Doug Pederson: Starters Will Play In The First Preseason Game

This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Michelob Ultra is perfect for more than just the summer heat this year, because not only is it refreshing and crisp with only 95 calories, but Ultra is also the official beer sponsor of Team USA at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Celebrate every point, race, and moment with Team USA and Michelob Ultra for the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Stock up on Michelob Ultra and cheer on Team USA. Enjoy responsibly.

Copyright 2024 Anheuser-Busch Michelob Ultra Light Beer, St. Louis, Missouri. Hail! Hail! Hail! Yeah! This is the Rich Eisen Show.

Am I reading the chart? Live from the Rich Eisen Show Studio in Los Angeles. Will the Chiefs three-peat?

They received a major push. Patrick Mahomes was voted number four on the top 100 list of players. I'm here. The Rich Eisen Show. I'm here.

Today's guests, Jaguars head coach Doug Peterson, pro football focus analyst Trevor Sikkema, NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero, Saints safety Tyran Mathew, and now it's Rich Eisen. What do we want for all three hours? That's all I said.

Just the word yes and different inflections. Uh, we should try it. Well, I was 10 seconds into it and then I gave up. So close.

Ah, for another day. Welcome to this edition of the Rich Eisen Show. We are live on the Roku channel. We're live on this Rich Eisen Show.

Terrestrial Radio affiliate Sirius XM Odyssey. Tune in. We say hello to those listening later on on our podcast version of the show.

All three hours. Please go get it. We appreciate anybody who also hits us with a follow on our YouTube channel. Uh, we're everywhere if you care to see us. Uh, greatly appreciate you being with us on this rod today.

844-204-RICH is the number to dial and I want to hear from you 49er fans. That's for darn sure and I know there's lots of you out there for sure. Uh, I was caught, uh, off guard by something that my friend Chris Brockman was sniffing out on overreaction Monday yesterday. Good to see you over there Christopher. How are you? Rich, you know what I love most? Being right.

Being right. Good to see you Mike Del Tufo. How are you? Good to see you. Good to see you.

TJ Jefferson. Candles already lit. How are you today, sir?

I'm great. You know what I love most? What do you love most? Pizza.

Nice. It's delicious. It really is.

They got good pizza in New England. Hey, hey Brandon, come on over. You know, okay, let's just, let's just jump right into this. Let's go for it, man. Let's jump right into this.

Let him jump right into this. Now, Brandon Ayuk wanting out of San Francisco. I did not think in a million years the San Francisco 49ers at this late stage first week of August would entertain the idea of trading him. Now, entertaining the idea of trading him before draft, that makes sense. You trade for draft choices that you use on the spot, especially since you know where the draft choices are landing in the order because the draft is about to begin. That's the way it happens in most leagues except if you're the NBA. Then you say, oh, we'll trade you for a 2034 first round unprotected pick or whatever the hell they call up.

Okay. But that's the way it works in the NFL because if you trade somebody now for somebody's draft choice later on, you have no idea. That draft choice could be worse than you think because you're trading him somebody good. Thus, the draft choices you get back will be made worse for you because of how good the guy you're trading away is. That's the way it normally works when you trade somebody away in the middle of the season or even less unheard of at the outset of training camp because you're right there. You're right there. You're a month away from the playing season and not just any playing season, a playing season in which you're defending your conference title and not just any playing season after which you're defending your conference title, a season after you took the defending back-to-back champs to overtime and took a lead in overtime.

This happened. Why would you trade Brandon Aiyukawe now? It's going to the playing season with him. Well, you could say he's not going to play for you.

He's told you he's going to hold out. Well, again, ask Le'Veon Bell how that worked out. Trust me, Le'Veon Bell will wind up being the last NFL player to hold out that deep into a season and throughout.

It's just not going to happen again. Now then, after I say something so definitively, I said they weren't trading Brandon Aiyukawe. And ask anybody who covers the 49ers. They thought the same thing, including Matt Mayoko, who was the one from NBC Sports San Francisco, Bay Area, to first break the story last night that Aiyukawe, not only are the Niners willing to trade him, but they've made deals with not one, but two teams willing to acquire him. And now Aiyukawe's just got to talk financial turkey with those teams. And the teams are the Browns, the Patriots. And on top of it, the commanders were in on it, these conversations, and so are the Steelers. But they're out.

Like Shark Tank, they've announced, I'm out. For whatever reason, maybe the draft compensation too steep, or Aiyuk's contract demands too steep. Commanders make sense because Aiyuk was the one, or Jay Daniels was the one who was facetiming with Aiyuk when Aiyuk first placed out into the social media ether that the Niners didn't want him anymore. That's the way he described it.

And Jayden Daniels was a collegiate quarterback of his when they were in Arizona State together before Daniels wound up in LSU. Makes sense? And as for the Steelers, I mean, to salute, they are doing things and being aggressive in a way we haven't seen in quite some time. I mean, they are thinking outside the box up there in Western PA. But- Black and gold. Too much in terms of draft compensation or maybe monetary compensation.

