. I know the kid's really talented and, uh, he's on a very talented team, but I throw that name out there just to unpack a lot of the late first round, early second, that includes Keon Coleman in the mix. Yeah, no. Well, Keon Coleman's already established himself as a media star. That's for sure.
He gave me some off season content to cap to him. Right. Well, it's such a, it's such a pure route runner and I think that's one of the things that they've tried to address with, okay, now they're, now they're looking beyond, you know, winning their division, getting the playoffs there. What, what's the missing pieces we need to win a Superbowl against the type of teams we're going to have to play where usually when you get deep, deep into the tournament, you've got teams that can match up with you and go nose to nose and play man to man.
And it limits your scheme a little bit. It's going to be a little bit more about just pure execution and who can win one-on-one battles. And you know, Deebo is an unbelievable athlete and he's so physical and so strong and so tough after the catch. He's not a super precise, clean route runner. What, what Piersol is, he's a man beater. He can, he can separate.
He's a polished route runner. That's what Iuke is as well. That's why to me it didn't, you know, if, if you're looking at winning a championship, I would think you'd want, you know, in addition to Iuke, not someone to come in and replace Iuke, because that would give them two guys who would be excellent against the type of main coverage. For sure.
You're going to see it. If you see Kansas city again with the secondary that they have, they're going to challenge you that way. So that's why I thought that pick made sense for them because of not, not the position he played, but the style in which he played and what they need to really get over that last little hurdle.
All right. Two more quarterback questions for you, then I'll let you go on on your Monday. First one up a quarterback in a new place that you think is going to have the most success switch teams in a new place going to have the most success. How do we go against cousins? I mean, when you have two things you're looking at, well, the production and the ability and the track record of the quarterback, check those boxes. He's been very consistent. You know, obviously he's coming off the Achilles, but then you look at the infrastructure they have there in Atlanta, you've got a solid offensive line. He's got weapons, you know, behind him as well as, is out in the, out in the formation at splitting pits out the ability with Drake London to do what he does. He just got a lot to work with and we've seen, you know, a very, you know, consistent version of Kirk cousins for quite some time now. And it's an offense he knows he's familiar with.
I don't think there's much of an adjustment there. And I don't think, you know, from the Achilles standpoint, this is not someone who's gonna be running around a ton. So if they could protect them, I think, yeah, Kirk cousins has a good year and I think they've got a really good shot of winning that division. Well, I guess the other option would be the lean and mean Russ Wilson, who might be out of options to start in quarterback in the NFL if things don't work out for Pittsburgh, which does appear to be loaded for bear for the season. I'm really pleased with what I've heard coming out of there with Russ. And I know there was a lot of talk about him and Fields. It's Russell Wilson's gig and everything I've told, they've been impressed with how he's thrown, thrown with anticipation. The dedication and the work ethic, you know, was described to me as something that's been off the charts. Like, you know, he's there all the time. He's really worked to get to know his teammates and to develop those relationships. I mean, they really they're really bullish on him.
Now, when I look at it from the outside, Rich, I love George Pickens. I think Roman Wilson's there as well. They would second round with him with your Michigan guy. So to me, it's I think they're one receiver away from kind of getting the best out of Russ from the passing standpoint. But when you look at what they've done in the investment in the offensive line and what they can do to maul you in the run game with those two backs, I think we kind of see that formula. It's kind of set up for that young Seattle formula there for Russ. He's not the same Russ that he was.
But I think he can go out there, protect the football, play efficiently. And we know they're over 500. We start there. We start with Tom and coach team. But no, I think the Pittsburgh Steelers are a playoff team.
And then last one. Year to the ground question involving quarterbacks is year to the ground. Your thoughts and what you're hearing about the quarterback contract market as it currently stands with Trevor Lawrence now having the same APY as Joe Burrow and Tua, Jordan Love next in line, Dak lurking out there. What's the general sense of the quarterback contract market that you're hearing? Well, everybody seems to believe around the league that the Tua thing gets done. That seems to be the one that they're most confident in. And I would say Dak is the one where people are most curious. So you get the confidence that Tua gets done. You have the curiosity of what the Cowboys are doing or will do with Dak.
That's kind of the buzz that's out there. It's funny, though, because you can talk to you can read reports on these contracts as they come in. And then you can talk to if you talk to three different agents and ask them which of these quarterbacks has the best contract, you'll get three different answers. So yeah, everybody said, look, if you look at the Trevor contract, look at the payout within the first three years, Burrow's deal is still as much better than his. So there's a million different wins you can take from these contracts.
So I always just kind of chuckle and go, we can all agree they're all doing OK, but they're all going to be able to make rent this month. No, I know that. But, you know, and again, I know the cap goes up. But what it used to be, Daniel, when you got a first round draft choice, you used to pay them generationally the most in the history of the franchise without seeing a down.
