Mark Schlereth: NFL Is The Greatest Soap Opera On TV

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Paid membership with connected payment account required. Time Super Bowl champion, Mark Schleren, NFL network insider Ian Rappaport, plus your phone calls, latest news and more. And now it's Rich Eisen.

That's a fact. Welcome to this edition of the Rich Eisen Show back in studio after a brief Rona interlude. I'm here on the Rich Eisen Show. I'm thrilled to be here on the Roku channel. And for those who just watched Good Morning Football overtime on the Roku channel, guess what? That's the way it's going to be.

That's the way it works from them to us. And it's a lot of fun. And hopefully you'll hang with us for all three hours of this show because it would mean a lot to us. I mean, seriously. No, wouldn't that be sad if I just started this show with a complete emotional breakdown? You know? No, it wouldn't. I mean, I wouldn't recommend it.

Okay. I'm just going to hold it together. Mark Schlereth would definitely slap it out of me when he joins us in 20 minutes time. Ian Rappaport's going to be zooming in from Seahawks camp.

He was in Cowboys camp over the weekend. And so there's all of that good stuff. 844-204-RICH. Number to dial if you're listening to us on this Rich Eisen Show terrestrial radio affiliate Sirius XM Odyssey. Tune in and more. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial to have a conversation with us. We say hello to those who take in this show whenever you want to hear it on our podcast. We greatly appreciate that immensely.

All three hours available through the Cumulus Podcast Network. Good to see you over there, Christopher Brockman. How are you, sir? Doing great, man. What's happening?

I am well. Good to see you, DJ Mikey Diaz and Deez Nutz. Two out of three, Rich. Two out of three.

Ain't bad. Exactly. It's odd that you come on quoting Meat Loaf. I mean, what's that about?

Oh, you're talking about dude, whatever. I mean, the Yankees look good to the last, you know, game and a half in Boston. We'll see what happens. But you know, the guy to your right roots for the team that you're happy the Yankees be. Look, I can confidently say neither of us are winning the World Series.

I made sure the backcrack sounded great on Saturday night for Chris in Fenway. Well, Chris is going to keep an eye peeled on the old waiver wire to see what's going on, because the trade deadline is tomorrow and everybody's looking for the same thing. And there's a lot of teams that are in the mix.

So we'll see who's a seller, who's a buyer and whatnot, while the Olympics are also going on in Paris. Good to see you, TJ Jefferson. How are you, sir?

I am awesome. Yeah, you're back from your trip out to the East Coast. Yes, sir.

And we will have a brief conversation about that later on. Yeah, it was. It was like I felt like the undertaker after WrestleMania.

My streak of not missing a show. It's all right. Seven years was over, but I got to be honest, man. No, no disrespect. It was worth it. Well, we'll discuss that while you would say that later on in this program.

So it's it's kind of crazy. We went off the air on Friday while you were back east, TJ. And when we went off the air on Friday for the weekend, both Tua Tungo Vailoa and Jordan Love had yet to be extended, had yet to be given new contracts. And I think both got their new contracts within hours of each other.

Yeah, it happened. Talk about a Friday sports news dump. I think Tua got his like a half hour after we went off the air on Friday and Jordan Love waited that evening. Jordan Love, now the highest paid quarterback in the National Football League annually and things of that nature. He's the most generationally enriched Green Bay Packer of all time. And Tua Tungo Vailoa coming in a couple million a year less than that, but I'm sure there are metrics in the contract that he and his agent are able to point to saying he's paid, you know, better than anybody else based on this metric, that metric and whatnot. But, you know, we're all caught up in the annual average of these contracts.

Bottom line is this. What does it mean in terms of winning the Super Bowl for these teams? And both franchises fully believe, despite both guys getting career playoff starts number one of their career this past winter, both believe they are the future. They are the ones that can lead their franchises back to promised lands. Miami waiting much longer than Green Bay fans, but they believe they're the ones to do it and the market means you pay them oodles upon oodles of money and take up large percentages of your current and future salary caps. And people can't wrap their arms around this because when you look at the highest average quarterback contracts per year, Burrow, Lawrence, Love coming in at 55 million per. That's tops. Tua, 53.1, one million more than Jared Goff. And then you look at the rest of the top eight in that category.

And you see the guys who got paid in previous years, Herbert, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hertz. I added it up. I channeled my inner Brockman. Thank you, Rich. I was inspired by you, sir.

Appreciate that. Their combined playoff record, the top eight annually paid quarterbacks in the NFL have a combined playoff record of 16 and 17. You add up all of their Super Bowl wins. There's three of them. Pardon me, combined Super Bowl appearances. There's three of them. You add up their Super Bowl wins.