Who knows? Or it could have been who the Niners were asking back because this is what makes sense. When you trade somebody in training camp, normally again, it's just we're getting them gone because he doesn't want to be here. We want volunteers, not hostages, or we really believe that he would hold out in the season and we don't need it. We'll take the draft choices, that's it. But according to the reports that are out there, they're getting, if Aiyuk chooses the Browns, Aiyuk chooses the Browns, Amari Cooper back with the draft choices. And if he chooses the Patriots, they're getting Kendrick Bourne back, not just in a trade, but period. That's Bourne's plate there. So he could plug and play, right? Correct. Seemingly. So they're getting players back and if they get them in now, they can hit the ground as running as they possibly can in time for week one against the Jets on a Monday night.

So how's that for a plot twist? So the question is, the Niners are basically like, we're out if you want to be out. If you want to stay in, let's talk about the contract that's on the table, I guess. How much better is the contract going to be offered from the Browns or the Patriots for Aiyuk compared to what the Niners are doing? They're basically letting them be a free agent right now, as long as the team that he's willing to take a contract from goes ahead and hits the compensation that they're willing to trade Aiyuk for. And it appears, certainly with the news that the commanders were in and the Steelers were in and that they're out, that Aiyuk, I guess, has previously identified these teams. And these are the two who said yes to the Niners' liking.

And Aiyuk now has to decide between the two of them or to stay put. And that is fascinating to me, because if it's financial apples to apples, sorry, Chris. How does he not choose the Browns?

The team that went to the playoffs last year has Deshaun Watson as a quarterback. How do the Browns afford him? That's a very good question. I don't know. I don't know. I mean, well, I guess if you get, if you get, well, hold on a second.

How about this? You get Cooper's money off the books. I think they added an extra five to his 20. That's 25 based from what I saw on spot track or SPO track.

I guess I should find out how you pronounce it. Yeah. That I think it's spot track. That if you get Aiyuk now, it's one year for 14 million and change. And then you can then do a contract extension for future years. They'd actually pretend, and it's no dead cap on the Niners either for trading him now. So you could actually, based on that math alone, save money if you're the Browns?

Because they still owe, you know, Deshaun Watson. No, I understand what you're saying, but that's already taken care of. That's already cap handled. But if you take, if you, no, that's got nothing to do with it. What I'm saying is that both teams clearly know how to handle it cap wise, can absorb it cap wise. Otherwise they wouldn't have gone down this road. They know how much Aiyuk is probably asking for.

Apples to apples. And I understand you'd want Aiyuk there in New England, Chris, because I understand you'd want him there. Yeah. Wanted him on draft night. Would you, would you pay him top five wide receiver money?

Yeah. Why not? You got a quarterback on a rookie deal.

This is what we're talking about all the time. This is how the 49ers, his current team has been able to stockpile a super team around the seventh round pick. Cause he got him on a rookie deal. And that's what the Patriots have right now. Got to take advantage of that. Got to surround him with superstars. Yeah, I get it.

I just don't know. I mean, we, we all agree it's going to be a long year in New England. It'll be a tough year. It'll be a difficult year. It'll be a frustrating year. It could be a potentially surprisingly un-frustrating year. I got it. I understand that.

Or you can go to Cleveland, you know, and, and be the number one guy there with a stout running game and a coach of the year, two time now, uh, the current reigning coach of the year who took over the play calling, or you go to New England where it's completely fresh and new, and you're going to break in a new rookie quarterback at some point eventually. And then of course there, now that it's out there, what about the team? You better get this done now if you're one of those teams, because how do you think Amari Cooper's handling it today? Yeah, I saw a report that Kendrick Bourne wasn't practicing today. Well, interestingly enough, Gerard Mayo, uh, was asked about this. I don't know when Kevin Stefanski is slated to speak today, or if he is. I'm told that Kyle Shanahan is speaking with the media after the Niners practice, which ends after we're off the air.

Mayo was asked about the trade rumors for Iyuk today. I know, um, you know, what all you guys want to know, one thing I did learn from Bill is I just, I don't talk about players on other teams. So just let me go ahead and say that now. But I remember as a player, you know, I appreciated that.

I appreciated that the only opinions that mattered were inside the walls. And so I'm still trying to apply that now, uh, going forward. Can you confirm at all that this, you know, talk's ongoing? Um, look, I'll be honest with you. That's more of an Elliott question.

Um, right now I'm just focused on the guys out here, the New England Patriots. Good answer. Attaboy coach. Good answer.

Great job. He's really good at this, I think. He learned from the best. Well, I mean, the best wouldn't have given you any answer. I don't know.

I'm just getting ready for practice. It would have led to a Bill Belichick press conference moment, that's for sure. But then he was asked about what about Bourne? Certainly since he's less like the, he remembers as a player, the most important, you know, thoughts on the matter and opinions were within the building. Well, what did he say?

Anything to Bourne? Honestly, pardon me. He was asked.

Well, try it again. I did talk. Honestly, I did talk to him this morning and it was a good conversation. And once again, I feel like the story is so much further along than anything else. I just wanted to make sure we cleared the air. And I do believe in being transparent with the players and really just setting those guys at ease.