Now you're basically seeing three years and just maybe even in case of Trevor Lawrence, one playoff win. Right. I mean, like, that's the way you got to place your bets.
Yeah. And I think there's you have to take all the information you have that we don't. And I know this from talking to people that are connected there in Jacksonville, how beat up he was last year. So when you got somebody who's not able to practice, who's just willing his way out on the field and trying to trying to help in any way that he can, I think you got to factor some of that in. I think you also have to factor in, as you did numerous times on the show during that rookie year, that was a tough one, you know, to be in that situation that he was in there and the turmoil that surrounded that.
So I think you almost kind of throw that first year out. You've got to kind of look at this last year with a little bit of a skewed view because of the health situation and go back to believing in two things. That you believe in the talent that he has and absolutely has that. And then you believe in the makeup. And by all accounts, he's he checks both of those boxes. Now he's got to cut down on the turnovers.
He's got to find a way to keep his body fresh and healthy through the season. But I think that's the calculated risk that you have to take. I feel the same way about you, Daniel. I believe in the makeup with you. I see it. I see it.
I see it in person all the time. And the talent. I believe in both of those things, Daniel. Yeah. Well, that's very kind of you, Rich. Do I? I know you see Best Dad Ever there.
I might be coming for that title. Did Brockman tell you about my travel adjustment? I did not.
You should definitely do it right now. Was it? I think I saw it.
A Western Conference final or an NBA Finals appearance? Yeah. This was, Rich, this is a trip with my 16-year-old that we had planned because you've got the new college football game that's coming out right on EA. It's a big deal.
So I know those people as you do from the Madden folks. So they said, hey, come out and come out here a little early, and we'll let you check out the game, show your son. I'm like, OK, I've got one of my best friends in Florida. We'll just do a little Florida trip. Unfortunately, we're delayed two hours coming out of San Diego. We are going to miss our connection in Dallas.
And due to all the severe weather they had in Florida at that time, I wouldn't be able to get into Florida until later the evening, that following evening, which I was going to miss the whole EA experience. 30,000 feet up in the air, I'm seeing this flight information on my phone, stuck in Dallas. Well, I do have my son who's at Baylor.
He stayed there over the summer to work their football camps. I bought four tickets to game three of the NBA finals. In the air, I texted my son at Baylor, you only can buy four.
This is the suck of it. You can't just buy three tickets. So I have to get the fourth. So get the fourth, tell him, hey, get your roommate, get in the car and start driving to Dallas. And he's like, what's going on? I'm like, just get in the car.
So we land, get a hotel, get an Uber to the hotel, drop the bags right back in the Uber to the stadium there an hour before tip and took in game three, which I think was probably the best game of the finals this year. Wow. I'll tell you what. That is father of the year.
It also, showing up on a college campus and blowing a lot of money to get the affection of your son and his roommate sounds like back to school. It sounds like you're the Thornton Mellon of the 21st century. I triple linded it. Triple linded right into game three tickets, man.
That's what it sounds like. Thanks for the Zoom, DJ. You're the best.
Thanks for popping up ball with you. You take care of yourself. I appreciate that.
And now these are going to need to be paid appearances for me to pay for those tickets. So I appreciate it. Ladies and gentlemen, happy to endeavor that conversation. Daniel Jeremiah right here on the Rich Eisen Show. I love DJ.
So much fun. We'll take a break. Phone call is 844-204-RICH.
Number to dial. And then there's a report about Mike McCarthy in Dallas. Uh-oh. Oh, yeah, just in time for Steven A. Smith to show up top. It's that time of year, people.
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Greenlight.com slash rich. Back here on our program, good to see everybody right here. We're going to do this here now, Hoskins, or should we just wait for the radio to return? There's a big moment in the NBA that's happening.
It's kind of interesting. So between now and Wednesday night is kind of like that period in the NFL of before the window opens or when the window opens. Only with your own players. So if you're eligible for a max or any type of extension, you have any free agent, you kind of do it now. So it's Tatum, you know, that one is just kind of a formality. Any of your own players you can do now. Tatum's is going to be like 10 million more than... Yeah, I think at 315. Jalen's is 305, right?
Yeah. How about that? Two players, 620 million bucks. A lot to just play basketball. How can they afford any of the players on this team is what I want. They can't, but they're in the luxury tax and Wick doesn't care because they just want a title.
We could say he doesn't care. But you heard a manic say last Friday that it's the way that they've put their team together. They lose money. No, but they're not as deep into the luxury tax as other teams. Right. Well, Golden State is kind of the... Right.
And Phoenix, they're kind of the... Right. That there's... Yeah.