There are none of them. Zero. You are not paying on past ultimate results. Ultimate results you are paying on the future because that's the way it goes in the NFL. And remarkably, the way it goes in the NFL now is that maybe all you need to see is one year. And if that one year was timed properly by your young quarterback, you've got to pay him. And unbelievably, unbelievably, who would have thought that after he got drafted in the COVID draft and shocked the GOAT quarterback that was apparently at home a couple fingers into a drink and got surprised by this kid's drafting. And then that potentially sparked back-to-back MVP campaigns that left this kid nailed to the bench only to have him one year after that get the opportunity to start.

Jordan Love, one full year as a starter in Green Bay, perfectly timed to get the richest contract. The NFL has given a quarterback. Who would have thought that would be the way this story winds up?

Now the question is, how does it wind up from here? But that's the way it goes. And in case you are wondering, all right, all right, the list of current quarterbacks with Super Bowl experience, because again, just three appearances amongst the top eight best paid quarterbacks in the NFL. And the three belong to Goff when he was a Ram, Burrow against the Rams, and Jalen Hurts a couple of years ago against Mahomes who leads this list with four. Again, this is a list of, we're showing radio audience on the screen, active starting quarterbacks with Super Bowl experience in the NFL, just eight of them.

That's it. And only two with multiple appearances, Mahomes and Russell Wilson. Rogers, Goff, Burrow, Stafford, Hurts, Brock Purdy all have one. And by the way, the list, this is a Venn diagram, to use the phrase apparently out there in the political world these days, a Venn diagram where if you take the list of the top eight best paid quarterbacks annually in the NFL, and then you take the eight quarterbacks with Super Bowl experience, as I mentioned, there's just three of them, Purdy might join that list next year. And you want to tack on a guy who's never won a Super Bowl, let alone never appeared in a Super Bowl, who may top the list of best eight annually paid quarterbacks in the NFL by the end of this month, potentially it could be Dak, adding another.

With Justin Herbert. Sub-500 record of a quarterback playoff experience and another quarterback with zero Super Bowl appearances, let alone wins. That's the way it goes. And in terms of guys who have Super Bowl wins, active quarterbacks, because this is a post-Brady world, right? In terms of the top, the quarterbacks who have Super Bowl wins, currently starting in the NFL, there's just four of them. That's it. Mahomes, Stafford, Wilson, and Rogers.

That's it. So the NFL is filled with quarterbacks that are being paid very handsomely on hope. Or maybe your franchise that you root for, your team that you root for, has a quarterback on a first-year contract starting this year.

And that list is Max 7. Houston, CJ Stroud. Indianapolis, Anthony Richardson. Tennessee, Will Levis.

Carolina, Bryce Young. And I'm including in this list Washington because it's going to be Jayden Daniels, right? Correct? Yeah, for sure.

Okay. We assume. Obviously I left out Chicago. There's one right there. So the Max 7 is going to be Washington, will be Washington, will be Washington, will be Washington, yep.

So the max is eight. Washington, Chicago we're going to include. And I'm including Vegas because Aiden O'Connell is currently, currently atop the depth chart there. And Denver.

No New England? No, I don't think he's going to be starting this year, week one. Let's put it that way. Let's conclude this to week one.

Okay. I think he might be starting sooner. So if you've got somebody out there with experience and you got somebody out there with Super Bowl experience and you've got somebody out there who can get you to the Super Bowl and win it and can show up on Sundays who is widely believed to be the best quarterback on the field, you pay him. And right now there's only one of those guys. His name is Patrick Mahomes. So in case anybody's out there wondering, what does Patrick think about all this? Well, Jared Bell of USA Today asked him if he thought he was underpaid. Oh, thank you, Mr. Bell. And he wrote, quote, his answer, two words, not necessarily.

That's how he responded. By the way, he also thinks it's great for quarterbacks in this league. It's great for these kids making all of this money annually. And the fact that Mahomes isn't in the realm of the top eight also just goes to show you that you got to read fine print to figure it out. Would you care to guess who from last year, 2023, all the way to 2026, four years. And even with these new contracts just being awarded 2024 through 2027 is the best paid quarterback in terms of total cash going from the team to the player.

Well, which I read that article last night as well, so I'm not going to answer. His name is Patrick Mahomes. He's got the most cash still people. Coming into this year, even with love making what he's making and even with love apparently making an absurd amount of it in year one, year one, like 75 million in year one, even with Tua now making what he's making and Herbert, I mean pardon me, and Lawrence getting his deal this year.

Even with all that, Patrick Mahomes from 2024, this season all the way through 2027, his cash flow is $215.6 million. In other words, that's why he's got a smile on his face, rings on his finger, or to put it in Raiders terms, sitting on a log with a banjo singing about rainbows. Wait, what? Sipping tea.