Amy spoke to him. So there's that. And for the 49ers, man, for the 49ers, if they can get one of these two guys back, listen, with all due respect to Kendrick Bourne, I'll take Amari Cooper.

Yeah, I get that. I'll take him. I'll take him in a heartbeat.

I'll take him. Does this make you feel a bit more or worse about their Super Bowl chances if they trade Ayuk? Let's put it this way.

How does this for an answer? Had the 49ers won the Super Bowl, you could have made a great case. Super Bowl MVP was Juwan Jennings. True. Yeah.

Okay. And nobody saw that one coming. And if that guy... But that happens in the Super Bowl from time to time. I totally get that. But let's just extrapolate that to potentially being a coming out party.

Okay. And I'm sure they're sitting there thinking that. And they drafted Ricky Piersol, first overall, or their first round draft choice. And you get Cooper back. Ayuk is a terrifically talented player. No question about it. No doubt about it. A guy who went from highly touted rookie to highly touted rookie to what?

Sophomore year of doghouse? Remember that? Getting out of it and becoming a star player in this league who I don't think anybody's going to blink an eye if he averages 30 million per this contract.

But in terms of winning a Super Bowl this year, I think they absolutely still can. No question about it. But Ayuk's going to have to sit there and go, do I want to go to Cleveland, make this money? Do I want to go to New England to make this money?

Should I stay here and make that much money? I don't know the difference. He does. And he's the only one who can make the decision. But it's amazing that the Niners have come to the conclusion, let's let him do it.

I didn't see that one coming. But I also know that Ayuk's going to see either Borne or Cooper coming back in a trade either. So let's see what it all comes down to. So later on in this program, Tom Pelissero is going to zoom in from his Uber on the way to the Niners facility after landing in San Francisco to make his way to Santa Clara. He's going to zoom in at Clara. He's going to zoom in on his way to the story. How about that? Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus will go over where Ayuk winds up, what it would mean for each of these teams.

He must have the catch radius percentages down to the decimal point, right? I love PFF, man. Okay. Hour number three, Tyron Matthew. This is year 12 for him. He'll zoom in from Southern California where the Saints are going through their training camps. But let's take a break because next, the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Doug Peterson. Ice cream for everybody.

Next. Hey everybody, this just in it's summertime. It's time to go and do all those summer things like going to a baseball game during the summer. I'm about to do exactly that.

And I know exactly what to do and you should too. You should go look forward to making new memories this year by going to a ball game using Game Time, the authorized ticket marketplace of Major League Baseball, which makes getting tickets faster and easier. Prices on the Game Time app actually go down the closer it gets to the first pitch so you can wait to buy your tickets with killer last minute deals. The all in prices feature, you get to see how much everything is before you purchase. Viewers from your seat, you know exactly where you're getting your seat and the view of the field from it. Their lowest price guarantee, of course, that's Game Time.

Takes the guesswork completely out of buying MLB tickets. Download the Game Time app. Create an account and use my code ISEN for $20 off your first purchase.

Terms apply. Visit GameTime.co for restrictions. Again, create an account. Redeem my code E-I-S-E-N for $20 off.

Download Game Time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Passion, drive and patience. The formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive. eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to peak performance. Superchargers, roof racks, exhaust kits, LED headlights and more. Whether you're into speed, power or style, eBay Motors has you covered with over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die.

You'll always find exactly what you're looking for. And with eBay guaranteed fit, your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back. Because with eBay Motors, you're burning rubber, not cash. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it's easy to make your car the MVP and bring home huge wins. Keep your ride or die alive at eBayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.

See eBayMotors.com. Back here on our program where the Roku channel audience radio will join in a little bit less than two minutes. That's when we're bringing the coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Doug Peterson, kind enough to zoom in here in the middle of, I guess, what, a tropical depression or whatever is going on in the state of Florida. So that's what's going on in the Jacksonville neck of the woods. We are here just all like staring at the transaction wire to see if Brandon and I are just getting traded outside of talking to Doug Peterson. And shortly we've got Tyrone Matthews zooming in. I can't believe it's year 12 for him, by the way.

Agreed. Crazy. Because I remember at the combine when he was coming in, Deion Sanders was talking to him and talking about him and everyone was like, OK, Pron. Like, how's he going to even be drafted? He got drafted by the Cardinals and Bruce Arians. Les Miles kicked him off his final year at LSC. Right.

It was bad news. Yeah. 12 years, man. A dozen years. So there's all that.

So again, normally I don't. Do we have do we have the shot of the of the of the neck brace as well? Again, this is this is the last, I believe, Jacksonville Jaguar conversation we had on this program. There's Tony Khan's neck brace. It's on my bust. Signed. Here it is. So very special place here.

Doug Peterson is loving this. Is that right? Yeah. OK, we'll talk about it again.

The radio audience will reach on. There it is. First and only neck brace ever worn in a draft room that I can tell.