It's when you take the money and you spend it wisely. It's worked out. This guy over there, it has worked out. Red Sox are the hottest team in baseball right now. Well, I mean... With the Mets, Yankees are coming to the Queens. I know.
Yeah. Everything's going so well for the Mets that their clothes has got sticky stuff all over and they still win. I don't even understand that. Give them a chance to wipe it off. Oh my God.
Come on. Give them a chance to wipe it off. Stop cheating. How about that? That's not cheating. What do you mean?
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Get fired up for your new Weber Seirwood Pellet Grill. Paying off what I promoted at the end of the last segment, Tyler Dunn of Go Long, which is I believe his page, the name of his page, he reports on the National Football League columnist quoting unnamed former... Those are the dangerous words, aren't they? Those are dangerous. I know. A former personnel executive with the Cowboys saying, let me get this right, and by the way, the column's head is, what in the hell are the Dallas Cowboys doing? It's the name of Tyler Dunn's column.
I've asked myself that multiple times. It's crazy what's going on, one former Cowboys personnel says, and it doesn't ever really change. Saying at one point of McCarthy, Mike McCarthy, head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, he's doing it the best he can. Some of the people I've talked to have said that he's getting fed up with it a little bit. Oh, that's fun. Now, of course, that's the juicy part, an unnamed executive saying he's talking to other people who are saying this of Mike McCarthy, so it's kind of like... Third say?
It's like a third of a Kevin Bacon, you're too removed here. But all I will say is that if this is true, if this is true, that he's fed up a little bit, the only words I have in response to that are, can you blame him? Can you blame a guy who has to go home and look his family in the face and say to them, I don't know about next year, on about 2025, I don't know what's going on. And if they push back anybody at home, just in any way you say, but wait a minute, didn't you win the division last year?
Aren't you making the playoffs? I don't know if they'd ask that question of a veteran of the coaching game because they kind of already know the answer to that question, that no, results-oriented business or whatever. But how many head coaches in the NFL go into their final year of a contract? Not many.
I recall the last one, quite frankly. And even in Pittsburgh, PA, where it's been a long time since they've won a playoff game at all, they made sure Tomlin had a three-year deal going into this season. And then there's the question of the quarterback wondering if he's going to get paid and the wide receiver and the top pass rusher, yada, yada, yada.
We've covered this over and over again. But that is part and parcel of what happens when you go, if you will, all in, like the Dallas Cowboys have done that. So Jerry Jones has got to know that it will make a coach fed up when he doesn't get any contractual roadway after this year. And then the most important players on the team are waiting for contracts themselves. And I know some of you out there might be like, well, then guess what?
He should have beaten the Packers. Yep. But this is just such a wild sequence of events.
That little shady smirk you gave me right there when you said that, I don't appreciate that at all. It's not that. I saw it.
This is all the truth. I'm not seeing anything wrong. You know, a coach needs to show results. And players who want to get second and third generationally enriching contracts have to show results.
Yeah. But the rest of the NFL is like paying guys who have shown results-ish. So the Cowboys are doing it the right way, Brockman. But if they're doing it the way that may ruffle a few feathers now and come home to roost in the season when things begin to break down eventually. And we will see what way works and what it does not. But the way that Chris Brockman has been saying, let everybody play it out.
It doesn't matter. If the results aren't there, play it out. The Cowboys are endeavoring that right now. You come on our bandwagon then, Chris. You want me to join the Celtics?
Maybe we'll do a swap. Can we just hold this energy? Well, because Stephen A. Smith is coming up, or you have this for top of hour three is overreaction Monday. Let's just hold the energy. How about this then?
How about this question? For somebody who has been pounding the table over there, over and over again about don't pay people until the results are there, do not go ahead and pay for future hopes. Do not go ahead and pay on assumed future results based on past flashes of brilliance. Or just projections or what you think could happen. But not everybody could be like Tom Brady and come out of the box at year two and show you the way it's done.
And then be generationally great for 20 years. That's not why I think this. But, but, but wouldn't it be better for you to have the Cowboys perform very well this year? Yes. Okay. Yes. I'd like to show that your way is the best way. Yes, absolutely. It's also the most expensive way in success. But who cares when you have a trophy?
Well, I guess if the trophy is born out of the pressure cooker you've created. Yeah. Good strategy.
Stephen A coming up. Hey guys, welcome to the Candy Valentino show. I'm Candy Valentino. I was a founder before I could legally order a drink and for more than two and a half decades I've built, scaled, acquired, and exited multiple businesses in diverse industries.
Now my goal is to help you by sharing the knowledge that I've learned, the mistakes that I've made, and the wisdom that I've developed over my journey. Biweekly episodes every Monday and Thursday. The Candy Valentino Show, wherever you listen.