Oh, TJ missed that. No, you're out. You're out of office. All right, that's the state of quarterback pay and play in the NFL today. So a lot of people ringing their hands, all these guys, what have they done?

Not much. They're getting paid. That's what the market bears and you need to hit it at the right time, which is why you leave college when you can, start the contract when you can, and try not to get franchised.

Don't leave money on the table. Again, Lamar Jackson isn't complaining. I mean, his cash, by the way, it ranks ninth over the next four years, 179.2 million, not too bad, but he could have started that gravy train a couple of years earlier. He might be nitpicking, but the bottom line is this, the current kids on their first year contracts are seeing these numbers and all they got to do is just show a flash of it and try and be as consistent as possible after that flash, which is why I think, depending on what Dak signs for, if at all, Brock Purdy may be the first $60 million a year quarterback, and if not him, it's CJ Stroud after what we just saw.

No doubt. And Anthony Richardson, stay healthy, give yourself one season. And he could be 70. And then all of a sudden, he'll be sitting on a bus and seeing his owner, the guy signs his check, the owner of his team saying, hey, life's short. By the way, nice to see Mr. Irsay this weekend made his first public appearance since the last year. Well, I think he's going to be at the Hall of Fame as well for Dwight Freening. At any rate, that's the state of everything going on in the National Football League with quarterbacks.

8-4-4, 2-0-4 rich, number to dial. The US men's basketball team, men's basketball team took care of Serbia in a convincing fashion, but one guy had a DNP-CD. And Chris is not happy about it. Not at all. So we'll talk about that.

Don Staley also revisited the subject matter of Kaitlin Clark not being chosen for the US women's team. There is that. Oh my goodness.

Oops. So we'll talk about that. Chris and I are doing the Overreaction Monday podcast after this show.

So we're back just like I am as well. Ian Rappaport from Seattle's training camp when we have a second hour of the three on this Roku Channel and Rich Eisen Show radio broadcast. But when we come back, Mark Schlerath joins us from what I believe is Broncos camp, one of our favorites, the Super Bowl winner from Fox Sports.

Mark Schlerath when we come back. is a free app that gives you the most cashback every time you shop on hundreds of items from groceries to beauty supplies to toys. The average Ibotta user earns $256 per year. That could cover the cost of an entire shopping trip, that flight you've been eyeing or the fancy dinner you've been craving. Join the over 50 million users and earn cashback every time you shop from over 2,700 brands and retailers. And right now Ibotta is offering our listeners $5 for just trying Ibotta by using the code EISEN when you register.

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Prices higher in Alaska and Hawaii. For J.D. Power 2023 award information, visit jdpower.com slash awards only at a Sleep Number store or sleepnumber.com. All right, back here on the program. Caught up on a lot of TV viewing, you know, when you're finished presumed innocent. Okay. Are they making a second season? They are.

They are. I don't know if it's a completely new cast. I'm hoping for some more Tommy Molto, but it is going to be a whole new case. I don't want Tommy Molto. I want Nico. I want them both.

I think they're both hilarious. They were good. Yeah, they were good. Susie could not handle how the wife stayed with Rusty through all of that nonstop.

And I don't know. Were you watching with, please, it's a book and whatever. So were you watching Sarah?

Did you get a little bit of heat? Of like somehow it's my fault too? No, it's just like, if you ever pull anything like this, like TJ just, you're kind of lucky. You too Del Tufo that if you're watching something, you're not watching with a spouse, you know, and, and, and the main character is cheating on the wife and doing all sorts of terrible, terrible things. And the fact that the wife kept sticking with him. Yeah.

So that, that, that kind of catches side glances for sure. But, but in the book, you know, like she did it. Dude, I, I don't, it's worth watching is what you're saying. It was, I loved it. It was great.

Yeah. It's, it's, you could watch it on the road through the Roku portal. Yeah, it was great. It was fun.

So we caught up, we finished that and then we watched the Bratz documentary, Andrew McCarthy. Oh, nice. That was good. Oh, nice. That was well done. Now you could see that on through the Roku portal right here on the Roku channel. Back on the Rich Eisen Show radio network, sitting at the Rich Eisen Show desk, furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions for every industry. Grainger has the right product for you.

Call clickrainger.com or just stop by. Radio audience is back and let's talk about, you know, everyone talking about Caleb is going to get the gig. We believe Jayden Daniels, it's only a matter of time for sure. The third rookie that I think starting week one is Bo Nix.

He certainly looks the part to me. Everybody keeps forgetting. He's gotten 60 starts in his college career. This is what he had to say over the weekend.

When asked about the quarterback competition, he's going through with Jared Stidham and Zach Wilson. Well, I hadn't ramped up cause it was pretty high to begin with. So I feel like we have a great healthy competition going on and you know, it's good to be in a room with those guys. I learned so much from them. I pick up a lot of information from them day by day, really play by play. So sitting in meetings with them is great and watching them on the field is great. And then we're just, you know, we got great relationships already and we continue to build those.