Well, I've done 21 drafts. The first of a result of a TK driver, a TK driver, for sure. Right. If there was another neck brace, it was something else. It wasn't caused by the elite dropping someone on their head. Yeah.

You know, it could have been like George Young had been rear ended in his car or something. Back in that day. Very good. 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 clickgranger.com or just stop by. One of our favorites. And that's just because he's decided to zoom in or taking our request for that.

But it's the truth. He's the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Doug Peterson back here in the Rich Eisen Show. How are you doing, coach? Good to see you. Yeah, doing great, guys. Doing great. Staying dry. We're indoors today. Staying dry. Watching it rain outside.

But all good. I bet. Fantastic. So what do you hope to accomplish with preseason games? Just three of them? Figuring out who to play, who not to play?

What's your plan in this day and age? Yeah. It's kind of a fine balance. You want your starters to get some time in these games to kind of feel the pressure of playing a little bit and getting some work done. But you really got to evaluate probably the majority in the bulk of your roster. And so that's what preseason is all about. We'll have a joint practice with Tampa Bay in week two, and we're looking forward to that and getting them up here in Jacksonville. And those are a little more controlled and allow your starters to get some good work there. And then Atlanta in week three and let a lot of the young guys play and just see how they fill out the bottom part of your roster.

And really, that's what camp is all about. You want to come out healthy and make sure you're ready to go for week one. Is Trevor going to play this week? You're going to put him out there? Yeah.

Yeah. Trevor will play. I like to play our starters in this first game. It's been a while since they've been out on the grass to feel sort of the pressure of playing.

And whether it's a series or two, it's not long usually in this first one. But yeah, he'll definitely play. Do you talk to Trevor at all about his contract in any way, shape, or form expectation levels now raised? Clearly, those things happen.

And obviously, it's a first class problem literally for him to have. But do you have conversations with him about that, coach? I don't. I try to stay out of it.

I just want to focus on the football side and what we do on the grass. And I think Trevor's the same way. I think he doesn't want to talk about it when it was going on and just let the powers to be handle all the particulars and let us focus on football. So I don't get involved with that. So not at all? Like the guy signs for $55 million a year and you don't even make a little comment, a little broadside, anything like that?

Nothing like that? You want him to maybe, okay, great example. Great example. I kind of ribbed him a little bit about our American Century travel plans out to Lake Tahoe this summer. And I had a chance to my family go out there and fly. And I told him he could fly private if he wanted to. But he didn't spring from the extra dollars to fly private. And he could have. He could have afforded the whole plane.

I mean, he could have done that. And so how does he respond to that? With a laugh or? He just chuckles and says, I'll fly commercial. And sure enough, he gets to Lake Tahoe, his golf clubs are lost, his luggage is lost.

It might've paid off for him to maybe charter a flight. Life lessons, right, Doug? Life lessons. That's- Live and learn.

The youth of America, live and learn, live and learn. One thing you could do is fly the coach and his entire family nice and private. No, you got to be a man of the people and you lose your clubs. You know what I mean? You lose your clubs.

That's it. You got a pregnant wife that's out there flying. You're flying cross country.

You're flying from Jacksonville to Reno and you lose your stuff. I mean, come on, Trevor. Sometimes life has to teach lessons that even coaches cannot deliver. You know what I'm saying? Oh my gosh. That's funny. Although just as an aside here then, we were talking to Steve Young on the practice screen. He was getting set to play with you the other day. So what's that like, you and Steve Young out there on a golf course, man?

What is that like? I've had a chance to now the last couple of years to play with Steve out there and it's so much fun to talk to him and pick his brain and just to get his side of the quarterback position in today's game and how it's changed so much. Listen, he was one of those mobile athlete guys, much like Trevor.

I mean, he could run around and make plays with his legs. I like talking to him and just picking his brain on his mental process, his preparation, how he prepared during the week and just the study and how that translates today. Just so much fun and enjoy the time with him.

Yeah. I mean, is there anything in particular you want to share that he told you that where you're like, okay, that's pretty cool. You got something in particular?

Anything in general? Nothing really that was shattering, but at the same time, I think when you're talking about Steve Young, I also had a chance to play with John Elway out there and you listen to these guys. We grew up in a generation where the game was different. The quarterback position was different. You probably had more pocket passers and reading defenses and coverages. Not that that hasn't changed, but talking to Steve, just listening to how the quarterbacks are being developed today compared to maybe when he was, it's a different animal.

You're talking about RPOs. You're talking about mobile quarterbacks. You're talking about guys that you look at Josh Allen, a big, big, big physical guy.

Trevor is a bigger guy that is athletic. It's just interesting to listen to him and I think how these quarterbacks are being developed with a different style of game today. Obviously, the rules are protecting quarterbacks a little bit more. It's always interesting to hear him and his perspective on that and how we're protecting the quarterback more and more in a passing league.

He'd always say that he would play probably 10 more years if he got the same protection that they're getting today. Always fun. Great time catching up with him. I got Doug Peterson, head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars here on the Rich Eisen Show. So much made of the rookie class and wide receiver group.