Yeah, I kind of, I got the feeling he's going to do it, but somebody who might know a little bit better since he's got a front row seat and so much about what's going on in Broncos camp is a three-time Super Bowl champion, certainly there in Denver and from Fox Sports, our friend Mark Schlereth back here on the Rich Isaac show. How are you Mark? I'm doing great, Rich. How are you buddy?

I'm doing well. So, listen, you're on the outskirts of camp. Is that what's behind you right there? Okay. Yeah, there you got dead Broncos training camp right back there.

You can see the big building and all the cars rolling by. Oh, okay. So that's, oh, I thought you were, this is where I'm doing my radio show from, and then I'm going to walk across the street after we're done and go into practice. Because I know, I was wondering if the Walmart family needed any extra cash to not use plastic trash bags to keep the riffraff out. You know what I mean?

No, no, they're good. They've got a lifetime supply of trash bags over there at Walmart anyhow, so they're good. Well, and I am assuming that that is from Walmart, the bags behind you that is the border between you and me. Yeah, that's a border.

On the other side, it says our radio station. Okay, fantastic. Yeah, but I didn't give you that. I didn't give you that. I wanted to face that way. Oh man. All right, so let's just jump right in. Is my spidey sense about Bo Nix going to be the week one starter spot on, or there really is a competition that Sean Payton's getting through right now?

I don't think, I think you're a hundred percent right, Rich? I don't think there's any real competition. The competition is, hey, we're going to find out who's the backup quarterback between Zach Wilson and Jared Stidham. But I really believe in talking to Sean Payton this off season, just about all the qualities that Bo Nix has. One, like his ability to throw from a dirty pocket, his ability to kind of process information, make quick decisions, his accuracy, the fact that he didn't take a lot of sacks.

I don't think he had one fumble in his two years at Oregon. All of these things lend themselves to Sean Payton saying, this is going to be my guy. I think the other thing that people really need to realize is when you start to pick out who has the best fit, you really look at fit with the coaching staff, with the organization. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a guy that has a better fit than that of Bo Nix here in Denver.

Think about it. The first three guys taken, we're all taking the defensive coaches. The one thing I know about defensive coaches is, hey, they may work on developing a quarterback, but they want their defense to perform well.

And then ultimately you look at JJ McCarthy in Minnesota. I really think Sam Darnold is going to get the first crack at that starting job. So I think Bo Nix is really kind of in the best position fit wise with Sean Payton to operate this offense and be day one starter. Well, what about his skill set fitting what Payton wants? Clearly it must, because that's why Sean didn't just take him just to take him with a dozenth pick when there are so many other holes to fill on that roster.

So what's your two cents on that one, Mark? My two cents is that Bo Nix really fit everything that he wanted. Judicious with the football, quick decisions, unbelievably accurate, getting through progressions, all those things fit well. And I think the biggest thing that he raved about is just the intelligence level, his ability to dump a bunch of information on Bo Nix five o'clock the night before he met with him and Bo Nix being able to regurgitate that, being able to go through all those things. So I just think from that standpoint, he has got exactly what he wants and I'm not going to call him, you know, Drew Brees, but I think he had those Drew Brees-esque qualities from the neck up. And that's really where this game is played at the quarterback position.

Do you have the requisite skills from the neck up to be great? And I think Bo Nix, at least in Sean Payton's mind, has those requisite skills. And how about, you know, the schedule makers? I mean, they throw week one at Seattle, which by the way, was the way things started off for Hackett with Russell Wilson. And we all remember what happened there and why that kind of led to Sean Payton being the coach there. And then Russell's going to be the first starter for an opponent in the building for the home opener in week two. I mean, talk about wild.

What a way to start. Yeah, it's certainly, the schedule makers know what they're doing and there's a reason. Like I always say, this is the greatest soap opera on television. It's the National Football League and they pit those matchups together. They're looking at, and the thing about, you know, week two is you got to figure at week two, at least at that point, Russell Wilson will be the starter.

Now, maybe it'll change later on down to the season, but they want that matchup that Sean Payton versus Russell Wilson, if you will, you know, after they dump Russell Wilson and $853 million this year and another 30 million something next year. So yeah, there's great drama there. There's a great storyline there. And the NFL, as much as it is about matchups, it's about storylines.

And it's one of the reasons that people are so enamored by it and why they can't get enough of it. And obviously Russ is going to get that shot in Pittsburgh. I agree with you. I think no matter how great Justin Fields might look and whatever reps he's getting in training camp or in future preseason games, this is going to be Russell's gig to start. And it seems like we're back with, to square one with Russell Wilson, where you see how engaged he looks and how in shape he is and, and he's in a new spot. And I'm wondering what you think about his chance to succeed in Pittsburgh might be here.

Yeah. You know, it's, it's interesting. I love, I love Arthur Smith as a coordinator. I love his ability to run the football and some of the things he wants to do in the play action game.

And I think that part is a good fit. I think ultimately for a player, it's important to know your strengths, but it's probably more important to know your weaknesses. And I think that's been one of Russell Wilson's, his biggest weaknesses, his inability to recognize his own weaknesses and to know what he can and can't do, and the desire to do things that are not within your skillset. And like, can Russell Wilson still be effective? Absolutely he can, but he's got to embrace the things he does exceptionally well. And he's got to let go of, you know, being a Drew Brees pocket type of passer. It's not what he is. I don't think that's what he'll ever be.

If he hasn't hit that to this point in his career, it's not going to happen. So at some point you've got to say, Hey, man, I might not be X, Y, and Z, but I'm still A, B, and C and A, B, and C can still win games, but I've got to embrace that. And I can't try to be something that I'm not. And, and ultimately I really believe that that's what he has to do. And then if that means eliminating some people in your circle, they tell you things that are just not true. I think that's a part of what he needs to do, in my opinion, to be successful. So you, you're, what, what are the things that they're telling them that aren't true?

The, the, the other stuff that you're referring to? Well, like, like the whole, the whole, Hey, let Russ cook and you can be in control line of scrimmage and, you know, and there's no route combination that you can't throw. Russ does not take advantage of the middle of the football field. You know, like he's not, he's not great at seeing routes open up and develop in the middle of the football field. It's not what he does well. And so you've got to really, you've got to really embrace the play action, the bootkeep game, the eliminating half the field and throwing it to one edge. All those things are little, are little kind of processes or nuances to the game that he has to embrace.

And you've got to be okay winning that way, as opposed to, Hey, I want to be a drop back guy like Brady and just orchestrate from the middle of the pocket. That's not who you are. It's not who you're going to be. It's not who you've ever been.

And so, you know, I, I believe that those things you've got to be really honest with yourself. And, and I just don't think at times he's been, as a matter of fact, I'll give you a quick story. I had him in a production meeting and he talked about in the paper, he was like, you know, I've got to, we've got, or I've got to be better, you know, going forward, this is with Hackett as the head coach. And so I asked him, you know, you mentioned, you've got to be better, give me three or four specific things that you have to do better. And he paused.

He goes, well, we have to score in the red zone. Well, you're not a French waiter. I didn't ask we, we, we, we, we, I asked what you have to be better at. I don't want to know what we have to, what do you have to be better at? And I asked him probably three times.

He just didn't answer. And so it's like, you've got to be able to look at yourself very critically and say, man, these are the things I have to be good at. And and these things that I want to be good at that I'm not good at.

I need to show off some of that stuff and get my career back on track because the last two years, the last two years just have not been good. Mark Schlereth here on the Rich Eisen Show, 12 seasons in the NFL. Schlereth and Evans, 104.3, the fan.

They're in Denver, Colorado, and obviously on Fox Sports game analysis right here on the Rich Eisen Show. What do you make of the contracts given to Love and Tua over the weekend, Mark? Yeah, I mean, as you know, the prices continue to escalate. And I think both those guys played exceptionally well.

I don't know that anybody played better than Jordan Love in the last five or six games of the year. So listen, it's, I'm a believer, it's better to sign them early than try to sign them late. And it's just going to continue to rise.

The number is going to continue to rise. The next guy, you know, that signs is going to usurp that guy. And so you just got to get it, figure out how you're going to make that work in your camp, I think, or under your cap. I think one of the things people need to understand is that the cap is, you know, completely, you're able to manipulate it. You're able to control that by resigning guys and redoing their contracts and all that kind of stuff. So ultimately, I think it's the right decision. I think Jordan Love, I think Jordan Love was incredible toward the last part of the season last year.

And obviously Tua was exceptional as well. So if you don't have one, you have no chance at winning in the National Football League. So when you get one, you got to pay the guy. So the list that we had up, if you wouldn't mind, Mr. Hoskins, putting it out one more time. The top five paid annual quarterbacks that you got, Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, Love, Tua, Goff, and then the three after them are Herbert, Lamar, Jackson, and Jalen Hurts. Which one out of the eight would you put your marker on to say they're winning the Super Bowl first?

Wow. Based upon the team that plays around the guy, I would probably go Jared Goff. And I know it's probably an unpopular pick, but Jared Goff is a top 10 quarterback in the league. That guy makes throws. Absolutely. Just the guts of a burglar.

He will throw it to a window. Does not care. And I just think he is outstanding. And I think that football team under Dan Campbell is incredible.