You dipped into that pool as well, I guess to use a Jaguar phrase right there. Brian Thomas, how is he looking? How effective can he be year one, do you think, week one even for you, coach?

Yeah, Brian is just a great person, number one. He's quiet and we're trying to pull that out of him, but he's done a great job. He's really picked up our offense. Chad Hall's done a nice job just coaching him and getting him prepared and ready. The speed is real and that's something that we lost Calvin Ridley in the off season. That was our speed element, but we feel like we got that back now in Brian Thomas. Just getting him caught up with Trevor, really just getting on the same page and working out some timing and some details and practice. That's what training camp is all about and these preseason games, opportunities to potentially get a couple of targets his way and see what he can do. We've got some time to get ready and we're excited where Brian is currently and where he's headed and the potential that he has to add another element to our offense. Yeah, and you added a bunch to that wide receiver room. Obviously, Gabe Davis being another, it's just the reps, right? That's basically it, just to get as many reps as you possibly can. Now, that's another reason why you're probably playing guys in the preseason is to get that out there with Gabe too, I would imagine.

Yeah, absolutely right, Rich. I mean, there's timing. In the passing game, there's timing and it's just something that just doesn't come overnight.

You got to spend time on the grass and in these games and really develop that rapport. It's about being on the quarterback's timing, obviously, and getting Brian in that position, getting Gabe in that position. Christian and Evan, Evan Ingram, obviously, have that feel having worked with Trevor now the last couple of seasons. Yeah, Gabe is, but he's a veteran player. He understands how to play and how to do that. Gabe's the type of guy too that you can move around smart enough to play both outside positions.

You can move him inside because he's big and physical. The biggest thing is just making sure we get enough time with Trevor and the preparation there. I mean, you mentioned Christian with Christian Kirk. Again, last fall, being in the production meetings with you and your team in London, and I look forward to doing that again when you're taking on the Bears in a few weeks.

I couldn't help but being impressed by the relationship Christian Kirk has with Trevor. A lot made about what happened with your team last year. You were in position of being a one seed and then, obviously, the last few weeks didn't go your way. Lawrence was banged up, but Christian Kirk being out to me is the one that I keep pointing to. I'm wondering what you would say about that relationship and how crucial it is for your offense coach. Yeah, you know, Christian got injured early in that game.

Same game, yeah. Against Cincinnati here in Jacksonville and then missed the last five weeks. As you know, quarterbacks and receivers who spent time together, there's a connection there that goes beyond just the football field. We definitely missed Christian. It was a big part of our offense last year. It just kind of boiled down to Calvin. Zay Jones was injured as well.

He was fighting a knee. It was a struggle for us offensively and we didn't do the things that we needed to do. You mentioned Trevor. Trevor was injured at the end of the season, but look, those are all, those are excuses, right?

We try not to make them. We don't like to make excuses, but we're better. Christian's healthy. Trevor's healthy. We're looking forward to this year, but Christian, obviously, is a big part of the offense.

Just quickly, defensively, I guess we should spend as much time as you'd like. We had the artist formerly known as Josh Allen here, now Josh Heinz Allen. His desire to be great, again, I picked that up in our meetings with him in London. Just listening to him here, sitting in this chair to my right, I'm wondering where, it's just so beyond impressive, where does he rank amongst the defensive players you've been around? Player, coach?

I'll give you the floor on that, Doug. Yeah, I mean, I can go all the way back to my playing days in Green Bay, having played with Reggie White. I mean, obviously, that's high class, high character, high defensive end type positions, but Josh is, I think Josh is still learning. I think Josh is still growing as a player, only in year five and beyond.

I think, for him, I think he's a great player. I think he wants to be great, just like Reggie did. Just like I think about the time I spent with him, and how I'm thinking about Reggie now, led our teams in Green Bay, and think about how Josh does that here, and how he's around his guys. One of the things that I appreciate about Josh, too, is he does take time in the offseason.

He goes away. He trains away from Jacksonville, but when he comes back, he comes back in the right frame of mind. He's physically ready to go, and probably more impressive for me is the maturity, and how mentally ready to go he is, and how he cares so much about this football team, about this organization, the franchise, the people here in Jacksonville. Yet, he's one of those guys that practices every single day. That's the same way Reggie was. Reggie was the same type of player. He practiced every single day. He practiced hurt.

Josh does the same thing. He had a heck of a year last year, and we just got to capitalize and build off of that. I think the new scheme that Ryan is bringing is going to help him.

I'm just looking forward to him just cutting it loose this season, and seeing where it can go. That's the highest praise you can give, man. Oh my goodness, that name. Reggie White.

That's the end-all, be-all. Reggie, you've traveled with his own hyperbaric chamber, if he could, back in the day, Doug? Probably not back in the day.

No, I don't know if it was invented back then. I tell you, though, Josh does everything he can to stay healthy. That's the one thing I appreciate about him. Yeah, for sure.