There's an energy inside that building. They all believe in what they're doing. And they have got some hard-nosed football players. I think they've had probably the best offensive line in football. They've got a great play caller in Ben Johnson.

Amun Ross, St. Brown sets the tone. They just have a really good football team and they address some of their defensive deficiencies this year. I just think they've got one of the best teams in the NFC. And I think they've got a great chance at representing the NFC in the Super Bowl. The next two guys that are in line to join this list, though, I believe, Mark, to top the list of annually best-paid quarterbacks in the NFL are Dak and Purdy.

If I add them to the mix, do you change your mind on the answer of Goff, Mark? Probably not with Dak. And I really like Dak, but it's more about the Cowboys and their infrastructure and the way they're set up. And then I love, I love the Niners.

I love Purdy. But boy, I tell you what, the last two times they've been in the Super Bowl, they've had those games won and there have been some, you know, there have been some questionable decisions by Kyle, been some questionable execution. You know, I just, I know one thing as an offensive lineman, when you're tasked with blocking 95, Chris Jones, you don't let that, you don't bust that protection. That guy, 95 on line scrimmage, we got to block that guy.

I know that. So you can't let that guy go free, which, you know, is the difference between a touchdown and, and, and having to kick that field goal, which it didn't make any sense to me. And this was where the decision-making process comes in. How do you give Mahomes the ball last?

Like with four down, with four down, like you're in four down territory from your own one yard line and beyond, like how do you give him the ball last? I didn't, I didn't understand that decision either. Yeah, I know. We'll be talking about that for some time, but I guess you're doubling and tripling down on the Niners fans loving you these days, Mark, based on your opinion of Brandon Ayuk not being worthy of a top 10 receiver contract. Did I see that correct, Mark, from you? Yeah, I didn't.

Yeah, I didn't understand. Like I get, you know, I say things, Rich, and, you know, I said that on my podcast, the Stink of Truth podcast and people just go bananas. And I'm like, where, where am I, where am I missing Brandon Ayuk all of a sudden being a top 10 wide receiver in the league. Like when you game plan, so for instance, and I've done a bunch of San Francisco games. When I talk to defensive coordinators, what do they tell me?

All right. The first guy we've got to take away is Christian McCaffrey. Then we've got to take away Deebo Samuel because he's got, you know, not only the ability to catch the ball, but running out of the backfield and like, you're going down to George Kittle and, and Brandon Ayuk. And I'm not saying Brandon Ayuk isn't a great player. He's a great player, but you know, when you sit there and say, is he Justin Jefferson or is he Devante Adams? Or is he one of these true number one guys? Well, on his own team, he's the third or fourth, you know, target. So, and he had a lot of targets and I get that, but I don't look at him as the top weapon on his own team.

So how are you going to make that guy a, you know, top five or 10 paid wide receiver? I just don't, that doesn't make sense to me. And I'm not saying that he's not really good because he is. But you know, those are the things I look at. And then I get, you know, then I get people cause I get, you know, I get salty.

Maybe it's just because I'm old, but I get salty. And I get, I get people that tell me, well, if you look at his, his separation per target, I don't even know what that means separation per target. Like, okay. So he runs a flat against the zone and the zone dropper gets 10 yards of separation. Cause he's trying to take away the secondary route. Is he, is he wide open by 10 yards? Is that the way the defense led it to be?

Like, I look at some of these advanced analytics and I'm like, you nerd, your numbers nerds have got to stop with all this garbage because it doesn't mean anything. So anyhow, that's when I get salty and that's when I, you know, make a snide comment about the jets or something, you know, and then I get in trouble and you play a video. And then you put one of your Superbowl rings and you show it off on your middle finger, you know, that's a, that's a greatest hit though. That was a few years ago.

That's a, that's a greatest Mark Schlereth hit. Like, I appreciate that together. Do you know your week one assignment yet? I'm in new Orleans week one. So that's going to be, you know, the NFC South is interesting to me because I think Atlanta, what they did with Kirk Cousins, I thought last year Atlanta should have won 10 or 11 games.

I thought they were really good, both sides of the ball. And, and this kind of make it a break for Dennis Allen and the new Orleans saints, it feels like to me. So anyhow, I think it's an interesting division, obviously Carolina, you know, wasn't very good.

Bryce young wasn't very good last year, but that's kind of interesting. So yeah, I've got new Orleans, always fun to go down to new Orleans, always fun to be down there in the Superdome. That's a great place to call the game.

Yeah. Bryce young year two, we'll see what happens with Dave Canales and obviously what changes they made there. And hey man, the saints and Derek Carr, we'll see how week one goes there. That's a one Eastern game on Fox with you. The Stinkin' Truth podcast as well. If you're listening to 104.3, the fans Schlereth and Evans, and really appreciate the time. Mark, thank you, sir. Anytime, Rich. Always good to connect with you, buddy.