Two more for you before I let you go into your rainy Tuesday. What's your opinion on the new kickoff rule, and how do you think it's going to work? We've already heard from some other head coaches where Sean McVeigh says it kind of looks weird to him, and a lot of coaches aren't showing their hand in preseason, or at least aren't expected to. Sean, Peyton thinks that the league should tweak the rule to place the ball in the 35 if it's a touchback. That the 30 is not appreciably too much real estate for a coach like yourself to give up, rather than risk a quick pop through a line and a return. What are your thoughts on it, Doug?

You know, I kind of agree with all those all those statements. It is different when I watch the Hall of Fame game. It is different. It's different for the fans. I'll tell you this, from an excitement standpoint, from a game standpoint, I think it's going to bring back some excitement. I think it's one of the, and it always has been, the kickoff and kickoff return has always been one of the more exciting plays in football.

One of the greatest return men just went into the Hall of Fame in Devon. Guys like that are going to start making comebacks, so to speak, in this league. The excitement, I think, of the return game is going to be back. I think that kickers, we're going to experiment with different types of kicks. I think you're going to see some line drives. You can't really hang balls up anymore like you used to, but at the same time, I think the kickers are going to experiment with it. It's going to be different.

I'll be honest with you, it's going to be different. It's going to look a little strange when we play Kansas City on Saturday and line it up. I know coaches aren't going to show their hand right now, but at the same time, I think you still have to experiment with it.

Maybe some of these joint practices and camp can lend some assistance with the two teams maybe showing a little bit more, but who knows? I do think, though, that the excitement will come back and you'll see more returns, bigger returns anyway, in our game. Do you agree with Sean in the fact that somebody like yourself late in the game in a position where you're up, that the 30-yard line is like no problem, just kick it deep, we'll play defense here, and the 35 would make you think differently?

Do you think? I agree with that. If you're only up maybe two or three and a field goal ties or wins the game, those are all things you have to consider. If you put the ball at the 35-yard line now, they only have to go 25 to 30 yards potentially, and now you're in field goal range with some of these kickers today.

It does change the strategy a little bit, but I do think if a lot of balls are being returned for scores, you might see a few more touchbacks. Interesting. Before I let you go, how many draft rooms have you been in your career where you turn to the side and see a member of management wearing a neck brace like Tony Khan this past? Look at that right there. Look at that. It's the only draft room that I've been in in my time in the National Football League player or coach where I've seen a member of the organization walk in with a neck brace.

Okay, so that's a first for you. I'll tell you though, it does show the toughness of Tony Khan. When you saw that clip and to see what we call it now, the TK driver, is that what we're calling these things? I mean, what is that move? I mean, this guy, tough as nails. Yeah, right. TJ, you're the Rich Eisen show wrestling expert.

What's a TK driver again? Well, coach, it's when you pick someone up and kind of an inverted pile driver and then one of the young bucks got on the top rope, did a flip, took his weight and drove Tony's way down as his brother held Tony upside down. Quite frankly, coach, I'm surprised Tony's still with us today.

I got to be honest with you. Is that devastating? Listen, Tony, Tony's not a big guy.

No. He's not a big guy. And these athletes are pretty good sides to be able to do that. I figured, Rich, maybe he's a neck brace. I mean, that's all he wore was just a neck brace.

I mean, he could have been more seriously injured here. I figured Tony might get some of the O-linemen, maybe Josh Allen to come and help him out. I've been waiting for that to happen.

Maybe so. And as coach, I think you can respect that if you ask players to kind of fight through X, Y, and Z, the fact that Tony can come back from a TK driver so quickly and make sure that he's not missing an appointed round in the draft room is kudos to him, right? Hey, kudos to him. Kudos to him. And Tony loves the draft too now. He loves the draft. That's something that he is not going to miss. So I'm impressed that he was there.

Yeah. And also he was a man of his word. He said that he would sign it for St. Jude and we would place it to auction. And he came on the show and said, keep it here. I'll sign it and I'll donate the 100 grand to St. Jude.

And he did it 100%. That's awesome. That looks great right there. It's a perfect spot for it.

I think it's the only spot for it, quite frankly. Coach, thanks for the time. Appreciate you chopping it up for the 20 minutes here on a busy pre-Taking on the Chiefs in preseason. Greatly appreciate it. Look for more of my calls.

And if not, I'll see you in London. Yes, sir. Thank you so much for having me. Appreciate it.

Anytime. That's Doug Peterson, head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, talking neck braces, quarterbacks, contracts, and more. Oh my, devastating. All right, we'll take a break.

Lots to unpack there. And there's a new depth chart in Denver. Speaking of Sean Payton, could there be messages being sent? Oh yeah, that's next.

This is the Rich Eisen Show. Let's talk about sleep number, people. We all know in the NFL, there's no margin for error.

A single mistake can change the outcome of a game. We all know that. And proven quality sleep, yeah, believe it or not, can boost reaction time, recovery time, and overall performance.

You know that probably in your real life. The same thing goes in the National Football League, which is why sleep number is, in fact, the sleep and wellness of the NFL. And sleep number is the sleep and wellness partner of the National Football League, partnering since 2018. Eight out of 10 players have a sleep number smart bed.

You should too. My sleep number setting is 60. My wife's is 70, just 10 numbers apart. But it is the world of difference because being able to adjust your bed's firmness after working out for recovery, that is game changing. So right now, during sleep numbers biggest sale of the year, you can save 50% on the sleep number limited edition smart bed plus special financing for a limited time only at a sleep number store. Or you can go to sleepnumber.com.

Sleep number is the official sleep and wellness partner of the National Football League. See store for details. Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify is there to help you grow. Shopify helps you sell everywhere from their all-in-one e-commerce platform to their in-person POS system. Shopify has got you covered. Shopify helps you turn browsers into buyers with the internet's best converting checkout. 36% better on average compared to other leading commerce platforms and sell more with less effort thanks to Shopify magic, your AI-powered all-star. What I love about Shopify is how no matter how big you want to grow, Shopify gives you everything you need to take control and take your business to the next level. Shopify powers 10% of all e-commerce in the US and Shopify is the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy's and Brooklinen and millions of other entrepreneurs of every size across 175 countries. Plus, Shopify's award-winning help is there to support your success every step of the way because businesses that grow, grow with Shopify. Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at Shopify.com slash Westwood One, all lowercase. Go to Shopify.com slash Westwood One now to grow your business no matter what stage you're in.

Shopify.com slash Westwood One. Seattle is hosting New Orleans in a playoff game. Correct. In Seattle. And we played them earlier.

Played them earlier. And so the first thing in the morning when I get up is I have a waffle, you know, the whipped cream, strawberries, and I'm flipping through the networks trying to get either ESPN or NFL network who's going to give me the forecast. There's NFL network.

I got it. I'm eating my waffle and they pan down on Russell Wilson and Drew Brees throwing a football on the field in their graves. I'm going to tell you where I'm supposed to be at that moment when they're throwing a football. I am supposed to be meeting with the officials, discussing the inactive's.

All right. And getting ready to say the Lord's prayer and give our players a peptide. That's where I'm supposed to be. When I run to the shower, call my assistant, can't get him.

The waffle is spilled on the floor. I get back. My assistant says, Hey, what's up? And I said, when did the buses leave? No one called. He said, coach, the buses haven't left yet. They had taken B roll from the Monday night game. Someone in the tape room ran the wrong tape. Can you imagine?

I text fault. He's on set with rich. I said, what are you guys doing?

I had a cow. I'm telling you, you have no idea. We're talking about being like, this is the divisional playoff game. Not being there for the kickoff as the head coach. That's how late I was. And Sean, just Marshall showed me the text.

We went back and forth. I arrived this guy now is live on the field. And I peek out at the stadium only because of the conditions.

And I take a look and rich says, good to have Sean Payton here at the stadium. Just some slight comment that not one person's gonna understand until we tell this story. Amazing. I love that story. That's sitting on our YouTube channel. Check it out. Back here on the rich eyes and show. Good chat with Doug Peterson right there, by the way, TJ Jefferson living out his dream, getting to explain to an actual national football league head coach.

What a TK driver is. I mean, live television. I think I was born to do this. You know, you were placed on this earth and in this studio for that very moment. And you met the moment. I was ready.

Attaboy. So, um, in part of the conversation, an actual head coach in the NFL, an actual head coach in the NFL on this show to ask him about a new rule in the NFL, the impact of which we have no idea what it will be. And here we are a month away from the season. We have no idea what this new kickoff rule is going to be looking like.

And guess what? I think we're going to go through the entire preseason still with no idea because as Doug Peterson just confirmed what we saw in the hall of fame game before it got called off due to the weather is, uh, uh, a whole lot of nothing. I don't think because there are a ton of ways that special teams can exploit this new kickoff rule to their advantage. And I don't, and there's a lot of smart people in special teams rooms in the NFL. I don't think anybody's going to show a single hand. No.

Okay. Not until it counts. Coach Taub, who Devin Hester shouted out at the hall of fame during his speech, because he was his special teams coach back in his heyday. He's the special teams coach in Kansas city this weekend against Jacksonville. I will predict they will show you bupkis Dick bupkis. They will show you, you know, just to use a football phrase, even though it really isn't one bottom line.

I don't think you can see anything. And Sean McVeigh had this to say about the new kickoff rule in advance of, of him, I'm assuming showing you nothing until they take on the lions on a Sunday night. It just feels weird. I mean, it's, it's, it doesn't look like anything that has been anything I've been familiar with, with football.

And I know the intent is right. And we'll, we'll try to figure it out. And I know everybody that's been involved in that has their intentions in the right place, but it's, it's a very foreign looking play. And, and ultimately there's, you know, however, you know, we feel that we've got to be able to adjust and make sure that we adapt and, and it can be something that's an advantage to us. And, you know, we'll continue to really put our heads together with chase and chili Davis and with John striker and, and figure out what's the best way to execute that phase so that can be beneficial for our team. But I think we also need to probably have some fluidity with it if there are adjustments as we go.

But when you see it against some other teams, you know, it's one thing to work it against each other, but when you see it against some other teams, there'll be a lot that we can really dive into with the film. That's what I mean by interesting. I don't think he's terribly into this idea. Nope.