Take care. Right back at you. That's Mark Schlereth giving us The Stinkin' Truth as always right here on The Rich Eisen Show. The thing with, you know, next, just to bring this all full circle is because he was chosen sixth out of the first round six quarterbacks. And because he didn't make the college football playoff. Right. And I think, you know, he was at Auburn and then he went to transfer and that's an old school way of looking things like, you know, if he, if he was so good, why did Auburn let him?

Why did you stick around so long? Right. And cause you could, number one, COVID year for sure. And I think people look at him like he's Drew Locke plus, you know?

And I don't think that's fair. I feel you on that. You know, like you're plussing it, like in this day and age where we're all, you know, it's all plus. NFL plus. TJ plus. A medium well plus. Everyone's got a plus. ESPN plus. Yeah.

I feel you. You know, nobody's putting out an app with a minus. You know what I mean?

True that. So I think people look at him like, okay, he's Drew Locke plus. Did Drew Locke really get a fair shake though?

I, I don't know. I, I, I kind of think that, um, that Bo Nix is coming in with 60 games under his belt and, and it's just an interesting marriage with him and, and, uh, Sean Payton. And I think he's going to get the gig because Sean likes him and he chose him 12th overall. And the only question is in this fantasy football world, which is the way that everybody views your value and your worth and your opportunity to be good. I mean, Javonte Williams, Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, Josh Reynolds, Marvin Mims, Jr. Little Jordan Humphrey, who's got some game to him. That doesn't knock your socks off.

Adam Troutman, Greg Dulcich. Like that's not what. Not sexy. That's not what you're, you're talking about. But all together as a team, if you can block for the kid and keep them upright and he can get Sean Payton's system and work it to a T. Play some defense. Those are all very serviceable players. I'm trying to, I'm trying to piece it together, but that's not a compliment, but I think it's going to be Bo Nix.

And I just think people are overlooking it because you're not drafting a lot of their guys in your fantasy draft. So you're not thinking that this offense could be any good. You're, you're also wondering if Nix was that good, then why did he last 12 when everybody was taking one?

I look forward to the Nix five documentary. Good one. Brady six, right? It took nearly six plus rounds to get six quarterbacks. That's right. Bo Nix, it just took 11 picks to have five guys taken out of him.

Yeah. Who's the goat herder that Mariucci took? Bo will be sitting there. Who's the Giovanni Carmozzi? Mooch likes to point out, you know who's in charge as well? Bill Walsh chose Giovanni Carmozzi. Well, he's no longer with us. Mooch is here.

It's easier. 844-204 Rich number to dial here on the rich odds and show further. That's what he was. Giovanni Carmozzi.

He might still be. That's that's it. We're back phone calls in rapid port hour two. Let's talk old Raleigh auto parts people. You love their jingle. You're going to love their friendly, helpful service even better because they're in the business of keeping your car on the road and the parts knowledge they have. It's all you need for your maintenance and repairs. They've got thousands of parts and accessories in stock, either in store or online.

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So stop by O'Reilly auto parts today or visit us at OReilly auto.com slash Eisen that's OReilly auto.com slash E I S E N O O O'Reilly auto parts. It's kickoff time and believe podcasts are here to get you ready for the season. He wanted to change the culture and he wanted me to be a part of that with believe you get immediate reactions game previews and expert analysis from all 32 teams plus all of your favorite college teams. He's just rare and just about everything he does sideline to sideline end zone to end zone. This was good for everybody.

Just search believe that's B L E A V podcast wherever you listen. It's the most pissed off you made Nick Saban ever. Oh when I took the sack second at 26 in a national champion. You mean the one that you immediately made up for with an amazing play that puts you on the map? Yeah. That sack? Yeah.

Okay. So walk me through how that what he said to you if you can in a certain way on a live radio TV broadcast. I mean I could only see it on camera. You know how mad he was.

That's probably the most pissed off though. I think he's ever been. I mean he just used squeezing his headset so hard and then you know like it was hard because the emotion was like so mad to so happy you know so fast for him and you know we got into the locker room when everything settled down. I mean he was still still the same coach. You know he put me to the side. Like what were you thinking?

You know um so after you won after you won the game and you've picking confetti out of your hair. He still took a moment in that moment to revisit yeah that yeah being who he is. I mean you know he he put me to the side. He said you know what why did you take the sack?

Right. You know and I thought it was a good time to joke with him. You know so I I mean we won the national championship so I told him I told him well you know we we needed more room to throw the ball coach. You know and like he looked at me and like I was laughing. He's like that's not funny. So I mean I didn't know what else to do in that situation. I was like okay I'm sorry coach.

I shook his hand and he just moved on. I was like oh man that's amazing. I love that story. Yeah that made my favorite story the whole week.