Not a ringing endorsement. The intent is again, to make things safer because you've got, you've got one team lined up 10 years. The teams are lined up 10 yards apart and they can't start to move until the ball gold.

I don't know. I, I, I, I agree with that. So, so, and, and again, all, all you got to do is just pop through that mosh pit. That's just 10 yards apart, which is only about probably 20, 25 yards in front of whoever catches the ball, unless they kick it through the end zone. Because as Sean Payton points out, if the 30 yard line is where you place the ball in a, in a, in a, in a touchback, teams will, if you're going to see more returns based off of this, teams will say, take the 30. At the end of the game, you're going to see more touchback.

Just take the 30. It's better than you getting the ball on the 50 or scoring or touchdown. Yeah, exactly.

Right. Like, certainly if you're up by, by a score, like a touchdown and the other team needs a touchdown, a tie, just take it on the 30. I'll play defense and say, you got to go 70 yards to win it.

Absolutely. So he thinks that it would be a better choice for the NFL to right now, make a rule change right now, when they're meeting, I think the membership is meeting one more time in August right now, say it's a 35 that that five extra more yards might be more costly and make a team think and kick the ball off. Because that's the intent is to put the, the, is to keep the return in the game, but also make it safer. Now, speaking of Sean Payton, the depth chart is out in Denver and you know, it certainly causes you to hit the breaks on Bo Nix starting week one in Seattle for, for Denver. Cause he's third on the depth chart.

How about that? Jared Stidham won. Zach Wilson too. Bo Nix three. And I'm, I'm just, there's two ways to look at this. Okay. One is that Nix truly isn't ready. Okay. And Stidham in also Sean Payton's mind has earned the start based on what we're seeing in, in practice.

Okay. Yeah. And that maybe Stidham is his guy and he's running it better and he's more of a veteran and Nix has yet to beat him out.

And the same thing with Zach Wilson, you know, Nix, Nix may have more career starts in college than Zach Wilson has, had maybe in college and pro together, but, and look older than him still, but Zach has more pro experience. Yeah. Or, or hold on a minute. Let me finish my thought here. Sean Payton is from the Bill Parcells school and he's messing with the rookie.

Yeah. You know how much I love you. You know how much I, you may even heard me talk you up a little bit in the press and the press may be talking about your starting week one.

Well, guess what? You're still a rookie and you're third on the depth chart and we're putting you out in pre-season week one with the threes. So you need to do X, Y, and Z a little bit more or A, B, and C, and just a little bit of gamesmanship from a guy who learned from the king of gamesmanship, Bill Parcells.

I don't know what that means. That's how I'm seeing it. There's two ways to look at it here, but it definitely is going to stop me from saying, oh, I think there's three rookie quarterbacks week one. No?

Yeah. I mean, you didn't take the 12th overall pick on this kid to have him be the third quarterback. I guess, but if he's not ready, he's not ready and you're not going to throw him out there if he's not ready. He's not going to force it.

And if in practice and you're telling the guys in practice and you're telling your guys out of practice and you're telling your guys 24-7, 365, the way you practice is the way you play and that's how you play. And if Stidham is actually better than him, we're not there. But you heard Shlerith say it was the beginning of last week saying, oh yeah, I think it's Knicks. Any chance they listed like that just to throw the media and everyone off? Who knows? Who knows?

Yeah. It could be. I think we'll see this weekend who the better quarterback is. But that still lands in Bo Nix's phone, inbox, locker. And I'm sure it's just Sean Payton sending messages. It's up to us to guess what the message is. Maybe we'll ask Tommy P when he zooms in from the back of his Uber after having landed in San Francisco, making his way to the Niners facility an hour or two.

Trevor Sikkema of PFF though when we come back. And in terms of anybody wondering if there's Parcells gamesmanship, what that means. Quick story. Quick story. I may have told it before. If not, it's one of my favorite stories to tell. Told to me by Paul Tagliabue when I first arrived at NFL Network.

Top of the food chain. He told me this story once about being at a Jets practice standing at the 50-yard line with Bill Parcells as the Jets were going through goal line drills all the way down to one end of the field. And Parcells is screaming and yelling at the players who are taking the part 50 yards away on this goal line drill, one by one, screaming at them by name, laying into them. And Tagliabue in one quiet moment during that drill turns to Parcells and goes, Bill, we're the same age.

How can you see what's going on down there from here? And Parcells says, hold up, I can't. Took out a piece of paper with 10 names on it. He goes, I made this list of the guys I was going to call out and practice today. I'm just three in. I got seven more to go. Took out a list of 10 names.

That's insane. Made this list this morning. I was going to call out these guys in practice.

Don't go anywhere. I got more to go. One of my favorite stories.

Told to me by Paul Tagliabue about Bill Parcells. That's pretty. That's gamesome shit. That's amazing. Trevor Sikkema coming up. I believe my instincts. I don't hesitate to follow my instincts ever. The extent that I have of God in trouble. The Sean Ryan show on YouTube or wherever you listen.