So you just figured yeah hey I was like oh maybe yeah that was a good time to joke but it was no it's never a good time I guess in that respect. It's all on our YouTube page. The start of the NFL season is just around the corner folks which makes it the perfect time to stream good morning football overtime. Live daily NFL sports talk right before this show in fact. Tune in Monday through Friday from 10 a.m to noon eastern and even more good news it's streaming on the Roku channel so it is 100 free of charge good morning football overtime. I believe Mr. Brant is making his way to our studio tomorrow.

Fantastic. While he's out here in Los Angeles 844-204-rich number two dollar. I don't know if it was the talk of TJ plus but Lenny in Panama City is back on on the phone. What's up Lenny? Hey what's going on gentlemen? What's going on Lenny? What's up man?

Just like to say good morning to everyone. TJ me and you need to sit down and talk about my NIL contract. I'm not seeing any money yet and Rich has been throwing my name around. Lenny you're the official gummy bear of the Rich Eisen show so it's all good. Well no no I've switched up medications.

I'm now on Therajose which are like nine times stronger than the gummy. I'm in perceived condition right now. Okay well good. What's on your mind?

And we're moving along again. I want to I want to reply to Mark Slaret. I respect him as a great football player hall of famer but he totally disrespected my bucks and his prediction is for the NFC south and I'm going to tell you what Baker Mayfield it's like the doberman sitting on the porch in the middle of the night with no porch light on waiting for the burglar to come get inside the fence because we're going to nail them everybody. The human ring camera of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Listen man you know how are we the the biggest Baker defenders that on the block? What do you think?

Very possible. I love the guy man. I love the guy.

And I do believe you are Rich because you went on a bandwagon forum after our last conversation and that was great and there was several more to follow so people aren't thinking I'm not as high as everybody thinks I am. Thank you Lenny. Appreciate the call. Call back.

Glad that he's on the proper prescription now. Yeah we see man. They also have got I keep saying this they've got a very favorable schedule. They start three out of their first four are at home. Their last two are at home. They in December at Carolina could be cold. Home for the Raiders indoors at the Chargers and the Cowboys are their two away games in deep December. They're indoors and then home for the Panthers and the Saints. That is a very favorable schedule I believe. With a bye right in the middle also.

Now obviously week seven through ten all right well week five I mean they start with three of their first four on the road then they're at New Orleans home for Baltimore and Atlanta at Kansas City and then home for San Francisco before that bye and then they're after the bye they're four out of five on the road but as I pointed out I mean that'll be cold obviously at the Giants Sunday after Thanksgiving I would believe. Listen did you see Mike Evans said he was considering the Texans and the Chiefs before the Bucks came correct? Yep. Now that would have been something else. Just hold that thought but for is that for an overreaction Monday?

That's all right. So that but they didn't let him go they got it done. Well you know you heard them say why he stayed there? Well because he likes staying there his family loves it there and he wants to play with one team in his entire career and it's Baker.

What was it? He kind of digs it. It was essentially his wife said she liked it there she didn't want to move and he's like all right. Yeah maybe we love Baker but Patrick Mahomes is drowned one of these things is not like the other.

No I get it. I hear you I hear you but he's also one of those guys that can have just one name of a team on a bust shelf in Canton one day. Like he's on the track for that.

I guess but nobody cares about that anymore. He's got a ring he got a ring with Brady and now but the bottom line is the Bucks got it done they got it done they got him done they got Lavonte David done they got Baker done they didn't break it up it wasn't just like well that was our good shot the year after Brady wasn't it and then they couldn't keep it going and that continuity's got to count for something. Now their OC left to be the HC in Carolina but you know they get past Atlanta as everybody believes I think is their best is is the biggest issue for them. I didn't put them down as it you can't have them as a sleeper team when they won the division but when you're talking about Lions and Cowboys and Eagles and Niners and Rams you know you don't mention the Bucks they will absolutely be overlooked no question but you look at their schedule they start they get Jayden Daniels in his first career start then they go to the Lions home for the Broncos home for the Eagles so they face in the two of the first four their first four weeks against two rookie quarterbacks and the two teams that they played in the playoffs last year one they eliminated one they can they put a nice scare in the Lions before they have a short week visit to Atlanta and then at the Saints they can they can make that mark real quick man get wins on the road in division and pelts on the wall in conference beat up on some rookies you never know you never know Welcome to Talkville, the Ultimate Smallville Rewatch Podcast. Season four I'm glad that it's over. I'm glad that it's over as we know now that season five is supposed to be one of our better seasons obviously the tattoo storyline you know how I feel about that you hating that storyline probably a lot of joy because I kept waiting to see how it was going to keep going and then how they would somehow settle it. Binge seasons one through four of Talkville before season five begins wherever you listen.